Just Raised

S2 Ep 17: Space Tourism with Space Perspective CEO Jane Poynter Jul 13, 2022

Space Perspective just raised $40M to build the Disney World of space. To do it they’re using Space Balloons.

NASA has been toying with space balloons since the 1970s but you may remember them from Red Bull’s halo jump — a skydive from the edge of the stratosphere.

Space Perspective is betting that instead of strapping into a rocket for a 12 min trip you might prefer a 6 hour trip with WiFi, a cocktail bar, a culinary experience, and a full bar.

And if you’re looking to grow your business, you need great developers.That’s where Lemon comes in. When you want to scale quickly, finding the right support is hard and it slows you down. But with Lemon, the process is made quick and easy with hundreds of developers who’ve been vetted and tested. You’ll get a match within 48-hours, ready to work straight away. Sign up today and get matched at Lemon.io

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow Jane:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-poynter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpacePerspectiv

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep16: How Shortwave is Rethinking Email And Improving Customer Experience, With Andrew Lee Jul 07, 2022

When was the last time you enjoyed your Gmail inbox? Shortwave is picking up where Gmail dropped the ball and redesigning your inbox. Find out how.

Joe gets straight into conversation with Andrew about why email should be as much fun as WhatsApp, why Slack is email’s greatest threat, and the $9 million Series A they raised in 2020.

You’ll also hear Andrew’s plans on building a professional grade email product for heavy users and what the future looks like for Shortwave.

And if you’re looking to grow your business, you need great developers.That’s where Lemon comes in. When you want to scale quickly, finding the right support is hard and it slows you down. But with Lemon, the process is made quick and easy with hundreds of developers who’ve been vetted and tested. You’ll get a match within 48-hours, ready to work straight away. Sign up today and get matched at Lemon.io

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow Andrew:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/startupandrew

Twitter:twitter.com/startupandrew

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep15: How SESO is Solving a Multi-Billion Dollar Agriculture Problem, With Michael Guirguis Jul 04, 2022

When your crop’s ready for harvesting, you need workers ready to go. But getting reliable, legal workers is tough and that’s where SESO is stepping up.

Joe and SESO CEO Michael get into the multi-billion dollar problem facing the agricultural industry, the very messy visa entry system, and why farmers just want to farm without the hassle of backend operations.

You’ll hear how SESO is streamlining the hiring and onboarding process, why payroll is the next big win, and why agtech is innovating at a dizzying pace.

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

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Follow Michael:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaelguirguis

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep14: Mmhmm — Product Design 101 Jun 29, 2022

Phil Libin has founded a few companies — Evernote the early mobile app giant, All Turtles a product design firm, and now Mmhmm, the culmination of a decade long mission to kill Powerpoint.

We dive into how Phil names companies, what he learned about fundraising from raising $400M from Sequioa for Evernote, and how to build products people love.

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow Phil:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/plibin

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep13: How Swaypay is Bypassing The Cold Start Problem on TikTok Jun 27, 2022

When you can tell Andrew Chen from A16z how to solve the cold start problem, you know you’re on to a good thing. Meet Swaypay, the company with all the answers.

And those answers come from Kaeya Majmundar, Founder and CEO, with a $4.2 million Series A to her name.

Joe and Kaeya, discuss how Swaypay is riding on TikTok’s coattails, how to capture the longtail of social media through everyday users, and why Swaypay customers pay based on the virality of the post.

You’ll hear all about the rise of social fintech, effective online marketing, and how word of mouth marketing really works.

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

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Follow Kaeya:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kaeya

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep12: How Fruitful Creates Financial Freedom Through its Membership Model Jun 22, 2022

“If you’re not paying, you’re the product”. Josh McManus is shaking financial wellness up with a membership platform helping customers gain financial freedom.

The problem with most financial institutions is they just want to sell you things. Fruitful is different. CEO Josh has a clear set of goals: To offer expert advice and powerful tools through a transparent, affordable subscription fee.

Joe gets into conversation with Josh about why fintech is a tool for empowerment, how a subscription service makes great advice more accessible, and why it’s important to take a holistic view of your finances.

You’ll also hear why Fruitful invests in design and technology equally, the difference between design and development, and Fruitful’s ambitious plans for the future.

And if you’re looking to grow your business, you need great developers. That’s where Lemon comes in. When you want to scale quickly, finding the right support is hard and it slows you down. But with Lemon, the process is made quick and easy with hundreds of developers who’ve been vetted and tested. You’ll get a match within 48-hours, ready to work straight away. Sign up today and get matched at Lemon.io

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow Josh:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/magnusmcmanus

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Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep11: How Rho is Taking The Friction Out of Finances With Killer Financial Software Jun 20, 2022

When Everett Cook saw a gap in the market, he didn’t just fill it, he set the bar for the entire industry and took his VC backed company to a new level.

In this fly through, Joe gets into it with Everett, talking about why digital financial services are transforming the entire fintech market, how they raised $75 million in VC funding, and how Rho actually makes money.

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

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Follow Everett:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/everettcook

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep10: How Delphia is Building an AI Oracle Jun 15, 2022

Delphia is using your data to beat the stock market. Today, the stock market is about having an information edge. Hedge funds use satellite imagery of Walmart parking lots and AI that crawls Twitter to bet on a company's returns. Delphia has it's own information edge: your data.

Joe and Andrew Peek, Co-Founder and CEO of Delphia, get into why users would give Delphia access to their data - from Venmo transactions to Robinhood trading - Andrew's journey from software and boutique hotels to blockchain and fintech, and how causal forecasting could to much more than 'just' beat the market.

You’ll also hear how Andrew attracts top talent by building great teams, how your long term goal is your North Star, and how what Andrew imagines Delphia's users could do with their data edge over the next 20 years.

If you’re looking to build your own big data bet you'll need the best developers. You need Lemon. When you want to scale quickly, finding the right support is hard and it slows you down. But with Lemon, the process is made quick and easy with hundreds of developers who’ve been vetted and tested. You’ll get a match within 48-hours, ready to work straight away. Sign up today and get matched at Lemon.io/justraised

If you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow Andrew:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drupeek

Twitter: twitter.com/drupeek

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep 9: How Vendia is Fixing Broken Supply Chains With Blockchain Jun 14, 2022

Supply chains are broken. Poor communication among suppliers has the potential to affect all our lives from car safety to well stocked grocery stores. Vendia is building solutions.

