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  • Navigating Risks, Rewards, and Innovations in Angel Investing with Patrick Gouhin (Part Two)

    Navigating Risks, Rewards, and Innovations in Angel Investing with Patrick Gouhin (Part Two)
    2024/12/16
    In part two of this engaging conversation on The Startup Science Podcast, Greg continues his discussion with Patrick Gouhin, CEO of the Angel Capital Association (ACA). This episode dives deeper into the dynamics of angel investing, focusing on balancing risk and opportunity for both investors and entrepreneurs. Patrick emphasizes the critical role of diversification, the importance of aiming for high returns, and the necessity of aligning expectations between investors and founders.The conversation also explores the broader impact of angel investing, including economic growth and community development, supported by powerful examples like the Desert Angels’ transformative contributions. Patrick offers practical advice for emerging entrepreneurs on coachability and leveraging investor networks, while guiding new angel investors on how to navigate the ecosystem effectively.Additionally, the episode highlights key trends in startup sectors, the ACA’s initiatives to improve diversity in investment, and innovations such as syndication and standardized processes to streamline funding. Patrick concludes by envisioning a more efficient, inclusive funding model designed to fast-track capital deployment and empower entrepreneurs.This episode is packed with actionable insights and strategies for anyone interested in the startup or investment world.
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    19 分
  • Navigating Risks, Rewards, and Innovations in Angel Investing with Patrick Gouhin (Part One)

    Navigating Risks, Rewards, and Innovations in Angel Investing with Patrick Gouhin (Part One)
    2024/12/09
    In this episode of The Startup Science Podcast, Greg engages in an insightful conversation with Patrick Gouhin, CEO of the Angel Capital Association (ACA). Patrick shares his remarkable journey from aerospace engineering to leading an organization that represents over 16,000 angel investors, collectively deploying nearly $1 billion annually to fund startups. Drawing from his extensive experience, Patrick delves into the critical factors that make startups "investable," emphasizing the importance of coachable founders and strong management teams.The discussion explores the dynamic trends in angel investing, from the rise of artificial intelligence to the shifting market conditions that have reshaped valuation and deal negotiations. Patrick also highlights the ACA's pivotal role in fostering collaboration among angel groups through syndication and its advocacy efforts to promote capital formation in underserved communities. Additionally, he shares exciting developments like Angel University, a platform bridging entrepreneurs and investors, and the potential of AI to revolutionize investor education.This episode offers a wealth of insights for both entrepreneurs and investors, providing a comprehensive look at the evolving startup ecosystem and the forces shaping its future. Whether you're building a startup or exploring angel investment, Patrick's expertise and perspective make this a must-listen.
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    24 分
  • Forging the Future: EdTech, Investment, and Education Equality with Ash Kaluarachchi (Part Two)

    Forging the Future: EdTech, Investment, and Education Equality with Ash Kaluarachchi (Part Two)
    2024/09/26
    Greg continues his conversation with Ash Kaluarachchi, CEO of StartEd, diving deeper into the world of education technology. Ash offers valuable insights for both investors and entrepreneurs, emphasizing the long-term potential of EdTech and the importance of patient capital. They discuss the aftermath of the pandemic, which created both an influx of EdTech startups and a subsequent market correction, leaving behind companies "forged in steel" and poised for success. Ash shares his perspective on how technology can help underserved communities access education tailored to their needs, rather than replicating elite educational experiences. This episode provides an exploration of EdTech’s future, investment opportunities, and the role technology plays in creating a more equitable education system.

    StartEd’s EDTECH WEEK is the #1 EdTech event in NYC. This year's anniversary edition promises to be their best yet, featuring over 200+ speakers, exclusive networking opportunities, and open discussion sessions on the most talked-about topics impacting EdTech. Mark your calendars 📅 #EDTECHWEEK is back in New York City this October 8-10, 2024 🏙️🍎 Don’t miss this year’s 10th annual event. Tickets are selling fast–register here https://bit.ly/edtechweek-register and use promo code SCIENCE2024 for 20% off your general registration ticket.
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    21 分
  • Forging the Future: EdTech, Investment, and Education Equality with Ash Kaluarachchi (Part One)

    Forging the Future: EdTech, Investment, and Education Equality with Ash Kaluarachchi (Part One)
    2024/09/19
    Greg welcomes Ash Kaluarachchi, CEO of StartEd and producer of EDTECH WEEK. Ash shares how his upbringing in a school run by his mother inspired his passion for education technology. They discuss the evolution of the EdTech landscape and how StartEd's innovative accelerator model provides personalized support to startups, moving away from traditional batch processes. The conversation explores the impact of AI on education and the pressing challenges facing the industry today, including the need to adapt to the rapidly changing future of work. Ash offers valuable advice to founders on recognizing product-market fit and assembling the right team. This episode provides thought-provoking insights into the intersection of profitability and social impact within the EdTech ecosystem.


