The Syndicate

Mike Selden (@mikeseldenFF) is co-founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a food startup that uses cutting-edge cellular-agriculture technologies to grow marine-animal cells, creating fish and seafood products enjoyed around the world. They are working toward a sci-fi, soon-here world where everyone has access to healthy, delectable seafood, without the environmental devastation or the health hazards of traditional fishing and aquatic farming.

Mike has a background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he is dedicated to climate justice and science advocacy. Before co-founding Finless Foods, he was working at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in high-throughput cancer screening.

 

 

In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including:

* The clean meat revolution and end of animal agriculture

* How Mike’s company Finless Foods is growing fish in a laboratory

* The exciting science of foodtech

* Why people need to embrace GMOs

* How agriculture is increasingly driving climate change

* Why we aren’t far off from growing usable human organs

* How hard it is to fund traditional deep tech

* Why we are entering a foodtech revolution

* How human’s will eat and thrive in space

* Why we need to start pricing pollution into our products

Like this? Be sure to jump over to FringeFM or subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher

Mike Selden (@mikeseldenFF) is co-founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a food startup that uses cutting-edge cellular-agriculture technologies to grow marine-animal cells, creating fish and seafood products enjoyed around the world. They are working toward a sci-fi, soon-here world where everyone has access to healthy, delectable seafood, without the environmental devastation or the health hazards of traditional fishing and aquatic farming.

Mike has a background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, he is dedicated to climate justice and science advocacy. Before co-founding Finless Foods, he was working at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in high-throughput cancer screening.

 

 

In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover many things, including:

* The clean meat revolution and end of animal agriculture

* How Mike’s company Finless Foods is growing fish in a laboratory

* The exciting science of foodtech

* Why people need to embrace GMOs

* How agriculture is increasingly driving climate change

* Why we aren’t far off from growing usable human organs

* How hard it is to fund traditional deep tech

* Why we are entering a foodtech revolution

* How human’s will eat and thrive in space

* Why we need to start pricing pollution into our products

Like this? Be sure to jump over to FringeFM or subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher

Jeffrey Donenfeld is an international business strategy advisor, investment manager, and startup venture mentor with experience in tech ideation, investment analysis and market positioning. Jeffrey is currently the Investment Manager of Boomtown Accelerators, and Director of Four North Media Group.

He has been instrumental in raising and managing multi-millions in private equity, seasoned working with sector-leading technology and lifestyle brands, and successful in guiding teams and companies to profitable growth.

Listen and Learn:

* The challenge many Eastern European and Russian startups have with raising money

* Why the US government sent Jeffrey to Russia on a knowledge exchange

* How accelerators can attract foreign startups

* Why taking VC money isn’t always the right move

* How Jeffrey thinks about different industries and emerging trends

* The reason vertical accelerators are thriving

* How cannabis is capturing Colorado

Jeffrey’s Projects:

boomtownaccelerator.com

Jeffrey’s LinkedIn

jeffreydonenfeld.com

Twitter: @jeffzilla

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Like this? You will love our new podcast: FringeFM which explores edges of human understanding and sci-fi tech: Subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher.

Jeffrey Donenfeld is an international business strategy advisor, investment manager, and startup venture mentor with experience in tech ideation, investment analysis and market positioning. Jeffrey is currently the Investment Manager of Boomtown Accelerators, and Director of Four North Media Group.

He has been instrumental in raising and managing multi-millions in private equity, seasoned working with sector-leading technology and lifestyle brands, and successful in guiding teams and companies to profitable growth.

Listen and Learn:

* The challenge many Eastern European and Russian startups have with raising money

* Why the US government sent Jeffrey to Russia on a knowledge exchange

* How accelerators can attract foreign startups

* Why taking VC money isn’t always the right move

* How Jeffrey thinks about different industries and emerging trends

* The reason vertical accelerators are thriving

* How cannabis is capturing Colorado

Jeffrey’s Projects:

boomtownaccelerator.com

Jeffrey’s LinkedIn

jeffreydonenfeld.com

Twitter: @jeffzilla

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Like this? You will love our new podcast: FringeFM which explores edges of human understanding and sci-fi tech: Subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher.

