Capital Call is hosted by John Sider, Director of Second Stage Capital at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA. In his session he speaks with Mike Doyle, from Goldin Ventures, a family office, investing in early-stage technology companies, on behalf of the Markowitz family, the founders of Allen Organ Company in the Lehigh Valley region of PA.

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Here are some "nuggets" John Sider pulled from the Interview with Mike: 

Mike Doyle from the family office investment firm Goldin Ventures wrote out his answers to our BF Capital Call prep questions. They are linked here and full of insights from an experienced early stage investor as well as a wise, seasoned, business-person (and good human being!)

• We look for leaders with passion, subject matter expertise, a combination of true north vision/focus along with street smart/adaptation skills. Where our values and interests are aligned and they are capable of leading the company to $20m in revenues. More specifically we look for those who bring a presence, are self aware, deeply curious, emotionally mature and have people skills. These people will inevitably find a way.
  
  
• We look for revenues of $500k for a hardware company or $500k ARR for a SAAS company. Beneath this traction we look for evidence of technology de-risk, product/market fit, a repeatable sales process, that there is a demand creation flywheel in place, month over month growth in revenues and pipeline and the business operates against KPI's or metrics that enable the company to measure progress and adapt to changing conditions.
  
  
•  …I learned how important it is to remain present when others have lost their way. How extraordinarily important it is to have backers who are steady and supportive even under incomprehensible strain for them. To honor and transparently communicate with those who got you here and will get you out and finally to invest in strategy development, not as an event but as a way of life.