The VITALIZE Podcast: Venture Capital | Startups | Angel Investing
86 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsThe VITALIZE Podcast, a show by VITALIZE Venture Capital (a seed-stage venture capital firm and pre-seed angel community open to everyone), dives deep into the world of startup investing and the future of work. Hosted by Justin Gordon, The VITALIZE Podcast features interviews with startup founders, investors, and operators as well experts in the future of work. The Angel Investing series features interviews with a variety of angel investors and VCs around the world while the Future of Work series dives deep into the founders and investors shaping the workplace. Learn more at thevitalizepodcast.com.
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Episodes
Fostering Authentic Connection in an Over-Networked Society, Building an Extraordinary Life, and Striving to Be the Best, with Pejman Nozad of Pear VC
January 05, 2023 16:22 - 36 minutes - 31.8 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Pejman Nozad (@pejmannozad), the Co-Founder and Founding Managing Partner of Pear VC, a firm specializing in seed stage investments that partners with founders at the earliest stages to turn great ideas into category-defining companies. Over the past two decades, he has been a seed investor in some of the most iconic tech companies including Doordash, Dropbox, Applovin, Gusto, Guardant Health, Branch, Aurora Solar, Soundhound, CourseHero, ...
The VITALIZE Podcast Presents: Off Topic, with Andrew Gazdecki and Gale Wilkinson Discussing Twitter Trends, AI as the Next Frontier, and Predictions for 2023
December 29, 2022 17:11 - 47 minutes - 38.5 MBThe VITALIZE Podcast presents: Off Topic, a special series where we dig into a variety of topics, trends, and current events in the startup ecosystem. In this inaugural episode of Off Topic, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC) and Andrew Gazdecki (@agazdecki). Gale is the Founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed-stage venture fund and angel community investing in The Work Revolution. Previously, Gale founded IrishAngels, one of the larg...
Narrowing the Wellness Gap, the Power of Thoughtful Brand Building, and the Uncharted Territory of Modern Connection, with Lisa Blau and Amanda Eilian of Able Partners
December 22, 2022 13:00 - 28 minutes - 24.4 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Lisa Blau and Amanda Eilian, Founding Partners of Able Partners (@ablepartnersnyc), a health & wellness investment fund focused on supporting visionary, early stage brands in positive living. They aim to support entrepreneurs that are helping to make the daily lives of consumers healthier, happier and more meaningful. They seek to partner with companies that are narrowing the Wellness Gap, and are most focused on overlooked or stigmatized ...
Community-Powered Venture Capital, Expanding with Intentionality, and Distinguishing Good from Great, with Jenny Fielding of The Fund
December 15, 2022 13:00 - 42 minutes - 36 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jenny Fielding (@jefielding), General Partner at The Fund, a first-of-its-kind venture fund fueled by a community of brilliant founders & operators. The Fund invests in mission-driven, technology-enabled companies at the earliest stages. They are a generalist fund with a focus on the basic stuff we need to live: money, health and work, and have invested in the pre-seed rounds of 200+ companies in 4.5 years. They’ve pooled capital, networks...
Deep Dive: How Gale Wilkinson Conducts Founder Calls
December 08, 2022 20:11 - 33 minutes - 27.5 MBIn this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks again with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC), Founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed-stage venture fund and angel community investing in The Work Revolution. In this round with Gale, we dig into how she conducts initial founder calls for VITALIZE. Previously, Gale founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. She has led $65M+ in early-stage deals across 80+ startups. Her experience prior to VC inclu...
Lessons for Emerging Managers and How to Evaluate Founder Passion, with Richard Kerby of Equal Ventures
December 01, 2022 23:57 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Richard Kerby (@kerby), Co-Founder and General Partner at Equal Ventures, a seed stage focused fund backing the founders and businesses transforming society and industry. Prior to Equal Ventures, Richard was an investor at Venrock, where he led seed stage and Series A stage investments in 6Sense, Amino Apps, Beckon, Burner, Luxe Valet, and Salsify. Prior to joining Venrock, Richard was an investor at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP),...