Mary Jo is a Board Director of the National Association of Corporate Directors and a Senior Advisor at BDC and CEO of Healthcare Angels. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an active angel investor with the San Francisco Chapter of Keiretsu Forum.

She has been actively involved in the healthcare sector for 30 years. Having sold a company to McGraw Hill, she has started and exited a number of organizations. In addition, she has been an active investor in early stage innovators in health care, and has been on a number of boards including CHW/Dignity, CHI, CHRISTUS, ocular Sciences, the UC School of Public Health, 7 non profits! And 3 private companies. She is especially involved with health systems, physician groups, and payers who are migrating to next generation delivery approaches, using technology, evidence-based practices, and actionable data systems to improve access and quality of care nationally as well as globally.

Listen and Learn:

* How healthcare crisis could turn the US into a 3rd world country

* Why the US healthcare system is so broken and how we can fix it

* Why selling your business isn’t always what you expected

* How Mary Jo invested in one of the top hair salons in the US

* The reason education is also incredibly inefficient in America

* How Amazon and private businesses can push better healthcare

* Why the government isn’t the only answer to US health crisis

* How the venture/startup ecosystem has evolved for women

* Why Mary Jo thinks women need to work harder to enter the industry

Mary Jo’s Projects:

Mary Jo’s LinkedIn

HealthcareAngels.com

Keiretsu Capital

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Mary Jo is a Board Director of the National Association of Corporate Directors and a Senior Advisor at BDC and CEO of Healthcare Angels. She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an active angel investor with the San Francisco Chapter of Keiretsu Forum.

She has been actively involved in the healthcare sector for 30 years. Having sold a company to McGraw Hill, she has started and exited a number of organizations. In addition, she has been an active investor in early stage innovators in health care, and has been on a number of boards including CHW/Dignity, CHI, CHRISTUS, ocular Sciences, the UC School of Public Health, 7 non profits! And 3 private companies. She is especially involved with health systems, physician groups, and payers who are migrating to next generation delivery approaches, using technology, evidence-based practices, and actionable data systems to improve access and quality of care nationally as well as globally.

Listen and Learn:

* How healthcare crisis could turn the US into a 3rd world country

* Why the US healthcare system is so broken and how we can fix it

* Why selling your business isn’t always what you expected

* How Mary Jo invested in one of the top hair salons in the US

* The reason education is also incredibly inefficient in America

* How Amazon and private businesses can push better healthcare

* Why the government isn’t the only answer to US health crisis

* How the venture/startup ecosystem has evolved for women

* Why Mary Jo thinks women need to work harder to enter the industry

Mary Jo’s Projects:

Mary Jo’s LinkedIn

HealthcareAngels.com

Daniel Curran an Angel/Advisor/Mentor to over 115+ Startups including Cruise Automation and DollarShave Unicorns and runs an Angellist syndicate with over $170M in exits and IPOs. He’s a serial founder, currently building CustEx, previously was VP/COO @ Western Digital.

Listen and Learn:

* The differences between the dotcom days and blockchains today

* How Dan leverages investing platforms to increase deal flow

* Why angel investing is all about your network

* The way Dan evaluates deals incredibly quickly

* How Daniel hit multiple unicorns: 4+ without always meeting founders

* Why traction trumps everything else

* The reason Daniel is bullish on biotech and longevity

* How Elon Musk has transformed the world of tech

* The societal issues angels and VCs never talk about

Daniel’s Projects:

Daniel’s LinkedIn

Daniel’s Angellist profile

Daniel’s Angellist syndicate

Daniel’s Twitter: @custex

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Daniel Curran an Angel/Advisor/Mentor to over 115+ Startups including Cruise Automation and DollarShave Unicorns and runs an Angellist syndicate with over $170M in exits and IPOs. He’s a serial founder, currently building CustEx, previously was VP/COO @ Western Digital.

