Investing In Design-Led Companies & What Chicago Tech Is Missing - John Roa / AKTA & Roa Ventures

Tech In Chicago

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8y ago 30:17

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John Roa is a serial tech entrepreneur and long time Chicagoan. He got his entrepreneurial start by creating a computer repair business at 14 and hasn't stopped since. Last year, he sold ÄKTA, his tech-consulting and design firm, to Salesforce. Now John is planning to invest in other Chicago startups via Roa Ventures, a fund that focuses on "early-stage investments, projects and experiments". He has also created the non-profit, Digital Hope, and enjoys playing competitive poker and traveling extensively.

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In This Episode You Will Learn:

How John got started as an entrepreneur
Why he started AKTA and where the name comes from
What John attributes the success of AKTA to
How John made the the decision to sell AKTA?
If he would take venture capital if he could do it again
Problems he sees in taking venture capital
Why he's investing instead of starting another startup
John's criteria for his next startup
What draws John to travel? He has been to 50+ countries.
How to build a brand as a new angel investor?
Similarities between poker and startups
What Chicago tech is good at & what we could improve on
Why John doesn’t believe in giving advice

Selected Links From The Episode:

6 Ways Playing Poker Can Help You in Business (and 2 Ways It Can't) by John Roa
The Grand Voyage
Robert Nand, Founder of The Grand Voyage

Favorite Book:

The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus

56 episodes

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