Shows
Just Go GrindHow Delphi Raised $16M from Sequoia to Build Digital Minds with Dara Ladjevardian (Just Go Grind Episode #369) Episode 369: Justin Gordon interviews Dara Ladjevardian, Founder and CEO of Delphi, a company that creates a digital you - available 24/7 for coaching, Q&A, education, and more. Learn more about Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/ Watch this episode and others on YouTube. Thank you to our sponsor, Relay Human Cloud! Find your next team member in minutes with Relay Human Cloud. Offshore talent, in Relay Human Cloud's offices, dedicated to you. Save up to 75% on labor costs while improving the quality of life for your team. Use code LAGRIND for $500 off eve...
2025-08-2139 minJust Go GrindHow Boardy Raised $8M on Its Own Platform with Founder Andrew D'Souza (Just Go Grind Episode #368) Episode 368: Justin Gordon interviews Andrew D'Souza, Founder and CEO of Boardy, an AI Super Connector that helps you get the right introduction at the right time. Boardy raised an $8M seed round early in 2025, just months after announcing a $3M pre-seed round. Learn more about Boardy: https://www.boardy.ai/ Watch this episode and others on YouTube. Thank you to our sponsor, Relay Human Cloud! Find your next team member in minutes with Relay Human Cloud. Offshore talent, in Relay Human Cloud's offices, dedicated to you. Save up to 75% on labor cos...
2025-07-1952 minJust Go Grind0 to $9.5M Series A: Inside Guidesly's Journey with David Lord (Just Go Grind Episode #367) Episode 367: Justin Gordon interviews David Lord, Founder of Guidesly, the platform for booking the world's best outdoor trips and activities. Learn more about Guidesly: https://guidesly.com/ Applications now open for 43North, the accelerator David went through with Guidesly: https://43north.org/founders/program/ Watch this episode and others on YouTube. --- Connect with Justin: Twitter: https://x.com/justingordon212 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justincharlesgordon/ --- What Justin is working on: Just Go Grind Newsletter: https://www.just...
2025-07-0446 minJust Go GrindHow 43North Built a $5M-Per-Year Startup Accelerator in Buffalo (Just Go Grind, Episode #366) Episode 366: Justin Gordon interviews Colleen Heidinger, President of 43North, a pioneering startup competition and venture program focused on building Buffalo into a thriving center for innovation and entrepreneurship. 43North invests $5 million annually in companies that relocate to Buffalo through its immersive accelerator program. Applications now open: https://43north.org/founders/program/ Watch this episode and others on YouTube. --- Show Notes: 00:00 What's coming in the episode… 00:23 Introduction 01:01 What is 43North? 03:27 The early days of 43North 07:08 Covid days at 43North...
2025-06-1443 minJust Go GrindFrom Hedge Funds to $100M+ Startup Founder with Everett Cook of Rho (Just Go Grind, Episode #359)Episode 359: Justin Gordon interviews Everett Cook, Co-Founder & CEO of Rho, about how he built the company into a leader in business banking. Everett Cook's dream was to start a company. Even before Rho, he'd always loved markets and finance. So much so that he interned for the Mike Bloomberg, where he got to learn from one of the best entrepreneurs in the world. Then he spent a decade as Portfolio Manager at multiple macro hedge funds, and had the time of his life. But still, there was something missing. Something of...
2025-04-2555 minJust Go GrindHow he built a $20M/year newsletter with Tim Huelskamp of 1440 (Just Go Grind, Episode #355)Episode 355: Justin Gordon interviews Tim Huelskamp, Co-Founder and CEO of 1440, about how he built 1440 into a $20M+/year business and a newsletter with more than 4.5 million subscribers. --- This episode is brought to you by Rho. With Rho, founders get: A single pane of glass they can use to run and scale their business from Day 1: Bank account, corporate cards to start running – and expense management, bill pay automation, and accounting to help you move fast as you scale. Rho is trusted by thousands of companies ranging from two-person YC companies to brands like Pe...
2025-03-2458 min
Just Go Grind#352: Julien Smith of Practice, on Optimizing for Long Value, Driving Emotion When Raising Venture Capital, and Inside Tips for Building a Better BusinessJulien Smith is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Practice, a world class tool to help coaches build their businesses entirely on their own. He has started many companies, including Breather, for which he raised $150M and got to Series D before handing it to a hired CEO. As a coach, he takes on a few select first time CEOs who he coaches on finding customers, building a team, running a business, and raising venture financing. He has coached founders who have been funded by the world's best venture firms, including A16Z, General Catalyst, Craft Ventures...
2023-01-0948 min
Just Go Grind#350: Dan Schaefer of Native Pet, on Product & Brand Innovation, Finding the Right Manufacturing Partner, and First Principles Thinking to Forge Your Own PathDan Schaefer is the Co-Founder and CEO of Native Pet, a pet nutrition company that is redefining pet supplements by harnessing the nutritional power of whole food ingredients to deliver organic, highly effective, & limited ingredient treats, supplements and chews. Their products utilize whole-food and superfood ingredients to harness the healing powers found in nature to bolster the health and well-being of our pets. When Dan was looking for better nutrition for his Labrador retriever, Louie, he found that brands were really missing the mark. He quickly realized that kibble was base nutrition and if he wanted to...
2022-12-1942 min
Just Go Grind#349: Brennan Spellacy of Patch, on Value-Driven Category Creation, Strategic Hiring at a High-Growth Startup, and Enabling Trust through TransparencyBrennan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Patch, the platform for negative emissions and scaling unified climate action. Patch is building the infrastructure for a sustainable economy by enabling gigatonne scale carbon removal. With Patch, companies can embed climate action into their own products, neutralizing the carbon impact of everyday transactions like shipping, travel, and financial services. From an API-integration to direct purchase, Patch is the carbon removal platform for businesses and consumers to seamlessly contribute to trusted removal and reduction projects at any scale. Prior to founding Patch with co-founder Aaron Grunfeld, Brennan worked in a...
2022-12-1341 min
Just Go Grind#348: Tyler Denk of Beehiiv, on Building in Public, Growing 55% MoM, and Quick Adaptability to Compete with Big TechTyler Denk is the co-founder and CEO of beehiiv, a newsletter platform to fuel creators and publishers' ability to create, monetize, and grow their audience. While in undergrad at the University of Maryland, Tyler Denk became a self-taught software developer and launched his first startup, VentureStorm—a web application that connected entrepreneurs and startups to talented software developers. After exiting VentureStorm, Tyler continued to work with startups by building and integrating innovative technology solutions to stimulate growth and exceed various KPIs. He joined Morning Brew as the second employee in a role that spanned engineering, pr...
2022-12-0543 min
Just Go Grind#347: Andrew Berman of Vowel, on Growing Organically via Twitter, Building Remote-First Company Culture, and Taking on Legacy BrandsAndrew Berman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vowel, the world's first complete meeting solution designed to make every meeting more inclusive and worthwhile – before, during, and after. Vowel is a collaboration platform that makes meetings searchable, shareable centers of knowledge for your business. By redefining what data capture is capable of, they are optimizing the potential of every team. They are a remote-first company whose 20+ employees span four continents. Their team is made up of engineers, designers, inventors, entrepreneurs and security experts – from leading organizations like Google, Bridgewater, Nanit, Airbnb, Casper, Recombine and others. They're building both...
