The VentureFizz Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 247: Wayne Chang - Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Digits Feb 21, 2022

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Serial entrepreneur, inventor, angel investor, film producer, commencement address speaker, world traveler… These are just some of the words that describe Wayne and it all started at a young age when he discovered the world of technology. It was this world that would lead him down the path to building a very successful future. Wayne has a history of recognizing technology trends before they hit mainstream like peer-to-peer file sharing (yes, he was involved in companies like Napster and Dropbox, plus his own company i2hub) and developer tools with Crashlytics that was acquired by Twitter and is now owned by Google. His latest company is Digits which is crafting the real-time finance engine for modern businesses. It is also the latest company he has started with his Co-Founder, Jeff Seibert and the two of them have an amazing track record building companies together. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * What makes the foundation of a great co-founding duo. * Waynes background story and a walk down memory lane with various companies and his involvement in a ground breaking shift in the tech industry. * All the details on Crashlytics and the underserved market they were focused on and its rapid adoption by developers. * Why Jeff and Wayne are tackling the world of financial apps and a glimpse into the company’s future. * His experience as a film producer and winning an Emmy for the documentary, Chasing Coral. * Why a recruiter should be one of the first hires at a company. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 246: Greg Alvo - CEO & Founder, Ordergroove Feb 14, 2022

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My coffee is shipped to me every two weeks and it is outstanding. It is on a subscription and therefore, it’s one less thing that I need to think about getting at the grocery store. In return, the brand has me locked in as a loyal customer where I’m not tempted by the other options while walking down the aisle. It’s such a win-win! Subscription Commerce or Relationship Commerce, as Ordergroove has coined it, is just expected these days. However, this wasn’t the case when Greg started the company. At that point in time, just 3 companies offered it. Sometimes when you are early to market… it can be catastrophic, but in the case of Ordergroove, it gave them the opportunity to build a platform that was ready for primetime once the market caught up. When you look at Greg, it’s not a shock that Ordergroove has thrived. Entrepreneurship has been rooted into his DNA and it even dates back to his high school days when he started a couple of businesses - one of which was selling sports paraphernalia on eBay and another was a computer consulting firm. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice on managing your company through an early to market scenario. * Creating his own major in Entrepreneurship at George Washington University. * His foundational experience at Liquidation.com, a B2B eCommerce marketplace which went public. * The early days of Ordergroove in terms of how the company got started and a great story on how he raised initial funding. * All the details on Ordergroove and where the business is today, plus some customer examples. * Advice on hiring for your executive team. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 245: Aye Moah - Co-Founder & CEO, Boomerang Feb 07, 2022

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We have such a great and inspirational story to share with you from this interview with Moah, who prefers to go by her last name btw. It goes something like this - immigrant founder, attends MIT, starts to build a career in User Experience (UX), becomes the co-founder of a category creating product, where she is now the CEO, and the company proceeds to grow with very little capital raised… and it’s generating about $10M a year with only 11 employees. I don’t know about you, but this is definitely the type of business that I find inspirational. It’s proof that you don’t need to raise gobs of venture capital to be successful. Boomerang makes productivity tools and I’m assuming many people in our audience are familiar with their Gmail plugin that lets you schedule emails to send later, track emails, and other useful features. Well, another piece of their product, which I’m really excited about, is their scheduler product. Ironically, after we recorded this episode, there was a debate on Twitter about the etiquette of sending out scheduling links like Calendly. I think it comes down to a personal preference, but I’ve definitely struggled with this approach, as I feel like I’m asking someone to take on the burden of scheduling a meeting with me when I’m usually the one requesting it. I even took the step of surveying my LinkedIn connections about scheduling links and the majority of the people felt like it was part of the norm now and a timesaver. However, I still struggled with the process. Well, Boomerang has fixed my dilemma with their scheduling product, as it allows you to send available times in an email to review and the recipient can just click on the time in the email that works and it’s done… meeting booked. It saves me a ton of time and in return, it’s not expecting the other party to click on a link, which takes them to a website to book time on your calendar. This experience works much, much better for me and I highly recommend that you check it out. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * How having a design / UX background has helped Moah as an entrepreneur. * Her story growing up and coming to America to attend MIT, plus her experience as a designer at tech companies. * The background story of Boomerang from the early days to its incredible launch and the company’s continued innovation and progress. * Lessons learned from transitioning into a CEO position. * Her experience as an angel investor with ANGELS.vc. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 244: Jeff Coyle - Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, MarketMuse Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

