Episoder
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Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
This is the final episode of Explore Season 2 - thank you for your support! Together, we've grown the podcast and had the opportunity to speak with incredible guests. Iâll share a dedicated post reflecting on the last six months soon, but donât worry Season 3 will bring even more learnings, there's plenty more to learn!
This week, I sit down with Ethan Austin, former entrepreneur and founding partner at Outside VC. Ethan spent 7-years building GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform he sold to Gofundme. 2-years ago, he launched Outside VC with the goal of building a more equitable and just financial system through pre-seed investments ($100K-$250K first checks). In our conversation, Ethan talked about:
* Founding a crowdfunding platform
* Navigating early days as a non-technical founder
* Securing investment by creating FOMO
* Loosing everything after Facebook turned off traffic
* Lessons learned from being part of Techstars
* Tactical strategies for getting into accelerators
* The importance of transparency and relationships with founders
* Outside VC's investment philosophy
* Understanding the economics of venture capital.
Listen now on đąSpotify or đŁApple Podcast.
Where to find Ethan:
đ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fintech-investor/
đ Outside VC: https://outside-vc.com/
Where to find me:
đ LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
đ Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Ethan Austin: From Founder to VC
01:25 The Birth of a Fundraising Platform
02:35 Challenges and Early Struggles
03:28 Pivoting to Medical Crowdfunding
04:45 Lessons in Startup Focus and Adaptation
06:09 Emotional Challenges of Pivoting
07:49 Building the First Product Without Technical Skills
09:07 The Motivation Behind Starting the Company
12:48 Early Traction and Accelerator Experience
16:34 Moments of Validation and Growth
21:10 Fundraising Journey and Strategies
27:28 The Importance of Personalization in Crowdfunding
28:20 Challenges and Strategies in Crowdfunding
29:47 The Acquisition by YouCaring and Its Impact
31:29 Joining Techstars: A Life-Changing Experience
36:12 Investing in Outsiders: A Unique Venture Capital Approach
41:31 The Investment Process and Building Trust with Founders
49:11 Understanding Venture Capital Economics
51:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
This week, I sit down with Vanessa Larco, a former product manager that became a VC at NEA. Vanessa has spent 9+ years supporting companies like Microsoft and Twilio. She is also the co-founder of FunLoop, a company that she sold after a year. For the last 7-years she has been doing investments in Series A and B in North America. In our conversation, Vanessa talked about:
* Growing up with a mom entrepreneur
* How she discovered the product role at Microsoft
* The creation of a gaming startup for children and her path to acquisition
* The challenges of transitioning into VC and learning the ropes
* How personal experiences can inform investment decisions
* The role of VCs in supporting startups during challenging times
* The importance of founder quality in startup success
* The way she thinks about assessing product-market fit
* How she supports founders through tough times as a VC
* Practical advice for founders currently seeking investments
* Why founders should do due diligence on VCs
* Red flags that she looks for in startups
* How to analyze a potential market
Listen now on đąSpotify or đŁApple Podcast.
Where to find Vanessa:
đ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco/
Where to find me:
đ LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
đ Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introducing Vanessa Larco, partner at NEA
01:47 Vanessa's Early Life and Entrepreneurial Influence
03:20 Journey into Product Management at Microsoft
05:58 Founding an Educational Gaming Startup
08:40 Challenges and Acquisition of the Startup
11:43 Role of a Product Manager in Startups
16:48 Transition to Venture Capital
27:11 The Empty Office Mystery
27:35 Finding Purpose in a New Role
28:47 Shadowing Senior Partners
30:47 First Investment Journey
31:12 Investing in Greenlight
35:14 Personal Conviction in Investments
37:33 Market Analysis and Diligence
39:03 Supporting Founders Through Tough Times
41:18 Advice for Founders and Investors
45:06 Rapid Fire Questions
50:38 Conclusion and Contact Information
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Manglende episoder?
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Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
This week, I sit down with Ben Lang, one of the first employees at Notion, the founder of next play and an active angel investor. In our conversation, Ben talked about:
* Founding a mapping software with his father
* Creating the Hummus Day as a side project
* Discovering Notion on Product Hunt and launching notion-pages.com
* Joining Notion after emailing Ivan Zhao and flying to SF to meet the team
* Developing the template gallery and the ambassador program
* Notion's unique startup culture and traditions that made it great
* Transitioning to Angel Investing and starting as an apprentice
* His investment thesis, sourcing mechanism, and support to founders
Listen now on đąSpotify or đŁApple Podcast.
