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Apr 30, 2024 • 33min

How Midi raised millions for a menopause-focused platform with Joanna Strober from Midi

Most OBGYNs are not specifically trained in menopause, which means that women are left to suffer through their symptoms on their own. This week’s guest on Found is looking to change that. Joanna Strober is the CEO and founder of Midi, a virtual healthcare platform built specifically for women in midlife staffed with healthcare providers specifically trained to care for people going through perimenopause and menopause.In this conversation they cover:Why there is such a wide gap in care for women’s health and the negligent studies that are partly to blameWorking with employers and insurance companies to make sure that their services are covered under insuranceHow the Midi team has raised $100 million despite many investors not understanding the potential market for care for women in midlife(0:00) Introduction(1:27) Midi and Joanna’s background(4:38) The care gap(7:12) Building out research-based care protocols(10:00) Demand for menopause care(13:28) Joanna’s previous founder experience(17:04) Learnings from starting in VC(19:33) Building out the Midi team(22:56) Working with employers and insurance companies(24:50) Launching in 50 states(28:59) Fundraising experience Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Apr 23, 2024 • 44min

Bringing down sky scrapers' sky-high carbon footprint with Joselyn Lai from Bedrock

Most skyscrapers have sky-high carbon footprints due mostly to inefficient methods of heating and cooling. Today’s guest, Joselyn Lai is the co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Energy, a company that works with buildings to install geothermal systems. They have developed a system to drill the exact amount of boreholes at the precise depth needed to create the most efficient system per building.Today Dom is joined by a special guest host, TechCrunch Climate reporter Tim De Chant.In this conversation they cover:How the company has built up a customer base of urban buildersWhy it's easy to fundraise when the technology has been proven to be so effectiveCreating clean energy jobs for people who work in oil and gas(0:00) Introduction(1:51) Starting Bedrock Energy(3:59) Closed loop vs open loop systems(8:16) Building a customer base(12:50) Working with and around utility companies(17:08) Clean jobs for oil and gas workers(21:24) Decarbonizing the built environment(26:30) Fundraising(34:58) Host discussion Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Apr 16, 2024 • 44min

Building EV charging infrastructure that lasts with Louis Tremblay from FLO

In order to get drivers to convert from gas-powered cars to electric, there needs to be reliable charging infrastructure. Today on Found, Dom and Becca are joined by Louis Tremblay, the CEO and founder of FLO, a company that manufactures electric vehicle charging stations and has been creating charging infrastructure in the US and Canada for the last 15 years. Tremblay also talked about how he intentionally built this company to be a rewarding and fun place to work and what advice he has for new founders trying to do the same. In this conversation they cover:The components that go into creating superchargers for public use and why these isn’t just one kind of EV plugThe process of working with cities to design charging stations that reflect the character of the cityThe importance of developing the hardware alongside the software to create the best customer experience possible Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Apr 9, 2024 • 44min

Giving old wood new life with Ben Christensen from Cambium

If you’re not in construction or in the middle of a renovation, you might not think much about wood waste but in 2018 alone landfills in the US received 12.2 million tons of wood. Most of this is useful material that could be reused, but the lack of infrastructure means the wasted wood can't always reach the developers, woodworkers, and creators who need it. This week on Found, we're talking to a founder who has a SaaS solution for this broken supply chain. Ben Christensen is the founder and CEO of Cambium, a company that is reimagining the wood supply chain and reallocating previously wasted wood to be used in new building projects. In this conversation they cover:Learning to navigate the logistics of sourcing, selling, and shipping wood to customersBuilding a team culture based on the individual and avoiding a one size fits all approachOnboarding customers who may be adverse to technological solutionsHow AI can help create a more efficient lumber supply chain(0:00) Introduction(1:42) What Cambium is all about(5:01) Climate change and wood recycling(11:36) Developing the software(15:54) Sourcing sustainable wood(18:41) Going from grad school to founder(20:01) Fundraising journey(23:59) AI and supply chains(25:49) Building the team(30:15) Learning from logistics mistakes(32:30) Staying grounded while building climate solutions(36:40) Host conversation Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Apr 2, 2024 • 47min

Making healthy food accessible to everyone with Nick Green from Thrive Market

Between the rising cost of groceries and the all too common food desert, access to healthy and affordable food in America is getting harder to find. Today’s guest, Nick Green is the co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market, a membership-based online grocery store that focuses on natural and organic food and household products. Thrive Market isn’t just focused on offering healthy options, they want to ensure everyone has access to them so they’ve become the first online grocer to accept SNAP and EBT benefits. In this episode, Green discusses how it’s possible to build a business that is a shareholder-driven business and a business that cares about the stakeholders.They also talked about:The logistics of running a grocery company sustainably from the beginningTheir unusual path to fundingHow they organized the leadership team with four co-founders Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Mar 26, 2024 • 43min

