John Fein and Chris Marks are the managing partners of Firebrand Ventures. John started Firebrand Ventures in 2016, and we interviewed him in 2018. Prior to founding Firebrand, John served as Managing Director for Techstars, a leading startup accelerator with over 40 programs around the …
Republic // helping anyone invest in private companies [CC081]
Interview Begins 8:02 Debrief 50:00 Kendrick (Ken) Nguyen is the co-founder and CEO of Republic. Republic empowers everyone to invest in the future they believe in by providing access to startups, real estate, crypto, and video game investments. Focused on creating a diverse, sustainable, connected …
Victor Gutwein of M25 // A conversation 200 episodes in the making [CC080]
Interview Begins: 9:01 Debrief: 59:30 Victor Gutwein is the Founder and Managing Partner of M25 M25 is an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago, investing solely in tech startups headquartered in the Midwest. Since they launched in 2015, they’ve become the most active investor in …
Reclaim // a smart calendar assistant helping find time for your real priorities [UP089]
Interview Begins 6:53 Debrief 52:25 Patrick Lightbody is the co-founder of Reclaim. Reclaim is a smart calendar assistant that can save you up to 40% of your workweek. Reclaim aligns your priorities to the time you spend every week, empowering you to rapidly rebalance your …
John Gannon of GoingVC // helping people break into venture capital [CC077]
Interview begins: 6:28 Debrief: 41:25 John Gannon is the co-founder and general partner of GoingVC. John has mentored thousands of current and aspiring VCs through his VC Careers blog and email list, which counts VCs from top firms like Sequoia, KPCB, and Bessemer as subscribers. …
Ginger Rothrock of HG Ventures // corporate venture capital investing in heavy construction and materials, environmental services, and specialty chemicals [CC076]
Interview begins: 7:16 Debrief: 43:38 Ginger Rothrock is a Senior Director at HG Ventures. HG Ventures supports innovation and growth across The Heritage Group by investing and partnering with private companies developing new technologies and approaches in both our core and adjacent markets. We …
William Hsu of Mucker Capital // an accelerator committed to getting to you to your next round of funding [CC073]
Interview begins: 7:07 Debrief: 38:45 William Hsu is a founding partner at Mucker Capital. He started his career as a founder, creating BuildPoint, a provider of workflow management solutions for the commercial construction industry not long after graduating from Stanford. Based in Los Angeles, Mucker …
Rally // buying & selling equity shares in ultra-rare, collectible assets [UP088]
Interview begins: 5:59 Debrief: 50:11 Rob Petrozzo is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer for Rally. Rally is a liquid financial marketplace for buying & selling equity shares in ultra-rare assets the same way you buy & sell stocks. Together, we Rally to make investing …
Michael Cohn and Sean O’Brien of Overline // leading seed stage deals in Atlanta and the southeast [CC072]
Interview Begins: 6:16 Debrief: 37:03 Michael Cohn and Sean O’Brien are the Managing Directors of Overline. Overline is an Atlanta-based, founder-operator led venture capital firm focused on investing in seed-stage businesses, primarily in Atlanta and the Southeast region of the United States. We partner …
The Launch Company // building the world’s first multi-user, mobile launch site for this planet and beyond [UP085]
Interview begins: 6:51 Debrief: 53:55 Ben Kellie is the Founder and CEO of The Launch Company The Launch Company is building the world’s first multi-user, mobile launch site for this planet and beyond. They develop standardized hardware, ground support equipment, and processes. Ben has a …
Tribevest // making it easy for individuals to pool their capital and invest together [UP084]
Interview begins: 5:22 Debrief: 41:15 Travis Smith is the founder and CEO of Tribevest. Tribevest makes it easy to launch an investor entity, pool capital, and experience wealth-building with friends, family, and people you trust. Tribevest’s all-in-one-platform helps you assemble your tribe, align on your …
Huckabuy // improving your search results with a technology-based approach to SEO [UP083]
Interview begins: 6:33 Debrief: 46:48 Geoff Atkinson is the founder and CEO of Huckabuy. Huckabuy’s Software improves your search results, drives more organic traffic, and makes your website faster. Their software creates Google’s Perfect World on your website to queue up the perfect conversation with …
Passiv // transforming your brokerage account into a portfolio management tool [UP082]
