A Detroit native and Electrical Engineer by degree, he left the auto industry after a couple years and moved to San Diego in 1998. He's been a founder or operator in early-stage startups ever since.

Through this 2+ decade journey, he's raised from VCs and angels, been on both sides of acquisition, and graduated Techstars. His first company was a failure. His last was sold to a San Diego unicorn, Seismic Software.

Unable to write $25k-$50k checks let alone 10 to get any kind of diversification, his goals of being an angel investor were put on hold until 3-4 years ago. In that time he's managed to acquire a stake in over 80 companies with a limited budget and a little creativity.

His goal is to do something unique and impactful in venture and make it super easy for any type of investor to have access to great deals. To build a community that helps solve many of the problems traditional investing faces. To make a little money, and have a lot of fun along the way.

A SoCal native, Neal studied mechanical engineering at UCSD and worked with NASA on the Space Shuttle Main engines and the upcoming Artemis program. He moved back to San Diego to co-found an edtech startup Portfolium, which was eventually acquired by Instructure.

Neal began angel investing after having built strong relationships with fellow founders in San Diego. As he launched his tech blog and podcast, he had the opportunity to participate in more deals. Having joined Tech Coast Angels, he joined forces with fellow member and past mentor Al to launch an angel syndicate. He’s powered up by activating entrepreneurs and operators sooner than they would have expected into investing.

As with Interlock Capital’s community focus, Neal is passionate about building platforms that connect startup communities. Opening access to investing, especially in your own city, gives everyone skin in the game to feel that a rising tide lifts all boats.