Synopsis
Through the Angel Invest Boston Podcast we seek to learn more about the creation of world-changing startups. Bostons unique concentration of academic talent and entrepreneurial culture offer bountiful opportunities for conversations with people who have funded and built innovative companies. By recounting engaging stories, angels and founders convey lessons they have learned. These narratives illustrate the rewards of helping founders commercialize transformative technologies. We hope you too will find our dialogues entertaining and instructive. Im Sal Daher, host of the Angel Invest Boston Podcast. After immigrating to Boston as a child and attending Belmont High School, I studied engineering at MIT and Stanford. Decades of work in international finance followed. During that time, I invested in a handful of ventures founded by friends and acquaintances. Now, Im a member of Walnut Ventures and MIT Angels and spend most of my time as an angel investor taking stakes in about a dozen startups per year.
Episodes
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Stephane Allard and Peter MacGuire - Killing Cancer Cells with Less Toxicity
21/12/2022 Duration: 36minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Stephane Allard, MD and Peter MacGuire of Alissa Pharma explained the company’s promising approach to treating cancers like Hodgkin’s lymphoma or pancreatic cancer which over-express a certain protein on the surface of tumor cells. Alissa’s therapy targets this protein with antibodies linked to radioactive material that decays quickly. The result is destruction of tumor cells with reduced toxicity. A really compelling chat. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Stephane Allard and Peter MacGuire What Alissa Pharma is Solving "... Then we can look at different indication because we already have preclinical data indicating that the product, the anti-ferritin combined with the radiotherapy could work in pancreatic cancer, in hepatic cancer, and in neuroblastoma..." How the Idea of the Product Came About "...What you've done is you have been able to create a more usable manufa
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Pierre-Louis Theron - A Smarter Internet
14/12/2022 Duration: 45minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Ten years ago, Pierre-Louis Théron dreamed of changing the internet. With two classmates at a top French engineering school, he created software that improved the streaming of content. The dream became portfolio company Streamroot which was acquired in 2019. A great story about three guys who made the internet smarter. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Pierre-Louis Theron Streamroot: the Problem it Was Solving "... What's interesting with our approach is it wasn't like we're going to remove completely the traditional or the CDN out of the picture, what we're doing is that we're going to sit on top..." "... Your genius idea was to come up with software that you could load onto peoples' set-top box, let's say a Roku, or whatever, over the box, they have local business..." Pivot Point in the Execution Phase "...We should also mention to listeners that the platform doesn'
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Arturo Falck and Steven Valenti - "Ring Doorbell" For Apartments
07/12/2022 Duration: 45minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Arturo Falck and Steven Valenti founded Whoo.ai to help owners and tenants of apartment buildings deal with security and buzzing people in. Their device connects to a free app giving tenants a Ring doorbell-like experience. A clever go-to-market strategy promises quick adoption. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Arturo Falck and Steven Valenti What Whoo.ai is Solving The Benefit of an Open, Android-type System versus a Closed, Apple OS-type System. "... As a property manager or property owner, you pay for the device and then you pay us a subscription service for every one of your tenants..." "... We actually are in a really good position to bring the technologies of things like Cobu to these communities because they already have the app..." Arturo's Backstory Steven's Backstory "... I just wanted to point out that my brother is also involved, we actually have two sets
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Souvik Paul - Aurie: Fewer Infections
30/11/2022 Duration: 43minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Infection is a major problem for long-term users of catheters. Souvik Paul saw the problem in his family and founded Aurie. Based at Harvard’s i-lab, Aurie has a design that promises more safety and convenience. The reusable self-catheter is backed by a grant from the Department of Defense. Do listen to this committed and capable founder. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Souvik Paul The Problem Aurie is Solving "... Essentially, what we're doing is we're increasing access to the safer life-saving technology by making it safely, automatically, and portably reusable..." How Aurie is Reducing Infection Rates and Costs What Stage the Product is At Funding Balancing Online and In-Person Care "... Our whole model is partnering with people living with disabilities to develop products that help improve quality of life, improve health in everyday contexts..." Souvik's Entrep
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Junaid Shaik - Livo.AI
