Ventures

In this episode of Ventures, we pull a clip from Episode 24 with Joel Fariss (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfariss/) to discuss how technology - especially the shift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 - can be designed in such a way to promote and sustain human kindness and flourishing. Joel posits that a shift away from Dataism and toward what he calls “Dream Thinking” will be an essential part of this mission.See: https://joelfariss.substack.com/p/dream-thinking-and-functional-fiction Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-59 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.To view/listen to the full original podcast with Joel, visit: https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-24 

In this episode of Ventures, I comment briefly on my evolving definition of “Brand” and pull in a clip from Episode 51 with Moshe Engelberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosheengelberg/) on loving customers (and whether they love you back). The best product leaders I know not only understand a market deeply and the value-add a product is bringing, but also think about “uplifting and connecting” people (Moshe’s definition of Love) in and around a product to create delightful experiences for customers.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-58 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.To view/listen to the full original podcast with Moshe, visit: https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-51

In this episode of Ventures, I start with a quick summer 2021 reflection and then dive into a short clip from Episode 48 with Andrew Cronk (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcronk/). Web 3.0 entrepreneurs and decentralization application (dApp) developers will need to approach software engineering concerns such as user identity and data storage/querying in different ways than the Web 2.0 era. Andrew’s initial insights into this transition are enormously helpful. Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-57 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.To view/listen to the full original podcast with Andrew, visit: https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-48   

In this episode of Ventures, we pull a popular clip from Episode 12 with Patrick Lowndes (https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricklowndes/) and Brian Geihsler (https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangeihsler/). The clip focuses on how they validated their Business-to-Business Software-as-a-Service (B2B SaaS) startup, VendorHawk, which sold to ServiceNow in 2018 (https://www.geekwire.com/2018/servicenow-snaps-vendorhawk-help-customers-manage-saas-spending/). We cover how to sell contracts with wireframes, how to reach decision-makers, how to test pricing, and how to set up an “alpha group” as a cohort of initial customers to help your new startup succeed. Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-56 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.To view/listen to the full original podcast with Patrick and Brian, visit: https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-12 

In this episode of Ventures, we pull clips from Episodes 38, 35, 41, and 46 to dive deep into all-things Product Management. Most startup founders are overwhelmed and too busy to grasp the nuances of how world-class product managers think about growth and technical operations. These clips provide an overview and a primer to how some of the best in the industry think about their trade at different stages of company size and growth.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-55 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we hear from the following people:   1:36 - Jenna Langer34:11 - David Pierce49:24 - Perry Azevedo1:00:23 - Kiel Sanders and Patrick Lowdnes

In this episode of Ventures, we pull clips from Ep43 (Dave Parker), Ep14 (Troy Henikoff), and Ep47 (Alex Giannikoulis) to dive into the specific topics surrounding ideation, validation, creation, and early growth of a new business. We talk about market-first vs. team-first, finding a co-founder, financial modeling, and practical advice from the perspective of investors and entrepreneurs on how to build a company from the ground up.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-54 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we cover the following:   1:16 - Dave Parker (from Ep43) on market-first analysis when picking a good idea9:47 - Troy Henikoff (from Ep14) on ideation, validation, finding a co-founder, fundraising, and financial modeling.47:20 - Alex Giannikoulis (from Ep47) on how he built a startup differently after taking a season as an angel investor and venture capitalist. 

In this episode of Ventures, we’ve pulled together clips from Episodes 2, 18, 31, and 48 to describe specifically the definition of Web 3.0...what it is, why it’s important, and what the vision is for its future. Along the way we talk about the history of Web 1 & 2, blockchains, scaling trust, and the Web 3.0 stack from the perspective of a Web 3.0 product manager and entrepreneur.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-52 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we cover the following: 1:10 - Tony Sager and Sol Cates (from Ep31). History of Web 1.0 and thoughts on Web 2 and 3.11:44 - Lorien Gabel, Andrew Cronk, and Tony Little (from Ep2). What is a blockchain?17:16 - Andrew Cronk on defining Web 3.0 (from Ep48).18:45 - Spencer Graham and Tony Little on Scaling Trust and the Web 3.0 Stack (from Ep18)See also https://satchel.works/@wclittle/a-primer-on-blockchains-protocols-and-token-sales

