The Angel Nest: Recent Episodes
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Higher education is under pressure. Budgets are strained, research funding is being cut, and the gap between what business schools teach and what industry actually needs grows wider every year. Executive education is the one corner of the university that has always had to face the market directly. Now it is also becoming the place where AI may finally close that gap for good.
Today on The Angel Nest, we meet Volute, an AI-powered platform that is reimagining how business schools deliver executive education by creating live, real-time communities that connect industry leaders with faculty, alumni, and peers to solve the challenges they are facing right now, not six months from now in a classroom.
We speak with Michael Croft, Volute's founder, Jean Hammond, one of his lead investors and a partner at LearnLaunch, one of the few venture firms in the country exclusively focused on edtech, and Elmer Almachar, Managing Director of the Kellogg Global Network and Executive MBA Program at Northwestern University, who is not only an early adopter of Volute but one of the pioneers helping to prove what this model can do.
Together they explore why executive education is what Jean calls an island of profitability in a sea of challenged higher ed, how Volute's community-based AI differs fundamentally from content-based AI platforms, why business schools are both the most resistant and the fastest-following institutions when it comes to adopting new technology, and what it means to extend the learning beyond the classroom into the real moments when leaders most need answers.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is that Elmer joins not as a commercial partner but as a believer. Northwestern's Kellogg School is launching with Volute this fall, and what Elmer describes is not just a technology adoption but a rethinking of what a business school is actually for.
Learn more about Volute at volute.education. Reach us with comments or questions at theangelnest.com. There, you can also catch up on dozens of past episodes.
AI is reshaping every industry, but few are as ripe for reinvention as advertising, a business built on a slow and expensive mix of creativity and manpower.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, host David Hemenway sits down with New York Angels member Mike Jacobs and Anna Stepura, founder of Adlyse, an AI-driven performance marketing platform built for direct response advertisers.
Anna is a repeat founder building her third company, with nine years of experience as a performance marketer herself before she set out to fix the problems she lived inside. Mike has spent his career scaling growth systems and now invests in the founders building what comes next.
Together they unpack what performance marketing actually measures, why relying on advertising platform algorithms alone leaves money on the table, and how agentic AI is moving the work from recommendation to execution. Anna explains why she built Adlyse to work on behalf of the advertiser rather than the platform, Mike describes what convinced him to back Anna specifically rather than just the idea, and both push back on the assumption that AI removes the need for human judgment in marketing. Brand positioning, differentiation, and knowing what a company actually stands for, they argue, are the parts no algorithm can do for you.
The conversation also turns candid on leadership, what investors really look for when backing a repeat founder, and whether the industry's new precision is actually as precise as it looks.
Learn more about Adlyse and about joining the New York Angels at newyorkangels.com. Reach us with questions or comments and listen to past episodes at theangelnest.com.
Elementary schools are no longer exclusively about academics. Now, educators also share responsibility for building students' character, as well as their social and emotional health.
Today on The Angel Nest, we meet Maria Howard, founder of Heroes Made, a character education platform for grades one through six that personalizes lessons to every student through storytelling, eliminating prep time for overburdened teachers while giving every child the experience of being the hero of their own learning journey.
Joining Maria is Dr. Maurice Elias of Rutgers University, a pioneer in social-emotional learning who is not affiliated with Heroes Made but believes so deeply in what they are doing that he is helping them get the message out.
Together they discuss why character cannot be taught from the outside but must be caught from the people and environments surrounding a child, how Heroes Made analyzed why good programs collect dust on shelves and built something specifically designed not to, the circle of control lesson that teaches students to separate what they can manage from what they cannot, the role of technology in personalizing education without isolating children behind screens, and how the platform turns students into published authors whose stories are read by peers across every participating school.
The mental health crisis reaches down to primary school age, and Heroes Made is one of the rare programs designed not just to respond to it but to get ahead of it.
Learn more about Heroes Made at heroesmade.com and reach us with comments or questions at theangelnest.com.
Angel investing in medical technology can be tough. The science is complex, the timelines are long, and the risks are hard to judge without the right expertise in the room. At the New York Angels, that has changed.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, we meet NYA members and medical experts Vijay Aggarwal, PhD and John Younger, and learn how they evaluate life science opportunities. Joining them is Greg Fischer, founder and CEO of AIM Medical Robotics, one of the standout companies the New York Angels chose to fund.
AIM is bringing a compact surgical robot to neurosurgery that works inside an MRI scanner in real time. The core problem it solves has haunted neurosurgeons for decades: the brain moves during surgery. Targets the size of a grain of rice can shift millimeters to centimeters mid-procedure, making preoperative maps unreliable exactly when precision matters most. AIM's robot continuously updates its guidance using live MRI imaging for conditions including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and brain cancer.
Greg, Vijay, and John discuss what it takes to evaluate a medtech company before there is revenue, why AIM's FDA path is unusually clean, how existing reimbursement codes remove one of the biggest commercialization headaches in medical devices, and what the next wave of medtech investment looks like.
Learn more about AIM Medical Robotics and find out who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com. Reach us with comments and listen to past episodes at theangelnest.com.
When Pascal de Mul was part of a young Spotify team revolutionizing music distribution, he unintentionally killed something he loved: the live bootleg. Now he is bringing it back, legally and in studio quality.
Today on The Angel Nest, we meet Pascal de Mul, founder of Setmixer, the UK-based music technology company that permanently installs recording equipment directly into venue mixing desks, capturing every live performance in full multitrack studio quality and delivering it to fans almost instantly. Artists keep 70% of every sale and remain in full control of their recordings.
Joining Pascal is Daryl Clarke, incoming chairman and serial entrepreneur with a history of building and profitably exiting businesses. Daryl discovered Setmixer the way great opportunities often arrive, on a random double date, and has not stopped thinking about it since. He is joining to leverage his business relationships and open doors to major music and entertainment companies and artist management firms.
Together they discuss how Setmixer is already operating across 75 UK venues, a weekly showcase newsletter that connects grassroots artists directly to major labels and promoters, plans to integrate fan-shot video with studio-quality audio, a festival download model that could let you leave with the full day’s sets in your pocket, and the untapped archive of legendary performances that are sitting in mixing engineer hard drives around the world waiting to be released.
The US launch is coming, the opportunity is colossal, and the answer to why nobody has done this yet may simply be: nobody thought of it until now.
Learn more about Setmixer at setmixer.com and reach us with comments or questions at theangelnest.com.
Drones have been consumer products for years, but entrepreneurs are now finding their commercial potential. New ideas are coming fast, and few are as ambitious as SkyFire.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, we meet Don Mathis, a former Navy flight officer who watched drones change the course of modern warfare in Ukraine and decided it was time to build something bigger at home. SkyFire is a platform that deploys sophisticated Level 2 drones to enhance public safety, streamline business logistics, support national defense, and even deliver medicine to patients who need it most.
