Raising a round of financing is always a stressful endeavour. But in today’s economic climate, it’s even more so. So how can a founder navigate these choppy waters and not lose their shirts? Our guest today is Peter Hass, Associate Partner at Maverix Private Equity. Peter knows the ins and outs of deal structure and has guidance for founders at all stages to help them raise capital. Peter broke all of this down in a tremendous article he share recently here.We also recap tech headlines with Antony Mouchantaf of RBCx.About Peter Hass:Peter Hass is an Associate Partner with Maverix Private Equity. He is focused on leading deal execution including financial modelling and leading due diligence. Peter also works closely with portfolio companies in strategic and financial management as well as the evaluation of add-on acquisitions opportunities.Previously, Peter worked as a Director of Home Services within Mattamy Ventures at Mattamy Asset Management and OMERS where he was a founding member of OMERS Growth Equity.Peter is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business.In this episode we discuss:(01:22) News roundup with Antony Mouchantaf(19:34) Peter’s journey to becoming an investor(21:28) Working at OMERS(23:49) How different investors value investments(25:05) What Maverix invests in(27:24) What is structured financing means in VC(28:55) Items founders should be aware of(30:52) Examples of what new investors will ask for(35:01) How preferred shared get treated in a liquidation event(37:02) What does participating pref or full participation mean(38:11) A liquidation scenario explained(41:56) How should founders manage all these transactions and terms(47:49) Why raising less at times can be smarter for your business(48:46) Terms that Maverix typically offers(50:54) When founders need to take a down roundFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Acquired* 📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Noahpinion* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Airpods* 📈- Favorite New Trend: Space and Rockets* 📚- Favorite Book: eBoys* 🤔- Favorite Life Lesson: The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stonesFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Seeing life through fresh eyes is a trait that can get lost in today’s noisy world. When you bring a perspective of a beginner, not knowing what is impossible, you can sometimes transcend conventional wisdom and achieve greatness. Immigrants can bring a fresh perspective and couple it with a focused effort to succeed. Our guest today is Hamed Abbasi, Co-Founder and CEO of Plooto, who is both a successful serial founder and has survived the difficult and often underappreciated immigrant journey.About Hamed Abassi:Hamed Abassi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Plooto, a payments platform aimed at simplifying B2B payments. Prior to that he co-founded and was CEO of Vast Labs, a casual gaming company that was acquired in 2014. He started his career in the banking world.In this episode we discuss:(01:24) Hamed’s journey as an immigrant from Iran(05:12) Skills he had to learn as a newcomer to Canada(08:10) Moving from the world of banking to becoming a startup founder(11:15) Creating Flywheel dynamics in a startup scene(12:49) Starting Plooto(15:45) Pivoting from a Bitcoin platform(17:31) Plooto’s first financing round(19:10) Competing against well-established industries(22:59) Why Hamed wanted to compete in the crowded FinTech market(26:14) How and when to raise prices as a founder(29:12) Would they handle their price hike differently(30:10) The importance of data when gathering feedback(32:02) Why revenue is important to startups(33:47) Plooto’s success at venture fundraising(37:32) The prep that went into their fundraise(41:26) How the current financial climate is affecting their businessFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Knowledge Project* 📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: plooto.com/blog* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Kindle Scribe* 📈- Favorite New Trend: Espresso Extraction* 📚- Favorite Book: Full Castastrophe Living* 🤔- Favorite Life Lesson: Nobody knows anything, and you need to experience things for yourselfFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Finding founders with true visions that have a real plan to execute those visions is rare. So rare that those founders are actually called unicorns. But finding and supporting those founders takes a lot of patience and skill. Today’s guest has both of those traits, Stephanie Palmeri, Partner at NextView Ventures, has been working at the top of the venture industry for more than a decade and has backed impressive founders.About Stephanie Palmeri:Stephanie Palmeri is a Partner at NextView Ventures and is based in San Francisco. She loves supporting founders who share a North Star of building exceptional user-centric experiences for individuals, families, workers, and communities. Her investments in the Everyday Economy have spanned many industries, including social commerce, circular retail, education, digital health, marketplaces, transportation, and finance. Previously, Stephanie was a partner at Uncork Capital, where she spent a decade investing in dozens of seed-stage companies, including Poshmark ($POSH), Clever (acq. by Kahoot!), Chariot (acq. by Ford), ClassDojo, Carrot Fertility, Hallow, Panorama Education, Phil, Wrapbook, and Wonderschool. Before venture investing, Stephanie worked as a technology consultant and marketer at Accenture, Estee Lauder, and several startups.Stephanie holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS from Villanova University.In this episode we discuss:(0:01:15) News roundup with John Ruffolo(0:22:44) How Stephanie ended up in the venture and startup world(0:27:32) Why she chose NextView instead of creating a new fund(0:29:36) What appeals to Stephanie about investing in Canadian Startups(0:32:17) Becoming comfortable investing in the Canadian ecosystem(0:33:28) The biggest changes to early-stage investing in the last decade(0:36:29) The process of joining NextView(0:41:22) NextView’s current focus and plans for its new $200M fund(0:44:18) Starting NextView’s accelerator program(0:47:29) Founders deciding to have an early exit(0:50:08) Deciding to become a certified coach to help her founders(0:53:50) What makes a great board member(0:58:39) How she advises as an LP and angel investor(1:00:09) Who should contact her and what she invest inFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Acquired* 📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Stratechry and Ben’s Bites* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Whoop* 📈- Favorite New Trend: The return of in-person events* 📚- Favorite Book: Burn Rate* 🤔- Favorite Life Lesson: Take a leap of faith in yourself and try something newFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

An often undervalued aspect of the startup world is the importance of building a brand. How you represent your company and its values visually can really add value to your company. Our guest today is Sarah Dobson, founder of Design of Brand (affectionately known as D.O.B.), a specialized brand consultancy for Entrepreneurs. She is both a strategist and designer that uses research and creativity to make companies stand out in a cluttered marketplace.About Sarah Dobson:Sarah Dobson is the founding partner of Design of Brand. She started her career working closely under the legendary Paula Scher at Pentagram in NYC. There she developed her sharp, research-focused approach to brand development. Her magnetic creative solutions blend clear concepts and emotional designs to align young brands with their business objectives.Sarah, together with her partner Dani Hall and their nimble team at D.O.B. have created over 60 brands, including Greenhouse Juice, Ace Valley, Rainbo Mushrooms, Mylko, Superette, Sunscoop, Regimen Skincare, Scruncheroo, Thesus Outdoors, Othership, Barbet, nutbar, Fairgrounds, and Outro Health.She studied at Western University and Parsons.In this episode we discuss:(01:33) Sarah’s journey to become a brand designer(03:57) Working at Bumble & Bumble and Pentagram(07:55) Creating the identity for Greenhouse Juice(10:19) How Sarah begins the design process with new clients(11:43) The importance of honesty in the branding process(14:50) Advice to early founders around branding(17:28) Protecting your intellectual property(21:14) Forming partnerships with startups(25:39) The feeling of designing the perfect logo(26:35) Strategy behind DOB(27:31) How DOB chooses clients to work with(30:38) Goals for DOB(32:56) Brands she wishes she could overhaul(34:06) Becoming friends with clientsFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: The Rainbo Podcast* 📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Sift Queue (technically a playlist newsletter)* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Whoop* 📈- Favorite New Trend: Wearables, and loving your *cringe*.* 📚- Favorite Book: everything by Alain de Botton * 🤔- Favorite Life Lesson: Run your own race, and “enlightenment is the space between your thoughts”Follow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

There are many vices but few things can match when you create a business that changes the world. Our guest today, Corey Holmes Co-Founder of Popup, knows that feeling and has literally been around the globe to chase that high. We caught up with him in Dubai to discuss Popup, a no-code platform designed to empower new e-commerce experiences as well as his addiction to entrepreneurship.About Corey Holmes:Corey Holmes is the Co-Founder of Popup. He started his path as an entrepreneur as a flipper on craigslist in his tweens and teenage years.When he was 22 he dropped out of university a week before class began and launched an Auto and Marine Detailing business. Then he moved to Uganda to start a nutraceutical company and one of the fastest-growing fitness classes in the country at the age of 23. He learned to code, won an app development award, and placed first in a provincial app development competition.With that