Episodes
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For a bonus episode of the Founders Forward Podcast, we are joined by Mike Evans. Mike is the founder of GrubHub and the current CEO of Fixer — Fixer provides skilled experts, solving a variety of home problems in one visit.
Mike shares the ins and outs of his time building GrubHub — from humble beginnings in his Chicago apartment to the IPO 10+ years later. We cover everything from the difference between quitting and giving up, to building a valuable board, to raising capital, and more.
What you can expect to learn from Mike Evans:
The difference between quitting and giving upWhy Mike doesn't like NPS as a metricHow a board can be valuableHow to build a list of potential investorsWhy cash doesn't fix problemsHow to turn problems into resolutions -
They did it! Jonathan and the team have wrapped up their raise and they are in the process of finishing up the round. Jonathan shares what he has learned during the raise and what is next for The Juice.
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Missing episodes?
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The first term sheets are in hand and the end of the raise is in sight. Jonathan joins us to discuss the term sheets he has in hand and what due diligence has been like so far. Finally, we talk through what hiring plans and projections look like once the cash is in the bank.
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Coming off of their first ProductHunt launch, Jonathan joins us to share the current status of the round. We discuss what they’ve been focusing on internally as a business. Finally, we discuss the term sheets that are on their way.
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We are back in the heart of The Juice fundraise. They are a few weeks in and starting to get to the middle of the “3 months of pitching.” We discuss how Jonathan is leveraging verbal commits to build urgency with new investors and discuss what is being shared in The Juice’s data room.
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Jonathan has been busy with investor meetings and pitches since the last time we chatted. Jonathan breaks down the “VC speed dating” event he attended and updates on other investor conversations.
Finally, we hit on financial projections at the pre-seed/seed stage and what investors are looking for in the early stages of financial projections.
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Trey Closson is the CEO and Founder of Amplio — a platform for proactively identifying the risks of tomorrow's supply chain. Prior to starting Amplio, Trey spent time at Flexport and Georgia Pacific. Trey joins us to break down his first year as a founder and what he has learned from transitioning from operator to founder.
A couple of key topics we hit on:
The current state of the global supply chain issues How Amplio found their first customersHow Amplio is using pilot programs to scale their customer baseThe importance of relentless focusWhy founders should invest in communityWhy building a startup is a marathon, not a sprint -
On Week 3 of the Founders Forward Fundraising Series, Jonathan Gandolf, CEO of The Juice, discusses how pre-seed investors have been evaluating their revenue vs. product vs. team.
A few other key topics we hit on:
How to talk about revenue with investorsHow Jonathan leveraged their product while pitchingAdding investors to the top of an investor funnelIdentifying your ideal investorRelated Resources:
Building Your Ideal Investor Persona -
Jonathan joins us after his first few weeks of heads-down fundraising. We discuss how he is going about adjusting and tweaking his pitch deck as more feedback comes in and how he is leveraging his network (and customers) to find intros to potential investors.
A few other key topics we hit on:
Managing pitch deck recommendations and changesDesigning a pitch deck with a small teamFinding introductions to potential investorsLeveraging customers for investor introductionsRelated Resources:
Our Teaser Pitch Deck TemplateCreating Momentum in Your Fundraise with Brett Brohl -
We dig into the business behind The Juice and the fundamentals of their pre-seed funding round. Jonathan is ready to go with a list of 60 potential investors and a pitch deck in hand. Hop around and learn more about what we covered in week 1 below:
The Juice business model How Jonathan is building his investor outreach listWhat Jonathan’s plans are for reaching out to investorsThe pitch deck feedback loop -
Josh Abulafia & Elle Curran are the Co-founders of ChefPrep. ChefPrep is a marketplace for ready made meals that are prepared by award winning restaurants, delivered to your door. Josh and Elle join us to break down their journey as startup founders.
A few key topics:
00:00 Introduction
01:20 How ChefPrep validated their core thesis
02:45 Why ChefPrep decided to focus on the supply side
05:25 Key marketplace metrics they track
08:25 Building barriers to entry in marketplaces
09:45 Why tracking the right data is vital to startup success
12:00 Building their company operating system -
Malcolm Burenstam Linder is the CEO and Co-founder of Alva Labs. The team at Alva Labs is creating a more fair and data-driven recruitment process. Malcolm joins us to break down his story and journey as a founder.
A few key topics we hit on:
How Alva found their first customers Using personal networks to find their first customersWhy founders need to be extremely diligent about their first hiresWhy seeing a professional coach has been a gamechanger for him Why everyone should look beyond a resume when hiring -
Matt Achariam and Zach Hamed are the Co-founders of Clay. Clay is a beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populated from the ground up using your calendar and social history, Clay is the most stunning, powerful way to remember who you’ve met—and what matters to them.
Matt & Zach join us to hit on a few key ideas:
00:00 Introduction
02:28 How they acquired their first customers
06:45 Manually onboarding their first users
07:45 Why they focus on the problem to better build product
12:45 Why founders should stop overthinking outreach
14:30 The importance of empathy in the startup world
18:45 Why you should compliment more people
21:30 Relationship-based fundraisingLearn more about Clay here — https://clay.earth/
Or follow along Twitter here — https://twitter.com/ClayHQ
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Yaw Aning is the CEO and Founder of Malomo. Malomo is a shipment tracking platform that helps eCommerce brands turn order tracking from a cost center into a profitable marketing channel.