Joining Don are Bob Peck and Alyssa Tam, New York Angels members who co-led SkyFire’s seed investment round. They’ll share what drew them to the company out of a crowded drone market, how the NYA Sidecar Fund helped amplify the investment, and why SkyFire has more levers to pull than most startups they see. We’ll also talk AI, international ambitions, and what the next year holds for one of the most versatile companies in the portfolio.
Learn more about SkyFire and see who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com.
And, listen to more great interviews from our series with the New York Angels at https://theangelnest.com.
How are investors going to get ROI, from AI? We hear a lot about the
investment in artificial intelligence. But the New York Angels are
working hard to find investible companies where artificial intelligence
will yield real profits.
In this episode, we meet Eric Tao, the founder of Mega Minds and Josh Powe, a New York Angels member and angel investor in Mega Minds. They’re using AI to scale their experiential learning model and testing it in real-world K-12 settings. By blending the game-like appeal of platforms like Roblox with sophisticated AI characters, Mega Minds creates a "non-judgmental safe space" for students to practice academics through productive struggle. This approach lowers the "affective filter" that often inhibits struggling learners, allowing them to build confidence while failing and trying again in a low-stakes virtual world.
For educators, the platform acts as a real-time force multiplier. While students engage with AI avatars, a separate backend agent translates performance into actionable insights, highlighting learning gaps in as little as 30 seconds. Eric shares compelling results from a recent study where 67% of participating students reached grade-level proficiency in just 10 weeks—nearly triple the rate of the control group. This feedback loop allows teachers to shift their focus from grading to the high-value, one-on-one instruction students need most.
Josh Powe joins the conversation to explain why Mega Minds is a "killer app" for investors. Beyond early RFP wins, the platform is building a significant data moat by capturing granular, individualized learning data and sentiment analysis. As school districts demand scalable solutions that provide transparency while keeping teachers in the loop, Mega Minds is leading the shift toward a unified, data-driven instructional model that was previously impossible to achieve at scale.
Learn more about the Mega Minds AI learning platform at gomegaminds.com and see who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com.
Catch up on the rest of the New York Angels series on theangelnest.com.
When David Steinberger decided to start a creator-friendly comics brand, he hoped to partner with angel investors who could help. On this special New York Angels edition of the Angel Nest, you'll learn how that initial partnership spawned not one successful company, but two.
Today, we meet Dytslry and its founder David Steinberger, whose independent next-generation comic book publishing company has found early success by partnering with A-list creators to make unique digital innovations and turn that into a digital retail powerhouse for all comics. New York Angel Kit McQuiston led the seed round for Dytslry, but it wasn't their first collaboration.
We'll also speak with New York Angels member Ed Levine and Helge Seetzen about a partnership they forged between the New York Angels and Tandem Launch, a group in Canada that backs high-tech startups with big opportunities, but often lower valuations that we see in New York.
Check out some very cool comics at dstlry.co, learn more about Tandem Launch, and see who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com. Be sure to also revisit the Angel Nest archives for more great conversations with founders and angel investors.
In a special edition of the Angel Nest podcast, host David Hemenway talks with two prominent experts about the Rhode Island Life Science Hub and how the Hub’s support is integral to growing the life science sector in New England and helping to get great ideas to market faster.
Among the most important priorities in life science today is the work being done on the human brain. Dr. Leigh Hochberg is a professor of engineering and brain science at Brown University and joins us to talk about his work and the rapid advances happening in the science now.
As the director of the BrainGate Consortium, Hochberg and a research team of top neurologists, neuroscientists, clinicians, engineers, computer scientists, neurosurgeons, and mathematicians develop and test implantable brain computer interfaces that could very soon restore communication, mobility and independence for patients with neurological diseases like ALS or the loss of limbs.
David also speaks with Thorne Sparkman. Sparkman is the managing director of the Slater Fund which invests in RI-based startups. He gives us the investor perspective on the Hub and shares how investors are getting more involved now in the RI life science sector.
Learn about the RI Life Science Hub, the BrainGate Consortium, and the Slater Fund.
Catch up on our two previous episodes about the RI Life Science Hub in our Angel Nest archives.
On this special New York Angels edition of the Angel Nest, board chair Cindy Cook joins us to interview the founder of the New York Angels, David S. Rose. He’s updated his famous book, “Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun in Startups.” We’ll learn what’s new and how angel investing has changed since he came to be known as the father of angel investing in New York.
Rose and Cook are, respectively, the original and current leader of the New York Angels, the member organization of angel investors (including host David Hemenway) that fund and mentor great young companies. We’ll discuss how the New York Angels has grown in size and scope and has evolved along with angel investing since the 1990s.
Learn more about The New York Angels here.
David S. Rose is now Founder & Executive Chairman at Gust, a global SaaS platform for founding, operating, and investing in scalable, high-growth companies. You can learn more about Gust at gust.com.
And visit theangelnest.com to catch up on dozens of past interviews with great founders and leaders.
We hear a lot about AI these days and how it makes work efficient, but what does that actually mean in practice?
In this special episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we hear from people who are actually making it happen in finance and accounting. Host David Hemenway welcomes Johnnie Walker from Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting and Parker Gilbert, CEO of Numeric.
Rooled are the startup finance experts and often collaborate with Numeric, which is using AI to help companies make smarter decisions and close their books faster.
We’ll discuss real use cases where AI is changing the game for finance teams with better transaction monitoring, account reconciliation, robust reporting, and month-end closing.
Visit rooled.com to learn more about Rooled’s services.
Get more information on Numeric at numeric.io.
And, check out our archives for more great episodes at theangelnest.com.
The Rhode Island Life Science Hub is accelerating innovation in New England.
In this episode of The Angel Nest, we talk with Dr. Tejal Desai, Sorenson Family Dean of Engineering at Brown University about how Brown and The Rhode Island Life Science Hub are partnering to bring groundbreaking ideas to market faster. Discover how collaboration across engineering, medicine, and tech is shaping the next wave of innovation.
We also speak with David Uffer who shares the investors’ perspective on Rhode Island’s expanding life sciences ecosystem. A veteran in business development, M&A, and strategic partnerships, David highlights what investors look for in emerging biotech ventures—and how collaboration between academia, industry, and the new RI Life Science Hub is positioning the state for long-term growth and impact across New England.
Learn more about the RI Life Science Hub at rilifescience.com.
Hear previous episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
This month on the New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, we meet a great business inspired by a disaster. When his home flooded with water, John Rusk decided there had to be a better way to protect property. So, he invented an early warning system and started ProSentry in 2019 to prevent others from experiencing the same frustration.
In a recent 18 month period, they alerted commercial and residential building owners to more than 6,000 water leak events. And they've done it so quickly that not one has resulted in an insurance claim. ProSentry collaborates with Chubb Insurance on water leak detection initiatives, now operates in six states and is growing quickly.
We’ll talk with John and with Tom Hirschfeld, a New York Angels board member who co-led the group’s investment in ProSentry. He’ll tell us what it was about ProSentry that caught his attention.
And, we also meet Seth Masters, vice chair of the New York Angels who shares how the group funds the most exciting startups and why he chose to join New York Angels after being a chief investment officer of private wealth management at Alliance Bernstein for 27 years. Seth has been a New York Angel since 2017, where he has already invested an astounding 70 rounds in 40 companies.
