Clock Speed with Shamus Madan

In this episode, Shamus Madan discusses the current market situation, the role of the Federal Reserve and inflation, and the potential for stagflation and economic slowdown. He also talks about maintaining financial security during economic instability, long-term investment strategies, financial planning for founders and entrepreneurs, and the impact on venture capital and startups. Welcome everyone to the MBIT Podcast; I am your host, Shamus Madan. Today on the podcast, we will be discussing the economic outlook, how to protect yourself in times of a recession, and the impact on private markets. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Disclaimer: The MBIT podcast is for informational purposes only. The podcast is not a research report and is not a recommendation to purchase or sell any stocks, holdings, or securities. The podcast is not meant to serve as the basis of any investment decision. (0:00) Introduction and market situation overview (1:33) The role of Federal Reserve and Inflation (3:02) Stagflation and Economic slowdown (4:03) Financial security during economic instability (5:37) Long-term investment strategies and market behavior (7:08) Financial planning for founders and entrepreneurs (8:00) Impact on venture capital funding and startup ecosystem

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Kevin Zhang about his background and experience in venture capital and entrepreneurship. They discuss the evolution of the venture capital industry, its role in supporting entrepreneurs, and its importance in business success. They also explore the distribution of returns in venture capital firms, the state of the venture capital bubble, and provide advice for new venture capitalists. Kevin Zhang is a Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, a Venture Capital firm with over $4B in AUM. Previously Kevin attended Columbia University and is currently an advisor at Almarowks, Columbia's startup accelerator. Before joining Bain, Kevin led business development at Addepar was the Head of Product at Fundera (company by NerdWallet), and was a VC at Bowery Capital. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @kevinzhang (0:00) Introduction and Kevin Zhang's Background (3:27) Kevin Zhang's Experience in Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship (9:51) Evolution and Legal Structures of Venture Capital Industry (13:33) Role of Venture Capital Firms in Supporting Entrepreneurs (17:31) Importance of Venture Capital in Business Success (20:22) Distribution of Returns in Venture Capital Firms (23:32) State of Venture Capital Bubble and Advice for New Venture Capitalists (25:16) Conclusion and Acknowledgements

In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Josh Mohrer, discussing his journey from Uber to Levels. They delve into the creation of Uber Eats, Uber's competition strategy against Lyft, and the legal challenges faced by Uber. The conversation later shifts to Mohrer's transition to Levels, the importance of glucose monitoring, and the problems Levels aims to solve in the current health system. Hey everyone, welcome to the MBIT Podcast, today Josh Mohrer the Head of Global Ops at Levels joins the pod to discuss his journey from leading NY operations at Uber to joining Levels a metabolic fitness program to help increase your lifespan. Over five years, he helped grow Uber's largest and most profitable market from a few dozen rides a week to over 3 million, and incubated a number of product ideas including UberEATS, and UberRUSH. After his time at Uber, JM spent a few years on the investor side as an active angel investor, managing director at Tusk Ventures, and co-founder of Shine Capital. Now, at Levels, Josh leads several strategic projects, such as membership and launch strategies. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @joshmohrer Learn More About Levels Here: https://www.levelshealth.com/ More Episodes © 2023 MBIT: Behind The Scenes of Business Success (0:00) Introduction and Background of Josh Moore (4:03) The Birth of Uber Eats and Incubating New Products at Uber (8:23) Legal Challenges Faced by Uber (15:55) Emergence of Lyft and Uber's Competition Strategy (19:35) Transition to Levels and the Importance of Glucose Monitoring (30:51) Issues with the Current Health System and Levels' Solution (34:49) Conclusion and Final Takeaways

In this episode, Shamus Madan interviews Zain Jaffer, discussing his background, advice for startup founders, insights on fundraising, and his transition into PropTech. They delve into the differences in real estate investment, the rise of PropTech, and the importance of financial management in startups. Zain is a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first venture when he was just a teenager. Throughout his career, he built many startups, with the most successful one being Vungle. Have you ever seen those ads in games asking you to play a video to continue? Yep, Zain and his team were the creators of that. Years later, Blackstone acquired Vungle in 2019 for $780M. Shortly afterward, he started Zain Ventures, boasting a diverse portfolio of real estate investments and Prop Tech startups. Zain’s success as both a founder and investor has made him a leading authority in the realm of startups and venture capital. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @zainjaffer (0:00) Introduction and Background of Zane Jaffer (6:59) Advice for Startup Founders and Current VC Space (12:07) Insights on Fundraising and Investing in Startups (17:11) Zane Jaffer's Experience Selling Startups and Transition into PropTech (24:34) Differences in Real Estate Investment: Tokenization vs. ETFs (28:01) The Rise of PropTech: Current State, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Challenges (31:40) The Importance of Financial Management in Startups and Final Thoughts on PropTech (34:38) Wrap up and Thanks to Zain Jaffer

