The Angel Next Door Podcast: 2024 Year in Review

On this special, year-end episode, our host Marcia Dawood wraps up the year with a joint episode with Laura Nix Gerson, host of the Venture F podcast.

This year marked a significant milestone for The Angel Next Door podcast, hosted by Marcia Dawood. With a full year of weekly episodes, we celebrated key achievements, impactful conversations, and global recognition for our contributions to angel Investing and impact-driven funding. Here are some of the year’s highlights:

Milestones Achieved

– �� Winner of Best Financial, Investing, and Money Podcast: We are honored to have received

this prestigious award from the Women in Podcasting Awards, recognizing the show’s

commitment to educating and inspiring listeners in the world of early-stage investing.

– �� 100th Episode Celebration: In December 2024, we celebrated a major milestone with a

special episode featuring Catherine Gray, Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary

Show Her The Money. This conversation spotlighted the funding disparities women face in

venture capital, discussed how Education and awareness can drive systemic change, and

highlighted the transformative potential of investing in women-founded funds for both economic

and social progress.

– �� 20,000+ Downloads: This year, the podcast crossed 20,000 downloads, a testament to the

growing interest in angel investing, impact-driven funding, and the role listeners can play in

shaping the future of startups.

– �� A Year of Weekly Episodes: We committed to delivering fresh, insightful content every

week, ensuring that our community of listeners stayed up-to-date on the latest trends, strategies,

and opportunities in the angel investing world.

– �� Launch of Marcia Dawood’s Book: Do Good While Doing Well: In September 2024, Marcia

released her highly anticipated book, Do Good While Doing Well, which demystifies angel

investing and empowers individuals to make impactful investments in early-stage companies.

The book serves as a “why-to” guide, helping readers understand how angel investing can be

accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. It offers practical tools to align financial

contributions with personal values while supporting startups that drive Innovation and social

change. The book launch was celebrated with a virtual event attended by listeners, readers, and

angel investors from around the world.

A Few Episode Highlights

AI and Entrepreneurship

One of the year’s most thought-provoking episodes featured Sharon Zhang, an AI expert, who

provided a forward-thinking perspective on AI’s impact on business, society, and

entrepreneurship. Key takeaways included:

– The growing AI ecosystem — from chips to infrastructure and foundation models.

– How AI is unlocking new business models and entrepreneurial opportunities.

– Insights into data privacy, user sovereignty, and the financial hurdles faced by AI startups.

Philanthropic Investing

With Sally Boulter from Impact Assets, we explored a powerful way to merge Philanthropy with

investment. This episode shed light on how to use donor-advised funds (DAFs) to invest in for-

profit startups, creating both financial and social returns. Highlights included:

– How philanthropic capital can fuel impactful, for-profit startups.

– Success stories like Seth Goldman’s journey with Honest Tea.

– The growing opportunity for individuals to leverage DAFs as a meaningful way to support

entrepreneurship while achieving impact-driven goals.

Equity Crowdfunding and the Future of Private Markets

The conversation with Kendrick Nguyen, founder of Republic.com, spotlighted the evolution of

equity crowdfunding and its potential to democratize access to private market investing. Key

insights from this episode included:

– How regulatory changes enabled everyday investors to participate in private markets, opening

up new opportunities beyond traditional tech companies.

– Republic’s early challenges in competing with established platforms and the importance of

transparency and trust between companies and investors.

– The role of blockchain Technology in fractionalizing assets, reducing participation costs, and

providing education for new investors.

– Kendrick’s inspiring journey from a career in law and traditional Finance to building Republic

into a trailblazing platform, driving accessibility and opportunity in private market investing.

Looking Ahead

As we wrap up this incredible year, our mission remains the same: to empower individuals to see

themselves as change-makers, investors, and catalysts for innovation. Whether it’s unpacking the

complexities of AI, exploring new ways to use philanthropic dollars, or shining a light on the

importance of investing in diverse founders, The Angel Next Door continues to drive

conversations that matter. We’re beyond grateful for our listeners, guests, and supporters who

have made this year so memorable. Thank you for being part of our journey. Here’s to more

insights, inspiration, and impact in 2025!

To get the latest from Laura Nix Gerson, you can follow her below!

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragerson/

https://lauranixgerson.com/

Sign up for Marcia’s newsletter to receive tips and the latest on Angel Investing!

Website: www.marciadawood.com

Learn more about the documentary Show Her the Money: www.showherthemoneymovie.com

And don’t forget to follow us wherever you are!

Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1586445642.apple

Spotify: https://pod.link/1586445642.spotify

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/angel-next-door-podcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marciadawood

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Marcia Dawood TEDx Speaker/Author/Podcaster

Marcia Dawood is an early-stage investor who serves on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, is a venture partner with Mindshift Capital, a member of Golden Seeds, and the chair emeritus of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), a global professional society for angel investors.
She is also an associate producer on the award-winning documentary Show Her the Money.
A TEDx speaker and the host of The Angel Next Door podcast, Marcia walks the talk and holds investments in over fifty early-stage companies and funds. She is committed to expanding support for diverse companies that overcome the world’s biggest problems and accelerate positive change. She is passionate about bridging the gap from early-stage inception to building thriving, profitable companies.
She is a founding member and chair of the ACA’s Growing Women’s Capital Group, which is building syndication and collaboration among US investment groups focused on women-led companies.
She is also a co-author of the book You Can, You Will, which was an Amazon bestseller in thirty-nine categories in four countries.
Prior to that, Marcia worked in sales, marketing, and operations for Kaplan Education for over sixteen years. Marcia received an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Marcia currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, Izzy, and she feels lucky to be the stepmom to three amazing sons.