I'm back from the Angel Capital Association's Annual Summit in San Diego; what a super event! So this podcast is for all my new listeners from around the world. I made friends in Chile, EBAN: the European Business Angel Network, Puerto Rico, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Oh Canada!, Texas, Mississippi and Ohio, too.

UCSB's Director of the Venture Acceleration Initiative, Don Oparah, is out to commercialize more of the university's research. He has his work cut out.

Show #156 (43:16)

On the podcast for his 5th appearance, Tech Coast Angel Dave Berkus talks about the 10 boards he sits on. "Non-profit boards have to have 3 different kinds of members," and what about the for-profits? Dave has great perspective and offers many jewels of experience.

Dave "doesn't want to discourage other angel investors, but... " We discuss the long life cycle of these early stage investments. Just when can angels expect to see some exits?

Dave's a real gadget freak and he mentions many things like a high quality USB microphone, Skype and Sight Speed.

Show #155 (48:30)

Events
Register today to attend the Tech Coast Angels 8th Annual Fast Pitch, 6pm Monday May 19th.

The birds are singing, it's a beautiful day in southern California so I meet over coffee with USC Executive MBA students: Sasha Zubatov, Mario Robles and Andy Meyer. They wanted to interview me, for some extra credit I'm sure, so I oblige and it's an upside down podcast where I do all the talking. Together we dig deep into entrepreneurship in the real world.

Show #154 (01:00:09)

Events
May 7-9 Angel Capital Association's Annual Summit in San Diego, register now
May 19 the Tech Coast Angels host Fast Pitch at the Anaheim Marriott, details.

The show is Live and it combines art and technology at the Beall Center at UC Irvine. How are these artists like entrepreneurs? Besides all of them needing money, you'll hear many similarities. For seed funding some applied to Creative Capital in NYC. They're building prototypes, pitching their concepts and some won't know until opening night if the "dogs will eat the dog food".

Technology + Art, it's entertainment for investors interested in creative, high-tech, artist entrepreneurs.

Show #153 (59:03)

Welcome my new sponsor, David McNeil with TechRiskPro.com

Trends in venture capital from the point of view of a long term auditor, Deloitte's Mark Jensen has seen it all. How long is the average life to exit for a VC backed company? With this life cycle taking many years longer, how are VC funds changing to meet their needs for big returns? If you're an entrepreneur, it's not getting any easier to get funded. Why? Mark explains that nearly half the US funds are looking to deploy their capital elsewhere in the world.

What can you do to even the odds of getting funded? Mark has some ideas...

Show #151 (42:41)

James Geshwiler was the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Association, the founding chairman of the Angel Capital Education Foundation and today he's the Managing Director of the Common Angels, the largest angel group in the northeast. You might say, he has some relevant experience.

What kind of year did the Common Angels have in '07? They funded 5 new startups and did 14 follow-on rounds. Those are big numbers! And it speaks to their ability to be included in follow-on rounds and not get overlooked when VCs ante up for the B round. How do they fight their way to the table? And what kind of a year will 2008 be for them? James knows...

Show #150 (53:36)

As investors, angels and venture capitalists, we enjoy many luxuries; life is good! We've all heard it: many angels say they're in it as a way to give back.

Let's consider some historical perspective... during the Renaissance the Medici family of Florence fed and educated many artists who eventually thrived and are well known today. Today at UC Irvine, Dean Nohema Fernandez has initiated the Medici Circle with the idea of supporting budding artists with scholarships for exceptional opportunities during the summer.

On this special podcast you'll hear from 2 investors, Don Kasle and Rich Linting, Dean Fernandez and two Medici recipients; Michelle Nielsen describes her trip to Cambodia and Byeong Sam Jeon describes his robotic Telematic Drum Circle project. It's philanthropy in five parts.

Medici program details Pledge form

Show #149 (1:02:19)

Why are there so few women entrepreneurs? Is that why we see so few women angel investors?
How well do black entrepreneurs fare in this country? What role should public agencies, like the SBA, have in promoting entrepreneurship? The Kauffman Foundation, what illusions do they have?

The answers in Scott Shane's new book, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship may surprise you.

Before you listen to the interview, take Scott's Entrepreneurship Quiz; very likely, your score will increase your motivation to explore the myths and illusions behind entrepreneurship.

Show #148 (39:29)

Angel Capital Association board member and Executive Director of the Angel Investor Forum in Hartford, CT, Liddy Karter is my guest. With networks in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, they're close to New York and can draw as far away as Maine. Business is good, she announces a recent 7x exit.

She's using VBrick video technology to record entrepreneur presentations, combined with their Powerpoint slides then hosting it all on their website. How does this help? Many members spend the winter months in the sun belt, but they can login and still participate in the funding process.

