The Anti-Silicon Valley Investor: How to Find Success in Early Stage Startups with David Mandel

David Mandel is an emerging tech Super-Angel Investor and managing partner of Emerging Ventures Capital. He has invested in over 500 startups. Before his current career in venture capital, Mr. Mandel built, operated, and exited 4 different successful businesses in the Insurance and Finance industries over 28 years.   [00:01 - 11:08] Getting into Early-Stage Tech InvestingDavid built, operated, and exited four different successful businesses in the insurance and finance industries over 28 yearsExiting his day job to focus on tech investingThe number one mistake angel investors make is investing in businesses not meant to be venture-backed   [15:10 - 29:32] The Anti-Silicon Valley Investor: How to Find Success in Early-Stage StartupsMany early-stage startups fail or become "zombies" after taking angel moneyThe investment thesis focuses on execution: building, selling, and finding people to pay for the productDavid’s advice to founders: build it yourself, find a co-founder, go to an accelerator programStartups outside of Silicon Valley were struggling to figure out how to raise funding and make the next Southern California has great support for life sciences, social space, e-commerce direct-to-consumer brands, and entertainment   [29:32 - 40:04] VC Sentiment in Tech InvestingValuations for tech startups have been drastically rising in the past few yearsPrivate markets lag 6-9 months behind public markets in terms of valuation resettingGood startups are still raising money from existing portfolios, but at lower valuations than a year ago.   [40:05 - 41:35] Closing Segment     Quote/s:   “You can be anywhere and apply to anybody. If you’re good, you’ll get funded.” - David Mandel   Connect with David: Email: dmandel@emerging.vc  Website: https://emerging.vc/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mandel-/?trk=public_profile_browsemap    Connect with me on LinkedIn!   LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND LEAVE US A REVIEW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or  whatever platform you listen on. Thank you for tuning in and Stay Tuned for the Next Episode COMING SOON!   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.