The VentureFizz Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 317: Deon Nicholas - CEO & Co-Founder, Forethought Dec 19, 2023

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Episode 317 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Deon Nicholas, CEO & Co-Founder of Forethought. I was at a couple of networking events the other week and let’s just say the word AI was brought up many, many times. Yes, we are in a major shift in terms of a tech platform, but doesn’t it feel like some companies are forcing AI into their business model or solution… versus an organic solution. Well, this is not the case for Forethought where AI has been core to their platform since the beginning. Forethought is a leading Generative AI company providing customer service solutions that transform the customer experience. The company has raised over $92M in VC funding from top investors. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A discussion around AI and how it should be organically applied to a business and not forced. * Deon’s background story including how he got involved in AI back in high school and getting his career started at Dropbox and Pure Storage. * The background story of Forethought and how they ended up pitching at and winning TechCrunch Disrupt. * How Forethought is disrupting the customer service industry and why AI as a solution makes sense. * The current state of the company and future outlook. * The importance of storytelling for raising capital, hiring, sales, etc. * And so much more.

Episode 316: Clement Cazalot - CEO & Co-Founder, Machinery Partner Dec 12, 2023

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Episode 316 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Clement Cazalot, CEO & Co-Founder of Machinery Partner. From scaling docTrackr to an exit… to running the Boston Techstars program… to his latest company… since coming to Boston from France in 2011, Clem has become an anchor of the Boston tech scene as an entrepreneur, investor, and community builder. Machinery Partner is on a mission to digitize access to high quality heavy equipment and machinery for small and medium sized businesses. Its unique, integrated model offers procurement, financing and service that are more affordable, more efficient and more accessible for customers, enabling them to start or scale their businesses and punch above their weight in a competitive landscape. The company just recently announced $11M in funding. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A discussion around the current state of the tech scene in Boston. * Building docTrackr and how Katie Rae, who was the Managing Director of Techstars Boston at the time, persuaded Clem to move the company to the U.S. * His experience running the Techstars Boston accelerator and the most common issue he would see with entrepreneurs. * His family roots in heavy equipment and all the details about Machinery Partner in terms of how they are digitizing the heavy equipment and machinery industry. * The latest on the company in terms of the new round of funding and plans ahead. * The importance of finding the right investors who are aligned with your business. * And so much more.

Episode 315: Jordan Fliegel - Managing Director, Techstars Dec 04, 2023

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Episode 315 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Jordan Fliegel, Managing Director of Techstars’ NYC and Sports accelerators. Athlete, entrepreneur, investor, mentor, are just some of the words to describe Jordan’s career. Originally a fixture of the Boston tech scene with his first company, CoachUp, and now a major part of the NYC tech scene as the leader of the Techstars program, it is shocking that Jordan hasn’t been a guest on The VentureFizz Podcast, since that is the two markets that we are focused on. Well, the wait is finally over and it was worth the wait! If you are not familiar with Techstars, it is the world’s most active pre-seed investor and one of the top accelerators in the world. Since 2006, Techstars has worked with over 9,000 founders from companies like DigitalOcean, Zipline, DataRobot, and more that have gone on to raise over $26B in funding. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * The similarities between coaching athletes and mentoring entrepreneurs. * Jordan’s background story and his experience playing professional basketball in Israel. * The inspiration behind CoachUp, a venture backed marketplace that connects athletes with personal coaches, and how he landed Steph Curry as an investor. * Working closely with his childhood friend, Jeremy Levine, on Draft, a fantasy sports company, which was acquired by Paddy Power Betfair. * Launching the Techstars Sports Accelerator in Indianapolis and portfolio company examples, plus the details on the NYC program. * The inside look at how companies are selected for Techstars. * And so much more.

Episode 314: Cory Munchbach - CEO, BlueConic Nov 27, 2023

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Episode 314 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Cory Munchbach, CEO of BlueConic. There is no set rule on how one becomes a CEO of a tech company and when you look at Cory’s career path, it is one of the main reasons why I encourage people to work for high growth startups. She was employee #17 at BlueConic, eight years ago, and was announced as the company’s CEO earlier this year. My point isn’t that you should join an early stage company because it is the best shot to a CEO role, but it is a perfect example of the career progression that one can experience if they are dedicated and are a top performer. If you are interested in becoming a CEO some day, then you are in luck as Cory shares some great advice. BlueConic is a leading pure-play customer data platform that liberates companies’ first-party data from disparate systems and makes it accessible wherever and whenever it is required to transform customer relationships and drive business growth. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Cory’s background story and how she got her career started as a Research Associate at Forrester covering the Martech industry. * How she landed at BlueConic in the early days of the company and how they were able to gain traction initially. * All the details about BlueConic in terms of the company’s platform today and the value it provides to customers. * Lessons learned since becoming a CEO. * How Cory thinks about the culture at BlueConic. * The future of the Martech stack and how AI will play a role. * And so much more.

