Recruit Rockstars Podcast

I rarely meet a tech entrepreneur whose background is firmly grounded in science. Jacob Sattelmair is a public health scientist turned technologist. He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Wellframe, which works at the intersection of healthcare, technology, data analytics, and consumer engagement. Based in Boston, Wellframe has reimagined healthcare relationships through a new approach that uses high-tech to deliver the high-touch support that people need - when and where they need it. Its Digital Health Management platform offers solutions for care management & advocacy that help organizations forge more meaningful connections with their members. Jacob holds degrees in Neurobiology & Epidemiology from Harvard University and Physiology from University of Oxford. He’s partnered with high-profile investors including: Threshold, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, Formation 8, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Waterline Ventures, Azimuth Ventures, and Tim Draper. In this 20-minute conversation, Jacob reveals how he’s built the Rockstar team at Wellframe.  

Spring is here…. …Which means lawn care. (Blech!) Ken Davis set out to change that. He’s CEO of TaskEasy, based in Salt Lake City. TaskEasy simplifies life by connecting people & technology to provide hassle-free yard care. They bring convenience & relief to homeowners, renters, and businesses and empower local landscaping entrepreneurs with robust software. What’s super-cool is TaskEasy’s patent-pending formula to establish fair market pricing for yard care services in statistical metropolitan areas in all 50 U.S. states. So, no more haggling on price. Since its consumer launch in 2013, TaskEasy has performed over 1 million tasks in 12,000 US cities & established a network of 10,000 screened and rated contractors. Clearly, they’re onto something big. Investors include Camber Creek, Moderne Ventures, River Cities Capital, Grotech Ventures, Access Ventures. Ken was named the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst Young, so he knows a thing or two about scaling. In this 20-minute conversation, he shares how he’s built an 80-person Rockstar team.

I’ve long been fascinated by unique business models. And here’s one. NYC-based Public Goods is a one stop shop for healthy, sustainable, everyday essentials you can trust. They sell products in personal care (shampoo), household goods (cleaners), grocery (cereal). Uniquely, Public Goods has a $59/year membership model which allows them to smooth revenue & offer high quality products at a great value. And everything they sell is branded Public Goods. Imagine: no more spending time choosing between a bevy of seemingly-identical brands. Morgan Hirsh is Founder & CEO. And he’s onto something big, because he recently closed an expansion capital round from L Catterton, the largest & most global consumer-focused private equity firm with $20B under management. Other investors include: Listen, Day One Ventures, Yes VC, Investo, and KF Ventures. In this 20-minute conversation, Morgan reveals how he’s built the team.

New consumer investment platforms are all the rage. As are women leaders in fintech. This episode puts it all together. Maria Selvaggio is VP People at M1 Finance, one of the nation’s fastest growing money management platforms. Over 500,000 now use M1’s Finance Super App to invest, borrow, and spend. With a total of $4 billion in client assets, clearly M1 is on to something big. Based in Chicago, Maria got her talent management chops at Grubhub, Tempus, Groupon, and Google. Now she’s building a Rockstar team at M1, where the mission is to empower people to improve their financial well-being. The company is backed by top-notch investors Coatue, Left Lane Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Chaifetz Group, Jump Capital, 50 South Capital and Chicago Ventures. In this 20-minute conversation, Maria reveals how M1 is building the team that builds financial independence.  

As businesses reopen, you should be thinking about your employees’ commutes. For their benefit, and yours. Not to mention your city’s. TransitScreen makes software that makes cities smarter and more sustainable. It provides live transportation information to real estate owners & employers internationally, helping people make more informed, more sustainable choices. I tracked down CEO & CO-Founder Matt Caywood to see how he built this impressive team. Matt is wicked smart. He spent years earning degrees in Neuroscience & working as a AI Engineer and Applied Neuroscientist before starting TransitScreen. Clearly, he’s on to something. Investors include TIMIA Capital, 1776 Ventures, Moderne Ventures, and Carbon Ventures In this 20-minute conversation, Matt shares how to get your employees safety & smartly to your office, and how to build a Rockstar team once they arrive.