Listen to the episode now and find dozens of past episodes at theangelnest.com.
Academically rich, Rhode Island and its capital city of Providence have traditionally excelled in research and innovation. Remember the industrial revolution started in Rhode Island. But now there’s a new catalyst to create businesses and jobs and bring new technologies to the marketplace that can help solve some of society’s most vexing problems. Investors are taking note and getting involved.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we’re talking about how to get innovative and life-saving medical solutions to market faster. We’ll meet the people behind The Rhode Island Life Science Hub and the founders they are supporting.
We are delighted to begin a series of episodes about The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, an organization created and funded by the state to spur innovation. In this episode, we’ll speak with Dr. Mark Turco, President and CEO of The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, and Katie Ellias, who is part of the Hub team that helps ventures find investors, partners and markets. We’ll also hear from one of the companies the Hub is supporting that is looking for ways to combat disease and aging through a better understanding of RNA.
Learn more about the RI Life Science Hub at rilifescience.com.
Tune back in for future episodes with the Hub and check out dozens of archived interviews at theangelnest.com.
At Brown University they’re working on something called the extracellular matrix – a way to help the body promote tissue healing and regeneration with minimal negative impact and without debilitating drugs. It could be a game changer for heart disease and a host of other ailments.
In this episode, we meet XM Therapeutics and the ecosystem at Brown Technology innovations that is working to make this amazing technology a reality for patients. Melissa Simon, the Director of Business Development at Brown Technology Innovations, and Karen Bulock from Brown Medical Biomedical Innovations work together to provide early funding and guidance so these amazing ideas that start in the research lab can make it to commercialization.
We’re also joined by Dr. Jeffrey Morgan, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown and Frank Ahmann the entrepreneur who BTI recruited to scale XM Therapeutics.
Learn about Brown Technology Innovations here.
Read more about this amazing advancement at XMThereapeutics.com.
And check out TheAngelNest.com for many more stories of innovative companies.
Building a winning startup brand takes more than just a great product. As this episode’s guests tell us, potential investors should also consider how a company is positioning it's brand in the marketplace to gauge whether or not it will be successful.
Brian Morley, CMO at Native Orthopaedics, and Tino Chow, founder of the strategic branding firm Giant Shoulders, join us fresh off their win, being voted the top technology for cutting-edge innovation in the field of orthopedic sports medicine. They're the architects of Native Orthopaedics brand and what's becoming pervasive through the sports medicine market. It's called the Dragonfly technology.
Our host, David Hemenway, talks with Brian and Tino about product differentiation, creating a niche in the crowded medical device marketplace and how a strategic brand can add much-needed credibility for a startup.
See Native’s technology and their brand at nativeortho.com.
Learn more about Giant Shoulders here.
And, catch up on past episodes of the Angel Nest Podcast at theangelnest.com.
In this special New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest podcast, we talk with IC 360 (Integrity Compliance 360) which provides integrity monitoring and regulatory compliance for sports betting and has grown to more than $10MM in annual revenue. It's clients include top brands like The NFL, MLB and The PGA Tour. Hear founder Scott Sadin and NYA lead investor Jeff Seltzer talk about how IC 360 built the business with seed round funding from The New York Angels.
NYA member Doug Pearson also joins us to talk about the Plug and Play event which puts founders in touch with many more investors, and Bruce Kaminstein tells us how tariffs are hurting startups.
Get more information about The New York Angels here.
Learn more about IC360 at ic360.io.
And, catch up on many more great episodes at TheAngelNest.com.
This edition of The Angel Nest features Cameron Hendrix, co-founder of Magellan AI, the company revolutionizing podcast ad measurement and attribution. Since receiving seed funding from New York Angels, Magellan has grown revenue 8–10x and now helps advertisers understand exactly where their podcast dollars are going.
Also featured: NYA investor Michael Costa shares why Magellan stood out and discusses the group’s 2024 sidecar fund. Bob Peck, a new member and former Wells Fargo investment banking leader, talks about transitioning from big tech to early-stage investing. A must-listen for anyone interested in startups, media, or angel funding.
Learn more about The New York Angels here.
See the amazing podcast ad tech at Magellan AI.
And be sure to check out the Angel Nest archives for more great interviews you may have missed.
Online sports betting topped $18 billion in the U.S. last year and is on track to reach $30 billion in the next 10 years. Nearly 95% of all sports betting was done online in 2024, with companies like Fan Duel leading the charge.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we continue our series with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services and we welcome Nigel Eccles, a founder of Fan Duel. He’s also a board member to startup companies who has raised more than half a billion dollars in VC funding.
Eccles’ next venture is BetHog, which combines sports betting with crypto currencies. Walker and his team at Rooled are helping BetHog get their finances in order for VCs and potential partners.
Johnnie and Nigel join David to discuss the sports wagering industry and how startups like BetHog and successfully raising money today.
Learn more about BetHog at play.bethog.com.
Connect with Rooled at rooled.com.
Visit theangelnest.com to catch up on dozens of past episodes.
In this special New York Angels edition of the Angel Nest Podcast we talk to the co-founder of Fixe, an automated streamlined bookkeeping service for the restaurant industry.
We'll hear how his chance meeting led to The New York Angels leading his seed investment round. Guests include Ryan Handel, the CEO of Fixe, and Simon Hopkins, a New York Angel, who co-led the investment in Fixe and has served on the board ever since.
Cindy Cook, Board Chair of The New York Angels also discusses the current state of startup investing in New York and around the country, and how she went from corporate marketing to angel investing.
Learn more about The New York Angels here.
Visit getmyfixe.com for more info about Fixe.
And, check out the Angel Nest Podcast archives to catch up on great episodes you may have missed.
Pulse oximeters are small devices that clip onto your finger at a doctor’s office or hospital to measure blood oxygen levels. Unfortunately, these devices do not do an equitable job of producing accurate results across all skin tones.
Kimani Toussaint, senior associate dean for research and strategic initiatives at the Brown University School of Engineering, joined us on The Angel Nest Podcast to talk about this problem and the work he has done in his lab to find a solution — a device that works for all skin types.
Also joining us were Melissa Simon, director of business development – life sciences at Brown Technology Innovations, and Jenifer Perry, co-founder and CEO at Matilda Venture Studio.
Learn more about Brown Technology Innovations at bti.brown.edu.
And, hear more great episodes of the Angel Nest Podcast at theangelnest.com.
If you’re a B2B software founder or investor you want to talk to Tom Wisniewski. His Newark Venture Partners make big seed stage bets through a $200MM fund.
Tom is a partner at NVP, where they invest in world-class B2B software in the Fintech and e-commerce space, including marketplaces and digital. They’re known to write $1-$3MM checks at seed stage.
In this episode of the Angel Nest Podcast, we’ll find out where’s he’s finding opportunity now. We’ll ask him about his impressive list of investor partners. And, we’ll talk about his vision for how AI will alter software and B2B marketplaces.
