Tacos and Tech Podcast
Neal Bloom
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The Operator's Edge: From San Diego Angel Academy
Angel Academy Session 3 brings together a panel of San Diego operators who crossed over to the investor side - including Katherine Chapin, Dane Chapin, Ken Potashner, and Bardia Moayedi with backgrounds spanning investment banking, corporate law, and consumer products. The conversation gets honest fast: what it means to bet on a founder who introduces herself as "just a mom," why losing money on a deal teaches you more than any pitch deck, and how San Diego's open, collaborative angel community creates a fundamentally different deal flow than Silicon Valley's closed-door networks. Key Topics * Operating experience as an angel investor's real edge * The "just a mom" story: why passion beats pedigree every time * Dane Chapin's board game company postmortem and what losing taught him * San Diego's open angel ecosystem vs. Silicon Valley's closed networks * Underestimating risk: the Coin investment and what it revealed * Co-investing with spouses and building shared conviction * Why brand obsession signals a founder worth backing * Pitch contests vs. relationship-driven deal flow Links & Resources * San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC): https://sdangel.com * SDSU ZIP Launchpad: https://ziplaunchpad.sdsu.edu * Rising Tide Partners: https://risingtidepartners.co Connect on LinkedIn * Dane Chapin * Katherine Chapin * Ken Potashner * Bardia Moayedi * Neal Bloom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe
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