The Real Impact of Augmented Reality and the Metaverse on the Future of Work, Learning, and the World, with Enklu Founder Ray Kallmeyer
November 17, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes - 13.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Ray Kallmeyer, CEO and Founder of Enklu (@ExperienceEnklu). After a decades-long career in the AAA video games industry, Ray founded Enklu in 2016 and built and deployed the first wave of spatial apps in augmented reality for the Microsoft HoloLens globally. He now helps enterprises accelerate their spatial transformation with an end-to-end solution which empowers today’s workforce with tomorrow’s technology. Enklu’s mission is to empower...
Growing Organically via Twitter, Building Remote-First Company Culture, and Taking on Legacy Brands, with Vowel’s CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Berman
November 11, 2022 00:42 - 42 minutes - 37.1 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Andrew Berman (@berman66), Co-Founder and CEO of Vowel, the world's first complete meeting solution designed to make every meeting more inclusive and worthwhile – before, during, and after. Vowel is a collaboration platform that makes meetings searchable, shareable centers of knowledge for your business. By redefining what data capture is capable of, they are optimizing the potential of every team. They are a remote-first company whose 20...
How to Build Resilient Companies, Supporting Mental Health to Prevent Founder Flight, and Running a Concentrated Portfolio, with Matt Cohen of Ripple Ventures
November 03, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutes - 18.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Matt Cohen (@mattybcohen), Founder and Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures, an early-stage venture fund seeking investments in B2B SaaS Startups in various industries ripe for disruption with a focus on workflow automation and data & analytics platforms. As serial entrepreneurs, they are actively involved with all their investments and aren't scared to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. They support entrepreneurs who seek to revolutioniz...
Building True Community in Venture, the Power of Authentic Expression, and How to Handle Difficult Conversations, with Brandon Brooks of Overlooked Ventures
October 28, 2022 22:11 - 27 minutes - 18.2 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Brandon Brooks (@OfficialBBrooks), tech entrepreneur, founder & founding partner at Overlooked Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on transparently supporting and investing in early-stage tech and tech-enabled startups with one or more historically ignored founder that are building for humanity, wellness, and in industries lacking innovation. Brandon has partnered with organizations such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Players Coaliti...
Pricing for Value Unlock, Amplifying Human Connection through Video, and the Leap from Professional Ballerina to Tech CEO, with Rachel Cossar of Virtual Sapiens
October 20, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 27.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Rachel Cossar (@rachelonpointe), Co-Founder and CEO of Virtual Sapiens, a machine learning SaaS platform leveraging AI to help client-facing professionals measurably improve their comfort and confidence in order to master communication skills over video. Like a virtual coach, Virtual Sapiens leverages expert knowledge in body language and presence and provides convenient avenues for receiving personalized feedback and coaching. Users can b...
Propelling Founders to Success, Gen Z’s Impact on the Future of Work, and Being a Lifelong Learner, with Anna Barber of M13
October 13, 2022 12:00 - 46 minutes - 37.2 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Anna Barber (@annawbarber), partner at M13, a venture firm accelerating businesses in the future of consumer behavior with four pillars: Health, Money, Work and Commerce. M13 is building a team of industry-leading operating executives to help founders make better decisions and win in their category. They believe founders deserve an investor who propels them on their mission of transforming an idea into a successful company, while staying...
VITALIZE Throwback: Mastering G2M, Eliminating Marketplace Friction, and Unlocking Economic Opportunity for Moms, with Allison Robinson of The Mom Project
October 06, 2022 12:00 - 51 minutes - 40.1 MBThis is a special episode pulled from the VITALIZE vault—back when The VITALIZE Podcast was Talking Venture! Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Allison Robinson (@mrsrobinson_a), CEO and Founder of The Mom Project, a VITALIZE portfolio company. The Mom Project is a digital talent marketplace and community that connects professionally accomplished women with world-class companies for rewarding employment opportunities. They are changing the way women work and redefining care...