Interview begins: 5:52 Debrief: 34:02 Nick McCullum is the Director of Growth for Passiv. Passiv turns your brokerage account into a modern portfolio management tool. Passiv allows you to set a target portfolio and get email notifications when your portfolio drifts from that target. …
Between Two Hedges // building companies with one foot in and one foot outside Silicon Valley [CC067]
Trent and Travis Hedge are brothers from Columbus, OH, who left for Silicon Valley. But since that time, both have continued to visit and advocate for Ohio and other parts of the country. Travis Hedge is the co-founder of Vouch Insurance (YC S19). Vouch Insurance …
[REWIND] Opendorse // pioneering athlete-driven marketing [RE002]
Today is the second episode in our December series called “Rewind.” Blake Lawrence is the founder and CEO of Opendorse. We first talked with Blake back in April 2019, and our episode aired on July 17, 2019. Since that time, Opendorse has grown a lot. …
Healium // self-management of stress using biofeedback and virtual reality [UP081]
Interview begins: 7:01 Debrief: 45:09 Sarah Hill is the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Healium. Healium is a virtual and augmented reality tool for the self-management of stress powered by the user’s own brainwaves and heart rate. Healium is the world’s first biometrically-powered VR/AR immersive …
SuperRare // creating a tokenized digital art marketplace [UP080]
Interview begins: 6:56 Debrief: 54:04 John Crain is the Founder and CEO of SuperRare. SuperRare is a marketplace to collect and trade unique, single-edition digital artworks. Each artwork is authentically created by an artist in the network, and tokenized as a crypto-collectible digital item that …
Nexme // an on demand real estate platform [UP079]
Interview begins: 6:34 Debrief: 51:42 Vanessa is the Co-Founder and COO of Nexme. Nexme is an on demand real estate platform that delivers instant access to homes and full-service, professional real estate agents. All at the click of a button. Nexme charges buyers and …
Rob Eloff of Lateral Capital // the history and future of venture capital in Africa [CC066]
Interview begins: 7:18 Debrief: 59:34 Rob Eloff has spent his career investing, living, and working in developing markets. Prior to co-founding Lateral Capital he was a Venture Partner with Conversion Capital and established Frontier Dawn Partners, an evergreen vehicle for capital deployment to early-stage, technology-enabled …
Nathan McDonald of Keiretsu Forum // a global community of angel investors with 53 chapters across four continents [CC064]
Interview begins: 8:37 Debrief: 58:58 Nathan McDonald is the CEO and Managing Partner of Keiretsu Capital as well as the Chairman of the Keiretsu Forum Northwest. Keiretsu Forum is a global investment community of accredited private equity angel investors, venture capitalists, and corporate/institutional investors. …
Mary Grove of Bread & Butter Ventures // from Google and Rise of the Rest to Minneapolis [CC063]
Interview begins: 10:30 Debrief: 45:38 Mary Grove is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures. She brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in technology, early-stage investing, and startup ecosystem growth. She began her career working on the Google IPO, and went on to lead …
Documo // Fax and document management for highly-regulated industries [UP078]
Interview begins: 11:02 Debrief: 53:06 Matt Valeo is the founder and CEO of Documo. Documo creates document workflow solutions that make working with documents easy, more secure, and better for the planet. Their product suite includes mSign, mFax, and mDrive. Documo was founded in 2017 …
Ashley Flucas of Flucas Ventures // turning 100 angel investments into an AngelList syndicate [CC062]
Interview begins: 8:44 Debrief: 51:53 Ashley Flucas is an angel investor and syndicate lead with Flucas Ventures. By day, Ashley is a general counsel/partner at a real estate finance fund (infrastructure, sports arenas and large-scale condo, apartment and commercial buildings) with approx $3B AUM (LPs …
Xendoo // personalized bookkeeping for small businesses [UP074]
Interview begins: 6:03 Debrief: 48:54 Lillian (Lil) Roberts is the founder and CEO of Xendoo. Xendoo is a cloud-based bookkeeping and accounting service focused on small business owners. By harnessing technology we give our accounting teams more time to work directly with clients and their …
Dave Sachse // investing in venture funds and startups as a family office [CC060]
