
Seed to Harvest
🎙️ Seed to Harvest | Stories from Technical StorytellersWelcome to Seed to Harvest, the podcast by Behind Genius Ventures.We talk to early-stage founders, operators, and investors—people building with code and conviction. Each episode is a chapter in their story: from the messy beginnings to the quiet pivots, from planting ideas to growing companies that matter.Expect: 🌱 Honest conversations on the earliest chapters of company-building🧠Tactical insights from technical minds with narrative soul✨ Reflections on resilience, rituals, and reinventing what’s possibleThis podcast is for the builders who think in frameworks and metaphors. The ones who whiteboard in wild places. The ones writing their own mythologies—one commit, pitch, or poem at a time.From spark to story.From seed to harvest. 🌾
Latest episodes

Jan 24, 2023 • 21min
Cake Ventures Founding Partner Monique Woodard on Her Strategy for Building a Balanced Portfolio, What She Looks For in Her Investment Process, and the Interesting Topic She is Currently Writing About | Seed To Harvest Ep47
Send us a textToday, I’m joined by Monique Woodard, the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Cake Ventures. Cake Ventures is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm investing in companies that touch areas of demographic change including aging and longevity, the increased spending power of women, and the shift to majority-minority. A Forbes article published on Jan 12, 2023, claims that Cake Ventures has closed its debut fund at $17 million dollars. Monique was previously a Venture Scout for Lightspeed Venture Partners and a Venture Partner for 500 Startups. Seed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Connect with Paige🌱💜Behind Genius Ventures blog | https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/post/monque-woodard-founding-partner-of-cake-ventures-seed-to-harvest-epPersonal Blog | https://paigefinndoherty.com/Twitter | https://twitter.com/paigefinnn00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Monique Woodard04:56 The rise of a new majority09:38 Thoughts on TikTok15:41 The power of the female dollarShow notes:Monique Woodard | https://twitter.com/moniquewoodardCake Ventures | https://www.cake.vc/500 Startups | https://500.co/Jeremy Liew | https://twitter.com/jeremysliewLightspeed | https://lsvp.com/Mitch Kapor | https://twitter.com/mkaporFreada Klein | https://twitter.com/therealfreadaKapor Capital | https://www.kaporcapital.com/Ed Zimmerman | https://twitter.com/edgrapenutzimmFirst Close Partners | https://firstclosepartners.com/about/Pamper Nail Gallery | https://pampernailgallery.com/Bright | https://www.learnwithbright.com/Support the show

Jan 17, 2023 • 26min
Impressionism Capital Founding Partner Sydney Thomas on Her Secret About Career Changes, Biggest Learnings from Precursor Ventures, and Her Thoughts on Fund Construction | Seed To Harvest Ep46
Send us a textToday, I’m joined by Sydney Thomas, the Founding Partner of Impressionism Capital. She invests in early stage startups, specifically focusing on investing in real people. Since becoming the first hire at Precursor VC, Sydney has built a community of over 400 co-investors along with intuitive systems that scale small to midsize teams. She is a proud Beyoncé stan and dedicated writer who writes about her experience building her first fund on her blog.Seed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Sydney Thomas05:41 Floating in the Matrix10:21 Learnings from Charles Hudson15:41 Deep history in legislation20:21 Building systems that scaleShow notes:Sydney Paige Thomas | https://twitter.com/sydneypaige10Impressionism Capital | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneypthomas/Precursor VC | https://precursorvc.com/Shruti Shah | https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutishah1/Jennifer Kim | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsnkim/Charles Hudson | https://twitter.com/chudsonMaria Salamanca | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariasalamanca1/Jomayra Herrera | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jomayraherrera/Miriam Rivera | https://twitter.com/miriamulu1COZY song | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81j9gt1rXukSupport the show

Jan 10, 2023 • 32min
NEA Partner Ann Bordetsky on Beginning Angel Investing, Main Decision Frameworks in Evaluating Companies, and Her Thoughts on the Future of Twitter | Seed To Harvest Ep45
Send us a textToday, I’m joined by Ann Bordetsky, a Partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Ann has helped build some of Silicon Valley's most iconic technology companies, such as Rival Inc, which was acquired by Ticketmaster in 2020 and has served in operator roles at Uber, Twitter, and several mobility startups. She uses her operator superpowers to help visionary founders design and grow their companies to scale. She's also been an active angel investor in many female founders.Seed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Ann Bordetsky05:02 Making Tough Decisions10:05 More constraints will lead to greater efficiency14:06 Ann's favorite books20:19 Journey to joining NEA25:58 Maintaining engagement and trustShow notes:Ann Bordetsky | https://twitter.com/annbordetskyNEA | https://www.nea.com/Rival Inc | https://www.linkedin.com/company/rival-inc/Uber | https://www.uber.com/Let My People Go Surfing | https://www.amazon.com/Let-People-Surfing-Education-Businessman/dp/0143037838Shoe Dog | https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809The Hard Things About Hard Things | https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Ben-Horowitz-ebook/dp/B00DQ845EAThe Originals | https://www.amazon.com/Originals-How-Non-Conformists-Move-World/dp/014312885XElpha | https://elpha.com/Luke Pappas | https://twitter.com/luke_pappasSupport the show