Authentic and Engaging VC Marketing, Transitioning from Angel Investor to Fund Manager, and Avoiding Common Failure Patterns, with Dan Kimerling of Deciens Capital
September 29, 2022 12:00 - 40 minutes - 26.7 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Dan Kimerling (@dkimerling), Founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, a venture capital firm that supports early-stage founders building the next generation of enduring companies in financial services. Deciens Capital exclusively focuses on financial technology investments with interests in payments, lending, insurance, regtech, risk management, capital markets, trade finance, personal finance, savings, marketplaces, and much more...
Democratizing and Diversifying the VC Industry and the Impact of VC Policymaking Trends on the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, with Bobby Franklin of NVCA
September 22, 2022 12:00 - 36 minutes - 23.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Bobby Franklin, the President and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association (@nvca) and Board Chair of Venture Forward. Since 2013, Bobby Franklin has led the venture community’s preeminent trade association focused on empowering the next generation of transformative American companies. As president and CEO of NVCA, he champions public policy that supports the American entrepreneurial ecosystem, making NVCA the dominant voice of the ...
Cold Outreach Done Right, Turning Accelerator Rejections into Offers, Defining North Star Metrics, and the Dark Art of Pricing, with Patrick Utz of Abstract
September 15, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 30.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Patrick Utz (@PatrickUtz), Co-Founder & CEO of Abstract, the premier platform and database for working with California state & local legislation that’s bringing lobbying and advocacy into a new era by increasing government transparency. Abstract streamlines how you research and track bills, organize notes, brief stakeholders, and collaborate over legislation in real-time. More than just a bill tracker, Abstract provides the tools necessary...
Taking on Amazon by Changing Consumer Behavior, the Evolution of Customer Acquisition, and How to Vet Investors, with Zach Hudson of Deft
September 08, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutes - 26.1 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Zach Hudson (@nosduhz), co-founder of Deft, an ad-free, SEO-free search engine for e-commerce. A VITALIZE portfolio company, they are building the future of e-commerce search by enabling its users to find, research, and buy products all in one place. Zach has 7+ years of experience in e-commerce and gaming technologies, and is a second-time founder. He is a product manager by trade, and a self-taught developer. Website: Deft LinkedIn: l...
Doubling Fund I to Raise a $203M Fund II, What Makes a Stellar Founder, and Why a Market Downturn is a Great Time to Invest in Startups, with Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital
September 01, 2022 21:05 - 20 minutes - 18.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Marlon Nichols (@MarlonCNichols), the founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building the future that the world wants to see, and helping entrepreneurs bring the future into focus to find their breakthrough moment. MaC Venture Capital is the result of the merger between successful Los Angeles and Bay Area based Seed funds, Cross Culture Ventures and M Ventures....
Evaluating Never-Ending Innovation in Enterprise Stacks and Raising Three Funds as a Solo Female GP, with Shruti Gandhi of Array Ventures
August 25, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutes - 30.8 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Shruti Gandhi (@atShruti), founder and General Partner of Array Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on solving impactful problems in the world leveraging revolutionary technology. Often that means category-leading startups that take advantage of data, analytics, workflows, and new platforms to change the way an industry works. They invest in smart people with a bold mission who take big risks in large or new markets. Shruti brin...
Clicking as Co-Founders, From Bad Idea to Goldmine, and Becoming Market Leaders in EV Charging, with Peter Barba and Zygi Zabieta of Lectrium
August 18, 2022 12:00 - 41 minutes - 36.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Peter Barba (@pbarba_22) and Zygimantas (Zygi) Zabieta (@zzabieta), Co-Founders of Lectrium, a full-service platform for EV home charging on a mission to make every home EV-ready. They make the home charging installation process easy through their network of EVITP certified electricians. At Lectrium, they believe that true carbon neutrality can be achieved only if the transition to EVs is frictionless, and their ambition is to standardize ...
Disrupting and Democratizing Venture Capital, an Inside Look at SEC Regulations, and How to Survive Fundraising, with Jesse Randall of Sweater Ventures
August 11, 2022 17:57 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jesse Randall (@SweaterCEO), CEO and Co-Founder of Sweater Ventures, a VC fund that pools money from millions of regular people and invests it into emerging technology and product companies poised for growth—companies you’ll see in your daily life or at work. At Sweater Ventures, they believe that every founder should be able to build their vision, and every person should be able to support the startups that create the next generation of i...