Learn more about Newark Venture Partners at nvpcap.com.
Catch up on past episdes of the Angel Nest Podcast at theangelnest.com.
You know David S. Rose as the father of angel investing in New York, and the Founder and CEO of Gust.com. Now he’s bringing liquidity to investors in commercial real estate through USREM (which stands for US Real Estate Market). You can meet him at The NYC Fintech Connect Event on February 27, but we’re pleased to welcome him to this edition of the Angel Nest podcast for a preview of the event.
Rose will appear at the Withum-sponsored event in New York City and you can be there too. Save your seat. Get registered for the event now.
Learn more about about USREM at usremsecurities.com.
And, check out our archives to hear dozens of recent episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
Do your knees hurt? If so, you’ve got plenty of company. It turns out that arthroscopic knee surgery is one of the most popular procedures. In this episode of the Angel Nest, we speak to Dr. Chris Anderson, the founding surgeon of Native Orthopaedics.
He grew up tying fly fishing knots in his native Tennessee and used that experience to invent the dragonfly finger trap method of repairing meniscus tears. It works in a way that could some patients avoid knee replacements in the future.
Dr. Anderson is now a renowned orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sport medicine and works to heal peoples’ lives by restoring their mobility.
Learn more about Native Orthopaedics at nativeortho.com.
And, catch up on dozens of past Angel Nest episodes at theangelnest.com.
With everyone living and playing longer, orthopaedic issues are booming for baby boomers, and for the rest of us.
In this Angel Nest First Look episode, we meet Native Orthopaedics. Their technology will revolutionize the way meniscus tears are repaired. And, it might just work for a whole host of other problems too.
Brian Morley of Native Orthopaedics joins us for this discussion. We’ll have an extensive series of programs about Native in 2025, but this episode is a sneak preview about the company and the amazing solutions they are pioneering.
Learn more about Native Orthopaedics at nativeortho.com.
Catch up on all past episodes of The Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
Every venture fund claims to add value, but what does that mean to investors? Luke Timberlake and his partners at Fintech Ventures are finding ways to capitalize on the movement that gives small investors access to bigger potential returns and markets they can’t invest in on their own.
In this episode of The Angel Nest podcast, we’ll talk with Luke about Fintech Ventures and how they provide the capital and funding know-how to help companies like Groundfloor take off.
Groundfloor founder Brian Dally also joins us to talk about how The Jobs Act of 2012 provided a chance to democratize access to the $1.3 billion fractional real estate investing market. As a result, their customers get a unique investment opportunity with higher yields and, potentially, higher risks. The company’s auto-investing app is now in its 3rd edition and the company was recently named to the Forbes Fintech 50.
Learn more about the Fintech Ventures Fund at fintechv.com.
Check out Groundfloor at groundfloor.com.
And, revisit some of our favorite past episodes of the podcast at theanglenest.com.
How can startup founder build their brands through thought leadership and digital distribution in a way that actually gets customers? In this episode, we’re talking about marketing for startups.
This is another in our series of podcasts with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting creative to get their businesses off the ground, raise money and find clients.
We’re joined by Melissa Hollis, co-founder of The Taylor Street Collective which promises to supercharge your startup marketing and provide everything from consulting to fractional CMO services.
Get to know Rooled at rooled.com.
Learn more about Taylor Street Collective at taylorstreetco.com
And catch up on past issues of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
It takes more than a good idea to have a successful launch. With funding harder to come by for companies of all sizes, proven technology and the partnerships to get it to market are more valuable than ever.
In this episode of the Angel Net, we meet a venture studio that is helping founders get funded and connecting them to leading academic and government institutions - all with the idea of solving society's biggest challenges.
This is another of our series of podcasts with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting funded in this new environment. Rooled are the startup finance experts.
Alex Goldberg of Ad Astral Funds is our guest. Ad Astral has a more hands-on involvement in the companies they invest in to ensure the big, innovative ideas they champion get the market traction needed to succeed.
Get to know Rooled at rooled.com.
Read about Ad Astral Fund's approach at adastral.org.
And, hear more episodes in the "Planning for 2025" series at theangelnest.com.
Investor Tom Wisniewski knows what companies need to do to get funded. He’s a New York Angel, the Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners, and he’s leading and investing in large seed rounds for firms specializing in B2B software.
He joins host David Hemenway and Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services, the startup finance experts. Tom will share his take on what you need to do to raise money in this more difficult environment.
This is another in our series of podcasts with Rooled about how founders are getting funded now.
Tom says founders will be happy to hear that they can still get $1-$3MM checks at seed stage from firms like his - if they have an innovative idea that solves a real problem for growth industries like Fintech, e-commerce and digital health.
Get to know Rooled at rooled.com.
Read about Newark’s investment strategy at nvpcap.com.
And, be sure to catch up on past episodes at theangelnest.com.
If you think it’s harder than it used to be to find financing for your start up all the data says, you’re right.
In this episode, we continue our series with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting funded in this new environment.
We’re also pleased to get timely advice from one of the most experienced and prolific angel investors anywhere. David S. Rose has been called the father of angel investing in New York and been a part of many raises and been on both sides of the table.
The legendary angel investor, entrepreneur, author and founder of The New York Angels and investment vetting platform Gust.com shares his perspective on today’s tougher funding environment, how long it will last and what founders can do to find investors in this new paradigm.
Learn more about Rooled at rooled.com.
And, check out past episodes in this series in the Angel Nest archives.
EdTech deals with some of society’s most important challenges, but sometimes doesn’t get the same attention it’s SaaS or AI siblings get from investors. Ash Kaluarachchi’s StartEd is changing that by helping founders accelerate their EdTech vision and turn good ideas into great companies.
In this episode of the Angel Nest, we’ll hear about EdTech Week coming up in New York, and how Ash and his accelerator helped Mike Linares, founder of SimpleNursing, turn his tutoring company into a huge exit.
EdTech week is October 8-10 New York and will showcase dozens of the industry’s best companies.
Learn more about Ed Tech Week at edtechweek.com.
And, hear more stories of great startups at theangelnest.com.
There may be no better place for investors to find innovative companies than at leading colleges and universities that not only develop the tech, but also lead the charge into the marketplace.
Brown University has become a big player in tech innovation, including life sciences, software, Greentech and more. They put Brown developed technology first, but partner with innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere to launch and lead solutions into the marketplace that can solve some of society’s biggest problems. Their @Brown Innovation Showcase this month will feature some amazing startups and some companies that are a little further along.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we talk to Brian Demers of Brown Technology Innovations (BTI) and learn about his event September 26 that will give investors a chance to look under the hood at what’s brewing with startups on College Hill in Providence, RI.
And for the investor prospective on what’s happening at Brown, we are joined by Thorne Sparkman, the Managing Director of The Slater Fund, a not-for-profit seed fund dedicated to supporting new venture development in Rhode Island.
Get more info and register for the Innovation@Brown event.
Hear more great conversations from the Angel Nest.
Newport, Rhode Island is famous for recreation. Now, investors get a chance to mine a startup ecosystem that has some truly unique advantages at The Newport Investor Summit, September 26-27.