Episode 313: John Simon - Co-Founder, GreenLight Fund & Managing Director, Sigma Prime Ventures Nov 20, 2023

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Thanksgiving is not only a special holiday because of the time with your family, all the great food, and of course, football, but it is also a time when lots of people volunteer and give back. Thus, the timing of this interview with John couldn’t have been more perfect as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday. Most people know of John as an entrepreneur and investor, as he was the founder of a company that went public and was a co-founder of General Catalyst and has since been with Sigma Prime. But what many people might not know is the philanthropic side of his background. John is the co-founder of the GreenLight Fund, a national nonprofit network matching local communities’ unmet needs with evidence-based social innovations. The organization takes a unique approach which is similar to how a VC firm operates where each city that it supports raises it’s own fund and decides on what strategic investments will have the greatest impact. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice for founders on how to incorporate a social mission into their company or a culture of giving back. * John background story and how he started his career in venture capital in the earlier days of the industry. * Starting and scaling UroMed Corporation to an IPO. * The story of how General Catalyst got started and his experience as a Venture Capitalist at Sigma Prime Ventures. * What led John and his co-founder, Margaret Hall, down the path of starting the GreenLight Fund, plus how their model works and the impact it has had to various cities. * Advice for entrepreneurs on how to build a company of lasting value. * Why he has focused on investing into founders who are uniquely qualified and have world-leading domain experience to solve problems. * And so much more.

Episode 312: Ben McKean - Founder & CEO, Hungryroot Nov 13, 2023

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I don’t mind shopping for groceries but my problem is that I’m a creature of habit and I tend to purchase the same things over and over again. Plus, I am terrible about meal planning, so after doing a full shop there is still “nothing to eat.” I guess I’m not the only one. As Ben and I discuss, on average, consumers spend 2-3 hours a week grocery shopping. 75% of what we buy at the grocery store are the same items as the week before and 20-30% of what is purchased at the grocery store is thrown away and wasted. Terrible. So, what if you could have a service that cuts that shopping time down to 2-3 minutes a week, plans the meals for you, creates the list of ingredients that is only 10% of what you purchased the week before, and delivers it to your home! Sounds dreamy right… well, say hello to Hungryroot. Hungryroot is the only grocery and recipe delivery service designed to make healthy eating easy, personal, and sustainable. The company is profitable with revenues of $182M for the first six months of this year all while building a “relatively speaking” capital efficient business. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Ben’s background story and how entrepreneurship was part of his DNA from an early age including starting a company at 18 years old that was ultimately acquired. * The details about Savored which helped restaurants book empty tables using dynamic pricing which was acquired by Groupon. * The full story about Hungryroot which evolved from selling its own line of food products and how they pivoted to a grocery service and using AI at its core since 2019. * His lastest entrepreneurial side project called Every which is an app focused on enhancing human experiences and fostering deeper connections among individuals. * Advice on creating and scaling a consumer business. * And so much more. This week’s episode is sponsored by MarketMuse, a content intelligence platform that sets the standard for content quality. Their AI-powered software enables companies to create predictably better content at scale that increases traffic and engagement, improves productivity, and drives revenue. Get more out of your content with packages starting at $0/month, plus you can get 20% off the MarketMuse Standard plan by using our code "FIZZ20" at checkout. Go to marketmuse.com to get started!