3 learnings from this episode:
đ± Look for organic trends and support them
As Ben described, many of Notion's community initiatives started by observing what was already happening organically among users. Before taking action, the team at Notion paid close attention to how their users were interacting with the product and with each other. What happens next is a great playbook in growing communities.
Once Notion identified these organic trends, they didn't try to replace them â they supported them. As Ben put it:
"We would see these trends and things happening inside the community and just try to support them and put a framework around it to help drive more."
With organic activities flourishing, Notion's next step was to provide structure and support. They created programs that formalized existing activities like:
* Ambassador Program
* Influencer Marketing
* Campus Program
* Certifications
Today Notion has 35M users.
đShip things quickly
In Ben's words:
"I always optimize for the quickest, most efficient way to get something done.â
But why does it matter?
"Anytime something takes longer than my attention span would hold, I wouldn't end up shipping it.â
It reduces the risk of not shipping at all and it allows for faster feedback and iteration loops with your users. As Ben puts it
"Don't get stuck in the middle, you got to get to the end."
đ€Early-stage investments are bets on people
Ben loves investing very early. For him, traction doesnât matter as much. What he looks for are âkillersâ. In his own words:
âI don't think there's any recipe. To me, it fits when I meet someone and I'm like, wow, this person is a killer. I just feel like can sell me on anything, they clearly have the patience to work on something for the next 10 years, they are working hard. When I meet someone like this, Iâm like: I want to give them money. I want to be involved!â
Where to find Ben:
đ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmlang/
đ next play: https://nextplayso.substack.com/
đ Substack: Ben Lang
Where to find me:
đ LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
đ Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:28 Early Career and Side Projects
02:55 The Hummus Day Story
05:37 Founding MapMe with Family
09:47 Joining Notion: From User to Employee
18:59 Building Community at Notion
26:14 Transition to Angel Investing
36:49 Advice for Founders and Investors
39:08 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support, I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
This week, I sit down with Edrizio de la Cruz the co-founder of Arcus that he sold to Mastercard, a former visiting partner at Y-Combinator and CEO of the Founder School. Tune in to learn about the highs and lows of a startup and get valuable advice.
In our conversation, he shares:
* How he went from being an airplane mechanic to an investment banker
* The creation of Arcus to tackle the remittance market through gift cards
* Being rejected from all accelerators, except Y-Combinator
* Pivoting and focusing on LATAM bills payments through API integration
* How to maintain teamâs motivation during challenging periods
* How they got acquired by Mastercard in a prolonged negotiation process
* Becoming a visiting partner at Y-Combinator and coaching founders
* How he supports entrepreneurship for underrepresented tech professionals
* Going to the Whitehouse to talk about venture capital and startups
Listen now on đąSpotify or đŁApple Podcast.
Some key takeaways:
Startups are hard and persistence is key
Throughout our discussion Edrizio emphasized on persistence as a key factor in entrepreneurial success. Of course, he his an underdog founder, someone that defied the odds, which probably made it even harder. But when I asked:
Hugo: âWhat are you the most proud of?â
Edrizio: âI feel like I could have quit a lot of times. I think a normal person would have quit and I chose to stay sometimes in my own detriment, sometimes when nobody wanted me to in the company."
Or when we talked about Y-Combinator and what makes it special he said:
Edrizio about YC: âAnd all you're doing is listening to these success stories that are really horror stories.â
We all hear about how hard it is. But once youâre there, itâs probably different.
Pivoting is necessary
In his own words:
Edrizio about pivoting: âItâs not about whether or not, itâs about when?â
From our discussion, I understood that being able to recognize when a pivot is needed and execute it is an important skill of a founder/CEO. Edrizio mentioned many times that he should have let go the original product earlier.
While pivoting is incredibly hard, especially if youâre short on cash, itâs not surprising that you donât always get it right on the first shot. But getting the right timing is more an art than a science.
Focus on a niche
Focus on one market/product initially rather than spreading too thin. Edrizio told me all about how trying to tackle multiple markets simultaneously was a mistake. If you look at examples of great companies, they all leveraged the power of a niche. It's better to win in one market before expanding. It leads to much greater success. Donât try to expand too quickly. In his own words:
âThe error that I made was to keep both the U.S. and Latam on at the same time.â
"It doesn't matter if you're in a small market. I think if you can get big in that market and then expand, it's better than if you try to get of medium size in multiple markets at the same time, because it rarely translates from one to another."
