The Room Podcast

Latest Episodes:

S7E7: Samir Vasavada of Vise on Building a Fintech Unicorn and the Future of Investing Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! We are so excited to share another inspiring conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Vise, Samir Vasavada.

Vise is an AI powered asset manager that enables financial advisors to build, manage, and explain personalized portfolios for their clients. Vise is on a mission to create financial freedom for all with a platform that allows all investors, regardless of age, net worth, or geography, to access personalized, automated, and intelligent investments across all asset classes.

Samir started vise with his cofounder Runik when they were just 16 years old. After giving advice to finance professionals through expert networks, Samir and Runik decided to bootstrap the company before raising 128M from funds like Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Bling Capital.

In this episode, we sit down with Samir and discuss topics such as advice for young or first-time founders, tips on fundraising & going-to-market, and the mission of Vise and future of tech-enabled investing. Let’s open the door.

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4:45 - Where did Samir grow up and how did that affect his view of the world?
5:27 - How old was Samir when he started founding?
7:06 - How and why did Samir switch from making apps to consulting?
9:47 - What encouraged Samir to found Vise
12:25 - When did Samir know it was time to fully commit to Vise?
14:11 - What advice does Samir have for founders who are in the stage of turning their idea into an actual product?
17:51 - What is the mission behind Vise?
20:33 - Who is the team behind Vise?
23:31 - How did Samir convince investors to get in early on Vise?
26:49 - What advice does Samir have for businesses going through financial struggles?
30:26 - What was the go-to-market strategy for Vise?
32:39 - What roadblocks has Samir run into while growing Vise?
34:33 - What does Samir think of UBS acquiring Wealthfront?
36:57 - How will the market of investing evolve as we head into a market downturn?
39:43 - What is coming up for Samir, personally?
30:39 - Who is a woman in Samir’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career?

WX Productions

S7E6: Sarah Flint is Disrupting Footwear by Building Modern Luxury for Today’s Woman Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

We are so happy to be joined by this week's guest, Sarah Flint. The Founder, CEO, and Designer of Sarah Flint, Inc. Sarah Flint proves that beauty doesn’t have to mean pain by creating comfortable and stylish luxury shoes for women who live any kind of lifestyle.

When Sarah noticed a gap in the women’s shoe market, she began designing her own and she used her network to produce them at mass! She realized that it is time to consider the needs of the modern woman and she does this by creating luxury fashion designed by women on the go for women on the go. We chat with Sarah about her decision to go entirely online, to now opening up her own storefronts for the first time.

In this episode, we discuss themes such as breaking into an industry with a non-traditional background, what it takes to disrupt the luxury brand market, and the future of retail 3.0. Let’s open the door.

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4:56 - Why did Sarah study fashion and what was her early career like?
7:43 - What led Sarah to approach Italian factories to produce her products?
8:56 - What type of person wears Sarah Flint shoes?
10:04 - Did Sarah always want to become a founder?
11:44 - What were the early stages of starting Sarah Flint, Inc. like?
13:59 - What brought on the decision to take the store completely online?
16:34 - How did Sarah make her decision on fundraising?
18:09 - What is Sarah Flint’s favorite Sarah Flint shoe?
18:54 - How has Sarah Flint, Inc. grown over the past few years?
20:13 - How does Sarah feel about the future of e-commerce vs. storefronts in regard to luxury fashion?
22:15 - What is Sarah’s strategy when picking locations to market in?
23:12 - What does ‘E-Commerce 3’ look like?
25:32 - Who was the first or most notable celebrity to wear Sarah Flint shoes?
26:25 - What advice does Sarah have for designers hoping to break into retail?
28:01 - What does it mean to be a ‘modern heritage brand?’
30:08 - What is next for Sarah Flint, Inc?
31:05 - What is next for Sarah?
31:37 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career?

WX Productions

S7E5: Kashish Gupta and Hightouch Leverage “Reverse ETL” When Building Your Modern Data Stack Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Joining us this week is Kashish Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Hightouch. Hightouch is a software for your data stack that syncs any data warehouse to the SaaS tools that your business runs on, making internal usage and sharing easier for everyone.

Kashish talks to us about the current state of the modern data stack community and how the industry is constantly pushing forward. He describes how this plays into their sales tactic of “evangelizing” larger corporations by teaching them about “Reverse ETL” and how Hightouch works without pushing the sale.

