The video explores the world of startup investing through the compelling journey of Dr. Debbie Chen, an immigrant from Taiwan and a PhD holder in deep tech, who envisioned a consumer device to track hydration in real-time. As a Muay Thai fighter, Debbie embodies resilience both in the ring and in the challenging landscape of entrepreneurship, facing hurdles as a non-traditional founder. Through the support of an active angel investor, she transforms from a scientist to a CEO, showing the evolving nature of modern investment strategies focused on relational rather than transactional interactions.
The narrative shifts to highlight the changing mindset of investors who seek not just financial gains but also impact returns. Modern investors, unlike their predecessors who operated with a 1 out of 10 success mindset, are moving towards a belief that a majority of their investments can succeed. Inspired by the stories of their predecessors and an abundance mindset, these investors are more interested in the potential impact of businesses. By investing in over 160 companies, the speaker illustrates their dedication to nurturing promising startups.
Main takeaways from the video:
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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:
1. determination [dɪˌtɜːrmɪˈneɪʃən] - (noun) - Firmness of purpose; resoluteness. - Synonyms: (resolution, resolve, steadfastness)
The stories behind these innovations are filled with determination and passion.
2. entrepreneur [ˌɑːntrəprəˈnɜːr] - (noun) - A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. - Synonyms: (businessman, businesswoman, business person)
She's a visionary and an entrepreneur.
3. hydration [haɪˈdreɪʃən] - (noun) - The process of making something absorb water. - Synonyms: (moisturization, wetting, soaking)
She's a PhD in deep tech with an idea to make a massive impact in hydration.
4. steward [ˈstuːərd] - (verb) - To manage or look after another's property. - Synonyms: (oversee, supervise, manage)
I stewarded her from going from scientist to CEO.
5. transactional [trænˈzækʃənəl] - (adjective) - Relating to the conducting of business, especially buying or selling. - Synonyms: (commercial, business-related, mercantile)
Investors have a different kind of mindset of shifting one, one that is not transactional, it's relational.
6. abundance [əˈbʌndəns] - (noun) - A large quantity of something. - Synonyms: (plenty, plethora, copiousness)
Today, investors have a different kinds of mindset, an abundance one.
7. rationed [ˈræʃənd] - (verb) - To allow each person to have only a fixed amount of a commodity. - Synonyms: (allowance, portion, allocation)
My mother, the first in her family to attend college, rationed sugar during World War II.
8. paradigms [ˈpærəˌdaɪmz] - (noun) - Typical examples or patterns of something; models. - Synonyms: (model, pattern, prototype)
Transform this investment world with new hope, new ideas and new paradigms to invest in these resilient entrepreneurs.
9. resilient [rɪˈzɪliənt] - (adjective) - Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. - Synonyms: (flexible, hardy, supple)
Invest in these resilient entrepreneurs.
10. stewardship [ˈstjuːərdˌʃɪp] - (noun) - The job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property. - Synonyms: (management, administration, oversight)
Your role as an investor is to embrace stewardship, provide unwavering support, and strategize with the startups that you believe in and invest in
The mindset of startup investors - Dr. Silvia Mah - TEDxSanDiegoWomen
When you walk the aisles of your supermarket or download the latest app on your phone, have you ever wondered who invented the products you buy or the apps built and why? And if you take it one step further, who supported them or invested in them at the very start? The stories behind these innovations are filled with determination and passion. Like Dr. Debbie Chen, she's a Muay Thai fighter. When she enters the ring, she plays gloriously and perseveres. Blows fly, blood gushes, she wins.
She's also a scientist. Debbie is an immigrant from Taiwan. She's a PhD in deep tech with an idea to make a massive impact in hydration. She's a visionary and an entrepreneur. She's built a business, a consumer device to track how hydrated people are in real time. Amazing, right? Well, let me tell you, the fundraising ring of raising money for her company had just as many blows. Even more blood gushing, but without the consistent wins.
