THE ANGEL NEST PODCAST PARTNERSHIP
New York Angels and The Angel Nest are proud to partner for this exclusive podcast series.
EPISODE 10: MARKETING’S AI REVOLUTION
New York Angels Members Are Investing in the AI Companies That Are Revolutionizing Marketing
AI is reshaping every industry, but few are as ripe for reinvention as advertising, a business built on a slow and expensive mix of creativity and manpower.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, host David Hemenway sits down with New York Angels Member Mike Jacobs and Anna Stepura, founder of Adlyse, an AI-driven performance marketing platform built for direct response advertisers.
Anna is a repeat founder building her third company, with nine years of experience as a performance marketer herself before she set out to fix the problems she lived inside. Mike has spent his career scaling growth systems and now invests in the founders building what comes next.
Together they unpack what performance marketing actually measures, why relying on advertising platform algorithms alone leaves money on the table, and how agentic AI is moving the work from recommendation to execution. Anna explains why she built Adlyse to work on behalf of the advertiser rather than the platform, Mike describes what convinced him to back Anna specifically rather than just the idea, and both push back on the assumption that AI removes the need for human judgment in marketing. Brand positioning, differentiation, and knowing what a company actually stands for, they argue, are the parts no algorithm can do for you.
The conversation also turns candid on leadership, what investors really look for when backing a repeat founder, and whether the industry’s new precision is actually as precise as it looks.
Learn more about Adlyse and how to become a New York Angels Member at newyorkangels.com. Reach The Angel Nest with questions or comments at theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 9: MASTERING MEDTECH INVESTING
How New York Angels Find Great Medtech Investments Like AiM Medical Robotics
Angel investing in medical technology can be tough. The science is complex, the timelines are long, and the risks are hard to judge without the right expertise in the room. At New York Angels, that has changed.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, we meet NYA members and medical experts Vijay Aggarwal, PhD and John Younger, and learn how they evaluate life science opportunities. Joining them is Greg Fischer, founder and CEO of AiM Medical Robotics, one of the standout companies New York Angels chose to fund.
AiM is bringing a compact surgical robot to neurosurgery that works inside an MRI scanner in real time. The core problem it solves has haunted neurosurgeons for decades: the brain moves during surgery. Targets the size of a grain of rice can shift millimeters to centimeters mid-procedure, making preoperative maps unreliable exactly when precision matters most. AiM’s robot continuously updates its guidance using live MRI imaging for conditions including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and brain cancer.
Greg, Vijay, and John discuss what it takes to evaluate a medtech company before there is revenue, why AiM’s FDA path is unusually clean, how existing reimbursement codes remove one of the biggest commercialization headaches in medical devices, and what the next wave of medtech investment looks like.
Learn more about AiM Medical Robotics and find out who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com. Reach The Angel Nest with comments or questions at theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 8: SCALING SKY INTELLIGENCE
How New York Angels is Helping SkyfireAI Soar
Drones have been consumer products for years, but entrepreneurs are now finding their commercial potential. New ideas are coming fast, and few are as ambitious as SkyfireAI.
In this New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, meet Don Mathis, a former Navy flight officer who watched drones change the course of modern warfare in Ukraine and decided it was time to build something bigger at home. Skyfire is a platform that deploys sophisticated Level 2 drones to enhance public safety, streamline business logistics, support national defense, and even deliver medicine to patients who need it most.
Joining Don are New York Angels Members, Bob Peck and Alyssa Tam, who co-led Skyfire’s seed investment round. They’ll share what drew them to the company out of a crowded drone market, how the NYA Sidecar Fund helped amplify the investment, and why Skyfire has more levers to pull than most startups they see. They also talk AI, international ambitions, and what the next year holds for one of the most versatile companies in the portfolio.
Learn more about SkyfireAI and see who New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com.
EPISODE 7: AI RETURNS UNLOCKED
New York Angels is Investing to Get ROI from AI
How are investors going to get ROI, from AI? We hear a lot about the investment in artificial intelligence. But New York Angels are working hard to find investible companies where artificial intelligence will yield real profits.
In this episode, we meet Eric Tao, the founder of MegaMinds and Josh Powe, a New York Angels member and angel investor in MegaMinds. They’re using AI to scale their experiential learning model and testing it in real-world K-12 settings. By blending the game-like appeal of platforms like Roblox with sophisticated AI characters, MegaMinds creates a “non-judgmental safe space” for students to practice academics through productive struggle. This approach lowers the “affective filter” that often inhibits struggling learners, allowing them to build confidence while failing and trying again in a low-stakes virtual world.
For educators, the platform acts as a real-time force multiplier. While students engage with AI avatars, a separate backend agent translates performance into actionable insights, highlighting learning gaps in as little as 30 seconds. Eric shares compelling results from a recent study where 67% of participating students reached grade-level proficiency in just 10 weeks—nearly triple the rate of the control group. This feedback loop allows teachers to shift their focus from grading to the high-value, one-on-one instruction students need most.
Josh Powe joins the conversation to explain why MegaMinds is a “killer app” for investors. Beyond early RFP wins, the platform is building a significant data moat by capturing granular, individualized learning data and sentiment analysis. As school districts demand scalable solutions that provide transparency while keeping teachers in the loop, MegaMinds is leading the shift toward a unified, data-driven instructional model that was previously impossible to achieve at scale.
Check out MegaMinds AI learning platform at gomegaminds.com.
Learn more about joining or applying for funding at NewYorkAngels.com.
Contact The Angel Nest at david@theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 6: INNOVATION DOUBLE PLAY
How New York Angels Helped this Entrepreneur Launch Two Successful Companies
On this special New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, creator-friendly comics pioneer David Steinberger joins NYA Member Kit McQuiston to share how their partnership led to both Comixology and DSTLRY. They talk about building a next-gen publishing platform, the strength of the comics market, and how angel investors can help founders move fast.
We also highlight a unique collaboration between New York Angels and Canada's TandemLaunch. NYA's Ed Levine and TandemLaunch CEO Helge Seetzen discuss deep-tech innovation, cross-border investing, and new funding opportunities for startups.
Learn more about joining or applying for funding at NewYorkAngels.com. Contact The Angel Nest at david@theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 5: THE FUTURE OF ANGEL INVESTING
On this special New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest, NYA Board Chair Cindy Cook joins us to interview the founder of New York Angels, David S. Rose. He’s updated his famous book, “Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun in Startups.” We’ll learn what’s new and how angel investing has changed since he came to be known as the father of angel investing in New York.
Rose and Cook are, respectively, the original and current leader of New York Angels, the member organization of angel investors (including host David Hemenway) that fund and mentor great young companies. We’ll discuss how New York Angels has grown in size and scope and has evolved along with angel investing since the 1990s.
David S. Rose is now Founder & Executive Chairman at Gust, a global SaaS platform for founding, operating, and investing in scalable, high-growth companies.
Learn more about New York Angels here. Learn more about Gust at gust.com. Contact The Angel Nest at david@theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 4: HOW PROSENTRY IS CHANGING THE FUTURE OF BUILDING PROTECTION
When a flood damaged his home, John Rusk knew there had to be a better way to protect property. That experience led him to create ProSentry, a wireless early warning system for water leaks. Since launching in 2024, ProSentry has detected more than 6,000 leak events—preventing every single one from becoming an insurance claim. Now operating in six states, the company is expanding quickly and reshaping how buildings safeguard against water damage.
When Tom Hirschfeld first discovered ProSentry, the company was just getting ready to raise capital. He saw more than just another alarm system—he saw a business that could prevent costly damage before it even happened. As co-lead of the New York Angels investment and now a board member, Tom has helped guide ProSentry’s growth and position it as a trusted partner in protecting buildings from water damage.
After more than two decades at AllianceBernstein, Seth Masters saw firsthand how startups were beginning to disrupt traditional finance. That sparked a new passion—investing in early-stage companies. Today, as Vice Chair of New York Angels, Seth has backed more than 40 startups, bringing his perspective as a seasoned investor to founders building the next wave of innovation.
Learn more about New York Angels here. Learn more about ProSentry's building monitoring platform. Contact The Angel Nest at david@theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 3: HOW NEW YORK ANGELS BET ON IC360 AND WON
In this special New York Angels episode of The Angel Nest podcast, we talk with IC360 (Integrity Compliance 360), which provides integrity monitoring and regulatory compliance for sports betting and has grown to more than $10MM in annual revenue. IC360 clients include top brands like the NFL, MLB, and the PGA Tour.
Hear IC360 Co-CEO Scott Sadin and NYA lead investor Jeff Seltzer talk about how IC 360 has built the business with seed round funding from New York Angels Members.
NYA member Doug Pearson also joins us to talk about Plug and Play Preview Days, which connects founders with multiple angel groups for the opportunity for larger checks and network access across the angel ecosystem. Also, Bruce Kaminstein tells us how tariffs are hurting startups.
Learn more about New York Angels here. Learn more about IC360's sports integrity monitoring and ProhiBet at ic360.io.
Contact The Angel Nest at david@theangelnest.com.
EPISODE 2: How New York Angels Helped Magellan.ai Scale its Podcast Advertising Business
This edition of The Angel Nest and New York Angels Podcast Partnership features Cameron Hendrix, co-founder of Magellan AI, the company revolutionizing podcast ad measurement and attribution. Since receiving seed funding from New York Angels Members, Magellan has grown revenue 8-10x and now helps advertisers understand exactly where their podcast dollars are going.
Also featured: NYA investor Michael Costa shares why Magellan stood out and discusses the group’s 2024 sidecar fund. Bob Peck, a new member and former Wells Fargo investment banking leader, talks about transitioning from big tech to early-stage investing. A must-listen for anyone interested in startups, media, or angel funding.
Learn more about The New York Angels here. And, see the amazing podcast ad tech at Magellan AI.
EPISODE 1: How New York Angels Investment Helped FIXE Streamline Bookkeeping for Restaurants
In this special New York Angels edition of The Angel Nest Podcast, we talk to CEO and Co-Founder of FIXE, Ryan Handel. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, Ryan and his partner Scott built an automated streamlined bookkeeping service for the restaurant industry.
We'll hear how his chance meeting led to New York Angels leading his seed investment round. Guests include: FIXE's Ryan Handel and NYA Member Simon Hopkins, who co-led the investment in FIXE and has served on their board ever since.
In this episode, Cindy Cook, New York Angels Board Chair, discusses the current state of startup investing in New York and around the country, and how she went from corporate marketing to angel investing. Learn more about New York Angels at newyorkangels.com and subscribe to the New York Angels Newsletter to hear about our next feature in The Angel Nest Podcast.
