Scott and Jordan Arogeti With Arogeti Endeavors

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by on pay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories today on the Atlanta Business Radio. We have Scott and Jordan Arogeti with Arogeti endeavors. Welcome.

Scott Arogeti: [00:00:42] Thank you. Good to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Erghezi endeavors. How are you serving, folks?

Scott Arogeti: [00:00:48] Yeah. Arrogating Endeavors is a startup advisory and angel investment shop. Jordan and I started this a little bit a few months after the pandemic began to kind of emerge, and our goal is to help founders and their teams really start and build and scale high growth startups.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] So now what has got you interested in that kind of angel kind of the angel part of the lifecycle of a startup?

Jordan Arogeti: [00:01:16] So both Scott and I caught the startup bug, so we’ve been married for almost six years, and each of us has worked at startups myself. I’ve been at Salesforce for close to six years. Scott has worked for some of the most well-known companies or startups here in Atlanta, stored Rubicon, Vox to name a few, and we became very inspired by the energy and all the skills necessary to build great companies. So we thought, Well, why don’t we kind of reverse engineer the idea of working for a startup and instead find a new vehicle and that that vehicle is through angel investing and then adding our our consultation and guidance on top of that?

Lee Kantor: [00:01:59] So now how are you kind of finding your place in the landscape when it comes to, you know, an incubator versus accelerator versus, you know, the ATC versus, you know, co-working spaces, all the variety of different resources that’s part of the startup ecosystem.

Scott Arogeti: [00:02:17] Yeah, it’s a great question. I mean, I think our goal is simply to get involved and help out wherever we can. We were familiar with a lot of the folks around town that work at different incubators and programs and certainly at ATV and at DC and a lot of our companies that we have that I know even Jordan, where she worked at sales lot. They originally came out of ATV. A few other companies that we’ve invested in have also come out of that at DC. So it’s certainly not really either or in our mind, it’s all about trying to get involved and help founders however we can. Our view is that founders are really are best served by establishing a list of really a group of investors and angels and advisors that have not only C-suite experience, but also experience up and down the org chart and also have the ability and the bandwidth to get involved in the early stages and help and build our view. Having worked at really early stage companies is that, you know, the first 10 20 customers for 10 20 hires really establishing those those first processes and systems are so crucial to lay the foundation for a company’s growth. So we actually look to kind of collaborate with not only the founders, but they have other investors and advisors. We also like to work with them to to kind of see what’s best for this particular business and how we can all help kind of in the same direction.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:33] So now how are you curating your startups that you work with? Like what is the makeup of a good startup to work with your team?

Jordan Arogeti: [00:03:44] You know, we don’t really have a tried and true formula. I would say pipeline for us has been the easiest part of our journey given our our networks and our backgrounds with the companies that we’ve been affiliated with. So for us, we’re looking for opportunities that are looking at trends in today’s world. You know, remote is a trend. Diversity is a trend. But we’re also looking for companies that we just think are designed to do good and looking for founders that we we enjoy working with. And that’s kind of the beauty of the model is that we can decide what we feel is is a good opportunity and evaluating what that total addressable market looks like. Today we have a variety of endeavors and they they don’t really all look the same. Some of them are be to be tech SAS and some of them are. Some of them are more a sustainability play or we even have a government tech company. Exactly. So there’s really no one kind of ideal endeavor for us. It’s more of how can we potentially add value and how does our background and our networks potentially complement what they’re trying to accomplish? And do we enjoy working with these people and talking to them on a daily and weekly basis?

Lee Kantor: [00:04:56] Where do they have to be at in order to have conversation with you? Can they just have an idea on a napkin and and talk to you and get funded? Or is it something they have to have, you know, at least a minimum viable product, they have to have a customer?