23/11/2022 Duration: 35minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Inspired by a tragedy Dr. Junaid Shaik built a device that radically lowers the cost of tests on blood smears. Livo.AI is now translating its experience in India to the US. Shout out to listener Sudhir Manda, MD for connecting me with this compelling founder and startup. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Dr. Junaid Shaik What Livo.ai is Solving "... We are basically digitizing these samples, whichever goes into a microscope so that a pathologist can basically see these tests or see these cells or samples in very high resolution from elsewhere, sitting elsewhere..." "... That's where Livo comes in. You directly jump right into the report, and the second problem is you don't have to in the first place travel there..." What Makes This Device So Affordable? How Livo.ai Will Bring in Revenue Dr. Junaid's Background “...I understand that what pushed you to start Livo.ai is
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Casey Grage - Hubly Surgical
16/11/2022 Duration: 41minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Founder Casey Grage has a better device for drilling into human skulls. Hear how her personal story led to the founding of Hubly Surgical. A truly compelling narrative. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Casey Grage What Problem is Hubly Surgical Solving? How Casey Came to Hubly Testing the Drill Studies on the Hubly Drill Vs. Hand-Cranked Drill "... We want to know when we're going through the finance committees and hospitals, what kind of questions do they ask? What data do they need? Then we want to intimately know the users of our very first customers, and we want to be able to interview them after they use the drill..." Casey's Entrepreneurial Journey Casey's Entrepreneurial Inspiration Failure Builds Success Advice to the Audience Topics: biotech, discovering entrepreneurship, founding story
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Tomer Amit and Sonia Berrih-Aknin - Biotech Vs. Depression
09/11/2022 Duration: 48minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Tomer Amit and Sonia Berrih-Aknin, PhD founded PreciseMent Health to target treatments for depression and bipolar disorder guided by protein markers associated with good outcomes. The work promises to address the great uncertainties that exist in current treatment practices. Truly a mind-expanding conversation with a compelling team. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Tomer Amit and Sonia Berrih-Aknin, PhD What PreciseMent Health is Solving "...Basically, you had a database of patient data, where the patient's response to treatment had been recorded. Then you took blood samples, and you analyzed to see if there were proteins that indicated certain treatments being more likely to lead to successful treatment than others..." "... Really, for the first time, we can say that we are identifying dependable biosignatures in the peripheral blood..." Dealing With Side Effects "... We
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Tim Spong - VistaPath 2
02/11/2022 Duration: 42minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Founder Tim Spong is back to update us on how vistaPath.ai went from product discovery to real-life operations. Our first interview was part of my due diligence for this digital health investment that is now VC-backed. A really instructive and fun chat. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Tim Spong VistaPath: What is It? "... You're using machine vision AI to give superpowers to the lab technician and to make his or her work more efficient, and also much more reliable, and much more accountable..." "... What you're doing is massively, massively consequential. A mundane thing, but that could have huge consequences..." The Spouse as an Unofficial Co-Founder "... When I say that my dad, my family, taught me perseverance, I think that he didn't teach me computer vision, he didn't teach me AI, but he taught me the ability to get over those moments..." Learn More at vistapath.ai T
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Greg Geehan - Carna Health
26/10/2022 Duration: 47minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Greg Geehan is co-founder of Carna Health, a connected health startup. Carna is removing friction from blood testing with an at-home kit for patients unable to go to a lab for a draw. Great chat with an interesting entrepreneur. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Greg Geehan What Carna Health is Solving "... You guys aren't actually doing the testing or anything like that. You're basically integrating these devices, you're doing the software around these devices..." What Stage Carna Health is At Carna Health's Founding Story Greg Geehan's Backstory “...We'll go back and forth a couple of times and see if it's worth investing in, and then if we all agree that there's something there, then I'll bring it to the core fund under NextGen Venture Partners and put it up for pitching and see if it goes through the process…” Advice to the Audience Topics: discovering entrepreneurship
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Lisa Frusztajer - Opening Up Angel Funding