2022-11-1042 min
Just Go GrindSpecial: The VITALIZE Podcast - Clicking as Co-Founders, From Bad Idea to Goldmine, and Becoming Market Leaders in EV Charging, with Peter Barba and Zygi Zabieta of LectriumPeter Barba and Zygimantas (Zygi) Zabieta are the Co-Founders of Lectrium, a full-service platform for EV home charging on a mission to make every home EV-ready. They make the home charging installation process easy through their network of EVITP certified electricians. At Lectrium, they believe that true carbon neutrality can be achieved only if the transition to EVs is frictionless, and their ambition is to standardize and reduce the cost of the installation process and remove financial barriers for EV adoption. Peter Barba played Division 1 basketball in college and left his job in investment banking to attend Antler's...
2022-10-1141 min
Just Go Grind#345: Dave Fink of Postie, on Modernizing Direct Mail Marketing, Optimizing for Efficiency, and Why Not to Raise VCDave Fink is the CEO and Co-Founder of Postie, a marketing technology company that has transformed Direct Mail by enabling it to perform like a digital channel. In doing so, Postie has unleashed the medium's potential and unlocked growth for its advertisers, delivering an average campaign ROAS of 1,382%. From prospecting campaigns for new customers, to retargeting and CRM campaigns to maximize existing customers, Postie offers marketing solutions for every stage of the customer journey. With creative testing, real-time attribution, and campaign management tools Postie delivers an all-in-one platform to dynamically optimize your DM strategy. As a consumer...
2022-09-2638 min
Just Go Grind#344: Connor Ellison of POGR, on Executing a Scrappy Cold Outreach Strategy, Failure as an Inevitable Step to Success, and Building the Statistical Foundation for the Future of GamingConnor Ellison is the CEO and Founder of POGR, a next-gen statistical platform for developers & gamers. POGR is a unique customizable profile system with centralized video game statistics. They closed $2.25M at a 20 million valuation earlier this year, and are building the statistical foundation for the future of gaming. Connor is a lifelong gamer and avid reader and learner. Topics Covered by Connor Ellison in this Episode How POGR is building the statistical foundation for the future of gaming POGR's origin story Connor's path to actually becoming a founder 1,000 emails to get their first $100k and...
2022-09-1943 min
Just Go Grind#343: Samiur Rahman of Heyday, on Navigating Pivots, Maximizing Your Product Hunt Launch, and Ensuring High-Value Relationships with InvestorsSamiur Rahman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Heyday, an AI-powered research assistant that makes knowledge workers smarter. Heyday empowers your best thinking by working in the background as an assistant for your memory, automatically saving all your content for you and resurfacing it when you need it, enabling you to stop wasting energy remembering and focus on creating. Samiur is a software engineer capable of working across the stack (web, mobile, backend and embedded), focusing primarily on data science, algorithms and machine learning. He wants to create the next-generation of intelligent products using modern machine learning...
2022-09-1242 min
Just Go Grind#342: Ryan Bartlett of True Classic, on Growing Revenue to $150M in 3 Years, Comedy as an Intentional Marketing Tool, and Lessons for Successfully Scaling Manufacturing and HiringRyan Bartlett is the Co-Founder and CEO of True Classic, a D2C men's clothing brand that has grown from $0 to $150M in revenue in just a few years. At True Classic, they understand that not every body is shaped the same. That's where they come in, making premium, high-quality, everyday essentials for every type of person, with no gimmicks. Their goal with this company has always revolved around over-indexing on the value they give to their customers and communities. This means best in class customer service, entertaining ads that make you laugh, products that are intentionally...
2022-09-0446 min
Just Go Grind#341: Katie Reed of Balanced, on Early Decision-Making to Enable Long-Term Quality and Scalability, Raising VC to Become a Market Leader, and Envisioning a World We All Want to Age InKatie Reed is the Co-Founder and CEO of Balanced, a digital fitness platform to build a healthspan that matches our new lifespans. They are committed to helping older adults maintain vibrancy in their lives, with an exercise platform that promises community, joy, and a personalized experience to rebel against the decline of aging. Balanced meets older adults where they are with their heterogeneous profiles by taking into account chronic conditions, injuries, pain, and physical ability. Balanced was inspired by Katie and Kelly's families during COVID-19. While living with her grandmother during quarantine, Katie was distraught with the...
2022-08-2936 min
Just Go Grind#340: Haroon Mokhtarzada, on Taking Truebill from Ideation to $1B Exit in 6 Years, How to Stand Out in a Crowded Industry, and Creating a Successful Performance Marketing EngineHaroon Mokhtarzada is the CEO and Co-Founder at Rocket Money, previously Truebill, a leading personal finance app with a mission to empower people to live their best financial lives. They offer their 3.4 million members a unique understanding of their finances and a suite of valuable services that save both time and money -- ultimately giving them a leg up on their financial journey. Members can manage their subscriptions, lower their bills, build budgets and automatically set aside money to reach their savings goals. They've saved their members $245 million and counting. Haroon is a Harvard Law grad turned...
2022-08-2237 min
Just Go Grind#339: Chelsey Roney of Proxi, on the Techstars Experience, the Value of Adaptable Marketing and Growth Strategies, and Setting Boundaries for BalanceChelsey Roney is the Co-Founder and COO of Proxi, the geospatial powerhouse behind transformative, human-centered interactions with the real world making mapping and crowdsourcing geographic data accessible to everyone. Their no-code platform allows users to create, customize and embed highly interactive maps into social media accounts, websites, and apps. Enabling and hosting this curated content will power future tech-enabled, location-based experiences for both brands and individuals in the creator economy. Chelsey is a serial entrepreneur, a passionate business builder, and a marketing expert. After graduating from Texas A&M, Chelsey joined Boeing where she worked in financial...
2022-08-1542 min
Just Go Grind#338: Analisa Goodin of Catch+Release, on Market Leadership, Fundraising as a Creative, Enabling Brand Resonance, and Improv for Team BuildingAnalisa Goodin is the founder and CEO of Catch+Release, a venture-backed startup that supports brands in building authentic, award-winning ad campaigns, while ensuring the creators are being compensated for their work. Catch+Release is a collaborative creative platform that helps storytellers curate and license Found Content from anywhere on the internet, solving a specific problem that touches almost every creative, producer and content creator in the production industry today: making it easy to discover the best content from the open web, and making it available for licensing to agencies and brands worldwide. Analisa took a unique...
2022-08-0844 min
Just Go Grind#337: Herb Coakley of Courial, on Building People-First Technology, Learning to Code, and Persevering through FailuresHerb Coakley is the Founder and CEO of Courial, a last-mile courier service that's empowering gig workers nationwide with their people-first approach to technology. Created by gig-workers for gig-workers, their state of the art technology has modernized the courier industry by allowing any business or person to seamlessly connect with their community of on-demand couriers to deliver anything. They're on a mission to change the on-demand gig economy paradigm. Better pay, true partnership, live dispatch support, paid PTO, transparency and a seat at the table, while reducing CO2 emissions in their communities. Herb is a serial entrepreneur...