From âchief doerâ to âchief delegatorâ
As a startup scales, the CEO role shifts from "chief doer" to "chief delegator". Your role becomes more focused on bringing talented people who could potentially take your job than to execute. Scaling a company requires bringing on individuals who can take on leadership roles and delegate tasks.
âThere's like two faces to a CEO. There's like chief doer and chief delegator."
"Under 50 employees, you are doing a lot. You're doing sales, product management, marketing, you're kind of leading the charge on everything."
"Once you get past 50, you have to be very cognizant of being able to bring on talents and people that are so good that they could take your job from you."
Where to find Edrizio:
đ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edrizio-de-la-cruz/
đ The founder school: https://www.linkedin.com/school/thefounderschool/
Where to find me:
đ LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
đ Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
02:41 Edrizioâs Early Life and Journey to New York
04:38 Challenges and Determination in Education
07:20 Breaking into Investment Banking
10:53 Founding Arcus and Early Struggles
14:57 Getting into Y Combinator
24:55 Facing Leadership Challenges
25:26 Navigating Legal Troubles
28:22 Pivoting the Business Model
30:16 Scaling and Learning from Mistakes
35:52 Acquisition by Mastercard
41:20 Role at Y Combinator
46:43 Founders School Initiative
50:36 Final Thoughts and Reflections
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support, I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
Thank you OpenVC for keeping this content free for our listeners. OpenVC is a fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors. You can use the code: "EXPLOREâ to upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. đđ„
This week, I sit down with Sehreen Noor Ali the co-founder of Sleuth, a pediatric health platform that answers the question "is this normal?" that parents ask all the time. Sehreen started her career shipping tech products for the government and soon after moved to various startups until founding Sleuth in September 2019.
In our conversation, she shares:
* The creation of EdTechWomen, a community of 2,500 women
* How she met her co-founder at Antler
* Her personal motivation behind Sleuth
* Meeting with Gary Vee and securing an investment
* Pitching to president Joe Biden
* The challenges of developing a health tech app
* The impact of COVID on her startup
* The fundraising hurdles she faced
* The pivot to telehealth that led to closing the company
Listen now on đąSpotify or đŁApple Podcast.
Some key takeaways:
* Personal stories can be powerful in pitching a startup. Sehreenâs product addressed a problem she faced as a mother struggling to find reliable health information for her child. She used this argument as part of her pitch to investor. While some investors view her project as "cute" rather than as a serious business opportunity. Others found it convincing and could relate. Overtime, she found the right balance between personal story and business fundamentals that made a strong case for her startup. She also learned that making the pitch personal works better with people she knew for a long time. On a first cold call with a potential investors, it didnât yield the expected results.
* The perception that children's health should be a nonprofit highlighted a market gap. Sehreenâs friends asked her if her company should be a non-profit. And she saw this as an indication that the market had not adequately addressed these needs. She saw it as whitespace for technology in this sector. My take on this is that people couldnât think about any competitor in the space. However, people spend thousands of dollars in their health and insurance each year. Hence, the opportunity was there. This can be applied more broadly: areas traditionally seen as nonprofit territories may actually represent untapped opportunities for innovative, socially responsible ventures.
* Running out of cash is real but it doesnât always show up in the way you think. Sehreen was doing well - she secured $1.1M seed funding from leading VCs, including Gary Vaynerchuk, she had 5k monthly downloads, 70% download-to-install rates and 40%+ share rate. However, she saw the next steps for her business as a telehealth company, she couldnât stop the progression there, it wouldnât have worked, especially for a VC-backed startup. However, the next step meant pivoting to a more capital-intensive business model, in her case, to a telehealth company. This required huge amount of funding, but markets are evolving, and her next round would have been almost impossible in this new environment. Couple of thing I learned from this:
* Carefully considering the capital requirements of potential pivots.
* Maintain communication with investors about the company's needs.
* Have contingency plans for various funding scenarios.
* Startups fail, this is normal. Sehreenâs story also highlights that sometimes, despite best efforts and initial traction, the responsible decision might be to wind down the company if the funding environment doesn't support the necessary next steps. 90% of startup fail. But closing a startup doesnât mean that you failed. Look at all the success she had, this is a life changing experience, with tremendous learnings. One of the best qualities of an entrepreneur is to be able to take the right decisions even if it hurts. Plus, she is already bouncing back up. Sehreen, if you are reading this, thank you for your transparency and honesty. We need more entrepreneurs like you.
