689: Barbara Corcoran from Sharktank is Looking For These Deals with Partner Phil Nadel

Phil Nadel. He’s the co-founder and managing director of Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners, one of the largest and most active AngelList syndicates where investors can invest alongside him and Barbara on the same terms in promising high growth startups.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – The Lean Startup
• What CEO do you follow? – Elon Musk
• Favorite online tool? — Laughly
• How many hours of sleep do you get?— 7.5
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Savor the moment, be in the moment”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:55 – Nathan introduces Phil to the show
• 01:24 – Barbara and Phil believe in the syndicate model
  • 01:32 – It is a great opportunity for investors who would like to invest but don’t have a lot of money to put into each deal
• 01:49 – Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners on AngelList
• 02:08 – The syndicate was launched 3 years ago
  • 02:16 – They have syndicated 38 deals
• 02:34 – Barn and Willow is a company they’ve recently syndicated
• 02:51 – Barn and Willow deal with window treatments
  • 03:18 – They have a direct manufacturing supply chain
  • 03:24 – It’s an innovative company
• 03:45 – The companies that Barbara invests on Shark Tank are separate from the companies in the syndicate
• 04:05 – The value of doing the syndicate is the deal flow that Barbara gets from her exposure in Shark Tank
• 04:20 – Each of the syndicate backers have the option to opt in or opt out of any investments
• 04:33 – The most likely exit scenario is an acquisition and that’s how an investor makes money
  • 04:47 – IPO is also another route
• 04:53 – There was no exit yet from the syndicate portfolio
• 05:38 – There is paperwork in backing a syndicate
• 05:45 – The AngelList platform is handling all the investor details
• 05:51 – The structure of the deal can have a few different formats
• 06:04 – It’s either a convertible note that converts into equity or straight equity
• 06:30 – All backers are combined into 1 entity
• 06:56 – The LLC is managed by an independent third party company called Assure Fund Management
  • 07:05 – Assure will consult the syndicate if there will be a major decision
• 07:40 – The AngelList is managing the risks for the syndicate
• 08:00 – The syndicate has put in $7.5M
• 08:28 – The syndicate is very true to Barbara’s mission
• 08:44 – Barbara wants people to invest with her, share their ideas with her, and bring their knowledge
• 08:56 – “Our backers are fantastic in terms of their networks”
• 09:38 – With a VC, what you have is strictly financial investors
• 10:40 – People love Barbara
• 11:15 – The deals are only available to accredited investors
  • 11:23 – To be an accredited investor, you need to meet some of the criteria including net worth or income
  • 12:00 – The syndicate is very clear that there is a chance of losing money for each investment
• 12:06 – The idea is to build a portfolio
• 12:37 – Phil has been to different platforms like FundersClub and OurCrowd
• 12:53 – The reason why Phil and Barbara chose AngelList
• 13:35 – The picture behind Phil was a picture frame from one of their portfolio companies called Meural
  • 13:54 – They have thousands of art pieces from different museums around the world
  • 14:32 – It retails from $600
• 15:27 – The syndicate does equity and note and only invests in post-revenue companies
  • 15:43 – At least $15-20K a month in revenue
  • 15:52 – “We are focused on companies that are capital efficient”
• 17:50 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

1. Syndicates is a great option for small investors and it will help them get into the investing game.
2. Investors need to be responsible with their investments—meaning research the deal and own their decisions and the consequences of saying yea or nay.
3. Savor the moments in life and be IN the moment.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
• Hotjar – Nathan uses Hotjar to track what you’re doing on this site. He gets a video of each user visit like where they clicked and scrolled to make the site a better experience
• Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Host Gator– The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
• Audible– Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives