Investing

I started Angel and VC investing in 2020 and since then have deployed capital into three VC’s (two with a MN regional emphasis and one with a national and international emphasis) and 12 Startups and SMB’s.

I have treated 2020-2024 as my experimentation phase. I’ve primarily been focusing on learning and mastering:

  • “What works?”

  • “What doesn’t work?”

  • “What’s what?” 

Now that the experimenttion time period is over, I’m solid on my thesis and approach.

My investment thesis is now:

  • Revenue Generating Companies looking to go from 0 to 1 (or if they’re already more established from 2 to 7 or 3 to 5 or whatever) in any sector.

  • I listen to my gut on who: Who do I believe is going to win? Who has what it takes? Who am I willing to bet on? I look for people who are hungry. Outliers in their skillsets. Leaders who listen to wisdom and experience. Product Market fit that makes sense. There is no “algorithm” here (ironically). I invest on a case-by-case basis.

I aim for at least 3-5 new investments to add to my portfolio every year. And if I, for some reason, have deployed all my capital for the year or it’s tied up in other ventures, I will tell you. (I hate when investors waste founders and business owners time).

Whether we are a good fit or not for partnership, I want you to feel seen, understood, and respected in your venture. (And I expect the same in return).

And honestly, for someone who has never done this before I feel like I did a pretty good job in the experimentation phase and I’m excited to see what the actual execution phase looks like 

If this is vague and confusing, part of that is on purpose because I don’t need everyone knowing my business lol. 

But also if you’d like some more concrete examples of some wins here are some of those:

  • My first restaurant investment was a huge W. Vinai (via World Renowned chef Yia Vang) is now on Time’s 2025 list of Greatest Places in the World.

  • The first Angel Investment that I pursued (that didn’t pursue me) was Node Inc., a Marketing Matchmaking Platform to connect SMB’s with micro/small-medium sized influencers to geographically distribute reach and let businesses segment reach via influencers (as well as streamline and standardize contract negotiations). They got acquired in 2024.

  • Maazah Chutney (run by the very talented and amazing Sajady Sisters - Yasameen and Sheilla) is now in all of Whole Foods Nationwide (like what?!) and they’re not close to being done growing yet. I’m twice invested in them through two different VC funds I’m in.

  • Joe Timm, founder of Better Builds (“Craftmanship for the Working Class”; Joe formerly ran a legit Lumber Mill, so yes that means he’s also a legit Lumberjack 🔥) and I did a micro-loan to help him compete in a National competition for General Contractors. He won “Best Bath under $40k” and is in the process of waiting for the national results.