    StartEd’s EDTECH WEEK is the #1 EdTech event in NYC. This year's anniversary edition promises to be their best yet, featuring over 200+ speakers, exclusive networking opportunities, and open discussion sessions on the most talked-about topics impacting EdTech. Mark your calendars 📅 #EDTECHWEEK is back in New York City this October 8-10, 2024 🏙️🍎 Don’t miss this year’s 10th annual event. Tickets are selling fast–register here https://bit.ly/edtechweek-register and use promo code SCIENCE2024 for 20% off your general registration ticket.
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    29 分
  • The Operator Approach to Venture Capital with Chris Van Dusen (Part Two)

    The Operator Approach to Venture Capital with Chris Van Dusen (Part Two)
    2024/08/12
    In the second part of their conversation, Greg and Chris delve into insightful discussions around investing in the post-COVID era, the AI hype cycle, and how to evaluate opportunities in today's market. Chris provides a candid perspective on the valuation excesses of 2021 and why prudent valuations are critical for preserving investor capital. He shares his cautious views on the AI gold rush, emphasizing that Solyco is taking a measured approach by applying AI for operational efficiency within portfolio companies rather than betting on unproven AI platforms. The conversation transitions to how Chris's investor base of family offices, institutions, celebrities and more value the transparency and tangibility of Solyco's deal-by-deal syndicate model. Chris explains how being able to "touch and feel" the specific companies resonates better than opaque, traditional funds. As the episode closes, he expresses excitement about recent portfolio additions like an AI scouting company, as well as opportunities Solyco is evaluating in areas like alternative investment platforms and logistics. Overall, Chris provides a refreshingly balanced founder/investor perspective shaped by his embrace of the entrepreneurial struggle.
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    23 分
  • The Operator Approach to Venture Capital with Chris Van Dusen (Part One)

    The Operator Approach to Venture Capital with Chris Van Dusen (Part One)
    2024/08/05
    In this episode, Greg chats with Chris Van Dusen, a Senior Partner at Solyco Capital - a vertically integrated investment firm taking a unique private equity approach to venture capital. Chris shares his incredible entrepreneurial background, including founding and exiting several companies like a major CBD brand as well as starting a liquor distillery. Chris provides a fascinating inside look at Solyco's differentiated model where the firm's partners are former operators themselves who get deeply involved in helping portfolio companies execute and scale, almost like "fractional C-suite" services aligned with founder incentives. He discusses the range of industries they invest in, the firm's criteria for evaluating opportunities, how they structure deals, and why their interests are so tightly aligned with the founders they back. The conversation dives into hard-earned lessons from Chris's own startup experiences going through acquisition processes, navigating founder disagreements, focusing on the right verticals, and not over-promising during diligence. Chris emphasizes the importance of proving there is a real market "wind" blowing before trying to build the "boat." Overall, this is a must-listen for investors and founders alike interested in an innovative, operator-centric venture capital model.
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    33 分
  • The Philosophy of AI: Examining the Ethical Implications with David Danks (Part Two)

    The Philosophy of AI: Examining the Ethical Implications with David Danks (Part Two)
    2024/06/11
    In the second half of the episode, the conversation dives deeper into the practical applications of AI that entrepreneurs can leverage. David explains time series models for forecasting how situations evolve over time and how founders can use causal discovery techniques to identify the true drivers of outcomes rather than just correlations. They discuss the potential for AI to aid investors in evaluating startup trajectories and finding whitespace opportunities. David stresses the importance of having high-quality data to feed AI models. He advises entrepreneurs to look for repetitive tasks where desired outcomes are clear as areas ripe for applying AI capabilities. The talk also covers AI's limitations around subjective aspects requiring human context and judgment. David recommends having AI handle the routine, mundane elements while reserving higher-level decision-making for humans to get the best combination. Overall, David provides insightful guidance on practical ways founders can utilize AI technologies like time series modeling, causal analysis, and task augmentation while being intentional about which aspects to keep under human control. His advice can help entrepreneurs navigate the hype to determine the right AI applications for their businesses.
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    22 分
  • The Philosophy of AI: Examining the Ethical Implications with David Danks (Part One)

    The Philosophy of AI: Examining the Ethical Implications with David Danks (Part One)
    2024/06/04
    In this fascinating episode, Greg talks with David Danks, Professor of Data Science and Philosophy at UC San Diego. David's research explores the intersection of philosophy, cognitive science, and machine learning to tackle complex interdisciplinary problems around AI. They dive into the philosophical considerations around the rapid advancement of AI technology and its growing impact across industries. David shares his perspectives on the ethical implications of AI systems and the importance of aligning them with human values during the design process. The conversation covers how AI could reshape society by boosting productivity and enabling shorter working hours, but only if we make concerted efforts to steer it in that positive direction. David cautions about the risks of worker dislocation happening much faster with the low-cost scaling of AI compared to previous technological disruptions. They also discuss the challenges of regulating AI given the patchwork of different approaches across nations, the dangers of AI hallucinations and misinformation, and the need for open discussions around which human skills we're willing to "de-skill" as AI handles more tasks. Don't miss this insightful look at the philosophical considerations entrepreneurs must weigh when harnessing the power of artificial intelligence.
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    30 分