The Room Podcast

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! In today's episode, we're thrilled to have Larry Diamond, co-founder of ZIP, joining us for an insightful conversation. Larry and his co-founder, Peter Gray, identified a critical gap in the market, leading to the birth of ZIP. This episode delves into the evolution of digital payments, exploring ZIP's role in providing seamless financial solutions for businesses of all sizes.In this episode, we discuss the transformative impact of ZIP on the fintech ecosystem, the importance of innovation in the digital finance space, and Larry's advice for budding entrepreneurs navigating the enterprise SaaS sector. Tune in for an up-to-date discussion on the future of finance, transparent M&A strategies, and the vital role of user-friendly, secure financial solutions. Whether you're a fintech enthusiast or a budding entrepreneur, this episode is jam-packed with wisdom and inspiration.For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 4:42 - Where did Larry grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?6:27 - Did Larry always think he would become a founder?7:45 - What key lessons did Larry learn early on in his career? 10:51 - When did Larry meet his business partner, Peter?12:20 - Why did Larry and Peter start Zip?13:35 - What was the initial product and go-to-market strategy of Zip?16:27 - When did Larry realize they were having a successful product-market fit?18:28 - Who was the first person to invest in Zip?20:45 - What insights does Larry have from his experience of a unique capitalization structure?23:35 - When was a time when things did not go as planned?25:43 - What was Zip’s Go-To-Market strategy for their core customers? 27:42 - How does Zip consider banks stakeholders and partners in their ecosystem?  30:05 - How was Zip’s expansion into the US market?31:32 - What advice would Larry give founders looking to break into the US market?33:38 - How is Zip thinking about putting its customer base at the core of its business?36:55 - What is Zip looking forward to in 2024?39:18 - What’s next for Larry in the new year?40:30 - Who is a woman in Larry’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career?WX Productions

Welcome back to another new season of The Room Podcast! Season 10 kicks off with an exploration into the world of health and wellness entrepreneurship featuring Katerina Schneider, the innovative founder and CEO of Ritual. Join us as we uncover the story behind Ritual, a company that revolutionized the supplement industry. Dive into Katerina's journey, her insights on transparency, and how Ritual's approach is reshaping the way we view vitamins. It's an episode filled with inspiration and a closer look at the visionary mind behind this wellness sensation.Key topics in this episode include; challenging traditional norms in an industry, the importance of transparency in wellness products, and products reflecting a commitment to consumers.For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 5:03 - Where did Kat grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?6:02 - Did Kat always think she was going to be a founder?7:00 - How was Kat’s early career as an investment banker?8:58 - How did Kat become the global lead of digital innovation at Universal Music Group?11:04 - How did Kat’s career experience prepare her for being a founder?13:14 - When did it occur to Kat that there was a gap in the market that she needed to solve?15:45 - How did Kat think about other gaps in the healthcare ecosystem and did she feel uniquely positioned to solve them?20:08 - What was Ritual’s first product/vitamin and how did the idea come around?22:19 - What did Kat learn as an early mover in the direct-to-consumer healthcare space?24:41 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Ritual?26:14 - How was Kat’s experience of raising a family while starting a company?27:54 - What was a moment in Ritual’s development where things didn’t go as planned?30:26 - How has Kat’s experience been going omnichannel and bringing Ritual to retail?33:10 - What is Ritual’s tech stack?36:10 - What advice does Kat have for other CPG founders of today?39:07 - Who was a woman in Kat’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career?WX Productions

Welcome to The Room Podcast! A series interviewing your favorite tech founders and funders.Our guests were in the room where it happened and they're sharing their stories. The Room is hosted by Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain, two digital natives based in SF, who are challenging the status quo just like our guests.WX Productions

