Number of employees you oversee: 0 employees/52 members

Phil Ohl

Brief background of your group: 

Tri-Cities Angel Alliance started December 2021 as a quarterly, informal “shark lunch” to facilitate networking between local startup businesses and local investors. In summer of 2023, the Tri-Cities Angel Alliance was incorporated as a Washington state nonprofit, with a little bit more structure to include education and broader outreach, in addition to the core mission of startup networking. Today, Tri-Cities Angel Alliance has over 50 members and has affiliate relationships with Fuse Fund, Seattle Alliance of Angels, Spokane Angel Alliance, Seattle Angel Conference, TRIDEC, and Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce.

How did you land your current role? How long have you been in it? 

Well, I started it myself. I made a commitment to the local startup community to capitalize Tri-Cities Angel Alliance and underwrite it for the first year. 

Why should the Tri-Cities care about the angel investing? 

Angel investing is the earliest stage of private investing so by its nature it is a big risk – big reward proposition. As early-stage investments, angel investors are an important part of a thriving economy and our group wants the Tri-Cities to develop a positive reputation as a startup community. We have all the community resources to accomplish this with a highly skilled and educated workforce; incredible workforce education opportunities with Washington State University Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College; and plenty of private investors looking for interesting startups. We are actively looking for accredited investors (net worth over $1 million) to become annual members for $100 per year which covers quarterly lunches.

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? 

Trust. When I say trust, I mean trust that your team wants to do the right thing and get out of their way to let them do it. 

What is the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs today? 

Access to startup capital is a significant problem that Tri-Cities Angel Alliance is trying to solve for local entrepreneurs. Once entrepreneurs have exhausted their own personal savings and their friends and family network, they need a platform to present their business idea where they can get both capital and mentoring to get their business off the ground. Entrepreneurs looking to raise capital can go to our website (tc-angels.com) and apply to pitch one our quarterly meetings. They also can go to the Fuse Fund website (fuse.fund) to pitch Fuse Fund directly.

What items would you include in the recipe to launch a successful startup?

Minimum data for each investment:

• One sentence description (Can I explain the business to my mother?)
• Current capitalization
• Current valuation
• Minimum investment
• Fundraising series
• Collateral/security

Key questions for each investment:

• Can I explain it?
• Is it still in the “good idea” stage?
• What is the secret sauce?
• Can I trust the management team integrity and competence?
• What is the exit strategy and the period?
• What is the upside and downside return on investment (ROI) and the time frame?
• What percentage of the company am I buying and how will dilution be controlled?
• How can I participate with time, energy, and influence? 

How can the Tri-Cities best nurture a healthy startup community? 

There are two primary sides to every startup: The entrepreneurs or founders, and the investors. Entrepreneurs and founders should dare to chase their dreams and reach out to organizations like Tri-Cities Angel Alliance and our local affiliate organizations Fuse Fund, TRIDEC, and Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Investors, particularly accredited investors, should consider joining Tri-Cities Angel Alliance.

Can you share one of your favorite Tri-Cities business startup success stories? 

There are hundreds of successful Tri-Cities businesses that were once an early-stage startup. Just in the past few months, OCOChem has closed a $5M million venture capital raise and LiveGrow Bio won a $100,000 prize at an international competition in Switzerland. Both Tri-Cities Angel Alliance and Fuse Fund are currently working with local startup STARS Technology Corporation to deliver point of service clean hydrogen generation to fuel hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? 

Be a good listener. Listen to your employees and help them help you to accomplish the team goals.

Who are your role models or mentors? 

At Tri-Cities Angel Alliance, I have a tremendous group of advisors and directors whom I lean on and learn from regularly: Brett Spooner, Gravis Law; Kevin Sullivan, Sullivan Sullutions; Marty Conger, Fuse Fund; Ty Haberling, HFG Trust – Community First Bank; Paul Carlisle, Evolve Labs; Casey Stratton, Tamarack Capital; John Heaton, Pay Plus Benefits; and Rocco Luongo, ARY Engineering.

How do you keep your Tri-Cities Angel Alliance networking group engaged? 

We have quarterly lunch meetings and periodic social media posts and email notices. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 5. Guests can register to attend at tc-angels.com. 

How would you measure success in your workplace? 

Every time an entrepreneur and an investor close a deal or even get together for mentoring is a win for Tri-Cities Angel Alliance.

What do you consider your leadership style to be? 

I have always run my companies and my board seats as a servant leader. I view my job as working for my team by ensuring they have the tools and training necessary to do their job and to remove the barriers and challenges they tell me about.

How do you balance work and family life? 

Well, at this point in my life, I honestly have to find time to work more than find time for family and play. Since selling my engineering firm (Vista Engineering) in 2014 and retiring from full-time work in 2016, I try to keep busy with startup investments, consulting and philanthropy.

What do you like to do when you are not at work? 

My wife Diane and I spend a lot of time traveling and hiking around the world. We have visited all seven continents with our travel blog, opendoortravelers.com and social media handles, Open Door Travelers. This March, we will be trekking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.

What’s your best time management strategy? 

I like to make lists and check off the items. There’s nothing magic about this, but it helps me every day to keep on track.

Best tip to relieve stress? 

My best stress tip is to not get stressed. It’s really true when they say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff and remember it’s all small stuff.”

What’s your favorite book? 

Over the course of my career, I have given away well over a hundred copies of “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing. Shackleton’s story is loaded with business metaphors about the importance of teamwork, trust and leadership. I still have my dog-eared and highlighted copy on my desk today. 

More recently, at Tri-Cities Angel Alliance, we have been promoting the book “Startup Communities” by Brad Feld. This book discusses Boulder, Colorado’s journey to becoming a well-known startup community and is a good benchmark for the Tri-Cities to emulate. 

Do you have a personal mantra, phrase or quote you like to use? 

A friend of mine named Eric Livesay, from Hecate Software, Inc., once told me to, “Eat a frog every day.” 

Basically, don’t let unpleasant tasks linger.