At this point, it’s assumed that companies have a content strategy pulled together for their marketing plan. However, even though content marketing is not a new concept, it is still really difficult to get it right. The challenge is on multiple levels. You need to consistently write content that is meaningful and not loaded with keywords and links that add no value to the article. Search engines are too sophisticated now and they will sniff that out. But, when it is done right… it can be magic, especially if you end up ranking as the authority for keywords that will help drive business to your website. Jeff saw this problem firsthand and it was a meeting with his future co-founder, Aki Balogh, where he saw the opportunity for a automated solution that bridges the gap between SEO and content marketing. Fast forward to today… MarketMuse is an AI driven platform that enables companies to create predictably better content at scale that increases traffic and engagement, improves productivity, and drives revenue. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * The current state of content marketing and the latest on SEO best practices. * Jeff’s background growing up and his professional experience at KnowledgeStorm and TechTarget. * All the details on MarketMuse and how the company’s platform works. * His experience as a Co-Founder of Silver Bluff Brewing Company and the similarities of being a tech entrepreneur. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 243: Matt Johnston - CEO, GitKraken Jan 24, 2022

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As with most entrepreneurs, you never forget the people who supported you from the early days of the company. I first met Matt towards the end of 2009. VentureFizz had recently launched and I was looking for advertising sponsors to help fund future development of the site. At that point in time, Matt was heading up marketing for a company called uTest (now called Applause) and they were looking to increase exposure for the company. It ended up being a great match and they were the first company to sponsor VentureFizz. Without that check… who knows what would have happened. So grateful. Matt has been involved in lots of venture backed tech companies that have scaled. His career progressed through the marketing ranks into leadership positions to the point of becoming a CEO for startups. Thus, I was excited to hear about his professional journey and all the stories of scaling companies, plus the lessons learned along the way. Matt recently joined GitKraken, the maker of some of the most popular developer tools in the entire Git ecosystem, as their CEO. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Advice on transitioning through the leadership ranks to a CEO position. * Matt’s backgroundl in terms of growing up in Michigan and what he learned from his early experience at Herman Miller. * The story behind the fast track of his career to the point of leading marketing at startups and the details on scaling Applause. * How he transitioned into a CEO position at Mautic and their acquisition by Acquia. * All the details on GitKraken and their growth plans ahead. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 242: Max Lobovsky - CEO & Co-Founder, Formlabs Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

Launching and scaling a successful company typically takes bold entrepreneurs who are willing to take the risk of building something in a market that doesn’t exist yet. They look at the world differently and they have a vision that some might think is crazy. But, it’s these entrepreneurs that go on to define markets and scale companies at unicorn valuations. In the case of Formlabs, Max and his co-founders set out to make 3D printing more accessible through its revolutionary desktop 3D printer. Fast forward, the company has scaled to about 700 employees, multiple products, and a global footprint. Just last year, the company announced a $150M Series E round of funding last year at a $2B valuation. However, when they started the company in 2011, raising capital for a company this complex was incredibly rare as it involves hardware, software, materials, and manufacturing. Landing their first investor - that being Mitch Kapor (the founder of Lotus and a legendary investor) - is absolutely one of the best funding stories that I’ve ever heard. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * The current state of the 3D printing industry, including the variety of use cases and predictions for the future. * Max’s background story growing up, his studies at Cornell & MIT, plus what sparked his interest in the 3D printing industry. * How he met his co-founders and how they got Formlabs started, plus the details behind their Kickstarter campaign which was one of the most successful of all time. * A look at Formlabs today in terms of its scale and growth plans ahead, plus the company’s culture. * Lessons learned around hiring and what has been the key criteria for successful hires. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 241: Blake Bartlett - Partner, OpenView Jan 11, 2022