Scott Arogeti: [00:05:12] Yeah, it’s a good question. I think that there isn’t there isn’t a strict formula for it. Kind of, as Jordan alluded to, our sense is that for us to get involved and precede our seed round, we want there to be a little bit of traction. But in addition to the six endeavors that we’ve kind of we’ve developed an equity stake in, I’d say there’s probably a dozen or two more that we’ve tried to help out that are probably a little bit earlier in their journey. So that help even in an informal way. You can be introductions. It can be kind of some advice on on sales strategies or messaging or positioning. And then depending on kind of how how they evolve and how things go, then maybe we get involved as they get to a certain point in the future. So, you know, we’ve we’ve we’ve gotten involved in companies and introduce them to their first customer. I think that it’s it’s for most companies when you when you look to raise a seed round, you already have a little bit of initial traction. So I don’t think that we’ve put money in to a company that hasn’t at least gotten that. But we’ve invested in some companies that already have a 15 to 20 employees and other ones that are that are at this point are purely the co-founders. So there really isn’t one formula that we have to go with. It’s more a question of do we, as Jordan said, do we do we believe in the mission? Do we like the founders and their team? Do we think that we can add value? And if so, do we have the capacity to help? If the answers are all, yes, then we’ll look to get involved.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:36] So when you’re saying add value, how are you defining that value?

Scott Arogeti: [00:06:40] Yeah, there’s a lot different ways it takes shape. It’s one of the main ones. It’s sales advice and strategy that Jordan and I have backgrounds in sales. Jordan is still at sales and she works at sales. Full time helps with this and decide this is kind of my full time thing. So its sales strategy, its messaging and positioning advice, it’s helping with employee onboarding and recruiting and hiring practices. We have experience in that. It’s it really can be a lot different things. There’s a lot of different introductions to employees, to customers, to advisors, potential investors for a number of our investors, a number of our endeavors. We’ve been able to introduce them to others in our network that have invested alongside us. So it really kind of runs the gamut. It kind of depends on what where the startup is and what their needs are and how those needs kind of mature over time. But yeah, it’s really kind of varies. I mean, as as an example, yesterday, I think I spoke with four of our six and divers at different points throughout the day and helping them with very different challenges that they’re having all very normal challenges. But we kind of meet them where they are and kind of look to be seen from them as like an extension of the team almost.

Jordan Arogeti: [00:07:54] And I think what’s unique is while we certainly talk to the CEOs and founders, most often we also get involved with folks that are kind of in the job every day. So VP level is director levels to really understand the more micro level and the more minutia the day to day like what are they really running into beyond the strategy? And that’s where we’re really we think that it’s a unique opportunity for for endeavors to take advantage of because we’re willing to be, to Scott’s point, a bit more of an extension of their team versus just checking in, asking for updates.

Scott Arogeti: [00:08:29] Our goal is really to be active and and not simply to cut a check and then to ask for a report every month or quarter.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:38] Now, can you share some advice for that startup founder that isn’t on your radar yet? What are some of the things they should be doing in order to get on your radar or get on the radar of people like you?

Scott Arogeti: [00:08:54] Yeah, I’m in my view, I think all start ups. I think the most important thing is just to do an extensive amount of customer discovery. I think I think I think too often in startups these days, it’s it’s there’s companies that can be built simply to raise money as opposed to looking to find your customers first. I think the backbone of every company is happy customers. So if you have happy customers, if you have a product that solves a real pain point, that’s the most important thing as far as getting in touch with us or other people like us. I think there’s a there’s a wonderful kind of trend developing in Atlanta of the startup ecosystem with different investors and advisors that are kind of offering the services and their resources more for for seed and even a precedes. So I think if you if you if you have enough happy customers and you’re beginning to make some noise in the market, I think either either you’ll find people like us or people like us, I will find you. As you mentioned earlier, there’s a wonderful amount of resources from ATC to ATV to pitch competitions and know that venture Atlanta’s. It’s coming up soon. So there’s a lot of resources out there for people to begin to make some noise once they develop a following with the first. And most important thing is to find to find some customers who want your solution to the problems that they’re experiencing and are willing to pay for it.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:13] Now, can you share the story about Charles Krauthammer and how he influenced maybe at least the genesis of the idea or kind of moved you to get moving on this idea?

Scott Arogeti: [00:10:27] Yeah, of course. So George and I both have kind of been a long time fans of it. I remember reading his columns every week for a number of years and seeing them on TV. And his last piece that he wrote before he passed away. I believe it was in June of 18. It really struck a chord with both of us, though the final paragraph in that column where he essentially announced that he had a terminal cancer and this would be the last time that he would he would be able to talk to his readers. It was a very heavy piece, a very poignant piece, but he ended it by by, by thanking his readers, his column, his readers, his colleagues, his bosses. And he said, You know, it was a wonderful life. I’ll leave with no regrets. It was filled with the great loves and endeavors that make life worth living. I’m sad to go, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived, the life that I intended, and that last line really, really hit home with us. Live the life that you intended. So we in March 30th of last year, two weeks into the pandemic, we were blessed with our second child in 18 months, a beautiful baby girl. And as everyone remembers, that time period was it was pretty crazy.