Where to find Sehreen Noor Ali:
đ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehreennoorali/
Where to find me:
đ LinkedIn: â â â https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
đ Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:00 Creating the EdTechWomen Community
07:14 Addressing the Need for Technology in Pediatric Health
14:35 Challenges and Opportunities in Building a Health Startup for Kids
23:10 Redefining Children's Health: From Nonprofit to For-Profit
26:41 Pivoting During COVID-19: Collecting Data through Gamification
30:47 Securing Famous Investors
44:02 The Difficult Decision to Close
50:54 Future Plans: B2B Consulting
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for your continuous support, I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
Thank you OpenVC for keeping this content free for our listeners. OpenVC is a fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors. You can use the code: "EXPLOREâ to upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. đđ„
This is part 2/2 of this podcast with Sam Wen, a partner at Green Visor Capital, founder of Volley Travel and co-founder of Square. In episode 1, we went through the early days of building Square, and all the reasons behind Square's success.
In this episode, Sam shares the story behind Volley Travel, we talked about the challenges of pivoting as a VC-backed startup, how they secured an acquisition, and the value of having a strong engineering-led team. Sam also shares his vision of Venture Capital and offers valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors, emphasizing the significance of operator experience and scalability in startups.
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify or on đŁApple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Sam, and Green Visor.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:44 Recap of Episode One
01:31 The Journey to Volley Travel
02:19 Pivoting the Business Model
04:14 Challenges and Lessons Learned
07:03 The Acquisition Process
17:53 Transition to Venture Capital
25:27 Empathy in Investing: A Double-Edged Sword
27:07 Identifying Green and Red Flags in Investments
27:39 The Importance of Technology in Early-Stage Companies
31:25 The Role of Charisma in Founders
34:42 Navigating the VC Landscape: Tips and Insights
40:07 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Investors
44:39 Inspiring Stories and Final Thoughts
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for your continuous support, I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to give a 5 stars review âš on Spotify/Apple podcast.
Thank you OpenVC for keeping this content free for our listeners. OpenVC is a fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors. You can use the code: "EXPLOREâ to upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. đđ„
In this episode I sit down with Sam Wen, a partner at Green Visor Capital and co-founder of Square (a $38B company).
Youâre probably using Squareâs product on a daily basis without knowing it. Square is used by 56 million users that pays with their credit card at small merchants and Starbucks shops. It is this small device that once used the iPhone headphone jack to read credit card and that became this fintech with all sort of payment devices. Look no further than a small grey Square on the payment device next time you go to a shop. This is Square.
Square was co-founded in part by Jack Dorsey (the founder of Twitter), Jim McKelvey, and Sam Wen (our guest today on the show).
In this episode Sam delve into the early days of building Square. Sam shares the inspiration behind creating a simple credit card reader using a smartphone headphone jack and discusses the challenges and triumphs of the startup journey. We talked about the influence of co-founders Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, and the meticulous attention to product quality that has defined Square's success. We discussed competing against Amazon and being copied by PayPal, alongside their legal challenges and fast growth. This episode offers a rich narrative on innovation, persistence, and building a game-changing fintech company.đ
Founders - this is the story behind the most successful fintech! đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify or on đŁApple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Sam, and Green Visor.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Background
01:20 Early Career and University Days
02:45 First Job at Boeing
05:20 Transition to Square
09:31 Founding Square and Early Challenges
14:40 Square's Product Development
28:48 Fundraising and Market Strategy
39:39 Competing in the Payment Industry
41:53 Driven by Design: The Early Days of Square
42:19 Competing with Giants: Amazon and PayPal
43:03 The Simplicity of Square's Hardware
45:03 Square's Legal Challenges and Industry Impact
46:27 The Philosophy Behind Square's Product Development
54:15 Square's Partnership with Starbucks
55:48 The Intensity of Working at Square
58:21 Reflecting on the Square Journey
01:01:44 Closing
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast on Spotify/Apple podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
Thank you OpenVC for keeping this content free for our listeners.
What is OpenVC? Itâs a free fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors (VCs, angels, family offices). OpenVC provides a fundraising CRM, AI pitch deck analytics and open rate tracking. Use the code: "EXPLOREâ to upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. đđ„
In this episode I sat down with Guillermo Flor, a venture capital at GoHub Ventures, a venture capital fund based in Spain that focused on B2B seed and Series A.