2022-08-0140 min
Just Go Grind#336: Josh Dorkin of BiggerPockets, on Building One of the World's Top Business Podcasts and Real Estate Communities, Trusting your Gut, and Knowing When to ExitJosh Dorkin is the Founder, former CEO (2004 - 2018), former podcast host, and current board member of BiggerPockets, a complete resource for learning and succeeding in real estate investing, bringing education, support, and tools together in one place. Aspiring and experienced investors alike can tap into the knowledge of more than 2 million members, and learn from content spanning across podcasts, blog, webinars, videos, virtual bootcamps, and more. BiggerPockets' mission is to help people find personal freedom and financial flexibility through real estate investing. Josh created the platform in 2004 to create a place where investors could learn, network, market...
2022-07-2554 min
Just Go Grind#335: Linda Lian of Common Room, on Navigating Foundational Pivots on the Path to Product Market Fit and Building a Pandemic-Age Startup Serving Modern SaaS CompaniesLinda Lian is the CEO and Co-Founder of Common Room, the first and only intelligent community growth platform that gathers community engagement, product usage, and customer data into a single place. They use intelligence to surface insights from across your entire community and provide tools to act on those insights directly from the app. This allows teams to discover what's most important, nurture key personas, measure the impact of their programs, and collaborate across their organization. They've raised over $50 million from top-tier investors including Greylock, Index, and Madrona to build the community platform for modern SaaS companies...
2022-07-1826 min
Just Go Grind#334: Ryan Buick of Canvas, on Democratizing Data for Business Intelligence, Leveraging Unique Market Positioning, and Building an MVP while FundraisingRyan Buick is the Co-Founder of Canvas, a collaborative data exploration tool for business teams to automate manual reporting, build dashboards, and answer ad-hoc questions without SQL. Growing up in San Francisco, Ryan watched the technology industry explode in his hometown and always wanted to be a part of it. He started out his career as a Marketplace PM helping SaaS vendors distribute their products through third-party channels at AppDirect. Then he joined Flexport as one of their first PMs to help digitize the world of trade. It was there that he saw how spreadsheets could be...
2022-07-1125 min
Just Go Grind#333: Harry Campbell of The Rideshare Guy, on Building a Lifestyle Media Company for Gig Workers, Finding Quality Content Contributors, Hacking Referral Systems, and Diversifying Revenue StreamsHarry Campbell is the Founder & CEO of The Rideshare Guy: a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, course, and book for Uber and Lyft drivers and others in the gig economy, dedicated to empowering them and helping them earn more money by working smarter, not harder. His content reaches hundreds of thousands of drivers per month, with over 80,000 e-mail subscribers. Harry also works with start-ups and F500 companies on marketing, consulting, advising and more. He's the only person to have driven for Uber and also interviewed their CEO. Over the past 5+ years, he has talked to over 50,000 drivers. Harry started driving...
2022-07-0455 min
Just Go Grind#332: Yassamine Ebadat of Vityl, on Building Belonging, Hiring Tech Talent, Fundraising Advice, and Community-Based Organic SalesYassamine Ebadat is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vityl, an employee engagement SaaS solution designed to foster a foundational culture of belonging and drive stronger business performance. Vityl leverages machine learning to connect survey data to automated goals and nudges that inspire greater feelings of acceptance, recognition and connection in the workplace. Vityl was founded by a team of human capital consultants with an acute understanding of their users' pain points. With experience guiding landmark companies through organizational transformations, they saw an opportunity to deliver a simple solution to complex culture challenges. Prior to Vityl...
2022-06-2728 min
Just Go Grind#331: Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina of Kindred, on Building an Intentional Co-Founder Partnership, Lessons from a Failed E-Blast, and Navigating an Unpredictable MarketJustine Palefsky and Tas Amina are the Co-Founders of Kindred, a members-only home swapping network that unlocks your ability to live a travel-rich lifestyle for a fraction of the cost of a hotel or AirBnb. By exchanging homes with people they trust, renters and owners alike are able to take advantage of remote-work flexibility and explore new destinations without breaking the bank. Justine and Tas were both early-stage employees at Opendoor before deciding to start their own company during the pandemic. Topics Covered by Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina in this Episode Kindred's...
2022-06-2031 min
Just Go Grind#330: Adam Nash of Daffy, on Disruptive Business Models, Building in Stealth, and Simplifying GenerosityAdam Nash is the Co-Founder and CEO of Daffy, a not-for-profit organization with the simple idea that everyone should put something aside for those less fortunate than themselves. The Daffy community is built around a new, modern platform for giving, one built around the commitment to give, not the amount you give. It empowers people to be more generous, more often through a seamless mobile experience that helps members set money aside, watch it grow tax-free, and donate to more than 1.5 million charities. Adam is a proven advocate for development of products that go beyond utility to...
2022-06-1328 min
Just Go Grind#329: Andrew Gazdecki of MicroAcquire, on Beef Marketing, Organic Partnerships, Building in Public, and Rewriting the Rules to Startup ExitsAndrew Gazdecki is the Founder and CEO of MicroAcquire, a founder-friendly startup acquisition marketplace. MicroAcquire aims to consolidate the fragmented acquisition market by giving founders and entrepreneurs a single convenient marketplace to meet, coordinate, and close acquisitions. MicroAcquire provides free and instant access to trusted and vetted buyers with total anonymity. They're on a mission to turn founder journeys into success stories and foster the next generation of entrepreneurs. MicroAcquire has more than 100,000 registered buyers, more than 2,000 companies listed for sale, and has facilitated more than 500 deals with a combined value of more than $200 million. Andrew has...
2022-05-3029 min
Just Go Grind#328: Sofiat Abdulrazaaq of Goodfynd, on Getting Venture-Backed as a Woman of Color, Growing and Scaling a FinTech Startup, and Building a Culture-First TeamSofiat Abdulrazaaq is the Co-Founder and CEO of Goodfynd, an on-demand marketplace for food trucks. Goodfynd enables pop-up retail and mobile vendors to connect with existing and new customers virtually by providing increased visibility and online ordering. Topics Covered by Sofiat Abdulrazaaq in this Episode How Goodfynd is supporting food truck owners and operators as a FinTech startup How the idea for Goodfynd was born out of the love of great food and wanting to find it again Shifting Goodfynd from a side hustle to her full-time job The traction they needed to transition from bootstrapping...
2022-05-2328 min
Just Go Grind#327: Eric Satz of Alto, on Reimagining Retirement Investing, Failing Fast, and Redefining LuckEric Satz is the founder and CEO of Alto Solutions. Alto is the leading platform that empowers everyday investors to diversify their IRAs by investing in alternative assets such as private equity, venture capital, real estate, loans, and cryptocurrency. Offering traditional, Roth, SEP and Crypto IRAs, Alto is bringing alternative investments to the mainstream. Everyday investors can now easily and cost-effectively access their retirement savings to invest in assets once reserved solely for high-net-worth individuals. Investors can use their Alto IRA to invest in opportunities from their own private network or participate in deals offered by Bitwise, DiversyFund, Fundr...
