The Diligent Observer Podcast

Alden Zecha is the Managing Director at SideCar Angels and serves on the Board of the Angel Capital Association . He has invested in over 80 startups, two of which have become unicorns valued at over $1 billion.  Alden has founded multiple enterprises and previously worked in various roles in government, academia, and private industry. He has spoken at the White House on entrepreneurship, serves a...

Igor Belagorudsky builds, advises and scales startups. From a germ of an idea through seed, VC rounds, strategic partnerships and anything that comes next. Sometimes, he invests in them too. He helps entrepreneurs make good decisions about product, team, processes and everything in between. As a CTO, Igor is a confident full stack enterprise architect in several technology ecosystems. As a leader,...

Juan “Sebastian” Garzon serves as the Executive Director of Alamo Angels , the largest angel network in Texas. In his role, he facilitates access to capital via angel investing to companies across the U.S. and Latin America. Through his strategic guidance, Alamo Angels has invested in over 50 companies to date. Sebastian's exceptional acumen and dedication have been recognized by industry pee...

Brook Stroud is a Senior Principal at Alumni Ventures, where he applies his passion for early-stage investing, drawing from his experience as both an entrepreneur and investor. He founded and successfully exited two consumer startups: La Matera , a fashion brand, and Somerset, a beverage company. Prior to Alumni Ventures, Brook worked at Brand Foundry Ventures , focusing on early-stage investments...

Patrick Farrell founded Potomac Angel Capital in early 2022 to bring like-minded angel investors together in the D.C. area to invest in mission-driven, early-stage entrepreneurs for mutual financial benefit, lasting impact, and meaningful relationship. As the Executive Director, Patrick is intimately involved in sourcing deals, hosting events, leading diligence, and serving as a trusted advisor to...

Phil Jung is a Partner at Sovereign’s Capital where he invests in Seed and Series A stage technology companies led by faith-driven entrepreneurs across the U.S. and Southeast Asia. He was previously the CFO and CPO at Mindoula , a healthtech company that serves populations with complex behavioral health, medical, and social challenges. Prior, he was with the Maryland Venture Fund, Foundation Capit...

Dr. John Criscione is a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University who trains medical device engineers while simultaneously inventing, testing, and commercializing medical technologies. Dr. Criscione has been serving in this capacity for over 20 years and also serves as the CTO for CorInnova, a biomedical technology company focused on addressing Acute Heart Failure.  During ou...

Dr. Margaret Bacheler is the Director of Educational Initiatives for the Angel Capital Association, where she oversees the Ann and Bill Payne ACA Angel University program. Dr. Bacheler is passionate about inclusive economic development, facilitating opportunities for multigenerational wealth creation, and diversifying the ranks of angel investors and the founders they support. She has also been aw...

Matt Bell was born and raised in the UK, has lived on 4 continents, worked in, or visited, over 50 countries, and now calls Houston, Texas, home. His career journey has taken him from field operations to company leadership and corporate venture capital, from startup to growth stage, and on to strategy consulting, marketing, and angel investing. As co-founder of MessageUp and Strategic Piece, Matt...

Marshall Smith is a seasoned WealthTech investor and corporate development leader with over 18 years of experience in WealthTech, Fintech and SaaS. He is the Managing Director of First Rate Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of First Rate Inc, the global leader in data aggregation, performance, and reporting solutions for over 500 Wealth Managers, Family Offices and Asset Managers across...

 John Jeffers brings 32 years of energy industry expertise spanning leadership roles at ExxonMobil, Schlumberger, and Southwestern Energy to our conversation. Since 2020, he has channeled his extensive corporate experience into angel investing, startup mentorship, and co-founding Revolution Turbine Technologies, focusing on waste energy recovery and natural gas decarbonization solutions.  During o...

Geoffrey Cheng is the Investment Manager for Comcast SportsTech. Before working at Comcast SportsTech, he was lucky enough to work alongside entrepreneurs and management teams from seed stage to growth stage. He's been one of the first employees at a startup, worked at a media investment advisory firm (where he worked on deals impacting over $750M in total assets), and spent time with dozens...

John Samore III is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner with over 25 years of experience in forensic accounting, fraud investigations, and litigation. He has worked with Big 4 firms and other professional service firms, collaborating with companies across various industries. John specializes in financial, managerial, and operational due diligence for M&A transactions, inc...

Eric Alfuth is an investor and advisor with over 20 years of experience. He is the managing partner of the early-stage VC Caymont Ventures , and he serves as a board member and advisor to multiple emerging companies. He also serves as President of the Houston Angel Network , one of the largest and most active angel networks in the country. Prior to forming Caymont Eric helped launch and sell two e...

Matt Gore was a BCG consultant and startup founder with the Saturn Five Venture Studio. Along the way, he got hooked on crafting stories that help founders raise money. Now he manages OPTIO, a firm that specializes in crafting pitch decks. OPTIO pitch decks have helped founders raise over $2 Billion dollars in capital from top firms like A16Z. He is a partner in several service businesses, an ange...