Bruce Schmidt: More Than Just a Public Company Expert

Bruce Schmidt, Chief Financial Officer and Board Member at GreenAngel Energy, is a seasoned venture capitalist, a life sciences specialist, an entrepreneur, and a winery owner. As a Director at GAE Bruce has many roles that are not limited to the financial side. His experience launching and running companies and his role as an investor are just partly why Bruce’s involvement in GAE was sought-after.

What Bruce loves most about angel investing is the sense of curiosity that comes with the job. It gives him an opportunity to always be searching for the next up and coming technology. He is also looking for people who are tuned into what is going on at the “street level”. Of course he also likes the return you can earn when you get involved with the right technology, but warns that liquidity is often elusive and you cannot always predict an exit, so you better do your due diligence before investing.

On top of Bruce’s extensive experience with publicly traded companies, he also has significant experience with start-ups. His experiences with both his own start-ups and those he has invested in have ranged in terms of financial and symbolic success. For Bruce success is not always just about a huge exit. Simply put, success is about identifying key milestones and achieving those milestones on time and on budget. It is proven reliability that can often be an entrepreneur’s greatest triumph since so often what a venture capitalist is really looking for in an investee is a track record of successfully reaching goals and delivering as promised. There is really no better indicator of a technology’s success than the people who are behind it.

Beyond a good track record Bruce is also looking for a management team with transferable skills, which can, ironically, come through failure. Bruce believes that it is through one’s failures, as well as successes, that a good leader is born. If you have not experienced failure than you do not know how to overcome it to move on and get the job done. If someone has had some set backs in their career they are a valuable recourse because they have learned from their experiences and developed a resilience that is necessary in start-ups.

Of course it doesn’t hurt to have a few protected technologies (patents) in your portfolio either. For Bruce, it is important that technologies have a competitive advantage that creates a strong enough barrier to entry so that competitors are not always chasing closely behind. Patents are always a large factor for Bruce. He also looks for a strong Board of Directors or advisory board that can help tip the scale. Good advisors are essential to a successful business, and Bruce cautions that if you do not have an experienced and committed board, you are doing your company a disservice. You need good people to go to for council when needed, this shows a sense of maturity that can lend well to future investment.

When deciding to be a part of GAE, Bruce looked at this partnership like he does a potential investee. It is a good idea at its foundation, it has very experienced leaders who all have a history littered with mostly successes, and a committed board made up of seasoned tech executives. Furthermore, the GAE team is made up of all recognizable faces who are trusted in the Venture Capital community and are respected by investors. Bruce saw the opportunity to partner with successful people who are careful when spending their money as a sound investment of his time. Via the WUTIF fund (http://wutif.ca), Bruce has invested alongside Mike Volker in over 50 companies and seen a lot of good and bad technologies, enough to have developed a sharp eye for red flags.

Bruce isn’t always seeking out the next hot, green technology venture however. He may not have realized it when he was a young man, but Bruce’s first job would eventually spark a passion in him that has driven him to embark on one of his most valued investments. While working at his Uncle’s apple orchard in Kelowna, British Columbia, Bruce did everything from pruning, mowing, and fertilizing the orchard to picking the apples. These various jobs shaped his interest in farming, particularly vineyards, extending to a passion for wine making. Many years later Bruce is now the proud owner/operator of Intersection Winery (xwine.ca) in British Columbia’s Southern Okanagan Valley.

Click here for a link to Bruce Schmidt’s Professional bio