Interview begins: 6:49 Debrief: 35:17 Today we’re talking with Dave Sachse, the founder, and managing partner of the Sachse Family Fund. The Sachse Family Fund is a family office venture capital fund based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In today’s episode, we’re finally exploring the family office …
Will Price of Next Frontier Capital // bringing venture capital to the rocky mountain region [CC059]
Interview begins: 6:36 Debrief: 48:89 Today we’re talking with Will Price the Founder and General Partner of Next Frontier Capital. Will founded Next Frontier Capital to partner with mission-driven, talented entrepreneurs to build Montana technology companies of impact, utility, value. Will’s career spans venture …
Peter Livingston of Unpopular Ventures // early stage investing through a syndicate [CC058]
Interview begins: 5:16 Debrief: 43:55 Unpopular Ventures is led by Peter Livingston, whose experience is almost entirely in startups – as both an operator and investor. He was the first engineer at iRhythm (IPO 2016) and was the founder/CEO at Lifesquare (backed by Kleiner …
CC057: Saurabh Sharma of Jump Capital // Series A and B capital for cloud infrastructure and enterprise software
Interview begins: 6:08 Debrief begins: 37:58 Today we are talking with Saurabh Sharma He is a partner at Jump Capital, a thesis led sector-focused and operating centric venture capital firm specializing in series A and B in growth-stage investments, Jump Capital invest in data-driven …
CC056: Chetan Parekh of P&G Ventures // identifying and developing the next generation of billion-dollar brands
Interview begins: 6:08 Debrief begins: 42:55 Today our guest is Chetan Parekh. Chetan is the Senior Brand Director & Innovation Portfolio Leader at P&G Ventures. He leads a multi-disciplinary team in charge of creating new businesses and building partnerships to serve the aging consumer and …
UP073: Pear Commerce // creating a win-win-win for consumers, brands, and retailers
Interview begins: 8:38 Debrief begins: 51:03 Today we’re talking with Eric Martell, the founder of Pear Commerce. Pear Commerce enables CPG companies to drive real transactions from existing national ads and retailers to build their online channel with new customers and repeat purchases. Pear …
CC055: Jason Illian of Koch Disruptive Technologies // investing in emerging technologies for one of the world’s largest private companies
Interview begins: 8:46 Debrief begins: 44:36 This week we’re speaking with Jason Illian, Managing Director of Koch Disruptive Technologies. Jason was the founder and CEO of BookShout, the world’s leading B2B e-book company. He has presented at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference, …
CC053: Andrew D’Souza of Clearbanc // revenue-based financing and the 20-minute term sheet
Interview Begins: 7:11 Debrief Begins: 42:31 In this episode, we’ll be talking with Andrew D’Souza, the co-founder and CEO of Clearbanc. Along with his partners, he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital. At the same time, they help entrepreneurs to grow …
CC052: Nick Cooney of Lever VC // investing in alternative protein startups
Interview begins: 5:50 Debrief begins: 39:35 Nick Cooney is the Founder and Managing Director of Lever VC. Lever VC is a new fund focused in alternative animal products, including alternative proteins, meats, and plant-based dairy products. Their portfolio includes some of the biggest brands in …
CC051: Grady Buchanan of OmniValley // connecting startup investors between the coasts
Interview begins: 6:11 Debrief begins: 43:23 Grady Buchanan is the founder and CEO of OmniValley. OmniValley is an exclusive online investor network focused on helping you create connections anywhere in the world. They work to showcase and foster under-ventured and emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems by connecting, …
CC048: Mike Duda of Bullish // the strategic creative and capital partner behind brands like Casper, Birchbox, Peloton, and more
Interview starts: 6:20 Debrief starts: 1:02:12 Mike Duda is a Managing Partner at Bullish. Bullish is a marketing operating partner focused on the growth business and has helped develop companies like Birchbox, Peloton, Casper, and Harry’s. Through both investment and creative services, Bullish helps early-stage …
CC045: Elizabeth Galbut of SoGal Ventures // the first female-led millennial venture capital firm (from CES 2020)
Interview starts: 6:10 Debrief starts: 43:34 Elizabeth Galbut is the Founding and Managing Partner of SoGal Ventures. SoGal Ventures is the first female-led millennial venture firm, and they are leading the way in investing in diverse founding teams and products across the USA and Asia. …
CC044: Doug Clinton of Loup Ventures // exploring frontier technologies (from CES 2020)
