Startup Gym

Latest Episodes:

013: Alex Kehr & Connor Smith, Pop Inc. - You only have one shot to get a user Aug 02, 2018

Alex Kehr and Connor Smith are the cofounders of Pop Inc. They are building a fun and engaging stickers marketplace to make your iMessage conversations more personal and expressive. Their marketplace also helps creators distribute and monetize their designs.

Links:

012: Matt Hartman, Betaworks Ventures - Building and investing Jul 27, 2018

Matt Hartman is Partner at Betaworks Ventures, a product-focused, seed-stage venture capital fund based in New York City and San Francisco.

Betaworks is a startup platform that builds, runs accelerators, makes investments, and recently opened a new Club for Builders called Betaworks Studios.

On this episode, we talk about the future of new technologies like conversational software and synthetic media, and Matt's experiences building and investing in companies.

Links:

See the portfolio

Betaworks Studios

Connect with Matt on Twitter

Subscribe to Matt's newsletter

Connect with Laz on Twitter

011: Blake Robbins, Ludlow Ventures & Jackson Dahl, 100 Thieves - E3 esports episode Jun 15, 2018

Blake Robbins is Partner at Ludlow Ventures, an early-stage venture firm in Detroit that believes in "VC without ego." Their portfolio includes Honey, Scentbird, Lumi, Product Hunt, Angel List, 100 Thieves, and 80+ others.

Jackson Dahl is Business Development and Founding Team at 100 Thieves, a multimedia gaming and lifestyle organization. Their League of Legends team finished their first regular season in First Place, and the organization has expanded to other games, including Clash Royale and Fortnite.

After a long week at E3, the three of us had a chat about esports and how 100 Thieves started.

Follow Blake: @blakeir

Follow Jackson: @jacksondahl

Follow Laz: @lazalberto

010: Ben Gilbert, Pioneer Square Labs & Acquired - Everything in life is storytelling May 24, 2018

Ben is the co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, a startup studio and venture capital fund. He is an entrepreneur and investor, recently serving as the interim CEO of Taunt, where he now serves on the board. He has a background in product management, shipping the first version of Office for iPad at Microsoft. His career at Microsoft later took him to run The Garage, the company’s grassroots innovation program.

After leaving Microsoft, Ben co-founded Madrona Venture Labs, where he helped to start Mighty Ai and MessageYes.

Ben was named the 2017 Young Entrepreneur of the Year by GeekWire. He is the co-host of the popular venture capital podcast, “Acquired," which analyzes landmark acquisitions and IPOs in the technology sector. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers organization.

Links:

Thanks for listening!

009: Peter McCormack, What Bitcoin Did - Having the right mindset for cryptocurrency May 10, 2018

Peter McCormack is a Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency trader, advisor, miner, blogger and podcaster. He has been active in the Bitcoin and Crypto space since 2013 and became a full-time trader in January 2017.

When he started trading full-time, he found it difficult to find information to help new investors in the space, so he started the What Bitcoin Did website to help others who want to invest and trade Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies.

Website: WhatBitcoinDid.com

Podcast: The What Bitcoin Did Podcast

Connect with Peter: @WhatBitcoinDid

Connect with Laz: @LazAlberto

008: Shivani Siroya, Tala - What is your super power? May 03, 2018

Shivani Siroya is the Founder and CEO of Tala, a global leader in mobile-first financial services for underserved consumers.

More than 1.3 million people have borrowed through Tala’s smartphone app, which provides instant credit scoring, lending, and other personalized financial services in emerging markets.

Since recording this podcast, Tala has announced $65M in new financing, new offices in Mexico City and Mumbai, and have a reached over 6.4 million loans given.

Learn more: tala.co

Connect with Shivani: @shivsiroya

Connect with Laz: @lazalberto

Thanks for listening!

Clarification: Tala is not a part of Science Inc., but they're right down the street and we are big fans!

007: Sophia Parsa, Toot - Finding what you love Apr 26, 2018

Sophia Parsa is co-founder and CEO of Toot. Through their app Homework Helper, Toot connects knowledge with curiosity by empowering a community of learners. Students can ask questions using a camera-based interface similar to Snapchat to ask questions and get help from a live tutor.

Sophia also founded Mountain Gate, an invite-only community comprised of entrepreneurs, creatives, and innovators engaged in mutual learning through discussion. Over dinner, participants are able to meet like-minded individuals and forge long-lasting relationships.