Situated between Boston and New York with a more affordable cost of living and some of the world’s leading educational institutions, the small state of Rhode Island has been making big gains in the innovation economy. It’s been helped along by a new innovation center located downtown, and organizations like RI Hub that support entrepreneurs and a growing list of local investors who are increasingly being joined by their New York and Boston brethren to find great values and leading innovation.
The Newport Investor Summit is RI Hub’s capstone event, where the top 36 businesses (out of hundreds submitted) will have the chance to share their vision and pitch early investors.
In this episode, we talk with Pat Sabatino, the co-Chair of the Newport Investor Summit and serial entrepreneur, as well as two amazing companies that this RI Hub ecosystem has helped reach the next level. Carlos Ventura from Feast and Fettle, a gourmet level meal delivery service, and Ben Sorkin from FluxMarine, makers of pioneering electric outboard motor technology, join the conversation.
Get more info and register for the Newport Investor Summit.
Visit theangelnest.com for our growing archive of great episodes.
Brown University has become a big player in tech innovation. In this episode, we’ll meet some of the game-changing companies they’ve helped develop and talk about how you can meet them at their Innovation@Brown showcase, which happens September 26.
Adept Materials makes paint that helps regulate moisture in ever-more energy efficient but air-tight houses - and yes, that can be a problem. Derek Stein is CEO and a former physics professor at Brown University, and Brian Demers is part of Brown Technology Innovations and they are working together to spread the word on this incredible technology. They join David to tell us about Adept, and about the Brown ecosystem which is discovering and promoting this kind of revolutionary technology.
For the investor prospective on what’s happening at Brown, we welcome Thorne Sparkman, the Managing Director of The Slater Fund, a not-for-profit seed fund dedicated to supporting new venture development in Rhode Island.
Register for the Innovation@Brown event here.
And, be sure to check out our archive of past episodes of innovative companies at theangelnest.com/archive.
Technology has changed so much in finance and accounting. But with all the disruption one thing stays the same. Companies want to invoice efficiently and get paid faster. In this episode, Johnnie Walker of Rooled and Ali Hussain of Tabs join us on the Angel Nest to talk about how they’re using AI to boost their clients’ bottom lines.
This is another episode in our series with Walker, founder of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting funded in this new environment and the ideas that are powering innovation.
His firm has created a partnership with Tabs, which was incubated in stealth mode with Primary Venture Partners and has just recently come out to declare how they will disrupt the future, or maybe even the present state of accounts receivable and revenue recognition.
Learn more about Tabs here.
Find out about Rooled services at rooled.com.
And, check out past episodes in this series in the Angel Nest archives.
There is a revolution happening in how America moves freight, and we are not talking about EVs or hybrids. Trucking companies, including many smaller fleets, are quickly professionalizing their financial management with the help of a modern payments platform for invoicing, financing and payments.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we meet Outgo which Bain Capital says it’s one of the top 50 emerging fintech SaaS companies in America.
This is another of our series of podcasts with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting funded in today’s environment. Rooled are the startup finance experts.
We are also joined by Marcus Womack, the founder and CEO of Outgo. Marcus shares the inspiration for starting the company and where he sees the most potential growth for Outgo within the freight industry.
For more information about Outgo, visit outgo.com.
Connect with the Rooled team at rooled.com.
And, be sure to check out our archive of past episodes at theangelnest.com/archive.
Everyone is watching their diet, and it’s not just calories anymore. Heightened awareness about allergies and intolerances – along with the food-as-medicine movement – has led to a whole host of issues that people are trying to solve for themselves with smarter eating. But what do you do when you eat out? How do you know what’s really in that food? Well, there’s an app for that. Today, we meet Foodini.
This episode of the Angel Nest’s First Look series introduces us to Dylan McDonnell co-founder and CEO of Foodini and one of his restaurant clients, Martin Cournane from Lady Gregory’s Restaurant in Chicago.
The Foodini app promises to give people confidence to enjoy restaurant meals without breaking their diet or experiencing a potential allergic reaction. Martin also says Foodini is not only the right thing to do for his restaurant’s customers, but it’s also helping his business.
Learn more about Foodini at getfoodini.com.
And, hear more great episodes from the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
The path for founders to get their business funded is increasingly challenging. How long will this environment last and what can founders do now to get access to the capital they need to grow?
In this episode, another in our series with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services, we’ll talk about the challenges and opportunities facing these startups.
We’re joined in the discussion by angel investor Heidi Diamond. Heidi is one investor who really gets involved with her startups and provides more than money. She is a partner at 125 Ventures, an active board member and a consultant who specializes in revenue growth and marketing, skills she honed at The Food Network and as a top executive at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Listen now and hear more episodes in this series at theangelnest.com.
Celtic Renewables is making green chemicals from low-value waste products. With the world going green and consumers demanding products with less environmental impact, demand seems set to soar. But, can the supply keep up? And, will the cost of raw materials needed to make green chemicals increase to the point where it disrupts the model?
In this episode of The Angel Nest, David talks with CEO Mark Simmers and early investor Mark Bamforth about how they plan to scale this highly innovative solution.
We also welcome Mike Hogg from 3rBioRecovery, Ltd. Mike’s company is in charge of supplying that raw material for Celtic Renewables.
Learn about Celtic Renewables at www.celtic-renewables.com.
And, visit our episode archives for more great conversations from the Angel Nest.
The technology is already changing the world, but where are people actually making (and saving) money from AI?
We continue our series of podcasts with Johnnie Walker of Rooled Outsourced CFO and Accounting Services about how founders are getting funded in this new environment. Rooled are startup finance experts and early adopters of AI.
David and Johnnie also welcome Colin Rogister to The Angel Nest in this episode. Colin and his partner at Beat Ventures find and invest in the companies that are using AI to make money and save money today. Beat has invested in more than 30 companies which include 3 exits, 2 unicorns and 1 IPO.
Learn more about Rooled at rooled.com.
Get more information on Beat Ventures at beatventures.com.
And, check out past episodes in this series in the Angel Nest archives.
Celtic Renewables is revolutionizing their industry by replacing harmful petrochemicals with biologically derived “green” chemicals for a more sustainable future.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we’re joined by their founder and CEO Mark Simmers, who has been on a 12-year mission to source Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol to the companies everywhere that use them to make many of the products we use every day like medicines, decaf coffee, cleaning products and even cosmetics.
Bettina Brierley, who is in charge of sales and distribution for Celtic describes the growing number of sectors and multinational businesses that are waiting for their eco-friendly solution.
And, Mark Bamforth, an early investor, joins us to provide his perspective on the market and the worldwide potential for green chemicals.
Learn about Celtic Renewables at www.celtic-renewables.com.
You can also catch up on past episodes of The AngelNest podcast at theangelnest.com.
The pandemic made home testing common for COVID, but now it’s possible to diagnose all kinds of acute and even chronic conditions without leaving your home. It’s the next revolution in tech and AI-enabled healthcare designed to save lives, time and money.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we meet TachMed founder Paul Christie and COO Mark Kessler. Their company is changing the way we diagnose illness and makes it possible to do from home much of what has always required a visit to a doctor or clinic.