19/10/2022 Duration: 53minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Lisa Frusztajer is Investor in Residence at The Capital Network, where she supports founders in raising angel money more effectively. We discussed some exciting startups that have benefitted from Lisa’s wisdom, skill and network. A powerful episode! Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Lisa Frusztajer "... What we're doing is we're breaking down how early-stage funding works, but we're also expanding the definition of what constitutes early-stage funding..." "... We're seeing the potential of digital health really exploding into all new areas that are both patient-friendly, and provider friendly..." "...The leadership training series creates a cohort where it's one of the few places where founders can really get together and let their guard down. Because one of the things with entrepreneurs, one of the things with founders is that you're under a lot of scrutiny, and you've got
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Mark Ribeiro - Private Equity 101
12/10/2022 Duration: 54minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Mark Ribeiro is managing partner at Juna Equity Partners in NYC, a growth equity firm that grew out of part of GE Capital. Since one of my portfolio companies was acquired by a growth equity firm, I thought it would be fun to learn more about this type acquirer. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Mark Ribeiro Angel Investing Vs. Private Equity What Juna Equity Partners is Looking For "... They basically provide autistic learning centers for kids that have been identified at an early age with autism. It's a company that when we bought it, it was still considered a somewhat niche space ... There was a change in the macro environment..." "... what private equity does is it allows companies to become more efficient, and it makes American companies, absolute world beaters..." Private Equity Investments Gone Wrong Advice to the Audience "... This is what angels do. Angels look at
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Eric Greenspan - Smart Insoles
05/10/2022 Duration: 36minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More As a practitioner working with foot injuries, Eric Greenspan became so excited about the potential of the smart insole developed by startup IWS that he joined the team. Great chat about the promising field of connected devices in healthcare. Walking six miles per day gives me a strong appreciation for Eric’s work. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Eric Greenspan What Innovative Wellness Systems (IWS) is Solving "... What we're really offering patients is peace of mind..." "... It helps the podiatrist document the value of their orthotics..." "... This is not a diagnostic tool. This is a monitoring device..." Innovative Wellness Systems' Founding Story How Eric Greenspan Became an Entrepreneur The Team Roles at IWS Advice to the Audience Topics: biotech, founding story, product
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Alicia Tulsee - Moxie Scrubs
28/09/2022 Duration: 36minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Nurses were a big part of the frequent medical care Alicia Tulsee’s family needed. This led to conversations about how uncomfortable, expensive and ill-fitting were the work clothes available to nurses. Moxie Scrubs was founded to solve that problem. Don’t miss this great conversation with a compelling founder. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Alicia Tulsee Moxie Scrubs: What It's Solving "' ... no one's created a brand for nurses and nurses have been shopping online since they received their first paycheck. This the future of the market ... '" The Future of Moxie Scrubs Alicia's Immigrant Founder Story "... I actually started my first business at 19 ... Going online and early days of eBay, I found wholesalers that were selling costume jewelry and purses and handbags and things like that. I said, "Oh, man, if I can buy this stuff and resell it, I can make more money than what I would be earning on an hourly wage at the mall ...'" Advice to the Audience T
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Yun Rhie, Minwoo Jung, and Minjun Kim - WittGen Bio
21/09/2022 Duration: 42minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Yun Rhie, Minwoo Jung, and Minjun Kim are the founders of WittGen. The company is working with AI to create a more efficient platform for treating cancer, a field which tends to have a lower treatment success rate due to its complexity. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Yun Rhie, Minwoo Jung, and Minjun Kim "... The problem you have is that you have to figure out what kind of a tumor you have in order to treat it, to have the right medication to treat it...." Looking Ahead at What's to Come for WittGen "... Using sequencing of the RNA, which tells you what genes are being expressed and being triggered, and then you can look at that and then compare that to samples of the cells, looked at in the microscope and so on..." What Sets WittGen Apart How the Team Came to Be Topics: robotics/AI, biotech, founding stories
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Saeid Gholami - iCareBetter
14/09/2022 Duration: 49minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Seeking to match endometriosis patients with doctors most capable of treating the disease, Dr. Saeid Gholami founded iCareBetter. With a background in primary care, Saeid now works with AI to find better solutions to this issue and spread awareness of its importance. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Dr. Saeid Gholami iCareBetter: Finding a Solution for Endometriosis Peer Review: The Vetting Process for Endometriosis Surgeons How Endometriosis Affects Patients' Daily Lives How iCareBetter Started Out “...When we nail the model for endometriosis, then we focus on complex diseases which need multidisciplinary highly specialized care, replicate the model for their diseases…” How Saeid Gholami Came to the U.S. The Immigrant Superman Effect Advice to the Audience Topics: robotics/AI, founding story, discovering entrepreneurship
