K5 Ventures and Tech Coast Angels’ recent Face 2 Face event remained true to its organizers’ intention when they started it in 2015: “We wanted to provide an event covering something different and not done before,” said K5 founder and Managing Director Ray Chan.
The event brings together local entrepreneurs, chief executives, industry experts and investors to foster a conversation.
So what was new at this year’s Face 2 Face, which took place last month? For one, participating startups didn’t only present what their companies do. They also shared lessons they’ve learned, having walked the walk.
“In the Bay Area, there’s this culture of passing on the knowledge [where] successful entrepreneurs who’ve exited their companies would go on and reinvest in another company in the ecosystem,” Chan said. “We don’t have that [culture] here, and I hope we can help stir up that conversation.”
I Learned …
Six companies presented for five minutes.
Templarbit Inc. Chief Executive Bjoern Zinssmeister said it’s important for startups to think about not just building products but also distribution—to “sell what you built.”
He advised running a traction experiment early on to identify the best customer acquisition channel.
“It’s easy to go from zero to something, [but] eventually you’ll need to start over and find a new traction channel.” He said the majority of the San Francisco-based cybersecurity company’s employees work in Irvine.
Kerry Konrady, vice president of marketing at Irvine-based lifestyle shoe brand OluKai, said company executives decided early on to never discount products.
“That discipline about price is how you build a premium brand,” he said. The company is hiring.
Vray Inc., based at local incubator EvoNexus, develops a secure omni-channel payment platform. Chief Executive Elan Mevasse said it’s important to bring on investors who are “advisers and not just cheerleaders.”
Other presenters were oil field survey and monitoring services provider GroundMetrics Inc., market research software GroupSolver Inc. and online estate planning platform Trust & Will, all in San Diego.
Showcased companies are funded by Tech Coast Angels, which has five regional chapters in Southern California and is the largest angel investor group in the U.S.
Chan, TCA presidents Hicham Semaan of TCA OC and Eric Schiffer of TCA Los Angeles, and Cove Fund II LLC manager Paul Voois started the night by sharing insights on what makes a startup fundable.
Investor Money
The event’s other panels featured insights from investors, including family offices and local and Chinese venture capitalists. Speakers were K5 founder and Managing Partner Amir Banifatemi, David Cheng, managing partner of Irvine-based Redds Venture Investment Partners, BLD Brands LLC Chief Executive Doug Pak, and Don Lin, partner of Chinese-money fund Guoqian VC.
Cheng said Redds Venture is a relatively new $50 million fund that provides seed-stage financing to “disruptive startups,” such as those in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. Pak and Banifatemi echoed Cheng’s enthusiasm for AI, though Banifatemi cautioned that the industry is much-hyped and that there are plenty of companies that are not “true AI.”
Pak said he’s also interested in innovative restaurant concepts—BLD is a restaurant investment and development company that’s a large franchisee of Papa John’s Int’l Inc. (Nasdaq: PZZA) and Hardee’s. His “family office started eight months ago … just my money,” has invested in 10 robotics and cybersecurity companies, with an average investment of about $150,000.
Guoqian, which opened last year, is a $30 million fund investing in healthcare opportunities, including life sciences and medical devices. Lin said he’s not interested in medical wearables.