We’re also joined by TachMed’s FDA and IP attorney Jeremiah Kelly from Venable LLP who shares how TachMed will launch and stay ahead of the competition.
Read more about TachMed at tachmed.com/.
And, you can hear dozens of original episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
While EVs get the headlines in the fight to reduce climate change and carbon emissions, you can’t tackle climate change without finding a way to also get the petroleum out of petrochemicals. It is in everything our modern society uses – from food to pharmaceuticals, to household cleaners, personal care products and more.
In today’s episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we meet Celtic Renewables, emerging leaders in the green chemical revolution. They’re taking the residue from whiskey distilling and rejected potatoes to make Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol, which can be replaced in products that would have been made with fossil fuels.
Their timing couldn’t be better either as companies need to get to “net zero” carbon emissions and consumers are demanding a greener planet. Celtic Renewables has a plant, IP and a list of 70 clients who are already working with their products to create a greener, more sustainable planet.
Celtic Renewables founder and CEO Mark Simmers and Mark Bamforth, his early and frequent investor, join us to talk about green chemicals and their positive impact on the environment and their clients’ bottom lines.
To learn more about Celtic Renewables, visit www.celtic-renewables.com.
And, listen to past episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
A tightening VC market and a higher interest rate economy has made it much more difficult to get past the “friends and family” round and to the big A-Round of funding.
In this first episode of our second season, we’ve again teamed up with Johnnie Walker of Rooled, the start-up finance experts who provide outsourced accounting and CFO services. This series talks to investors and founders about how ventures are getting funded today.
One person at the forefront of the A-Round discussion is Victoria Pettibone, chief investment officer at Astia. She and her firm recently launched the Astia Venture Fund to help female-led companies get the crucial Series A & B rounds of funding. Currently, just 3% of venture capital investment goes to women entrepreneurs.
She joins us and shares an optimistic view of the market. “The challenges may be a little but different but they’re always surmountable,” she says. Victoria also shares background on how Astia finds and analyzes potential investments and how they stay engaged to help founders thrive.
Hear the discussion and all of season one episodes at theangelnest.com.
Individual investors are not always welcomed into hot startup VC funds. Micro VC Mike Kocan of Outbound Capital is changing that and in this episode you’ll learn how this former Accenture consultant and fund manager is making B2B software bets accessible to angel investors.
This is another in the continuing series of partnership podcasts with Johnnie Walker from Rooled, outsourced CFO, accounting, and consulting experts. Rooled are the startup finance experts and this group of programs is examining the state of the start-up world, including the importance of financial reporting and how Rooled has helped their clients achieve their goals and financial success.
Mike’s micro VC approach will be of interest to a lot of our angel investors because he doesn’t just look for institutional money. He involves individual and angel investors in his funds which specialize in B2B business solutions.
Hear more from this series and catch up on dozens of past episodes at theangelnest.com.
Entrepreneurs are 100 percent focused on their big idea, as it should be. But investors and early customers want to know the finances are solid.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we talk with Johnnie Walker from Rooled, outsourced accounting and CFO services, and Alex Lee from Truewind, an AI powered bookkeeping and finance software for startups. Together, they’re forming a partnership to help companies launch that are investable and ready to win.
This is another in the continuing series of partnership podcasts with Rooled that focuses on the state of the start-up world, including the importance of financial reporting and how Rooled has helped their clients achieve their goals and financial success.
You can catch up on this series and all past episodes at theangelnest.com.
Business is now global so shouldn’t your financial consultants also offer worldwide expertise?
In another of our continuing partnership podcasts with Rooled, outsourced CFO and accounting services, we examine the state of the startup world and the importance of financial reporting. Company president Johnnie Walker shares how Rooled has helped their clients to achieve financial success.
Our guests also include Adam Brody of London-based Finerva who is partnering with Rooled to help companies grow across borders and Richard Little, a leading angel investor in the UK and chairman of OneID, a digital identity platform that exclusively uses outsourced accounting and CFO services.
Learn more about Rooled at rooled.com.
Visit Finerva at finerva.com.
See OneID online at oneid.uk.
And, be sure to catch up on any missed episodes at theangelnest.com
OpenTable and Resy apps have streamlined restaurant reservations, but what about private events? They’re still pretty much stuck in the dark ages of Google searches, emails and phone calls.
In this episode of the Angel Nest, we meet a serial entrepreneur who is changing that with his new company, RestauRent.
Nick Cianfaglione already has one successful venture exit under his belt. Now he wants to streamline the events business. He joins us to talk about his one-stop shop for finding the perfect space for any event or gathering. The app allows users to easily search, discover and book the perfect space with catering menus and filters by location, party sizes, pricing, event type, and more.
Venues are also eager to sign up to be in the app because it allows them to tap into some of the millions of dollars of event bookings that they never even knew about because they didn’t have the staff to field the inquiries or customers didn’t know about the venue’s options.
Listen to the conversation and check out our large archive of past episodes at theangelnest.com.
High tech innovation happens everywhere these days, often powered by leading universities and their incredible reservoir of talent and technology. This fall, September 29th begins Startup Week in Rhode Island and the first-ever Innovation Showcase from Brown University Technology Labs.
And if you’re a life sciences, medical device or software investor, you’ll want to be there!
Venture Café Providence runs weekly programming around innovation and entrepreneurship. Venture Café is partnering on the Innovation@Brown Showcase which will highlight 20+ companies affiliated with Brown University.
In this episode, we talk with Caroline Humphrey of Venture Café Providence, Brian Demers from Brown University’s Technology Innovations Office, and Thorne Sparkman from the Slater Technology Fund.
Hear the conversation and many more episodes at theangelnest.com.
The best startups know what the customers want, but how do even the smartest CEOs know what investors want in order to finance the business?
Many startups find that their biggest challenge doesn’t come from customers, supply lines or technology. Often the toughest part of getting started is finding funding. That’s ironic because investment in startups skyrocketed in the years leading up to 2021, at its peak of $681 billion.
Things have gotten a lot tougher since then as many investors and VCs hold off on new investments or keep their powder dry and accessible in case one of their existing portfolio companies needs additional capital.
In this episode, we talk with Johnnie Walker, the co-founder of the outsourced accounting, CFO, and advisory services company Rooled, about raising the all-important “A” round of investing and how startups should prepare to meet the challenge.
Learn more and listen to more great episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at theangelnest.com.
It's not as easy as it used to be for startups to find investors and the bar is higher to win them over.
2021 was the height of startup funding evaluations. Fast forward to today, though, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Valuations are down, so it's not a great time to raise money. But, if you have to, extending your runway may buy you time and also show your potential investors that you can weather the storm.
In this episode, we’ll discuss extending the runway and other possible avenues for funding your venture with Johnnie Walker, the co-founder of Rooled, an outsourced accounting, CFO and advisory services firm. Rooled specializes in helping startups get their A round and scale their businesses.
