The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 74 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 Les Yetton and Tom Hazel, Co-Founders at CHAOSSEARCH. If there’s one thing to say about today’s guests, it’s that you’d be hard-pressed to find two more qualified people to run a startup like CHAOSSEARCH than these two co-founders. Les is an experienced executive with multiple exits under his belt at companies like DynamicOps, Neocleus, Softricity, and others. Tom, is not only a serial entrepreneur with his own level of success, but he is also an inventor of technology, which always fascinates me in terms of how people are actually creating things like, in Tom’s instance, new computer science algorithms for big data. Their current startup, CHAOSSEARCH, is the first log search and analytics platform built for AWS S3. The company recently announced $9M in Series A funding, which was co-led by .406 Ventures and Glasswing Ventures with participating from Stage 1 Ventures. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Les and Tom’s early background before CHAOSSEARCH, and how the two co-founders met. -The story behind how CHAOSSEARCH was founded. -All the details of the company in terms of its technology, how they are helping companies, and the market opportunity. -Why they each keep building companies. -Advice for first-time founders raising capital. -The qualities they look for when hiring. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, we have some exciting news to share! You can now listen to The VentureFizz Podcast on Spotify! Last week, Spotify announced their belief in podcasting and will be dedicating a lot of effort to this category, thus I was excited to have our show added. You can follow up by searching for VentureFizz in Spotify. 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 73 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 Jared Hecht, Co-Founder and CEO at Fundera. Jared is a serial entrepreneur who credits his success to the combination of a lot of hard work and yes, a bit of luck. He was a co-founder of GroupMe, a group messaging app, that was acquired for around $85M just about one year after the company was started. His latest company is Fundera, a marketplace for small businesses who are looking for financing options. To date, the company has helped 15,000 small businesses secure well over $850 million through its platform. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: * Jared’s early career aspirations to be in the music industry, including the story of how he offered Vampire Weekend to be their manager. * How he landed at Tumblr when it was still an early-stage company and what he learned there. * The full story on GroupMe, including how he met his co-founder Steve Martocci and how they were able to get traction that ultimately led to an acquisition by Skype. * All the details on Fundera, plus the social mission behind the company and how they are filling such a critical gap in our economy by supporting small business owners. * The hardest parts of building a company. * How he evaluates talent at different stages of a business. * Advice for evaluating investors when raising capital. * Plus, a lot more. 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 72 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 Tom Eisenmann, Professor at Harvard Business School. What do the companies Rent the Runway, Birchbox, ThredUp, Cloudflare, Evertrue, and InsightSquared all have in common? Well, they are all companies that you may have heard of… but did you know that they all participated in Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition? It’s true and this is a small sampling of the amazing companies from this competition. Sure, careers in management consulting and investment banking are still commonly considered by b-school grads, but its the path of entrepreneurship that has been one of the fastest growing areas of interest for students. Thus, I was excited to interview Tom and get an inside look at entrepreneurship at HBS. Tom has over 20 years of experience as a faculty member and he is also the faculty Co-Chair of the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, which supports these students who are looking to transform their ideas into successful startups and even perhaps… change the world. In this episode of our podcast, we also cover lots of great topics like: -ABC’s Shark Tank and how so many HBS affiliated companies have appeared on the show. -Tom’s background and what led him down the path of academia. -How HBS has evolved over time as it relates to entrepreneurship and its curriculum, including their case method approach. -The common mistakes where entrepreneurs get tripped up. -Tom’s thoughts on whether or not entrepreneurship is a trait someone is born with or is it something that can be taught. -Advice on how to get into Harvard Business School. -Plus, a lot more. 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 71 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 Steve Sarracino, Founder and Partner at Activant Capital. Steve has several years of experience as an investor in disruptive technology companies. He launched Activant Capital in 2012 to focus on growth stage businesses, where they can actively partner with companies and help them scale. The firm makes a small number of investments per year, so they can optimize their value. The strategy is working as the firm has seen exits from investments in Hybris, Recommind, and Upland. Their current portfolio includes companies like Newstore, Celect, Indigo, Boxed, and more. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Steve’s background, including the story of how he bought Disney stock when he was just 11 years old. -All the details on Activant Capital and how they help companies with scaling. -The three key factors that he looks for when investing in a company. -How pricing has evolved for software companies and their thesis around Value Share pricing. -His thoughts around the future of retail and commerce. -How to build a highly effective Board of Directors. -Plus, a lot more. 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 70 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 Nate Walkingshaw, Chief Experience Officer for Pluralsight. Nate is widely known as a pioneer in technology product development and his Directed Discovery methodology. He is a master in the craft of building and designing amazing products, to the point where he actually co-authored a book on the subject called Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams. Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified end-to-end learning experience for businesses across the globe. The company went public just last year and was recently recognized as one of the 2019 Best Workplaces in Technology by Fortune and Great Place to Work. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Nate’s background starting out as an EMT, what that taught him about empathy, and how that translates into building successful products. -How this experience took him down the path of entrepreneurship and starting a company that invented the most recognizable hospital evacuation sled called the Paraslyde. -His transition into the tech industry and his work as a startup advisor and founder of Tanner Labs. -All the details behind Pluralsight, their mission and products, plus the company’s social impact. -What the team is working on in the Boston office and future growth plans for this location. -What he looks for when hiring and advice for pursuing a career in product management. -Plus, a lot more. Just in case you didn’t know, Pluralsight is aggressively growing their office in Boston. The company is looking to hire across multiple function areas like marketing, product, engineering, data science & analytics. Go to venturefizz.com/pluralsight to check out all of their openings. 