The FOODS Founder Evaluation Framework, Post-Investment Support, and Protecting Your Time, with Shayna Harris and Noramay Cadena of Supply Change Capital
August 04, 2022 12:00 - 43 minutes - 37.5 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Shayna Harris (@mamashayna) and Noramay Cadena (@noramayc), co-founders and managing partners at Supply Change Capital, a VC firm that believes in a future of food that is sustainability-mindful, supply chain efficient, better for you, and culture rich. They invest at the intersection of food, culture, and technology to catalyze early stage sustainable businesses that modernize the food system. Noramay Cadena is an aerospace engineer turn...
Raising a $50M Fund to Elevate Diverse Founders, Impactful Fund Differentiation, and Co-Founder Value Alignment, with Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko of f7 Ventures
July 28, 2022 23:29 - 42 minutes - 28 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Kelly Graziadei (@kkgraz) and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, the founders and General Partners of f7 Ventures (@F7Ventures), a seed investment fund comprised of seven senior female operators who met at Facebook. With expertise in product, engineering, sales, marketing, partnerships, HR, and operations, they invest in and help bold founders grow and scale at their earliest stages. During their tenures at Facebook, Google, Yahoo and beyond, they man...
The Path to Executive Coaching, Getting Unstuck, and Improving Team Communication, with Amy Wong of Always on Purpose
July 21, 2022 12:00 - 39 minutes - 29.5 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Amy Eliza Wong (@amyelizawong), the founder of Always On Purpose®. She is an executive leadership coach, author, speaker, and facilitator working with organizations such as Airbnb, Salesforce, Roku, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. Amy offers transformative leadership development and cutting-edge communication strategies to executives and corporate teams around the world, as well as institutions including Stanford University and the Universit...
Amplifying Underrepresented Voices, Raising a $52M Fund, and Being a Solo Latina GP in the Midwest, with Samara Hernandez of Chingona Ventures
July 14, 2022 12:00 - 42 minutes - 29.8 MBJustin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with Samara Hernandez (@SamaraMHernandz), the Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures, an institutionally-backed pre-seed stage fund investing in the next generation of badass founders building technology and technology-enabled companies all over the U.S. In May 2022, Chingona Ventures announced the close of their $52M Fund II. Samara has over 15 years of experience in investing, selling, and advising on both public and private markets. She has a...
Raising a $25M Fund, Implementing a Narrow Investment Thesis, and Hawke Ventures’ Unique Portfolio Construction Strategy, with Drew Leahy
July 07, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutes - 30 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Drew Leahy, Managing Partner at Hawke Ventures (@hawkeventures), an early stage consumer and B2B marketing technology fund. He is also the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Hawke Media. Prior to Hawke, Leahy was Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of SnapSuits.com, a tech-forward men’s fashion e-retailer with over $2M+ in revenue. Drew was also Entrepreneur-in-Residence at memBrain in Los Angeles, making investments with tech and entertainme...
Organic Growth Loops, Customer-Led Product Development, Raising a $13.5M Series A, and the No-Code Landscape, with Mariam Hakobyan of Softr
June 30, 2022 21:05 - 36 minutes - 29.6 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Mariam Hakobyan (@mariam_hakobyan), Co-Founder and CEO of Softr, the easiest no-code platform for building custom apps and portals, in minutes. With Softr, you can build client portals, internal tools, marketplaces, online communities, resource directories, websites and more. They believe the world is missing out on some of the most creative minds, ideas and innovation (99.7% to be exact), and have set out to change that with Softr by demo...
Building a Team that Resembles Planet Earth, Distributed Work as a Global Resilience Strategy, and Becoming a Unicorn in Under Two Years, with Oyster’s Tony Jamous
June 23, 2022 12:00 - 24 minutes - 17 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Tony Jamous (@jamingo), the CEO and founder of Oyster, a Global Employment Platform that empowers companies to hire, pay, and care for team members wherever they are in the world. Oyster allows growing companies to tap into the global talent pool and offer their remote workers around the world a great employment experience. They are on a mission to make the world a better place by making it possible for any talented person in the world to ...