In this episode Guillermo shares his journey from studying law and working in consulting firms to founding a startup called Tueri, a legal tech company. He discusses the challenges and lessons learned from his entrepreneurial experience, including the importance of building a must-have product, having patience, and making sure to have a strong team. Guillermo also provides insights into his current role in venture capital, the criteria he uses for investments, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. The discussion covers the venture capital market, the significance of product-market fit, and the importance of coming well-prepared when seeking investment. đ
If youâre an entrepreneur, this will boost your chance of getting funded. đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify.
Listen on đŁApple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Guillermo, GoHub, and Product-market fit.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:00 Guillermo's Early Education and Career
03:03 Transition to Entrepreneurship
03:45 Founding Tueri: The Legal Tech Startup
06:02 Challenges and Learnings from Tueri
08:43 Finding Co-Founders and Building the Team
11:03 Business Model and Market Fit
14:50 Lessons from Startup Failure
18:30 Would You Do It Again?
19:45 Closing the Startup and Investor Relations
21:03 Launching the Product Market Fit Newsletter
23:09 Journey into Venture Capital
25:30 Understanding Venture Capital
38:05 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Closing
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
Thank you to OpenVC for support this podcast. đ€
What is OpenVC? Itâs a free fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors (VCs, angels, family offices). The platform provides features such as a fundraising CRM, AI pitch deck analytics and open rate tracking.
Through the premium membership, you can raise 5 times faster. With the code: "EXPLOREâ you can upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. đđ„
In this episode I sit down with Paul Barnes-Hoggett, a repeat fintech founder and multiple times CTO that became a startup mentor.
Paul shares his journey, from his early days studying architecture to his role at Adobe and his ventures into entrepreneurship. He discusses his transition from technology to starting a meal kit service, the journey of developing Alice Financial, and his recent mentorship roles. Paul provides insights on building and scaling startups, understanding product-market fit, the CTO's role in fundraising and how to approach product partnerships. đ
If youâre an entrepreneur, listen to this to increase your chances of raising money. đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify.
Listen on đŁApple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Paul.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Paul's Early Career and Education
03:44 Transition to Freelancing
06:58 Joining Adobe and Key Learnings
11:16 First Entrepreneurial Venture: Meal Kit Subscription
18:05 Founding Alice Financial
25:30 Role of CTO in Fundraising
32:54 Life After Daylight
34:41 Advice for Startup Founders
41:45 Conclusion and Farewell
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership. đ„
In this episode I sat down with Lauri Kokkila, a partner at Inventure, a venture capital fund focused on seed and Series A investments across the Nordics and Baltics.
In this episode we discussed Lauriâs journey from an intern to partner at Inventure. Lauri details the various stages of his role, from sourcing and evaluating new deals to portfolio management and internal fund operations. He provides valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors on building relationships, the importance of trust and transparency, and understanding market timing. Lauri also discusses the unique characteristics of Baltic founders, the significance of sustainability in investments, and his outlook for the 2024 market. đ
If youâre an entrepreneur, listen to this to increase your chances of raising money. đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify.
Listen on đŁApple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Lauri and Inventure.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:10 Meet Lauri Kokkila: From Student to Venture Capital Partner
03:47 The Journey from Sales to Supporting World-Changing Entrepreneurs
06:09 Climbing the VC Ladder: From Intern to Partner
08:18 The Intricacies of Venture Capital Work
10:32 Decoding the VC Investment Process
12:55 Inventure's Investment Focus and Process
21:09 The Baltic Market: A Hub for Resourceful Founders
23:01 Investment Success Stories and Market Timing
25:39 Looking Ahead: Investment Trends for 2024
27:38 Sustainability in Startups: A Growing Focus
29:24 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Investors
31:52 Closing Thoughts and Resources
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership. đ„
In this episode I sat down with Alex Brees, the co-founder and CEO at un:hurd, a music marketing startup supporting artists with their music promotion
We discussed Alexâs journey from tech to Universal Music and launching un:hurd. We covered everything from how he came up with the idea, to his initial revenue-led model as a consultant, and developing the iOS app to be ahead of competitors while supporting artists on their existing devices. We discussed un:hurdâs business model from adopting a membership model for monetization to developing partnerships and integrating AI into their product. Alex shares the impact un:hurd already has on the music industry as well as some advices for entrepreneurs! đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Podcast.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Alex and un:hurd.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Sponsor Spotlight: OpenVC
02:00 Alex Brees: From Science Student to Music Marketing
05:09 The Birth of Breezebox and Picasso Events
06:42 A Brief Stint at Universal Music
10:48 Embracing Entrepreneurship with Keakie
12:14 Launching Un:hurd - The Mission and Vision
14:27 Data-Driven Music Marketing: A Game Changer
22:40 Building Relationships in the Music Industry
25:24 Bootstrapping and Fundraising Journey
28:30 Strategic Investments and Market Expansion
31:06 Product Evolution: From iOS to Desktop
34:19 Crafting the Product Roadmap
36:15 Technical Challenges and Team Dynamics
38:04 Leveraging Partnerships for Growth
39:49 Measuring Impact in the Music Ecosystem
41:53 Unveiling the Business Model
46:01 Future Aspirations and AI Integration
47:58 Entrepreneurial Advice: Patience and Personal Growth
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in and for the amazing support. I wanted to let you know that the best way to support this show is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars on your podcast platform. It will allow others to discover it. đ
This episode is unique and does not fit our series of founders interview.
