Shane Johnson: "Calling All Angels" Outside of Silicon Valley
This Week's Guest:
SHANE JOHNSON
Managing Director, Coast To Crest Fund
Shane Johnson is both a Managing Director of the Partnership and a managing member of the General Partner for the Coast to Crest Fund. Shane is responsible for mentoring the Portfolio Companies and for deal flow development. Shane has been active in the Oregon startup community for more than 15 years. He founded three Internet startups and has had two successful exits. Shane’s startups have all been located in Eugene, and he believes strongly in the community and people who have aided his success. He has been a local advisor, mentor, and active angel investor since 2011. Shane has been the Entrepreneur in Residence at Fertilab—an accelerator and co-working space for entrepreneurs in Eugene—since 2013. He serves as the lead mentor in the Regional Accelerator and Innovation in Eugene, and he is also an advisor to several local companies. Shane earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from the University of Oregon and a master’s in neuroscience from the University of Rochester in New York. You can find him on Twitter, too.
About This Episode:
The New York Times had an article in March in which several investors on a Detroit road trip seemed to think Silicon Valley was "over" when it came to investing in early-stage startups. I wanted to ask a person actually doing this work what he thought.
What's it like to run a fund in a smaller market? How do angels think differently when they're not in Silicon Valley?
Shane's a founder and investor based in Eugene, Oregon, and he's here to tell us what it's really like. Even if you're raising money in Silicon Valley, the perspective of an angel is always helpful. You can learn some things from Shane that will apply to any angel pitch you make, no matter where you live.
