A big thank you to Ken Wilcox, former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (2001 - 2010) for sharing his journey and insights with Band members. Ken spoke about his personal and professional experiences living and working in China for a decade, and the evolving relationship between China and the United States. The discussion, titled “Turning Point: What the Chinese Communist Party Wanted from Its Relationship with the U.S., What It Wants Now, and Why,” offered perspectives on a complex and consequential topic. Ken also discussed his authored memoir, The China Business Conundrum: Ensure That Win-Win Doesn’t Mean Western Companies Lose Twice. The book’s central message is that success in China requires more than importing a Western business model. It requires an understanding of China’s history, culture, political system, and institutional structures, along with clear ethical and strategic boundaries. Ultimately, doing business in China must be a genuinely two-way street.
Band of Angels Annual Summer Party
What a fantastic evening at the Band of Angels summer dinner party! Sincere thanks to Band members Richard and Barbara Pivnicka for opening their beautiful home and hosting an evening of lively conversation, laughter, and delicious food and wine. Special time to reconnect, build new relationships, and exchange insights that strengthen the Band’s 32-year long angel investing community. Thank you to everyone who contributed their energy. Looking forward to next year!
Welcome to the Band of Angels Portfolio, Overlord Labs Inc.
The Band of Angels is excited to announce our lead role and recent investment in Overlord Labs, Inc. Overlord Labs has developed GENESIS™, a mixed-signal Battery Management System (BMS) IC platform that delivers precision battery intelligence for wearables, smart glasses, and edge AI devices. Built on the company's proprietary Silicon × Algorithm architecture, the platform brings dedicated battery compute directly into the IC.
The round closed through the Band's Hard Tech and Energy SIGs, alongside a syndicate of VCs and angel groups. Band member Dave Heacock, former Senior Vice President of Silicon Valley Analog at Texas Instruments who helped build the company's dominance in battery management, has joined the Overlord Labs Board. Congratulations to the entire Overlord Labs team!
Art of the Deal Session on 'Improving Angel Returns'
Big thanks to co-founder of TCA Venture Group, John Harbison, for sharing his his deep data-driven insights on the recently published Angel Capital Association report 'Improving Angel Returns: A Data‑Driven Playbook'. As the Chair of ACA Data Analytics Committee, John highlighted key findings and practical recommendations for improving angel IRRs (selection, diligence, capital discipline, board engagement, and follow‑on strategy). The evening was followed by the Band of Angels deal dinner meeting with an incredible cohort of companies and founders - Martin Mayse of Pleural Dynamics, Mick Wilcox of Molten Dynamics, and Meghana Helder of Octin Health.
Band of Angels VC Special Interest Group hosts, best-selling author, Chris Yeh
Incredible evening at the Band of Angels monthly Deal Dinner. We kicked off the meeting with special guest Chris Yeh, venture capitalist and Stanford lecturer, who discussed his best‑selling book Blitzscaling (co‑authored with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman) and how he applies its lessons to investing in rapidly scaling early‑stage startups and AI. He also shared the successful funding of his company, UstreamTV, by Band of Angels members back in 2007 which was later acquired by IMB for $130M. The night continued with excellent presentations from companies in the medical device and enterprise software/AI spaces: Perceive Now, SalivIQ, and Vectorial AI.
