Startup Mindsets

Eli Velasquez is on a mission to create a more diverse pie chart of investors of color. We hear about over a decade of being an angel investor, lessons learned, advice to new angels. More about Investors of Color on investorsofcolor.com More about Angel Capital Association at angelcapitalassociation.org

Catalyzed from not being able to pay for tuition in Switzerland because he recently immigrated from India, Prashanth set out create a solution to Send/Receive Euros instantly via Bitcoin Send/Receive Bitcoin on-chain or on Lightning We also discuss the Berkeley Skydeck Accelerator and virtual Y Combinator experience.  Check them out at lastbit.io Sign up for our newsletter featuring new insights on startups/entrepreneurship at startupmindsets.com/blog

Safa Mahzari, founder of financial reporting software, Alluxo, joins us on this episode.  We learn the importance of creating a process and pointing back to the process instead of to the individual.

Meredith Whipple Callahan joins us on this episode to discuss what catalyzed becoming a 2x author and her journey as a religious studies major at Yale to a career as a consultant for Bain & Co. and now an executive coach at Evolution.  We talk about how religion intersects with business and the power of saying "YES" to fear.   Purchase The Intentional Life on Amazon. 

Welcome to episode 31! Our guest, Craig Stokes, is the owner/operator of Chick Fil A in Canoga Park. But it didn't always start that way, we hear Craig's inspiring career journey from starting at KFC to spending more than a decade in the Air Force, and recently as a TV personality.  As we all know, Chick Fil A's hospitality is on a different level. We talk about overcoming overwhelming odds to becoming a franchisee with 70k applications and being 1 of 100 selected.  We also dive into: Why every moment is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, being willing to take the first steps, It's not about who you know, it's about who knows you. You have the power to create the opportunities you've been waiting for. Check out our blog at startupmindsets.com/blog

A lot is said about tech companies and their products, funding, etc. but none of that matters if you can't surround the team with great employees. Derrick Gellidon has over a decade of recruiting experience working for the Golden State Warriors, Google, Instacart, Lyft, and now heads talent at Curology. In our conversation, we understand what hiring looks like from 0 to 100, to 100 to 1000+ and how the recruiting landscape has changed over recent years.

Remote work and the future of work are hot topics nowadays as distributed workforces took shape during the pandemic. Tandem is a virtual office for remote teams that powers collaboration. We have an exciting conversation with Rajiv Ayyangar, Founder/CEO about how their product reimagines working in an office virtually, product thinking, Y Combinator, and closing a mega seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. We also play a fun game of this or that.  Try using Tandem out at tandem.chat Subscribe to our blog! If you enjoyed, leave us a review on Apple and share! 

Becoming a one-hit-wonder is difficult, let alone a music sensation. Piinky, a startup based in London is aiming to put artists in control with their software which gives a birds-eye view and streamlines the publishing process. We hang out with Piinky CEO Adeseye to unpack the business of the music industry, what artists are doing to get noticed, and entrepreneurship.  Subscribe to our blog to get a weekly dose of up and coming startups and the people behind them, Learn more at www.piinky.io

Sales are like oxygen for early-stage startups. They can't succeed without it. Whitney has 10+ years of startup experience and founded the sales method.  She joins us to breakdown the sales method, what mindset to have when selling, and her career journey from graduating UC San Diego to having a rockstar career in sales. We also talk about how Acceleprise is accelerating women founders and leading the charge in bringing diversity into the venture-backed ecosystem.  Check out https://acceleprise.vc Follow us on Instagram and join our email list!

After meeting Emil at a bar in San Francisco 4 years ago when Bluedot was a bit smaller, we caught up with him to hear how Bluedot is powering the location services industry, with brands like Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's, and other restaurants utilizing location to deliver on point frictionless service. We also cover how the company started in Australia, founder amnesia, pitching hundreds of VCs to securing 20 million in funding, getting out of a survival mindset to a growth mind, and humility's real value.  Learn more about Bluedot at https://bluedot.io Stay in the loop with our newsletter at startupmindsets.substack.com