The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 54 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! On this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Mike Phillips, Co-Founder and CEO of Sense. Mike is a serial entrepreneur and a pioneer in speech recognition technology. What was so interesting about my interview with Mike is that it was basically a history lesson through the evolution of speech recognition—a very difficult and complex technology to build. After years and years, it is technology that we now take for granted with things like Siri, Alexa, and Ok Google. After spending time in research at Carnegie Mellon and MIT, Mike co-founded SpeechWorks, a company that created software that allowed you to interact with an automated attendant in call centers in a natural way, which was groundbreaking technology at the time. Mike went on to be a co-founder of Vlingo, which was often referred to as the “Siri for Android,” which helped make consumer adoption of this form of technology a reality. Today, Mike is doing something completely new with Sense, which is making our homes smarter with their intelligent home energy monitor. The company has raised a total of $38.6M in funding, including a $18M Series B round of funding back in October. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Mike’s background, and how his interest in electronics started to bloom at a young age by building things like his own computer and an electronic piano tuner. -The details on the early research projects he was working on at Carnegie Mellon and MIT. -Building SpeechWorks to the point of going public, and their evolution of the company through mergers and acquisitions to eventually becoming known as Nuance. -How he was able to convince investors that mobile was the next frontier for speech recognition, which led to Vlingo and was acquired for $225M. -The vision for Sense and how they are letting consumers know what is going on in their homes, all while making them safer, more efficient, and more reliable. -Plus a lot of advice for 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 53 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Jodi Goldstein, Executive Director at Harvard Innovation Labs. The Harvard i-lab is an incubator and ecosystem to help Harvard students build their startups and gain valuable connections. Since starting seven years ago, the i-lab has helped incubate over 1,200 companies, and altogether, they have gone on to raise over $1.5 billion. This includes companies like Handy (which was just acquired), Lovepop, Catalant, and Artlifting. Another amazing statistic from the companies participating in the i-lab is the fact that 50% of their founders are female. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Jodi’s background going back to her early foundational years in Vermont, being part of an entrepreneurial family in the hospitality industry, and what that taught her. -Why she choose the startup path out of HBS, and the details behind early-to-market companies that ended up being precursors to Facebook and Instagram. -What led her down the path of starting her own company, Drync, one of the first apps in the App Store. -How she got involved in the Harvard i-lab, the mission behind this initiative at Harvard, and why they don’t take equity in companies. -Her views on what are the best measures for success, and how they are striving to give students an unfair competitive advantage. -Advice for founders who are looking for a technical co-founder. -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 52 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Allison Page, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at SevenRooms in New York City. SevenRooms is an all-in-one reservation, seating and guest management platform that is used by customers ranging from neighborhood restaurants to international hospitality groups. The company raised a $8M Series A round of funding last December and they just announced an investment for Amazon’s Alexa Fund to introduce in-service, voice-enabled technology for the restaurant industry. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Allison’s background, including the lessons she learned having a side hustle while working in investment banking. -How the founding team spent their time learning the hospitality industry to discover the pain points that SevenRooms would initially focus on. -How the curiosity factor is helpful for people who are considering a career in product management. -The trickle-down effect that has happened in terms of hiring across the company based on having a diverse leadership team. -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 51 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Nilanjana Bhowmik, General Partner at Converge, an early stage venture firm based in Cambridge that she co-founded with her partner Maia Heymann. Nilanjana has 23 years of experience as a venture capitalist, investment banker, and an operating executive. Prior to starting Converge, Nilanjana was a General Partner at Longworth Venture Partners where she led the firm’s investments in enterprise tech. In addition to her current role as a venture capitalist, she is also the President of TiE-Boston, an organization that fosters the entrepreneurial scene in the Greater Boston area. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Her passion for distance running and how it related to her role as an investor, where helping entrepreneurs build a business is ultimately a marathon and not a sprint. -Her background growing up in India, plus how she came to the US where she ultimately played a key role in helping Object Design, a company that launched the first object-oriented database, grow to the point of going public. -The “breakthrough potential” she looks for when making an investment. -What led her to take on the role of President at TiE-Boston. -The potential “50-plus year” industry trend that she’s currently keeping her eye on. -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 50 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ben Nye, CEO at Turbonomic, which is an anchor company in the Boston tech scene that has raised over $100M in funding. Ben has been successful in the tech industry from both sides of the equation. As an executive, he helped take Precise Software public, which was later acquired by VERITAS Software. As an investor at Bain Capital Ventures, he’s been recognized multiple times by Forbes’ Midas List as one of the top VC investors in the US. His investments have included many companies that you’ve likely heard of like