In one of Jeff Kearl’s early deals, a venture capital firm pulled its term sheet in the last days. The investor/executive had an idea—go work at a venture capital firm. “Most VCs are … highly networked,” Kearl said.
That play was years ago, and Kearl today runs creative sock designer Stance in San Clemente. The company, started in 2009, sells over $100 million in socks a year at 60% gross margins. It received $110 million in funding from celebrities and Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Customers and investors are dinner-table names: Jay Z and Will Smith, Shasta Ventures, Sherpa Capital and Kleiner Perkins.
Kearl’s success tale on the power of capital and celebrity networks—and choosing from 300 options to find a category with a “hero product” opportunity—was one of many at the annual ACA Western Regional Angel Forum at The Cove at UCI Applied Innovation.
Angel funding has long been a local bright spot, Tech Coast Angels considered the first in the nation, the OC chapter among the biggest successes.
Hicham Semaan said he feels the success of his company, QuickStart Intelligence in Irvine—sold to Corinthian Colleges in 2012—“had a lot to do with this ecosystem.”
He just became the OC Angels’ president after its four-year run under Grant Van Cleve. Its membership is now above 100, first time.
“They were the first, and they pick winners,” said Linda Smith of Tech Coast Angels. She’s executive director of the Angel Capital Association, which has 300,000 active angel investors.
Of course, everything’s relative when it comes to startup and growth capital. “Angel money in Silicon Valley is vast,” said Rory Moore, chief executive and co-founder of tech startup incubator EvoNexus. “It happens at Starbucks, you don’t hear about it. We need more angel money here.”
But EvoNexus and most everyone at the forum were high on the entrepreneurial talent here.
Moore’s EvoNexus co-founder is retired Navy Vice Adm. Walter J. Davis. “There’s a reason when we expanded out of San Diego we came here,” the former Navy fighter pilot noted. EvoNexus’ real-estate partner is Irvine
Co., its local incubator at The Vine at UCI.
Brian Mulligan belongs to both the Los Angeles and OC Angel groups. “Deals here are the same as there,” he said.
“Yes, there’s media startups there, but who’s cracked the code? Small returns.”
And the environment?
“When I drive down to Newport Beach, my blood pressure goes down 10 points,” Mulligan said.
OCTANe
Aliso Viejo-based innovation and growth facilitator OCTANe continues to grow its operation under three-year boss Bill Carpou. The former Blackstone executive added fresh powder to its growth-services division.
The company announced it formed a strategic partnership with the Association of British Healthcare Industries. It also established a relationship with Cambridge-based incubator One Nucleus and private-public sector nonprofit London & Partners—funded by London’s mayor—to help its LaunchPad companies “grow internationally in Europe … and opportunities for us to establish U.S. headquarters for companies,” according to its quarterly newsletter.
Carpou just hired Nicole Washington as OCTANe’s director of innovation and growth. The angel investor and entrepreneur owns Micro Biz Coach LLC and gluten-free food company Nicole’s Naturals Inc.
“Not enough to nurture companies through LaunchPad or to sustainability or even profitability,” he said. “We want them to grow here.”