Show #147 (35:07)

Show #146 Listen (58:33) Download

Non-profit Entretech has grown from a modest little organization focused on Pasadena to a juggernaut that has teamed together with Caltech, USC and UCLA to support university based startups across the Los Angeles basin. Executive Director Stephanie Yanchinski refers me to Elena Medo, Prolacta Bioscience founder, and to Mike Giardello, CEO of Caltech spinout Materia, Inc; three interesting perspectives on a entrepreneur networking organization that's working to change Los Angeles.

Show #143 Listen (37:28) Download

Tom Moebus returns from New York City with Denis Simon, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for the Levin Institute, the newest and only campus in Manhattan for the State University of New York (SUNY). Denis speaks at UC Irvine tomorrow morning, but you can sleep in and listen to the podcast instead.

Events
Feb 25th I'm speaking at the Corona Public Library, "How to get funded in 90 days", details.

March 24-25 join me at the Southwest Regional Angel Summit and Innovation Showcase in Tucson, sponsored by the Desert Angels, the University of Arizona, and the Arizona Center for Innovation.

May 7-9 the Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego. If you're an angel investor, register now.

Show #142 Listen (34:38) Download

Marianne Hudson is the Executive Director of Angel Capital Association (ACA), which represents 150 angel groups across North America.

Knox Massey is the Managing Director for the Atlanta Technology Angels and ACA board member. Together we discuss the upcoming Annual Summit planned for May 7-9 in San Diego. If you're an angel investor you must attend. Registration details

Events
I'm speaking at the Corona Public Library on Feb 25th, details.

Show #141 Listen (29:33) Download

Tech Coast Angels had over 80 applicants for the recent Fast Pitch at UCLA. What's the process like to whittle the field to 12 finalists plus 3 alternates? Is it easy or agonizing?

Two of the three winners were women. Do they have a natural advantage? Or do they come in better prepared?

Laurelle Johnson is a public speaking coach and brings great advice for the contestants.

Mike Napoli is the TCA President of the Inland Empire network and master of ceremonies at Fast Pitch.
Events
I'm speaking at the Corona Public Library on Feb 25th, details.

Angel Capital Association is having their Annual Summit in San Diego May 7-9. If you're an angel investor, register now.

Let's critique the event and discuss ways to make it more effective in the future.

Show #139 Listen (51:59) Download

David has a knack for starting things. First, he's the founder of the New York Angels. Once they got up and running he realized they needed something to organize the members and the deals; that something became Angelsoft.

What's a Bozo filter and should every angel group use one?
How do angel groups organize all the submissions they receive each month? They must get buried.

Running an angel investing organization starts off simple, but if you're like the Tech Coast Angels with 280 members and getting 400 applications a year you have a lot to organize. When TCA began there were no options, Ken Deemer designed and built a website which has grown over the years. Angel groups starting today have an alternative in Angelsoft. Adoption of the system has been encouraging; since it's free there aren't many barriers to entry. Angelsoft's Mark LaRosa describes the system and the customer base.

Events
I'm speaking in Corona on Feb 25th at 10am "How to get funded in 90 days" sponsored by TriTech. Register

Register for the Angel Capital Association's Annual Summit in San Diego May 7-8-9, details

Show #127 Listen (54:20) Download

Southern California's Inland Empire wants to become a center for high tech growth and entrepreneurship. So two years ago Riverside Community College brought TriTech Consulting from Orange County where it had operated for 14 years as a Small Business Development Center funded by the Small Business Administration. That's where I met John Tillquist, RCC Dean of Technology and Economic Development.

Show #126 Listen (1:13:46) Download

Three investors with Tech Coast Angels with over 130 investments in startups between them, think they have some advice on due diligence? What lessons have they learned the hard way? In this interview Dave Berkus, John Harbison and Luis Villalobos tell all their stories about investing in early stage companies.

Show #124 Listen (36:58) Download

Jeff just recently started listening to the podcast.
Which ones? He started with Don Siegel, #121.

Jeff is listening and reading everything he can about licensing technology because he's building a for-profit incubator at UCI. It's part of the Orange County Business Incubation Network, OCBIN.

To keep Jeff honest I get Asst. Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology Alliances, Dave Schetter, on the phone. Not one, but two incubators are planned and they're coming together quickly. Incubators could be great for Orange County, but for the Tech Coast Angels, does this mean more deals out of UCI, like CODA Genomics (podcast #52), or more competition?

The podcast finishes up with Jeff... when he's not building incubators, he's commuting to work on his new electric bike, a Veloteq, and it's more than just a new toy; Jeff has a new distributorship and hopes to find dealers across the southwest for this ecological mode of transport. It could catch on at UCI.

