Mission Driven
20 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA conversation about how startups leverage their mission as a competitive advantage. Each episode we talk to entrepreneurs and investors to get to the bottom of what it means to build a business with impact. From personal founder stories of how they got started, to how they overcame challenges in hiring, sales and fundraising and how building a mission-driven company helps you outperform the market.
Hosted by Better Ventures in Oakland, CA. Backing mission-driven founders building a better world.
Visit us at www.better.vc
Music credit: https://bit.ly/1wwpl
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Episodes
Mission Driven - Episode 19 - Ulili Onovakpuri (Kapor Capital)
November 09, 2023 18:00 - 48 minutes - 44 MBWe’re honored to have Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri, Managing Partner at Kapor Capital, join us on Mission Driven. At Kapor, Ulili leads investments in the health tech and people operations tech companies. She is also the founder of Kapor Capital’s Fellows program, the longest running venture capital internship program for underrepresented individuals. Previously, she served as Director of Global Programs at Village Capital, a global accelerator program and venture capital firm. Ulili r...
Mission Driven - Episode 18 - Miriam Rivera (Ulu Ventures)
August 31, 2023 14:30 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBMiriam Rivera holds a number of titles at Ulu Ventures including co-founder, managing director, and champion of the underdog and longshot. She is a distinguished investor known for her dynamic contributions in the tech, legal, and philanthropic sectors. At Ulu, Miriam upholds her mission of supporting transformative startups where her investment approach actively champions underrepresented founders. In this episode of Mission Driven, Miriam discusses how she went from the second hire on the...
Mission Driven - Episode 17 - Amy Francetic - Buoyant Ventures
July 27, 2023 13:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBAmy Francetic, Managing General Partner & co-founder of Buoyant Ventures, joins Rick on Mission Driven in the last of our series about electrification. Amy’s career spans 25 years of high tech entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Before founding Buoyant, a firm based in Chicago investing in digital climate solutions for energy, transportation, agriculture, water, and the built environment, she co-founded and served as CEO of Evergreen Climate Innovations, a tech accelerator. In t...
Mission Driven - Episode 16 - Astrid Atkinson (Camus Energy)
April 13, 2023 15:30 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBAstrid Atkinson joins Rick on the latest episode of Mission Driven to chat about electrification. Astrid is co-founder & CEO of Camus Energy, which provides software-based Grid Management as a Service, combining real-time situational awareness, device control, and market integration for grid operators and energy providers. Prior to founding Camus, she was a Senior Director of Software Engineering at Google, where she was an early leader in distributed systems reliability. She speaks globally...
Mission Driven - Episode 15 - Rohan Puri (Stable Auto)
March 30, 2023 15:30 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBWe’re joined by Rohan Puri, CEO & co-founder of Stable Auto. Rohan helps us understand software’s role in electrification, chatting about the EV charging landscape. Rohan and his company Stable Auto believe that climate is humanity’s gnarliest problem and that every charger has to be part of the solution. With data-driven insights, Stable Auto helps organizations envision and builds tomorrow’s vital infrastructure. In the episode, Rohan and Rick cover Rohan’s journey from Techstars to Stabl...
Mission Driven - Episode 14 - Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor (Kapor Capita)
March 16, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 60.6 MBWe have special guests on the podcast - Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor. The founders of Kapor Capital have released a new book, Closing the Equity Gap, and, on this episode, they discuss their life missions to make the tech industry more diverse and inclusive. Tune in to learn how the two got their start, founded Kapor Capital, and have been pioneers in impact investing. They impart important lessons on the power of “distance traveled” founders who harness their early experiences to fou...
Mission Driven - Episode 14 - Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor (Kapor Capital)
March 16, 2023 16:00 - 1 hour - 60.6 MBWe have special guests on the podcast - Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor. The founders of Kapor Capital have released a new book, Closing the Equity Gap, and, on this episode, they discuss their life missions to make the tech industry more diverse and inclusive. Tune in to learn how the two got their start, founded Kapor Capital, and have been pioneers in impact investing. They impart important lessons on the power of “distance traveled” founders who harness their early experiences to fou...
Mission Driven - Episode 13 - Robyn Beavers (Blueprint Power)
March 02, 2023 17:15 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBWelcome to Season 2 of Mission Driven! We’re switching things up a bit and diving into a sprint on the theme of electrification. The next few episodes will cover various POVs and a deep dive on the following question: what is the role of software in electrification? Our first guest on electrification is Robyn Beavers, CEO & co-founder of Blueprint Power. Robyn started her career as an energy efficiency consultant and then moved on to become the founding member of Google’s Green Business & O...
Mission Driven - Episode 12 - Michael Lombardo (BookNook)
August 01, 2022 16:05 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBMichael Lombardo, founder & CEO of BookNook, joins Rick on the latest episode of Mission Driven. BookNook is an online collaborative learning platform that provides reading and math support through lessons, gamification, and assessments. They also provide online tutoring services, connecting district students to vetted tutors. The company is on a mission to ensure equitable access to rigorous and engaging instruction through technology innovation. In the episode, Michael discusses the impac...