We cover themes such as starting a company with two of his good friends and the procedures they take when it comes to decision-making, the perfect modern data stack, and how to sell your business when the product is something that no one has heard of yet.

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6:00 - Where did Kashish grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?
8:08 - Did Kashish always want to be a founder?
9:27 - How did Kashish's education impact his professional goals?
13:08 - What is the story behind Mama’s Cooking?
15:01 - What was the “aha” moment that got Kashish thinking about Hightouch?
18:10 - How do businesses take advantage of Hightouch?
19:56 - How is Kashish's relationship with his partners, Tejas Manohar and Josh Curl?
21:28 - How do Kashish's and his partners split up responsibilities and tasks?
22:24 - How do Kashish and his partners handle things when there is a disagreement?
25:03 - What part of the go-to-market is Hightouch going to continue investing in?
27:58 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Hightouch?
29:51 - When is the right time for a company to embrace its data warehouse?
32:29 - What is Kashish's stance on the semantic layer?
34:38 - What are some tools in the modern data stack?
35:39 - What tools does Kashish recommend for a company building their modern data stack?
38:15 - What advice would Kashish give to an entrepreneur building in this space?
40:44 - What’s next for Kashish and Hightouch?
44:00 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Kashish and his career?

WX Productions

S7E4: How Jamie Norwood and Cynthia Plotch of Stix Are Transforming Women’s Health, Starting With How Women Shop for Their Health Essentials Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

We have another incredible episode in store with Cynthia Plotch and Jamie Norwood, the founders of Stix, the company transforming women's health experiences. Stix was founded to “create a convenient, discreet, and judgment-free way to get the products you need.”

Cynthia and Jamie walk us through their negative personal experiences that drove them to create Stix. Plus, they share their ideas to evolve Stix past being just a DTC brand and becoming an entire community of women who can help each other with anything health related. Cynthia and Jamie also explain what led them to go down the VC route for funding this journey.

Themes in this episode include knowing when is the right time to fully commit yourself to your passion project, today’s women’s health climate, and what's next in DTC.

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4:30 - What were the first few years of Jamie’s career like?
5:17 - What brought Jamie to Hungry Harvest and broke her into the world of D2C?
6:18 - How did Cynthia’s early career influence her decision to start Stix?
9:35 - Did Cynthia and Jamie always plan on being founders?
11:26 - When did Cynthia and Jamie know that they were ready to go full-time on Stix?
16:41 - How would Cynthia and Jamie describe Stix?
17:52 - What was the initial mission for Stix when Cynthia and Jamie founded it?
19:29 - How has Stix been connecting to its community and helping solve their problems?
23:30 - What prompted Cynthia and Jamie to raise VC funding?
25:39 - What advice would Cynthia and Jamie give to founders thinking about starting in D2C?
27:25 - What is the process like of getting an affordable product delivered discreetly to those who need it?
29:32 - Why is it so crucial for Stix products to be delivered discreetly?
33:16 - What does the future of D2C look like?
35:27 - What does Amazon acquiring One Medical mean for the future of health care?
37:54 - Who is a woman in Cynthia and Jamie’s lives that has had a profound impact on them and their careers?

WX Productions

S7E3: William Santana Li and Knightscope are Using Robots to Drop Crime Rates on a Local and National Level Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

This week we chat with another phenomenal guest, William Santana Li, the founder and CEO of Knightscope. Knightscope is the developer and manufacturer of autonomous security robots.

William explains how and why Knightscope was created and why he believes that the future of national security is autonomous. William details his professional experience in the auto and motor industry and how even that couldn’t prepare him for the unorthodox lifestyle of a founder.

In today’s conversation with William, we chat about his unique founding story after being an entrepreneur and executive for 30 years. Plus, we dive into topics such as different ways to get funded, how robots are fighting crime in the U.S., and the future of robotics and technology in public safety. Let’s open the door.

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4:48 - Did William have an interest in the vehicle and motor space from a young age?
7:51 - How was William’s early experience as a founder starting Knightscope?
9:45 - What did William learn during the fundraising process of Knightscope?
17:04 - Why is William so passionate about preventing crime and protecting the safety of Americans?
22:19 - How was the experience of starting from the ground and creating a legitimate robot?
26:10 - How is William staying focused on the blend of hardware and software with Knightscope?
28:19 - What advice does William have for a founder with a product that is starting locally but wants to go nationwide?
30:27 - When building Knightscope, was there a time when things didn't go as planned?
32:58 - How does William think that robots will change public safety and security?
36:55 - What does a Knightscope robot do to report crime and build safety?
39:31 - Why is it that William is the only male on the board for Knightscope?
45:57 - Who is a woman in William’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?

WX Productions

S7E2: Kelsey Mellard is Easing Access to Specialists in Health, Tech, Policy, and Product with Her Company, Sitka Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Season 7 continues with another incredible episode as we chat with Kelsey Mellard, co-founder and CEO of Sitka. Sitka is an online network of experts in medicine, technology, policy, and product with the goal of making access to specialists more available for all people.

Kelsey talks to us about her initial career in healthcare, both public and private, and what that taught her before she began her journey of founding Sitka. Kelsey also details her experience of raising a baby and a company at the same time and how her investors felt when she broke the news.

The themes of this episode include; problems in the healthcare system and how Sitka is making a difference, the complexities of being a new mom while founding a company, and lessons learned in developing a core product and go-to-market strategies.

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5:04 - How did beginning in the public sector help form Kelsey’s view of the world?
6:35 - What has Kelsey learned about the complexities of the healthcare system?
8:27 - How did Kelsey’s career drive her to start Sitka?
11:00 - Did Kelsey ever think she was going to become a founder?
12:16 - What problem did Kesley identify that encouraged her to create Sitka?
13:27 - What were some of the early days like in founding Sitka?
15:00 - What product did Sitka take to market?
16:42 - What lessons did Kelsey learn during the creation and evolution of Sitka’s core product?
18:36 - What was Kelsey’s fundraising journey like?
23:45 - What did Kelsey learn when developing her go-to-market strategy?
27:24 - What does Kelsey think will become the status quo five years from today that perhaps right now maybe would sound very unlikely?
30:47 - What did Kelsey’s investors say when she told them that she was having a baby while running the company?
36:49 - What is something that Kelsey is excited about moving forward?
38:10 - What should users and potential Sitka users be looking forward to?
39:17 - Who is a woman in Kelsey’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career?

WX Productions

S7E1: Spencer Rascoff, Co-Founder of Zillow, Gives Advice for Entrepreneurs Amidst a Macroeconomic Downturn Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to The Room Podcast. We kick off Season 7 with Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and previous CEO of Zillow. Spencer walks us through how he and the team came up with the idea for Zillow and the unforgettable “Zestimate” feature. Prior to Zillow, Spencer had been the founder of Hotwire, which sold to Expedia for $685 million. Currently, Spencer is an active angel investor in more than 100 companies and is incubating several more through his startup studio and venture capital firm, 75 & Sunny. He serves as executive chair of dot.LA, a news site covering the Los Angeles tech scene and he is co-founder and board chair of Pacaso, the company pioneering a new way to own a second home.

In our conversation today, we explore insights and themes such as the art of a killer feature, like the Zestimate, managing team morale and execution amidst a macroeconomic downturn, and why the future of real estate is fractional.

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

5:05 - Where did Spencer grow up and how did that change his view of the world?
6:33 - Did Spencer always want to be a founder?
7:38 - What was the public opinion of the internet when Spencer was at Harvard?
11:23 - What did Spencer learn about being an entrepreneur from his experience at Harvard?
13:23 - What was the aha moment that sparked the launch of Zillow?
15:51 - How did Spencer and the team hone in on the specific product feature for Zillow?
19:04 - Did Big Data play any role in the start of Zillow? What was the data stack at the time?
21:15 - Who was the first external investor to say yes to investing in Zillow?
21:53 - What is the best case board dynamic?
26:04 - How did Spencer balance internal and external stakeholder management through his founding journey?
29:52 - What advice would Spencer give to entrepreneurs navigating “the early stages of our recession?”
31:49 - What is Spencer hoping to accomplish with Pacaso and “fractional ownership” of property?
34:08 - What is the user journey of purchasing a Pacaso home?
35:09 - What is one sector that Spencer believes is undervalued at the moment?
35:33 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Spencer and his career?

WX Productions

S6E8: Anvisha Pai and Dover are Automating the Recruiting and Hiring Process for the Businesses of Today Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

In our final episode of season 6 of The Room Podcast, we close out with another incredible guest, Anvisha Pai, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Dover. Dover is a modernized recruiting platform that adapts to your business's needs to connect you with people that you would want to meet and that would want to meet you.