Listen and Learn:

* The differences between the dotcom days and blockchains today

* How Dan leverages investing platforms to increase deal flow

* Why angel investing is all about your network

* The way Dan evaluates deals incredibly quickly

* How Daniel hit multiple unicorns: 4+ without always meeting founders

* Why traction trumps everything else

* The reason Daniel is bullish on biotech and longevity

* How Elon Musk has transformed the world of tech

* The societal issues angels and VCs never talk about

Daniel’s Projects:

Daniel’s LinkedIn

Daniel’s Angellist profile

Daniel’s Angellist syndicate

Daniel’s Twitter: @custex

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Are you interested in the future of blockchain, cryptocurrency and token offerings?

Panelists:

Tim Draper

Tim Draper is the founding partner of Draper Associates and DFJ and widely recognized as one of the most prominent venture capital and entrepreneurial leaders in the world. He was listed as #46 of the most outstanding Harvard University alumni, #7 on the Forbes Midas List among other awards. Tim has been an outspoken proponent of Bitcoin and blockchain and is regarded as one of the first VCs in the space.

Jimmy Song

Jimmy started in Bitcoin Development in 2013 and has worked on numerous Bitcoin projects such as Bitcoin Core, btcd, Armory, pycoin and colored coins. He is now a venture partner Blockchain Capital (a leading crypto fund) and has served as a developer and programmer at more than a dozen start-ups. Most recently, he served as principal architect at Paxos and vice president of engineering at Amory Technologies, where he managed the development of enterprise-level Bitcoin wallet software. Jimmy is also the editor and author of popular blog, Bitcoin Tech Talk and YouTube Off Chain with Jimmy Song runs a seminar 

Pascal is Fastrack’s Executive Director and Singularity University’s Chair for Entrepreneurship & Open Innovation. He focuses on helping change makers tackle the most intractable problems of our times.

He got started on the net before there was a web browser, founded a series of technology startups, led eBay’s Platform Solutions Group in Europe, launched a consulting firm helping entrepreneurs with their strategy & operations, invested into early-stage tech startups, led Mozilla’s Innovation Lab, created Mozilla’s accelerator program WebFWD, headed up Mozilla’s Office of the Chair and has invested into social impact organizations around the globe at Google.org. Further he founded the nonprofit organizations Mentor for Good and The Coaching Fellowship; the “GyShiDo” (Get Your S%#& Done) movement and publishes the opinionated newsletter, “The Heretic”, which is read by ten of thousands of change-makers globally. Recently he published “The Heretic – Daily Therapeutics for Entrepreneurs” book.

Listen and Learn:

* How Pascal thinks about AI and the future of intelligence

* The exciting space technology that no one is talking about

* What happens to nation-states when humanity goes interplanetary

* How and when genetic engineering will start to impact society

* Why synthetic biology may in fact be the most exciting industry of our generation

* How tariffs and NAFTA could affect investment in Canadian startups

* Why traditional venture capital sucks for true moonshot businesses

* Why Pascal is doubtful of a Skynet situation

* Is China’s totalitarian regime a better system

Pascal’s Projects:

finette.com

Singularity University

Pascal’s LinkedIn

Pascal’s Angellist profile

Pascal’s Twitter: @pfinette

SingularityU’s Twitter: @singularityu

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Pascal is Fastrack’s Executive Director and Singularity University’s Chair for Entrepreneurship & Open Innovation. He focuses on helping change makers tackle the most intractable problems of our times.

He got started on the net before there was a web browser, founded a series of technology startups, led eBay’s Platform Solutions Group in Europe, launched a consulting firm helping entrepreneurs with their strategy & operations, invested into early-stage tech startups, led Mozilla’s Innovation Lab, created Mozilla’s accelerator program WebFWD, headed up Mozilla’s Office of the Chair and has invested into social impact organizations around the globe at Google.org. Further he founded the nonprofit organizations Mentor for Good and The Coaching Fellowship; the “GyShiDo” (Get Your S%#& Done) movement and publishes the opinionated newsletter, “The Heretic”, which is read by ten of thousands of change-makers globally. Recently he published “The Heretic – Daily Therapeutics for Entrepreneurs” book.

