Exclusive SACC-LA Interview with Expert DOJO’s Sophie Angner!

Sophie Angner

Head of Operations at Expert DOJO, Co-Founder
& CEO of Oracle’s Club, Former Marketing Manager at SACC-LA


Sophie Angner.
Photo Courtesy: Emma Bahrton.

Sophie Angner has a background in startup investment and is currently operating Expert Dojo, that is the third biggest startup accelerator in California, after Ycombinator and Techstars. Based in Santa Monica and with a focus on building visionary companies, Expert Dojo is the most active international early-stage startup accelerator in Southern California.

“We have expanded as fast as a rocket this past year. We aim to invest in about 100 companies every year from all over the world, from Australia to Sweden”, Sophie says. 

 
Expert DOJO’s, from left, Head of Investment Isabelle Persson and Head of Operations Sophie Angner. 
Photo Courtesy: Daniel Sahlberg.

Three months ago Sophie Angner teamed up with Isabelle Persson, Head of Investment at Expert Dojo, to create an invitation-only investment and networking club called the Oracle’s Club. For those who get invited, perks include investment opportunities, private getaways, tennis & golf tournaments. The club also includes an online platform similar to LinkedIn, for investors only, where investors have their own profile and are able to chat with each other, which is suitable for networking and sharing investment deals. The platform offers a gamifying function where the better your investment deals go, the more points you will receive, which will generate a better ranking.


Exclusive SACC-LA Interview with Sophie Angner – Head of Operations at Expert DOJO, Co-Founder & CEO of Oracle’s Club and Former SACC-LA Marketing Manager!

1. What makes Oracle’s Club unique? 
Most investor clubs out there are male dominant, but at our club we have 50% female members and 50% male members as a policy.

We focus a lot on live events, but in this new world with Covid-19 we have also made sure to build a high-performance platform where investors can interact virtually and receive points, which I believe makes us very different from other investor clubs.  

2. What are the benefits of having many points / high ranking on the platform of Oracle’s Club?
The points system is there to legitimize that investors are real investors, since there are many who say that they are investors, even though they are not. So it’s mostly to be able to prove who’s a legitimate investor. We notice that it is a problem among startups, that they waste a lot of time in meetings with investors who are not serious. The points system solves this problem, as it helps to identify investors who are active and actually investing.

3. What is the purpose of Oracle’s Club?
To bring like-minded investors together, better decisions are made when great minds come together. It’s also for fun, I love creating events, and I will make sure these will be unbelievably good. 

4. You used to work as an Event marketing manager for SACC-LA. What was the biggest take-away from your time at SACC-LA?
I really enjoyed working for SACC-LA, it gave me so many good connections in LA, it is actually through SACC-LA that I met the Founder of Expert Dojo, Brian Mac Mahon, as he used to be a member of SACC-LA. I also want to add that President & Chair of SACC-LA, Gudrun Giddings, and the Board was an incredible team to work with and they all inspired me and mentored me to get where I am today. 

5. You have made many big decisions leading up to where you are today, including moving to California to go to college and practice sports. What decision do you think has had the biggest impact on where you are today? And what made you take that decision?
I always knew I wanted to travel abroad and to do it alone. I didn’t want to do it with someone, I particularly wanted to do it alone, so that I could get out of my comfort zone and really grow. Playing tennis in college in Santa Barbara was by far the biggest decision. I really grew as a person, became more brave, got time to myself, experienced a lot of different cultures and I loved it. 

 6. Do you have any advice for someone who is trying to figure out their career path?
Yes, doing what you love makes success more likely. 
 
7. How far from what you dreamed of doing when you were younger are you now?
It’s sometimes hard to pause and appreciate what you have accomplished so far. I always dreamt about going to tennis college as a kid and now I have done that. I have probably accomplished 20% of my dreams and I have many left that I am still going for ever yday. I never really settle. 

 8. Do you have a dream person to play in a tennis match? 
I would do anything to get a game against Roger Federer. 

 9. What do you miss the most about Stockholm and Sweden? 
The Swedish forest, being able to just walk around in the city without having to drive, Swedish nightlife, fika, my family and close friends. Hehe a lot actually. 

From left, Sophie Angner & Isabelle Persson. 
Photo Courtesy: Daniel Sahlberg.

Five Fast Ones with Sophie


Stockholm Restaurants or LA Restaurants 
Björn Borg 
or Serena Williams
Night Owl or Early Bird
Take a Risk
 or Play it Safe
Horror Movie or Comedy Movie


Learn more about Oracle’s Club here.
Find more information about Expert DOJO via their website.
Check out Expert DOJO on Instagram and Facebook