2022-05-0931 min
Just Go Grind#326: Maika Isogawa of Webacy, from Acrobat to Tech Startup Founder Building the Future of Digital Asset ManagementMaika Isogawa is the Founder and CEO of Webacy, a platform for securing digital assets for the unexpected. Maika is a former professional acrobat and performer for the Cirque Du Soleil brand of shows. She is also a Stanford '20 alumnus with a special concentration in Symbolic Systems, a program which combines the study of Human Computer Interaction, Software Engineering, Linguistics, Philosophy, and more. Maika was most recently a Cybersecurity Engineer for Microsoft. She has since founded Webacy, and has been recently recognized as a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Topics Covered by Maika Isogawa in this Episode
2022-04-2526 min
Just Go Grind#325: Alex Taub, Co-Founder of Upstream, on DAOs, NFTs, and Approaching Transition with ConvictionAlex Taub is the co-founder and CEO of Upstream, a no-code all-in-one DAO builder. Alex previously was the co-founder and CEO of SocialRank (acquired by Trufan). Prior to that Alex led business development and partnerships for online integrations at Dwolla, a payments startup based in Iowa. As well as for Aviary (acquired by Adobe), a NY-based startup that provides a photo editing API for web and mobile devices. Alex is active in the NY tech scene as the creator of the BD Meetup and an advisor to early-stage companies. He has been featured in Business Insider as one of...
2022-04-1121 min
Just Go GrindSpecial: The Vitalize Podcast - Running Lean and Building in the Right Direction, with Jennifer Smith of ScribeJennifer Smith is the Co-Founder and CEO of Scribe, a software tool that makes it easy to learn from your most productive people without slowing them down by automatically generating step-by-step tutorials for any task, while they work. Scribe seamlessly captures how work gets done across your organization, enabling you to analyze, optimize, and standardize processes, in a way your employees will love. Founded in 2019, the Scribe team imagines a world where the best of what anyone knows how to do is available to everyone. Instantly and automatically. So every person, company, and community can do their best work...
2022-03-2823 min
Just Go GrindSpecial: The Vitalize Podcast - Taking AgeTech from Niche to Mainstream, with Max Zamkow of Third Act VenturesMax Zamkow is the Managing Partner at Third Act Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in AgeTech - technology for older adults and their caregivers. Third Act Ventures invests in founders revolutionizing aging, and is the only firm investing across the entire spectrum of AgeTech. A century ago we didn't expect to make it to 60, but now we're surviving well into our 80's and beyond. Surviving, but not thriving. Technology hasn't kept pace with the medical advancements that gave us 20+ extra years of life leaving us directionless, isolated, and alone. Third Act Ventures invests in companies that recognize...
2022-03-2424 min
Just Go Grind#324: Brenton Howland of Forum Brands, on Innovating through Acquisition to Turn Consumer Brands into Household NamesBrenton Howland is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Forum Brands, a platform of category-leading e-commerce brands built for the everyday consumer. They provide exit options to entrepreneurs, use technology to help scale small businesses, and build brands into household names that consumers know and love. Forum partners with owners of the best everyday products selling through Amazon FBA and other 3rd party marketplaces. As long-time investors, operators, and industry experts, Forum's team represents the most trusted buyers in e-commerce. Topics Covered by Brenton Howland in this Episode How Forum Brands is innovating through acquisition in the...
2022-03-2123 min
Just Go Grind#323: Jonathan Anderson of Candu, on Problem Identification, Multiple Product Hunt Launches, and the Power of No-CodeJonathan Anderson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Candu, the first no-code web builder for existing SaaS products. Candu is building a better way to activate users and release new features. The simple, drag-and-drop UI Editor empowers product and customer teams to create UI themselves, saving developer time and trimming technical debt. Unlike guide products, Candu enables customers to change the UI itself to drive user engagement. SaaS teams win when in-app experiences help users to adopt the features that ultimately help them do their jobs. That's why Candu gives customers the tools and analytics they need...
2022-03-1424 min
Just Go Grind#322: Yoni Shtein of Laguna Health, on Developing a Tech-Enabled Home Recovery Solution, the Hospital Unbundling Thesis, and Value AlignmentYoni Shtein is a technology entrepreneur and investor with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of technology and finance. Yoni brings his passion around data and impact into focus by helping to improve people's lives as CEO and co-founder of Laguna Health, a technology enabled recovery solution providing a dynamic member experience and integrative clinicians to shorten recovery times and reduce costly readmissions. Laguna aims to radically improve care experiences and care outcomes for patients who have moved through a hospital stay and have been discharged home to self-care. Laguna marries a proven clinical treatment model...
2022-03-0724 min
Just Go Grind#321: Dejan Pralica of SoleSavy, on Managing a Community Marketplace, the Rise of Web3, and Partnering with NBA FranchisesDejan Pralica is a sneaker enthusiast and entrepreneur with a passion for building community-first businesses that empower consumers. In 2018, DP co-founded SoleSavy to address the challenges and growing frustrations sneaker consumers face amidst a booming resale economy. SoleSavy provides community, tools, and technologies to help fans connect and buy sneakers at retail and has grown into one of the world's largest paid sneaker communities. As SoleSavy's CEO, DP leads a growing team of 50 people servicing thousands of members globally. Prior to SoleSavy, DP co-founded KicksDeals, a leading source for news releases, deals, and coupons on sneakers. This is DP's...
2022-03-0224 min
Just Go Grind#320: Meghan Jewitt of Uniform Teeth, on Pioneering Orthodontic Care of The Future and Raising VC as a Tech-Enabled Brick and Mortar Service BusinessMeghan Jewitt is the CEO and Co-Founder of Uniform Teeth, a modern orthodontic startup that uses advanced technology to deliver a best in class experience. Meghan believes in making orthodontic care higher quality, more patient-centric and more affordable. After over a decade in the healthcare industry, Meghan's past experience includes executive roles at DaVita Kidney Care and One Medical Group, and she holds a Biomedical Engineering degree from Columbia University and a MBA from Harvard Business School. In her downtime, Meghan skis, surfs, bikes and climbs. Topics Covered by Meghan Jewitt in this Episode What makes...
2022-02-2128 min
Just Go Grind#319: Abby Mercado, Co-Founder and CEO of Rescripted, on Building the #1 Global Integrated Care Platform for Fertility PatientsAbby Mercado is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rescripted and a mom of IVF twins. Rescripted is the #1 global social network for people interested in fertility topics, providing tech tools & resources for wherever you are on your journey to build a family. From a vibrant fertility community and trusted IVF content to a tech-enabled fertility pharmacy and mental health counseling, Rescripted brings together everything you need to feel fully supported on your fertility journey. Abby is a first-time founder but lifelong entrepreneur, and previously a VC investor. Topics Covered by Abby Mercado in this Episode...
2022-02-1425 min
Just Go Grind#318: Ryan Feit of SeedInvest, on the Digitization and Democratization of Investing, Building a Two-Sided Marketplace, and the Acquisition ProcessRyan Feit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedInvest, a leading equity crowdfunding platform that provides individual investors with access to vetted startup investment opportunities. To date they have over 600,000 investors on their platform, through which founders have raised over $350M. SeedInvest sold to Circle in 2019. Prior to founding SeedInvest, Ryan worked at Wellspring Capital Management and Lehman Brothers in New York City where he invested in, financed, and managed dozens of private and public businesses. Ryan was instrumental in the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act, which changed 80-year-old U.S. securities laws to make it possible...
