The Angel Next Door

In this heartfelt tribute episode, Marcia Dawood honors the iconic angel investor, Bill Payne, who passed away the week of December 20, 2023. Through a touching reflection on Bill's immense contributions to the world of angel investing, Marcia shares personal anecdotes and highlights Bill's pivotal role in shaping the landscape of angel investing. Using excerpts from an earlier episode featuring B...

In this short episode of Minutes with Marcia (Part 1 of 2), host Marcia Dawood dives into the recent data released by the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the Securities and Exchange Commission, and insights from Dr. Ron Weissman, the current chair of the ACA. The episode reflects on the significant shifts in the venture capital climate over the past two years, highlighting the challenges faced by...

In this episode, Marcia dives into the world of B Corps with guest Anne Chambers. The episode begins with a question that sparks curiosity: Are B Corps the future of business? Anne shares her expertise as a B Corp certified entrepreneur and sheds light on the importance of these certifications in today's business landscape. Anne shares her journey from working at Procter and Gamble to starting her...

In the latest episode, Marcia welcomes guest Brittany Barreto, an expert in femtech and founder of FemHealth Insights, to discuss how femtech is revolutionizing women's health and empowering female founders to create solutions for a trillion-dollar market. Brittany Barreto is a scientist by training and a passionate advocate for women's health. With her background in molecular and human genetics,...

Is investing with Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) a complex and somewhat exclusive realm or can it be simplified and democratized? Nik Talreja, co-founder and CEO of Sydecar IO, joins Marcia Dawood on this enlightening episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast to offer some intriguing answers that challenge the norms. Nik, possessing a rich background in law and investments, has spent considerable ti...

This episode is introducing a new type of podcast episode -  Minutes with Marcia. She explains that these episodes are shorter, around four to six minutes, to cater to the overwhelming amount of content that people are exposed to nowadays. This first installment is addressing the ability to do good while also doing well. She goes on to discuss how angel investing provides an opportunity to achieve...

Have you ever wondered how difficult it is for startups to find early money? In this short episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, host Marcia Dawood demystifies the friends and family round, shedding light on the challenges and potential solutions for entrepreneurs seeking funding at the very beginning stages of their journey. The episode is divided into three parts: raising from friends and fami...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to successfully raise funds for a startup? In this thought-provoking episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, host Marcia Dawood sits down with Colin Gardiner, an operator in residence at Techstars and a seasoned investor with a track record of raising over $200 million. Colin shares his journey into the world of angel investing, starting with his parents' entre...

How can entrepreneurs tap into their creativity to become more well-rounded and successful? In this episode, Marcia sits down with Susie deVille, speaker, author and Founder & CEO of the Innovative & Creativity Institute. Building a business is hard work and Covid certainly didn’t make things easier; deVille offers insights on how to navigate uncertainty, make bold decisions, and build self-trust....

Have you ever wondered what drives the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in a city? Especially a city in the middle of the country? Well, in this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, we dive into the world of entrepreneurship in Columbus, Ohio, and explore how the city has become a hub for startups and angel investing with guest Parker MacDonell.   In this episode, we learn about his involv...

Why does gender bias persist in fundraising, preventing many deserving entrepreneurs from accessing the funding they need? In this episode Marcia is joined by founder and angel investor, Allison Byers. They discuss the need for awareness and innovation to overcome gender inequity in venture capital. Allison Byers, a two-time founder and experienced operator in tech companies, shares her journey fr...

Do advisors truly add value to early-stage companies, or are they just a box to check off? In this episode, Marcia explores how to best utilize advisors and eventually a board of directors with guest Kirsten Moorefield, co-founder of Cloverleaf. Kirsten shares her insights on how to leverage advisors effectively and avoid common pitfalls. She emphasizes the importance of finding advisors who align...

Continuing the conversation from last week’s episode with Diego Mariscal about the lack of funding going to disabled entrepreneurs,  Marcia is joined by the inspiring Keely Cat-Wells to explore her own experiences in the world of entrepreneurship. Keely shares her personal journey of resilience and determination, from her dreams of becoming a professional dancer to starting a talent agency exclusi...

Have you ever wondered why entrepreneurs with disabilities are so underrepresented in the startup world? In this episode of "The Angel Next Door Podcast," host Marcia Dawood explores this thought-provoking question with her guest, Diego Mariscal.   Diego, who was born with cerebral palsy, is a passionate advocate for disability-focused entrepreneurship. As the founder of an accelerator program for...

Why do female entrepreneurs receive less funding than their male counterparts? In this solo episode, Marcia focuses in on the various factors contributing to the lack of funding for women, including biased questions during the fundraising process and the perception that women start slower-growing, less scalable businesses. She also explores the importance of diversifying the pool of investors and...

Curious about revenue-based financing? In this episode, Marcia sits down with Denise Dunlap, co-founder of Sage Growth Capital, to discuss this unique model of funding, which combines elements of both loans and equity investments. Denise shares how her experience as an angel investor led her to start Sage Growth Capital, with a focus on supporting companies that may not qualify for traditional equ...

Can revenue-based financing revolutionize the way startups raise capital and allow anyone to invest for as little as $100? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, Marcia is talking to Justin Renfro from Wefunder, who heads up the Revenue-Based Financing division. Together they explore the potential of revenue-based financing as an alternative to traditional equity funding. What is Revenue-...

Congress holds a great amount of influence on how easy it is for small businesses to raise capital.. This week on The Angel Next Door, Marcia speaks with Congressman David Kustoff, representative from the 8th congressional district of Tennessee. Marcia and the Congressman discuss his background and how he came to be a member of the House, as well as his work on the House Committee of Ways and Mean...

The mission of the SEC is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. This week on The Angel Next Door, Marcia talks with one of the five SEC Commissioners, Hester Peirce. Listeners get to hear Commissioner Peirce’s story on becoming a commissioner and her take on some hot topics in today’s investment arena.   Commissioner Peirce begins by...

Startup growth is everywhere including the middle of the country! Marcia talks with Congresswoman Ann Wagner, who represents the 2nd district of Missouri and is the highest ranking republican on all matters concerning capital markets, investor protection, and capital formation. She is the first woman to chair the House Financial Services subcommittee on Capital Markets. Congresswoman Wagner discus...

This week on The Angel Next Door, Marcia talks with modern renaissance man Mark Herschberg. From MIT educator and cybersecurity professional to startup CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and author, Mark has worn many hats throughout his professional career. Despite his expansive resume, he and Marcia focus on his time spent in the world of startups, mostly as an executive, including 2 startups he is...

In this episode of The Angel Next Door, Marcia talks with Kim Banham, a partner at Connetic Ventures. Kim and Connetic Ventures have brought a new look to VC firms by using Wendal, an AI platform that allows one to make data-driven decisions that remove all bias from investing. Kim starts off by telling us how she joined Connetic 7 years ago, with a love for funding early stage companies that coul...

This week on The Angel Next Door, Marcia sits down with fellow angel investor Dawn Batts. After years of experience in investment and pension fund management, Dawn noticed a trend of money moving away from traditional assets such as stocks and bonds and into private equity investments. This change brought her to the world of angel investing and eventually to her co-founding Detroit based angel gro...

In this quick episode of The Angel Next Door, Marcia talks about today’s accredited investor definition, how that definition limits who can invest, and how change can get more capital into the hands of underrepresented founders. She reviews the current requirements to be an accredited investor which is mainly based on wealth and income and how the Angel Capital Association plays a role in bringing...

For this week’s episode, Marcia returns to discuss impact investing and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) with guest Jenny Lane. Jenny has a background in equity crowdfunding and nonprofit fundraising with a passion for community development, and now, as the CEO of the Ohio Impact Fund, she is working on putting DAF dollars to work investing in early-stage companies.   Jenny starts off by telling listene...