experience, he and his wife started building e-commerce stores and joined Shopify together. After that, he started a successful content creation company, and a dropshipping company which turned into an 8-figure commerce portfolio company (Viceroy Group) comprised of several brands selling in over 100 countries.In this episode we discuss:(00:01:00)  News roundup with John Ruffolo(00:19:50)  Corey Holmes’ early path to entrepreneurship(00:20:35)  The influence of his parents on him(00:23:21)  Advice for people who move a lot(00:25:11)  Why he dropped out of school — twice(00:27:29)  Deciding to start his first business(00:29:52)  How Corey’s fear of failure drives him(00:31:41)  His early days as a Craigslist flipper(00:34:28)  Corey’s time in Uganda(00:38:40)  Is it better to not know what you’re getting into as a founder or to have experience(00:38:57)  Lessons from working at Shopify(00:45:51)  His journey as a content creator(00:51:41)  Co-Founding the Viceroy group(00:55:21)  How Popup became his first Venture-Backed Startup(00:57:28)  What Popup is and the problem it solves(01:01:21)  The long-term vision around Popup(01:02:21)  Popup’s recent $3.5M pre-seed round led by Accel and investors like Seedcamp, Harry Stebbings 20VC, and a group of executives from Shopify, Hopin and othersFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: The Game* 📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Morning Brew* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Apple products* 📈- Favorite New Trend: Talking to ChatGPT* 📚- Favorite Book: How to win friends and influence people* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Define what you value and build your life around thatFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Being an investor in the early stages of companies has a lot of responsibility. You know the money you are putting in is a vote of confidence, but your role is even more important, you become a sounding board, a mentor, and in the best cases, a friend to the founder. Our guest today is Sam Haffar, Partner at Real Ventures, and he knows this road very well.This was a great chat and it was wonderful to hear Sam’s perspective on investing and the markets.And we also have reactions to the week’s news with John Ruffolo.About Sam Haffar:Sam Haffar is Partner at Real Ventures, where he works with founders on all aspects of their business from organizational development and product strategy to series A fundraising, growth, and scale initiatives.He began in the Silicon Valley startup world barely before he graduated from university and then joined the founding team at Chegg, a leading education technology company that went public in 2013.In this episode we discuss:(0:00:56)  News roundup with John Ruffolo talks Thoma Bravo acquiring Magnet Forensics, preventing hollowing out Canada, ChatGPT’s threat to white collar workers, and activist investors(0:19:03)  Sam Haffar’s journey to becoming an investor(0:22:39)  Where Sam gets his drive(0:25:21)  On becoming an extrovert(0:27:57)  How Sam came to the Canadian tech scene(0:32:14)  Coping with imposter syndrome as an early investor(0:36:14)  Processing the emotional rollercoaster of being an early-stage investor(0:43:10)  Staying grounded when things may look a bit too rosy(0:48:57)  How founders can deal with adversity(0:52:00)  Backing founders super early(0:54:43)  Work-life balance with young kids at home(0:57:56)  What keeps Sam passionate about this space(1:01:07)  His vision as a content creator in the space(1:04:18)  Content creators he admires(1:06:23)  How he supports his portfolio as they growFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Lex Fridman* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Waverly* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: iPhone* 📈-  Favorite New Trend: ChatGPT* 📚- Favorite Book: Kitchen Confidential* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: If you live by fear, you create a fearful world. But if you live by love, you create a fear less world, not fearless, but fear less world.Follow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Building your tech stack as a startup can either help you soar to new highs, or become your biggest nightmare and slow you down. Our guest today is helping founders navigate that path, Taylor Lint is Co-Founder and CEO of Swantide, a platform that automates the configuration and management of your GTM tech stack.Before this week’s episode, we welcome back John Ruffolo to chat about the news making headlines in the Canadian and global tech markets.About Taylor Lint:Taylor Lint is the Founder & CEO of Swantide. Prior, Taylor led engineering and product at Replica, an analytics company that spun out of Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs. Previously she led engineering for the launch of LinkedIn’s Talent Insights product. Taylor studied Information Science and German at Cornell.In this episode we discuss:(0:00:26)  News Roundup with John Ruffolo talking about ClearCo, BMO x Georgian Partners, Quantum Computing, Sequoia’s