Tim Wagner and Shruthi Rao, Co-Founders, are, at heart, builders, and when they saw a market that needed their technical eye they jumped right in with Venida, which has just raised $30M in series B funding.

Joe jumps into it with Tim and Shruthi. You’ll hear Vendia’s origin story as a problem-solving Venn diagram, the tough job of solving supply chain communication and why APIs are just the icing on the cake.

You’ll also hear predictions on cutting edge Web3 technology, how Vendia is helping scale without losing control, and Tim’s vision for intelligent flying cars.

If you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

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Follow Shruthi:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shruthirao

Follow Tim:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timawagner

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised.

S2 Ep8: How Colossal Biosciences is Bringing Back The Wooly Mammoth Jun 08, 2022

Ben Lamm is on a de-extinction mission and it’s no coincidence his company is backed by one of the original creators of the Jurassic Park franchise.

As a serial tech entrepreneur, Ben Lamm knew his next startup was always going to have a big impact on the world. With Colossal Biosciences, he’s doing just that.

Joe gets Jurassic with Ben as they discuss how Colossal is building tools and tech to help rescue species on the verge of extinction, how DNA technology can build an elephant, and how to raise $75 million dollars from investors including Paris Hilton and Thomas Tull, Executive Producer of Jurassic World.

You’ll also hear how to create an artificial womb and the shift Colossal made from academic lab to tech startup.

If you’re growing fast and need marketing talent on board, check out MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

And if you love listening to Just Raised, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/justraised

Thank you so much!

Follow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmychen

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep7: Pipedream: A Moonshot Pipe Delivery Company Jun 06, 2022

Pipedream is a delivery startup, but they’re not using bike messengers or Uber drivers, they’re using robots that will deliver you a burrito in minutes via pipes underground.Pipedream is GoPuff crossed with Elon Musk’s boring company. It’s building a hyper logistics network to delivery anything, anywhere in a city in minutes. And they’re doing it with bots running through maintenance pipes.Joe gets into it Founder and CEO Garrett McCurrach, talking about what makes a good city for Pipedream’s pipes, how to pitch this to VCs, and how Garrett aims to generate revenue while they’re first getting started.Stick around to the end to hear Garrett flip the interview on Joe and ask what kind of startups he would love to build one day.If you want to tell your story like Pipedream, you need to check out MarketerHire. Hiring is hard, which is why MarketerHire exists, to match your business with a top-tier marketer fast. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegarrettscott

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S2 Ep6: Propel: Upgrading American Government Jun 01, 2022

Meet the founder building a fintech business to upgrade government.

Propel is building the banking app for the 42M Americans on food stamps. The US government deploys $70 billion a year into food stamps and it doesn’t have a website where users can check their balance. Propel is changing that and building a killer business at the same time.

Jimmy has onboarded nearly 5 million users on less than $20M in venture capital - wildly capital efficient for a neobank. Now he’s building out a recruiting platform to help users find jobs, an advertising platform, and an all-in-one banking app.

Jimmy talks to Joe about how entrepreneurs can work with government and why people in the tech sector have failed to build products for Propel’s customer base - missing massive opportunities in the process.

If you’re growing fast, like Propel, and need marketing talent on board, check out MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Jimmy

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmychen

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep5: Eco: How to Onboard The Next Billion Crypto Users with Andy Bromberg, CEO May 30, 2022

How do you bring in the next generation of crypto users? You create your own currency.

Most fintech companies are skimming from customers when it comes to saving and investing but the Eco platform is different. By making spending, saving and investing easy, without the skim, it’s turning traditional finance on its head. And it’s doing that through Eco Points, a rewards currency for the Eco community.

Joe brings back Andy, getting into how he got started in Crypto way back in 2014, the launch of the Stanford Bitcoin Club, and his recent raises of $25m and $60m.

You’ll also hear Andy talking about stable coins, what it’s really like creating a new currency, and why it’s on course to be a major disruptor.

If you’re growing fast, like Eco, and need marketing talent on board, get MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Andy

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andybromberg

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep4: Why Graphite is Changing The Game for Engineers With Tomas Reimers and Greg Foster. May 25, 2022

Meet the startup backed by the GitHub CEO and investment team.

Graphite is growing like crazy. Taking inspiration from Discord and Twitter, this is a company offering a code review tool for engineers. Operating as an open source CLI and dashboard, the platform is for users who want to review code quickly and efficiently.

Joe gets into it with Co-Founders Tomas and Greg, talking through their recent $20M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, why they’ve welcomed GitHub investor Peter Levine to the board, and what makes them unique as an engineers tool.

You’ll also hear how Graphite plans on growing, creating a better desktop experience, and better integration with a host of other tools.

And if, like Greg and Tomas, you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Greg:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gregorymfoster

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomasreimers

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep3: Switchboard: The Masterclass You Need on Product-Led Growth, With Amir Ashkenazi May 23, 2022

Meet the company on a mission to make teamwork the best part of work. Backed by a $14M Series A, Switchboard is one to watch.

Tapping into the remote working space, Switchboard brings all the right people and tools together on the cloud to make coworking a breeze. And they’re doing it beautifully.

Joe and Amir get deep in conversation, talking about what it takes to build virality and customer acquisition into a product, the process of raising, and why remote working is exhausting without the right tools.

You’ll also hear Amir’s ambitious plans for continued growth and where Switchboard is heading.

And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, like Amir, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Amir:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amirashkenazi

Twitter: twitter.com/AmirTime

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Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep2: Composer: How to Templatize Trading With Ben Rollert and Ananda Aisola May 18, 2022

Templates! Great trading strategies can get lost in a sea of spreadsheets and complicated code. Composer makes it easy for traders, with a building block system that can be endlessly customized.

Even the most experienced retail investors can get frustrated with the endless amounts of coding and paperwork that comes with creating trade strategies. As investing becomes more complex, having access to a library of tried and tested strategy templates is invaluable.