Scott Arogeti: [00:11:33] It was pretty intense. So for us to come home and really in quarantine with 18 month old son and a newborn daughter with all the anxiety of not knowing if we’d gotten sick at the hospital of our parents and grandparents and friends and family, there were so many unknowns at that point. Kind of. Our first goal was just to kind of make sure everyone stayed healthy and to kind of figure out what life would look like after we got through April may get a little bit easier. June got a little bit easier and we kind of approached this fork in the road at the end of June, where Jordan was going back to work after her maternity leave from maternity leave was over at sales loft and I had to decide what I wanted to do. I had started ahead. Head of sales I had started up in town called Boxee about a month before the pandemic emerged and things were going well. But you know, that was the intensity of a ahead of sales role with two young kids at home in a pandemic. We made the decision that it was probably best for our family, for me to resign for that role, to be able to provide some stability at home and to allow Jordan to focus on really maximizing her chapter at sales loft.

Scott Arogeti: [00:12:41] So when we kind of started to figure out what we would do next and how I would spend the bandwidth that I had, that was kind of shaky, but was beginning to grow more as our kids started to sleep more and as daycare began to kind of become an option again as fall approached. This notion of living the life that you intend really kind of came back to the forefront. So we kind of had to reset and begin to map out what is it that we wanted to do? What did we enjoy doing and what could we do? So this idea of getting involved in startups was appealing. But the notion, instead of just working at one company full time of taking a bit of a different approach of saying, We have our skills, we have a little bit of resources. What if we tried something different? Would it be try to package our network, our skill, set our experiences and help companies from the position, not as an employee, but as a angel investor? And that’s kind of what led us to where we are now

Lee Kantor: [00:13:37] And then what size investments are you typically doing?

Scott Arogeti: [00:13:41] Predominantly at this point, it’s it’s low five figures. We aren’t we don’t have the capacity to be a leading any rounds. So it’s almost like we get involved around the seed round, maybe a little earlier, maybe a little later, and it kind of helped them grow and mature and evolve. And then as they get to their arounds and their bigger rounds and they bring in more institutional money, we kind of see our role as kind of beginning to kind of fade a fade more into the background where we’re still available, we’re still around as a resource, but at that point have have new and significantly more kind of experienced investors at that stage that can kind of help them along with their journey. You know, we’re still very early in figuring out what area getting Davids will be long term. We look to have more endeavors. We’re actually eight months into building our own company and have a few of the core’s endeavors that we’re looking at really kind of ramp up our involvement and which is different nonprofits and causes that are near and dear to our heart. But the first year and it’s just been at these six endeavors.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:46] And then how much bandwidth do you have? How big do you think this can get?

Scott Arogeti: [00:14:51] It’s a good question, well, we’ll see. We’ll see how, how these endeavors, how they how they evolve. I mean, there is a bit of there is a bit of a risk in this. I mean, it’s it’s an illiquid investment. And if in five to six years, these companies all don’t, I don’t make it, then you know, there’ll be some egg on our face. We’ll have to figure out what happens next. But we kind of like that that that challenge and we kind of have we have confidence in in ourselves and our ability to to help to pick companies that have potential and to do whatever we can to help them achieve that potential.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:24] Now any advice for people thinking about getting into the angel business like you are, what are some do’s and don’ts that you’ve learned in this short time? You’ve been involved in it?

Jordan Arogeti: [00:15:35] Oh, gosh, there’s a line, there’s a lot that we’ve learned. I mean, I think the first thing and then Scott will want to chime in here. I think you have to have you have to know what makes you unique. You have to have a differentiator, much like companies that much like the companies we talk to every day. They know what’s their differentiator and why they’re appealing to customers and how they create authentic demand. You know, today there’s no shortage of money available to companies. So to be an angel. I think you have to find like what that unique quality is in you, that that makes your money more valuable to to a to a founder than than somebody else. So for us, it’s it’s that that idea of being very active and being very focused on things like sales, like messaging, like onboarding, for recruiting internally. So really knowing kind of what that skill set is, I think that’s really, really imperative. Obviously, you have to have the cash to make it happen, but you also have to have some degree of focus on why you’re more appealing to a founder than somebody else.