Connect with Sophia on Instagram: @SophiaParsa

Connect with Laz on Twitter: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

006: Bryce Papenbrook & David Vincent, Unlocked - Bringing community together Apr 18, 2018

Unlocked is a mobile app that brings the anime & pop culture community together like never before. Users can connect with celebrities, watch and discover content, chat with others in the community, access event coverage, and more.

In addition to being the co-founders of Unlocked, Bryce Papenbrook and David Vincent each have 20+ years of experience as voice over artists. Their impressive filmography includes (to name only a few) Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan), Rin Okumura (Blue Exorcist), Kirito (Sword Art Online), Robin (Fire Emblem), Archer (Fate/Zero), Marshall Law (Tekken), and the list goes on...

Connect with Bryce and David: @BrycePapenbrook, @davidvincentva

Get Unlocked: unlockedofficial.com

Connect with Laz: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

005: Jesse Genet, Lumi - Know your audience Apr 13, 2018

Jesse Genet is co-founder and CEO of Lumi, a packaging partner for modern brands. Lumi uses data to help companies simplify their process and sell their product. This episode was fun for a couple of reasons: first, because Jesse is awesome! Second, because this is our first time oustide of our building. While Lumi isn't a part of Science, we consider them friends and part of the greater LA-tech family. You can expect more offsite interviews like this one!

Mentioned in the episode...

Shipping Things (Videos): https://www.youtube.com/user/lumihq

Well Made (Podcast): http://blog.lumi.com/wellmade

Talk Shop (Blog): http://blog.lumi.com/

Connect with Jesse: @JesseGenet and Lumi: @Lumi

Connect with Laz: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

004: Benoit Vatere, Mammoth Media - Engaging users a few minutes at a time Mar 14, 2018

Benoit Vatere is on a journey to redefine mobile entertainment, a few minutes at a time. As Founder and CEO of Mammoth Media, he leads his data-driven team in pioneering the future of media through new forms of content.

Mammoth Media has reached about 30 percent of U.S. teens in less than four years, through its apps Wishbone and Yarn, which have been downloaded tens-of-millions of times. The company just raised $13M in Series A funding, led by Greylock Partners and including Science Inc.

Connect with Benoit and Mammoth
Twitter: @bvatere
Mammoth: @mammothmedia
Website: Mammoth.la

Connect with Laz
Twitter: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

003: Tiffany Hakimianpour, Handstand - When becoming a founder happens naturally Mar 14, 2018

Tiffany Hakimianpour is Handstand's Founder and CEO. She's a leader with a passion for strategy, technology, execution, people, wellness and everything optimal.

Handstand's vision is to be the world leader in revolutionizing the state of human health, healing, and happiness in each unique individual today, and for the generations to come.

Tiffany featured on Reebok website: Click Here

Handstand partnership with Reebok and the W Hotel: Click Here

Connect with Handstand
Twitter: @HandstandApp
Website: handstandapp.com

Connect with Laz
Twitter: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

002: Kartik Mandaville, SpringRole - Building on the Blockchain Mar 14, 2018

Kartik Mandaville is the Founder and CEO of SpringRole, a protocol for attestations on blockchain.

Because SpringRole is built on blockchain and uses smart contracts, it’s able to verify work experience and reputation, give real meaning to endorsements, reward endorsers, and get users endorsements outside of their network. SpringRole is the first portfolio company from Science Blockchain, the blockchain-focused incubator from Science Inc.

Prior to SpringRole, Kartik has been a Technical Advisor to Science for years, and has participated in the growth of many startups. Kartik graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Masters from the Language Technologies Institute, focusing on Big Data, Machine Learning, and NLP. For the less technologically-inclined we might summarize Kartik by simply saying: SpringRole is in good hands, and a great mind.

Connect with Kartik
Twitter: @kar2905
SpringRole: @springroleinc
Website: SpringRole.com

Connect with Laz
Twitter: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

001: Mike Jones, Science Inc. - What do you want your headline to be? Mar 13, 2018

For our inaugural episode, we sit down with Mike Jones, Co-founder and CEO of Science Inc. and Science Blockchain. Mike is an internet executive, strategic advisor, and active angel investor with more than $2.5B in exits. His exits in 2016 alone included Science portfolio companies HelloSociety (acq. by The New York Times), FameBit (acq. by Google), and Dollar Shave Club (acq. by Unilever).

Connect with Mike
Twitter: @mjones
Website: science-inc.com

Connect with Laz
Twitter: @LazAlberto

Thanks for listening!

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