Mission Driven - Episode 11 - Dr. Eric Whitaker (Zing Health)
March 30, 2022 18:45 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBWelcome back to Mission Driven. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Eric Whitaker, Co-Founder and CEO of Zing Health. Zing's mission is to address social determinants of health to reduce healthcare disparities among historically underserved populations. Their model complements clinical care with behavioral health and community care, collaboration with community partners, technology, and data analytics. Dr. Whitaker began his career as a primary care physician, researcher, and advocate focus...
Mission Driven - Episode 10 - Muffi Ghadiali (Electriphi and Ford Pro)
September 23, 2021 15:49 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBIn this episode, we talk with Muffi Ghadiali. Muffi is the Founder of CEO of Electriphi which was recently acquired by Ford and now is the Head of Ford Pro Charging. Electriphi is a fleet electrification company at the forefront of the EV industry. They developed a fleet and charging management platform designed to simplify fleet electrification, save energy costs, and track key operational metrics like real-time status of vehicles, chargers and maintenance services. Muffi shared what it w...
Mission Driven - Episode 9 - Davida Herzl (Aclima)
April 20, 2021 17:51 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBIn this episode we talk with Davida Herzl, Co-founder and CEO of Aclima, a Public Benefit Corporation focused on environmental intelligence. Aclima has pioneered an entirely new way to measure and analyze air pollution and greenhouse gases, block by block and around the world. The Aclima hardware and software technology platform translates billions of scientific measurements from its network of stationary and roving sensors into environmental intelligence for governments, businesses, and com...
Mission Driven - Episode 8 - Julia Collins (Planet FWD)
February 18, 2021 22:40 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBIn this episode, we talk with Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD about regenerative agriculture, founding her new sustainable food company, and raising money from a diverse group of investors. We dig into how having such a strong mission of sustainability has been an advantage for Planet FWD in building their brand, attracting talent, creating culture and in fundraising. Mission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challeng...
Mission Driven - Episode 7 - Heidi Patel (Rethink Impact)
November 23, 2020 20:03 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBIn this episode, we talk with Heidi Patel, Managing Partner of Rethink Impact, a venture capital firm investing in women leaders using technology to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges in digital healthcare, ed-tech, economic empowerment, sustainability. We cover raising their latest fund during COVID, and the ongoing gap and opportunity in funding women-led companies.
Mission Driven - Episode 6 - Marc Tarpenning (Tesla and Spero Ventures)
August 19, 2020 21:21 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBMarc Tarpenning is the Co-founder of Tesla and a Venture Partner at Spero Ventures. He was one of the original co-founders of Tesla back in 2003 and shares with us the origin story of Tesla as a mission-driven company, and how that mission was a competitive advantage. Spero Ventures invests in early-stage technology companies solving critical problems in: well-being, work & purpose and human connection. Marc brings his passion for climate sustainability to Spero and focuses on their sustaina...
Mission Driven - Episode 5 - Nan Li (Obvious Ventures)
April 13, 2020 17:19 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBMission Driven is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage. In this episode we talked to Nan Li from Obvious Ventures about his career in venture, Obvious’ approach to ‘world positive’ investing, and the massive emerging opportunity in investing in biology. We cover his views on computational biology and how the confluence of trends such as the explosion in health data ...
Mission Driven - Episode 4 - Erica Mackey (MyVillage)
February 22, 2020 04:27 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBErica Mackey, Co-founder and CEO of MyVillage. 'Mission Driven' is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage. In this episode Erica shares her journey starting her first company, OffGrid Electric, and her current company MyVillage, which is changing the market for early childhood care. If you liked this episode, please share and tag us on Twitter: @BetterVentures @MyVi...
Mission Driven - Episode 3 - Julie Lein (Urban Innovation Fund)
January 15, 2020 19:02 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBJulie Lein, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Urban Innovation Fund, a venture firm that invests in the future of cities. 'Mission Driven' is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage. Today Connor and I explored, in particular, how he leverages his mission for hiring. Urban Innovation Fund is a venture capital firm investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups shaping...
Mission Driven - Episode 2 - Connor Landgraf (Eko Health)
September 27, 2019 16:51 - 23 minutes - 53.1 MBConnor Landgraf, Co-founder and CEO of Eko Health. 'Mission Driven' is a conversation about startup founders on a mission to address the world’s biggest challenges and how they leverage their social mission for competitive advantage. Today Connor and I explored, in particular, how he leverages his mission for hiring. Connor and Eko are on a mission to bring more data to cardiac care. We first met back in 2013 when he was an undergrad and president of his class at Cal Berkeley. In the si...
Mission Driven - Episode 1 - Meena Sankaran (KETOS)
September 13, 2019 21:40 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBWelcome to our first episode of Mission Driven! We were excited to sit down with mission driven founder and inspiring leader, Meena Sankaran, Founder and CEO of KETOS. KETOS provides predictive and actionable smart water data needed for agricultural irrigation, industries and cities. In this episode we explore not just what drives her but how she leverages that drive into a competitive advantage, to outperform and succeed where others can’t. She talks about pitching to investors with auth...