Forward Thinking Founders

In this episode, I talk to Jack Forbes, CEO of PadPiper. Yes, you read that right. The name is a spin off of Silicon Valley “unicorn”, Pied Piper. PadPiper is a platform that helps you find a place to live in a new city, hooks you up with roommates, and helps you find places to hang out around town. Jack and I cover many topics on this episode, including but not limited to these topics:What is PadPiper?What differentiates you from Airbnb?What are some of the use cases for PadPiper?What generational forces at at play that allow PadPiper to exist? What is work integrated learning and why does it matter?What about mental health is important to founders and what does happiness mean in startup life?Startups Jack is betting on in the future to help create the futureTips Jack has for people wanting to build the futureAnd more!Learn more about Jack on LinkedIn here. Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

On this episode of Forward Thinking Founders, Mat Vogels, the CEO and Founder of Zestful comes onto the podcast. Zestful is a company that rethinks how startups offer company perks. In this episode, we go deep into:What is Zestful?What was the first version of Zestful?How did Mat get through the darkest times before Zestful found product market fitThoughts on how founders should handle adversity Rethinking the incentives of employees and how founders can be aware about what incentivizes their teamTips for listeners wanting to build something impacting the future Find Mat on Twitter @matvogels. Thanks for tuning in and we will catch you next week 👌 Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Today, I had the pleasure of talking to Cofounder and President of Postscript, Alex Beller. Postscript is like Mailchimp for SMS. In this episode, we go deep into several different areas. This includes, but isn’t limited to:What is Postscript?What does this team see in the SMS market that other don’t? What was their experience like in the recent batch of YC?We go into other sectors of the SMS market and the biggest gaps in itWe talk about what it’s like to build a remote teamWe get Alex’s top bets in startups that other’s haven’t heard of beforeWe get his advice on how to build the futureLearn more about Postscript here. Find Alex on Twitter here. Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

In this fantastic episode of Forward Thinking Founders, I interviewed Paul from Keeper Tax. Keeper Tax helps freelancers save as much as possible by maximizing the tax writeoffs they get. In this future of work certified episode, we talk about:-All about Keeper Tax - Why Keeper Tax needs to exist?-Why is the system rigged against freelancers?-What is the OS of the future of work?-What makes finance such a hard industry to build for- Tips on how to build the future Learn more about Keeper Tax here. Find Paul on twitter here. Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

It's such a fun time when i get to jam about a whole bunch of different tech topics with other smart people. Kashish is 100% one of these people. He's the founder of Carry, which is a travel planner software that lives in your Slack. Need to book a flight and get a hotel? Just ping Carry and it's done. Amazing! This conversation took us well past Carry, though. Some of the topics we covered are:- How to build trust within your product- Why trust is so important to compete in 2019- What does Kashish think about Libra, and how it will affect the travel industry  - A deep dive into self driving cars and the brands that will lead the charge- A look into robots that can make food, and what that means in the future- Top companies he knows about that most people are sleeping on- AND SO MUCH MORE!!!!!You can find Kashish here: https://twitter.com/kashgupta_You can learn more about Carry here:  https://carry.travel/ Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Wow, it was such an honor to talked to Nick Soman about his vision for Decent, the startup he founded and is leading. Decent helps self-employed people get health insurance. Nick is a former exec of growth at Gusto and is one of the nicest guys I've talked to! On the podcast, we cover: - What is Decent?- What shifts in regulation happened which opened up an opportunity for Decent?- Why is getting health insurance so dang hard for the self employed?- What does he think of Libra and it's implications on Decent and the whole industry. - How does he plan on using blockchain technology within Decent- Why does Nick do what he does- Why Nick things you should SAVE the world, not change it 🔥- What advice would you have for people aiming to change the world, just like you are?And many other questions!!!Nick can be found on Twitter here - https://twitter.com/nicksomanYou can learn more about Decent here - https://decent.com Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

My oh my, what a fantastic episode this was. I'm SUPER EXCITED to bring this episode with Isaac Morehouse, CEO of Crash.co, to you all. Isaac has to be one of the most knowledgeable people  I know on the topic of work and education. Of the WIDE RANGE of topics we cover, some of the include:- What is Crash and is it comparable to Product Hunt?- What broke down in the system to have a need for Crash in the first place- Why Isaac wants to turn the job hunt into an "event"- How the degree has cheapened and how the thing taking its place is accessible  to anyone- For kids skipping college, how do they get that social experience that college provides?- What freedom means to Isaac and why its important for him to help others to live free as well- He gives some killer advice on how to start building the future. - And much more!You can learn about Crash at https://www.crash.co and you can find Isaac on Twitter @isaacmorehouse. Until next time! Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

I had an awesome conversation with Cadran Cowansage, who is the cofounder and CEO of Elpha, an online community for women In tech. Elpha is going through the current YC batch. In today's enlightening episode, we dive into:- What is Elpha?- What problems does it address?- Is Elpha a movement more than a product? - How can founders can think about making sure there is equal representation among applicants?- What are the benefits and downsides of not having a diverse company?- Is the goal to have a 50/50 workforce or is it something else entirely? - How can male CEOs like myself be part of the solution?- What advice would you have for people aiming to change the world, just like you are?And many other questions!!! Cadran can be found on Twitter here - https://twitter.com/cadran_c You can learn more about Elpha here - https://elpha.com/ Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Today, I got the pleasure of talking to Daniel Gross. Daniel is one of the smartest people I know of and you'll likely agree by the end of the podcast. Daniel is the founder of Pioneer.app, former Y Combinator Partner, former director of AI at Apple, and it all started with his first startup, Cue. In today's episode, we cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:- What is Pioneer?- What has he learned about people since starting pioneer (and how does it affect product decisions)- What does he want Pioneer to be?- Is Pioneer a game? Why?- Is Pioneer starting a new way to develop games?- How big could Pioneer get?- Why did he start working on Pioneer?- Why Yellow?- Does he plan on implementing VR and AR into Pioneer - The best advice for changing the world that i've ever head at the very end. Daniel can be found on Twitter @danielgross and you can learn more about Pioneer at www.pioneer.app. Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Today, we had a  very insightful conversation with Kristen, who is the COO and Cofounder of Catch. Catch is the company that provides benefits to people who don't get benefits from their employer. Today we dive into all types of topics and answer questions, including but not limited to:What is Catch?What types of people need Catch?Is Catch like Gusto for contractors? What is the "employment  stack" and how is it changing?What role does lifelong learning play in the future?Why do millennials change jobs so often?What benefits does Catch have in the Pipeline?Who else is building the future other than CatchDoes being a contrarian help you build the future?And more!Catch can be found at www.catch.co and Kristen can be found on Twitter @Kristentyrell.  I hope you enjoy this episode. If you do, share it with a friend or two 🙌 Get on the email list at forwardthinking.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★