Show #122 Listen (39:24) Download

Three guests on today's show, but only two photos: Terry Bruggeman, Executive Chairman of Somanta Pharmaceuticals and Joe Panetta, CEO of BIOCOM, were visiting Matt Lawson at Ventana Capital while I referreed. We have a lively, free wheeling conversation about many topics especially improving ties to the venture capital community for the benefit of the life science companies based in Orange County, CA.

Show #121 Listen (57:59) Download

Donald S. Siegel, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Associate Dean of the UC Riverside A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management, is President of The Technology Transfer Society and co-editor of the Journal of Technology Transfer. According to Don, most university research is funded by the federal government. The Baye-Dole Act compels universities to seek commercialization of their research that's funded by federal grants.

The Technology Transfer Society Conference is coming to the UC Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center on October 24-26, details.

Show #120 Listen (44:07) Download

A philosophy major in college then a merger and acquisitions specialist, now Bart's the Chairman of Tech Coast Venture Network, TCVN, a 20-year old networking organization based in Orange County. TCVN's purpose is to educate the startup entrepreneur and prepare them for eventual funding. At the monthly meetings topics include: VC financing, Powerpoint presentations, Bootstrapping, building your board and many other subjects critical to the startup. I was the keynote speaker back in June.

Save the date: TCVN's Survivor 3 event is set for Thursday September 27, 2007. Add to the long list of prizes, the winner will be featured as a guest on the podcast!

Show #117 Listen (47:02) Download

Fred started as an electrical engineer at CalTech; some of his early projects were based on the technology that evolved into GPS. Then he got interested in patent law. Not long after, he found a position in CalTech's Office of Technology Transfer.

Fred says we're moving away from a Manufacturing economy to a Knowledge-based economy. Since universities create knowledge, they generate the raw materials for this new economy. The result: universities will become key players in economic development.

Professors love doing research, but not all of them are interested in commercialization. So is there a conflict, or just a perception problem? That's what we get into...

Thanks to Tech Coast Angel member Bill Collins for arranging the introduction.

Show #116 Listen (30:36) Download

John's a member of the Tech Coast Angels. In just 3 years he's invested in 17 startups, led 5 deals and got 4 of them funded. He's a role model for many within the organization; he knows how to groom a deal and sell it to the membership. How did he learn to package deals? He spent many years in strategy consulting at Booz Allen then several years leading deals at defense contractor Raytheon. The strategy? To use other people's money to commercialize Raytheon's technology.

Show #111 Listen (44:29) Download

He's a cancer specialist and molecular biologist turned angel investor. Years ago he worked in Berlin at Schering AG to build up their cancer program in Europe, Asia and the US. While there he began genomics research to identify novel genes that cause cancer, validating and then patenting them.

Today he's a member of the Pasadena Angels and the Tech Coast Angels. He's the angel expert on the life sciences and medical devices.

Show #110 Listen (26:51) Download

Gary's the President and CEO of OCTANe and the Executive Director of the OCTANe Foundation for Innovation. OCTANE has a huge charter to influence development in Orange County; he has a dream-team board to assist him. He's the 2007 AeA High Impact Person of the Year, too.

Check out OCTANe's big event all day, June 5th: Summit on Semiconductors and Communications; register early, the event will sell out!

Show #109 Listen (40:30) Download

From its beginnings as a master planned community surrounding UC Irvine, the city continues to prosper. Do we locals take Irvine for granted? You wouldn't if you grew up in Buffalo, NY, as Beth Krom did. Irvine has the first green building ordinance in Orange County, the first curb-side recycling program; it's building the Great Park, too.

Kevin Scanlon, he's a member of the Pasadena Angels and the Tech Coast Angels. His specialty, the life sciences and biotech. I interviewed Kevin today at the Los Angeles County Business Technology Center in Altadena; it's where the Pasadena Angels hold their meetings; think of the LABTC as an incubator for high tech startups.

Kevin will have his own full length podcast in just a few weeks, but I couldn't resist giving you a sample.

Show #106 Listen (38:32) Download

From Madison to Laguna Beach, Dean Andy Policano has drafted another UW star; this time Kerry Vandell, to run the Center for Real Estate at the Paul Merage School of Business at UCIrvine. He's off to a fast start, building an advisory board of 53 executives from many of the large real estate companies in the region, each making multi-year pledges to the Center. One partner is Green Street Advisors, they're helping to focus the curriculum and providing funding.

Show #102 Listen (36:48) Download

Meet Krisztina Holly, she's the new Vice Provost and Executive Director for the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. With the generous naming donation from Mark and Mary Stevens (as in Sequoia Capital), she has a new, blank canvas to create the perfect environment to foster innovation in all departments at USC. She has the practical experience of a serial entrepreneur, but this is a big role to fill; is she up for the job? Her experience as the founding executive director of MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation will probably go a long way in assuring her success here at USC.