Today, I sit down with Peter Walker the head of insights at Carta, a cap table management software providing unique features. Carta has more than 43k startups on its platform which makes it uniquely positioned to gather insights.
In this episode, we are talking about data driven insights in the fundraising market such as fundraising trends, valuations, shutdowns, equity splits, compensations, revenue-lead versus venture backed startups, AI companies.. the list is long!
This is âFundraising 101â - everything the data tell us to help you get started! đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify.
Listen on đŁApple Podcast.
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about Peter and Cartaâ â â , sign up for Cartaâs free offer.
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:00 Transition from Health to Startup
04:04 Experience at Carta
08:39 Carta's Product and Role in the Ecosystem
12:09 State of the Fundraising Market
16:21 Startup Shutdowns and Valuations
21:10 Bootstrapping vs Venture-backed Startups
23:26 Considerations for Fundraising
24:47 The Gap in Funding for Growing Companies
26:04 Fundraising for the First Time
29:30 Angel Round and Equity Distribution
32:06 Valuation and Funding Trends
36:41 AI Companies and Industry Trends
40:06 Timeline Between Fundraising Rounds
42:39 Headcounts and Employment in Startups
46:02 Forecast for 2024
49:08 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in and for the amazing support. I wanted to let you know that the best way to support this show is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars on your podcast platform. It will allow others to discover it. đ
This episode is unique and does not fit our series of founders interview.
Today, I sit down with Dallas Price from Forum Ventures, a venture studio based in North America and focusing on B2B SaaS companies.
In this episode, we are exploring the concept of venture studio. We cover everything from defining what a studio is, why it is different from accelerators and incubators, understanding the financial model for GP and for founders, the role of the founder and the relationship with the studio, the startup life cycle, the equity split structure, the investment amount and support from the studio, product development, sales cycle, defining ICP, benefits and drawbacks for founders.. the list is long!
This episode is venture studio 101 - everything you need to know to get started! đ
Want to become an entrepreneur but donât know to start? This episode is for you! Want to join a studio as an employee? This is also for you!
Have a great episode!
Listen on đąSpotify.
Listen on đŁApple Podcast.
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about Dallas and Forum Venturesâ â â .
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Venture Studios
03:45 Defining Venture Studios
08:27 Founder's Role and Equity
10:35 Venture Studios and External Programs
13:27 Venture Studio Life Cycle
21:02 Generating Ideas
23:39 Market Research and Validation
26:27 Venture Studio Thesis
28:54 Finding a Founder
31:36 Geographic Location of Founders
33:06 Office Space for Portfolio Companies
34:09 Defining the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
36:35 Timeline for Product Development
38:03 Roles and People in a Venture Studio
42:19 Business Model of a Venture Studio
44:47 Success Rate of Venture Studio-backed Startups
47:49 Compensation for Venture Builders
49:42 Ventures Built and Launched by Dallas
51:20 Advice for Entrepreneurs
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Nate Matherson, the co-founder and CEO at Positional, a startup that provides a modern toolset for SEO and content teams.
We discussed Nateâs early interest in finance, his decision to start LendEDU as a tutoring app, and the subsequent pivot to a marketplace for student loans. Nate shares the challenges of raising capital and the pivotal role Y Combinator played in the growth of LendEDU. We also talked about the decision to exit in March 2020, becoming an angel investor, and starting a new company. Nate provides insights into building an SEO toolset and offers advice for startups looking to leverage SEO as a growth channel and much more! đ
Founders looking to grow a content channel, this episode is for you.