Listen and Learn:

Lee Jacobs is a Managing Partner at Edelweiss VC, a mentor at 500 Startups and an incredibly accomplished investor with investments in the likes of Checkr, Numerai, Shyp, Managed by Q and Blue Bottle Coffee. Prior to that he built Angellist’s syndicate investor program, founded several startups, worked for a few funds and also did a stint in real estate investing.

Listen and Learn:

* How Lee made a massive investment in a Brazilian edtech company

* What Lee did wrong with his first VC fund

* Why generalist investors do better

* What were the early days of Angellist like

* How to invest in edtech

* The way Lee looks at every investment opportunity

* How Lee looks at foreign investing

* Why operator VCs are great to have

* Thoughts on the evolution of tech investing

Lee’s Projects:

Lee’s Angellist profile

Edelweiss’ Angellist syndicate

edelweiss.vc

Lee’s Twitter: @leejacobs

Lee Jacobs is a Managing Partner at Edelweiss VC, a mentor at 500 Startups and an incredibly accomplished investor with investments in the likes of Checkr, Numerai, Shyp, Managed by Q and Blue Bottle Coffee. Prior to that he built Angellist’s syndicate investor program, founded several startups, worked for a few funds and also did a stint in real estate investing.

Listen and Learn:

* How Lee made a massive investment in a Brazilian edtech company

* What Lee did wrong with his first VC fund

* Why generalist investors do better

* What were the early days of Angellist like

* How to invest in edtech

* The way Lee looks at every investment opportunity

* How Lee looks at foreign investing

* Why operator VCs are great to have

* Thoughts on the evolution of tech investing

Lee’s Projects:

Lee’s Angellist profile

Edelweiss’ Angellist syndicate

edelweiss.vc

Lee’s Twitter: @leejacobs

David Friedman is entrepreneur, Managing Partner at Panther Capital, mentor and financial professional with 25 years experience in building, managing and growing closely held businesses, managing investment assets and investment strategies. He has been involved in Venture Capital, Private Equity and direct investment opportunities across multiple industries and disciplines. His current fund is only investing in the cannabis space.

Listen and Learn:

* The pros and cons of working for a family office

* How David expanded into venture capital and private equity

* The dynamics of an operational VC and why David likes it

* Why David jumped out of tech investing and into cannabis

* The risk of cannabis and recent developments in the industry

* How to time a gold rush

* Why cannabis will be a top 5 market in 10 years

* The reason institutional money is slowly seeping into cannabis

* Challenges with liquidity and exits

David’s Projects:

David’s LinkedIn

Daivd’s Twitter: @CFOworldwide

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

David Friedman is entrepreneur, Managing Partner at Panther Capital, mentor and financial professional with 25 years experience in building, managing and growing closely held businesses, managing investment assets and investment strategies. He has been involved in Venture Capital, Private Equity and direct investment opportunities across multiple industries and disciplines. His current fund is only investing in the cannabis space.

Listen and Learn:

* The pros and cons of working for a family office

* How David expanded into venture capital and private equity

* The dynamics of an operational VC and why David likes it

* Why David jumped out of tech investing and into cannabis

* The risk of cannabis and recent developments in the industry

* How to time a gold rush

* Why cannabis will be a top 5 market in 10 years

* The reason institutional money is slowly seeping into cannabis

* Challenges with liquidity and exits

David’s Projects:

David’s LinkedIn

Daivd’s Twitter: @CFOworldwide

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Nic Wetzler is the Director of Augment Ventures, an early stage VC focused Software, Smart Hardware, and Physical Science Innovations that impact the way we work and live. He also spent time as an EIR and Mentor in Residence local universities and incubators in the Detroit area.