Joe gets into conversation with Ben and Ananda, who believe, in Composer, they’ve created a product that’s both powerful and flexible. You’ll find out why Composer has layers, making it both approachable and highly customizable, and why you can be irreverent but still be smart with your product.

You’ll also hear how Sub-Reddits are setting the tone, Ben’s lightbulb moment, and how they’re planning on taking over the industry.

And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Ben:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/benrollert

Twitter :twitter.com/benrollert

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anandaaisola

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

S2 Ep1: Empire DAO: How to Build a Web3 Community, With Mike Fraietta May 16, 2022

Kicking off Season 2 is an extraordinary guest, building way more than just a business in New York City. Mike Fraietta is creating community, art, and co-working space in this fascinating DAO.

Web3 has a new home, a heart in SoHo where the Empire DAO community of entrepreneurs, startups, and developers will have ample space to create alongside artists.

Joe talks to Mike, a talented founder with an ambitious vision. Mike explains his triple chicken and egg theory, how expansion is already on the cards, and the importance of building genuinely helpful products in Web3

You’ll also hear what it’s like being at the very tip of the adoption curve, and how you’d better have your NFT swipe card ready to book a desk.

And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com

Follow Mike:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fraietta

Twitter: twitter.com/MikeFraietta

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

How Dune Became a Billion Dollar VC Success Story May 04, 2022

Fredrik Haga couldn’t have started a crypto startup in a tougher environment, now Dune has a billion dollar valuation.

Three years ago Fredrik and co-founder Mats Olsen were getting used to hearing ‘no’. Rejected by 100s of investors, they decided to go back to basics, zeroing in on creating a product people genuinely wanted and recognizing the importance of traction.

Through sheer grit and no small amount of stubbornness from its founders, Dune is now commanding $69 million in Series B.

Joe interviews Fredrik, getting into the weeds of scaling a crypto company, building community, and their recent raises.

You’ll also hear Joe and Fredrik diving into the difference between live reporting and quarterly reports and why that matters for investors.

Follow Fredrik:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fredrikhaga

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised.

How Revel is Leading The Electric Transport Revolution May 02, 2022

From a cycling chef to CEO of a fleet of EVs, meet the founder changing the face of NYC transport.

When you plan on competing with the likes of Uber, you’d better bring your A-game. Revel is that extraordinary company, with a fleet of 100% electric vehicles, with their unique blue livery, and electric mopeds to hire by the hour, the company is also building the largest EV charging station in New York.

Joe gets into conversation with Frank Reig, the Co-founder and CEO of Revel. Frank lays out his ambition to spread the EV mission across the US, how he went about raising $126 million from Blackrock and Toyota and why Revel drivers are riding Teslas.

You’ll also hear how cars will become batteries on wheels, the Revel approach to rideshare employment, and how to build an infrastructure large enough to scale EV use across the country.

Follow Frank:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/frank-reig-35052454

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised.

Guardian Ag: How VC-Backed Drones Are Revolutionizing Crop Spraying Apr 27, 2022

Ag Tech! You may have seen crop spraying in movies done by biplanes or Vietnam veteran pilots. That is still how the market works today. Which is why our guest today is building a new kind of ag tech company based on crop spring drones.

We dive into Adam's year in Shenzhen China building protocols-types for an automated dog feeder startup and eventually Guardian, what It means to raise corporate venture capital and have a giant corporation on your cap table, and what the agriculture market in the US really looks like.

Maybe most interestingly, we dive into the history of how some of the biggest breakthroughs in technology - from genetic engineering to autonomous driving today - all started with with equipment on American farms in the Midwest.

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bercu-10838b164/

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Why The Future of Space is VC Startups Apr 25, 2022

Rob Meyerson was recruited by Jeff Bezos to run Blue Origin in 2003. He built the New Shepard, the rocket that took Jeff and three civilians to space last summer, and today he's a VC investing in space startups.

On this bonus episode, Joe talks to Rob about what the next 10 to 50 years will look like in space. Startups building transportation networks to the moon, lunar colonies and mining, 3D printing, and private space stations.

Follow Rob:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robmeyerson/

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Plenty: Why Vertical Farming is The Change We Need With Nate Storey, Co-Founder | VC | Apr 20, 2022

“A new kind of farm for a new kind of world” - that’s the promise of Plenty, and the world’s first, high capacity, indoor vertical farm.

When growing crops is a battle for so many communities around the world, Plenty is on a mission to bring healthy, pesticide-free leafy greens to all. And with that food come jobs, training, and innovation.

On this bonus episode, Joe talks to Nate about raising nearly a billion dollars in venture capital, his role as Founder and Chief Science Officer, and how Plenty has the opportunity to radically transform the way we grow food.

You’ll also hear why Jeff Bezos and Masayoshi Son of SoftBank are investors, and how food justice equates to social justice.

Follow Nate:

LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/nate-storey-068670225

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Faraway: Why Lone Wolves Never Win With Alex Paley & Dennis Zdonov, Co-Founders | VC Apr 18, 2022

Gamer owned universe! When players take ownership of their assets, innovation follows. Meet Faraway, home to 2 million players and counting.

Web 2 games studios are fine but gaming is changing. Take GTA, for example. Who knew it would end up getting streamed on Twitch and YouTube as a role play game, adding an extra level of entertainment value?

Joe gets into conversation with Alex and Dennis, Co-Founders of Faraway, a games studio and home to Mini Royale Nations. The difference between their shoot ‘em up and all the others out there? Player owned assets.

Alex and Dennis discuss why owning games assets, like land, gives players more of a stake in game development, why you’ll never win as a lone wolf, and what it’s like knowing 92k battles are taking place on your platform every single day.

You’ll also hear how the pair raised $21million from a who’s who of investors, how NFT plays a role, and Faraway’s ambition to own a portfolio full of games with a synergy between them all.

Mini Royale is a lot of fun. Check out the website and get playing within seconds: https://faraway.gg/

Follow Alex:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexpaley

Twitter: twitter.com/apaley13

Follow Dennis:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/denzz

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Ep.44: Grain: How One App is Opening Up Zoom With Mike Adams, CEO | Mapping Conversations | VC Apr 12, 2022

Zoom! Grain is building a way to record, search, and edit your Zoom meetings.