Only AI can prevent forest fires with Allison Wolff from Vibrant Planet

Every wildfire season seems to be getting more intense than the last but today’s guest is here to tell us that wildfires actually have a good side. Today on Found, we’re joined by Allison Wolff, the co-founder and CEO of Vibrant Planet, a cloud-based planning and monitoring tool for adaptive land management. Wolff discusses why the wildfires we’re seeing today are hotter and spreading more quickly than we can contain and how proper land management can help create the environment needed for the lower, slower burning fires forrest need. They also talked about:How Wolff’s previous experience working with leaders at tech giants like Facebook and Netflix helped shape her leadership styleThe importance of working with indigenous groups to learn how people have been managing the land for centuriesThe key role AI places when it comes to monitoring land management and creating adaptive planning (0:00) Introduction(2:07) Vibrant Planet is modernizing land management(11:31) Adapting land management to climate change(16:45) Scaling nature-based climate solutions(20:16) The benefits of a for profit company(30:00) The importance of Indigenous knowledge in land management(35:01) Host discussion Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Mar 19, 2024 • 38min

Finding longevity in Fintech with Eric Glyman from Ramp

Of all the work tasks you could automate with AI, submitting expenses would probably be high on the list. Today on Found, we’re talking to Eric Glyman, the CEO and cofounder of Ramp, a spend management platform that is building AI tools to make financial workflows easier for employees and employers. In this episode they talk about what Glyman and his co-founder learned from their first startup and how they see AI changing fintech forever.They also talked about:What Glyman and his co-founder learned from their first startup and from their time working at Capital OneThe white space that still exists in fintechHow Ramp is implementing security measures while ramping up their use of AI(0:00) intro(2:20) SImplifying financial processes(8:41) Automation expense management(13:46) AI could take over tedious work tasks(19:10) Security and privacy with financial data and AI(23:45) Taking a lower valuation(31:54) What's next for Ramp and fintech Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Mar 12, 2024 • 46min

Training AI-powered recycling robots with Rebecca Hu from Glacier

Recycling is one facet to solving the climate crisis, but most of us are doing it wrong. Today on Found, Becca and Dom are talking with Rebeca Hu, the CEO and cofounder of Glacier, an AI robotics company that is building robots to accurately sort recycling. They talk about how many of us are wish-cylers who hopefully throw non-recyclables into the bin and how Glacier’s robots are sorting the recycling and making sure all of our recycling mistakes are corrected.They also talked about:What it takes to train an AI-powered sorting robotWhat the reception has been like in recycling facilitiesHow the robots are tracking the kind of waste we’re creating as they sortHow Rebecca told this story to fundraisers who have very likely never stepped foot in a recycling center.  Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Mar 5, 2024 • 41min

AI could be the solution for bureaucracy with Emilie Poteat from Advocate

Applying for government benefits is a slow, tedious process that often leaves applicants in limbo for several months.  Advocate looks to help. Today on Found Becca and Dom are talking with Advocate’s founder Emilie Poteat, the company that helps Americans engage with federal benefits programs through its technology-enabled services platform. In this episode they discuss how the Advocate team is using AI to automate advocacy and get the wait time for people seeking aid to nearly nothing.They also talked about: Where Poteat ultimately found fundraising successHow the government has reacted to a small startup seeking to automate such an embedded bureaucratic processWhy AI is the best tool in the technological shed to work with the mass amounts of rules and data required to navigate the social security systemHow the team is implementing the security measures needed when dealing with such sensitive information(0:00) Introduction(4:16) the status quo of applying for government aid(8:56) Automating government services(13:13) using AI to automate advocacy(18:29) Finding the right investor fit(24:13) Hiring for a social impact company(30:00) Collaborating with government agencies(32:00) Host discussion Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com
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Feb 27, 2024 • 34min

Building in the DTC hayday with Ariel Kaye from Parachute

Do you know what brand your bedsheets are? Probably not. Today’s guest Ariel Kaye has been working to change that with Parachute, a DTC bedding and home goods company. Kaye started Parachute in 2013—the hayday of DTC brands. She joins Dom to talk about what it was like building as a solo founder while she’s established a well-known brand and expanded beyond bedding. They also talked about:Why parachute hasn’t raised as much capital as you might thinkHow Kaye’s branding expertise has driven the company’s identityKay’s best advice to avoid burnout and be the best leader possible as a solo founder Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us:On TwitterOn InstagramVia email: found@techcrunch.com

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