Episode 027 - Jonathan Hung, Angel Investor - Los Angeles, CA

Introduction

• Welcome to Distilling Venture Capital.  I am your host, Bill Griesinger;
• Distilling VC is a visionary podcast that provides an insightful and informed view of the key trends affecting the VC and tech startup world.  It is your podcast for Fintech, Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Smart Contracts, Digital Banking and all the frontier technologies that are changing the financial landscape globally. 

Episode Introduction:

• Welcome back everyone.  We have a fantastic program for you today.  I am excited about today´s conversation because I have the pleasure of welcoming to the podcast Jonathan Hung;
• Jonathan is a successful and accomplished angel investor based in Los Angeles.  He is considered one of the most active angel investors in Southern California.  In addition, he serves as Co-Managing Partner at Unicorn Venture Partners and Senior Venture Partner and Head of Due Diligence at Expert Dojo.  We´ll get into that and a lot more. 
• Jonathan, thank you for making the time to be on the podcast today;

 

• So, before we dig into the meat of your work as an angel investor and venture partner, we typically begin by having you provide your background and details about your journey, more broadly, that led you into technology and angel investing…

 

• In addition to providing venture capital funding and advisory support, Jonathan also provides business mentorship based on his experience running U.S. and China offices as the President of United Overseas Textile Corporation.  Jonathan was also a Managing Member for his family office fund, J Heart Ventures, which made investments in start-up companies such as Gyft, ChowNow, Miso Robotics, Clover Health, Bitmain, etc.  

 

He also leverages various degrees from the University of Southern California, London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Topic Areas Covered with Jonathan

• Your investing history in So. Cal and types of sectors, companies you look for;
• Jonathan and his team target investments in US companies that have global market potential with a focus on long-term growth expansion to East Asian markets.
• I´d like to highlight some of the Blog topics you cover on your website with respect to:
  • Covered liquidity runway (cash) and monthly cash burn rate
  • Gross Margins
  • Monthly Recurring Revenue
  • Operating Income/Net Income
• Web 3.0 and its role in future of startups; touching on blockchain, smart contracts, DeFi etc. 
• 10 key metrics you look for in evaluating prospective investment
• Alternative funding strategies
• SPACs and SPVs;  Distinguish between the two.  Also, particularly since SPACs were all the rage in 2020-2021 but as a sector haven´t done well as public companies
• Your views on Leadership and Successful team building
• Other areas you would like to cover;

 

Closing Remarks:

Jonathan, thank you very much for joining me today on the program…

 

Jonathan, how can those who are interested in learning more