The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 79 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Jennifer Lum, Co-Founder and COO at Forge.AI. Jennifer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and startup advisor. Her track record really speaks for itself. She was part of some legendary teams in the Boston tech scene - that being m-Qube, which was acquired by Verisign and Quattro Wireless, which was acquired by Apple. She, then went on to be a Co-Founder of Adelphic Mobile, which was also acquired - this one by Time. As an angel investor, she has invested in over 30 startups and companies like Crashlytics, Careport Health, TribeHR, and others have also exited. In addition, she is also really well known as an advisor and mentor for lots of companies & founders. Forge.AI is tackling a very complex problem with a massive market opportunity. 80% of the world’s information is unstructured and not easily used by computers. That’s a lot of untapped potential and Forge.AI is transforming this unstructured information into machine-ready data for computational use. The company recently announced an $11M Series A round of funding led by Underscore VC. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like: -Jennifer’s background including the details on how transformative her experience was at m-Qube and Quattro Wireless. -The story behind the founding of Adelphic, and its acquisition by Time. -All the details on Forge.AI, her latest startup and the market opportunity for their technology. -What she looks for in a company before making an angel investment and advice for people looking to become angel investors. -Her thoughts on the current state of the Boston tech scene and companies that she is excited about. -Plus, a lot more. Today’s episode is sponsored by Pluralsight. It is amazing what machine learning can do. With mounds of data being harvested every day, there’s so much we can learn and create. Pluralsight, the technology learning platform, is using this data for the good of tech professionals everywhere. Their AI helps you see what level your tech skills are at and recommends opportunities to keep learning. And they’re looking for help to make their algorithms even smarter. If changing the way the world learns technology through the intersection of Design, Product, Data Science and Engineering is right up your alley, apply to work at Pluralsight. Want to work here? Visit http://bit.ly/vfpluralsight to learn more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 77 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed David Cancel, CEO & Founder of Drift. David is a product minded founder with a proven track record of success at building companies. His last four companies - that being Compete, Lookery, Ghostery, and Performable - were all acquired. Looking back at HubSpot’s acquisition of Performable, it ended up being a key ingredient for the company’s future success. David’s current company, Drift, is the first and only conversational marketing platform. The company has raised over $100M in funding from Sequoia Capital, CRV, and General Catalyst. In addition to being a successful founder, David is also an angel investor, mentor, author, and a podcast host of Seeking Wisdom. If you haven’t listened to Seeking Wisdom, you definitely need to check it out. It’s definitely one of my favorite podcasts. Thus in this episode of our podcast, which is the longest one to date, we cover a lot of topics like: -Why David keeps building companies. -Growing up in New York and the start of his career at Bolt, which was an incubator building truly visionary products during the early days of the Internet. -The background story on Compete and Performable. -Building the engineering and product function at HubSpot, including his philosophy on hiring without job descriptions. -The story of Drift and how they are disrupting the way businesses buy from other businesses. -Why there has been such an emphasis on building Drift’s brand from the early days of the company. -His thoughts on building a company’s culture. -The two books every entrepreneur should read. -How he builds out his schedule and tips on time management. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 76 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Stephanie Manning, Director of Platform at Lerer Hippeau, which is the most active seed investment firm in the New York tech scene. Let’s face it, jobs in venture capital are very scarce, yet they are highly desirable. There are different roles that make a VC operate and the path into one of these positions isn’t very clear. Stephanie and her colleague Isabelle Phelps, recently published a blog series which helps to bring transparency to the topic of landing a job in venture capital. My conversation with Stephanie is focused on this exact topic, where she shares so much useful information and advice. So, if you are interested in pursuing a role in venture capital, hopefully this discussion will help put you on a path to achieve your goal. Here is a list of the topics we will cover: -Stephanie’s background and her journey into the venture capital industry. -How she got involved with Lerer Hippeau, and how her role there evolved over time. -The different types of roles between investment and platform. -How the path into venture capital has changed. -Advice on how to get your foot in the door and what the interview process may look like. -Details on how the compensation piece of the equation may be structured. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 75 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Rebecca Liebman, Co-Founder and CEO at LearnLux. If you are like most people, figuring out your own financial plan and making financial decisions at any age is not easy. It’s actually intimidating. There are all these different terms and options that are really difficult to understand. You would think, for something this is so incredibly important, that there has to be a better way. Well, Rebecca and her brother Michael, both recognized this issue which led them to start LearnLux, a company that brings financial wellness to the workplace as a benefit and helps your employees take control of their personal finances. As you will learn from hearing her story, Rebecca is a master networker and the type of person who is very driven to succeed. Her hard work and determination have been paying off, as she has been recognized by Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and LearnLux has raised capital from Tier A investors on both coasts. This includes Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, Marc Benioff, Underscore VC, Adam Nash (the former Wealthfront CEO), and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -The interesting ritual that she does every time before speaking in public. -All about Rebecca’s background and the details behind LearnLux and its business model. -Advice for founders raising capital. -Tips for getting media as an early-stage company. -How she’s developed her leadership skills. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 78 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Spencer Lazar, Partner at General Catalyst in New York City. Spencer has several years of experience as a Venture Capitalist. He previously held investment roles at Accel and Insight Venture Partners. At General Catalyst, he helped open their office in New York. His current portfolio includes companies like Bowery, ClassPass, Fundbox, Giphy, Lemonade, and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -His passion for photographing street art. -Spencer’s background, including some interesting details from his time at Harvard as a resident at Kirkland House over the same period of time that Facebook was getting started. -Lessons learned from co-founding his own startup Spontaneously, an early iOS-based mobile calendar. -What he is targeting in terms of his investments at General Catalyst. -Common pitfalls for companies trying to scale. -The current vibe of the New York tech ecosystem. -Plus, a lot more. Ok, quick side note. Are you expanding your company and growing your team in New York? If the answer is yes, then you need to check out our BIZZpages. It is an employment branding solution which helps you connect with and hire amazing talent in the New York Tech ecosystem. If you are interested in learning more, send an email to info@venturefizz.com and we’ll get you all the details. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 74 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Les Yetton and Tom Hazel, Co-Founders at CHAOSSEARCH. If there’s one thing to say about today’s guests, it’s that you’d be hard-pressed to find two more qualified people to run a startup like CHAOSSEARCH than these two co-founders. Les is an experienced executive with multiple exits under his belt at companies like DynamicOps, Neocleus, Softricity, and others. Tom, is not only a serial entrepreneur with his own level of success, but he is also an inventor of technology, which always fascinates me in terms of how people are actually creating things like, in Tom’s instance, new computer science algorithms for big data. Their current startup, CHAOSSEARCH, is the first log search and analytics platform built for AWS S3. The company recently announced $9M in Series A funding, which was co-led by .406 Ventures and Glasswing Ventures with participating from Stage 1 Ventures. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Les and Tom’s early background before CHAOSSEARCH, and how the two co-founders met. -The story behind how CHAOSSEARCH was founded. -All the details of the company in terms of its technology, how they are helping companies, and the market opportunity. -Why they each keep building companies. -Advice for first-time founders raising capital. -The qualities they look for when hiring. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, we have some exciting news to share! You can now listen to The VentureFizz Podcast on Spotify! Last week, Spotify announced their belief in podcasting and will be dedicating a lot of effort to this category, thus I was excited to have our show added. You can follow up by searching for VentureFizz in Spotify. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 73 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Jared Hecht, Co-Founder and CEO at Fundera. Jared is a serial entrepreneur who credits his success to the combination of a lot of hard work and yes, a bit of luck. He was a co-founder of GroupMe, a group messaging app, that was acquired for around $85M just about one year after the company was started. His latest company is Fundera, a marketplace for small businesses who are looking for financing options. To date, the company has helped 15,000 small businesses secure well over $850 million through its platform. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: * Jared’s early career aspirations to be in the music industry, including the story of how he offered Vampire Weekend to be their manager. * How he landed at Tumblr when it was still an early-stage company and what he learned there. * The full story on GroupMe, including how he met his co-founder Steve Martocci and how they were able to get traction that ultimately led to an acquisition by Skype. * All the details on Fundera, plus the social mission behind the company and how they are filling such a critical gap in our economy by supporting small business owners. * The hardest parts of building a company. * How he evaluates talent at different stages of a business. * Advice for evaluating investors when raising capital. * Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 72 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Tom Eisenmann, Professor at Harvard Business School. What do the companies Rent the Runway, Birchbox, ThredUp, Cloudflare, Evertrue, and InsightSquared all have in common? Well, they are all companies that you may have heard of… but did you know that they all participated in Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition? It’s true and this is a small sampling of the amazing companies from this competition. Sure, careers in management consulting and investment banking are still commonly considered by b-school grads, but its the path of entrepreneurship that has been one of the fastest growing areas of interest for students. Thus, I was excited to interview Tom and get an inside look at entrepreneurship at HBS. Tom has over 20 years of experience as a faculty member and he is also the faculty Co-Chair of the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, which supports these students who are looking to transform their ideas into successful startups and even perhaps… change the world. In this episode of our podcast, we also cover lots of great topics like: -ABC’s Shark Tank and how so many HBS affiliated companies have appeared on the show. -Tom’s background and what led him down the path of academia. -How HBS has evolved over time as it relates to entrepreneurship and its curriculum, including their case method approach. -The common mistakes where entrepreneurs get tripped up. -Tom’s thoughts on whether or not entrepreneurship is a trait someone is born with or is it something that can be taught. -Advice on how to get into Harvard Business School. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 71 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Steve Sarracino, Founder and Partner at Activant Capital. Steve has several years of experience as an investor in disruptive technology companies. He launched Activant Capital in 2012 to focus on growth stage businesses, where they can actively partner with companies and help them scale. The firm makes a small number of investments per year, so they can optimize their value. The strategy is working as the firm has seen exits from investments in Hybris, Recommind, and Upland. Their current portfolio includes companies like Newstore, Celect, Indigo, Boxed, and more. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Steve’s background, including the story of how he bought Disney stock when he was just 11 years old. -All the details on Activant Capital and how they help companies with scaling. -The three key factors that he looks for when investing in a company. -How pricing has evolved for software companies and their thesis around Value Share pricing. -His thoughts around the future of retail and commerce. -How to build a highly effective Board of Directors. -Plus, a lot more. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 70 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry. For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Nate Walkingshaw, Chief Experience Officer for Pluralsight. Nate is widely known as a pioneer in technology product development and his Directed Discovery methodology. He is a master in the craft of building and designing amazing products, to the point where he actually co-authored a book on the subject called Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams. Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified end-to-end learning experience for businesses across the globe. The company went public just last year and was recently recognized as one of the 2019 Best Workplaces in Technology by Fortune and Great Place to Work. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics like: -Nate’s background starting out as an EMT, what that taught him about empathy, and how that translates into building successful products. -How this experience took him down the path of entrepreneurship and starting a company that invented the most recognizable hospital evacuation sled called the Paraslyde. -His transition into the tech industry and his work as a startup advisor and founder of Tanner Labs. -All the details behind Pluralsight, their mission and products, plus the company’s social impact. -What the team is working on in the Boston office and future growth plans for this location. -What he looks for when hiring and advice for pursuing a career in product management. -Plus, a lot more. Just in case you didn’t know, Pluralsight is aggressively growing their office in Boston. The company is looking to hire across multiple function areas like marketing, product, engineering, data science & analytics. Go to venturefizz.com/pluralsight to check out all of their openings. Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!