Interview starts: 6:38 Debrief starts: 32:46 Doug Clinton is the managing partner of Loup Ventures. A Midwest-based venture firm, Loup Ventures was founded in 2017, and to date, they have made exciting investments focusing on frontier tech. Their latest concentrations include neuro-tech and BCI, as …
CC039: Catharine Dockery of Vice Ventures // investing in good companies operating in “bad” industries
Interview starts: 5:40 Debrief starts: 32:25 Catharine Dockery is the founding partner of Vice Ventures, an NY-based early stage venture firm focusing on companies working in “vice” industries such as cannabis, alcohol, sex techs, psychedelics, harm reduction drugs, and online gambling. Founded in 2019, Vice …
CC034: Greg Robinson of 4490 Ventures // leading Series A/B rounds in underserved markets
Interview starts: 6:38 Debrief starts: 43:48 Greg Robinson is the Managing Director of 4490 Ventures. 4490 Ventures is an early stage venture fund based in Madison Wisconsin that invests in Midwest, tech based companies. Founded in 2014, 4490 Ventures aims $5-8 million per investment, and …
CC033: Alex Rubalcava of Stage Venture Partners // investing in early-stage enterprise software
Interview starts: 6:23 Debrief beings: 48:05 Alex Rubalcava is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Stage Venture Partners, an L.A.-based VC firm that invests in upcoming software technologies. Alex began his investing career with Anthem Venture Partners in Los Angeles before switching to public market …
CC032: Kate Shillo Beardsley of Upslope Ventures // scaling early stage investments across the country
Interview begins: 7:10 Debrief begins: 44:55 Kate Shillo Beardsley is the Managing Partner of Upslope Ventures. Formerly known as Galvanize Ventures, Upslope Ventures is committed to investing in early stage startups. Located in Denver, they look for startups throughout the country and currently have a …
CC030: investing in socially responsible, high-growth companies // a coffee chat with Rose Maizner (RenewableTech Ventures)
Interview begins: 5:30 Debrief begins: 44:38 Rose Maizner is a partner at RenewableTech Ventures and a co-founder of Womenpreneurs. RenewableTech Ventures is a Salt Lake City based venture capital fund focused in cleantech. An impact investment fund, Renewable Tech Ventures has helped a number of …
CC028: building turnkey programs for entrepreneurs and creatives // a coffee chat with Joe Kirgues (gener8tor)
Interview begins: 05:49 Debrief begins: 41:15 Joe Kirgues is a co-founder of gener8tor. One of the top companies in its field, gener8tor offers accelerator programs whose missions are to promote local investors and companies investing in their own communities’ startups and entrepreneurs. Operating in Milwaukee, …
CC027: raising an opportunity fund for a mission driven accelerator // a coffee chat with Barbara Bickham (WIF AX)
Interview begins: 06:02 Debrief begins: 39:50 Barbara Bickham is the co-founder and Managing Director of WIF AX. WIF AX (Women’s Innovation Fund Accelerator) is a Qualified Opportunity Fund building women-balanced and environmentally-sustainable organizations within QOZ’s nationwide. They plan to use a mix of incubation, …
CC025: impact investing and reversing demographic trends // a Coffee Chat with Robert Zulkoski (Vermont Works)
Interview begins: 06:34 Debrief begins: 49:48 Robert Zulkoski is the Chairman and Managing Partner of Vermont Works. Vermont Works is an Independent Alternative Investment Firm Supporting Vermont’s Job & Economic Development. Vermont Works was founded in 2016 and based in Burlington, Vermont. We discuss: Social …
CC024: investing in the picks and shovels of esports and gaming // a Coffee Chat with Josh Chapman (Konvoy Ventures)
Interview begins: 05:19 Debrief begins: 55:13 Josh Chapman is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Konvoy Ventures. Konvoy is an early-stage venture fund focused exclusively on esports & video gaming. They are dedicated to partnering with and supporting founders in this industry at the earliest …
CC022: connecting the coasts to the heartland // a Coffee Chat from the Comeback Cities Tour
Interview starts: 06:15 This conversation took place on the third Comeback Cities tour on May 15, 2019, aimed at connecting venture capitalists from the East and West Coasts with investment opportunities in the heartland. It also had stops in Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown. This conversation …
CC017: building a world class venture firm in Chicago // a Coffee Chat with Ezra Galston (Starting Line)