But what started as a transcription service and a video editor has evolved into a new kind of database - a searchable record of all the conversations that happen inside a company. Today Grain is about connecting ideas across teams and divisions that you may never have even known existed.

Joe talks to Mike about how Zoom evolved into a platform for new startups, how Grain found their killer app with a Google doc, and his vision to build a Reddit-like experience for ideas inside companies.

Follow Mike:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgadams3/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrainHQ

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.43: Regent: Futuristic Sea Travel Now With Billy Thalheimer, CEO & Mike Klinker, CTO | VC | Electric Aircraft Mar 25, 2022

Seagliders! When 40% of people worldwide live by the coast, offering innovative transport solutions is a surefire winner. That’s what Regent is betting on.

Imagine short, fast flights over the water, shredding travel times between hubs like Boston and New York. Billy and Mike are turning that dream into a reality with Regent and more specifically with their 100% electric, zero emission, low-cost seagliders.

Joe, Billy and Mike get into the weeds of electric versus traditional aircraft engines, how they’re creating regional, coastal, high comfort travel, and why they believe Regent will reduce the cost and headache of regional transportation.

You’ll hear how underwater fins and hydrofoil tech combine to create maritime vessels that cruise just a few feet over the water and how the automated flight system works.

Follow Billy:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/williamthalheimer

Follow Mike:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-klinker-85a1a989

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EP.42: Reconcile : Get The Tax Tools Brokers Don't Want You to Have With Jaimin Desai, CEO | Crypto | VC Mar 23, 2022

Crypto Tax! Reconcile has the tax tools brokerages want to keep to themselves. Jaimin Desai is democratizing finance for all. Find out how.

For high net worth individuals, old school brokerages like Charles Schwab have all the tax planning packages they need, but for ambitious traders it’s not enough. Even new brokerages, like Robinhood, don’t want to take on the liability of tax advice. And that’s where Reconcile steps in.

Integrating all your trading, and with strategies to minimize tax penalties, this is one newly minted venture you’ll want to dive into.

Joe talks to Jaimin about how Reconcile connects users to accounts and tax professionals, why crypto might be the worst possible way to hide money from the IRS, and why NFT traders are facing massive tax bills.

You’ll hear how Jaimin is bringing taxes out of the Stone Age, how he’s building a modern web app that tracks your trades in real time, and the benefit of having your own tax professional on call.

Follow Jaimin:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/desaijaimin

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Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.41: Maven: When Top Level Creators Turn Educators With Wes Kao, Co-Founder | VC Mar 18, 2022

Edutech! When students partner up with the best operators in their field, radical change takes place. Education meets internet creators, through Wes Kao’s Maven platform.

Education is one of the last multi-trillion dollar markets virtually untapped by tech. Why? Because very few innovators out there can see the potential. But Maven can, and it’s just raised $25 million from a16z and First Round.

Joe and Wes discuss how Maven’s 10 instructors are already making $100k+ for a 3-week online class, why world class creators like Pomp, Li Jin and David Perell are offering hyper-tactical lessons, and how new audiences no longer need gatekeepers deciding who can and can’t teach.

Wes gets into mini-apprenticeships, learning from creators at the top of their game, and how Maven is unlocking an army of internet native professors with a cohort ready to learn.

The education revolution is happening.

Follow Wes:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/weskao

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.40: Mystery: The Science of Happy Employees With Brennan Keough, Cofounder | VC Mar 16, 2022

Remote Work! Brennan Keough is building the world's best virtual events and making employees everywhere a little bit happier.

In March 2020 when COVID first hit the US, Mystery was a thriving live events business, weeks away from raising millions in a Series A. Seven days later it was virtually illegal.

Now a few years and 3 pivots later they just raised $18.5M from Greylock.

Joe and Brennan discuss remote work, why it can be so transactional, and how high-performing teams build trust in remote environments.

You’ll hear about how Mystery designs events, which FAANG company likes R-rated comedy, and pick up a few tips on how to retain employees.

Follow Brennan:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brennankeough/

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns, or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.39: Vouch: How to Build Insurance Products in a Fragmented Market With Travis Hedge, Cofounder | Insurtech | VC Mar 14, 2022

Insurtech! In 2021 insurance-tech racked up over $15 billion in VC investment. So what is it? And how is it different from the legacy insurance industry? Vouch Cofounder Travis Hedge joins the show to break it down.

We dive into pricing black swan events - like Covid or earthquakes - the origins of insurance in Rennaisance-era shipping, and how Vouch is building a full-stack insurance business in an incredibly fragmented market.

Follow Travis:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travishedge/

Twitter: @The_HedgeFund

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

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And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.38: Bessemer Venture Partners: Why The Answer is Always Software With Tess Hatch, Partner | Frontier Tech Investor | VC Mar 11, 2022

Frontier Tech! Tess Hatch has the playbook for hard tech challenges. She’s on the front row of innovation as a tech investor and ready to share her knowledge.

The secret is software. It’s the answer to the hardest technical challenges from space launches to nuclear - anything with upfront costs.

Joe and Tess discuss why SAAS is the best business model ever, why the best frontier tech companies use their technical expertise to sell software and how companies like Spire are building a competitive moat.

You’ll hear about Tess’ inspiration to become an aerospace engineer, astronaut Sally Ride, and her excitement over the Artemis program to land the first woman on the moon.

Follow Tess:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tesshatch

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.37: Pietra: From Content to Product Though Cloud Tech With Ronak Trivedi, CEO & Co-Founder | VC Mar 09, 2022

Cloud factories! How does a successful YouTuber diversify into creating a physical product? Through Pietra and visionary CEO Ronak Trivedi.

The hardest element of launching a direct to consumer product is the physical act of creating that product, then comes packaging, shipping and storage. If you have the audience but not the experience, how can you make this transition?

Through online factories and letting creators work with some of the biggest suppliers in retail.

Joe talks to Ronak about how he helped secure $15m from Keith Rabois and Founders Fund, why one creator is going to become the next best selling product line and how the likes of George Clooney, Rihanna and Kylie Jenner did similar with $1b-lines in tequila, lingerie, and cosmetics.

You’ll hear how Pietra is fuelling the passion product economy and why it offers end-to-end services with its own eCommerce marketplace.