Welcome back to Season 9 of The Room Podcast. In our final episode of the season, we sit with Cristina Junqueira. Cristina co-founded Nubank, a Brazilian fintech that revolutionized the industry with its user-friendly digital banking services. Nubank's transparent fee structures and mobile app have disrupted traditional banking, setting a new industry standard. Their innovative approach has made a significant impact, especially in Latin America, where Nubank has gained wide popularity. When NuBank went public in December of 2021 it was valued at 45 billion at IPO.In this episode, we discuss key themes for today's business world, including product diversification, innovation as a practical strategy, customer-centricity, problem-solving, and the importance of resilience in a dynamic environment.For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here!4:38 - Where did Cristina grow up and how did this shape her view of the world?7:22 - When Cristina was younger did she always want to become a founder?8:40 - Why did Cristina get an MBA and come to the U.S.?10:27 - What were some learnings from Cristina’s early career?13:41 - What was the “aha moment” that inspired Cristina and David to start Nubank?16:19 - What was the initial product of Nubank?18:48 - Why does Cristina think word of mouth was so important to the success of Nubank?20:52 - What advice does Cristina have for any new founders in the fintech world?22:23 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Nubank?24:05 - How was the experience of starting a daily while also starting a business?26:52 - Are there any memorable moments from the IPO of Nubank?28:49 - What was a moment in Nubank's life cycle where things didn't go as planned? 31:40 - What should customers be excited about for the future of Nubank?33:46 - What trends has Cristina seen over the past year as the global economy is shifting and how has that impacted what products customers leveraging?  35:46 - What are Cristina’s thoughts on the future of leadership in fintech?38:01 - Who is a woman in Cristina’s life who has had a profound impact on her and her career?WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week’s guest is Christelle Rohaut, the CEO and co-founder of Codi. Christelle and Codi are leading the way to happier urban living through innovative approaches encompassing remote work, sustainability, and intelligent urban design. That’s why Codi’s mission is to offer more flexible and secure office spaces, providing a convenient alternative to traditional office setups. Companies of all sizes use Codi to attract and retain talent, reduce commuting hassles, and adapt to evolving needs, contributing to a broader workplace revolution. In this episode, we expand on ideas such as personal transformation through parenthood as a catalyst for achieving business success, transforming underutilized neighborhood spaces into flexible hubs for businesses to share and revitalize local economies, and emphasizing in-person interactions, and streamlining operations to maximize supply and demand matching.For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 4:29 - Where did Christelle grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?5:00 - Did Christelle always think she would become a founder?5:39 - Where does Christelle get her interest in cities?6:39 - What is a key difference between cities in France and cities in the States?7:51 - How has Christelle’s previous work impacted her journey as a founder?10:26 - What was the earliest inception of what Codi could and should be? 12:16 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Codi?13:38 - How has Codi’s core product evolved over time?14:10 - What was Codi’s original cord product?15:39 - How did Codi’s roadmap change over time?17:50 - What does Christelle think about the current commercial real estate climate?19:18 - How does Christelle adapt to changes in the commercial real estate market?21:34 - How are startups plugging into the current commercial real estate landscape?34:28 - How does Christelle envision being creative about a business model that's breaking in front of our eyes? 26:56 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Codi?27:38 - What advice would Christelle give to someone who is going out into the market today?29:24 - What was a moment in Codi's life cycle where things didn't go quite as planned?32:17 - How does Christelle think about marketplace growth and how does that affect the future of Codi?34:02 - Where does Christelle think physical space for startups and businesses is going to be in the next five years?35:23 - What is Christelle excited about in her personal life?35:48 - Who is a woman in Christelle’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

We continue this season of The Room Podcast with another incredible guest, Christina Cacioppo, co-founder and CEO of Vanta. Vanta is an automated security monitoring platform that helps companies get SOC 2, HIPAA, or ISO certified quickly and easily. We and Christina share experiences working for Dropbox as she details what she learned from her time there and how that impacted her decision to start Vanta.In this episode, we learn more about topics such as transitioning from product manager to founder and the path of finding a problem to solve, product and marketing differentiation in the competitive landscape of enterprise SaaS and, building out an early enterprise Go-To-Market team in motion. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 4:10 - Where did Christina grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?4:49 - Did Christina always think she was going to become a founder?6:16 - How did Christina’s first jobs in venture impact her?8:14 - What was the “aha moment” when Christina knew she wanted to start her first company?10:30 - How was Christina’s experience at Dropbox?13:14 - What was the “aha moment” when Christina knew she wanted to start Vanta?14:17 - What is the core product of Vanta?16:41 - What key problem is Vanta working to solve?18:17 - How should a company think about the right time to get compliant?19:59 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Vanta?21:06 - What advice would Christina give founders thinking about getting started in the security space today?22:42 What was a moment in Vanta's life cycle where things did not go as planned?24:38 - How do Christina and Vanta consider differentiating themselves in the market?28:29 -  How did Christina think about building and scaling her company from a Go-To-Market perspective?31:18 - How is Vanta thinking about AI?32:18 - How can we build an ecosystem that works to achieve parity with SAS companies founded by women?34:39 - What is Christina looking forward to in her personal life?36:08 -  Who is a woman in Christina’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career?WX Productions

Kathleen Breitman, co-founder of Tezos, discusses Tezos' contributions to blockchain, their self-amending nature, and community-driven governance. They talk about tokenizing real assets on Tezos, early blockchain security, funding startups in crypto, and the current regulatory environment.

Hey, The Room Podcast Family!In this exciting episode of the series, we dive headfirst into the open-source world of tech entrepreneurship with Guillermo Rauch, the visionary founder behind Vercel and Next.js. Guillermo takes us on his incredible journey, from growing up in Argentina to moving to Switzerland to becoming a driving force in shaping the future of web development. He shares the pivotal moments that led to the creation of Vercel, the platform that's revolutionizing front-end development on top of the react framework.Join us as we explore the tech landscape and gain insights into Guillermo’s journey from MooTools to Next.js to Vercel, many pieces of advice for founders in the open-source landscape about timing and fundraising, the future of open-source development alongside AI, and much more!For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 4:29 - Where did Guillermo grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?6:00 - Did Guillermo always think he was going to become a founder? 7:12 - What inspired the creation of MooTools?9:13 - What was it like moving across the world to Switzerland and then to San Francisco after, especially during this “post .com boom”?11:23 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders considering acquisition opportunities?15:46 - How did Socket and Mongoose change the development landscape and what did Guillermo learn through co-authoring and contributing to those projects?18:58 - What was Guillermo’s experience co-authoring Next.js?22:26 - What was the “aha moment” that led to creating Vercel and the early Go-To-Market strategy with it? 27:56 - How was Guillermo’s transition from Next.js to Vercel and how do the two differ?31:33 - How did Guillermo unlock his first enterprise customers and what advice does he have for founders who are also looking to make that leap? 35:05 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Vercel?36:52 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders working in open source who are thinking of getting fundraising?38:43 - What was a moment in Guillermo’s journey with Vercel when things just did not go as planned?40:48 - What is Guillermo’s take on the future of AI and development and what's next on Vercel's roadmap in regards to AI?46:25 - What is Guillermo excited about for this upcoming year?47:22 - Who is a woman in Guillermo’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?WX Productions

We are back again this week with another episode of The Room Podcast! This week we are joined by Julianna and Reed, the co-founders of Stych. TTopics in this episode include; the need for transparency and enabling conversations for potential M&A deals in the startup environment, the need for a more user-friendly and secure authentication method, and advice for other up-and-coming founders in the enterprise SaaS space.For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 5:00 - Where did Julianna and Reed grow up and how did that shape their view of the world?7:27 - Did Juliana ever think that becoming a founder would be something she pursued? 9:47 - How did Reed relate to being a founder when growing up and what was his path from undergrad to becoming a founder?12:32 - How did Julianna and Reed meet at Plaid?17:38 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Stych?22:05 - Who are the core buyers of Stych and what is the Go-To-Market strategy for Stych?24:39 - What advice would Julianna and Reed give to new founders in the enterprise SaaS space?27:39 - What advice do Julianna and Reed have for deciding if someone is a good partner?32:10 - Who was the first person who said yes to investing in Stytch?33:27 - What was a moment when things did not go as planned?35:25 - What are some learnings from being the buyer persona for another startup that is looking to sell to another startup?38:17 -  What was/is the most successful growth channel? And how have Julianna and Reed thought about outbound versusinbound marketing as a result? 40:25 - What's kind of next for Julianna and Reed personally?42:44 - Who is a woman in your life that has had a profound impact on you and your career? WX Productions

Season 9 continues with another multi-dimensional guest. DeVon “Devo” Harris went from producing platinum records with G.O.O.D. Music to founding Adventr, an interactive AI-powered marketing tool that makes content more interactive to reach and connect with audiences more easily. “Adventr makes it easy to create smart, interactive video content that allows engaged viewers to connect with your message on demand.”In this episode we discuss; when to use the art of “fake it till you make it,” how to challenge other people’s perceptions, how to apply lessons from one industry to another, and the future of interactive content. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Check out our guide to podcasting here! 5:00 - Where did Devo grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?6:27 - Did Devo always think he would become a founder?7:10 - How did Devo find his passion for writing and producing music?8:00 - What was Devo’s first job after college?11:18 - How did Devo come up with the idea to start G.O.O.D. Music?13:54 - What were some of the early highlights of G.O.O.D. Music?17:27 - What lessons did Devo take from the music industry that he applies to being a founder?21:30 - Was there ever a sense of satisfaction when receiving rewards for music?23:12 - How did Devo feel when he joined Vimeo?27:36 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the creation of Adventr?32:11 - Who are the buyers of Adventr and how did that impact the go-to-market strategy?33:50 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Adventr?35:44 - What was a moment when things didn’t go as planned?37:08 - What’s next for Adventr?41:14 - What work has Devo done with the Lehman program?43:06 - Who is a woman in Devo’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?WX Productions