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 69 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 Caroline Klatt, CEO and Co-Founder at Headliner Labs. Besides eating, breathing, and sleeping, there is no activity that American adults do more than mobile messaging. That is a staggering statistic, and it is no surprise that there is a company like Headliner Labs that is leveraging the power of Facebook Messenger to deliver a whole new type of experience through conversational marketing. Headliner Labs has built a plug-and-play platform that enables brands to connect directly with each individual consumer, at scale through intelligent and automated Facebook chatbots. The company works with leading brands and retailers like Kenneth Cole, Saks Fifth Ave, Cole Haan, and many more. Caroline’s career in retail actually started while she was in high school through a chance interaction with Steve Madden (the actual founder) while in a shopping mall that set the foundation for developing a deep level of expertise in retail and eCommerce through the years. In this episode, we cover lots of great topics like: -All the details on Caroline’s background, including her role as Director of Strategy & Operations at Fab.com. -The aha moment that led her to start Headliner Labs and how the platform works, plus the incredible results it has on sales and revenue. -What she wishes someone told her before starting a company. -Tips on knowing when to take advice. -How she evaluates talent. -Plus, a lot more. 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 68 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 Pat Kinsel, Founder and CEO of Notarize. You know, some of the most successful tech companies have triumphed not only because they have a great technical solution, but also because they had to totally disrupt an antiqued industry… I’m referring to really hard things like changing laws or regulations. Think of what companies like Airbnb and Uber went through in their earlier days. Notarize, which has raised $31M in funding, has been in a similar situation, where they are taking the centuries-old process of notarizing documents into the modern, digital era by allowing any person or business to get their documents legally notarized online. It is a massive market opportunity, as over 1 billion documents are notarized every year. Pat Kinsel is a serial entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. His prior company Spindle was acquired by Twitter, and after the acquisition, he joined Polaris Partners as an investor where he has led rounds of funding in companies like Drizly and Lob. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Pat’s background growing up on the West Coast and why he moved East. -His experience working at Microsoft’s FUSE Labs in Cambridge and how that experience set the stage for his next company. -How Spindle raised capital from top investors on both coasts for their social discovery app and the details behind the acquisition. -His experience joining Polaris as an EIR and eventually becoming an investor. -The story of a critical mistake that led him down the path of exploring the world of notaries and ultimately starting a company to disrupt this industry. -Advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital. -Practical advice for purchasing domain names. -Plus, a lot more. 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 67 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 Dan Sommer, Founder and CEO at Trilogy Education, a workforce accelerator that has raised $80M in funding. Trilogy partners with some of the world's leading universities to help companies bridge the digital skills gap through their training programs in areas like web development, data analytics, cybersecurity, and others. Dan is serial entrepreneur, who has a very unique perspective, as he has transitioned between startups and larger companies throughout his career. For Dan, it’s less about the size of the company and more about where you can learn the most and have the greatest impact. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Dan’s background and his early professional years where he started to gain an interest in entrepreneurship and starting companies. -The excellent piece of advice he got from his father-in-law, and how that led him down the path to becoming a marketing specialist. -How he started working with institutions in higher ed and how this became a passion for him. -All about Trilogy, including the aha moment behind its founding and its current scale, business model, and growth plans. -Great advice for companies that are either looking to get acquired or looking to make an acquisition. -Tips for scaling your business and why focus is so important. -Plus, a lot more. 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 66 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 Andy Cook, Co-Founder & CEO of Tettra, a knowledge management system for high-performance teams. This could be my most transparent interview ever. When you ask most startup founders how things are going, the majority are likely going to say, “We are crushing it.” However, building a company is really hard, and growing a successful startup is rarely, if ever, a straight line. Andy recently published a series of blog posts where he shares the intimate details on the ups and downs of building a startup, so I was really excited to chat with him about the really deep and gritty details that go into building a startup, including the depths of nearly failing, to plowing through and coming out the other end to a profitable path for Tettra. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Andy’s background, and how he started a rental marketplace called Rentabilities with his brother and how they were able to convince Dharmesh Shah from HubSpot to write the first angel check. -The aha moment behind Tettra and the current state & scale of the company. -A ton of details on the ups and downs he’s experienced building a company from the ground up, including lots of info on fundraising, finding the right sales model, & how they got to profitability. -The importance of staying transparent when running your business especially with employees. -Tips for communicating with investors. -Plus, a lot more. 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 65 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 Hadley Harris, Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures, a seed stage investment firm. Hadley has an engineering degree from Penn and an MBA from Wharton. He has a proven track record as an operator holding executive roles at startups like Vlingo and Thumb, which were both companies acquired. Eniac began investing in 2010 and what is impressive is the fact that Eniac backed companies get to a Series A round of funding the fastest. This stat was published from a study conducted by CB Insights. Hadley also hosts a podcast along with his co-founders called Seed to Scale, which is all about the ups and downs of building an early-stage company, securing funding, and more. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -All about his background, including how he met his partners during his undergraduate studies at Penn. -The details behind Eniac Ventures and how they take a truly collaborative approach in terms of the makeup of the firm. -A deep dive into what kinds of companies they are looking to invest in. -What pitch mistakes founders make over and over again. -What to put on your team slide and where it should go in the pitch slide deck. -How he reaches a valuation for a company. -The decacorn investment that got away from him. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!