The VentureFizz Podcast

Becoming an influencer for a particular topic is very challenging. It’s hard to build up a following at scale. It requires a lot of work in terms of building up an effective content, social media, and speaker strategy to build up engagement. As a serial entrepreneur, not only was I interested in learning about Larry's journey around building companies, but I was also interested in learning how he went on to become one of the top names and faces in the world of digital marketing. Larry is an influencer and a highly recognized expert in the digital marketing circles. He has over 725,000 followers on Twitter and is ranked the #8 most popular author on Medium. He is pretty much everywhere - Inc. magazine, CNBC, Business Insider, plus lots of niche publications in the digital marketing industry and he is also involved in lots of speaking engagements at top conferences like Dreamforce, INBOUND, and others. During our interview, he discusses this topic and shares advice on how others can become an influencer too. His latest company, Customers.ai is an AI powered sales outreach automation platform. The company recently announced a $4.99M Series A round of funding. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * The early days of Larry’s career and how he ended up making the change into digital marketing. * The full lifecycle story of WordStream from the initial ideal to scaling to an exit, plus the story of the AdWords Performance Grader product that was a massive and early PLG success story. * Advice for founders on bringing in a CEO from the outside and the benefits. * What led Larry down the path of starting Customers.ai and all the details on the company. * AI and its impact on digital marketing. * The meaning behind Larry’s statement - “be a unicorn in a sea of donkeys.” * And so much more. If you are listening to this podcast, then it is highly likely that you are interested in the founder journey and lessons learned around building companies. Please make sure you don’t miss any episodes by subscribing to The VentureFizz Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or Soundcloud. Oh, don’t forget to leave us a review. It will really help us out!

The world of cybersecurity gets a lot of attention in companies and enterprises, but when you look at what’s happen with consumers, the numbers for cybercrime and identity theft are staggering. Here are some stats: According to a report from the FBI, Americans lost more than $10B last year to cybercrime. According to the FTC, there were 1.1 million reports of identity theft in 2022. 71% of Veterans and active duty service members have experienced digital crime. Let’s not forget about all the data breaches that seem to be a daily occurrence. It’s a major problem and like any good storyline, you need a hero to take on the bad guys. In this case, the hero is Hari and the team at Aura, who are all working to make a safer internet for everyone with their all-in-one digital protection for consumers. They even have Hollywood superhero Robert Downey, Jr. and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg involved as investors and board members of the company. Hari is a serial entrepreneur, who started Endurance International Group early on in his career and scaled it from scratch to an IPO in 2013 and grew to over $1B in revenue. His decision to take on cybercrime and identity theft with Aura was a personal one. In this podcast, he shares his story of being a victim of identity theft which opened up his eyes to the problem. Fast forward, this unicorn company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A deep dive into the world of consumer cybercrime and Hari’s thoughts on how AI will factor into the equation. * The full lifecyle story of Endurance International Group, an early cloud / SaaS company focused on the SMB market. * All the details about Aura’s platform and how it is helping consumers in terms of its comprehensive approach, plus how they have been building a consumer brand. * Why you should always bet on yourself and other lessons learned from his entrepreneurial journey. * And so much more. Is your company hiring? If yes, then what are you doing to build up your company’s employment brand? If you don’t have a content strategy, then it is likely that you are just flying under the radar. The good news is that we can help! A subscription to VentureFizz includes a content playbook for sharing all the details on your company, culture, and hiring process. We leverage all formats of storytelling to include videos, podcasting, employee profiles, and more. Reach out to info@venturefizz.com to learn more.