Follow Ronak:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronaktrivedi

Twitter: twitter.com/therealRoShow

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Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.36: Popchew: How The Internet Got Hungry With Rushir Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO | VC Mar 07, 2022

Fast-food! Is Popchew the coolest food court on the internet? Co-Founder and CEP Rushir Parikh is betting it is, with his platform that helps creators feed their followers.

At some point your average YouTube creator begins to look outside the loop of continual creation and uploading, counting subscribers and worrying about algorithms. At some point your average YouTube creator thinks about creating a fast-food delivery network.

That’s exactly what YouTuber Zik Asiegbu did when he teamed up with Popchew and launched his 60-strong chain of delivery-only restaurants called Wing SZN.

Joe talks to Rushir about how the internet-ization of food is allowing creators to generate a lucrative side business, with no need for prior experience. They discuss how the company is building a distributed network of kitchens across the US and why it’s a win-win-win for restaurant owners, creators and Popchew, with previously untapped revenue streams.

Follow Rushir:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rushir

Twitter: twitter.com/rushikh

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised

Ep.35: Cogsy: No More Excel Spreadsheets With Adii Pienaar, Founder | VC Mar 04, 2022

Spreadsheets! Changing founder behavior is at the heart of Adii Pienaar’s mission to improve business models across the globe. Find out how Cogsy is taking on Excel.

Business marketing has gone through 3 phases. First, building the infrastructure and platforms to trade online, then focusing attention on email marketing, connecting to audiences, now it’s all about back office features - making sure operations are fully optimized.

Joe and Adii discuss the difficulties fast scaling brands face when it comes to creating consistent cash flow, how Cogsy is helping eCommerce founders save money and time with smart automation and purchase order flow and why a spreadsheet on steroids is still a spreadsheet.

As a Co-Founder of Woo Commerce, Adii has decades of experience. He’s obsessed with reimaging tools, like spreadsheets, and pushing scaling startups towards success.

Follow Adii:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adiipienaar

Twitter: twitter.com/adii

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Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.34: Hadrian & Founders Fund: The Race to Monetize Space With Chris Power & Delian Asparouhov | Space Tech Factories | VC Mar 02, 2022

Grab a seat on the front row of the race to monetize space. Chris Power and Delian Asparouhov are creating innovative solutions to the problem of space tech manufacturing.

Manufacturing is a broken system, with long lead times, fluctuating prices and technology that hasn’t kept up. For space tech manufacturing this problem is even more intense, with many systems left over from the first space race in the Sixties,

Joe talks to Chris and Delian about how Hadrian is creating its own manufacturing vertical from scratch, why a user-dashboard is not a great bandaid over an existing problem, and why building trust with customers is top of the list.

You’ll hear Chris talk about why they’ll be a base on the moon within the next decade and why the tech supply chain needs to turn on a dime to meet customer needs.

Chris and Delian also discuss how they’re building a factory from the ground up, and how Delian raised $9.5million in VC investment.

Follow Chris:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/powerc

Follow Delian:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/delian-asparouhov-87447742

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.33: Formic: How to Hire a Robot Workforce With Saman Farid, Co-Founder | Automation | VC Feb 28, 2022

Robotics ! VC-backed Formic is turning automation on its head by offering companies the chance to hire robots by the hour. Find out how Saman is changing the game.

There’s no doubt robots are amazing, they can revolutionize a workspace and take a company to the next level. They’re also wildly expensive to implement and can take far too long to optimize according to a business’ individual needs.

Except Formic doesn’t see it that way. Joe talks to Saman about how Formic is democratizing automation based on the principle that this service isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Saman explains how Formic is able to offer robots to factories, paid for by the hour and that integrate quickly into the role they’re assigned - all science, no friction.

Joe unpacks how Formic is tackling bottlenecks in automation by transforming an expensive, front-loaded fixed cost into an affordable monthly subscription, drawing parallels between Amazon Web Service for servers and Culture Bio for bacteria culturing.

Formic is a venture capital backed startup that attracted $26m Series A funding from Lux Capital and hasn’t looked back.

Follow Saman on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanfarid

LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/samanfarid

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.32: Irreverent Labs: Robot Chicken Meets NFT Gaming with Founder Rahul Sood Feb 25, 2022

Robo chickens! If you’re looking for the future of gaming, you’ve found it. Rahul Sood and Irreverent Labs are combining art and entertainment with NFT tech and it’s wild.

It’s 2140, an alien race has visited Earth and left behind thousands of eggs that hatch robotic chickens. These chickens fight, learn, and fight some more.They are beautifully designed and rendered by some of the most talented digital artists in the world. They’re also looking for an owner.

Joe talks to Rahul about Irreverent Labs current game in development, Mecha Fight Club. Rahul shares why his “dumb idea for a game” made his co-founder walk out of his job developing defense technology at Microsoft to join him. And why companies like Apple need to get on board with crypto, or risk being left behind.

You’ll hear Rahul’s vision for the industry and how music, entertainment, arts and culture will converge, using gaming as a Trojan horse. Plus how he and Co-Founder David, raised $5 million from VCs by going all-in.

Follow Rahul on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rahulsood

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/serialceo

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.31: Clay: How to Solve The Problem of Fragmentation With Zachary Ahmed & Matthew Achariam, Co-Founders | Relationship Management | VC Feb 23, 2022

Fragmentation! Zachary Ahmed & Matthew Achariam are changing the way we manage relationships with the important people in our lives. Find out how Clay is solving the problem of fragmentation.

At its core Co-Founders Zach and Matt are product designers, obsessed with creating beautiful, bespoke solutions. Backed by $8m in seed funding led by Forerunner Ventures and General Catalyst, Clay unifies contact information across Twitter, LinkedIn, email, calendars,and iMessage creating a singular profile for every person in your life.

Like a personal CRM, Clay tells you when you last interacted with a contact and on which platform, taking the heavy lift out of relationship management.

Joe talks to Matt and Zach about why the smallest details matter in design and his experience of pitching for funding in a highly competitive space.

You’ll hear Matt and Zach’s ambitious plans for scaling the platform and why people will always be at the heart of what they do.