2022-02-0726 min
Just Go Grind#317: Cary Breese, Co-Founder and CEO of NowRx, on Disrupting the Pharmacy Industry and the Path to Becoming a National BrandCary Breese is Co-Founder and CEO of NowRx, a technology-leveraged pharmacy service using software automation, logistics, robotics, and micro-fulfilment strategy to transform retail pharmacy. Traditional retail pharmacy is broken, marked by inefficiencies and terrible customer experience. NowRx is on a mission to rebuild healthcare the way it should be – accessible, convenient, and affordable for all. Cary is a multi-time CEO with more than 15 years of experience leading companies that leverage innovative software and automation technologies to disrupt large legacy industries. Topics Covered by Cary Breese in this Episode The vision of NowRx How NowRx works as a full st...
2022-01-3128 min
Just Go GrindSpecial: The Vitalize Podcast - Simplifying the Fundraising Process for Founders, with Jordi Hays of Party RoundJordi Hays is the Co-Founder and CEO of investing platform Party Round. Party Round is building better tools for founders, starting with an automated fundraising tool. Generate & send docs, collect signatures, and receive funds, automating your raise from open to close. Previously, Jordi Hays founded Likewise and Branded Native. Topics Covered by Jordi Hays in this Episode How Party Round is simplifying the process of raising capital for founders How Jordi got inspired to start Party Round and what sets it apart from other fundraising platforms How Jordi and his co-founder Sarah Chase got Party Round off the...
2022-01-2824 min
Just Go Grind#316: Nhon Ma, CEO and Co-Founder of Numerade, on Leveraging Technology to Democratize STEM EducationNhon Ma is the CEO and Co-Founder of Numerade, a venture-backed, high-growth education technology startup based in Los Angeles. Numerade is singularly focused on creating exceptional video and interactive content experiences for education, making the knowledge and skills of world class educators widely accessible and affordable to student audiences of all backgrounds. Their mission is to close the educational opportunity gap by unlocking and democratizing access to extraordinary educators and the content they have to offer. Previously, Nhon Ma and Alex Lee co-founded Tutorcast, which eventually led to the founding of Numerade. Prior, Nhon also worked at Google.
2022-01-2424 min
Just Go Grind#315: Suman Siva, Co-Founder and CEO of Marco, on Creating Cohesive Company Culture via Employee Engagement ExperiencesSuman Siva is the Co-Founder and CEO of Marco, a platform for discovering, planning, and booking high-quality experiences. Marco is helping companies and teams up-level their next Zoom happy hour or offsite and do something collaborative and engaging via virtual experiences that evolve modern teams into thriving cultures. Suman has spent his career advising, operating, and investing in consumer tech companies and marketplaces, and now he's excited to be working on building one! His experience includes working as a Growth Advisor to marketplaces at Basis One, investing at SoftBank Vision Fund Consumer Internet, and consulting at Bain.
2022-01-1727 min
Just Go Grind#314: Vivian Chen, Founder and CEO of Rise, on Building the Next Generation Professional Social Network by Crafting Authentic ConnectionsVivian is the Founder and CEO of Rise (joinrise.co), a professional social network that enables companies to proactively build relationships with people. Rise connects members with the world's most innovative and forward-thinking companies across roles and industries. They are a data-driven tech platform that provides access to impactful opportunities to those who want purpose, advancement, and equity. Prior to starting Rise, Vivian was an operator who built brands and products for high-impact businesses, Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, as well as leading VCs, PE firms, and global institutions. She has advised and worked with companies such as...
2022-01-1027 min
Just Go Grind#313: Sehreen Noor Ali, Co-Founder of Sleuth, on Creating the Largest Crowdsourced Database on Children's HealthSehreen Noor Ali is the Co-Founder of Sleuth, a childhood health recommendation engine, powered by crowdsourced insights and machine learning. The platform allows parents to share stories and information with each other to get essential perspectives on programs, treatments, therapies, tips and tricks, and outstanding specialists. Sleuth is backed by NewLab and Antler. Previously, Sehreen was an educative executive in technology with experience spanning across sales, business development, marketing, and community-building. She is deeply operational and is adept at scaling nascent product lines into revenue-generating departments. Her sweet spot is closing large deals that get new products...
2022-01-0326 min
Just Go Grind#312: Kirsten Baumberger, Co-Founder of Minisocial.io, on Scaling On-Demand User Generated Content, Leveraging Partnerships, and Being the "Anti-Platform"Kirsten Baumberger is the Co-Founder and Director of Partnerships at minisocial.io, a User Generated Content platform that facilitates the production of UGC on-demand and at scale. mini works with top D2C brands and agencies including DoorDash, Sanzo, Native, JAJA, Pattern brands, and Olipop to generate fully-licensed UGC via micro influencer activations on TikTok and Instagram. Kirsten has been featured in Forbes, AdWeek, The New York Times, Thrive Global, and Business Insider. In her journey of entrepreneurship, Kirsten has developed relationships with international brands and has been recognized as a young trailblazer within her industry. Beyond...
2021-12-2728 min
Just Go Grind#311: JP Fatta and Bryce Petty of Kush Klubs, on Crowdfunding, Community Building, and Navigating the Highly Regulated Cannabis IndustryJP Fatta is a serial entrepreneur with multiple startups including health, entertainment and Cannabis related businesses. He is currently the CEO of Kush Klubs, the first monthly Cannabis Network, Fintech & Subscription-Based Membership Club. Members gain access to a gram or more a day, every day of the month, up to 365 days a year. Kush Klubs works with dispensaries in their network to bring members below market rates while helping dispensaries grow their customer base. As a socially conscious brand, they see their role in the Cannabis space to negotiate for the people, empower local businesses, advocate for minority owners...
2021-12-2030 min
Just Go Grind#310: Caroline Casson, Partner at Vitalize VC, on Pattern Recognition, What Makes a Rock Star Founder, and How to Choose Great InvestmentsCaroline Casson is a Partner at Vitalize Venture Capital, where she spends her time sourcing potential investments, assisting portfolio companies, and managing the due diligence process for Vitalize. She also writes founder spotlights on her blog. Prior to joining Vitalize in 2018, Caroline worked for GE Ventures in San Francisco where she helped incubate and operate a startup in the drone space. Before transitioning into venture capital, Caroline worked in corporate finance for various GE businesses in Chicago, Atlanta, London, and San Francisco. Caroline received a BBA with honors in math and psychology from Boston College and a...
2021-12-1326 min
Just Go Grind#309: Annelise Hillmann, Co-Founder and CEO of FRONTMAN, on Reimagining The Men's Grooming Industry, Cultivating Authenticity in Brand Building, and Designing for Behavior ChangeAnnelise Hillmann is the co-founder of FRONTMAN, the Gen Z self-care brand for men creating a new grooming category. A story teller at heart, Annelise is an art director and designer focusing on brand identity and marketing strategy for early stage companies. She has a Harvard degree in economics and psychology and lives in Brooklyn. She co-founded FRONTMAN with Nick Bunn in 2018, and also does freelance for companies still in stealth and others post-IPO. Topics Covered by Annelise Hillmann in this Episode What FRONTMAN is and how Annelise and her co-founder Nick Bunn came up with...
2021-12-0626 min
Just Go Grind#308: Joseph Heller, Founder and CEO of The/Studio, on Growing a Successful B2B Marketplace for Product Customization and Creating Community Around Building Better BusinessesJoseph Heller, a true entrepreneur at heart, is the Founder and CEO of The/Studio, an on-demand manufacturing platform which is also now the parent company of Supplied, creating a network of empowered entrepreneurs through their wholesale platform for small businesses. While at UC Berkeley, Joseph raised a seed round for an e-commerce platform which sparked his early interest in technology. He believes life and entrepreneurship are a journey and that journey took him to China where he later founded a successful supply chain business. Joseph was absolutely obsessed with being part of the process of consumer products being...
2021-11-2926 min
Just Go Grind#307: David Perry, CEO and Co-Founder of E-Commerce Partnership Network Carro, on Overcoming Friction, Thinking Globally, Gamification, and Leveling Up from Entrepreneur to InnovatorDavid Perry is the CEO and Co-Founder of Carro, a new e-commerce partnership network that over 30K Shopify brands have joined, providing over 320M visitors a month. GetCarro.com helps brands gain attention, sales, and new customers by partnering with other brands in the network. Before Carro, Sony PlayStation acquired Perry's last company Gaikai to establish leadership in the future of streaming video games from the cloud. This service is called PlayStation Now. After 39 years in the business (with founding roles at companies such as Acclaim Entertainment and Shiny Entertainment, both of which were acquired by industry...
2021-11-2241 min
Just Go Grind#306: Richard Mensah, Co-Founder of EllisX, on Pioneering Authentic Marketing for Tech StartupsRichard Mensah is the Co-Founder of EllisX, which is pioneering authentic marketing, a new market category that allows companies to increase brand awareness without hassle. Their infrastructure empowers creators and writers to connect with the best startup/tech stories. Originally from Ghana, Richard previously founded 3 startups in the Media, Adtech and HR industries, while studying for his college degree in Computer Science. His current company EllisX was selected as a finalist for the 2020 New England Innovation Awards, the oldest innovation competition in the Northeast. Richard was listed in BostInno's 25 under 25 in 2019 and holds graduate degrees in international business and...
2021-11-1525 min
Just Go Grind#305: Matt Jung, CEO of the Luxury Cookie Company Last Crumb, on Unique Brand Development, Creating an Organic Flywheel, and Managing Supply and Demand for an Exclusive ProductMatt Jung is an entrepreneur and generalist with over a decade of experience founding businesses and leading teams with a focus on business development, operations, marketing and brand strategy in both startup, incubator/accelerator, and corporate environments. Currently Matt is the CEO of Last Crumb, the world's first ultra-premium luxury cookie brand. Their nostalgic flavors are upgraded with the world's best ingredients, delivered through a premium direct-to-consumer membership with luxe packaging you can show off. Topics Covered by Matt Jung in this Episode How Matt and his team are building the world's first ultra-premium luxury...
2021-11-0828 min
Just Go Grind#304: Alex Simon, Co-Founder of Budget Based Travel Company Elude, on Innovating in an Established Industry and the Power of PartnershipsAlex Simon is the Co-Founder and CEO of Elude, a budget based travel company getting you out of your office and around the world. Alex previously worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, a career he left in 2018 to turn travel hacking into his full-time gig as an entrepreneur with his co-founder, Frankie Scerbo. Elude is a travel search engine & app that allows people to discover and book unique travel packages based only on your budget and date. Think "Where can you go next month for $700." They are internationally venture backed in LA and Singapore...
2021-11-0127 min
Just Go Grind#303: Rachel Sanders, Co-Founder and CEO of Rootine, a Precision Nutrition Startup Empowering Individuals to Optimize Their Wellness, on the Value of Personalized Health Solutions, Diversity in Investors, and Hiring for Culture over ExpertiseRachel Sanders is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rootine, a wellness company working to optimize its users' health and daily performance with precision nutrition. They enable individuals to leverage their personal health and nutrition data to improve how they look, feel and perform everyday with their test-take-track approach. Rachel has spent her career in high-stress roles that require her to maximize the time she has — first as an investment banker and now as a startup founder and first-time mom. Early on in her career she was suffering from burnout, fatigue, stress, and brain fo...
2021-10-2525 min
Just Go Grind#302: Nicholas Hinrichsen on How Clutch turns Credit Unions into FinTech companies, Raising from a16z, and Hiring Talent in LATAMNicholas Hinrichsen is the co-founder of Clutch, a SaaS company working to turn credit unions into FinTechs, while helping you to refinance your auto loan and save thousands in minutes. Nicholas used to be an avid golfer, playing on Germany's national team for four years. After finishing his master's degree in Germany, he worked at Bain & Company and Merrill Lynch before he moved to the U.S. in 2011. Nicholas and his co-founder Chris Coleman met at Stanford Business School, and after graduating in 2013 they started Carlypso, the Amazon for used cars. They eventually sold to Carvana in 2017, and stayed...
2021-10-1826 min
Just Go Grind#301: Introducing Vitalize Angels: Angel Investing for Everyone (Gale Wilkinson Interview)Vitalize Angels offers "angel investing for everyone" and in this special episode of the Just Go Grind podcast, Gale Wilkinson and Justin Gordon take you behind the scenes to tell you how they, and the Vitalize team, did it. Learn more about Vitalize Angels and join here: https://vitalize.vc/vitalizeangels/ The Vitalize Angels deal close process for founders: https://vitalize.notion.site/Deal-Close-Process-c95157c58dc3447fa8537b8447e9db79 More about Vitalize: Vitalize was formed in 2017 as a pre-seed and seed-stage venture fund investing in the future of work +...
2021-09-2313 min
Just Go Grind#300: Zach Evans and Justin Gordon Reflect on Entrepreneurial Strategy, Growth, and Networking to Build Their Online BusinessesZach Evans, my best friend since high school, is a pianist, producer, and kick-ass entrepreneur who turned his passion for piano into a business that's done more than $1 million in revenue in 3 years. He's been featured on CBS, Yahoo, USA Today, and has amassed more than 10 million views on YouTube. Zach now lives in Los Angeles and, with the extra time his lifestyle business gives him, is focusing his time and effort on breaking into the music industry – this time as an artist. Zach is our first three-time guest! In this episode, we discuss where both of ou...
2021-07-191h 20
Just Go Grind#299: Naomi Shah, Founder and CEO at Meet Cute, a New Entertainment Brand Changing Listening Behavior with Scripted Audio ContentNaomi Shah is the Founder and CEO of Meet Cute, a venture-backed media company that has produced over 300 original light-hearted romantic comedies in podcast form. The company celebrates human connection and the full spectrum of love with a core mission -- having every person feel like they are reflected in Meet Cute stories. Since inception (Feb 2020), the podcast already has over 2 million listens across over 150 countries and has been featured in the top 10 of Fiction on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Before starting Meet Cute, Naomi was a member of the investment team at Union Square Ventures, a...
