The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 100 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. Today, we are hitting a major milestone: Episode 100!!! There’s no doubt, The VentureFizz Podcast is the top podcast focused on entrepreneurship and tech across Boston & New York. Before I introduce today’s guests, I do want to take a moment to say some “thank yous” to: -Christina Luconi, Chief People Officer at Rapid7, for being my very first guest and being willing to experiment. -All of our guests, for taking the time to share your background and all the amazing advice for others (including myself) to learn from. -Alex Culafi. Alex does lots of different things here at VentureFizz, but it was his knowledge in this world of podcasting that allowed us to start creating this amazing content. -And, of course, you, our audience, for listening to all of these great stories. I hope each interview has maybe provided you with a little bit of inspiration and some helpful tips that you can apply to your own business. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! or this milestone episode, I was excited to interview Wombi Rose and John Wise, the Founders of Lovepop. I first learned about Lovepop through TJ Mahony, who made an investment in the company, and it was one of those companies that immediately made sense. The greeting card industry was in need of disruption and Wombi & John’s background in naval architecture made them uniquely qualified to tackle this market. Lovepop creates beautiful laser-cut pop-up cards, and the company is on a mission to create one billion magical moments. You might have seen Lovepop on ABC’s Shark Tank, when they landed an investment from Kevin O’Leary, who is still very involved in the company today. Since then, Lovepop has done an amazing job of building a successful consumer brand and scaling the company. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Wombi and John’s backgrounds, including how they met in college and reunited at Harvard Business School. -The inspiration behind their product and a deep dive into the history of the company. -How Lovepop’s business was built from the ground up, and lessons learned along the way. -The whole Shark Tank experience and what it has meant for the company. -Advice for founders looking to build a consumer brand. -How the company determines whether a potential hire will be a good fit. -Plus, a lot more. Brex, the corporate credit card for startups, is the sponsor for this week’s podcast. Brex founders Henrique and Pedro built a payments business in Brazil but kept getting rejected for a corporate credit card when they were in Y Combinator. So they decided to build Brex, with instant online sign-up, no founder liability required and limits 10 to 20 times higher than standard cards; it is a must-have for entrepreneurs. Sign up for Brex at brex.com and get card fees waived by entering the code “fizz” during signup. 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 99 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 Simon Lorenz, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Klara. Simon comes from a long family history of medical doctors and it was his time working in a hospital during his teenage years that prompted him to take a different career path. He recognized the inefficiencies and challenges within the healthcare industry and it became his passion. A passion to make a difference by improving the healthcare industry. Klara is a venture-backed company that was founded in 2013 with a mission to transform healthcare communication so that every patient can receive great care. Its HIPAA-compliant messaging platform makes it easy for healthcare providers to communicate with their patients and with each other. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -All the details on Klara and how they are improving the healthcare industry and making it more efficient through their communication platform. -Discovery-based selling and why it is important for your business, especially for landing early adopter customers. -How to know when you have product-market fit. -Figuring out your pricing strategy. -Avoiding the Series A funding crunch. -Plus, a lot more. Every Monday at 10 am, we send out our NY Weekly Tech Buzz email. It is your one email a week to stay connected to all the “must-know” information from the local tech scene. It includes information on companies, jobs, events, deals and more. Go to venturefizz.com/email to sign up. 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 98 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 Greg Raiz, Chief Innovation Officer at Rightpoint. Greg founded Raizlabs right when the mobile revolution was starting to take shape. The firm worked very closely with lots of companies help build out their app or mobile presence. Companies like Runkeeper, Rue La La, Care.com, and many others. Under his leadership, Raizlabs continued to grow and expand to the point where the company was acquired by Rightpoint in 2017. In his role as Chief Innovation Officer, he is responsible for building the culture of innovation throughout Rightpoint, and working with clients to help them digitally transform their businesses using design and innovation thinking. Here is a fun fact: did you know that Raizlabs had a mobile accelerator and that VentureFizz was part of the first cohort? Even though we weren’t a pure mobile company, Greg was kind enough to let us participate and hang out at their offices for an extended period of time. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Greg’s background before starting Raizlabs including what his time at Microsoft taught him. -The full background story of Raizlabs. -A deep dive into the early years of mobile and how customers’ started to adopt a mobile-first strategy. -The details on Rightpoint and its future growth plans. -Advice for founders trying to build a successful service-based business. -Plus, a lot more. It has been far too long since VentureFizz has hosted our own event. Well, that is finally changing. Last week, we announced a new event which is taking place on May 30th at Acquia’s offices in Boston. For this event, we are turning our popular Lead(H)er series into a live interactive event. You'll get a chance to hear some of the inspirational stories firsthand from an amazing group of women. Tickets are only $10 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Boston chapter of Women Who Code. You can register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/venturefizz-leadher-live-tickets-60945087397 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 97 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 Nicholas Horbaczewski, CEO and Founder of The Drone Racing League. Let’s face it, the world of sports is changing. Consumers are looking for options outside of the traditional sports categories like baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. This evolution started to take place several years ago when Xtreme sports started to come into the fold and now eSports has tremendous momentum with a rapidly growing audience. Now, Drone racing is also on the rise and it is a sport that has a history dating back to 2010. It features a high energy racing competition that reminds me of the pod racers from Star Wars Episode 1 meets Formula 1 racing, because it is actually taking place in the physical world. Drone Racing League is the global, professional racing circuit for elite pilots that fly drones at 90+ MPH. Nicholas has a massive vision for the future of this sport and you’ll be able to catch the 4th season this year on NBC, Twitter, and other outlets. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Nicholas’s background and how his experience led him down the path of starting this new sports league. -A dive into the history of drone racing and how The Drone Racing League got started. -Lots of details on how this sports meets tech company operates. -How he got investors, broadcasters, and sponsors involved. -His thoughts on the future of sports and entertainment. -Advice for founders on building a consumer brand. -Plus, a lot more. The tech industry in New York is thriving and the competition for talent is fierce. If you are hiring, you might want to consider adding a BIZZpage subscription on VentureFizz. It is an employment branding and hiring solution that helps keep your company stay at the forefront of the NY tech industry. A subscription includes an employment branding page, unlimited postings to our job board, access to our exclusive content series, and more. Send an email to info@venturefizz.com to learn the additional details. 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 96 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 Rudina Seseri, Founder and Managing Partner of Glasswing Ventures. Glasswing Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in the next generation of AI-powered technology companies. The firm announced its $112 million debut fund last July and Rudina has invested in companies like CHAOSSEARCH, Inrupt, Talla, Zylotech, and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Rudina’s inspirational background story and how at the age of 15, she came to the US by herself for school and what that taught her about independence. -Her professional experience and how she got into the world of venture capital. -The story of how Glasswing got started and all the details on the firm. -The current state of AI and other sectors. -Common mistakes entrepreneurs make. -Advice for founders on trying to get early customers. -The current state of diversity in the workplace. -Plus, a lot more. On the first Monday of every month, we publish the latest edition of Career Forward. It is a roll-up of the hottest jobs in the Boston tech scene. This month’s edition features over 120 jobs across all functional areas such as engineering, product, UX, sales, marketing, and more. Go to venturefizz.com/careerforward for more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Greetings! I’m Alex Culafi, Producer and Editor of The VentureFizz Podcast, and on today’s bonus episode, we’re going to do something a little different. Today, we’re talking about a subject near and dear to my heart: video games and the power of play. I sit down with Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change in New York, which is a nonprofit organization that empowers game creators to drive real-world change using games and technology. Some of the ways they do that include the game design competition called the Games for Change Student Challenge, interactive arcades produced to show off the best social impact and learning games in the market today, consulting for creators, and more. They also produce the Games for Change Festival in June as well as the recently-announced Games for Change Accelerator, which provides funding, mentoring, go-to-market planning, on-going business development, and continuous support to selected companies. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Susanna’s background and experience, and how she joined Games for Change. -All the details behind Games for Change and what they do. -What Susanna thinks makes video games uniquely qualified to spark change. -Examples of video games large and small that are successfully pro-social. -The details behind the new Games for Change Accelerator. -Some of Susanna’s favorite video games. -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 95 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 Kristen Caldwell, talent consultant and advisor. I was really excited to speak with Kristen as we talk at length about a topic that I’m very passionate about and have pretty much built my career around: recruiting. Kristen has an impressive background where she has played in key role in building out some of the top companies across both coasts like Yammer, Vine, Uber, and Blue Apron. Today, she is working with founders to help out with their talent acquisition strategy, as well as working as an advisor for firms Thrive Capital and NextView Ventures. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Kristen’s background and the story of how she “fell into” recruiting. -The details of her in-house recruiting experience at each company. -The common mistakes entrepreneurs make when hiring. -How Kristen advises brand-new companies on top-of-the-funnel candidate strategy, including how to recruit engineers. -Telling the difference between someone who is good at interviewing versus a good hire. -How to approach diversity and inclusion. -Plus, a lot more. Our BIZZpages are a great way to do a virtual tour of high growth tech companies across the New York tech scene. Each BIZZpage has lots of information about the company, its culture, job openings, team, and more. You’ll find lots of great companies listed like Ordergroove, SevenRooms, Reonomy, Kasisto, Bowery, UiPath, Facebook, DigitalOcean, and so many more. Go to venturefizz.com/bizzpages to start exploring! 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 94 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 Mira Wilczek, President and CEO of Cogo Labs. Mira is also a Senior Partner at Link Ventures which is the firm behind Cogo Labs. Did you know that one of the top incubators in the tech industry is located in Cambridge? It is called Cogo Labs and their track record of success is extraordinary. They have been launching companies for the past 12 years with an 80% success rate, which is unprecedented. Their data-driven approach and capital efficient model, provides the foundation and insights to identify problems to launch successful consumer businesses. A recent success story is EverQuote, which went public last year. Mira is an entrepreneur with a passion for building companies and you should definitely keep an eye on Cogo Labs, as Mira and the team there have some very ambitious goals ahead. By the end of next year, they want to be supporting 30 concurrent companies and yes... they are on track to accomplish this goal. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -The #1 reason why startups fail. -Mira’s background including a fun story from her days at MIT, plus her experience as an ‘ethical hacker’ at IBM and the company she founded, Red Panda Security. -The secret sauce of Cogo Labs - how they identify opportunities for building companies and why their model has been so successful. -The details in terms of the operations and platform at Cogo Labs, plus some company examples. -The criteria they use to determine when a company is ready to leave the nest. -What the job of a board member is. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that we have a YouTube channel? We launched one earlier this year and there is a rapidly growing library of content to check out. You’ll find lots of great video snippets from our podcast, plus full interviews from our CEO Briefing and Inside: series. Go to youtube.com/venturefizz to subscribe. 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 93 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 Mark Gally, CEO at Zaius. Mark is an experienced executive who has an innate ability to identify fragmented markets in technology that need consolidation. He also has a special talent with leading the go-to-market strategy for high growth software companies. At Mark’s prior company, he was the Chief Revenue Officer at TribeHR, where he helped deliver 1,100% sales and 470% customer growth which led to an acquisition by NetSuite in 2013. Zaius has built a B2C CRM system which is bringing together marketing automation, analytics and CRM software in one marketing platform. The company has raised over $50M to date, including a $30M Series B which was announced last year. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -A journey through his professional career across multiple companies. -Mark’s ability to grow a company’s market share, and his philosophy on go-to-market strategy. -A deep dive into what Zaius does and how its B2C CRM works, plus a look into the size and scale of the company. -Great advice for anyone trying to work their way into a CEO position. -How Mark thinks about hiring, including one interesting tip that has benefited him in the long run. -Plus, a lot more. We have a new series on VentureFizz and it is called Inside. It is a video interview with a functional leader at a company. It could be Inside: Sales, Inside: Engineering, Inside: Product, etc., etc. Each video gives you lots of great information about the company, how this particular functional area operates, hiring, culture, and more. Go to venturefizz.com/inside to check out our collection of videos. 