RANDY KLEIN ‒ NYA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Randy Klein joined New York Angels a little over two years ago. While Randy is not the most vocal NYA Member, he is active, and when he does speak up, he is “all in”. Randy adds significant value to NYA with his expertise from building Crestron Electronics from $1 million in revenue to $1.5 billion. In this interview, Randy shares how he decided to spend his “retirement” with New York Angels instead of golfing, why decisions should be tied to revenue, and how companies need to demonstrate real growth not just increases.
How did you first meet New York Angels?
I retired as the President/CEO from Crestron Electronics almost four years ago, and after I retired I joined several networking groups and worked in private equity. A mutual friend introduced me to New York Angels. After getting introduced to Vijay Aggarwal, I was immediately “all in” after our first conversation. I went through the formal application process, which was a great introductory experience to NYA. Thankfully I was accepted, and well, the rest is history.
Why did you decide to join New York Angels?
At my first New York Angels meeting, I was blown away by all of the smart, experienced people in the organization. They were all so welcoming to me, and I’ve always had a thirst for learning. I wanted to learn about investing, particularly angel investing, which I knew nothing about. I spent most of my professional life with one company over three decades, working 24/7. When I retired, I thought I would play golf like everyone else, but I immediately realized I wanted something more engaging and intellectually stimulating. New York Angels absolutely delivered on that for me.
What do you look for when you are investing in a company?
I look for the founder’s experience and their ability to build a company. Everybody has great ideas, but there can be a huge gap between a great idea and a great company. I also want to know about the founder’s history with exits – successful or unsuccessful, and why.
In the sessions and presentations, I look for the founder’s ability to answer questions clearly and concisely. I focus on the problem they are solving, how unique their solution is, and the strength of their vision. Beyond sales or revenue projections, I am also interested in how they see their company evolving 3-5 years from now.
What do founders appreciate most about working with you?
I come from a world of practical experience, particularly in sales and marketing. I built my company from $1 million to well over $1 billion without one dollar of outside money or acquisition. As I often say, I built the company one customer at a time.
One basic fundamental that I always followed is that every decision should contribute, either directly or indirectly, to present or future revenue. If I could not clearly attach a revenue outcome to a decision, I chose not to pursue it. I have helped founders adopt a similar discipline in their own decision-making.
What is the difference between companies you see at Screening versus those who make it to Due Diligence?
Once again, the founder. I look at the founder, the problem, how they are solving it, how unique it is, and their vision.
I am currently working closely with a company in Due Diligence that, in my short experience at NYA, stands out as one of the best that I have seen. They delivered a compelling presentation, demonstrated thoughtful discovery, and are led by strong founders addressing a meaningful problem. But they had one glaring problem: sales. They did not have traction yet. So I dug in, and it was clear to me they needed to look closely at their selling team and strategies, and determine if changes were needed. I plan to invest, and other NYA Members are currently evaluating whether they will too. I am passionate about the company and their opportunity, and this is one area where I can help them move forward to hopefully realize their potential and opportunity.
What advice would you give founders starting to fundraise?
The founders that fundraise successfully can effectively tell their story. Instead of simply walking through slides and listing accomplishments, they have to be able to demonstrate their expected outcome and experience. They should help investors understand not just what they have done, but what they are going to do and show what it will feel like to be part of the journey. Once the founder has their storyline, they can use performance metrics, market opportunity, and TAM as supporting elements, but those cannot be the sole reason for investors to fund the company.
What advice would you give investors who might be interested in joining New York Angels?
Don’t think twice, just join. Life is both short and full of opportunity. We are a direct product of what we know, learn, and what we are able to share with others. New York Angels is a brain trust of wonderful people. The collaborative process and the willingness of members to support one another make it an exceptional community to be part of.
And to put not only my money where my mouth is, but also my family, I introduced my son-in-law to New York Angels last month, and he just loves it. He already had a successful career as VP of Enterprise Sales, and more recently, he raised the Series A for another company, but he is eager to build a career in angel investing. While I am still learning at NYA, now I have the opportunity help him achieve his lifelong goal, which has been incredibly rewarding for me.
What has contributed to your success in your career?
At my company, people often said that I am never happy. My response was always the same. I am absolutely always happy. I am happy with our successes, but I am never satisfied. I want more and know we can do more. I look at obstacles as opportunities and do everything I can to create them. I consider myself a change agent. I never relied or bet on one big thing because I believe success is a combination of many coordinated efforts working together.
I’ve always believed as organizations evolve, you have to keep one foot in the present and one foot in the future. Progress should be made in measured steps, not too quick, not too fast, not too big, but measured steps allow you to reach your long-term goals.
Over time, I learned there is a huge difference between growth and increase. Increase is simply doing more. Growth is the development of sound processes and the maturation of people. When both occur together, you grow with a solid foundation. If you pursue increase without growth, you will not have the base to keep building.
