Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall interviews William Chu of SparkLabs FinTech, a global accelerator program focused on helping promising early-stage fintech companies develop and scale in various markets across the globe.

After some success in private equity in Hong Kong, William wanted to get more involved in early stage investing. When Korea-based SparkLabs was looking to expand into China and other areas, William put together a partnership with China's Ping An, a world-leading personal financial services provider. Willam elaborates on SparkLabs FinTech, their particular interests in FinTech, Healthcare, and Smart Cities, and how those interest overlap.

 

Direct download: 178_--_William_Chu_of_Sparklabs_Fintech.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 5:45pm CST

In this episode, Hall interviews Terry Koehler, a golf industry entrepreneur. Terry talks about some of the characteristics of the golf space, and what led him to become an entrepreneur. Terry discusses the stability of the multi-billion dollar golf industry, and how it an industry that works well for the right investor that is knowledgeable and passionate about the sport.

Terry explains how the golf industry is like other consumer product areas, but that, as luxury durable goods, golf products require perhaps a greater deal of awareness of your customers.As Terry puts it, this involves "learning about the people that are buying your product and learning how you can leverage them through the funnel of awareness to transaction to advocacy". One of the challenges that Terry has encountered is that many investors will defer to their local golf professional - someone who, while they may have local knowledge, is usually not an industry expert.

Direct download: 177_--_Terry_Koehler_a_Golf_Entrepreneur.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 5:37pm CST

In this episode, Hall interviews Mike Krilivsky of RageOn!, an online store specializing in revolutionary, one-of-a-kind custom printing. RageOn! has developed a patent-pending, all-over-print technology that allows creators, brands, and artists to customize their own merchandise, from T-Shirts to socks to swim trunks. Their app allows users to upload images directly onto their merchandise using their handy app. And with the first-ever patent protection technology of its kind, brands and artists never have to worry about intellectual property theft, and can expect money on their account every time their IP is used.

Direct download: 176_--_Mike_Krilivsky_of_Rageon.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:33pm CST

In this episode, Hall interviews Kim Folsom of Founders First Capital. Kim is a serial tech entrepreneur for over 20 years, who has founded, grew, and funded six tech companies, exited three, and raised over 30 million in venture.

Kim talks about her start investing in the under-served service business space. Kim also discusses the attractiveness of the market from a impact investment standpoint, particularly for those looking to diversify their investment. Kim explains that the current number for impact investment is about 280 billion, and that number is growing at a very fast pace. At the same time, investors are recognizing that there's an investment gap in the growing sector of businesses started by under-served, underrepresented founders (women, minority, military veterans, etc.).

Direct download: 175_--_Kim_Folsom_of_Founders_First.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:26pm CST

In this episode, Hall interviews Jorge Azpe and Samuel Gutierrez of Schok LLC, manufacturer of retail electronics, including tablets and cell phones.

Samuel and Jorge talk about how they got into the mobile device space, and the opportunities they saw there, particularly in the mid-tier of phones. They talk about some of the challenges in the manufacturing space - and what sets them apart in terms of quality of manufacturing and design. They've analyzed their competition and focused on several quality differentiators that will help set their products apart. Samuel and Jorge emphasize the importance of developing the right strategic partners on the manufacturing side. They also discuss some of the marketing, design, and price point choices they made, and why.

Direct download: 174_--_Jorge_and_Samuel_of_Schok_1.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:23pm CST

In this episode, Hall interviews Michael Zavet of Canada-based Hyperion Exchange, a platform for trading tokenized financial instruments using blockchain technology.

Michael and Hall discuss the current state of the crypto market in general, and the cryptocurrency market for real estate applications. Michael talks about some of the current blockchain application investments going on in the real estate space. Michael and Hall go over some of the regulatory hurdles that companies are now facing, and Hyperion's strategies for unlocking secondary markets.

Direct download: 173_--_Michael_Zavel_of_Hyperion_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:13pm CST

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