BUILDERS

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Dennis Thankachan, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear, a telecom operating system platform that's raised over $18 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Dennis’ background in computer science and finance, and starting a bunch of random businesses while in high school and college What Dennis learned from his time at Goldman Sachs – and what he had to unlearn, and why Why Dennis believes Stoicism is an important philosophy for founders to learn, and what being happy means to him How Lightyear helps companies make more efficient decisions about their telecoms providers and equipment Attracting clients, finding product-market fit, and what Dennis learned from fundraising   Favorite book:  A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Amir Taichman, Founder and CEO of Unity SCM, a supply chain operations platform that's raised over $13 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Amir’s background in big data, and the biggest lesson he learned from his time in the Israeli Defence Forces How Amir started his first company with a high school friend, and why he gave his investors their money back after a week Why Amir admires founders who don’t do a lot of PR, and why it’s important to have and give support to other founders The fragmentation of crucial data in the supply chain industry, and how Unity makes it easy for supply chain operators to get all the data they need The advantages of being an outsider, the power of conversation, and how to navigate company lows

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Dr Thomas Oakley, CEO of Feedback PLC, a medical imaging technology company that's raised £20 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Dr Thomas’s background as a clinical radiologist and employee of the UK’s National Health Service Who is Tim Specter, and why Dr Thomas finds him an inspiring entrepreneur How patient data is siloed across different hospitals and teams, and how Feedback creates a common view of a patient across a number of different people The origin story of Feedback, why they decided to go public, and the challenges of being CEO of a public company Regulatory burdens of being a public company, and how not to get distracted by valuations    Favorite book:  Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Michael Bamberger, CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights, a qualitative research and insights platform that's raised $7 Million in funding.  Topics Discussed: Michael’s background as a self-taught web developer with experience in finance The tech scene in Boulder, Colorado, and what it’s like to live and work there Who’s the entrepreneur Michael most admires, and the two books that most impacted Michael professionally and personally How Tetra Insights helps companies extract the most value from thousands of hours of video and audio data to inform decision-making Michael’s strategy that landed Tetra its first paying customers, and how to rise above the noise of competition Favorite book:  The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Wyatt Smith, CEO & Founder of UpSmith, a workforce productivity platform that has raised $3.3 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: From Farm to Tech: Wyatt's journey from a cattle ranch in Alabama to founding UpSmith, highlighting the value of hard work and entrepreneurship learned from his father. Identifying the Problem: Understanding the skilled worker shortage and the need for a solution that addresses both supply and demand in various industries. Early Insights and Pivot: How initial attempts to match gig workers with employers led to the realization that starting with the job was key to effective upskilling. Innovative Business Model: UpSmith’s model of sourcing, screening, training, and deploying new technicians in less than 90 days, with a focus on aligning incentives through productivity-based pricing. Scalable Solutions: The importance of focusing on scalable, repeatable solutions that can expand across multiple states and sectors. Future Vision: Wyatt's goal to expand UpSmith's impact beyond the US and into other sectors like healthcare and logistics, creating meaningful work opportunities worldwide.  

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Travis Howerton, Co-Founder and CTO of RegScale, a continuous compliance automation platform that's raised over $21 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Travis’s background, including his 20 years in compliance in the United States’ nuclear weapons program, and transitioning from the public to the private sector The number one misconception people have about nuclear reactors and weapons Why compliance is an enormous hindrance for companies, and how RegScale uses AI and automation to make it easier for them  Travis’s approach to content marketing, and how he got 300,000 thousand downloads of his software Why Travis would advise his past self to grow RegScale more slowly   Favorite book:  Good to Great

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Jonathan Legge, CEO and Co-Founder of &Open, a corporate gifting platform that's raised over $35 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Jonathan’s unusual background in design, starting an ecommerce business with his brother, and why Brian Chesky is an inspiration How &Open became Airbnb’s Global Gifting partner Where corporate gifting goes wrong, and how &Open makes corporate gifting thoughtful again  Curating products, logistics, and having the patience to stay self-funded for as long as it was strategic How gifting is really about creating connections and establishing relationships, and how Jonathan plans to “scale thoughtfulness”

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Stephen Johnston, CEO and Founder of GoodJob, a human capital management platform that's raised $9 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Stephen’s background and his love of building and leading Why Stephen would have Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa and Bill Gates on his ideal advisory board Books and podcasts that Stephen finds inspirational Why companies only hire the right person 50% of the time, and how GoodJob raises that up to 80% by using customized behavioral models The fundamental principle that informs Stephen’s success, the pros of being located outside of a large tech hub, and important pivots in GoodJob   Favorite book:  Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Tim McLaughlin, CEO and Co-Founder of GoTab, a restaurant commerce platform that's raised $26 Million in funding. Topics Discussed: Tim’s background, starting seven companies, lessons learned from those that failed, and working with his wife of 25 years Tim’s interest in philosophy and anthropology and books he’s been reading about these topics Restaurant technology, how broken it is, and how GoTab is helping restaurants improve their commerce and logistics operations How differences in restaurant customer experience in the US and Europe are due to tech infrastructure Tim’s ideal clients, why he doesn’t like fundraising, and why when you are selling your product, context is everything   Favorite book:  The Four Steps to the Epiphany

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Michael Belenkie, CEO and President of Entropy, a carbon capture company that's raised $300 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Michael’s background in engineering, and a long-running focus on the energy and gas economy How stagnation in the low-carbon gas economy left space for someone to do something different The importance of carbon pricing in making a compelling case for people to invest in the low carbon economy Why effective communication was essential at the early stages of introducing Entropy’s concept to potential customers The future of the low-carbon economy and why it's important to understand differentiated investor priorities //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co