2021-07-0555 min
Just Go Grind#298 - Talking Venture: Jarrid Tingle, Managing Partner at Harlem CapitalJarrid Tingle is Managing Partner of Harlem Capital where he focuses on deal sourcing, organizational strategy, and due diligence efforts. Jarrid was featured on the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list, 2019 Inc. 30 under 30 list, and the 2018 Ebony Power 100 list. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS) in 2019 where he was a Baker Scholar (top 5% of class). During HBS, Jarrid was a fellow in the Robert Toigo Foundation and Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Programs. Previously, Jarrid was a Private Equity Investment Professional at ICV Partners. Prior to ICV, Jarrid was an Investment Banker in the Global Technology, Media & T...
2021-06-2847 min
Just Go Grind#297: Jon Dahl, Co-Founder and CEO of Mux, a Video Platform for Developers, on The Changing Landscape of the Video Industry and Unexpectedly Becoming a Hyper Growth StartupJon Dahl is the Co-Founder and CEO at Mux, where he builds software to help online video get better. Before that, he was Co-Founder of Zencoder, and then VP of Technology at Brightcove, two pioneering companies in the world of online video. Mux is building the future of online video infrastructure. They started off by building Mux Data, a best-in-class performance analytics tool that's trusted by developers at companies like Vimeo, Robinhood, CBS Interactive, Discovery, PBS, and TED. Billions of monitored streams later, they launched Mux Video, a simple API for video hosting, encoding, and streaming. Take any video...
2021-06-2146 min
Just Go Grind#296: Jessica Chu, Co-Founder and COO at DIG Labs, The Real Time Dog Health App, on Pivoting, Brand Building, and Being a Pet ParentJessica Chu is the Co-Founder and COO at DIG Labs, advancing daily pet healthcare through science and technology. In 2019, Jessica co-founded DIG Labs with Tara Zedayko out of a shared mission to finally conquer unexplained digestive issues with each of their rescue dogs, Sammy and Kali. Armed with decades of experience in health technology, business management, and dog rescue, they set out to give all pet parents a better way to listen to their pets. DIG labs is re-imagining personalized pet wellness. They believe that pets are the family members who love us unconditionally. The best way to love...
2021-06-1443 min
Just Go Grind#295: Amos Schwartzfarb, Managing Director at Techstars Austin and AuthorAmos Schwartzfarb is the Managing Director of Techstars in Austin. Amos has more than 15 years of sales leadership and strategy experience in software, digital, advertising and entertainment. Before joining Techstars, Amos served as co-founder and Head of Customer Development at Joust. Prior to Joust, Amos served as Vice President of Customer Development for BlackLocus, which was acquired by The Home Depot in 2012. Amos was also Co-Founder and served as COO of mySpoonful, which was acquired in 2011. Additionally he served on the Executive team of Business.com, as Vice President of Sales and Client Services, which was acquired by RH...
2021-06-0751 min
Just Go Grind#294: Zach Sims, Co-Founder and CEO of Codecademy, on Creating Premium Educational Content, Building an Engaged Community, and Helping Millions of People Grow Their Careers Zach Sims is the Co-Founder and CEO of Codecademy, the easiest way to learn to code. Since the company started in August of 2011, millions of people have begun learning to program using the site. Codecademy has worked with organizations like The White House, the Government of Colombia, American Express, Rakuten, and more. Zach and his cofounder Ryan Bubinski have grown Codecademy to over 100 employees and have raised nearly $90M in venture capital financing from top tier investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, Yuri Milner, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, SV Angel, Richard Branson...
2021-05-3135 min
Just Go Grind#293: Sid Viswanathan, Co-Founder and President of Truepill, a Comprehensive Digital Health Platform Revolutionizing the Industry, on Founder-Market Fit, Fueling Growth, and Expanding Their VisionSid Viswanathan is the Co-Founder and President of Truepill. Alongside Co-Founder Umar Afridi, Sid founded Truepill in 2016 to revolutionize the pharmacy and healthcare industry. The company shipped its first prescription less than five years ago and has since expanded its services to deliver an end-to-end, direct-to-patient experience unlike anything else in the healthcare industry. In 2010, Sid founded his first company, CardMunch, a business-card scanning app which was acquired by LinkedIn soon after its founding. After its acquisition, Sid joined LinkedIn as Product Manager and saw CardMunch named one of Time Magazine's Best Apps of 2012. Sid started his career in...
2021-05-2449 min
Just Go Grind#292: Ethan Bloch, Founder and CEO of Digit, on Strategic Fundraising, Accelerated Learning, and Pioneering Algorithmic Saving to Make Financial Health Effortless for EveryoneEthan Bloch is the Founder and CEO of Digit, on a mission to tackle the number one stressor for Americans: financial well-being. In doing so, Ethan aims to make financial health effortless for everyone. His obsession with personal finance started at age thirteen when he began day trading technology stocks with his bar mitzvah money and continued as he studied behavioral finance in college and realized that that financial health does not come naturally to most. To combat this, Ethan created Digit, the first personalized and automated savings app that helps members reach their financial goals and achieve results...
2021-05-1749 min
Just Go Grind#290: Jesse Draper, Founding Partner at Halogen Ventures, on Her Unique Journey From Actress to 4th Generation Investor, Challenging Imposter Syndrome as a Female in VC, and Supporting Women in Consumer TechJesse Draper is a mother of 2 boys, founding partner of Halogen Ventures as well as creator and host of Emmy nominated television series, The Valley Girl Show. Jesse is a 4th generation venture capitalist focused on early stage investing in consumer technology companies led by female and co-ed teams. Among her 55 portfolio companies are the Skimm, Glamsquad, Carbon38, HopSkipDrive, The Flex Company, Eloquii (recently sold to Walmart) and This is L (sold to P&G). She stars on SET's television series Meet the Draper's, currently in it's second season. Jesse was listed by Marie Claire magazine as one of...
2021-05-0344 min
Just Go Grind#289: Sandro Roco, Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-Inspired Sparkling Water, on the Ins and Outs of Building a Successful CPG Company and How They're Making the Industry More Inclusive Sandro Roco is the Founder and CEO of Sanzo, an Asian-inspired sparkling water company on a mission to bridge cultures by connecting people to authentic flavors. Sanzo uses real fruit, not "natural flavors," and has no added sugar. Sandro, a Queens-born Filipino American, was walking through a popular Asian supermarket in Manhattan's Koreatown when he noticed a huge gap between the modern, clean labels of the new-age "American" beverage brands and the preservative- and sugar-laden labels of the legacy Asian brands. His goal was simple: celebrate high quality Asian flavors that for decades have been masked by...
2021-04-2657 min
Just Go Grind#286: Tony Jamous, Founder and CEO of Oyster, a Distributed Talent Enablement Platform Removing Barriers to Cross-Border HR, on Raising a $20M Series A and Creating the Future of WorkTony Jamous is the Founder & CEO of Oyster, the remote work employment platform. The company is on a mission to remove the barriers between talented people and great full-time jobs globally. They believe it should be easy for any company to hire any person, no matter where either is located in the world. Oyster's software platform is created to solve for the complexities of giving full-time, full-fledged employment to anyone in the world, while providing a delightful experience to employers and employees. Prior to Oyster, Tony was Co-Founder and President of Nexmo, a Vonage Company. He joined Vonage as...
