The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 94 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Mira Wilczek, President and CEO of Cogo Labs. Mira is also a Senior Partner at Link Ventures which is the firm behind Cogo Labs. Did you know that one of the top incubators in the tech industry is located in Cambridge? It is called Cogo Labs and their track record of success is extraordinary. They have been launching companies for the past 12 years with an 80% success rate, which is unprecedented. Their data-driven approach and capital efficient model, provides the foundation and insights to identify problems to launch successful consumer businesses. A recent success story is EverQuote, which went public last year. Mira is an entrepreneur with a passion for building companies and you should definitely keep an eye on Cogo Labs, as Mira and the team there have some very ambitious goals ahead. By the end of next year, they want to be supporting 30 concurrent companies and yes... they are on track to accomplish this goal. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -The #1 reason why startups fail. -Mira’s background including a fun story from her days at MIT, plus her experience as an ‘ethical hacker’ at IBM and the company she founded, Red Panda Security. -The secret sauce of Cogo Labs - how they identify opportunities for building companies and why their model has been so successful. -The details in terms of the operations and platform at Cogo Labs, plus some company examples. -The criteria they use to determine when a company is ready to leave the nest. -What the job of a board member is. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that we have a YouTube channel? We launched one earlier this year and there is a rapidly growing library of content to check out. You’ll find lots of great video snippets from our podcast, plus full interviews from our CEO Briefing and Inside: series. Go to youtube.com/venturefizz to subscribe. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 93 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Mark Gally, CEO at Zaius. Mark is an experienced executive who has an innate ability to identify fragmented markets in technology that need consolidation. He also has a special talent with leading the go-to-market strategy for high growth software companies. At Mark’s prior company, he was the Chief Revenue Officer at TribeHR, where he helped deliver 1,100% sales and 470% customer growth which led to an acquisition by NetSuite in 2013. Zaius has built a B2C CRM system which is bringing together marketing automation, analytics and CRM software in one marketing platform. The company has raised over $50M to date, including a $30M Series B which was announced last year. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -A journey through his professional career across multiple companies. -Mark’s ability to grow a company’s market share, and his philosophy on go-to-market strategy. -A deep dive into what Zaius does and how its B2C CRM works, plus a look into the size and scale of the company. -Great advice for anyone trying to work their way into a CEO position. -How Mark thinks about hiring, including one interesting tip that has benefited him in the long run. -Plus, a lot more. We have a new series on VentureFizz and it is called Inside. It is a video interview with a functional leader at a company. It could be Inside: Sales, Inside: Engineering, Inside: Product, etc., etc. Each video gives you lots of great information about the company, how this particular functional area operates, hiring, culture, and more. Go to venturefizz.com/inside to check out our collection of videos. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 92 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Noah Isaacs, Co-Founder at Bowery Valuation. Noah is the definition of the words "determination" and "hustle." This mentality stems back to his teenage years, where he had a dream of working for a Major League Baseball team. With this goal in mind, he actually cold called every baseball team and dialed through to each extension hoping to get in touch with the team’s GM to land a job. He eventually did connect with the GM from the San Francisco Giants, but obviously, he was too young and inexperienced at the time. He didn’t let this discourage him. When he was 20 years old, Noah and his longtime childhood friend and current Co-Founder, John Meadows set out to build the experience required for a back office position in baseball. They took the initiative to create a website where they would report their findings from scouting minor league players up and down the West Coast. This ended up creating the very stroke of luck Noah needed to land his dream job as an intern. He shares more of the details in the podcast, but it is definitely one of those stories that sets the stage and tone for their future success as entrepreneurs. Bowery is bringing the real estate appraisal industry to the modern era with an end-to-end software solution for commercial real estate appraisals. The company has raised a total of $17M in funding, including a $12M Series A round which was announced this past January. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -More of the details on Noah and John’s friendship and the story on how he became an intern for the Toronto Blue Jays. -How they discovered an industry that was ripe for disruption. -The interesting story of how Bowery Valuation was founded, plus its current state and scale. -Advice for founders raising capital. -Lessons learned from building and scaling the business. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that you can sign up for customized job alerts from our Job Board? It’s a great way to make sure that career-defining opportunity doesn’t pass you by. Go to venturefizz.com/email to sign up. After you receive your first edition, you’ll be able to tailor it specifically for the job categories you care about. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 91 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Debi Kleiman, Executive Director at Babson College’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. When you think of places that encourage and foster entrepreneurship, few places top Babson College. In fact, Babson has been ranked the #1 school for entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report for more than two decades. Lots of very successful entrepreneurs have graduated from both Babson’s undergraduate and MBA programs. For example, the name behind Babson’s center for entrepreneurship. Arthur M. Blank is the co-founder of The Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. Another notable alum is Jamie Siminoff, the founder of Ring, which was acquired by Amazon for $1B last year. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Debi’s childhood dream of becoming a late night TV talk show host. -A journey through her career including her experience in marketing roles in the CPG industry and executive positions at C Space and MITX. -What brought Debi to Babson, all the details about her role there. -A deep dive into the entrepreneurial environment and programs that Babson offers its students -Advice on what people should be thinking about when starting a business. -Advice on crafting a pitch. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that our job board has over 4,000 positions listed with the hottest companies across the Boston tech scene? There are jobs across all levels of experience and across all functional areas like engineering, product management, marketing, sales, and more. Don’t put your career on hold, go to venturefizz.com/jobs today to start searching. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 90 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ash Kaluarachchi, Co-Founder of StartEd, an EdTech Accelerator + Incubator in New York City. Some of my favorite episodes of this show are the ones where the guest wears their passion on their sleeve, and Ash’s passion for EdTech is nothing short of infectious. We start the podcast discussing where that passion comes from, and his love for education and technology comes through the entire episode. StartEd invests in and advises innovative EdTech companies with intensive programs ranging from 1-day to 6-weeks. The accelerator provides everything from mentorship to business development and beyond. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Ash’s background story and the early stages of his career, including how he got involved with Techstars. -What led him down the path of launching StartEd and how they work with entrepreneurs, plus all the details on NY EdTech Week. -What he’s most proud of in his career. -The current state of the EdTech scene in New York. -Advice for EdTech founders who are figuring out the process for selling to school districts. -What he’s excited about in terms of the future of education and technology. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that VentureFizz now has a YouTube channel? It is a great way to watch lots of the interviews we have with folks from the New York tech community. You’ll find lots of practical advice or just an inside look at a company and how they operate. Go to youtube.com/venturefizz to check out founders and entrepreneurs. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 89 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Sridhar Iyengar, Founder and CEO of Elemental Machines. Very few entrepreneurs in the Boston tech scene have had the same level of success as Sridhar. As a co-founder of three different companies in the medical device and wearables industry, the products that he’s helped bring to market are incredibly innovative. Take AgGaMatrix, a glucose monitoring company that built the world’s first medical device that connected directly to the iPhone. Or, Misfit, the makers of elegant wearable products that was started along with Sridhar’s longtime collaborator Sonny Vu and also, John Sculley—yes, that John Sculley—the one that was the CEO at Apple. Misfit ended up getting acquired by Fossil for a reported $260M. At Elemental Machines, the company is modernizing the lab and helping to accelerate science with its IoT and data science platform. The company has raised over $11.5M in funding. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -How to give constructive feedback to your co-founder. -Sridhar’s early background and a deep dive into AgaMatrix and Misfit, including the story of how John Sculley got involved. -What led him to start Elemental Machines and all the details on the company. -Whether he thinks equity should be equal between co-founders. -Advice for founders on managing cash and raising capital. -Plus, a lot more. We are getting very close to episode 100 of The VentureFizz Podcast! Can you believe it? So, I need your help. Who is the #1 person that you would want interviewed for the 100th episode? I’m open to all suggestions, the only requirement is that the person is an entrepreneur or investor that is based in Boston or New York. You can reach me via email, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Thanks in advance! Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 88 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Saar Yoskovitz, Co-Founder and CEO at Augury. Saar is an entrepreneur with a deep level of experience in building hardware and software products. His current company, Augury, is one of those companies that make you go “wow” when you hear what they do. Their technology automatically diagnoses machines based on the sounds they make. It’s kind of like a Shazam for machines and mechanical diagnostics. They do this by connecting vibration and ultrasonic sensors to smartphones and pairing them with machine learning algorithms. The company just raised a $25M Series C this January, and have raised over $50M to date. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Saar’s background growing up in Israel and his experience working at Intel. -The story behind Augury, and the aha moment that led to its founding. -A deep dive into the world of machine diagnostics. -How Augury got its first early-adopter customers. -Saar’s experience with raising capital, and what the fundraising process was like. -Advice for building hardware. -Plus, a lot more. Every Monday, we publish the NY edition of Talent on the Move. It is a weekly roll up of people making job changes across the NY tech scene. If you are interested in having any of your recent hires featured, all you have to do is send us the individual’s updated LinkedIn profile via email to info@venturefizz.com. We accept submissions across all levels of experience and functional areas within the company. Our only request is that the person is based in or around NYC. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 87 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Sarah Hodges, Partner at Pillar. Prior to becoming a Venture Capitalist, Sarah spent a decade as an operator in consumer and enterprise companies like Carbonite, Runkeeper, and Smarterer. As part of the executive team at Smarterer, she oversaw business strategy, operations, and marketing. As you may know, the company was acquired by Pluralsight in 2014 and still today, it has a rapidly growing office in the Boston tech scene. Pillar is an early-stage venture firm that is on a mission to build the next generation of anchor companies in Boston with a model that has common alignment with the founders. Some of its portfolio companies include PillPack, Soofa, Desktop Metal, Hometap, PathAI, and more. In addition to being a Partner at Pillar, Sarah is a board member at the New England Venture Capital Association and was a Co-Founder of Intelligent.ly. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Sarah’s background story in terms of all the operating roles she’s held including the details behind the acquisition by Pluralsight. -Her career path into the Venture Capital industry as a Partner. -Everything you need to know about Pillar, including how the firm is differentiating itself from other investors and why they are doubling down in Boston. -Advice for founders who are trying to raise funding. -When you should bring in someone to run marketing. -Plus, a lot more. As you may know, we publish lots of great stories every day on VentureFizz that share a lot of information about companies, their people, and their culture. Did you know that you can get these stories delivered to your inbox every day? All you need to do is signup for our Daily Stories email and you’ll be plugged in. Go to venturefizz.com/email to signup. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 86 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Christiane Lemieux, Founder and CEO of The Inside. Christiane is a design entrepreneur with many accomplishments. Outside of starting companies, she is an author of multiple books and has been featured on TV as a co-host and judge on “Ellen’s Design Challenge” on HGTV. As a serial entrepreneur, her last company DwellStudio was acquired by Wayfair in 2013, where she served as the company’s Executive Creative Director. The Inside is a venture-backed, digitally native home furnishings brand. The company is disrupting the way consumers buy furniture with a custom, made-to-order approach that offers world-class design and limitless selection. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -The two new books she’s currently working on. -Her background story, including a deep dive into her first company, DwellStudio, and its acquisition by Wayfair. -All the detail on The Inside and her thoughts on building a consumer brand. -Advice for non-technical founders, who are building a technology company. -Her thoughts on selecting the right investors for your business. -How she thinks about hiring and evaluating talent. -Plus, a lot more. What is the best way to stay connected to all the amazing job opportunities across the NY tech scene? The answer is simple. Sign up for our Job Alerts email. It is a daily email that features the latest positions from our Job Board which you can customize based on the functional area that you care about. Keep pushing your career forward by signing up at venturefizz.com/email. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 85 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed David Chang, CEO at Gradifi. If you’re a member of the Boston tech community, there’s a good chance you know who David Chang is. As an operator, he’s been part of some amazing teams at companies that have all scaled and exited like TripAdvisor, m-Qube, and WHERE. As an angel investor, he has invested in 40 companies. And, one could argue that the most important role that he’s played is one as a mentor and advisor to countless entrepreneurs. In his current position at Gradifi, David is leading a company that is trying to solve a $1.5 trillion problem: student loan debt. Gradifi gives employers the opportunity to make direct contributions to their employees’ student loans, allowing them to pay off their loans faster. No doubt, it’s a great benefit, for sure. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -David’s philosophy on paying it forward and what it is so important. -The details behind David’s background and a deep dive into his experience at TripAdvisor, m-Qube, and Where. -Advice on whether or not to attend business school. -The story of his own startup, which was like an early version of Instagram. -All the details on Gradifi in terms of its mission and how they are helping ease the burden of student loan debt. -Why he is bullish on the Boston tech ecosystem. -Plus, a lot more. Are you hiring? If the answer is yes, then you might want to consider adding a BIZZpage to VentureFizz. It’s the best way to engage with our targeted audience of professionals in the local tech scene. It includes an employment branding page, unlimited postings to our job board, content and more. If you are interested in the additional details, send an email to info@venturefizz.com. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!