Read more about Rooled at rooled.com.
And, be sure to check out dozens of past episodes of this podcast at theangelnest.com.
You don’t have to write checks to pay your bills anymore. But, tracking all the subscriptions, credit cards and automatic payments does get complicated.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we meet Haroon Mokhtarzada, founder of Rocket Money, whose millions of members save money managing their finances on his app. We also meet Johnnie Walker from Rooled, whose financial model helped the company track early adoption and grow.
We’ll discuss what has made Rocket Money take off so quickly and how the outsourced accounting and CFO firm Rooled helped them strategically manage finances to fuel hyper growth.
Check out the Rocket Money app at rocketmoney.com and learn about Rooled services at rooled.com.
And, be sure to visit the show archives at theangelnest.com to catch up any episodes you missed.
What really is the future of Artificial Intelligence? In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we’re joined by a Silicon Valley VC who will talk about what companies she funds and why. And she'll discuss her partnership with an outsourced accounting and CFO firm that helps her portfolio companies attract capital and grow.
Today’s guests include Johnnie Walker of Rooled, the outsourced accounting, accounting and CFO service with California headquarters and clients throughout the country. His client, Jocelyn Goldfein, managing director of Zetta Venture Partners shares her expertise on the AI-startups with B2B business models that Zetta prefers to invest in.
Be sure to check out past episodes of the Angel Nest podcast on our website at theangelnest.com.
How do small startups attract the big partnerships they need to succeed?
In this episode, we talk with Darren Feher of Vizbee on how he bootstrapped his way to collaborations with Fortune 500 media companies and how his partnership with Johnnie Walker at Rooled helped him do it.
If you’ve ever wondered how the content from all your internet devices syncs up and even matches what you watch on smart TV, Darren can explain. His company’s software allows your mobile devices to sync seamlessly behind the scenes and even helps deliver the content that you actually want to see.
We’re also joined by Johnnie Walker, the co-founder of Rooled outsourced accounting and CFO advisory services. Johnnie and his team have been working with Darren from the beginning.
Be sure to visit the Angel Nest website for more great episodes or to suggest a start-up company to profile.
You have to wear a lot of hats to succeed as a start-up CEO, but sometimes the most important decisions are what you choose not to do yourself. In this episode, David talks with Johnnie Walker, the co-founder of Rooled, an outsourced accounting, consulting and on-demand CFO service.
Rooled lets companies focus on their core mission and not their accounting on a daily basis. We’re also joined by his client Jimmy Chen from Propel, a for-profit, venture-backed, social impact business that is helping low-income Americans improve their finances with tech. Jimmy’s mission was born during his time at Blue Ridge Labs.
Learn more about these firms and be sure to tune in for more episodes with great entrepreneurs and investors at theangelnest.com.
Raising Partners helps founders in the United Kingdom find financing from private investors and, so far, they’ve raised more than 60 million pounds for over 175 companies.In this episode of the Angel Nest, we’ll speak with Raising Partners’ co-founder Helena Murphy and senior investment manager Alex Rowe about how they support startup founders.We’ll also talk with one of their clients, Paddy Lowe. He’s the founder of Zero Petroleum. His company is making fossil-free fuels – synthesized by the recycling of water and atmospheric carbon dioxide. They’ve recently secured a Guinness World Record, in partnership with the Royal Air Force. It’s for the first flight ever to be powered entirely by synthetic aviation fuel.Learn more about these firms and be sure to tune in for more episodes with great entrepreneurs and investors at theangelnest.com.
America has led the tech revolution, but now some smart investors are backing emerging market startups with similar models, huge addressable markets, and much less competition.
As high-tech ventures spread across the planet, Michael Friedman and Jor Law have discovered huge opportunities backing startups with similar business models to the giants except that they’re in emerging and frontier markets like Africa, Pakistan, and Morocco.
Imagine investing in a place that’s starting to adopt the smartphone but you already know what the smartphone revolution can bring.
Michael and Jor from Reflect Ventures are our guest for this episode of the Angel Nest Podcast. Learn more about their firm at reflectventures.com.
And, be sure to catch up on past episodes by visiting TheAngelNest.com.
We know the future of cars and trucks is electric, but what happens with all those other vehicles that are still running well?
There are 25 million half-ton pickup trucks on the road right now whose only problem is that they run on gasoline. Everyone has decided that, to save the planet, transportation vehicles need to go electric. But sending 25 million vehicles to the junkyard doesn’t seem very environmentally friendly or economical (especially for their owners).
Today, we meet Tom Storey and his EV startup Conversion Centers which aims to repurpose those gas-guzzling vehicles for a fraction of what they would cost to replace.
Listen to this episode and catch up on any you've missed at TheAngelNest.com.
It stands to reason that entrepreneurs with military backgrounds have many of the same qualities investors look for in founders. And yet, they are 30% less likely to find venture capital.
In this episode of the Angel Nest podcast, we welcome Darren Burrell, of Veteran Ventures Capital. Darren served in the U.S. Air Force which gave him discipline, focus and mental agility – all skills he would later use to succeed in business. His fund, Veteran Ventures, invests exclusively in entrepreneurs with military background. That’s not only to support those that served but also because they have unique domain expertise. And, because Darren knows why veterans are a good bet.
Bill Reny, an U.S. Air Force vet and founder/CEO of SEE ID, also joins us. Veteran Ventured backed his company which provides real-time IOT asset tracking to government and private sector clients. Thanks in part to that funding and mentorship, SEE ID is seeing explosive growth.
We’ll discuss how SEE ID and other veteran-led companies are turning their unique experiences into new business success.
You can learn more about Veteran Ventures at https://VeteranVentures.us. And, find SEE ID online at at https://seeidinc.com.
Catch up on past episodes of the Angel Nest podcast at https://theangelnest.com.
Where do prudent investors turn in uncertain times? The team at New North Ventures has found a niche leveraging their industry and national security connections to advance technologies that can serve both. They provide capital and connections to companies with proven technologies that are ready for new markets.
New North's "sweet spot" is AI, Cybersecurity and next generation communications.
New North Ventures partners Jeremy Hitchcock and Brett Davis join us for a conversation on the Angel Nest along with Steven Witt of Anno AI, a New North Ventures portfolio company. Anno uses AI to leverage data generated by sensors - taking the value of that data to a whole new level
Learn more about New North Ventures at newnorthventures.com. And, find more about Anno AI at anno.ai.
Finally, be sure to check out theangelnest.com for additional episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors.
Where do you find a good lawyer? And, if you’re a lawyer, where do you find clients if you’re not part of a big firm? Many consumers are intimated when choosing a lawyer and price sensitive to the large law firms which often have to charge big fees.
Enter Xira, a platform designed to connect independent lawyers and clients. Xira seems to be well-positioned for this current moment. After the Covid pandemic, more clients seem to be willing to work online and more lawyers are looking to be independent, making this a potentially great time for Xira to grow.