Have a great episode!
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Podcast.
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Nate and Positional.
*****
Timestamps:
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:25 Starting LendEDU
09:23 Pivoting to a Marketplace for Student Loans
16:14 Getting into Y Combinator
23:08 Selling the Company
25:04 Transitioning Out and Becoming an Angel Investor
29:18 Starting a New Company
31:31 Pivoting from ContainIQ to Positional
36:13 Building an SEO Toolset
41:46 SEO Tips for Startups
46:36 Positional Today and Future Plans
48:43 Advice for Starting a Business
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
Thank you for tuning in - I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn and I wanted to let you know that the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Martin Habfast, the co-founder and sales director of Umiami, a food startup that provides plant-based filet experience without compromising the taste and the texture.
We discussed Martinâs unique journey from building a tutoring startup to raising $100M to grow a plant-based meat company in France. Martin shares his strategy for fundraising, the challenges of a Food Tech startup, the strategic selection of ingredients, Umiamiâs collaboration with a Michelin Star Chef and much more! đ
Ambitious founders, this episode is for you.
Have a great episode!
****
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Podcast.
****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
****
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about Martin and Umiami.
****
Timestamps:
00:31 Introduction
02:19 The Journey from Student to Entrepreneur
12:09 The Genesis of a Plant-Based Meat Startup
21:45 Navigating the Challenges of a Food Tech Startup
28:07 From Kitchen Experiments to Lab Innovations
29:43 The Strategic Decision Against Co-Manufacturing
31:11 Becoming a Mission-Driven Company
32:29 Simplifying Ingredients for Superior Products
35:11 NutriScore A: A Testament to Quality
36:47 Producing 100% in France: A Strategic Choice
39:23 Continuous Product Improvement Through R&D
41:58 Targeting the Flexitarian Market
45:21 Innovative Technology Behind Plant-Based Chicken
46:55 Navigating the Competitive Landscape
48:32 Challenges and Opportunities in the Plant-Based Industry
51:13 Collaboration with Michelin Star Chefs and Future Goals
55:34 Contributing to Entrepreneurship as a MassChallenge Judge
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Jas Jaiswal, the founder and CEO at SmartHaul, a software company that provides a relay model with the focus on bringing truck drivers back home more often while moving freight 2x faster. We discussed Jasâs unique journey from moving to the US from India, developing a business to $1BN EBIDTA before jumping into the unknown and building SmartHaul with the help of Platform Venture Studio. Jas shares the challenges of building a company, the reasons why he is planning to fundraise, the benefit of the venture studio model and much more! đ
Have a great episode!
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Podcast.
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Jas and â â â SmartHaulâ â â .
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
05:24 Realizing the Desire to Become an Entrepreneur
07:30 Joining Platform Venture Studio
11:45 The Idea for SmartHaul
24:28 Building the Algorithm and MVP
26:38 Challenges and Opportunities
31:16 Business Model and Market Size
37:21 Advice for Future Entrepreneurs
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Ana Pricop, the co-founder and COO of Outdid.io, a startup that provides zero knowledge identification solutions to improve online safety. We discussed Anaâs unique journey from dropping out of a top school, to surviving in London with little to no money and raising $2.5M in 3 days after struggling for 2 years. Ana shares the challenges of fundraising, the strategic pivot from Web3 to targeting broader industries, the importance of the people around you, the necessity to maintain a balance between work and personal life and much more! đ
Early-stage founders and young entrepreneurs, this episode is for you.
Have a great episode!
Listen on Spotify.
Listen on Apple Podcast.
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore on: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â .
Learn more about â â â Ana â â and â â â Outdid.ioâ â â .
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:00 Ana Maria's Love for School
06:20 Starting Outdid.io
10:08 Technical Challenges
12:01 UC London Innovation and Enterprise Startup Program
22:27 Seed Round Fundraising
29:38 Explaining the Solution
31:08 Fast Term Sheets
32:13 Growing the Team
36:48 Differentiation from Competitors
42:23 Managing Relationships with Investors
44:58 Finding Your Role in the Company
46:10 Current State and Future Vision
49:37 Sigma Squared Society
53:21 Advice to Past Self
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Tuomo Laine, the founder and CEO of Twice Commerce, a commerce platform for the circular economy, where you can sell, rent, and resell your products. We discussed Tuomo's journey from being a founder in a corporation to failing in his first startups and pivoting to a new idea. We talked about financing the company, teaching to students to become a better CEO, founding a company with 3 tech co-founders, providing solutions to solve for climate change, his vision for the next 5-years, how he raised 8M⏠and much more!đ
Have a great episode!