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 92 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 Noah Isaacs, Co-Founder at Bowery Valuation. Noah is the definition of the words "determination" and "hustle." This mentality stems back to his teenage years, where he had a dream of working for a Major League Baseball team. With this goal in mind, he actually cold called every baseball team and dialed through to each extension hoping to get in touch with the team’s GM to land a job. He eventually did connect with the GM from the San Francisco Giants, but obviously, he was too young and inexperienced at the time. He didn’t let this discourage him. When he was 20 years old, Noah and his longtime childhood friend and current Co-Founder, John Meadows set out to build the experience required for a back office position in baseball. They took the initiative to create a website where they would report their findings from scouting minor league players up and down the West Coast. This ended up creating the very stroke of luck Noah needed to land his dream job as an intern. He shares more of the details in the podcast, but it is definitely one of those stories that sets the stage and tone for their future success as entrepreneurs. Bowery is bringing the real estate appraisal industry to the modern era with an end-to-end software solution for commercial real estate appraisals. The company has raised a total of $17M in funding, including a $12M Series A round which was announced this past January. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -More of the details on Noah and John’s friendship and the story on how he became an intern for the Toronto Blue Jays. -How they discovered an industry that was ripe for disruption. -The interesting story of how Bowery Valuation was founded, plus its current state and scale. -Advice for founders raising capital. -Lessons learned from building and scaling the business. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that you can sign up for customized job alerts from our Job Board? It’s a great way to make sure that career-defining opportunity doesn’t pass you by. Go to venturefizz.com/email to sign up. After you receive your first edition, you’ll be able to tailor it specifically for the job categories you care about. 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 91 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 Debi Kleiman, Executive Director at Babson College’s Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. When you think of places that encourage and foster entrepreneurship, few places top Babson College. In fact, Babson has been ranked the #1 school for entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report for more than two decades. Lots of very successful entrepreneurs have graduated from both Babson’s undergraduate and MBA programs. For example, the name behind Babson’s center for entrepreneurship. Arthur M. Blank is the co-founder of The Home Depot and the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. Another notable alum is Jamie Siminoff, the founder of Ring, which was acquired by Amazon for $1B last year. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Debi’s childhood dream of becoming a late night TV talk show host. -A journey through her career including her experience in marketing roles in the CPG industry and executive positions at C Space and MITX. -What brought Debi to Babson, all the details about her role there. -A deep dive into the entrepreneurial environment and programs that Babson offers its students -Advice on what people should be thinking about when starting a business. -Advice on crafting a pitch. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that our job board has over 4,000 positions listed with the hottest companies across the Boston tech scene? There are jobs across all levels of experience and across all functional areas like engineering, product management, marketing, sales, and more. Don’t put your career on hold, go to venturefizz.com/jobs today to start searching. 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 90 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 Ash Kaluarachchi, Co-Founder of StartEd, an EdTech Accelerator + Incubator in New York City. Some of my favorite episodes of this show are the ones where the guest wears their passion on their sleeve, and Ash’s passion for EdTech is nothing short of infectious. We start the podcast discussing where that passion comes from, and his love for education and technology comes through the entire episode. StartEd invests in and advises innovative EdTech companies with intensive programs ranging from 1-day to 6-weeks. The accelerator provides everything from mentorship to business development and beyond. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Ash’s background story and the early stages of his career, including how he got involved with Techstars. -What led him down the path of launching StartEd and how they work with entrepreneurs, plus all the details on NY EdTech Week. -What he’s most proud of in his career. -The current state of the EdTech scene in New York. -Advice for EdTech founders who are figuring out the process for selling to school districts. -What he’s excited about in terms of the future of education and technology. -Plus, a lot more. Did you know that VentureFizz now has a YouTube channel? It is a great way to watch lots of the interviews we have with folks from the New York tech community. You’ll find lots of practical advice or just an inside look at a company and how they operate. Go to youtube.com/venturefizz to check out founders and 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 89 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 Sridhar Iyengar, Founder and CEO of Elemental Machines. Very few entrepreneurs in the Boston tech scene have had the same level of success as Sridhar. As a co-founder of three different companies in the medical device and wearables industry, the products that he’s helped bring to market are incredibly innovative. Take AgGaMatrix, a glucose monitoring company that built the world’s first medical device that connected directly to the iPhone. Or, Misfit, the makers of elegant wearable products that was started along with Sridhar’s longtime collaborator Sonny Vu and also, John Sculley—yes, that John Sculley—the one that was the CEO at Apple. Misfit ended up getting acquired by Fossil for a reported $260M. At Elemental Machines, the company is modernizing the lab and helping to accelerate science with its IoT and data science platform. The company has raised over $11.5M in funding. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -How to give constructive feedback to your co-founder. -Sridhar’s early background and a deep dive into AgaMatrix and Misfit, including the story of how John Sculley got involved. -What led him to start Elemental Machines and all the details on the company. -Whether he thinks equity should be equal between co-founders. -Advice for founders on managing cash and raising capital. -Plus, a lot more. We are getting very close to episode 100 of The VentureFizz Podcast! Can you believe it? So, I need your help. Who is the #1 person that you would want interviewed for the 100th episode? I’m open to all suggestions, the only requirement is that the person is an entrepreneur or investor that is based in Boston or New York. You can reach me via email, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Thanks in advance! 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 88 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 Saar Yoskovitz, Co-Founder and CEO at Augury. Saar is an entrepreneur with a deep level of experience in building hardware and software products. His current company, Augury, is one of those companies that make you go “wow” when you hear what they do. Their technology automatically diagnoses machines based on the sounds they make. It’s kind of like a Shazam for machines and mechanical diagnostics. They do this by connecting vibration and ultrasonic sensors to smartphones and pairing them with machine learning algorithms. The company just raised a $25M Series C this January, and have raised over $50M to date. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Saar’s background growing up in Israel and his experience working at Intel. -The story behind Augury, and the aha moment that led to its founding. -A deep dive into the world of machine diagnostics. -How Augury got its first early-adopter customers. -Saar’s experience with raising capital, and what the fundraising process was like. -Advice for building hardware. -Plus, a lot more. Every Monday, we publish the NY edition of Talent on the Move. It is a weekly roll up of people making job changes across the NY tech scene. If you are interested in having any of your recent hires featured, all you have to do is send us the individual’s updated LinkedIn profile via email to info@venturefizz.com. We accept submissions across all levels of experience and functional areas within the company. Our only request is that the person is based in or around NYC. 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 87 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 Sarah Hodges, Partner at Pillar. Prior to becoming a Venture Capitalist, Sarah spent a decade as an operator in consumer and enterprise companies like Carbonite, Runkeeper, and Smarterer. As part of the executive team at Smarterer, she oversaw business strategy, operations, and marketing. As you may know, the company was acquired by Pluralsight in 2014 and still today, it has a rapidly growing office in the Boston tech scene. Pillar is an early-stage venture firm that is on a mission to build the next generation of anchor companies in Boston with a model that has common alignment with the founders. Some of its portfolio companies include PillPack, Soofa, Desktop Metal, Hometap, PathAI, and more. In addition to being a Partner at Pillar, Sarah is a board member at the New England Venture Capital Association and was a Co-Founder of Intelligent.ly. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Sarah’s background story in terms of all the operating roles she’s held including the details behind the acquisition by Pluralsight. -Her career path into the Venture Capital industry as a Partner. -Everything you need to know about Pillar, including how the firm is differentiating itself from other investors and why they are doubling down in Boston. -Advice for founders who are trying to raise funding. -When you should bring in someone to run marketing. -Plus, a lot more. As you may know, we publish lots of great stories every day on VentureFizz that share a lot of information about companies, their people, and their culture. Did you know that you can get these stories delivered to your inbox every day? All you need to do is signup for our Daily Stories email and you’ll be plugged in. Go to venturefizz.com/email to signup. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!