Jun 16, 2020
The San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) is an investing fund that helps train new angel investors, thereby unlocking more capital locally and bringing domain expertise to companies from executives-turned-angel investors. This yearlong work culminates in an annual one-day event that brings together companies and investors in order to boost the SoCal innovation ecosystem.
Tune in as Mysty Rusk, Benton Moore, Amy Duncan, and Jason Scharf, angel investors and key players of the San Diego Angel Conference, join host Neal Bloom and guest co-host Amy Chang, entrepreneur and angel investor, to discuss their journeys as angel investors in the San Diego tech scene.
3:50 Mysty Rusk explains her background as an investor for the last 15 years who fell in love with angel investing as a way for a community to take back control of its economic development. She recognized the lack of connection between investors and San Diego startups and, ultimately, went on to co-found the San Diego Angel Conference.
4:34 Benton Moore, the fund manager for SDAC this year, is a startup consultant at The Brink out of University of San Diego, and an angel investor with Tech Coast Angels as well as his own fund, Seadragon Capital. Previously an entrepreneur, he discusses his experience with angel investing.
5:33 Amy Duncan is the upcoming fund manager for SDAC’s 2021 conference. She describes her 13+ years of consulting experience with biotech companies and how she got interested in the innovation economy.
6:20 Jason Scharf serves as a co-fund manager for SDAC, a role he’s had for about two years now. He formerly worked with diagnostic drug makers and genomics companies. After reading an article in the San Diego Business Journal about SDAC, he joined the organization as an investor; from there, he also joined Tech Coast Angels, and is now also part of the Nex Cubed Digital Health Accelerator.
The San Diego Angel Conference, only two years old, has already helped to allocate over $1 million into local companies, quickly becoming a preeminent new source of capital to grow the San Diego ecosystem. Listen in to hear more about the San Diego Angel Conference and how it was founded, as well as its investors’ plans for the future.
Thanks to our partners at Cox Business for their support in enabling us to grow the San Diego ecosystem.
SDAC Team’s favorite local tacos:
Mysty: Tacos Libertad
Jason and Amy: Roberto’s Tacos
Benton: Cantina Mayahuel
Connect with the investors on LinkedIn:
Keep up with the San Diego Angel Conference:
Facebook: @theBrinkSBDC
Twitter: @TheBrinkSbdc
Instagram: @brinksbdc