Village Global Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode #20: The State of Sexual Wellness Startups Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

Erik talks to Polly Rodriguez (@polly_claire), co-founder of Unbound, Andrea Barrica (@abarrica), founder of O.school, and Gina Gutierrez (@Gina__Gutierrez), founder of Dipsea Stories, about the state of sexual wellness startups.
Just a heads-up — due to the topic of the discussion, there is some adult language in this episode.
These founders are on a mission to serve the half of the population that is currently not well served when it comes to sexual wellness. They explain the quirks of the unique market they’ve chosen to tackle, including little availability of data about the market and the hesitance of investors or partners to work with any company even marginally involved in sexuality.
They discuss how the youth of today are growing up in a very different environment when it comes to sexuality and why more and more have to turn to the private sector for sex-ed when the school system fails them.
The three explain how they reach their customers despite the limitations placed on them by traditional marketing channels, swap fundraising horror stories and explain how they plan to create disruption.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #19: How Technology Is Changing Drug Development Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

Host Erik Torenberg talks to Jo Varshney, founder of VeriSIM Life, a Village portfolio company, and Eric Stefanich, director and senior scientist at Genentech.
They explain how VeriSIM is changing drug discovery and development and why more and more drugs are being developed "in silico." They also discuss how startups can work in harmony with big companies and how big pharma has become much more forward-thinking than it is usually given credit for. Erik asks what opportunities they would be looking at if they were a VC in the space right now and how software-as-a-service (SaaS) in pharmaceuticals has evolved. They also discuss dealing with different types of investors when you're starting a biotech company.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #18: The Future of Drones with Adam Bry of Skydio Mar 01, 2018

Show notes

Erik talks to Adam Bry (@adampbry), co-founder and CEO of Skydio, a company that designs and manufactures autonomous drones. Adam gives us a rundown on where the company is at right now, how it got there and what we should be expecting in the drone space in the future. Erik asks where Adam would be investing if he was running a venture firm focused on the space and what potential roadblocks to the rise of the drones could be. Adam explains what some of the other companies in the space are working on and how an ordinary consumer’s life might change once autonomous drones become more prevalent.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode 17: Rethinking The Education To Employment Paradigm with Will Houghteling and Kara Nortman Feb 23, 2018

Show notes

Erik is joined by Will Houghteling (@willhoughteling), founder of Strive, a competency-based marketplace, and Kara Nortman (@karanortman), the first investor in Strive and partner at Upfront Ventures. Will explains why he started Strive and how the educational needs of the middle 50% of American post-secondary students aren’t being met at the moment. Kara and Will discuss the merits of new forms of career-oriented education that have emerged in the past decade, like bootcamps, income-sharing agreements and employer-paid training. They also take a look at what other companies in the space are doing. Finally, they talk about why Will says "the future of work is emotional labor" and discuss the changes to meaning and identity coming with the advent of AI and universal basic income. And of course, "it's not a tech podcast without blockchain!"
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #16: The Present and Future of Hardware with Shilpi Kumar and Seth Winterroth Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

Erik talks to Shilpi Kumar (@_shilpikumar), who helps Village Global find hardware investments and Seth Winterroth (@sethwinterroth), partner at Eclipse Venture Capital. They explain how hardware has been changing over the past several years and where they think it's going. They also explain why hardware devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home are being sold at a loss and what might be enabled when machines are able to speak to each other more efficiently. They also talk about some of the coolest companies they've seen recently and how automation will change different industries.
We apologize for the quality of audio in this interview.
If you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform. Thanks!
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #15: Rebecca Kaden of Union Square Ventures on Healthcare, Fintech and Venture Firms Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

Rebecca Kaden (@rebeccak46) recently joined Union Square Ventures in in her hometown of New York City as a partner. She and Erik (@eriktorenberg) talk about why she joined USV and the three “waves” of investment theses for the firm. They discuss the unique dynamics in a partnership versus a company. She talks about her recent investment in Nurx, a company that specializes in delivery of birth control to women who might otherwise not be able to access it. Rebecca also talks about why network effects apply to more than just social networks and what opportunities are opening up in the consumer healthcare space. They also discuss potential opportunities in fintech and insurance and why now, in the age of Amazon, it’s still a great time to create a consumer brand.
If you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform. Thanks!
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #14: How To Recruit, Assess, and Retain The Best People For Your Startup With Keith Rabois and Jack Altman Jan 25, 2018

Show notes

Erik talks to Keith Rabois (@rabois), Managing Director at Khosla Ventures and Jack Altman (@jaltma), CEO and co-founder of Lattice. Keith and Jack draw on their experience working at high-growth start-ups to explain how to attract the best people to your startup. They discuss how and when to hire and fire when you’re running an early stage company, the parallels between sports and work, and how to pick a co-founder. Jack says that he can tell a lot about a startup just by walking around the office and Keith tells us why a change in floor plan was the beginning of the end for his former company, Slide. Keith and Jack also discuss why “the best way to retain people is to win as a company.”
If you like what you hear, please review us on your favourite podcast platform. Thanks!
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #13: How To Disrupt The Insurance Industry With Kyle Nakatsuji of Clearcover Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

Kyle (@kylenakatsuji) talks to Erik about his company, Clearcover, which plans to offer a new way to buy insurance. Kyle has extensive experience in the insurance industry as an employee, investor and founder, and describes the ins and outs of the insurance industry to us. He explains why insurance companies spend such a big percentage of their revenue on advertising and the antiquated way that most insurance is sold these days. That leads to a discussion of how insurance companies and the industry in general might be disrupted. He tells us what a new kind of insurance company might look like and which companies he’s long or short on.
If you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks!
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast or on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode #12: How To Build A Startup In The Consumer Fitness Space with Holly Shelton and Selina Tobaccowala Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

Selina Tobaccowala (@selinato) of Gixo and Holly Shelton (@hlshelton) of MoveWith join Erik for a discussion of the state of consumer fitness apps. The Gixo and MoveWith apps bring fitness to you. Selina and Holly break down the successes of a few other companies in the space and talk about what the business models look like for both online and offline fitness. Erik asks why it’s been so difficult to build a business in this space and they discuss the difficulty of behavior change and how to make fitness something you want to come back to again and again. Selina and Holly also talk about how VR/AR might affect fitness and why competition feels so good — even for non-competitive people.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast.

Episode #11: Finding a Niche in the Consumer Social Space with Winnie’s Sara Mauskopf and Anne Halsall Jan 16, 2018

Show notes

Erik talks to Sara Mauskopf (@sm) and Anne Halsall (@annekate) about Winnie, the “companion app for parents” which Erik calls the “most slept-on consumer social company today.” Sara and Anne tell us about Winnie’s unique combination of a community and a utility. They talk about how they bootstrapped the company to where it is today and their unique approach to company culture. They also discuss how they approach social media and play Long-Short, where Erik names a company and Sara and Anne say whether they’re long or short and why. They end with the advice Sara and Anne have for new founders.
Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc/podcast.

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