The Hard Part with Evan McCann

Mark Shulgan is the Co-Founder of Intrepid Growth Partners. Intrepid Growth Partners is led by Mark Machin, Mark Shulgan and Ajay Agrawal. Their new fund seeks to invest in fast-growing AI companies primarily in Canada and the UK that have reached $10M in revenue and are on a path to achieving profitability. Takeaways Gaining valuable experience in valuation and underwriting companies during the dot-com bubble. Co-founding the Thematic Investing team (now known as Growth Equity) at CPP. Building the Growth Equity team at OMERS. Learnings around hiring and scaling an investment team. What does growth stage investing mean to Mark and what nuances exist at that stage. Understanding cash flow and building financial models are important aspects of growth-stage investing. How Intrepid was started with Mark Machin calling up Mark to start a fund. Why Intrepid is focused on the growth stage and scaling AI companies. The step change that is involved in a company that takes them from $10M in ARR to $100M+ ARR. Canada and the UK have a rich ecosystem of AI talent and companies. LP appetite for the AI space. Valuations in the AI space can be hot, but there are reasonable valuations for companies focused on specific applications. Chapters 00:00 Mark Shulgan's Background and Experiences 09:52 CPP and OMERS: Pension Fund Managers and Growth Investing 15:06 Key Aspects of Growth Stage Investing 18:37 The Genesis Story of Intrepid 24:06 The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Growth Stage Investing 31:46 The Abundance of AI Talent 35:10 Navigating Valuations and Cutting Through the Noise 43:19 Personal Practices for Dealing with Hard Times 45:40 The Bright Future of AI Keywords Mark Shulgan, growth stage investing, dot-com bubble, valuation, underwriting, private equity, subordinated debt, growth equity, CPP, OMERS, Intrepid, artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence, AI, go-to-market enablement, healthcare, robotics, automation, AI talent, valuations, hard times, transcendental meditation, fitness, future

Praveer Melwani is the CFO of Figma. Takeaways Joining Figma as employee 25 (now at ~3000) Scaling with Figma and moving into the CFO role Nuances to the CFO role at Figma Developing and learning from mentors How the CFO role is changing especially in high-growth tech companies Empowering and building a finance team The importance of understanding business drivers and key metrics as someone on the finance team How the finance team works with product and other teams, meetings, cadence and more What makes Figma such a special company and product Tools the Figma finance team uses Timing on building and hiring a finance team at a startup Chapters 00:00 The Journey to Figma 04:12 Scaling with the Company 06:14 The CFO Role at Figma 08:04 Seeking Advice and Learning from Others 11:26 The Changing Role of the CFO 14:55 Empowering and Working with the Team 17:11 Communicating with Other Teams and Leaders 21:47 Working with Product and Other Teams 25:26 What Makes Figma Special 28:24 Exciting Tools in Finance 31:00 Hiring for the Finance Function 34:07 Timing and Building the Finance Function 36:34 Dealing with Hard Times Keywords Figma, CFO, journey, first principles, business gut, metrics, finance team, data tools, automation, intelligent people

Behrouz Hariri is the CEO of Smart Nora. Smart Nora is on a mission to help 3 billion people worldwide breathe, sleep, and live better. Takeaways Working at Jet Cooper and IDEO. The idea for Smart Nora came from a personal problem and evolved into a product that solves a common sleep issue. How they ran a successful Kickstarter campaign. Future of the sleep industry. Balancing utility and aesthetics for hardware. Gathering and implementing customer feedback into a hardware product. Manufacturing process and how to do it well. Basics of sleep. Chapters 00:00 Experiences in Product Design and Innovation 05:06 Solving a Common Sleep Issue 07:49 Acquiring Customers and Building a Supportive Community 13:12 The Future of the Sleep Industry 16:47 Balancing Utility and Aesthetics 19:40 Continuous Improvement: Listening to Customer Feedback 22:24 The Basics of Sleep: Sleep Time Regularity and Sleep Hygiene 26:07 Physical Wellness for Founders: Navigating Challenges and Prioritizing Self-Care Keywords work experience, Jet Cooper, IDEO, Smart Nora, sleep industry, manufacturing, brand building, direct-to-consumer, product design, common sense, customer feedback