Interview begins: 05:47 Debrief begins: 47:55 Ezra Galston is the Founding Partner at Starting Line. Starting Line is a thematic early stage venture capital fund focused on investing in consumer services and products that are both cheaper and better. They want to be the number …
CC016: a new source of funding and optionality for early stage founders // a Coffee Chat with Tyler Tringas (Earnest Capital) and Kevin McArdle (SureSwift Capital)
Interview begins: 06:02 Debrief begins: 58:45 Tyler Tringas is the General Partner at Earnest Capital. Earnest Capital provides early-stage funding, resources and a network of experienced advisors to bootstrappers, indie hackers, makers and real businesses. They offer an innovative investment structure aligned with founders and …
CC013: how Pittsburgh leverages state funding to spur innovation // a Coffee Chat with Terri Glueck and Leah Simoncelli (Innovation Works)
Interview begins: 06:32 Debrief begins: 51:53 Terri Glueck is the Director of Communications at Innovation Works. Leah Simoncelli is the Coordinator of the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup. As Director of Community Development & Communications, Terri Glueck leads Innovation Works’ communications efforts. Having joined Innovation Works …
CC011: making the startup ecosystem bigger in Texas // a Coffee Chat with Bryan Chambers (Capital Factory)
Interview begins: 07:03 Debrief begins: 48:43 Bryan serves as Capital Factory’s Vice President of Accelerator and Investment Fund. Bryan is a business development and investment professional experienced in portfolio management and venture capital transactions. Prior to joining Capital Factory, Bryan established the Blackstone Launchpad and …
CC010: the pros and cons of angel funds // a Coffee Chat with Todd Federman (North Coast Angel Fund)
Interview begins: 06:10 Debrief begins: 1:00:45 Todd Federman is the Manging Director for the North Coast Angel Fund. Todd has served as the Executive Director of North Coast Angel Fund since its founding in 2006. Prior to joining NCAF, Todd worked as a full-time independent …
CC008: the first startup accelerator designed for bootstrappers // a Coffee Chat with Rob Walling (TinySeed)
Rob Walling is a General Partner of TinySeed. He has bootstrapped multiple startups to exit, most recently Drip. He runs MicroConf, co-hosts Startups for the Rest of Us, and has been advising, mentoring and investing in startups for more than a decade. // TinySeed …
CC007: the rise of platform in venture capital // a Coffee Chat with Stephanie Manning (Lerer Hippeau)
Stephanie Manning is the Director of Platform for Lerer Hippeau. Lerer Hipeau is an early-stage venture capital fund based in New York City. As founders and operators themselves, Lerer Hippeau see returns in relationships. They seek entrepreneurs with product vision, consumer insight, focused execution, …
CC006: tackling the Series A/B capital gap in Ohio // a coffee chat with Bill Baumel and Jill Raderstorf (Ohio Innovation Fund)
A conversation with Bill Baumel and Jill Raderstorf of the Ohio Innovation Fund live from The Starting Line by the Ohio State University College of Nursing. The Ohio Innovation Fund is driving growth in the Ohio entrepreneurial ecosystem. They are bridging the gap between Silicon …
CC005: getting into venture and startup ecosystems // a coffee chat with Monique Villa (ModernCapital)
Monique Villa is the founder of Modern Capital in Nashville, Tennessee. ModernCapital is a collective of creative thinkers from the private, public, and civic sectors shaping the modern economy. Based in Nashville, ModernCapital believes the best talent will Build in the Southeast. // Monique is …
CC003: Opportunity Funds // a coffee chat with Peter Brack (Hypothesis Ventures)
Since this recording, the US Treasury has released new guidelines as it comes to Opportunity Zones. Click here to read the press release, or here to download a PDF of the new guidelines. Peter Brack is a Founding Partner of Hypothesis Ventures. Prior to …
CC002: Kansas City rising // a Coffee Chat with John Fein (Firebrand Ventures)
John Fein is the founder and Managing Partner at Firebrand Ventures, a venture fund that invests in the greater Midwest. Prior to founding Firebrand John served as Managing Director for Techstars where he ran three accelerator programs in Kansas City. Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnfein …
CC001: Silicon Valley to Nashville // a coffee chat with Andrew Goldner (GrowthX)
Andrew Goldner is a Founding Partner of GrowthX. He has been in the technology sector since 1998, based in New York City, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Palo Alto. GrowthX helps companies and countries commercialize innovation through capital, talent and know-how. Andrew is a Kauffman Fellow, …