Ep 05: Getting funded – How to work with Angel Investors with David Friedman

PodcastEp 05: Getting funded – How to work with Angel Investors with David Friedman

Ep 05: Getting funded – How to work with Angel Investors with David Friedman

The Savvy Founder interviews David Friedman, the current President of Tech Coast Angels of Orange County. David provides insights on the following topics:

  • What are angel investors?
  • When to approach an angel?
  • What does it mean to be investable?
  • What does it mean to be coachable?
  • What and who is Tech Coast Angels?
  • How many pitch decks do you review a year?
  • What are the odds of getting funding?
  • What is a good elevator pitch?
  • What’s a good story?
  • How do you decide what to invest in?
  • What advice would you give yourself?
  • How do you meet an angel investor?

About the Guest:

David Friedman is a tech-savvy marketing and operations executive with more than 30 years’ expertise in bringing to market new technology. He plays at the intersection of technology and the customer; his real love is innovation and commercializing technology to meet the needs of customers.  A member of the TechCoastAngels of Orange County since 2009, he serves as President, TechCoastAngels, Orange County and is currently Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors of TCA .  He is also a senior consultant with the Small Business Development Lead Center and founder and managing partner of C-Level Partners, a business advisory which focuses on helping companies grow their top line revenue.

During his career he has introduced more than $1.5 billion in new products. In his corporate career, he has helped companies build top line revenue growth and EBITDA while mentoring the next generation of business leaders. David has been executive vice president and Chief Marketing Officer for ATX Group (now Sirius Connected Car) which provides telematics and information services to automobile manufacturers. Previously, he was Vice President, Marketing and Direct Sales at Connexion by Boeing, and commercialized the first Wi-Fi services available to passengers onboard commercial airplanes. He also held executive positions with US Cellular, Covia Technologies, Ameritech Services and RCA. 

Friedman holds an MBA (economics) from George Washington University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (summa cum laude) from City College of New York.

Personal Links

https://www.streetsavvymarketing.wordpress.com

https://www.www.linkedin.com/in/davidfriedman

Resource Links

https://www.techcoastangels.com/tca-orange-county/

About the Host:

Philip Topham is The Savvy Founder and Armchair sociologist. Philip has an inquisitive mind and passion for ideas. He’s impatient to see tomorrow’s today. He focuses on helping technical founders unlock their pragmatic dreamer and develop their business skills and social capital with The Savvy Founder framework.   

With more than 25 years across startups and corporate roles, Philip has been everything from janitor to the Founder and Chief Everything Officer. His earliest career was as a network engineer bringing companies into the Internet age. He’s served as the Head of Information Technology (Divisional CIO) as well as startup Chief Technology Officer, building software and solving problems others said couldn’t be solved.

Philip has experienced what happens when a traditional company gets $20M venture capital infusion to become the next big thing. He has also experienced building a business without venture backing. He built a business from zero to profitability, selling more than $5M to big pharma and changed the way the pharmaceutical industry operates. He knows what it means to raise money for your startup, only to have it stop as a key founder steps out of the picture.  He currently is an advisor for a global AI (artificial intelligence) clinical care management system startup. 

Among his many accomplishments, Philip, is an armchair sociologist with peer-review publications in social network analysis and machine learning. He holds a BS Biological Sciences from UC Irvine and an MBA from Pepperdine University. When not working, he can be found playing billiards, woodworking, travelling or socializing with friends and family.

Words of Wisdom

  • Ideas are worthless; revenues are priceless; surround yourself with smart people.
  • Life is a journey – mole hills or mountains? it’s your choice.

Connect with Philip at:

E-mail – philip@thesavvyfounder.com

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/philiptopham

Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/thesavvyfounder

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thesavvyfounder

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thesavvyfounder

Website – https://philiptopham.com

Clubhouse – @thesavvyfounder

10 Most Fixable Pitch Deck Mistakes – https://www.thesavvyfounder.com

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