Kiva Dickinson is the Founder & Managing Partner of Selva Ventures. Selva Ventures invests in healthier living. They support Seed & Series A stage consumer health & wellness brands that make healthier living more engaging, accessible, habit-forming and fun. Takeaways His background in investment banking at Barclays, private equity at TPG and investing at CircleUp. Why he wanted to start his own firm in the CPG space. Debunking the myth that CPG doesn't work for VCs. Why investing in CPG requires a better batting average compared to technology investments. Why Kiva looks for products with strong gross margins and repeat purchase metrics. What is the sweet spot and inflection point for Selva to invest. Spaces in CPG that Selva and Kiva are excited about. Kiva's thoughts on celebrity brands. Hiring investors in the CPG space. "DTC is a channel, not a business" and how to run a strong retail strategy. Why LA is one of the best geographies for CPG businesses and investors. Chapters 00:00 Kiva Dickinson's Background and Journey 06:23 Starting Selva Ventures 08:24 Investment Strategy: Focus on Consumer Products 10:58 Investing at the Inflection Point 16:52 The Role of Retail Strategy in CPG 20:46 The Misconception that CPG Doesn't Work for Venture Capital 25:36 Exciting Spaces in Consumer Products 29:47 The Outlier Effect of Los Angeles in CPG 32:30 Hiring Investors in the Consumer Industry 35:06 The Impact of Celebrity Brands in the Consumer Space 41:19 Dealing with Hard Times and Finding Balance Keywords Kiva Dickinson, investment banking, consumer venture capital, Selva Ventures, private equity, consumer products, investment strategy, gross margin, repeat purchase, celebrity brands, geography

Lukas Tanasiuk is the Founder of The Nice Agency. The Nice Agency focuses on one thing—site speed optimization for Shopify stores. A consistently fast and responsive Shopify site is one of the most high-impact areas you can focus on. Mountains of research show that a slow Shopify site decreases conversion rates, drops AOV, reduces customer LTV and hurts your organic ranking on Google. Lukas's X/Twitter - @igobylukas Takeaways How to start an agency. Running an agency and wearing multiple hats. Why the focus on Shopify site speed optimization. Masterclass on site speed optimization, what you should be looking for and what to avoid. The site speed scam exists on platforms like Fiverr and UpWork which all e-commerce founders should be aware of. What it is like scaling a development team in this niche. Scaling beyond project-based revenue to recurring and potential software. Chapters 00:00 Sales Background and EVs 04:58 The Creation of The Nice Agency 14:21 The Importance of Shopify Site Speed Optimization 25:07 Challenges of Running an Agency 27:36 The Complexity and Demand for Shopify Site Optimization 30:02 Scaling the Development Team 36:04 Developing Performative Applications 39:03 Lukas' Personal Interests 44:10 The Power of Gratitude and Perseverance Keywords sales background, EVs, agency, The Nice Agency, Shopify site speed optimization, site speed, user experience, conversion rates, challenges, complexity, demand, site speed optimization, Shopify, developers, scaling, performative applications, rock climbing, ancient coins, gratitude, perseverance

Fiorella Schiffino is the CFO at Raven Indigenous Capital Partners. Raven Indigenous Capital Partners is Canada's first Indigenous-led and -owned social finance intermediary. Raven focuses on facilitating the flow of capital through impact investing to support the ongoing revitalization of the Indigenous economy. Raven builds relationships with Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs to drive sustainable change. Takeaways Moving PwC to Inovia and the VC space. Diving into the finance side of venture including financial operations of the fund, cash management, compliance and reporting. The move to Raven. Assisting portcos with establishing governance and financial infrastructure. Guidance on hiring CFOs or bookkeepers and implementing accounting systems. Fund construction and reserves for follow-on investments. Raven's thesis and mission in supporting Indigenous and Native American entrepreneurs. When should founders think about hiring for finance roles. Chapters 00:00 Transitioning from Professional Services to Venture Capital 03:14 The Dual Reporting Responsibilities of a Finance Leader in Venture Capital 12:39 Assisting Portfolio Companies with Governance and Financial Infrastructure 26:02 Fund Construction and Reserves in Venture Capital 28:30 Supporting Indigenous and Native American Entrepreneurs in Venture Capital Keywords venture capital, PwC, Inovia, finance leader, fund administration, portfolio companies, governance, financial infrastructure, fund construction, reserves, Indigenous entrepreneurs, Native American entrepreneurs

Ronak Trivedi is the Co-Founder & CEO of Pietra. A Pietra membership unlocks access to cost-plus pricing across software, logistics, sourcing, and marketing tools; all while earning cashback every time you spend on your business. Takeaways The journey from the University of Waterloo to founding his own company. Top lessons learned from working with Travis Kalanick at Uber and Cloud Kitchens. The major pivot Pietra made and how to do pivots well. The future of e-commerce. Thoughts on competition and competitors building a similar product. Building infrastructure, logistics and other challenging pieces of e-commerce. Pietra's membership model. Connecting global factories with a global network of founders and new businesses. How Pietra works with factories and digitizes them. Raising money and how Pietra raised from Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, TQ Ventures, M13 and others. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Journey into US Tech 04:21 Early Days at Uber and Learnings 16:07 Learnings from Working with Travis at Uber 20:10 Filling the Gap in the E-commerce Industry 26:49 The Future of E-commerce and Building Infrastructure 29:40 The Importance of Customer Satisfaction and Profitability 31:25 Enabling All-in Experience of Building a Company 33:14 Owning the End-to-End Supply Chain 37:26 The Membership Model: Discounted Software and Services 41:12 Connecting Factories with a Global Network 47:50 Dealing with the Roller Coaster Ride of Being a Founder 50:07 Journey of an Entrepreneur Keywords Ronek Trivedi, Pietra, journey, engineering, Uber, startup, pivot, marketplace, creative entrepreneurs, Travis Kalanick, lessons, opportunities, building a business, e-commerce, Shopify, Pietra, platform, infrastructure, digital landscape, entrepreneurship, business, future, tools, products