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Sherine Abdelmawla - Akanocure
07/09/2022 Duration: 49minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Sherine Abdelmawla, PhD, founded Akanocure Pharmaceuticalsto combine chemistryand AI in a platform for discovering effective drugs that can be easily produced at scale. The first use case is a cancer therapy. Great chat with a compelling founder. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Sherine Abdelmawla What Akanocure Pharmaceuticals is Doing "... The challenge is ... logistically speaking, manufacturing antibodies, they have problems with pharmacokinetics. Can we have a small molecule that can do the job of that antibody? ..." Collaboration in the Lab Vs. Collaboration in the Field The Business Model for Akanocure "... interrupting the process that the cancer uses for hijacking the production of lipid fats to create its own version, a lipid shell that has particular features that make it really hard to detect the cancer..." Sherine's Backstory Why Research? “...Science is hard
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Jeff Rosen, Founder and VC - Broom Ventures
31/08/2022 Duration: 54minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Tech VC and founder Jeff Rosen talks about his favorite portfolio companies at Broom Ventures and how his fund came about. He also tells a compelling story from his days at Teach For America. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Jeff Rosen of Broom Ventures Team, Leadership & Culture “...we look particularly closely at the people and try to understand their commitment, their mission orientation, their psychology, their empathy.” Broom Portfolio Company Writesonic Helps People Write Really Fast & Effectively “It is scary. It's so good that you cannot possibly tell that it wasn't written by a human.” “We're quite comfortable investing in in-person teams, distributed teams, international teams. It's the people that matter more than anything else.” Broom Portfolio Company Tive: Hardware Trackers & Integrated Software for Supply Chains Broom Invested in Tive Just as the
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Ryan Eriksen, Annie Bernard, Malav Sukhadia - Cool Way to Clean Solar Panels
24/08/2022 Duration: 33minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More CEO Ryan Eriksen and CTO Annie Bernard founded Sol Clarity, with the help of Malav Sukhadia, to develop a way to clean solar panels in areas where water is limited. It uses static electricity to remove dust and debris, while lowering the carbon footprint and using minimal energy. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Ryan Eriksen, Annie Bernard, and Malav Sukhadia Sol Clarity: Cleaning Solar Panels with Static Electricity Efficient Solar Panel Maintenance with Low Energy Activation "... What we're trying to do with solar energy is to make everything carbon-free, and that purpose is defeated if you're driving around trucks to wash these panels. The EDS can also have a negative carbon print attached to it..." The Decision Process for the Original to Current Designs "... The vision is to have this technology anywhere in the world on any optically clear surface that needs cleaning,
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Jake Tamarkin, Founder - AI in Life Insurance
17/08/2022 Duration: 43minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Jake Tamarkin’s startup, Everyday Life, uses machine learning to match people who don’t fit the traditional mold of buyers with insurers eager for their business. Jake’s personal experience in buying a life policy surfaced this compelling opportunity. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Jake Tamarkin The Problem Everyday Life Insurance is Solving "... Basically, what they're saying is, if you're poor, you're riskier, because of this very blunt instrument that they're using, which is credit score..." What Sets Everyday Life Insurance Apart Everyday Life's Founding Story Why People Don't Want to Talk About Life Insurance "...We basically pivoted out of banks and into insurance companies and that's been going much better..." How Jake Tamarkin Came to Life Insurance Advice to the Audience Topics: founding story, discovering entrepreneurship, software
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Marc Cote: Founder & Angel
10/08/2022 Duration: 45minAngel Scale Biotech: Learn More Life science founder and angel investor, Marc Cote, discusses his experience in investing, as well as developing startups. He has valuable thoughts for founders and investors. Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patent attorney at Fish and Richardson. Highlights: Sal Daher Introduces Marc Cote Marc Cote’s Founding Experience “...That's when I joined Boston Harbor Angels, and that was back in 2012. Shortly after we co-founded Synchroneuron saying, ‘What better way to get an investor perspective, than actually sit with a bunch of investors and actually put some of your own funding at risk?’...” How Synchroneuron Developed The Placebo Effect Vs. the Drug Itself Today’s Treatment for Tardive Dyskinesia “...The model that you had of bringing in a professional CEO doesn't exist anymore. Right now, the market for biotech executives is so strong…” The Challenge of Attracting Talent to Startups Advice to the Audience Topics: angel investing strategies, d