Follow Zach on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zmh

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyhamed/

Follow Matt on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mg

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.30: Fan Controlled Football (FCF): Football Reimagined With Sohrob Farudi, Co-Founder & CEO | VC Feb 21, 2022

Football! Passive football watching is done. And Sohrob Farudi, Co-Founder and CEO of FCF is bringing the game to fans in a wholly immersive new way over on Twitch. Find out how.

Game day has changed. FCF is pro-football reimagined in digital. You watch real games, played in a high-tech studio arena, but the difference? You call the plays in real time and you draft the players.

Joe and Sohrob discuss why fanatical fandom communities are demanding more from the sport and how FCF is bringing its A-game, embracing everything crypto and sports do well.

You’ll hear how Sohrob raised a $40m Series A round, led by crypto venture capital investors, and why NFL players are jumping on board the new league.

Follow Sohrob on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sohrobf

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohrobfarudi/

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.29: Culture Biosciences: Bioreactors for All! With Will Patrick, Co-Founder | VC Feb 18, 2022

Biotech! When Taiwan introduced affordable chip manufacturing, tech firm startups exploded. Now Culture Biosciences is working on the same play for biotech.

Bacteria is the building block for everything from drugs to proteins. But building bioreactors to create bacteria is wildly expensive and a huge block for many startups in the biotech space.

That’s where Culture Biosciences is stepping up to the plate. Building in-house bioreactors and making the technology available to biotech companies through the Cloud, means those companies zero their capital expenditure, freeing up liquidity.

Will Patrick shares with Joe his experience in democratizing bioreactor technology, and how Culture Biosciences is shaping up to become the AWS of the biotech industry.

Follow Will Patrick on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wgpatrick

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wgpatrick

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Ep.28: Kosen Labs: Why The Future of AI is Blockchain With Miljan Martic, Co-Founder & CEO | VC Feb 16, 2022

Blockchain! Miljan Martic is breaking new ground with blockchain and shaking up AI.

Most AI research centers around games - poker, chess - anything with a strategy and a set of logical rules you can repeat many times over.

And when you look at smart contracts built on blockchain, you see the exact same thing. Defined rules governing automated cash flow, logical and predictable.

Kosen Labs believes AI needs new challenges to evolve. New harder games that are infinitely composable.

Join Joe as he talks to Miljan Martic on why Kosen Labs is building the future of AI with blockchain.

Follow Kosen Labs on:

Twitter: https:https://twitter.com/kosenlabs

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kosenlabs

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.27: Casai: The Coolest Startup You Never Heard Of With Nico Barawid, CEO | VC Feb 14, 2022

Arbitrage! Casai is the coolest LatAm startup in play right now. Set to replace Airbnb in emerging markets, this is a company with multi-million dollar firepower. Find out why.

When you’ve stayed in one too many Airbnbs without WiFi, you know it’s time to change the game. For Nico and his Co-Founder, Maricarmen Herrerías, not being able to connect online when traveling for work was that moment.

Joe and Nico talk about the needs of the digital nomad generation and why, if you don’t know the neighborhood, a $9-$18 a night apartment in Mexico City might not be such a bargain after all.

You’ll hear how Casai is solving this problem by curating beautiful apartments that merge the design and comforts of a boutique hotel with the technology of a San Francisco home, and the local ambiance of a vacation rental.

And why venture capital firm, a16z, are backing this startup with a $48m fund.

Discover why charging US rates and incurring local costs is a win-win-win business model for customers, building owners and Casai.

Follow Nico Barawid on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicobarawid

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nicobarawid

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.26: Infinite Canvas: When Media and Gaming Collide With Sebastian Park & Tal Shachar, Co-Founders | VC Feb 11, 2022

You're going to want to be in the middle of that explosion and that’s exactly where Infinite Canvas has positioned itself.

The gaming market is already hitting peaks. Way bigger than music, more revenue-commanding than movies, Infinite Canvas is bringing together influencers, indie game developers and platinum-standard investors to create a modern media empire.

Stand back as players become developers, generating content for other users and getting paid for the worlds they’re creating on games like Fortnite and Roblox. If you want to make a bet, I’d back User Generated Content (UGC) as the future of gaming and media.

Follow Infinite Canvas on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/infcanvas

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infcanvas/about/

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.25: Levels | What Your Blood Says About You With Sam Corcos, Co-Founder | Blood Tech | VC Feb 09, 2022

Blood! Sam Corcos, Co-Founder of Levels, knows when you join the dots between what you eat and how you feel, you’re going to learn how to bring your A-game.

Having racked up more than 50,000 subscriptions for this blood glucose monitoring tech PRE LAUNCH and raising $12 million from a killer set of angels, Sam has a simple but powerful playbook of creating connections.

On this episode he shares why NBA players, celebrities and retired CEOs are queuing up for his product. You’ll hear why he sends out a super tactical list of asks every week to his network, and how almost 100% of them convert.

Levels is a closed loop system bringing glucose monitoring to all. It’s a painless patch that attaches to your arm, providing real time blood glucose data to the software on your phone. Pro athletes can make detailed analysis of how they’re fueling while the rest of us can see how what and when we eat affects our overall mood and performance.

Follow Sam on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamCorcos

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/samcorcos

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.24: Rocket Lab: Affordable Space Rockets With Peter Beck, CEO & Founder | | VC Feb 07, 2022

Real life rocket company! Peter Beck is the Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, a company whose mission is to “go to space to improve life on Earth.” Rocket Lab is the second largest rocket company in the world and one of the few driving down launch costs, making it cheaper to get into space. Peter shares his unique business insights as a Founder and Engineer at the forefront of rocket design.

From starting the business back in 2006, to date Rocket Lab has launched 109 satellites and their Electron rocket is the second most frequently launched rocket in the US.

Last year the company debuted on Nasdaq, backed by venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, which has invested over several rounds since 2013.

On the show today, I talk to this out-of-the-world founder on the challenges and opportunities space offers investors and what you should know about the future of the space industry.

Follow Peter on:

Twitter: @Peter_J_Beck

LinkedIn: peter_beck_ab7b63b

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.23: Beehiiv: Monetizing Newsletters Done Right With Tyler Denk, CEO | VC Feb 04, 2022

Newsletters! Tyler Denk is THE newsletter guy. Joe Sweeney interviews Tyler, CEO of Beehiiv, a platform made by creators for creators and scaling fast.

