September 26, 2026 by investor
On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Andrew Kazlow, entrepreneur, writer, and host of The Diligent Observer. Andrew shares how he moved from an engineering background into the business side of industrial automation, then returned to Texas A&M for an MBA where he studied what’s “broken” in angel investing and found that volunteer-driven investor networks often create a slow, painful process for founders, especially around due diligence. He explains what angels commonly overlook, starting with self-awareness and having a clear investing strategy, then emphasizes prioritizing demand-side validation over product excitement and using frameworks such as team, tech, and TAM to surface red and yellow flags. Andrew also discusses PitchBack’s evolution from diligence-as-a-service into outsourced operations and emerging software that consolidates the many tools needed to run angel networks, as well as how AI is accelerating screening while making human-to-human judgment more important. He closes with advice on becoming more disciplined as an angel and why founder “platform” and audience matter in fundraising and distribution. Visit The Diligent Observer at thediligentobserver.com Reach out to at linkedin.com/in/andrewkazlow, and on x.com/AKazlow ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.
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Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.