Why, you might ask? She doesn't fit the mold of the traditional founder. She's a mom Asian, but had amazing leadership qualities. This is where belief comes in. As an active angel investor myself, seeking the most promising inventors and leaders, I saw her as the fighter winner. I became her investor. I didn't just invest money in her company. I stewarded her from going from scientist to CEO. I supported her by bringing mentors and advisors around her. And I strategized with her with the launch and scale of her business. Today, her company and her product is in market and customers love it.
Well, 20 years ago, it would have been extremely difficult for Debbie to get an investor. She doesn't look like or sound like the traditional entrepreneur. That pattern did not exist. But today, investors have a different kind of mindset of shifting one, one that is not transactional, it's relational.
Now, you might be asking yourself, what exactly does it mean to be a startup investor? It means to be the person who gives money to a business at the earliest stages of a startup journey and funding the most riskiest asset of the startup journey. And they take on significant risk to invest in these startups with the hope of achieving substantial financial returns. If the company succeeds, it's about the ROI return on investment and the second ROI return on impact.
Now, traditionally, investors operated with a mindset of 1 out of 10 startups would succeed, focusing on the one survivor to make up for all the losses. They loved it when founders sacrificed comfort for the company and they sought the biggest returns at all costs.
But times are changing. It's about more than just money for startup investors. It's about belief in the company, the founder and in the products and solutions that are truly solving customers needs. Today, investors have a different kinds of mindset, an abundance one one that I have embraced by investing in over 160 companies and 15 plus emerging fund managers.
My community, my community of investors sees things a bit differently. We desire better returns and believe 9 out of 10 of the startups we invest in will succeed.
My journey as an investor has been influenced by the generations before me and is deeply personal. As an immigrant from Venezuela again as an immigrant from Venezuela, I stand on the shoulders of giants. My mother, the first in her family to attend college, rationed sugar during World War II in her small town of Salida, Colorado. But she never rationed her quest for knowledge.
My grandmother, a pioneer and rough around the edges last child of a German family of 14, worked on the farm and attended a one room prairie schoolhouse. But she made sure her only daughter attended Stanford University. My father, an orphan, an immigrant from Italy to Venezuela with only a small suitcase and the clothes on his back, became a successful entrepreneur.
Their combined legacy inspires me to invest in the pioneers, the risk takers and to be determined to transform this investment world with new hope, new ideas and new paradigms to invest in these resilient entrepreneurs. This ethos is shared by a growing community of conscious leaders who believe that investing is about impact and returns.
Now you might be asking yourself, how exactly do we do this? We steward, support and strategize investors steward founders to be thriving leaders. We sit down with them and have great conversations about team excellence and servant leadership. We focus on strengths. We encourage them to seek strengths and strive towards sustainable growth and innovation.
Next, we support our founders by introducing them to growth champions like mentors, advisors, other investors and industry experts to provide insights and guidance. And lastly, we strategize with startup teams to balance that financial returns and positive impact. And we encourage them to consider broader ways to bring value to all stakeholders, including employees and customers.
My journey as an investor has been rewarding and fulfilling. I hope others hoping to join this group of investors finds the same joy in it. Are you ready to invest? I encourage you to get active, meet an entrepreneur, write them a check, introduce them to the right people and believe in them.
Because the more you put in, the more you get out. And the same goes for entrepreneurs out there. I know it's hard to get an investor and find them and allow them to have a great conversation with you and support them all along your startup journey. But have faith they're out there and when you find them.
Build strong relationships with this abundance. Mindset Investors if you're ready to invest, seek out the diamonds in the rough, those who are relentless in serving their customers and are driven by vision to make massive impact. Your role as an investor is to embrace stewardship, provide unwavering support, and strategize with the startups that you believe in and invest in.
When you invest in these visionaries, you are entering the ring with them, and together you might just turn that 9 out of 10 survival rate into a reality. Investing is about more than just money. So for aspiring and existing investors, I encourage you to be committed, fight hard for founders and with them.
Thank you.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY, STARTUP INVESTING, IMMIGRANT STORY, LEADERSHIP, TEDX TALKS