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â , â â Websiteâ â .
Learn more about â â â Tuomo â â and â â â Twice Commerce.
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Background
05:38 Learnings from Corporate Experience
09:13 Lessons from Failed Startup
12:37 Starting Twice Commerce
21:30 Skills and Expertise for Building Twice Commerce
24:46 Financing the Company
26:35 Early Product Development and Customer Feedback
31:19 Challenges of Subscription and Rental Models
33:23 Contributing to Sustainability and Impact
36:42 Examples of Customers Leveraging the Platform
44:00 Going Global from Day One
45:33 Business Model and Key Metrics
49:17 Future Vision and Advice for Entrepreneurs
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Jack Lancaster, the co-founder and chief product officer of Spoke.Ai, a company that helps you streamline communications through AI workflows that connects Slack, Jira, Notion, and the rest of your product stack. We discussed Jack's unique journey from Product Manager at N26, to founding a Plant as a Service company and now working on Spoke.Ai. We talked about his vision on AI and its use cases, the strategic decisions of staying in beta for more than a year, the importance of bringing in technical expertise in building the MVP and the necessity to track key metrics such as customer usage. We compared briefly Microsoft Copilot and Spoke, how they differ but also complement each other, and Jack shared some insights for early-stage entrepreneurs. đ
Have a great episode!
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â â LinkedInâ â , â â Newsletterâ â , â â Websiteâ â .
Learn more about â â â Jack â â and â â â Spoke.aiâ â â .
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:07 Early Career and Start of Plant Club
06:37 Role as a Product Manager at N26
10:37 Founding Spoke AI
15:55 Original Idea and Product of Spoke AI
22:24 Building the MVP of Spoke AI
23:46 Raising Funds and Early Beta Users
27:04 Launching the Beta Version
29:23 Differentiation in Summarization Capabilities
32:11 The Beta Phase and Future Launch
35:28 Partnership with Slack
38:04 Vision for the Company
41:37 Business Model and Key Metrics
46:29 Advice for Entrepreneurs
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com -
Welcome to this new episode of Explore! đ
For those of you that have been here since the beginning, 1000 thanks, and welcome to the newcomers who have joined us in recent weeks. I receive a lot of encouragement on LinkedIn, the best way to send me some love is to follow this podcast and give it 5 stars. It will allow others to discover it. đ
In this episode I sat down with Tomer Molovinsky, the founder and CEO of Per Diem, a startup that provides premium mobile apps for restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops. We discussed Tomer's unique journey from serving in the IDF to diving deep into the restaurant industry and technology space. Tomer shared insights from his previous entrepreneurial endeavors, lessons learned from working at companies like OpenTable and Rezi, and the inception and evolution of Per Diem during the pandemic. We discussed how Per Diem addresses the challenge of direct customer engagement for small businesses through creating branded mobile applications, integrating seamlessly with Square's POS system, and enabling features like loyalty programs and subscription models. We uncovered the stories behind their time at Y-Combinator, how they raised $2.3M and their strategy for the future and much more!đ
Have a great episode!
*****
Thanks to our sponsor â â â â OpenVC.appâ â â â ! đ„
Use the code "EXPLORE" to get a lifetime 20% discount on their premium membership.
Learn more about Explore: â â LinkedInâ , â Newsletterâ , â Websiteâ .
Learn more about â â Tomer â and â â Per Diemâ â .
*****
Timestamps:
00:00 Introducing Tomer Molovinsky and Per Diem
01:58 Tomer's Journey: From Military to Entrepreneurship
11:49 Navigating the Startup World: Lessons from OpenTable and Resy
17:23 The Genesis of Per Diem: Adapting to Market Needs
23:11 Y Combinator and Pivoting Towards Success
29:57 The Genesis of a Revolutionary Restaurant App
30:24 Identifying the Gap in Restaurant Tech
33:51 The Strategic Partnership with Square
34:42 Expanding the Ecosystem: Beyond Coffee Shops
35:11 The Technical Backbone: Integrating Essential Features
36:35 Leveraging Square's Infrastructure for Rapid Innovation
39:58 Growth Metrics and Future Directions
46:12 Navigating the Competitive Landscape and Future Plans
48:39 Building a Remote Company Culture and Vision for the Future
52:10 Final Thoughts: Persistence in Entrepreneurship
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com - Vis mere
