Sometimes the most thrilling investments are ones that will disrupt society.

Disruptive investments—such as investments in transformational technologies that utilize applied artificial intelligence—oftentimes turn out in one of two ways. They can soar—like Apple or Microsoft—or they can tank.

Today’s guest, Jake Seid, says that when downturn happens, you can’t lose your momentum. Sometimes the best companies are built after these downturns—don’t forget that.

Jake is the managing director at Stone Bridge Ventures. He’s a venture investor focused on investments around the Bay Area in California, but he also invests nationally. Generally, he focuses on investing in disruptive technologies.

So get ready to learn from some of Jake’s hits and misses in investing so far.

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Some Questions I Ask: 

• How did you first get involved in angel investing? (2:30)
• What’s important to you in a company that you want to invest in? (3:14)
• What was your biggest miss? (5:19)
• What do you look for in founders? (8:15)
• Will you make an investment even if you predict a need to change the company’s top leadership within a couple of years? (10:36)
• What do you hope to hear from a company regarding their exit strategy? (18:57)
• Where do you get your best deal flow? (21:51)

 

In This Episode, You Will Learn: 

• Where Jake received strong mentorship in investing early on in his career. (2:34)
• What makes a company worth investing in. (3:26)
• How to create defensibility. (4:34)
• About Jake’s biggest mistake in his career. (5:25)
• About the pros and cons of a founder and a founding team. (8:24)
• How investors can add more than monetary value to the company. (13:20)
• Why Jake is willing to take risks on technology. (15:37)