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Investor Connect Podcast


Investor Connect is for investors interested in learning more about investing in startup and growth stage companies. Experienced investors share their experiences and advice with those who are considering an investment into startups and growth companies. It includes a podcast series of interviews with investors to inform others about the process of funding startups as well as a resource list and a discussion board.  

Topics include sourcing, analyzing, and researching companies. Other topics include valuations, terms Sheets, board of directors, board of advisors, due diligence, syndicates, venture capital, angels, angel networks, family offices, crowdfunding, exits, and more.

Investor Connect is a community program. We welcome your suggestions for speakers and topics which you can send to us through the Contact page. No registration is required to use the resources.  Discussion boards are available to post and answer questions about startups and growth company investing through which registration is required.

Investor Connect is a program under the Texas Open Angel Network which is a 501(c3) non-profit dedicated to the education around startup funding.

Disclaimer: Hall T. Martin is the Director of Investor Connect which is dedicated to the education of investors for early stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

May 28, 2021

In this episode, Hall welcomes Gopi Rangan, Founding Partner at Sure Ventures.

Sure Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm investing with a mission to enable peace of mind. The main areas of focus are pre-seed and seed-stage startups in the insurance, aging, care, mental health, wealth management, and related sectors.

Gopi created Sure Ventures after spending more than a decade learning and practicing the art of venture capital at Intel Corp. (formerly Altera Corp.) and at USAA. The mission of the new firm is to enable peace of mind for all individuals and businesses, to be a force for good. They work with visionary entrepreneurs who use advanced technologies to seize what he believes to be the greatest opportunities in finance and social development today.

In addition to founding Sure Ventures, Gopi is the host of the popular podcast The Sure Shot Entrepreneur. He is also a faculty in the Department of Entrepreneurship at the INSEAD Business School. As a subject matter expert on corporate innovation and corporate venture capital at management consulting organizations such as McKinsey and Co. and Bain & Co., he advised more than 20 global corporations on accessing innovation in the startup ecosystem. Previously, he was a Managing Director at USAA’s $350 million corporate venture program and a Director of Corporate Strategy at Intel Corp.’s business division fka Altera Corp. where he led the formation of a strategic investment program. Earlier in his career, Gopi spent several years in key positions in product development, technology research, intellectual property, and operations. He has co-authored more than 30 patents. 

Gopi has an M.B.A. from INSEAD, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, and a B.E. degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Coimbatore Institute of Technology in India. 

Some of Gopi's past and current investments include Adesto Technologies (IPO: NASDAQ: IOTS), BitFusion (acq. by VMWare), Coinbase (IPO NASDAQ: COIN), Coterie Insurance, Decent, Ebrisk (acq. by Intel Corp.), HiMarley, Joshin, MindMeld (acq. Cisco Systems), Pointy (acq. by Google), Rocket Dollar, Surround Insurance, and TrustLayer. 

Gopi explains in detail how he thinks the venture capital industry is evolving and he discusses why he does not have an investment thesis, but rather a “general focus”. 

You can listen to The Shot Entrepreneur podcast at podcast.sure.ventures, Follow Gopi Rangan at www.linkedin.com/in/gopirangan, and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gopirangan.  

Gopi can be contacted via his website at www.sure.ventures.

Music courtesy of Bensound.