The business of doing good. It is an area where companies can build a profitable organization while doing something that is socially responsible. Companies like TOMS and Patagonia are great examples. For JC, she had a successful career, but it lacked fulfilment and she finally hit a breaking point where it was time for a change. From taking the entrepreneurial leap and build a responsibly farmed fish CPG company that reached distribution in over 4,000 stores and landing Leonardo DiCaprio as an investor, to what she is doing now as CEO of SmarterX, her career has aligned with her beliefs and values, all while working to create a more sustainable world. SmarterX is in the business of using data for good through its Product Intelligence Platform™ which is leveraged by retailers and brands to gain product insights and identify how to best handle consumer products across the supply chain, to remain compliant, avoid fines, and reduce their environmental impact. The company has been recognized by Fast Company on two impressive lists that being World Changing Ideas and Most Innovative Companies. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A deep conversation on the importance of finding personal fulfilment in one’s career. * JC’s background story in terms of growing up in rural Pennsylvania and the foundational years of her career. * The full story of Love The Wild, from scaling up to ultimately making the hard decision to exit the business. * All the details about SmarterX in terms of how its platform and business model works, plus its impact on the planet. * The positive use of AI in the cleantech and sustainability industry. * And so much more. I don’t know if you heard but the team at VentureFizz has launched a new website called Just Product Management Jobs. We are combining laser focused job postings for Product Managers with high-value blog content that is written by expert contributors covering topics around career advice and the latest trends + best practices in the PM industry. If you are a PM looking for a new opportunity or if you are hiring Product Managers, go to justproductmanagementjobs.com.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase - data is the new oil. It makes sense as it is data and of course other techonogical advancements that are powering the growth and use of AI in different industries. But even with all the buzz about AI, data has been the key differentiating factor for companies and a strategic advantage for years and years. It has been a key component for Scott’s success in the retail industry going back to ProfitLogic, a company he co-founded, which leveraged data for its merchandize optimization platform for major retailers. As an investor, Scott shares another great data example from one of his portfolio companies, that being Rent the Runway which went public in 2021. The company set up a data science and analytics team in the early days of the company as a strategic advantage. It will be interesting to see what companies emerge with this platform shift to AI and how it will affect the retail industry. Scott will certainly be in the mix of it all, as BCV recently announced two oversubscribed funds totaling $1.9B. So, lots of dry powder to invest. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Scott’s background story including getting his career started at IBM and what this experience taught him. * The full story of ProfitLogic, from how it got started to growing the company to a successful exit to Oracle. * What led Scott down the path of becoming a venture capitalist at BCV. * More about the Rent the Runway story, plus other investments like Mirakl and Attentive. * What he’s targeting in terms of making investments and the importance of unfair advantages. * Advice on scaling a company and how you should think about your team and board of directors. * And more Is your company hiring? If yes, then what are you doing to build up your company’s employment brand? If you don’t have a content strategy, then it is likely that you are just flying under the radar. The good news is that we can help! A subscription to VentureFizz includes a content playbook for sharing all the details on your company, people, and culture. We leverage all formats of storytelling to include video, podcasting, employee profiles, and more. Reach out to info@venturefizz.com to learn more.

If you’ve listened to this podcast in the past, you probably know that I’m an avid fan of tech history. There’s nothing like a legendary founding story of a company that completed disrupted an industry. Well, I have an amazing episode today that is going to cover a lot of ground at several ground-breaking, platform shift companies. I’m talking about the stories of legendary companies or products like AltaVista, Napster, Groove Networks… and the early days of tech pillars like TechCrunch, Y Combinator and more. Here are just a few tidbits that you’ll learn from our conversation: * Did you know that AltaVista tried to hire the founders of Google while they were still at Stanford? * Did you know that Napster was actually trying to build a legit platform with a business model that would have allowed the music labels to welcome in and embrace the digital era? * Did you know that Y Combinator held their very first demo day in Cambridge, Massachusetts and can you guess what company demoed that day and is now a top 20 web property? Now that I think about it, Don and I go way back. Not only am I thankful for his time to share these great stories, but I am also thankful for all of his support. When I started VentureFizz, I used to syndicate content from investors and influencers in the tech industry and Don was one of our partners. Don was a prolific blogger and it definitely helped up build up our credibility. His blog was called The Next Big Thing and if you want to take another trip down memory lane, check it out, as it is still published. In this episode of our podcast, we also cover many other topics like Don’s thought on AI, which he was blogging about years ago and what he’s up to these days. This week’s episode is sponsored by MarketMuse, a content intelligence platform that sets the standard for content quality. Their AI-powered software enables companies to create predictably better content at scale that increases traffic and engagement, cuts down your content process, and improves your search visibility. Get more out of your content with packages starting at $0/month. Plus you can get 20% off the MarketMuse Standard plan, which includes a ChatGPT integration, by using our code "VFIZZ20" at checkout. Go to marketmuse.com to get started!

It is hard enough to build a startup in a heavily regulated industry like healthcare, but what do you do when your biggest competitor who is publicly traded files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection? It can be discouraging… or it can be an opportunity. In the case of DynamiCare Health, it is hopefully an opportunity… an opportunity to build a world class company that is helping to improve the lives of millions of people that are dealing with an addiction to drugs, opioids, alcohol, or tobacco. DynamiCare Health was founded in 2016 by Eric and his father, Dr. David Gastfriend, who is an international expert in addiction psychiatry. As a digital therapeutics and coaching company, they are using a pre-existing, yet a previously under utilized treatment called Contingency Management that rewards members for certain behaviors. Their solution combines this method along with the usage of a tech platform and a certified Recovery Coach to help people with recovery and it is working. The company was recently granted a Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for one of its products, a prescription only digital therapeutic that treats AUD or alcohol use disorder which affects 29 million Americans per year. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Getting press for your startup and the pros & cons of using PR firms or doing it yourself. * Eric’s background story and what he learned at the early stages of his career while running a startup called Happy Cloud as its GM. * Why he went back to business school at HBS where he also studied AI and Machine Learning. * All the details about DynamiCare Health in terms of how their platform is helping its members with recovery. * The complexity of the healthcare system. * And so much more.