Yaw joins us to break down:
00:00 Introduction
2:10 How Malomo found their first customers
13:10 The importance of finding a co-founder
15:00 How and why you need to solve customer's problems
16:45 How Yaw found his co-founder
18:00 The importance of being able to shut down
21:30 How to prioritize timeIf you have eCommerce questions or things you'd like to discuss, find Yaw on Twitter @YawA. If you'd like to learn more about Malomo, check out their website here — https://gomalomo.com/
The Founders Forward is Produced by Visible — Our platform helps thousands of founders update investors, track key metrics, and raise capital. Try Visible free for 14 days here, https://visible.vc/
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For the first episode, we welcomed Nick Loui, CEO and Founder of PeakMetrics. PeakMetrics uses machine learning to spot trends & predict message resonance across news, social, and TV/radio. In this episode, we break down:
— Getting over the cold start problem
— Creating value through aggregation
— Narrowing down your target audienceGive episode 1 with Nick Loui a listen below (or give it a listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you normally consume podcasts)
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On episode 10 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Gale Wilkinson. Gale is the Managing Partner at Vitalize Ventures — "an early-stage fund & angel community investing in software focused on future of work and future of learning."
Before starting Vitalize, Gale started her career in venture capital at Irish Angels. Gale is one of our favorite follows on Twitter where she shares tactical tips for founders on fundraising. She joins us to break down some of her most popular threads on Twitter and offers countless takeaways to help early-stage founders fundraise — covering everything from list building to ownership benchmarks.
What You Can Expect to Learn from Gale:
How VC has changed over the last 10 yearsWhy Vitalize is launching an angel groupWhy list building is vital to a successful fundraiseHow many investors a founder should expect to talk to during a raiseWhat catches her eye in a cold email from a founderWhat she looks for in a pitch deckWhy she cares about financial modeling at the early stages -
On episode 9 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Lisa Besserman. Lias Besserman is the Managing Director at Expa — an accelerator based in Austin, TX dedicated to supporting pre-seed companies.
Lisa started her career as an economist but ultimately found her way to founding Startup Buenos Aires — an accelerator located in Buenos Aires to help support startups in Latin America. Since then Lisa has made the move to Expa where is the managing director of their accelerator. Between her time at Startup Buenos Aires and Expa, Lisa has a wealth of knowledge related to all things company building, fundraising, and leading — especially at the early stages.
Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Lisa. Give the full episode a listen here.
What You Can Expect to Learn from Lisa:
How founders can best connect with investorsHow to determine if an accelerator is right for your businessWhat kind of companies Expa is interested in fundingWhy founders should try their best for a warm introWhat she likes to see in a cold email How to determine how much to raiseWhat she thinks the future of VC looks likeRelated Resources:
Lisa's TwitterLisa's LinkedInApplication to apply for ExpaExpa's Visible Connect profile -
On episode 8 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Anne Dwane. Anne is the partner and co-founder at Village Global — an early-stage venture capital firm backed by successful entrepreneurs.
Anne has a unique perspective on the VC space as she founded her first successful startup, Military.com, in the 1990s. After Military.com, Anne founded a startup later acquired by Chegg where she helped scale as they went public. Anne joins us to share what she has learned from time in the space. We discuss who founders should look to for advice, the thought process behind the roster of Village Global's LPs, and how founders can build a fundraising process.
Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Anne. You can give the full episode a listen above.
What You Can Expect to Learn from Anne:
What Anne learned from helping scale CheggHow the startup world has transformed since her time founding Military.com in the 90sWhy founders should look for a "thought partner"Why founders funding founders is a good thingHow to build a fundraising processWhat she likes to see in a cold email from a founderRelated Resources:
Anne's TwitterAnne's LinkedInThe Village Global applicationVillage Global's Visible Connect ProfileThe Founders Forward is Produced by VisibleOur platforms helps thousands of founders update investors, track key metrics, and raise capital. Try Visible free for 14 days. -
On episode 7 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Kristian Andersen. Kristian is a founder and partner at High Alpha, a venture studio located in Indianapolis.
Before launching High Alpha, Kristian founded the prolific design agency, Studio Science. During his time at Studio Science, Kristian primarily served software companies which ultimately led to him being a founding partner at High Alpha. Between Kristian's experience at Studio Science and his time at High Alpha helping launch 30+ companies, it is safe to say he knows a thing or 2 about design and storytelling. Kristian joins us to break down how design can be a competitive advantage, the importance of storytelling in business, the High Alpha Studio model, and much more.
Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Kristian. You can give the full episode a listen below:
What You Can Expect to Learn from Kristian:
How the High Alpha Studio models workWhat kind of co-founders they look for at High AlphaHow design can be a competitive advantage Why storytelling is important in business and fundraisingWhy Coco Chanel, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ralph Lauren are great storytellersWhat he likes to see in a cold email from a founderRelated Resources:
Kristian's TwitterKristian's websiteApply to become a High Alpha Co-founderHigh Alpha's Visible Connect ProfileThe Founders Forward is Produced by VisibleOur platforms helps thousands of founders update investors, track key metrics, and raise capital. Try Visible free for 14 days. -
On episode 6, season 2 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Corinne Riley. Corinne is an investor at the prolific venture capital firm, Greylock, where she primarily invests in B2B companies.
Over the course of her career, Corinne has built a knack for helping companies build and develop a go-to-market motion. Corinne has extensive knowledge of community-led growth and helping companies grow at the earliest stages of their business. Corinne joins the show to break down community-led companies and the thought process behind her investment decision-making.
Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Corinne. You can give the full episode a listen below:
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