Dec 20, 2022 • 30min
Awesome People Ventures Founding Partner Julia Lipton on Joining the Startup Track, The Culture and Storytelling of Quixey, and Julia’s Craziest Moment in Web3 | Seed To Harvest Ep44
Send us a textToday, I’m joined by Julia Lipton, the Founding Partner of Awesome People Ventures. She was previously the first business hire and Director of Marketing at Quixey in 2011. Julia was also the Head of Growth at Rise and the Head of Virtual Visits at One Medical Group. Furthermore, she founded Soundboard, which offers high touch advising for venture-backed startups. Julia currently is the Founding Partner of Awesome People Ventures that invests in awesome people doing awesome things in Web3.Seed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Julia Lipton05:04 The culture and storytelling of Quixey10:08 Julia on the startup track15:09 Authenticity attracts people20:04 Deep working day for Julia25:18 Best person Julia has ever worked withShow notes:Julia Lipton | https://twitter.com/julialiptonAwesome People Ventures | https://www.awesomepeople.ventures/Quixey | http://quixey.com/Rise | https://www.rise.us/One Medical | https://www.onemedical.com/Pallet board | https://awesomepeople.pallet.com/jobsPallet | https://www.pallet.com/Support the show

7 snips
Dec 13, 2022 • 31min
TQ Ventures Investor Jana Iris on Developing Community Experiences Inspired By Burning Man, Her Tech Career at HashiCorp as a “Non-Technical” Talent, and Making Her First Angel Investment | Seed To Harvest Ep43
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Today, I’m joined by Jana Iris. She’s a coffee lover, start-up advisor and investor. Since 2008, she’s been an early employee of startups, including Engine Yard, New Relic, and HashiCorp, focused on building their developer communities. In 2022, she switched gears into angel investing and advising companies like Spacelift, Fermyon Technologies, SuperTokens, and CloudQuery.Now she invests alongside her team at TQ Ventures. 00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Jana Iris05:25 Meeting the founder of HashiCorp10:04 The difference between open core and open source15:46 HashiCorp going public20:05 Incorporating Burning Man into HashiCorp25:12 Jana declaring her mentorShow notes:Jana Iris | https://twitter.com/janaborutaHashiCorp | https://www.hashicorp.com/TQ Ventures | https://www.tqventures.com/Engine Yard | https://www.engineyard.com/Groupon | https://www.groupon.com/Mitchell Hashimoto | https://twitter.com/mitchellhVagrant | https://www.vagrantup.com/Yehuda Katz | https://twitter.com/wycatsEvan Phoenix | https://twitter.com/evanphxBrian Ford | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-ford-231b4732Gitpod | https://www.gitpod.io/Gabbi | https://www.gabbi.com/Grace Isford | https://twitter.com/graceisfordMichael Stoppelman | https://twitter.com/stopmanSupport the show

Dec 6, 2022 • 24min
How We Plan, Produce and Publish Seed To Harvest : The Podcasters Guide To Getting Started | Seed To Harvest Ep42
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.In this episode, I’ll share the inspiration, our process, the reason behind our podcast creation decisions including our tech stack. I’ll start with our idea generation + move through pre-production, editing, review, and publishing. We’re getting tactical today!00:00 Welcome To Seed To Harvest05:30 Meet the team7:48 The tech stack11:35 How we invite guest to Seed To Harvest15:50 Podcast recording equipment18:10 The editing process20:00 The compliance process and publishingShow notes:Venture Deals | https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1119594820/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAyracBhDoARIsACGFcS4s_Cn-dpgBpr6sdJNQ0jyTOa1nrywWv_deWNFw7uQPKcxcfbB3mQsaAg3CEALw_wcB&hvadid=583797917473&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031339&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=897748182257647611&hvtargid=kwd-303132979398&hydadcr=21871_10169513&keywords=venture+deal&qid=1670292693&s=books&sr=1-1Seed To Harvest by Paige Doherty | https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Harvest-Explanation-Venture-Capital/dp/0578906457/ref=sr_1_1?crid=K91BH5HB38G3&keywords=seed+to+harvest+paige&qid=1670292721&s=books&sprefix=seed+to+harvest+paig%2Cstripbooks%2C124&sr=1-1 riverside.fm | http://riverside.fmdescript.fm | http://descript.fmCanva | https://www.canva.com/ Buzzsprout | https://www.buzzsprout.com/Twitter | https://twitter.com/LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/Slack | https://slack.com/Support the show

Nov 29, 2022 • 24min
Vitalize VC Investor Gale Wilkinson on Time Management Strategies For Deep Focus, Considerations for Round Valuation, Term Sheets and Harnessing The Power of Crystals | Seed To Harvest Ep 41
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Today, I’m joined by Gale Wilkinson, General Partner at Vitalize VC. After graduating with her degree in marketing, she consulted CPG companies on new product launches. After starting two businesses, she started an angel network in 2012, launched Vitalize Fund I in 2017 and has since invested in 100+ companies, deploying over $65M in capital. Now she is a Transact Global member, Kauffman Fellow, and passionate about democratizing access to angel investing.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Gale Wilkinson04:30 Implementing the traction EOS system10:29 Benefits that Gale has received from participating in Kauffman14:59 Crafting an overall portfolio strategy15:50 Jaclyn on liking the opposite of being transactional20:14 What should investors look out for when considering round valuation?Show notes:Gale Wilkinson | https://twitter.com/galeforceVCVITALIZE vc | https://www.vitalize.vc/Kauffman Fellows | https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/Caroline Casson | https://twitter.com/carolinecasson_Justin Gordon | https://twitter.com/justingordon212Annette Huynh | https://www.linkedin.com/in/annettehuynh/John Hayes | https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hayes-vc/Anand Engineer | https://twitter.com/Project_AnandLarissa Insogna | https://twitter.com/LarissaInsognaRecast | https://recastcapital.com/On Deck | https://www.beondeck.com/Oper8r | https://oper8r.substack.com/Support the show

Nov 22, 2022 • 34min
Foundry Group Investor Jaclyn Hester on Capital Call Best Practices, Being An Investor Outside Typical Tech Hubs and Planting Seeds Through a “Give First” Mentality Inspired By Venture Deals Author Brad Feld | Seed To Harvest Ep40
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Today, I’m joined by Jaclyn Hester, Partner at Foundry Group. At Foundry, Jaclyn leads direct investments in early-stage companies. She operates with a passion for supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and investors. Since 2016, Jaclyn has focused on making direct investments as well as launching the partner fund strategy, building Foundry’s portfolio to over 45 managers. Jaclyn first fell in love with entrepreneurship while earning her JD/MBA at CU Boulder. There, she served as Executive Director of Startup Colorado and was a practicing attorney where she advised M&A transactions and early stage financing.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Jaclyn Hester05:34 Where does networking bring an advantage?10:11 How to manage challenging issues.14:59 One of the standout annual meetings.20:13 Jaclyn on liking the opposite of being transactional24:55 What's going on in the Boulder startup ecosystem?30:25 Jaclyn on having a different level of founder empathy.Show notes:Jaclyn Hester | https://twitter.com/jfreester?lang=enFoundry | https://foundry.vc/Lindel Eakman | https://twitter.com/LDEakmanUSV | https://www.usv.com/Spark | https://www.sparkcapital.com/Give First | https://givefirst.techstars.com/Natty Zola | https://twitter.com/nattyzMatchstick Ventures | https://www.matchstick.vc/Ryan Broshar | https://twitter.com/rbrosharFareHarbor | https://fareharbor.com/Support the show

Nov 15, 2022 • 37min
Village Global Co-founder Anne Dwane on Founding Networks Versus Building Networks, How Chegg’s Name Originated From “The Chicken or the Egg” Question, and Supporting The Ecosystem Through Scout Programs | Seed To Harvest Ep39
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Today, I’m joined by Anne Dwane from Village Global, an early stage venture fund backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos, Sara Blakely, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Magic Johnson and Anne Wojcicki. Previously she co-founded Military.com, a social and professional network for service members and veterans that was acquired by Monster. Also, she was the CEO at Zinch, a network connecting students with colleges and scholarships. Zinch was acquired by Chegg, where she served as Chief Business Officer, before and after the IPO. 00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Anne Dwane05:31 Building a venture firm vs. work as a founder10:33 The founding story of Village Global15:08 Advice for individuals just starting out in venture20:14 Origin of Chegg24:53 Quick hack on investor updates30:22 Figuring out how to fine tune your process as an investorShow notes:Anne Dwane | https://twitter.com/adwane?lang=enVillage Global | https://www.villageglobal.vc/Zinch | https://www.chegg.com/Military.com | https://www.military.com/Christopher Michel | https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelchristopher/Monster.com | https://www.monster.com/Adam Corey | https://mobile.twitter.com/frumpySupport the show

Nov 8, 2022 • 28min
Red Beard Ventures Investor Elana Dickman on her Path into Venture and Making 200 Investments Through a Syndicate with Red Beard Founder Drew Austin | Seed To Harvest Ep38
Send us a textSeed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.Today I'm joined by my good friend Elana Dickman, an investor at Red Beard Ventures. She started her career at top consulting firms such as KPMG and Deloitte. She has built a reputation for herself as a content creator with her podcast, The Girls Table, where Web3 individuals chat about ideas, investments, the future, and more. Elana is an angel and NFT investor as well.00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Elana Dickman04:55 Transition from consulting to venture10:00 Increasing connections through crypto events15:05 Diving into the world of web 320:45 3 common mistakes founders make25:22 Elana's favorite concertsShow notes:Elana Dickman | https://mobile.twitter.com/tradingfemaleRed Beard Ventures | https://redbeard.ventures/The Girls Table | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-girls-table/id1625030412Drew Austin | https://mobile.twitter.com/drewaustinPower of Habit | https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160XReady Player One | https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448Support the show