The Room Podcast

In this special episode of The Room Podcast, we get to listen LIVE as Madison interviews David Yuan, long-time investor and more recently, Founder and General Partner of Tidemark Capital. Tidemark is a venture capital firm built to serve category-leading technology companies as they succeed and scale. In this episode, Dave details how he went from investor to founder and is now a fund founder with Tidemark. Plus, we discuss focused investment themes, the people and processes needed to build a successful firm, and the future of fund transformation. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 9:42 - Live Interview Begins9:54 - Dave Introduction12:25 - How was Dave’s early journey as a founder?14:17 - How important is a founder's resume when selling themselves to investors?16:02 - How does Dave think about pitching investment theses to LPs?18:17 - When starting Tidemark, who did Dave go to for help?19:40 - What is one thing Dave wished he knew starting the 2021 year?23:04 - How does Dave think the LP market will change over the next 5 years?26:21 - Who is a woman in Dave’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are joined this week by Andrew Savage, Founder & CEO of Suma Brands, a commerce platform focused on developing marketplace brands, specifically on Amazon. Andrew is using his experience from helping establish early E-Commerce for Target and Amazon to guide other growing retailers to high-level success. Andrew and Suma Brands will “find, acquire, and help brands realize their potential.” In this episode, we chat about what is an “aggregator” in the sense of online retail and Andrew’s quintessential blend of focuses that most companies must adhere to; retail, tech, and content. Plus, Andrew shares his thoughts on the evolution of E-Commerce from its origin to now, and even some of his future predictions. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - Where did Andrew grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?6:24 - Did Andrew always think he was going to be a founder?7:28 - What was Andrew’s early career path like while focusing on E-Commerce?10:52 - What were some “aha” moments while establishing early E-Commerce for Amazon and Target?13:06 - How has Andrew's experience been, being a part of the Amazon ecosystem?14:48 - What is Suma Brands and when did Andrew realize he wanted to found the company?18:31 - What inspired the name of Suma Brands?18:38 - What does it mean to be an aggregator, and does the term apply to Andrew’s business model for Suma?20:43 - What separates Suma from its competition?23:59 - Who was the first investor of Suma Brands and what was that experience like?26:03 - What things are Suma Brands looking for when considering acquiring a retailer?28:41 - Is Suma Brands focused on retail, tech, or something else?30:46 - What trends is Andrew seeing in the E-Commerce ecosystem that will continue to gain traction over the next few years?32:01 - What’s next for Andrew personally?32:51 - Who is a woman in Andrew’s life that impacted him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

S6E5: Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder of Studs, is Bringing the Ear-Piercing Industry into the Modern Era with Integrated Piercing and Shopping Experiences Our season continues with Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Studs, the modern platform for ear-piercing and earrings. Studs is all about safe and accessible ear-piercing for all people. Plus they have an easy-to-use, refreshingly branded e-commerce website with every earring fashion choice available. In this episode, Lisa talks to us about what “Earscaping” means to them, as well as what it’s like building a business with a complementary co-founder and the future of the modern shopping mall. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:47 - Where did Lisa grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:43 - Did Lisa always think she was going to become a founder? 6:51 - How did Lisa’s degree in Visual Studies from UPenn translate into her early work experience? 8:52 - What lessons did Lisa learn around the intersection of the digital and physical while working at Jonathan Adler and home Polish?11:11 - What does the term “Earscape” mean to Lisa and Studs?14:00 - How did Lisa meet her partner, Anna, and what got them started on the founding journey together?15:27 - What advice would Lisa have for new founders looking for co-founders?16:53 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Lisa and Studs?17:48 - What was Lisa’s first piercing experience like?19:07 - How is Studs thinking about the future of omnichannel retail?20:18 - How did the pandemic affect Studs business?21:46 - What is the feeling that a customer gets when walking into a Studs store?23:10 - What does Lisa think the modern mall will look like in five years?25:05 - What are some of the tools in Studs’ D to C tech stack?26:29 - Has Studs considered a subscription model? Why or why not?27:27 - What’s next for Studs?29:09 - What’s next for Lisa?30:18 - Who is a woman in Lisa’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are returning this week with another incredible guest, Sarah LaFleur. Sarah came up with the idea to create comfortable and fashionable, professional attire for women because she herself found that whenever she was searching for work outfits, it seemed that fashion would always be sacrificed for comfort. In this episode, we discuss the current state of the apparel market and how things have changed so rapidly due to the evolution of the internet and e-commerce, the future of DTC from the brand and consumer perspectives, and how previous work experiences influence a persons fashion choices. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:05 - What did Sarah take away from her college career, especially at Harvard?8:17 - What was the fashion industry like at that time of Sarah’s early career? 12:24 - What was the aha moment when Sarah knew that she wanted to become a founder?17:52 - What were some of the early supply chain processes of iterating and designing some of the first garments that were built for the “modern American woman?”23:07 - What advice would Sarah give to founders who are looking to raise today in retail and e-commerce spaces?23:34 - What advice would Sarah have to any founder today who might be thinking they’re going to disrupt retail?27:04 - What does Sarah think the future of selling directly to the consumer is?29:00 - Should women seeking to be mothers be freezing their eggs?33:33 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 continues with Sandra Abrevaya, CEO and co-founder alongside her husband, of Synapticure. Synapticure's mission is to make sure no one living with ALS is ever told, “I'm sorry, I can’t help you” because Brian and Sandra know firsthand how difficult it can be to receive ALS treatment. We chat with Sandra about balancing a romantic relationship and a business relationship with your significant other, what the current treatment options are for ALS patients, and how the COVID pandemic affected business in the medical field. Check out Synapticure here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - What convinced Sandra to go to Law School?5:21 - What are Sandra's top three takeaways from her career in politics that she uses as an entrepreneur? 9:37 - Did Sandra ever think she was going to become a founder? 10:57 - What has Brian's journey with ALS been like and how did it lead him and Sandra to found Synapticure?16:32 - Are there many options for treating ALS currently?22:17 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Synapticure?26:20 - What advice would Sandra give to a founder who is looking to build a mission-driven startup? 25:33 - What are some of those unique challenges in building a product and getting it into the hands of customers?26:07 - How does Sandra interface with patients during this need-finding process?31:14 - How did the COVID pandemic accelerate part of Synapticure’s roadmap? 33:37 - How does Sandra balance her romantic relationship and her business relationship with her husband?36:16 - What’s next for Sandra and Brian?37:49 - What’s next for Sandra personally? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 of The Room returns with Julie Bornstein, Founder and CEO of THE YES, a personalized web-based fashion retailer that works with hundreds of brands, large and small. Julie describes what she learned from her time at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Stitch Fix and how she was able to use those experiences to create THE YES. Julie gives advice to new founders and the best first steps to take to raise capital from investors. Julie also walks us through THE YES’s algorithm and how they continue to provide an accurate and personalized selection for each user, as well as future goals for the company. Plus, she shares her insight on the future of online retail and Web3/ e-commerce 3 in general. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:58 - What was investment banking like when Julie was in college?6:31 - What were some of the innovations that Julie brought to Sephora to make them the cutting edge brand they are today? 13:10 - How did Julie end up working with Stitch Fix?16:35 - What was it like taking a company public after building it for over five years?18:29 - What led to Julie founding THE YES?22:30 - What does THE YES do?24:00 - Who were the early partners that said yes to working with THE YES?29:52 - What advice does Julie have for new founders?29:47 - What goals did Julie set for THE YES early on, and how did she carry out her vision?32:21 - How far are consumers from a fully personalized shopping experience?26:48 - How does THE YES’s algorithm learn from picky users and continue to provide an accurate personalized selection?36:25 - Who was the first brand to say yes to joining THE YES’s collection?38:18 - What was a time when things didn’t go to plan while starting THE YES?41:59 - What does Julie believe is the future of e-commerce? 43:44 - What’s next for Julie?44:47 - Who is a woman in Julie’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Thank you for joining us for Season 6 of The Room Podcast! We are starting strong with our first guest, Shuo Wang. Her company Deel was evaluated at over $5 billion last year from their revolutionary work in remote work and international payrolling. Shuo joins us to talk about her experience at the Y Combinator and the impact it had on her work with Deel. Subjects continue with how the pandemic was a catalyst for the growth of Deel and what metrics Deel uses to track that success. Plus, we ask Shuo about her strategies for competitively innovating and expanding Deel. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:12 - Where did Shuo grow up and how has that shaped her worldview?7:01 - How did a Mechanical Engineering degree translate into founding?8:21 - What encouraged Shuo and her co-founder to start thinking about global hiring? 