Scott Arogeti: [00:16:36] Yeah, one thing I’d add to that is our in, our in our in our approach. It really is all about relationships. So I’ll just when everyone that we talk to, even if they’re in a formal endeavor or not just trying to be helpful however we can and trying to to to add value. So you know, it’s it’s very much a long game play. We’re both from Atlanta. We plan to be here the rest of our life. So playing a role in the story of this city’s. Technology market and really the entire ecosystem. Our goal is just to be helpful and to see how things go. So you never know where people will will will go as as their journey continues to trying to be helpful wherever possible. And we’ll see what happens.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:23] Well, I think it’s a great time to be a startup in Atlanta as opposed to, you know, maybe 15, 20 years ago. This is a totally different ecosystem that we have now. It’s pretty robust.

Scott Arogeti: [00:17:34] Yeah, we agree. It’s it’s fun. It’s exciting. There’s a whole lot happening. And through this unique structure, it really allows us to kind of maximize what we believe to be our strengths and to kind of get involved with a number of different companies in different industries that Jordan mentioned. We have a part of our portfolio. One of one of our companies is in Government Act. One is the procurement platform, one is B2B software. One is insisting it’s really it’s it’s it’s helping to to solve the issue of food insecurity through through a logistics and sustainability. I mean, it’s it’s really exciting to be able to kind of have our hands in a lot of different of different companies and industries.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:15] And I would imagine it’s pretty rewarding in that you’re getting to pick and choose what adventure you want to go on as long as they align with your core values and mission.

Jordan Arogeti: [00:18:23] So it’s certainly I mean, for us, you know, we we’ve both worked at companies some some very, very good, some some that we have different challenges. And I think for me, in my experience at sales life, I know the value of core values and and what that really means and how to really live them. So for us, when we created our giddy endeavors, it was very important that we knew what our core values were. So for us, it’s it’s all about intentionality, authenticity and relationships. And go

Scott Arogeti: [00:18:55] Ahead. Yeah, I was going to say I’ve I’ve worked in five different startups in this city and for different industries, at some companies that were very big and some that were very small. I was the first an employee at three different times and I’ve worn a different hat at those companies. So the idea of kind of having some, some some flexibility in the industries that you work in isn’t new to me, but it’s exciting to be able to kind of do all those things in a way at once. So yeah, there’s a whole lot happening here. It’s fun to to be able to get involved and help. And I’d say the most rewarding thing is to get the positive feedback from our founders and from their teams that we’re really adding value and that they’re the insights that we bring to the table and the connections that we make, introductions that we make that they are additive, they are delivering whether they’re new employees, new customers, new investors, new partners or vendors. I think that feedback, that validation has been the best part thus far for me. Make an introduction from from to between the founder and so on our network and that person ends up getting hired. That feels great. Make an introduction to someone and it ends up closing a new deal or having an investor see what we see and and choose to invest in the company. That’s that’s a really good feeling for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:10] Well, congratulations on all the success. What do you need more of? How can we help?

Scott Arogeti: [00:20:17] Honestly, I think we’re in a good place right now. We will want to give some more exposure to our companies. I mean, I think that we’re proud of our portfolio. The government tech platform by the name of the clarity value is doing. Big things are going to be announcing their seed round. I think in the not-too-distant future, they’ve already signed a lot of deals around the country. So it’s it’s a platform that’s looking to really help make sure that any government agency and entity has the ability to better. It’s almost like if you hear the term a lot now, employee experience and customer experience, they’re focused on the constituent experience. So if you want to, whether it’s getting a new driver’s license or a new permit for any kind of any, any interaction you have with the government, their role, their goal is to make it easier and less frustrating. So we’re proud of what they’re doing. Q in town, see you is doing. It’s doing a wonderful things and the B2B assessed space. We’re proud to be a minority investor in GoodRx and pro photo. I mean, the companies are all doing very well. They’re very early. But as they continue to grow and scale and exposure, we can kind of help deliver to them is fantastic.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:28] Good stuff. Well, if somebody wants to connect with you or somebody on the team, what’s the website arrogating endeavors?

Jordan Arogeti: [00:21:35] And so I would encourage them to reach out to us on LinkedIn. They can or are quite active there as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:41] And that’s r.o get-I endeavors. Correct. Correct. Well, Scott and Jordan, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you. Thank you. All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see, y’all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.