Beehiiv attracted more than 1,000 users within 8 weeks and all without spending a dime on acquisition. On this episode Tyler shares insights with Joe Sweeney from his time spent at Morning Brew and how his company is supporting newsletter creators to monetize their products.

He shares his experiences, good and bad, of launching a startup and gives his best predictions on what the media landscape will look like in the future. .

You can follow Tyler on:

Twitter: @denk_tweets

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.22: Runway: Smashing Barriers to AI With Cristóbal Valenzuela, Co-Founder & CEO | VC Feb 02, 2022

AI! Video content creation just got a whole load easier. Joe Sweeney interviews Cristóbal Valenzuela, Co-Founder and CEO of Runway - a visionary company with a goal of breaking down the barriers to AI.

This startup is developing the next generation of creativity tools, making AI and machine learning available to even more creators. On a mission to “make impossible video”, the small team of artists, engineers, researchers and dreamers are reimagining the limits of creativity.

Started 3 years ago, recently Cristóbal announced Runway’s $35M Series B led by Coatue. This is a company scaling fast. Listen in to Cristóbal’s ambitious vision and how Runway is unleashing a new era of storytelling.

Follow Cristóbal Valenzuela:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/c_valenzuelab

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvalenzuelab

Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY

Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny

Ep.21: Braintrust: How to Bootstrap Crypto With Adam Jackson, Founder | Web3 Startup | VC Jan 31, 2022

Web3 Marketplaces! Bootstrapping a crypto project is no mean feat but Adam Jackson is a founder with a vision and an unstoppable passion for his subject.

Braintrust is a decentralized marketplace for software engineers and knowledge workers. It’s like a decentralized Upwork.

Joe talks to Adam and dives into why the $BTRST token hit a $2 billion market cap when it launched on Coinbase, how to design token economies, and what it takes to actually bootstrap a crypto project.

Follow Adam:

Twitter: @adamjacksonsf

And check out the Just Raised Newsletter: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/just-raised/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workweek

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.20 Earth Brands: Building Capital From The Ground Up With Peter Frelinghuysen & Misha Medvedev, Founders | VC Jan 28, 2022

Direct to Consumer Brands! Earth Brands is taking on the single use cup market and winning. Find out why environmentally-friendly tech has caught the eye of VC investors.

Earth Brands is a direct to consumer company selling biodegradable cups to compete with solo cups on college campuses. They’ve already raised a few million from Mark Cuban.

Joe talks to Peter and Misha about fundraising from the ground up and the future of green tech in an increasingly environmentally aware market.

You can follow Earth Brands on Instagram: @earthcups

And check out the Just Raised Newsletter: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/just-raised/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workweek

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.19: Living Carbon: Super Trees With Maddie Hall, Founder and CEO | VC Jan 26, 2022

Cleantech! What happens when tech and nature collide? Growth is superpowered and the air just got a bit cleaner.

Joe talks to Maddie Hall, Founder and CEO of Living Carbon, a VC-backed company helping accelerate tree and plant growth to capture more carbon from the atmosphere to take on climate change.

Maddie has a fascinating background and worked on special projects at Open AI and Y Combinator before launching Living Carbon and raising her first round from Chris Sacca’s new fund, Lower Carbon.

This conversation is a dive into carbon credits, forestry, carbon recapture, and some of the most existential problems that face humanity today.

Follow Maddie:

Twitter: @maddiehalla

And check out the Just Raised Newsletter: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/just-raised/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workweek

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.18 Whisper Aero: When Flight Tech Goes Quiet With Ian Villa, Founder | VC Jan 24, 2022

Flying Cars! Ian Villa, Founder of Whisper Aero is building silent engines for EVTOLs - electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.

Joe talks to Ian about how EVTOLs work - from batteries to electric engines, why electric aircraft are cheaper than jet fuel-powered helicopters (hint: It's the jet fuel), and what cities will look like if these vehicles start taking off, which could be as soon as 2024.

Follow Ian:

Twitter @ian__villa

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.17: Foundry Brands: How to Take on Amazon With Stefan Haney, Co-Founder | Amazon | VC Jan 21, 2022

Amazon! Step forward Stefan Haney, Cofounder of Foundry, who is busy buying up Amazon third-party sellers.

What gives this move the edge is that Stefan joined Amazon in 2003 and actually built Amazon’s 3rd party marketplace for sellers. Now he’s acquiring sellers and helping them scale. Ultimately to build the next great consumer brands company.

Follow Stefan:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stefan-haney-05016

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.16: Oso: Dive Into Dev Tool Tech With Graham Neray, CEO and Co-Founder | Dev | VC Jan 19, 2022

Dev Tools! How do you solve a problem like authorization? You build the solution. Find out Graham Neray is doing just that through Oso.

We dive into the Open Source sector, dev tools and how they work, and leadership.

Joe talks to Graham about his experience working with some of the best software executives in the world at MongoDB prior to starting Oso. You'll also hear how Oso raised $10M from Sequoia Capital.

Joining Joe and Graham is co-host Chris Behrens. Chris is a Principal at SYN Ventures investing in cybersecurity out of New York.

Follow Graham:

Twitter @grahamneray

Follow Chris:

Twitter: @crispaarons

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.15: Atomos Space: Tugs In Space! With Vanessa Clark CEO and Founder | Space Vehicles | VC Jan 17, 2022

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Vanessa Clark, CEO and Founder of Atomos Space. Atomos is building vehicles for a radical new use case in space, last-mile satellite transportation. Orbital transfer vehicles, nicknamed space tugs, attach to satellites and ferry them to new orbits. Think tow trucks or tug boats, but in space. Atomos is building the first of these vehicles to ever be deployed.

You can follow Atomos on Twitter @atomosspace

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.14: Bridgesplit: NFTs For All With Mary Gooneratne & Luke Truitt, Co Founders | NFTs | VC Jan 14, 2022

NFTs!

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Mary Gooneratne and Luke Truitt cofounders of Bridgesplit. Bridgesplit is creating liquidity in NFT markets by fractionalizing NFTs, creating index funds so institutional investors can get involved, and building complex financial markets for the asset class.