make good, IP Law, and Microsoft as king of M and A(0:20:10)  Taylor’s journey into the tech world(0:21:58)  Lessons launching LinkedIn Talent(0:23:28)  What Taylor learned at Sidewalk Labs(0:26:32)  The process of spinning out Sidewalk Labs into a separate entity from Alphabet(0:27:39)  Why Taylor decided to tackle the GTM Tech stack problem(0:29:34)  Data you need to infor your GTM strategy(0:31:13)  When is the right time to invest in GTM(0:32:36)  Typical startup GTM strategies and mistakes(0:35:18)  Goal setting for GTM(0:36:06)  How Swantide makes the GTM better(0:39:23)  Eliminating isolated documents and data with Swantide(0:41:18)  Best practices to set up and maintain your CRM(0:44:30)  Advice for early-stage startups around data collection(0:46:25)  Other considerations around preparing to scale later(0:48:49)  How Swantide’s $7M Seeed round came together with Menlo Ventures alongside Village Global, NEO, and a handful of strategic angelsFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: How’s work? With Ester Perel* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Allison Pickens’ Newsletter* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Apple Watch* 📈-  Favorite New Trend: Walking* 📚- Favorite Book: Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Change is the only constantFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Finding the next Consumer Packaged Good (CPG) winner can be even more elusive than the next big SaaS Startup. Not only do you face similar challenges to software startups, but you also need a solid supply chain and amazing branding just to stay in business. Our guest today has developed a knack for spotting the next big thing in CPG, Shahir Amin is Partner at Sonoma Brands, a specialist growth-equity firm exclusively dedicated to disruptive, high-growth consumer brands. In addition to selectively incubating original concepts, Sonoma partners with passionate entrepreneurs and founders ushering in a new wave of bold, innovative products. Also in this episode, Matt Cohen chats with John Ruffolo before the interview to break down current events impacting the tech and start-up world.About Shahir Amin:Shahir is Managing Director at Sonoma Brands Capital. He joined the firm in 2017 and is actively involved in all aspects of the investment process, including sourcing, diligence, execution, and portfolio management.Prior to joining Sonoma Brands Capital, Shahir was a member of the Private Investments team at UNC Management Company (“UNCMC”). While at UNCMC, Shahir managed alternative asset classes, including Venture Capital and Private Equity, on behalf of the $8.5 billion UNC Investment Fund. Prior to UNCMC, Shahir was an investment banking analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.Shahir received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.In This Episode We Discuss:(0:00:39)  Intro News Rundown w/ John Ruffolo - Elon, Twitter, Tech Layoffs, and ChatGPT/OpenAI(0:23:10)  Interview: Shahir’s journey to CPG Investing(0:24:54)  His time at UNC’s Endowment Fund(0:30:57)  How Shahir landed at Sonoma Brands(0:40:41)  What Sonoma looks for in a CPG Founder(0:43:41)  The Importance of supply chain transparency and sustainability(0:45:07)  How major CPG brands are viewed in the US today(0:49:03)  What brands are doing post-pandemic to adjust to new demands(0:51:49)  The viability of building DTC in 2023(0:53:55)  Current trends in CPG(0:56:15)  Risks and viable paths to exit of CPGs(1:00:32)  How Sonoma avoids overfunding their companies(1:03:36)  What used to be true in CPG but just isn’t anymoreFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: How I Built This* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Dan Primack* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Alexa* 📈-  Favorite New Trend: F-1* 📚- Favorite Book: The Blood Telegram* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: The importance of grit and determinationFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Community is a term thrown around quite a bit these days, but it is clear that building genuine networks of people and working to help others can provide real value. Our guest today is Rex Salisbury, Founder and Managing Partner of Cambrian. Cambrian began in 2015 as a community of members and founders interested in the fintech space and that eventually landed him a role at a16z as a partner on the Fintech team where he backed unicorns like Deel and Tally. We talk about launching Cambrian as a Solo-GP fund with $20M in capital and why he thinks now is the best time to build in the fintech space.About Rex Salisbury:Rex Salisbury is the Founder and Manager Partner of Cambrian, which is a community and venture fund focused on FinTech. Formerly he was a partner on the fintech team at Andreessen Horowitz. Previously he worked as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch supporting the real estate industry and as a Product Engineer at Sindeo and Checkr.In this episode we discuss:(01:35)  Rex’s journey to becoming an investor(12:07)  Making big life