In this episode, we speak with company founder Reza Ghaffari and one of his first investors Bob Leggett, who envisions a future for Xira well beyond just the current platform. We’ll also hear from attorney Joseph Semartino who has used the platform to help grow his practice.
Learn more about Xira at https://xira.com.
And check out theangelnest.com for additional episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors.
Aerogami helps companies access today’s “mobile” customers with tools like their Digidoc platform. The app allows traditional insurance companies, for instance, to quickly go mobile in order to appeal to younger consumers who use their phones for absolutely everything.
Companies use Digidoc to translate their material to easily accessible digital files without coding, saving time and money. Consumers can then access all those important documents like insurance policies and contact info right on their home screen whenever needed.
On this issue of the Angel Nest podcast, we talk with Aerogami president Bradley Adams and customer Ariel Wiley from On Call International which uses the app to serve college clients around the world.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
Marketing Your StartUp?
Nick Cianfaglione gives a preview of his free event April 28 at Venture Cafe Providence on how to market at every stage of the startup and program manager Reilly Kons talks about meeting investors at Venture Cafe.
Learn more and reserve your spot at VentureCafeProvidence.org
Find more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors at theangelnest.com.
There’s a new way to get in on the cryptocurrency investing craze and it is as easy as shopping.
The Roundly X app gives small savers access to cryptocurrencies by letting them round up their purchases and applying that amount to their choice of more than 70 crypto assets. The app maker says rounding up by about $12.50 a week could yield investors over $8,100 in value for the year.
The company is quickly growing their user base and already rounding up about $12,000 a day. Co-founder Andrew Elliot ascribes much of the company’s success to a unique partnership with angel investor Steve Walsh, known as the “hands-on angel” investor. The two discuss micro-transactions and crypto with David on this episode of the Angel Nest podcast.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
Bikes and scooters are no longer just for fun. They’ve gained ground as an everyday form of transportation. And now they have their own crowdsourced GPS app to help riders find the right routes. Think Waze for bikes and scooters. It’s called Pointz and it’s the brainchild of two entrepreneurs from Brown University.
Pointz hopes to tap into an avid micro-mobility community sprouting up in connected cities around America. The app’s sophisticated mapping algorithms combine with local user input to rank routes from “Dangerous for Bikes” to “Most Bike-Friendly.”
Company founders Maggie Bachenberg (CEO) and Trisha Ballakur (CTO) and their first investor, Tom Sperry of Rogue Venture Partners join host David Hemenway in this edition of the Angel Nest podcast.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
Some of the best places to find start-up companies to invest in are not in New York, London or Silicon Valley. Savvy investors are increasingly looking for their next opportunities in underserved markets like Providence, RI, where a new tech ecosystem is already showing promising signs.
RIHub is a not-for-profit incubator for technology startups. The government-funded program provides mentoring, educational programs, access to a shared workspace and networking opportunities to connect investors and entrepreneurs.
Annette Tonti, managing director of RIHub tells us why it’s RI’s turn to shine in tech innovation. She’s joined by entrepreneurs Trisha Ballakur and Maggie Bachenberg, co-founders of Points. The two are recent graduates of the RIHub experience and found their first investor through the program, Tom Sperry of Rouge Venture Partners, who also joins us. Sperry’s company finds great startups in less saturated markets where access to capital is often less and valuations more down-to-earth.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
RiskRobot helps banks make lending decisions and risk assessments more quickly and easily. The software from Spin Analytics provides process automation for all the tasks of credit model development, including data cleansing and database integration, model development, validation and documentation. It also creates an uniform platform for all modelling projects so that files, data, code, and decisions are stored consistently. This makes it easier for management, senior, and credit risk experts to review the decisions made and allows one analyst to easily and quickly take over a project begun by another.
Founder and CEO Panos Skliamis sits down with the Angel Nest to discuss the revolutionary fintech software.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
Trucking owner operators who haul freight around the country can now manage more of their routine reporting and bookkeeping from the road so they can spend less time doing paperwork when they get home. The Smart Trucker App allows owner-operators and small trucking fleets the ability to scan, email, invoice, and organize their business. And the market potential is huge with nearly 800,000 private carriers in the U.S. The app is already available for Apple and Android phones and tablets.
Company president Jaswinder Singh and Izzy Lozada, investor, coach, and CEO of Fidelity Equity Partners talk with the Angel Nest about the app and plans for growth.
Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.
In this episode, we get an update from BrandVerge. It’s been a very busy year for the company since we met them in Episode 3.
Founders Lynn Browne and Mollie Kehoe and BrandVerge advisor Scott Schiller from the Engine Group talk about the start-up’s growth and some of the lessons learned along the way toward profitability.
ALPE is an audio platform that is doing for academic and professional courses what Audible has done for books and podcasts. It’s no secret that audio is exploding as a bigger part of people’s everyday lives. ALPE is capitalizing on that trend by providing complete college-level courses in an audio format, perfect for learning on the go. Professors come from well known schools like CUNY, Fordham and Imperial College. And, they offer content on a wide range of topics, including finance, product marketing, and how to start a new venture.
ALPE founder Yehoshua Zlotogorski and the company’s first outside investor Jeremy Pressman talk about how learning is changing and what that means for audio learning via ALPE.
Get more episodes and info at theangelnest.com.
Startups often lack the experience to avoid preventable mistakes. The angel investor Invest413 is turning passive investing on its head in favor of a closer partnerships with entrepreneurs. The firm’s advisors coach new entrepreneurs, help them make critical connections and advise on a host of issues as the new companies scale to their first $10 million. Founder and general partner Paul Silva says the model benefits both parties and often leads to funding decisions within just 7 days!
We are sending more satellites and gear into space than ever before (there will even be missions to collect old space junk!) and RocketStar has the technology to make that practical and affordable with fully reusable rockets. With advisors from NASA, Co-Founder Christopher Craddock says that the advancement of 3D printing has allowed Rocket Star to reinvigorate the potential of a nearly 60-year-old concept in rocket design called the aero spike.
Mobile Ads is tapping into the gig economy to create a new kind of out of home advertising-Ride-share vehicles and scooters wrapped with promotional messages-for American Express, T Mobile, Amazon and other blue chip advertisers.
BrandVerge is a digital marketing service that is swiftly shifting the media partnership ecosystem. As the first two-sided marketplace for premium advertisers, BrandVerge acts as a matchmaking platform that connects media properties and advertisers to significantly cut the time of the traditional partnership process, increase transparency and creativity, and provide the best experiences for their clients.
UBERDOC is an online marketplace to connect patients with their choice of direct-pay doctors for high-quality, specialty care for a single, transparent price. They believe that when patients are free to choose their doctor, it puts the control back where it belongs, and no patient should ever have to be denied access to the care they need because of insurance restrictions or cost.
Take innovative fast style Asian cuisine and place it in a college town hungry for options outside the dining hall, and success is on the menu! Combinico has already attracted a loyal following in their home market of St. Andrews Scotland, but they now have ambitious expansion plans to grow within the UK and Europe, and eventually the US. Co founder Juno Lee and angel investor Alex Rowe talk about the how Combinico started, and where they go from here.