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Joni Kindwall-Moore (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-kindwall-moore-rn-57a81014/) and I continue our conversion from episode 49 and focus this time on supply chain issues in agriculture and consumer packaged goods companies (CPG, like Joni’s startup, https://snacktivistfoods.com/). We talk about how a Web 3.0 future would make her life easier, help growers, cut out needless people and systems in the middle, and help buyers find more reliable products and sellers around the world. Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-52 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we cover the following: 2:43 - Joni recap about her background, her startup, and our previous episode (Ep 49).3:30 - Intro: how is Joni thinking about Web 3.0 in relation to her world in regenerative agriculture? 5:12 - Will’s general take on the general definition of Web 3.0.6:44 - More about Joni’s world. Medical background. Food & life sciences. Agriculture.10:21 - How does Joni see Web 3.0 helping, practically, the world of Agriculture and her business?12:56 - Setting context on how purchasers of ingredients (Like Joni) pull it off today and navigate privacy issues (“Bourbon and Rolodex”) 16:02 - Moving from “Bourbon and Rolodex” to more of a Web 3.0 paradigm, but without losing the relationship aspects. How do we get from Point A to Point B. 17:04 - Understanding the problem. What is frustrating/problematic about the way Ag supply chain works today?20:35 - Putting on our Web 3.0 product hats. How do we design a decentralized platform to solve these problems?22:50 - Zero-knowledge proofs 23:30 - Proof-of-Work vs. Proof-of-Stake (plus, Layer 1 & Layer 2)25:24 - Do farmers care about privacy? Or is it the value-added players in the intermediary? Can blockchains get rid of the middlemen?27:24 - The meta theme of “scaling trust”. 28:31 - Why are blockchains needed here to solve this supply chain reliability problem? Can this just be centralized?31:08 - Trusting Web 2.0 founders with data and centralization; the same problem exists with any supply chains. 32:10 - Imagine: take the big Web 2.0 services and bring them on-chain and decentralized. Transparency into trust networks.33:48 - Supply chain in its basic form. Joni needs certain certified goods, with specific carbon data, etc… to verify authenticity. 35:40 - Defining “greenwashing” 38:09 - Vision for the future; if we had an amazing Web 3.0 system that works; how does a CPG founder’s life get easier?41:00 - How does the broader consumer community benefit if this magical Web 3.0 system existed?42:58 - Amount of money, time, and expertise going into these decentralized protocols are significant. Blockchains are fascinatingly multidisciplinary. 45:01 - Proof of Stake is of course great, but there’s a nuanced argument...48:25 - What is the “deck” that Joni has put together (in 2016!) for a potential platform...52:13 - The time when these kinds of Web 3.0 ventures can flourish is coming soon.54:05 - The call-to-action for Web 3.0 product professionals and entrepreneurs to work with Joni and others in this space.55:34 - https://snacktivistfoods.com/ and final thoughts from Joni on global food security and saving the world through food.

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Moshe Engelberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosheengelberg/) and I discuss his book The Amare Wave: Uplifting Business by Putting Love to Work. From an entrepreneurial lens, we cover topics including loving customers, helping customers love your business, example case studies from a new founder perspective, and the existential purpose of every for-profit and nonprofit organization on the planet.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-51 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we cover the following:1:59 - Background and tee-up. New type of cultural revolution and unconscious bias. 3:01 - Moshe’s background and story, his career, and leading into the story of writing his book (The Aware Wave).8:29 - Dichotomies and holding things in tension. Some information about Prota Ventures. 9:49 - What did Moshe choose the structure of the book the way he did?16:42 - For founders building new businesses, how should they read this book? What are principles worth highlighting for new startups?21:26 - The importance of talking about the heart, mental health, and the “why” behind starting a business. The existential purpose of every business is something “social”. 23:22 - Business as foremost a social enterprise, then an economic enterprise.24:09 - What do you do if you are in a business that hates their customers and uses war-like imagery everywhere? 25:45 - Love defined as “energy that uplifts and connects”. Do you love your customers? Do they love you back?28:31 - What kinds of ways can companies track and encourage customers to love them?  (Trader Joe's example) 32:06 - Paradoxical example: Amazon. They want to be customer-centric, but have trouble loving their employees.33:47 - Why did Moshe decide on the definition of love as “energy that uplifts and connects”? 36:41 - Is there a time for war? How does Moshe address those times when taking up arms, literally or figuratively, is needed.42:20 - Hypothetical case study. Example business that sells child education software to parents. (MVP vs. “maximum value product”)46:05 - Authenticity, Belonging, and Collaboration - the ABC of the Amare Wave48:28 - Community Management. Part of the Amare Wave. If you are hired as a community manager in a neutral company, how do you create an Amare Wave there? 53:00 - The difficult nature of doing “all the things” in startups, and praise for Moshe’s advice in this podcast. 54:13 - What ideas/projects is Moshe working on next?59:01 - Where can people find and buy the book? How can people continue the conversations with moshe? https://www.amazon.com/Amare-Wave-Uplifting-Business-Putting-ebook/dp/B0873ZFK2P // moshe@mosheengelberg.com 

In this episode of Ventures, my father (Larry Little, https://www.kitsapsun.com/opinion/columnists/) and I discuss entrepreneurship through the historical lens of the past 100 years. We talk about the arc of history for him personally and his family, and for the global political and economic situation at large. We cover how to find a great startup lawyer, advice for entrepreneurs, thoughts about navigating political polarization, and hope in entrepreneurs - in general - to help bring about a better world.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-50 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. You can watch this episode via video here.In this episode we cover the following:1:17 - Background. USA in 1929, Larry’s grandfather, family history, parents, journey through high school, college, marriage, law school, family, army, work as an attorney, business ventures, traveling with kids, and soccer coaching.  24:55 - What’s Larry’s overall reflections on economics, geopolitics, and the arc of history between 1929 and now. // Book: Candles for the Boardroom (which is the antidote to Art of the Deal). Integrity. Pay attention to regulators. Parallels between 1920s and 2020s. Watch out for China. Plus, an important F. Scott Fitzgerald quote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.”35:20 - Coming back to the parallels between the 1920s and 2020s, what’s similar? What’s different? 40:30 - What advice does Larry have for the entrepreneurs listening in?  (Friends and community first is key)46:06 - Founders: be careful with deferred payment deals with legal teams.48:00 - What are tips for founders looking to find an attorney for their business?52:37 - Potential conflict of interest when having lawyers own part of your company.54:30 - Thoughts and reflections about a polarized country. Is there hope for the USA?1:00:25 - What is Larry working on now? What is he thinking about and paying attention to?1:04:13 - What should entrepreneurs and the tech community be thinking about regarding China?1:10:52 - Any final thoughts or reflections to the audience? Entrepreneurs should be congratulated. They are the new elite of the country….the effective citizens that are going to be the core of the future.1:13:33 - Where can people follow Larry’s work? Check out Larry’s column pieces at https://www.kitsapsun.com/opinion/columnists/