Follow Bridgesplit:

Twitter: @bridgesplit

And check out the Just Raised Newsletter: https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/just-raised/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workweek

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.13: Alt: How to Price The Priceless With Leore Avidar, Founder | Alternative Assets | VC Jan 12, 2022

Sports Cards and Alternative Assets!

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Leore Avidar, founder of Alt. Alt is building a marketplace for alternative assets, starting with sports cards. We talk about how sports cards started selling for millions, the rise of new assets like Tesla Short Shorts, and how to price priceless items.

Follow Alt on Twitter @OnlyAltOfficial

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.12: Core Loop Games + World Eternal Online : How to Turn Games Into Networks With Dan Chao & Vincenzo Alagna| NFTs | VC Jan 10, 2022

Gaming + Crypto + Social!

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Dan Chao and Vincenzo Alagna, cofounders of Core Loop Games. Core Loop is building a new MMORPG built on crypto. We dive into in game economies, NFTs, and why modern games are social networks.

You can follow Core Loop on Twitter @WorldEternalMMO

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.11: E14 + Media Lab: Why The Smart Money Invests in Science With Habib Haddad, MD | Science | VC Jan 07, 2022

The Media Lab!

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Habib Haddad, Managing Director of E14. E14 is a VC firm that invests in scientists and researchers out of the MIT Media Lab. We dive into the Media Lab’s history - pioneering the internet, wearables and synthetic biology - and what the future could look like.

Follow Habib:

Twitter @habibh

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.10 Robinhood: Fintech Products To Turn an Investor's Head With With Nate Rodland, COO | Fintech | VC Jan 05, 2022

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Nate Rodland, cofounding COO of Robinhood and current managing partner at Elefund. We dive into what Nate looks for when investing in fintech, product design, and what it takes operationally to launch a trading firm like Robinhood

You can follow Nate and what Elefund on Twitter @ElefundVC

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.9: Returnmates: How to Successfully Run an eCommerce Venture With Eric Wimer & Kristan Zak Co-Founders | VC Jan 03, 2022

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Eric Wimer and Kristian Zak, cofounders of Returnmates. This is a dive into eCommerce and the logistics of running a modern brand. Returnmates is focused on returns but is building a new kind of shipping company. They just raised $5M from Lightshed Ventures.

Follow Returnmates:

Twitter @returnmates

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.8: Lux Capital: When AI and Biology Collide With Josh Wolfe, Founder | VC Dec 31, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Josh Wolfe, Founder of Lux Capital. We dive into the new space industry, defense, and the possibilities at the intersection of AI and biology.

You can follow Josh and what Lux is building on Twitter @wolfejosh

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.7: Octant Bio: How Drug Discovery Works With Sri Kosuri, Founder | VC Dec 29, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Sri Kosuri, Founder of Octant Bio. This episode is a primer on synthetic biology. We dive into how drug discovery works, the business models behind modern pharma, and the massive potential unlocked by our new ability to engineer DNA.

You can follow Sri and what Octant is building on Twitter @srikosuri

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.6: Launch House: How a Meme Launched a Business With Jacob Peters, Founder | VC Dec 27, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Jacob Peters, Founder of Launch House. We talk about how Launch House started life as a meme, how to build great community, and how Launch House evolved into a combination of Soho House, Y Combinator, and executive coaching. Launch House just raised $3M from Flybridge.

You can follow Launch House and what they're building on Twitter @launch_house

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.5: Varda: How to Build in Space With Delian Asparouhov, Founder | VC Dec 24, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Delian Asparouhov, Founder of Varda and Principal Investor at Founder’s Fund. They dive into the rise of the new space industry,what it takes to manufacture products in orbit, and how Delian pitched Varda to his team at Founder’s Fund.

You can follow Varda and what they're building on Twitter @vardaspace

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.4: MainStreet: How to API Everything With Doug Ludlow, Founder & CEO | VC | Fintech Dec 22, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Doug Ludlow, Founder and CEO of MainStreet. They dive into the booming fintech market, how the government tries (and sometimes fails) to incentivize economic growth, and the API-ification of everything.

You can follow MainStreet and what they're building on Twitter @Mainstreet

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.3: Helaina: The Sneaky Big Baby Market With Laura Katz, Founder & CEO | Food Science | VC Dec 20, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Laura Katz, Founder and CEO of Helaina about their recent $20M raise led by Spark Capital. They dive into the history of food science, the sneaky big baby formula market, genetically engineered precision culturing, and the infrastructure food science companies will need to scale into the future.

You can follow Helaina and what they're building on Twitter @LauraHelaina

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep.2: A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT | Adam Ryan and Becca Sherman, Co-Founders of Workweek | VC Dec 17, 2021

On this episode of Just Raised, Joe Sweeny interviews Adam Ryan and Becca Sherman, Cofounders of Workweek, a new media company focused on creators.

We also announce that Workweek has acquired the Just Raised podcast!

To celebrate, Just Raised joining Workweek, we're giving away $100,000 to an early stage startup founder.

$10k in Cash
$50k investment from Workweek
$40k in ad and job board credits

But most importantly, connections. We’re introducing the winner to mentors and VCs, including: Packy McCormick at Not Boring, Alex Lieberman Cofounder of Morning Brew, Mario Gabrielle at the Generalist, and Nick Sharma of Sharma Brands. Plus many more.

To apply check out this link:https://bit.ly/justraisedgiveaway

You can follow Workweek on Twitter @workweekinc

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Ep1: PartyRound: How to Streamline A Startup With Jordi Hays, CEO Dec 15, 2021

Automation! Founders have a lot of balls to juggle. Jordi Hays is making the fundraising process one less thing to keep in the air. Find out how Party Round is streamlining startups.

Joe talks to Jordi about his own experience of raising and the lessons he learned from their recent $7M raise led by A16Z.

Jordi shares why building, not fundraising, should be a founder's focus and how Party Round is helping founders do just that through the Party Round platform.

Follow Jordi:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jordi-hays-559199113

To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny

Welcome to Just Raised Dec 14, 2021

Welcome to Just Raised, where we talk to founders at newly minted startups who have just raised venture capital. We explore product, business model, technology, and the jobs they're hiring for right now.

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