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Katrin Kaurov and Aleksandra Medina about the creation and growth of Fridge, a finance app for Gen Z. They discuss user retention strategies, competition, building a community, raising capital, and the challenges in personal finance. Hey everyone, thank you for tuning into the MBIT Podcast. In today’s episode, we have two guests joining us to talk about their startup, Frich, a social finance app for GenZ. Katrin Kaurov and Aleksandra Medina. Both Katrin and Aleksandra are Co-Founders of the company. Through traveling the world, Katrin and Aleksandra noticed their unhealthy spending habits and decided to take matters into their own hands. With 60% of millennials not able to cover just a $1,000 emergency expense, there has been an increasing number of consumers spending lavishly and above their means. The solution -- Frich (stands for F-ing Rich) is unlike any other finance app on the market in that it brings in the social aspect allowing you and your friend group to build healthy financial habits together. Learn More About Frich Here: https://getfrich.com/ Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast (0:00) Introduction and Background of Guests Catherine Karof and Alexandra Medina (1:27) Genesis of Fridge - The Gen Z Oriented Finance App (6:36) User Retention and Partnership Strategies of Fridge (11:51) Fridge vs Other Finance Apps & Building a Community (14:43) Raising Capital & Long-term Investor Relationships in Startups (17:00) Challenges, Opportunities, and Unsolved Problems in Personal Finance (18:09) Wrapping Up & How to Connect with Fridge

In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Andrew Gazdecki about MicroAcquire's vision and current operations. They discuss the streamlined acquisition process, startup vetting, and the high demand for AI startups. They delve into valuing early-stage startups, the importance of bootstrapping, and the overemphasis on venture capital. Welcome everyone to the MBIT Podcast, where we discuss tech entrepreneurship and venture capital. Today Andrew Gazdecki, the CEO of MicroAcquire, joins us to discuss his company making it easier for other people to buy companies through their platform. Formerly Andrew founded Bizness Apps, a do-it-yourself mobile app builder allowing any small business to create, edit, and manage mobile apps online without any programming knowledge needed. It was featured in Inc 3 times as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US and later sold to a PE Firm. Through selling that business, Andrew took note of the friction in the process with founders struggling to find buyers, high fees, and inefficient transactions. Back to the drawing board, Andrew worked on a solution to solve this, and that solution was MicroAcquire. Learn More About MicroAcquire Here: https://microacquire.com/ Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @agazdecki (0:00) Introduction and welcoming Andrew Gazdecki (3:59) The vision and current state of MicroAcquire (6:38) Streamlining the acquisition process with MicroAcquire (9:06) Startup vetting process on MicroAcquire (13:32) High demand for AI startups and M&A activity (16:32) Valuing early-stage startups for acquisition (19:28) Importance of bootstrapping and dangers of scaling too fast (22:48) Overemphasis on venture capital in the startup ecosystem (24:28) Where to find Andrew Gazdecki and MicroAcquire (26:07) Conclusion and closing remarks

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Brian Feroldi about his journey into personal finance and investing, and his time at The Motley Fool. They discuss the impact of democratized investing, variances in global stock markets, and compare domestic vs. international investing. They also provide tips for millennials transitioning into personal finance and discuss ways to offset rising consumer prices. The episode concludes with future predictions about the stock market and resources for learning more about Brian Feroldi. Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the MBIT Podcast. In today’s episode, we have an extraordinary guest, Brian Feroldi from The Motley Fool, and author of the book, “Why Does The Stock Market Go Up?” an Amazon bestseller in investing. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @BrianFeroldi Learn More About Brian's Book Here: amzn.to/3JVr9Q0 (0:00) Introduction and disclaimer (0:29) Journey into personal finance and investing: Brian Feroldi's story (4:10) Building relationships at The Motley Fool (7:23) Impact of the democratization of investing (10:21) Variances in global stock markets: A deep dive (14:00) Domestic vs. international investing: A comparison (15:55) Transitioning into personal finance: Tips for millennials (18:36) Rising consumer prices: How to offset the increase (22:06) Future of the stock market: High inflation numbers and interest rates (26:01) Wrapping up: Where to find more about Brian Feroldi (27:45) Conclusion, resources, and acknowledgments