10:40 - How was Shuo’s experience at the Y Combinator and what was the MMVP of the Deel product?12:07 - What country first started using Deel’s services?12:45 - What is the core product of Deel?15:35 - Who was the first to say yes and invest in Deel?16:20 - How would Shuo define her role as co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer?17:15 - What was Shou’s strategy for competitively innovating Deel?18:52 - What tips does Shuo have for founders who think they over perfectionists?20:24 - What metric does Deel mainly use to track revenue?21:25 - How did the pandemic affect the growth of Deel?22:32 - When was a moment things didn’t go as planned in the Deel story?24:45 - How does Deel plan for expansion?24:53 - What does Shuo think the future of hiring looks like?26:57 - What can look forward to for Deel?27:59 - What is coming up for Shuo personally?30:06 - Who is a woman in Shuo’s life that impacted her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of Movers & Shakers ends with another incredible guest, Founder and CEO of Meet Cute, Naomi Shah. Meet Cute is a “rom-com incubator.” Audio, written video, short-form video, long-form video, etc. Meet Cute produces them all. Naomi tells us what inspired the idea for Meet Cute and what it was like for her to raise funding at the start of her founding journey. Naomi also speaks on balancing inspiring other underrepresented founders while not being stuck in the box of a “female founder.” Other themes discussed in this episode include turning an investment thesis into a company, the “girl boss” trope and what it means for founders, and the future of the romance genre. Let’s open the door. Watch Extracurricular Here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:05 - Where did Naomi grow up and how did that impact her view of the world? 2:34 - Did Naomi always think she was going to be a founder?4:10 - How did a mechanical engineering degree specifically translate into Naomi’s work?7:50 - What was the initial aha moment for Meet Cute?11:37 - In a few words, what is Meet Cute?12:47 - What is Naomi’s favorite Meet Cute series that they’ve made?14:43 - How was the process of getting the first funding for Meet Cute, and what did Naomi learn?17:49 - What advice does Naomi have for new founders?22:00 - How does Naomi balance paving a wave for underrepresented entrepreneurs, while also removing the stigma of being a “female founder?”27:09 - How do we appropriately help make things more equal for underrepresented founders?29:49 - What is Naomi’s favorite rom-com moment? 32:46 - How has a data-driven approach to storytelling helped unlock unexpected insights on consumers?37:09 - What does the Netflix stock drop say about the volatility of the entertainment market?40:19 - What's next for Naomi and her team at Meet Cute? 42:31 - Who is a woman in Naomi’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Our mini-series, Movers & Shakers, continues with Rachel Goddard, a partner at Cooley LLP for over 22 years. Rachel walks us through her path to becoming a lawyer before becoming a partner at Cooley. She explains why she loves her job and what she and Cooley do to assist emerging managers to start their funds. Rachel also shares some best practices on things new managers might now know, like management fees and GP commitments. We also get Rachel’s perspective on the next five years for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market and non-accredited investors investing in venture funds. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:14 - Where did Rachel grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?0:58 - Did Rachel always want to be a Lawyer?1:41 - What was the pivot that led Rachel into law?3:34 - How is Cooley focused on supporting venture capital?6:04 - What comes up in early conversations with emerging managers?8:43 - Rachel clarifies some of the terminology used to describe different stakeholders. 10:42 - What are the four documents that Rachel always starts with?12:15 - What are some best practices on things like management fees and GP commitments?16:31 - What is the definition of a smaller fund to Cooley?17:21 - What are Rachel’s thoughts on non-accredited investors investing in venture funds?20:25 - What do you think the next five years hold for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market?22:00 - What advice does Rachel have for first-time fund managers and underrepresented fund managers?25:41 - What is coming up for Rachel, personally?27:35 - Who is a woman in Rachel’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of “Movers and Shakers” continues with a legend in the digital marketing ad space, Zach Coelius, Co-Founder of Triggit and Managing Partner at Coelius Capital. Zach and his sister, Susan, played an instrumental role in modernizing the way advertisers use targeted digital ads. Zach deep dives into “retargeting,” a form of online advertising where the ads are targeted to consumers based on their previous internet behavior. The conversation progresses with the constantly changing legislation on privacy from large companies like Google and Apple. Plus, we further discuss Zach’s take on cryptocurrency, which is very different from the mainstream opinion. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:03 - Where did Zach grow up and how did this shape his view of the world?4:37 - Did Zach always think he was going to be an entrepreneur? 5:37 - Why did Zach attend five Olympic Games?8:52 - What is Triggit and how did Zach get started founding it?11:34 - What is the core product of Triggit and what was the competitive landscape like in the ad tech space?14:44 - How does Zach feel about the new privacy changes that Google and Apple are implementing?16:35 - Now in 2022, would Zach recommend entering the digital marketing ad space?18:05 - What are Zach’s thoughts on working within digital marketing on the paying side?19:41 - How is Coelius Capital structured? 22:31 - How would Zach describe his fund? 26:14 - Why is Zach not bullish on Crypto? Has his opinion changed in the last six months? See his mentioned User Manual here. 30:28 - What are some sectors that Zach is bullish on?31:36 - What advice does Zach have for founders looking for funding?36:12 - What’s next for Zach?37:25 - Who is a woman in Zach’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions