Gene Valentino was the founding President of CellularOne, a pioneering visionary of the online payment industry, is a serial entrepreneur, VC, investor, local government leader, major motion picture award-winning executive producer, race car driver, recreational pilot, Dive Master, Adjunct Professor at Pensacola State College, has interests in real estate, hospitality industry, and life sciences.

Gene has over 8 years of public service. He was up close and personal as County Commissioner with the citizens in his precincts within his county. Several times each week, Gene had his “Coffee with the Commissioner” sessions at various coffee shops throughout the County, unlike most other elected officials.

Gene wrote the first economic development incentive ordinance of the law, providing incentives for business. The focus was on jobs. He traveled to Farnborough, England, Paris, and Berlin to meet world-class businesses to identify their needs and to lobby for their interest in bringing their businesses to the Panhandle of Florida.

Gene is a ‘rags to riches' story. His life is filled with designing, creating, developing, operating, and growing innovative enterprises through life stories of trials and tribulations.

In this episode, he shares an investor and VCs perspective on how we can identify business opportunities to invest for profitable short-term exits. Insights he shares include:

• How to identify business opportunities to invest in
• What some companies don't realize in their quest to grow fast
• How to identify business opportunities via research and analysis
• Examples of businesses that Gene has invested in and how he went about it
• The trust signals Gene looks for in a potential business investment
• Why Gene examines the context of the marketplace for a business investment
• How to decide whether to invest for the long term or short term
• and much much more ...