In this episode, we and Anvisha discuss her journey as a multi-time founder growing up in Mumbai as the daughter of two doctors. Plus, Anvisha shares recruiting and hiring advice for start-ups and her thoughts on the future of work and hiring automation.

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

3:40 - Where did Anvisha grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?
4:50 - Did Anvisha always think she was going to become a founder?
6:35 - How was Anvisha’s training as an engineer helpful from a product perspective?
9:33 - How did Anvisha go from Product Manager at Dropbox to a multi-time founder?
12:28 - What were Anvisha’s takeaways from her experience at the Y Combinator?
14:23 - How does Dover automate the initial candidate sourcing?
18:19 - How was Dover's fundraising journey, how did that experience impact the team and what were some lessons learned along the way?
22:05 - How has a content marketing approach contributed to the growth of the customer base for Dover?
23:53 - How does Dover think about training data sets without creating a potential bias that can be embedded in the data?
25:59 - What positive and negatives come from scaling up from a leadership perspective?
28:40 - What is Anvisha’s perspective on the future of recruiting, given the context of the last two years?
30:21 - What is Anvisha excited about in Dover's near future?
31:55 - What's next for Anvisha?
32:55 - Who is a woman in Anvisha’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career?

The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

WX Productions

S6E7: David Yuan, Founder and General Partner of Tidemark Capital, Discusses the Business of Launching a Venture Fund [LIVE at the EVCA Summit] Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

In this special episode of The Room Podcast, we get to listen LIVE as Madison interviews David Yuan, long-time investor and more recently, Founder and General Partner of Tidemark Capital. Tidemark is a venture capital firm built to serve category-leading technology companies as they succeed and scale.

In this episode, Dave details how he went from investor to founder and is now a fund founder with Tidemark. Plus, we discuss focused investment themes, the people and processes needed to build a successful firm, and the future of fund transformation.

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

9:42 - Live Interview Begins
9:54 - Dave Introduction
12:25 - How was Dave’s early journey as a founder?
14:17 - How important is a founder's resume when selling themselves to investors?
16:02 - How does Dave think about pitching investment theses to LPs?
18:17 - When starting Tidemark, who did Dave go to for help?
19:40 - What is one thing Dave wished he knew starting the 2021 year?
23:04 - How does Dave think the LP market will change over the next 5 years?
26:21 - Who is a woman in Dave’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?

The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

WX Productions

S6E6: Andrew Savage and Suma Brands are Guiding Retail Brands on Amazon to Their Full Potential Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

We are joined this week by Andrew Savage, Founder & CEO of Suma Brands, a commerce platform focused on developing marketplace brands, specifically on Amazon. Andrew is using his experience from helping establish early E-Commerce for Target and Amazon to guide other growing retailers to high-level success. Andrew and Suma Brands will “find, acquire, and help brands realize their potential.”

In this episode, we chat about what is an “aggregator” in the sense of online retail and Andrew’s quintessential blend of focuses that most companies must adhere to; retail, tech, and content. Plus, Andrew shares his thoughts on the evolution of E-Commerce from its origin to now, and even some of his future predictions.

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

3:48 - Where did Andrew grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?
6:24 - Did Andrew always think he was going to be a founder?
7:28 - What was Andrew’s early career path like while focusing on E-Commerce?
10:52 - What were some “aha” moments while establishing early E-Commerce for Amazon and Target?
13:06 - How has Andrew's experience been, being a part of the Amazon ecosystem?
14:48 - What is Suma Brands and when did Andrew realize he wanted to found the company?
18:31 - What inspired the name of Suma Brands?
18:38 - What does it mean to be an aggregator, and does the term apply to Andrew’s business model for Suma?
20:43 - What separates Suma from its competition?
23:59 - Who was the first investor of Suma Brands and what was that experience like?
26:03 - What things are Suma Brands looking for when considering acquiring a retailer?
28:41 - Is Suma Brands focused on retail, tech, or something else?
30:46 - What trends is Andrew seeing in the E-Commerce ecosystem that will continue to gain traction over the next few years?
32:01 - What’s next for Andrew personally?
32:51 - Who is a woman in Andrew’s life that impacted him and his career?

The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

WX Productions

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