Listen and Learn:

* How Michigan has transformed since the crash

* How complexity can help founders and VCs

* Why automanufacturers are buying up autonomous startups left and right

* How Nic engineered an opportunity for an MBA and VC career

* The best way to evaluate deep tech investments

* How tariffs and NAFTA could affect investment in Canadian startups

* What VCs need to know about balancing funding and scouting

* Why driverless is both overhyped and underhyped

* Is the Midwest large enough for a geo focused venture fund?

* The importance of opportunism in venture

Nic’s Projects:

augmentventures.com

Nic’s LinkedIn

Nic’s Angellist profile

Nic’s Twitter: @nicwetzler

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Nic Wetzler is the Director of Augment Ventures, an early stage VC focused Software, Smart Hardware, and Physical Science Innovations that impact the way we work and live. He also spent time as an EIR and Mentor in Residence local universities and incubators in the Detroit area.

Listen and Learn:

* How Michigan has transformed since the crash

* How complexity can help founders and VCs

* Why automanufacturers are buying up autonomous startups left and right

* How Nic engineered an opportunity for an MBA and VC career

* The best way to evaluate deep tech investments

* How tariffs and NAFTA could affect investment in Canadian startups

* What VCs need to know about balancing funding and scouting

* Why driverless is both overhyped and underhyped

* Is the Midwest large enough for a geo focused venture fund?

* The importance of opportunism in venture

Nic’s Projects:

augmentventures.com

Nic’s LinkedIn

Nic’s Angellist profile

Nic’s Twitter: @nicwetzler

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Varun Jain currently leads Qualcomm Ventures’ global early-stage fund, focused on Seed and Series A opportunities. This fund has scaled to $100M+ AUM and 75+ global investments, which include winners such as Cruise Automation (acquired by GM), 99 (acquired by Didi) and Zoom. He also serves the global lead for the fund’s investments in the automotive sector. In 2017 and 2018, Varun was recognized as one among the top 20 Rising Stars in the corporate venture industry by Global Corporate Venturing. 

Qualcomm Ventures is one of the leading corporate venture funds in the world with 200+ active investments and numerous exits, including 8 billion dollar plus outcomes in last 7 years.

Listen and Learn:

* The challenges of being a corporate VC (and the benefits)

* How autonomous vehicles and transport changes will affect everyday life

* Why Varun is big on IoT but not industrial

* The unconventional way Varun invested in a unicorn

* How Varun views crypto

* Why AI is overhyped and drones are coming back in style

* Why North America is still the best location for startup investing

* How investing differs across regions and how to make it work

Varun’s Projects:

Qualcomm Ventures

Varun’s LinkedIn

Varun’s Angellist profile

Varun’s Twitter: @jvarun83

Are you an accredited investor? Apply to join our angel syndicate if you’d like to access our deal flow.

Recently joined Corl – we’re funding startups and SMBs with no equity dilution – find out more!

Varun Jain currently leads Qualcomm Ventures’ global early-stage fund, focused on Seed and Series A opportunities. This fund has scaled to $100M+ AUM and 75+ global investments, which include winners such as Cruise Automation (acquired by GM), 99 (acquired by Didi) and Zoom. He also serves the global lead for the fund’s investments in the automotive sector. In 2017 and 2018, Varun was recognized as one among the top 20 Rising Stars in the corporate venture industry by Global Corporate Venturing. 

Qualcomm Ventures is one of the leading corporate venture funds in the world with 200+ active investments and numerous exits, including 8 billion dollar plus outcomes in last 7 years.

Listen and Learn:

* The challenges of being a corporate VC (and the benefits)

* How autonomous vehicles and transport changes will affect everyday life

* Why Varun is big on IoT but not industrial

* The unconventional way Varun invested in a unicorn

* How Varun views crypto

* Why AI is overhyped and drones are coming back in style

* Why North America is still the best location for startup investing

* How investing differs across regions and how to make it work

Varun’s Projects:

Qualcomm Ventures

Varun’s LinkedIn

Varun’s Angellist profile

Varun’s Twitter: @jvarun83