Rember when you needed a full tech team to launch a simple brochureware website? Now you can just jump on Wix or Squarespace and spin up a well designed, responsive website in seconds. The rise of the no-code movement has helped increase the pace and usefulness of technology and it has transcended into lots of other applications and use cases. It’s a win - win, as business users can create applications or make changes on the fly, while the engineering team gets to spend their time working on more complex and sophisticated problems. Candu is right in the strikezone of this no-code movement, as the company is building a better way to activate users and release new features. The simple, drag-and-drop UI Editor empowers product and customer teams to create UI themselves, saving developer time and trimming technical debt. Candu is venture backed by Two Sigma, CRV, Angular Ventures, and Haystack. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice for improving the activation rate for SaaS products and whether or not those post activation email campaigns are effective. * Jonathan’s background story and how his career accelerated while at InsightSquared, plus the details on wayOUT, a non-profit he co-founded. * How Candu came to fruition and the evolution of the platform to its current state including sample use cases for product growth teams and its value. * The vibe around raising venture capital in the current market and how entrepreneurs need to think about today’s market reality. * Advice on how to have a successful launch on Product Hunt. * Business ideas from spending one year writing down a new startup idea every day. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

When you have an idea to start a company that monopolizes your thinking, it’s probably a good sign to take that leap of faith into the entrepreneurial waters. In the case of Bobby, he had wanted to start his own company for a long time and he finally had that idea that he couldn’t shake from his head. It was his years and years of experience in the fintech industry and trends around BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) offerings that gave him the lens to discover a massive industry with big ticket purchase items that was underserved. The need was clear from both the business and consumer sides of the equation, so after recruiting two previous co-workers as co-founders of the company, it was go-time and off to the races, which was a literal statement. As you’ll hear from our interview, their business model focused on the integration and being the financing solution with third party software platforms that specialize in their market, so time was of the essence. Wisetack is the leading Pay Over Time platform for in-person services. Wisetack partners with top SaaS service companies to embed payment options directly into their software through a simple API integration. Small service businesses rely on Wisetack to offer their customers flexible, point of sale financing, enabling them to quickly and easily pay over time for essential services. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice for aspiring Product Managers on how to land a job in the profession and how to work your way up to an executive product leadership role. * Bobby’s career path from consulting to the world of product management which originated at PayPal. * The criteria he used to evaluate new career opportunities and his experience leading and scaling product at companies like YapStone, Lending Club, and Mosaic. * All the details on Wisetack and the company’s business model, plus an example use case. * Advice for starting a fintech company for entrepreneurs. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

The career path to a CEO position at a tech company is not linear. If you look at the background of CEOs, there are many different roads. It could be operations, product management, marketing, or other functional areas. In Frank’s case, he ran several teams including sales and professional services. Some might believe that the CEO’s role is to be the Chief Decision Making Officer, but as Frank shares in our discussion, it couldn’t be further from the truth - at least in the way he leads. For Frank, he believes the best CEOs are influencers where they are able to gain consensus from the team versus convincing people of your own opinion. It is more about more of understanding everyone’s perspective and creating that level of collaboration amongst the team. In addition to this key point, you’ll hear Frank share some other core elements that go into a successful CEO. SmartBear delivers the complete visibility developers need to make each release better than the last. The company’s award-winning and industry favorite tools are trusted by over 16 million developers, testers, and software engineers at 32,000+ organizations – including companies like Adobe, JetBlue, FedEx, and Microsoft. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Frank’s career path from consulting to executive leadership roles in the software industry. * The differences of working in a VC backed versus a Private Equity owned company. * All the details on SmartBear in terms of the company, scale, and its suite of products. * A discussion on how SmartBear has always leveraged a Product Led Growth strategy long before the term PLG was coined. * The company’s secret to making successful acquisitions. * The culture at SmartBear and why he considers the word “curious” as the most important company value. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

There are so many companies that have been born out of the mobile revolution and some of these companies, while looking back, seems so obvious. But, in the early days of mobile - I’m talking pre-iPhone, pre-App Store days, it was the risk-takers like Rodger who set out to solve really difficult problems that set the stage for the future. Whether if it was leveraging mobile phones for microfinance in emerging markets or co-founding Rave Wireless, which had lots of early interesting mobile use cases, which we talk about… Rodger thinks big and it’s these bold ideas where his companies make an impact. Today, Rodger is building Prove, a fast growing company that is driving the future of digital identity. Over 1,000 enterprise customers use Prove’s platform to process 20 billion customer requests annually across multiple industries. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Discussion around consumer fraud and how tech companies should think differently about their approach to security. * Rodger’s background story and getting his career started, plus what led him to start his first company. * Lots of stories about his prior companies, Rave Wireless and Vettro. * All the details about Prove, in terms of how the company’s technology works and the current stage of the company. * Advice on scaling a startup and how your value should factor into your business and pricing model. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.