LinkedIn, Rapid7, DocuSign, Solarwinds, Stackdriver, and many others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Ben’s background, from the early days when he started out as a salmon fishing guide to how he got into the tech industry. -His experience as one of the top VC’s in the country building out the Infrastructure Software Practice at Bain Capital. -All the details in terms of the evolution of Turbonomic and their platform that delivers workload automation for hybrid cloud environments. -His thoughts on sales and figuring out which model is right for your company. -Why references are the most important part of the interview process. -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 49 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Lewis Gersh, Founder & Chief Stamp Licker at PebblePost. Lewis is a serial entrepreneur and investor, having founded a seed stage investment firm in New York City. His latest startup is called PebblePost, a company that has invented Programmatic Direct Mail. The company provides a solution that combines the new with the old. Their platform takes consumers’ online interest and intent data and ultimately uses that information to send out highly targeted and meaningful direct mail programs on behalf of brands and retailers. PebblePost recently announced a $25M Series C round of funding led by Advance Venture Partners. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -Lewis’ background story and the details on his first company, Worldly Information Network. -His experience as an investor and focus on B2B marketing & eCommerce technologies. -The aha moment that led him to start PebblePost, plus the details on how their platform works. -What entrepreneurs should know before starting a company. Hint… it has a lot to do with focus. -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 48 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Bob Davis, General Partner at Highland Capital Partners. As a founder and an investor, Bob has been there from the very beginning of the Internet. He was the Founder and CEO of Lycos, which was a dominant company back in the Web 1.0 era. For the past 17 years, he has been a Venture Capitalist at Highland Capital Partners. His track record as a VC speaks for itself, having led investments at several successful companies that resulted in exits like nuTonomy, Bullhorn, Quattro Wireless, Turbine, and several others. In fact, just last week, one of his investments, Handy, announced its acquisition by ANGI Homeservices (the owners of Angie’s List & HomeAdvisor). His current portfolio includes Lovepop, SessionM, Harry’s, Freshly and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -The full background story of Lycos, from its early days to ultimately becoming the most visited internet destination in the world back in 1999 -Setting a record as the fastest company to ever go public in the history of the NASDAQ -How he evaluates investment opportunities, and the specific criteria behind those decisions -The difference between products that are vitamins versus pain-killers -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 47 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ed Park, Co-Founder and CEO of Devoted Health. Ed and his brother Todd Park have a special bond, and their great relationship has carried over into the world of entrepreneurship. Ed joined his brother and Jonathan Bush in the very early days of building athenahealth, one of the anchor companies in the Boston tech scene which is publicly traded on the NASDAQ. Ed and Todd’s next company is called Devoted Health, and they are looking to fix healthcare for seniors. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -The full background story of athenahealth, and how the HMO revolution of the late 90’s created the perfect storm to solve the administrative headaches for doctors -How their focus kept them on a path which ultimately resulted in the top IPO of 2007 -The details on Devoted Health, and how they are looking to make healthcare easier, more affordable, and a whole lot more caring -How they have built a world-class leadership team, which includes the person who invented the term “data science” -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 46 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Zack Schildhorn, a Partner at Lux Capital in New York City. Lux Capital has $1.4B under management and is currently investing from its $400M fifth fund. Zack has led the firm’s investment in companies like Shapeways, SOLS Systems, and Moment. His most recent investment is in a company called Latch, a New York tech company that is modernizing buildings by digitizing physical keys with a smart access system. Oh, and Zack has an interesting hobby as a reef aquarist where his work is actually on display at their offices with a 180-gallon reef aquarium. In this episode, we cover: -His interest in technology at a young age and starting his own company -How he sought out and landed an opportunity in venture capital while he was still at Cornell -What his career path has looked like in venture and how he worked his way up through the ranks to a partner at the firm -His interest in making investments that bridge the intersection between digital and physical worlds -Lots of great advice for entrepreneurs in terms of fundraising and hiring -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 45 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Stefania Mallett, Co-Founder & CEO of ezCater. Stefania is a serial entrepreneur. One of her previous companies was acquired and the deal had a 14X return for its investors. Her current company, ezCater, has raised almost $170M in funding and is focused on becoming the dominant player for a $100B industry worldwide. We first covered ezCater on VentureFizz back in 2014. In the article, she was quoted by saying that they are going to be a billion-dollar company. Well, it’s now four years later and in our podcast, she shares the details on where they are at in terms of achieving that very goal. Let’s just say… it’s trending in the right direction. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: -What led her down the path of entrepreneurship and starting companies -The aha moment behind starting ezCater and the early days of bootstrapping the business -So much great advice for not only building companies but also building a successful marketplace -Her thoughts on hiring, and how they have maintained a strong culture at scale with over 450 employees -Specific recommendations on how to become a leader -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!