Ian Sobieski

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Ian Patrick Sobieski leads the Band of Angels, an exclusive group of high-net worth individuals who were also former officers or founders of many of the high technology companies that made the Silicon Valley famous. Since its inception, the Band has invested approximately $230M into 270 startup companies helping to create more than 4,000 jobs. Of these companies, more than 54 have exited for a profit to Band of Angels investors and 10 have had IPOs. Dr. Sobieski has been a founding partner of three Band related seed venture funds totaling $65M in capital, and a partner at a $120M early stage venture fund. He is currently helping invest the Band Acorn Fund, which backs entrepreneurs who have the strategy of building profitable companies or exiting on the Fund’s sole investment. His previous two funds were focused on seed round financings as stepping stones to larger VC rounds. Ian has made more than a hundred early stage investments and has served on twenty boards of directors. Seven of his investments have exited for a gain via M&A including SeaDragon Software, Quorum Systems, Nellix, Novus Packaging, and Ordinate. Two of his investments have gone public on the Nasdaq: Genitope and PortalPlayer. Ian is a frequent speaker, lecturer, and commentator in entrepreneurship and startup issues in the Silicon Valley and nationally. He is the author of a dozen technical publications and is a former lecturer in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Sobieski has a Ph.D. and MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, and a Philosophy BA as well as a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a founding board member of the Angel Capital Association and is a member of the Venture Capital Network, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the National Ski Patrol Alumni Association. Ian serves on the Board of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco.