Shows
Margin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersEP 16 | Investors Aren’t Buying It: The Red Flag You Miss | Kayon MoshiriMany founders obsess over product, pitch decks, and projections—yet overlook one of the biggest red flags investors catch immediately: your growth isn’t actually scalable.In this episode of Margin for Error, Plug and Play Ventures investor Kayon Moshiri breaks down the signals founders miss when trying to raise capital. Kayon shares why early traction built on personal networks doesn’t impress investors, what real customer acquisition looks like, and how to prove you can grow beyond the “first five customers.”Drawing from his experience evaluating hundreds of startups across retail, commerce, and AI, Kayon reveals what actually moves an i...
2025-11-1832 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersEP 15 | Capital with Character: David Tswamuno on Purpose-Driven Venture, Founder Empathy, and Investing for ImpactDavid Tswamuno's path to venture capital wasn’t traditional, it was deeply personal. Shaped by early lessons from his father about business and service, David built Fairbridge VC around a simple but powerful idea: capital with character. As General Partner, he backs founders tackling the biggest socio-economic challenges across health, wealth, and the planet—where opportunity meets responsibility.In this episode, David shares how his life experiences, from banking to impact investing, inspired Fairbridge’s mission to fund startups solving real-world problems. He opens up about the challenges of launching a first-time fund, why empathy is a founde...
2025-11-0440 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE14 | From Chaos to Clarity: Lawrence Kao on Startups, Storytelling, and ScalingLawrence Kao didn’t follow the straight path into entrepreneurship. A self-described “lost computer science student,” he blended technology, media, and community into a career building startups at the intersection of fandom, digital platforms, and e-commerce. From co-founding VC-backed ventures to leading creative studios, Lawrence has spent decades turning chaos into clarity—and passion into business models.Now, as co-founder of The Companion, Lawrence is reimagining fandom not just as entertainment, but as connection, community, and even mental health support. His journey spans the early YouTube era, partnerships with studios like MGM, and a pandemic-era rebuild that placed p...
2025-10-2159 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE13 | From Zero to One: Olivia O’Sullivan on Killing Ideas Fast and Building What Customers Will Pay ForOlivia O’Sullivan didn’t take the classic VC path. A former marketer and product builder, she zig-zagged from McDonald’s to Dow Jones to venture—carrying a zero-to-one obsession the whole way. Now Partner & COO at Forum Ventures, Olivia helps founders validate fast, sell sooner, and raise smarter—often before there’s even a working prototype.In this episode, we get into how Forum’s studio, accelerator, and seed fund back B2B founders from day zero—and why brutal idea-killing, customer pull, and willingness to pay are the real green lights.Here’s what’s covered:
2025-10-0947 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE12 | From Physics to Funding: Min-Yi Shih on Curiosity, Angel Investing, and Global Startup CollaborationMin-Yi Shih didn’t follow a straight path into investing. He started in physics and engineering, moved through executive leadership roles, and only later pivoted into the startup ecosystem as an angel investor and advisor. That nonlinear journey—spanning hard tech, business operations, and global networks—now informs how he evaluates founders and helps startups grow.Today, as Chair of Due Diligence at Tech Coast Angels and Director at the Taiwan Global Eastbound Association, Min-Yi bridges worlds: technology and business, Asia and the U.S., investors and founders. His story is about staying curious, building resilient teams, and fi...
2025-09-2337 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE11 | From Product to Portfolio: Monika Rodiqi of Express Ventures on Startup Agility, VC Strategy, and Building with BeliefMonika Rodiqi didn’t take the traditional VC route. She didn’t start in finance or come from a long line of investors. Instead, she built her way into the venture world by doing the work—building products, managing teams, and scaling early-stage startups from the inside.Now, as an Investment Analyst at Berlin-based Express Ventures, Monika brings that builder’s lens to every investment decision. Express Ventures focuses on logistics and industrial startups, but Monika’s story is about more than sectors—it’s about signal.In this episode, we talk about what makes a founder stan...
2025-09-0937 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE10 | Access Over Assumptions: Alex Waters of The Program Labs on Building Inclusive Startup EcosystemsAlex Waters isn’t your typical startup insider. He didn’t raise a mega round or exit a unicorn. But over the last 15 years, he’s built something arguably more transformative: pathways. As Executive Director of The Program Labs and a veteran of San Diego’s entrepreneurial community, Alex helps nonprofits and ecosystems design startup programs that work—especially for overlooked and underestimated founders.In this episode, we talk about how Alex moved from edtech founder to ecosystem architect, why access (not ambition) is the biggest startup divide, and what it really takes to build programs t...
2025-08-2638 minMargin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform BuildersE09 | From T-Shirts to Deep Tech: Ahmed Saad from Oxford Said Entrepreneurship Centre on Building Ecosystems and Failing ForwardAhmed Saad has worn many hats: founder, ecosystem builder, educator—and program manager at Oxford's Saïd Business School, where he helps idea-stage ventures become investment-ready startups. But before all that? He had a closet full of unsold Egyptian cotton t-shirts and a crash course in startup failure.In this episode, Ahmed shares his journey from launching a fashion brand in Egypt to shaping one of the UK’s most influential university entrepreneurship programs. We dive into what makes a great founder, how to build support systems around early-stage innovation, and what it really takes to turn resea...
2025-08-1251 minMargin 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