The Work Revolution: Inside VITALIZE's Investment Focus with Gale Wilkinson
June 17, 2022 00:52 - 23 minutes - 20.7 MBIn this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks again with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC), Founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed-stage venture fund and angel community investing in The Work Revolution. In this round with Gale, we dig into the details of the Work Revolution and VITALIZE's investment focus. Previously, Gale founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. She has led $65M+ in early-stage deals across 80+ startups. Her experience pr...
Derisking Deep Tech, Managing a Broad Thesis, and Evaluating Credibility in Complex Industries, with Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures
June 09, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutes - 25.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Maryanna Saenko (@FutureSaenko), Co-Founder and Partner at Future Ventures, which supports passionate founders who are forging the future. For the past 25 years, Future Ventures has backed the visionaries who push the boundaries of possibility and explore the frontier of the unknown. They focus on disruptive technology such as commercial space exploration, deep learning, quantum computing, robotics, AI, blockchain, sustainable transportati...
VITALIZE Throwback: Accessing Founder Resources, Executing Capital Allocation, and Building in Public, with Fiveable’s Amanda DoAmaral
June 03, 2022 12:00 - 52 minutes - 47.3 MBThis is a special episode pulled from the VITALIZE vault—back when The VITALIZE Podcast was Talking Venture! Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Amanda DoAmaral (@AmandaDoAmanda), Co-Founder of Fiveable, a social learning network for students. Since this original episode released in May 2021, Fiveable has raised a $10M Series A. Fiveable is an educational technology company that is committed to unlocking opportunities for young people through academic and social empowerment....
The VITALIZE Team on Changing the Face of Venture by Making Investing Accessible to Everyone, and the Less Glamorous Side of Working in VC
May 26, 2022 12:00 - 41 minutes - 33.9 MBIn this special episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212), the Director of Marketing with VITALIZE Venture Capital, interviews three key VITALIZE team members, Founder and Managing Partner Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC), Partner Caroline Casson (@carolinecasson_), and Community Manager Larissa Insogna (@LarissaInsogna). VITALIZE Venture Capital was formed in 2017 as a $16M seed-stage venture fund and now includes both a fund as well as an angel investing community investing in the f...
Investing in Emerging Markets, Lessons from Raising a Second Fund, and the Story behind Those Twitter Threads, with Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund
May 19, 2022 12:00 - 28 minutes - 22.6 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Elizabeth Yin (@dunkhippo33), Co-Founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, a VC fund that invests in pre-seed software startups. Hustle Fund is often the first check into a startup or in the first round of funding. Beyond the usual criteria that VCs typically look for, they prioritize founders' speed of execution above all else. Per their name, they also make a fast decision after speaking with a company. Elizabeth is a tech entrepreneu...
Designing the Future of Human Connection in the Metaverse and Sourcing Web3 Talent, with NOWHERE Founder Jon Morris
May 12, 2022 12:00 - 29 minutes - 26.1 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jon Morris (@yojonmorris), Founder and CEO of NOWHERE, an online metaverse platform that aims to revolutionize gathering with patent pending video presence technology that allows serendipitous social mingling between conversations with friends or colleagues at conferences, meetings, or parties all within dynamic web environments. Jon Morris is a conceptual artist who creates multilayered installations, performances, and experiences with t...
Reducing Meeting Times by 70% and Increasing Your Team’s Innovation by Reimagining Collaboration, with Balloon’s Amanda Greenberg
May 05, 2022 17:57 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Amanda Greenberg (@AKGreenberg), Co-Founder and CEO of Balloon, a research-backed platform that unlocks ideas and feedback from a group by eliminating groupthink and amplifying voices. They’re rebuilding the way teams collaborate, making them more productive, innovative, informed, and inclusive. Before founding Balloon, Amanda was a public health researcher, translating science and research into national behavior change campaigns for the ...