Jacob Klug is the Co-Founder and CEO of Creme Digital. Creme Digital is a leading no-code agency for world-class startups & companies. Takeaways Starting a product studio out of high school. Power of no-code. Impacts of AI on no-code. Launching a recurring model for an agency. Future of internal tools. Good versus great products. Client interactions and support for modern agencies. AI and its impact on scale and unlocks for Creme. Chapters 00:00 Starting a Product Studio: The Journey of CREM Digital 04:39 The Power of No-Code and AI in the Agency Space 08:52 Transitioning to a Recurring Model: Aligning Incentives with Clients 14:59 Building a Strong Team: Balancing Talent and Quality 17:08 The Future of Internal Tools: Leveraging AI and No-Code 24:33 From Good to Great: Design, User Experience, and Problem-Solving 27:33 Client Service in the Digital Age: Transparency and Asynchronous Communication 31:47 Upskilling and Learning: Podcasts, Books, and Like-Minded Individuals 35:09 Navigating Hard Times: Distracting Yourself and Preventing Negative Thoughts 38:54 Age is Just a Number: Starting a Business at Any Stage of Life 39:58 Journey of an Entrepreneur Keywords time management, prioritization, productivity, goals, schedule, distractions, delegate tasks, high-value activities

Pavla Bobosikova is the Co-Founder and CEO of WFHomie (acquired by GoCo). Takeaways Navigating the M&A process for WFHomie. Tactical advice on raising money and finding investors. Transitioning from founder to being part of a larger company can be challenging. Hiring and firing. Building in Canada versus building in the US. Rewards of mentoring early-stage founders. Take risks and shoot your shot. Challenges and advantages of being an immigrant founder. Chapters 00:00 Navigating the M&A Process 10:42 Fundraising Success 14:37 The Emotional Journey of Exiting a Business 17:20 The Rewards of Mentoring and Working with Early-Stage Founders 24:33 The Challenges and Advantages of Being an Immigrant Founder 30:30 Building in Canada vs. Building in the US 35:07 Dealing with Hard Times 40:53 Taking Risks and Avoiding Regrets 42:35 Journey of an Entrepreneur Keywords M&A, fundraising, acquisition, founder, startup ecosystem, work-life integration, remote work, talent, immigrant founders, building in Canada, building in the US, personal identity, mentoring, early-stage founders, risk-taking

Klaudia McDonald is the Co-Founder & COO of Bobo. Bobo’s mission is to make parenting easier, cheaper & more straightforward than ever before. The Bobo platform provides AI-driven support to recreate the 'village' needed for parenting. It reduces the mental load by offering tailored, stage-specific support, making the prospect of having children more appealing & manageable. Takeaways Working at Just Eat Takeaway. Launching international markets. Challenges that parents face. Attracting users to Bobo. Utilizing AI. Leveraging accelerators. Partnerships with influencers and vendors. Building a co-founder relationship with your spouse. Managing ADHD as a founder. Take advice only from individuals who are a few steps ahead of you and align with your values and vision. Chapters 00:00 Working for a Global Organization 03:28 Building a Great Product 04:43 The Birth of Bobo 07:07 Challenges Faced by Parents 09:32 Unique Strategy for Bobo 09:53 Attracting Users and Expanding 11:55 Comprehensive Offering for Parents 13:15 From Conception to Early Childhood 15:47 Utilizing AI for Personalization 17:42 Leveraging Accelerators 19:53 Balancing Co-Founder and Spousal Roles 21:50 Managing ADHD as a Founder 24:46 Embracing Opportunities and Taking Risks 25:57 The Power of Content Curation 27:44 Launching into Different Markets 30:27 Navigating Immigration and Choosing Canada 34:00 Finding Purpose in Challenging Times 36:20 Taking Advice from the Right People 37:09 Journey of an Entrepreneur Keywords Klaudia McDonald, Bobo, Just Eat Takeaway, parenting, support, resources, localized information, curated content, partnerships, influencers, co-founder relationship, ADHD, advice