Shows
Margin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE08 | From Capital to Canvas: Maria Gonzalez-Blanch on Building Lean Startups and Redefining Venture GrowthIn this episode, Maria Gonzalez-Blanch, Managing Partner at Crescent Ridge VC, unpacks a refreshingly honest take on building great companies without burning through capital. With a background spanning engineering, private equity, and startups, Maria brings a multidimensional lens to early-stage investing across a set of core pillars.This conversation also tackles AI as a founder equalizer, the power of self-awareness in founder-investor fit, and why venture capital should be a canvas, and not a cookie-cutter playbook. This is an episode about thoughtful investing, founder empowerment, and rewriting the rules of venture.2025-07-2929 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE07 | From Side Hustles to Startups: Stephen Hargett on Building wrkspace and Embracing the Nonlinear PathStephen Hargett’s path into entrepreneurship wasn’t planned—it was earned through persistence, hustle, and a relentless openness to saying yes to what came next.In this episode, Stephen shares his deeply personal and refreshingly candid journey to founding wrkspace, a "workspace-as-a-service" platform offering fully managed space solutions for teams, events, and collaborators. But before co-founding wrkspace, Stephen was figuring things out one step at a time—from moonlighting as a boarding school teacher to making 1,000 cold calls a day at a pre-IPO startup, to working at Apple during the iPhone 4 launch (and, yes, emailing Steve Jobs).2025-07-1544 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE06 | Built to Last: Alan Rich of Y Meadows on Serial Entrepreneurship, Scaling Software, and Starting Over with AIAlan Rich has built and exited not one, not two—but three successful software ventures, including his latest startup, Y Meadows. In this episode, he shares a masterclass in long-haul entrepreneurship and what it takes to keep building, even when you've already crossed the finish line—twice.Alan’s journey begins with founding Elite Information Group alongside his father, building financial systems for law firms before scaling it globally and selling to Thomson Reuters. Then came Chrome River Technologies, a venture into enterprise expense reporting that served clients like Toyota and Exxon. Today, Alan is back in the ar...2025-07-0131 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE05 | Rethinking Fertility: Lily Elsner on Breaking Taboos and Building Jack FertilityLily Elsner, co-founder of Jack Fertility, shares how she’s helping reshape male reproductive healthcare—starting with the world’s first postal sperm testing kit.In this episode, Lily shares the origin story behind Jack Fertility, a startup pioneering the world’s first full semen analysis through the mail. Born out of a personal conversation during the pandemic and informed by both femtech experience and rural agricultural insights, Lily and her team set out to build a product that reimagines access to male reproductive healthcare.Fertility is often framed as a “women’s issue,” despite research showi...2025-06-1743 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE04 | Mixing the Perfect Blend: Bilal Kaiser of Agency Guacamole on Building a Standout Brand in Beauty, PR & Creator MarketingBilal Kaiser, founder and principal at Agency Guacamole, joins to share the journey of building a standout agency in a crowded industry—and why agility, creativity, and authenticity are key ingredients to long-term success.Starting from a solo venture to a 20-person agency serving national beauty and lifestyle brands, Bilal walks through the evolution of Agency Guacamole, what the name really means, and how he’s stayed ahead of shifts in the creator economy, PR, and digital marketing.Here’s what’s covered:The origin of “Agency Guacamole” and why the name still opens doorsLeaving...2025-06-0326 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE03 | From Hustle to Ecosystem: Elianne Rodriguez of LEEAF on Building Inclusive Pathways to EntrepreneurshipElianne Rodriguez, Executive Director of LEEAF (Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator & Fellowship), shares how a lifelong connection to small business—and a chance bus ride into downtown LA—sparked her mission to build more inclusive, community-rooted startup ecosystems.From selling Jordans and working multiple jobs, to launching a career in tech incubation and economic empowerment, Elianne’s story is a testament to resourcefulness, grit, and the belief that startup knowledge should be accessible to all. This episode explores her journey, the mission behind LEEAF, and what it really means to center equity in entrepreneurship.Here’s what’s...2025-05-1655 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE02 | Breaking the Mold: Nassir Criss of Sixty8 Capital on Rethinking the VC Playbook, Going International and Backing Founders with GritNassir Criss of Sixty8 Capital joins us to share how defying the traditional VC path—and logging time in the trenches as a startup operator—made him a sharper, more founder-focused investor.Before stepping into venture, Nassir had already helped build 15+ startups by age 22. That operational depth gives him a rare edge in early-stage investing: a real-world understanding of what it takes to bring ideas to life. This conversation dives into the gaps in the VC status quo, the value of founder empathy, and why endurance—not just intellect—drives success.Here’s what’s covered:...2025-05-1539 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE01 | Sonya Petcavich of Meowtel on Bootstrapping, Customer Obsession & Building the Leading U.S. Cat-sitter PlatformIn this episode, we talk with Sonya Petcavich, founder of Meowtel, to unpack how a deeply personal loss led to building the leading cat-sitting marketplace in the U.S.Sonya shares how her childhood cat, Miss Lily, inspired the founding of Meowtel—a platform born out of grief, guilt, and a bold desire to create a better life for cats everywhere. They dive into how Sonya bootstrapped the company, raised minimal VC funding, and still scaled Meowtel to eight-figure annual revenues—all while navigating a fundraising landscape dominated by dog people.In this episode we expl...2025-05-1529 min
Minimum Viable Podcast (MVP)Pricing (Ed Lee) - Cornerstones Training Series #4This epsisode is exciting for startups and emerging companies focused on defense and national security to learn from an expert in pricing. Finding dual-use viability or an appropriate market approach when working with government is challenging, and government employees working with emerging companies will also benefit from learning about their experiences and pain points.
Ed Lee is a pricing expert and CEO of HelloAdvisr, a growth consultancy working with startup leadership teams to design high-impact pricing strategies. HelloAdvisrworks with startups on pricing across growth stages and draws on experience from industries including eCommerce/retail, software, and consumer g...2020-09-2959 min
The Lightbulb Moment PodcastAll About Pricing StrategyEdward Lee, founder of Hello Advisr, a pricing consultancy company for startups, joined us to talk all about pricing strategy, how you can determine the best one for you, the differences between enterprise and consumer pricing, and more! Listen for action steps you can take right now to revamp your pricing strategy and what you should be thinking about when approaching pricing your products and services as a startup.Hello Advisr: https://helloadvisr.comIDA Website: https://www.thinkida.com/IDA helps entrepreneurs better understand their audience and discover buyer preferences and consumer...2020-06-1145 min