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Calendly, Zoom, Dropbox, Canva - are all great examples of Product-led Growth companies or what is commonly known as PLG for short. So, what is PLG? As defined on OpenView’s website, PLG is an end user-focused growth model that relies on the product itself as the primary driver of customer acquisition, conversion, and expansion. It’s a term that was actually coined by Blake in 2016 and has become the dream business model for entrepreneurs. Thus, I was really excited to interview Blake for our podcast as it was an opportunity to do a deep dive with the expert on PLG models and strategies, which is exactly where we begin our conversation. We take a look at some specific company examples and he shares some great advice on how to adopt an effective PLG strategy. In this episode of our podcast, we also cover: * Blake’s background story and how he got into the investing world including his time spent at Battery Ventures. * All the details on OpenView and the types of investments he is looking to make. * Portfolio company examples, including Calendly. * Advice for companies scaling their hiring during the expansion stage. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 240: Bob Bennett - Founder & CEO, EngageSmart Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

It’s very rare for a company to make it to the public markets. It’s even rarer to have the founder of the company as its CEO throughout the full lifecycle to that IPO milestone. EngageSmart provides vertically tailored customer engagement software and integrated payments solutions. The company went public back in September of last year and Bob had the honor of ringing the bell of the New York Stock Exchange as its CEO & Founder on a day when the stock had priced above its initial range as a publicly traded company. This was not Bob’s first company. He’s a serial entrepreneur, who was the founder of MicroFridge, a company that created a refrigerator-freezer-microwave appliance combo which was built for college dorm rooms and motels. The company scaled to millions of dollars in revenue and an acquisition, but as you’ll hear, Bob shares a powerful lesson from this experience that led to his future success. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Bob’s background growing up and the importance of having a chip on your shoulder. * The full story of MicroFridge and how they were able to create an innovative product in a very complex and competitive market. * How he gained expertise in the payment industry and what led him down the path of starting Invoice Cloud, an early SaaS / cloud company. * Scaling Invoice Cloud and acquiring other vertical solutions to the point of launching the overarching EngageSmart brand. * Advice on building a company’s culture as it scales. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 239: Seth Besmertnik - Founder & CEO, Conductor Dec 20, 2021

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Companies strive to build a strong culture that will hopefully be the foundation for success. In the case of Seth, having a People First culture is the priority and it is why they operate with an upside down org chart. When you think about it, the upside down org chart makes a ton of sense. Aren’t leaders the ones who are ultimately working for their reports to do whatever it takes to ensure the success of each person in their position which ultimately translates into the company’s success? Another great example of Seth’s leadership and the culture at Conductor is the fact that when the company was purchased back from WeWork in 2019, every employee (which was over 250 at the time) were granted the same class of stock and were all labeled as co-founders in the company. Seth and I start out the conversation with a deep dive on this topic of a People First culture and he shares lots of useful info about its benefits. Conductor is an organic marketing platform built for enterprise SEO, Content, and Web teams— powering the organic marketing revolution. The company recently announced $150M in new funding at a $525M valuation. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Seth’s background story including his first startup called MindMD, an online therapy website that was ahead of its time. * The rise and fall of LinkExperts, a link building business for SEO that he co-founded, which ended up being the precursor to Conductor. * A deep dive into Conductor and the value of its platform for companies, plus the details on its growth plans ahead. * The story of their acquisition by WeWork in 2018 and the buy-back in less than two years. * Advice on scaling hiring and culture at the same time. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Episode 238: Lola Priego - Founder & CEO, Base Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

There is so much disruption happening in the healthcare industry, it is truly an exciting time. Just last week, we published our interview with Sean Duffy, Co-Founder & CEO of Omada Health, which is helping people who are dealing with chronic conditions achieve long term improvements and if you go into the archives of The VentureFizz Podcast, you’ll find lots of other discussions with healthcare entrepreneurs. One particular sector that I’m really excited about is the area of personalization in the healthcare industry. We are all unique, so shouldn’t the way you treat your body in terms of diet, exercise medicine, etc., etc. - all be specific to what your body needs versus what works for a sampling of people? As you’ll hear, Lola had her own personal health situation which led her down the path to start Base. The company has built a new way to track your health and improve on critical items like diet, sleep, stress, fatigue, and more with affordable at-home lab testing. Our blood is the gateway and Base is unlocking the data to help you figure out the root causes to your health issues, make improvements, and continue to monitor & measure your health along the way. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Lola’s background story including her experience at Amazon, Instagram, and a healthcare startup. * All the details about Base in terms of how it works and what you can expect as a consumer. * How they figured out their go-to-market strategy and growth plans ahead. * Advice for consumers on evaluating healthcare startups and ways to determine which ones you can trust. * Advice for female founders on raising capital. * And so much more. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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