# The Operator's Edge: From San Diego Angel Academy

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768/the-operator-s-edge-from-san-diego-angel-academy.md
Podcast: [Tacos and Tech Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768)
Published: 2026-05-13T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://risingtidepartners.substack.com/p/the-operators-edge-from-san-diego
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194425086/405cec379738f9302168e817d4d98c2f.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768/episodes/the-operator-s-edge-from-san-diego-angel-academy
Duration seconds: 3781

## Resource

Angel Academy Session 3 brings together a panel of San Diego operators who crossed over to the investor side - including Katherine Chapin, Dane Chapin, Ken Potashner, and Bardia Moayedi with backgrounds spanning investment banking, corporate law, and consumer products. The conversation gets honest fast: what it means to bet on a founder who introduces herself as "just a mom," why losing money on a deal teaches you more than any pitch deck, and how San Diego's open, collaborative angel community creates a fundamentally different deal flow than Silicon Valley's closed-door networks. Key Topics * Operating experience as an angel investor's real edge * The "just a mom" story: why passion beats pedigree every time * Dane Chapin's board game company postmortem and what losing taught him * San Diego's open angel ecosystem vs. Silicon Valley's closed networks * Underestimating risk: the Coin investment and what it revealed * Co-investing with spouses and building shared conviction * Why brand obsession signals a founder worth backing * Pitch contests vs. relationship-driven deal flow Links & Resources * San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC): https://sdangel.com * SDSU ZIP Launchpad: https://ziplaunchpad.sdsu.edu * Rising Tide Partners: https://risingtidepartners.co Connect on LinkedIn * Dane Chapin * Katherine Chapin * Ken Potashner * Bardia Moayedi * Neal Bloom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

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## Transcript

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