The up & comers in Generation Z (Gen Z) are now aged 5 to 25. And you’ll soon be hiring them. But they’re unlike any people who came before them. In fact, they have little in common with Gen X, Millennials, or Baby Boomers. So it’s time to learn how to recruit them & what’s most important to them. To do that, I sought out an expert. I found two. Based in Austin, Denise Villa & Jason Dorsey are the authors of Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change The Future of Business - And What You Need To Do About It They co-lead The Center for Generational Kinetics, where they advise hundreds of Venture Capital firms, Private Equity Firms, startups, and other companies on how to tap into Gen Z. In this 20-minute conversation, Denise & Jason reveal what’s most important to Gen Z, how to recruit them, and most important - how to keep them.  

Frank Furman was destined to lead. First, as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps. Then as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company And now, he’s Chief Operating Officer of the VC-backed & fast-growing PadSplit. PadSplit is disrupting the affordable housing industry by creating safe, attractive, and respectable co-living environments. One room at a time, often for workforce housing. Unlike AirBnB, this is long-term rentals Based in Atlanta, PadSplit has 1,200 bedrooms listed & its average rental is 8.5 months Clearly, Frank & PadSplit are onto something. Because they’ve been backed by a who’s who of early-stage ventures. Including Impact Engine, Cox Enterprises, Kapor Capital, Techstars, 1984 Ventures, Base Ventures and Core Innovation Capital. But this episode isn’t about funding. It’s about leadership. And how Frank is scaling his team at PadSplit.

Nothing inspires me more than a brilliant young company founder with a huge vision. Such as Sam Walder. He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based Trala. And he intends to make world-class music education accessible to everyone. Eventually, Trala plans to expand its app to help people learn all instruments in the symphony orchestra. And they’re starting with violin. Why? It’s hard. Nail the violin, and you can use tech to teach virtually any instrument. Trala’s app features video tutorials with notable violinists along with “signal processing” technology that listens while you play the violin & gives instant feedback on rhythm and pitch mistakes. The app has been downloaded over 250,000 times and students spend an average of 5 hours per week on the app. Trala charges $20 per month or $120 for the entire year. Clearly, Sam is onto something. He recently raised venture capital from Next Play Ventures, the early-stage VC fund launched by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Other investors include Techstars Ventures, Blue Titan Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Webb Investment Network, Phoenix Rising, Concrete Rose Capital. How can a Rockstar team of 12 people teach your app to teach you any musical instrument? In this 20-minute conversation, Sam reveals how he’s built a highly-diverse team.

In this overheated market, it’s become relatively easy to land a Venture Capital investor. But finding one who adds real value post-investment remains tricky. I found one. Constance Freedman is Managing Partner of Moderne Ventures, an early stage investment fund which invests in technology companies in real estate, mortgage, finance, insurance and home services. Based in Chicago, she’s invested in over 90 companies including Better, Bento for Business, Hippo, Homesnap, Porch, and TaskEasy. Equally notable is the network she’s built. She adds immense value to her portfolio companies by connecting them with the major players in their respective sectors. Think of her as the Venture Connector. No surprise, Constance has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including HousingWire’s Women of Influence, Crain’s Business 40 under 40, Crain’s Chicago Top Tech 50, 2019 Mavericks 50, and Inman’s Top 101 in Real Estate. Along the way, she’s learned how to spot talent, how to land it, and when to make a change on your team. In this 20-minute conversation, she reveals her hard-fought lessons.  

After spending time at Facebook and Dropbox, Russ Heddleston saw the need for a secure document sharing platform. So he created the SaaS platform DocSend, where he’s now CEO. Based in Silicon Valley, DocSend now has 15,000 customers & 60 employees. Plus, talented investors like DCM Ventures, August Capital, Cowboy Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Uncork Capital (You may never send an attachment again.) Russ says “A Rockstar at one place might not be a Rockstar someplace else” I couldn’t have said it better myself. In this 20-minute conversation, Russ reveals how he’s scaled a team of Rockstars.