Eliminating the Geo-Lottery via Turing’s Intelligent Talent Cloud, with Jonathan Siddarth | Future of Work
April 29, 2022 03:36 - 31 minutes - 26.7 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jonathan Siddarth (@jonsidd), CEO and Founder of Turing, a company on a mission to help unleash the world’s untapped potential. Turing’s hiring platform combines planetary reach and AI to deliver your ideal engineers in order to help you spin up your engineering dream team. Their deep matching intelligence finds the best Turing developers across 100+ skills like React, Node, Python, Golang, Angular, Swift, Java, and many more. As part of t...
The Value of Investing Across Stages and Sectors, with Deena Shakir of Lux Capital | Startup Investing
April 21, 2022 12:00 - 26 minutes - 23.7 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Deena Shakir (@deenashakir), Partner at Lux Capital, a venture capital firm that makes long-term bets on contrarians and outsiders. At Lux, Deena invests in transformative technologies improving lives and livelihoods, and she is particularly interested in intersectional and underdog entrepreneurs building breakthrough companies to accelerate advances and equity in human and population health. Since joining Lux in late 2019, Deena has led ...
A Serendipitous Path to Democratizing Data Storytelling, with Alex Damianou of OpenAxis | Future of Work
April 14, 2022 12:00 - 25 minutes - 23.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Alex Damianou (@alex_damianou), Founder and CEO of OpenAxis, a company that’s simplifying and democratizing the data storytelling process. Alex is a multilingual political economist & entrepreneur trying to figure out how the world works. After a brief stint at the United Nations and a failed attempt at a pro soccer career, he went abroad and spent about five years conducting on-the-ground economic research and policy consulting across s...
Low Lift, High Impact: Changing the Investing Narrative, with Lolita Taub of Ganas Ventures | Startup Investing
April 07, 2022 12:00 - 25 minutes - 22.2 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Lolita Taub (@lolitataub), GP at Ganas Ventures where she invests in pre-seed and seed community-driven companies in the US and Latin America. She’s on a mission to change the narrative about who's an investor, who we invest in, and the types of founders that build unicorns. With 15 years working within the Silicon Valley ecosystem, Lolita has accomplished $70M+ in sales and made 90+ investments as an angel investor, Scout at Lightspeed Ve...
Running Lean and Building in the Right Direction, with Jennifer Smith of Scribe | Future of Work
March 31, 2022 12:00 - 24 minutes - 21.8 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jennifer Smith (@scribeceo), Co-Founder and CEO of Scribe, a software tool that makes it easy to learn from your most productive people without slowing them down by automatically generating step-by-step tutorials for any task, while they work. Scribe seamlessly captures how work gets done across your organization, enabling you to analyze, optimize, and standardize processes, in a way your employees will love. Founded in 2019, the Scribe te...
How to Stay Laser Focused in the Rapidly Changing VC Industry, with Jonathan Heiliger of Vertex Ventures US | Startup Investing
March 24, 2022 12:00 - 27 minutes - 21.2 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jonathan Heiliger (@heiligerj), General Partner at Vertex Ventures US, a boutique fund that invests early (often the first!) in enterprising founders who make it possible for new applications and services to be born. Jonathan and his partners have created $6B+ of value as founders themselves, and ’first check’ backers. Jonathan co-founded Vertex US in 2015 to empower the next generation of pioneers who are passionate about solving hard pro...
Taking AgeTech from Niche to Mainstream, with Max Zamkow of Third Act Ventures | Startup Investing
March 17, 2022 12:00 - 24 minutes - 21.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Max Zamkow (@MZamkow), Managing Partner at Third Act Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in AgeTech - technology for older adults and their caregivers. Third Act Ventures invests in founders revolutionizing aging, and is the only firm investing across the entire spectrum of AgeTech. A century ago we didn't expect to make it to 60, but now we're surviving well into our 80's and beyond. Surviving, but not thriving. Technology ha...
Fusing Incubating and Investing to Unleash Human Potential, with Peter Liu of Revelry Venture Partners | Startup Investing
March 10, 2022 13:00 - 31 minutes - 24.4 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Peter Liu (@NewOrleansVC), Managing Partner at Revelry Venture Partners. RVP is a full service venture capital firm with a unique model that includes both a fund investing in pre-seed and seed SaaS and tech-enabled solutions, as well as an incubation studio that supports their founders every step of the way. They are a team of builders that actually work for their founders to solve the problems that matter during the lonely, difficult, and...
