Our Featured Guest for Sunday, May 18, 2025 is Sandy Wollman

Dive into the high-stakes, high-reward world of angel investing with Sandy Woolman, co-founder of the Westchester Angels and board member of the Angel Capital Association. Sandy shares insider tips on how angel investing really works, what makes a startup fundable, the risks (and big wins) involved, and why the “no jerk” rule is key to success.

Established in 2015, Westchester Angels is a cohort of strategic investors and bold business leaders from across the Tri-State region. They share a passion for fueling the area’s most promising start-ups and setting them on a path of growth and success. But their interest in companies goes beyond just venture capital — they work closely with and mentor the entrepreneurs they invest in. Their members are also passionate about learning new things, building community, and having fun in Westchester and beyond. Westchester Angels gets the best Deal Flow from their efforts to Syndicate Angel Groups starting in the NYC/Tristate area and expanding to 70 Angel Groups from Pa to Maine through the Angel Capital Association. 

Westchester Angels’ Strategic Alliances:

• The New York Area Angel Alliance convenes leaders of the largest angel groups in NYC and the Tri-State region. The Golden Seeds, 37 Angels, Gaingels, The HSB Alumni Angels, Hudson Valley Start Up Fund and the Jumpstart NJ Angel Network are just some of the participating groups. Each month, Sandy leads a Deal Flow Zoom call, where investors share updates on the latest start-up due diligence.
• Jumpstart NJ Angel Network recently formed a strategic alliance, providing deep value to members of both angel groups and start-ups. The partnership allows each group’s members to share investor meetings and due diligence teams. And start-ups now have the ability to raise more funds on a single effort.
• Element 46 is Westchester’s Incubator where local startups can receive mentorship, work space and strategic contacts to help their businesses succeed. The Westchester Angels will be working closely with Element 46 to provide instruction on making effective pitches, judges for their pitch day and more.

Westchester Angels has also created a new and exciting Angel Investor Meeting Format! Investor meetings are held at different and interesting local venues; art galleries, historic homes, mansions, theatres, breweries, and at their  Signature Event at Garcia’s/ Capital Theatre in Port Chester. All Investor Meetings feature food, drink and sometimes live music after the pitches allowing for members to form friendships and a rare opportunity for starts-ups to talk with investors over a beer. Read more at: https://westchesterangels.com/

Angel Capital Association (ACA) is a professional society of angel investors who make up the world’s most prolific early-stage investment class. The association is the largest professional development organization for angel investors in the world deploying more than $650 million in early stage capital each year. ACA provides an insider perspective that can help you make smart investment decisions. Read more at: https://angelcapitalassociation.org/

OUR ENTREPRENEUR PRESENTERS:

Dr. Simiao Niu isan Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University – New Brunswick. His current work focuses on wearable devices and energy harvesting systems for biomedical applications. 

Before Rutgers, he was a health sensing and health technologies hardware system engineer at Apple Inc. He received postdoctoral training in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, under the mentorship of Prof. Zhenan Bao, and received Ph.D. degree in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2016, under the mentorship of Prof. Zhong Lin Wang.

His research covers many aspects, including embedded system design, sensor design, sensor interface circuit design, machine learning, biosignal processing, hydrogels, stretchable devices, soft robotics, and energy harvesting systems.

He has received several prestigious honors and awards, including MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 (TR35, Asia Pacific List), 2020-2024 Clarivate Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher, Research.com Rising Star of Science Award, Apple Special Recognition Award, and Japan Telecommunications Advancement Foundation Best Paper Award, etc.

His current work focuses on wearable devices and energy harvesting systems for biomedical applications. His research interest includes wearable electronics for various chronic disease management (focusing on using electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal methods to extract human physiological signals, such as electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmography (PPG), electromyography (EMG), body temperature etc.), stretchable electronics (stretchable materials, devices, and sub-circuits), energy harvesting technologies, hydrogels, soft robotics, and machine learning algorithms for biosignal processing. Read more at: https://www.simiaoniu.com/

Stephanie Donio Cauller is the founder of the charitable fund Jerseys and Dresses ™, whose mission is to empower and uplift diverse communities by fostering inclusion and unity through Literacy & Education, youth sports and small business initiatives. Every individual deserves access to resources that promote teamwork and inclusion, to be treated with respect and to have the resources needed to make an impact. 

Jersey and Dresses™ was started following the New Heights Beer Bowl at the Sea Isle Yacht Club in New Jersey. On site raising money for the Eagles Autism Foundation with Maryellen’s Cakepops, Steph was recruited to Team MOM to participate in the winner of the losers competition. There she found herself enjoying  a cold beer with the Legend himself, Jason Kelce, and had the chance to chat with Kylie. The energy those two bring to fundraising is palpable, and was the driving force that inspired action behind Jerseys and Dresses™. For years Steph had been brainstorming ideas for an organization rooted in giving, and on the dock at the Sea Isle Yacht Club, she was inspired to bring her years of thoughts alive and the first glimmer of Jerseys and Dresses™ was formed. The second glimmer came from the Savannah Bananas! After watching  Jesse Cole in a reel talking about taking action, Steph called the Community Foundation and set up the Fund.

Over the years, Steph has gifted her time to The Town of Hilton Head, Girls on the Run of the Lowcountry, Island Academy, TedX Hilton Head, Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts, Island Recreation Center, and many other organizations.

The fund’s partner is The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose purpose is to build and strengthen our community by working closely with local, impassioned donors who are motivated to address critical issues facing our region.

Local benefactors include Visitation Home of Hilton Head, All American Football Camp, and the Sandalwood Food Pantry. National benefactors include the Eagles Autism Foundation Team Maryellen’s Evil Sweetness in the Philadelphia Eagles Autism Challenge. Read more at: https://www.jerseysanddresses.org/