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Josh Pigford about his new venture, Maybe. They discuss Pigford's background, the goals and business model of Maybe, and how it compares to competitors like Mint and Intuit. They also delve into the benefits of transparency in building Maybe and lessons learned from Pigford's previous business, Baremetrics. Welcome everyone to another episode of the MBIT Podcast which discusses tech and entrepreneurship. In today’s episode, Josh Pigford joins the pod to discuss his startup Maybe which is a SaaS tool to help others reach financial freedom easier. Learn More About Maybe Here: https://maybe.co Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @Shpigford (0:00) Introduction and Background of Josh Pigford (1:14) Overview of Maybe and Its Goals (3:10) The Problem Solved by Maybe and Pigford's Interest in Personal Finance (5:43) Comparison of Maybe with Competitors (Mint and Intuit) (6:35) Business Model and Branding of Maybe (9:28) Transparency in Building Maybe and its Benefits (10:46) Lessons from Baremetrics Applied to Maybe (11:44) Conclusion and Further Information about Maybe

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Zayd Ali, founder of Fish, a social network for entrepreneurs and investors. They discuss Zayd's journey into entrepreneurship, the launch and monetization strategy of Fish, and the importance of building relationships with venture capitalists. Zayd also shares his experience with balancing academics and startup life, and his time at Founders University and Launch House. Welcome everyone to the MBIT Podcast in which we discuss tech, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Today Zayd Ali joins the pod to discuss his startup FISH and how the app makes it easy for young millennial & GenZ founders to connect with VCs. Twitter of Host: @mbitpodcast Twitter of Guest: @zaydsyedali Learn more about FISH here: https://thinkfish.app (0:00) Introduction and Journey of Zayd Ali into Entrepreneurship (5:15) Launch of Fish: A Social Network for Entrepreneurs and Investors (9:51) Building Relationships with Venture Capitalists: Insights for Founders (12:32) Mobile App Route and Monetization Strategy for Fish (15:12) Launch Strategies and Story Behind the Name "Fish" (18:12) Balancing Academics and Building a Startup (20:48) Key Takeaways on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship (23:33) Zayd's Experience with Founders University and Launch House (25:08) Final Thoughts and Wrap-up with Zayd Ali

In this episode, Shamus Madan interviews marketing expert, Ryan Alford, discussing his background, the creation of RadCast, and the importance of curiosity in entrepreneurship. They delve into best practices for podcast growth, Instagram branding, and the potential impact of the metaverse on marketing. Ryan also shares the seven ageless truths in marketing and the importance of motivation in brand building. Welcome everyone, thanks for joining us on the MBIT Podcast discussing tech and entrepreneurship. Today Ryan Alford (the host of the Radcast) podcast joins to discuss how to build your personal brand, marketing, and the metaverse. The Radcast is a top 25 US marketing and business podcast featuring marketing tips, trends, industry stories, and a wide variety of guests. Best known for his work on brands like Verizon, Lexus, and the NFL Ryan has developed some of the most well-known creative campaigns of the last 15 years. Listen to the episode to hear how you can take advantage of these little-known tips to building your brand. Join The Mastermind: theradicalformula.com Follow @ryanalford (0:00) Introduction and welcoming Ryan Alford (1:13) Ryan Alford's background and experience in marketing (4:29) The role and importance of curiosity in entrepreneurship (5:59) Creation and growth of RadCast (8:30) Best practices for starting and growing a podcast (13:58) Instagram's relevance and best practices for brand-building (17:54) Impact of the metaverse on marketing and the future of social media platforms (26:01) The 7 ageless truths in marketing (28:58) Importance of motivation and long-term approach in brand building (31:14) Ryan Alford's final thoughts and resources (31:31) Episode wrap-up with Shamus Madan