Demystifying Investing with Nik Talreja of Sydecar, an Onramp to Fluid Capital Allocation in Venture | Startup Investing
March 03, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes - 25.9 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Nik Talreja (@niktalreja), Co-Founder and CEO of Sydecar, a platform making smart software and providing superior service to support a new generation of investors and enablers. Sydecar was founded upon the radical idea that anybody should be able to fund entrepreneurs who are changing the world. The opportunity in venture capital is greater than ever. But for aspiring investors, getting started can be intimidating, expensive, and time-cons...
Angel Investing: Manifestation Mindset and the Intersection of Grit and Ambition, with Bo Ren of Silicon Valley Bank
February 17, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 25.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Bo Ren (@Bosefina), Director of Early Stage Startups at Silicon Valley Bank. Bo is a liberal arts thinker, PM turned investor, and incubation partner. She marries deep tech expertise (5G, edge, AI) with consumer applications (strong interest in AI apps). She loves to invest and empower product-driven founders building weird shit at the earliest stages. In her free time, she writes about product management, private and public markets, res...
Future of Work: Simplifying Decision-Making to Revitalize the Customer Service Experience, with Juan Jaysingh of Zingtree
February 10, 2022 13:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Juan Jaysingh (@JuanJaysingh), President and CEO at Zingtree, leading the company’s mission to transform complex processes into clear actions for businesses around the globe. Since becoming CEO in January 2020, Juan has focused on scaling and expanding Zingtree as a profitable, B2B SaaS organization working with over 700 customers worldwide. Juan’s years of experience in tech entrepreneurship include his time at Universal Tennis, the spo...
Startup Investing: Heather Hartnett of Human Ventures, on Running a Business Creation Platform and Operationalizing Networks
February 03, 2022 13:00 - 27 minutes - 19 MBJustin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with Heather Hartnett (@HeatherHartnett), General Partner and CEO of Human Ventures, where she and her team have created one of New York’s premiere startup studios, incubators and early stage venture funds. Prior to founding Human, Heather’s venture capital career spanned across various roles at firms including Lightspeed Venture Partners, CityLight Capital, and Claremont Creek Ventures. Previously, Heather led the development and operations at ...
Future of Work: Career Navigating, Community Building, and Personal Branding, with Ruben Harris of Career Karma
February 01, 2022 13:00 - 34 minutes - 24.3 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Ruben Harris (@rubenharris), Co-Founder and CEO of Career Karma, which is helping over 1 million workers navigate their careers every month through advice and coaching. By offering free coaching and peer mentorship, Career Karma has grown to over 150,000 members from every background and profession. Through their directory of 9,000 bootcamps and trade schools, career switchers discover training programs by comparing courses and reading stu...
Startup Investing: Utilizing Storytelling, Building Resilience, and Leveraging Creativity, with Mac Conwell of RareBreed Ventures
January 27, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 22.7 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Mac Conwell (@MacConwell), Managing Partner at RareBreed Ventures. Mac is a former software engineer and two-time founder. One of Mac's companies failed, the other went on to a successful exit. RareBreed Ventures is a pre-seed fund that invests in exceptional founders outside of large tech ecosystems, earlier than everyone else. They invest in 2 types of companies: those building a software product with a unique or clearly repeatable custo...
Future of Work: Anoop Gupta of SeekOut, on Driving Enterprise Talent Optimization and the Transition from Big Tech to Startup Founder
January 25, 2022 13:00 - 25 minutes - 22 MBJustin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Anoop Gupta (@anoopxgupta), CEO and Co-Founder of SeekOut, the AI-powered Talent 360 platform. SeekOut provides companies with a comprehensive view of internal employees and external talent with analytics, predictive insights, and action recommendations to provide a competitive advantage in recruiting, retaining and developing their talent base. Anoop started SeekOut after a 20-year career at Microsoft, which began with the acquisition of...