Episode 311: Carl Gish - Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Aro Homes Oct 09, 2023

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Did you know that 23% of global emissions come from single family homes? Needless to say, this is a underserved segment and an industry that is ripe for innovation. Carl’s current company, Aro Homes, is a purpose-driven company on a mission to redefine residential construction. The company was founded in 2021 and has raised $21M in funding from world-class investors including Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Why Carl has build a career with a focus on working on products that touch the lives of millions of people in a positive way. * A deep dive into Carl’s professional history across lots of market leading companies including Unilever, Amazon, Dyson, eBay, Affirm, and other startups. * The environmental impact for single family housing and why the industry has lacked innovation. * All the details on Aro Homes and how they are disrupting this industry, including their emphasis on reducing waste and improving efficiency. * Advice for building a great consumer product. * And so much more. It’s hard to believe that we have over 300 episodes of The VentureFizz Podcast. We have built up an amazing catalog of inspirational stories around building companies and every episode includes lots of great advice to follow, as well. If you haven’t checked out our past interviews, go to venturefizz.com/podcast for the complete list. Oh, and one ask - please share The VentureFizz Podcast with your friends and colleagues in the industry. I appreciate your support

Episode 310: Wes Schroll - CEO & Founder, Fetch Oct 02, 2023

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This episode is the second live interview that we recorded live at Startup Boston Week at Suffolk University which was a ton of fun and maybe it is something that I should do more often. As you’ll hear, Wes is a native New Englander. He grew up in Acton and launched Fetch while he was in school at the University of Wisconsin. The company has office locations in Madison, Chicago, and other locations, but he is local to the Boston area again as he moved back a couple of years ago. Fetch is a consumer-engagement platform that rewards shoppers for buying the brands they love. The company has over 700 employees and has raised over a half a billion dollars in capital with its most recent round valuing the company at greater than $2.5B. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice for when you are in the pre-product market fit and figuring out the right problem to solve. * Wes’ background story and how entrepreneurship was always a focus. * How the idea of Fetch came to fruition while at the University of Wisconsin and how he met his co-founder, Tyler Kennedy. * The early days of the company and how they built the foundation of customers and consumers. * The current scale of the business which includes 6M DAUs (Daily Active Users) and $150B of aggregated spend. * Lessons learned from scaling the company and how he learned to lead. * Why they don’t use surveys for making decisions. * And so much more. Is your company hiring? If yes, then you might want to add a VentureFizz subscription. It is our employment branding and hiring solution that helps to keep your company top of mind for our targeted audience of professionals in the tech industry. A VentureFizz subscription includes an employment branding page, unlimited postings to our Job Board, access to our exclusive content series, and more. Send an email to info@venturefizz.com for more details.

Episode 309: Elyse Winer - Partner, Material Impact Sep 25, 2023

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This is a first! This episode is one of two interviews that we recorded live at Startup Boston Week at Suffolk University which was a ton of fun and maybe it is something that I should do more often. Material Impact is a deep tech VC firm that was founded by Carmichael Roberts and Adam Sharkaway. The firm is investing in companies that are powered by material science that solve enduring, large-scale, real-world problems. They are full lifecycle investors and work from the earliest stages of companies. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Elyse’s background story including how she made the transition to marketing and her role at high growth startups like MC10 and Lose It! * The importance of understanding your customer and the difference between B2B versus B2C marketing. * All the details about Material Impact in terms of the types of companies they invest in and how they support their portfolio companies. * A deep conversation about Gen Phoenix, a portfolio company where Elyse is their interim CMO, that rescues leather offcuts destined for landfill and regenerates them into a premium, durable leather material coveted by the world’s most iconic brands in the fashion industry. * Advice on getting media attention for your startup. * And so much more.

Episode 308: Steve Herrod - Partner, Juxtapose Sep 18, 2023

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Steve is an operator turned venture capitalist. After a very successful run at General Catalyst, he joined Juxtapose earlier this year as a Partner to focus on building innovative B2B companies. Juxtapose is an investment firm that partners with experienced entrepreneurs to build category-defining technology companies. The firm has developed over twenty companies over the last 25 years including Tend, Great Jones, Earned, and others. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * How to make big bets and recognize shifts in the tech industry as an investor. * Steve’s background from academia to how he got his career started in the tech industry. * The story of VMware and how he learned how to scale an engineering organization to over 3,000 people. * His experience as an investor at General Catalyst and his thesis around making investments in cybersecurity, along with portfolio companies that have scaled like Illumio and Datto. * What he is up to now at Juxtapose and how the firm is unique in terms of investing and company creation. * And so much more. If you are listening to this podcast, then it is highly likely that you are interested in the founder journey and lessons learned around building companies. Please make sure you don’t miss any episodes by subscribing to The VentureFizz Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or Soundcloud. Oh, don’t forget to leave us a review. It will really help us out!

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