choices(14:28)  How Rex got hired as an engineer without an engineering background(19:41)  Lessons from Rexs’s time at a16z(27:27)  The process of turning Cambrian from a pure community into a community driven venture fund(29:04)  The power of the Cambrian network(30:18)  Further benefits of building a community(34:39)  Managing opportunities as a Solo GP(36:20)  Rex’s definition of FinTech(40:19)  Advice to startups around interest rates(44:11)  Where crypto fits into Cambrian’s investing thesis(48:38)  The sociology behind crypto(50:44)  Being a FinTech super connectorFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Capital Isn’t* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Matt Levine, FinTech Law* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Facebook portal* 📈-  Favorite New Trend: Moving back to the Bay Area* 📚- Favorite Book: Ender’s Game* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Invest in relationships, networks matterFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Real Estate is one of the best ways to build wealth, and travelling is a great way to spend it! What if there was a way to combine both of those ideas into a single platform? Our guest today is Ali Nichols, Co-Founder of Getaway, who thinks she has figured out a way to combine both of those passions for millennials. On today’s show, we cover how Getaway is combining the demands of younger generations to not only invest in real estate but also enjoy the perks of that investment along the way. About Ali Nichols:Ali Nichols is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Getaway. Prior to founding Getaway, Ali spent over 4 years as an executive at Bungalow, a technology-enabled residential real estate company, where she ran Operations, Growth, Marketing, Sales, and Real Estate. She spearheaded raising and operating a $700M real estate fund focused on acquiring single-family rentals. Before that Ali was a Strategy & Planning Sr. Manager at Uber and a Consultant at IBM. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Carnegie Mellon University.A word from our sponsor:At Ripple, we manage all of our fund expenses and employee credit cards using Jeeves. The team at Jeeves helped get me and my team setup with physical and virtual credit cards in days. I allowed my teammates to expense items in multiple currencies allowing them to pay for anything, anywhere at any time. We weren’t asked for any personal guarantees or to pay any setup or monthly SaaS fees.Not only does Jeeves save us time, but they also give us cash back on our purchases including expenses like Google, Facebook, or AWS every month. New users can earn up to 3% cashback for their first 90 days.The best part is Jeeves puts up the cash, and you settle up once every 30 days in any currency you want, unlike some other corporate card companies that make you pre-pay every month. Jeeves also recently launched its Jeeves Growth and Working Capital initiative for startups and fast-growing companies to enable more financial freedom for companies. The best thing is that Jeeves is live in  24 countries including Canada, the US and many other countries around the world.Jeeves truly offers the best all-in-one expense management corporate card program for all startups especially the ones at Ripple and we at Tank Talks could not be more excited to officially partner with them. Listeners of Tank Talks can get set up with a demo of Jeeves today and take advantage of our Tank Talks special with a‍ $250 statement credit after the first $2,500 in spend or a $500 statement credit after the first $5000 in spend. Lastly, all Jeeves cardholders receive access to their Lounge Pass program and access to over 1300 airports globally.Visit tryjeeves.com/tanktalks to learn more.In this episode we discuss:(02:33)  Ali’s journey into tech(04:56)  Ali’s experience at Uber(05:46)  Where Ali’s passion for Real Estate developed(07:35)  Uber’s real estate division(10:03)  The biggest takeaway from Uber(11:12)  Ali’s time at Bungalow and helping it grow(13:52)  Bungalow’s model for sourcing(15:18)  Why she started Getaway(19:11)  Finding her co-founder and why their partnership works(23:03)  Why vacation rentals is an exciting asset class(26:11)  Who Getaway is targeted at(28:09)  How this is different from a traditional timeshare(29:56)  How Getaway actually works(32:21)  Target annual returns to users on Getaway(35:03)  Plans to build out their portfolio of Real Estate holdings(36:53)  What Getaway is doing with their recent $5.9M raise led by Cowboy Ventures, XYZ, and Night Ventures(37:59)  Benefits from having a strong network of angel investorsFast Favorites:* 🎙- Favorite Podcast: All In* 📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Lenny* 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Airpods* 📈-  Favorite New Trend: Fractional real estate investing* 📚- Favorite Book: To Kill A Mockingbird* 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: You'll always catch more flies with honey than vinegar Follow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com