2021-04-0550 min
Just Go Grind#282: Rishi Mandal, Co-Founder and CEO of Future, an Online Personal Training Platform, on Making Fitness Accessible and Affordable, Scaling 1:1 Connections, and Lessons from His 15 Years in TechRishi Mandal is the co-founder and CEO of Future, backed by Kleiner Perkins and Founders Fund. Future is an online personal training platform that pairs clients with their own world-class coach. Future is creating the most personal training experience ever by using a combination of technology, content, and elite personal trainers to empower members through fitness. Their custom-made training plans with personalized audio coaching are designed to keep you coming back. With Future, you can reach your goals at home, in the gym, or at your group fitness classes, when and where it's most convenient for you. Their team...
2021-03-1547 min
Just Go Grind#279: Isabelle Kenyon, Founder and CEO of Calibrate, a Modern Metabolic Health Business That Is Establishing a New Standard of Care, on Growing a Virtual Team, Category Creation, and the Power of Persistence Isabelle Kenyon is the Founder & CEO of Calibrate, the modern, medical metabolic health business that is changing the way the world treats weight. Calibrate's doctor-guided program defines a new standard of clinical care, bringing decades of academic research to everyone, everywhere. Their program combines FDA-approved metabolic medication with a holistic curriculum and 1:1 virtual coaching sessions that drive lasting behavior change. The result is a metabolic reset that delivers sustainable weight loss and success beyond the scale, with improved whole-body health that enables our members to embrace a new day-to-day. Prior to Calibrate, Isabelle...
2021-03-0435 min
Just Go Grind#277: Wisam Dakka, Co-Founder of Meemo, an Innovative Social Finance Platform Changing Users' Relationship with Money, on Building Consumer Products, Being an Engineer at Google and Snap, and Managing a Remote TeamWisam Dakka is the co-founder of Meemo, an AI-powered social finance app where your digital wallet meets your everyday life. Meemo allows you to send and receive money to friends and family, and is delighting users with automatic rewards based on their recent activity. This includes personalized offers and shopping deals, Weekly Review stories, useful transaction-based notifications, and more. The secure app can also be used to search and sort through accounts and transactions, and enjoy shareable insights uncovered by Meemo's powerful AI. Wisam Dakka and his co-founder, André Madeira are longtime product developers, coders and engineers who previously w...
2021-02-2552 min
Just Go Grind#274: Eric Shoykhet, Founder and CEO of Atom Finance, a Powerful, Intuitive Platform That Has Raised Over $18M and Makes Modern Investing Tools and Data Accessible To EveryoneEric Shoykhet is the Founder and CEO of Atom Finance, a modern financial knowledge platform empowering investors to make informed investing decisions with best-in-class research, software, and data. Eric founded Atom to fill a white space he identified in the market. As an institutional analyst at Blackstone and Governor's Lane, Eric had access to enterprise platforms like CapIQ and Bloomberg. He quickly identified the massive information gap between those platforms and what was readily available to retail investors via Yahoo! Finance, etc. Eric founded Atom Finance in 2018 to bridge the gap and provide the same market research resources traditionally...
2021-02-1544 min
Just Go Grind#273: Krish Subramanian, Co-Founder and CEO of Chargebee, an Innovative B2B SaaS Company That's Raised $105M, on Customer Acquisition, Pricing, and Building a Subscription Management & Billing Tool to Streamline Revenue OperationsKrish Subramanian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Chargebee, a recurring billing and subscription management tool that helps SaaS and SaaS-like businesses streamline Revenue Operations. Chargebee integrates with the leading payment gateways like Stripe, Braintree, PayPal etc. around the world to let you automate recurring payment collection along with invoicing, taxes, accounting, email notifications, SaaS Metrics and customer management. Chargebee handles all your crucial workflows from lead to ledger with power-packed integrations that include Salesforce, Xero, Quickbooks, Avalara, Slack, among others. Some of the Topics Covered by Krish Subramanian in this Episode What Chargebee...
2021-02-1148 min
Just Go Grind#271: Joe Mahavuthivanij, Co-Founder and CEO of Mythic Markets, an Investing Platform to Buy, Sell and Trade Fractional Shares in Rare Pop Culture CollectiblesJoe Mahavuthivanij is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mythic Markets, an investing platform enabling anyone to buy, sell and trade fractional shares in alternative assets with enormous fandoms. Starting with pop culture collectibles, they are securitizing vintage comic books and collectible cards, allowing fans to invest in the things they love. Mythic Markets is a venture-backed startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their team first met in San Diego, California, and since then have worked at places like Apple, Fandom, Google and Uber. Some of the Topics Covered by Joe Mahavuthivanij in this Episode
2021-02-0449 min
Just Go Grind#270: Josh Snow, Founder and CEO of Snow, a D2C Leader in Oral Care and Oral Cosmetics with Over 1M Fans and Customers in 175+ Countries Worldwide Josh Snow is the Founder and CEO of Snow, a direct to consumer (DTC) leader in oral care and oral cosmetics. Snow produces premium oral care products including patent pending teeth whitening systems, premium floss, anti-aging lip care products, and more. The perfect storm of beauty, technology, and oral care. Snow® is proud to have over 1 million fans, and customers in 175+ countries around the world. Their videos have gone viral with over one billion views cumulatively. Snow has been featured on The Doctors, Wendy Williams, The Kelly Clarkson Show, VOGUE, Harper's Bazaar, Marie C...
2021-02-0142 min
Just Go Grind#265: David Zeff, Founder and CEO of Whistle, a Marketing and Sales Agency that Deploys Strategy, Processes, Award Winning People and Tech to Help Companies GrowDavid Zeff is the Founder and CEO of Whistle, a marketing and sales agency that is designed to help companies acquire customers through setting best practice sales and marketing processes and strategies and deploying lead generation activities through highly qualified sales development representatives as well as via digital marketing channels. With over 10 years of selling technology to hundreds of SMB and Enterprise companies across multiple sectors, David has begun to wrap his head around the art of sales. He has been a part of two exits – one as a founder and the other as a founding team member. He's a...
2021-01-2049 min
Just Go Grind#259: Jack Hughes, Co-Founder and COO of Syncify, a Social Podcasting App Reimagining the Digital Landscape of ConnectionJack Hughes is the Co-Founder and COO of Syncify, a social podcasting app that is reimagining the digital landscape of connection. Syncify is reversing the current nature of social media. Instead of creating media about ourselves, they encourage connection around media by enabling users to listen together live with friends or easily catch up on the same content and then discuss it. Syncify is a great way to reduce isolation and loneliness and to learn more from what you listen to. Jack and his co-founder Sam Harris formed part of Techstar's London 2020 cohort. Some of...
2021-01-0649 min
Just Go Grind#258: Ebere Anosike, Founder & CEO of ThankYouKindly, Personalizing and Revolutionizing Corporate Gift-GivingEbere Anosike is the Founder and CEO of ThankYouKindly, a company surprising & delighting your employees, clients, prospects & partners with unforgettable gifts on your behalf, sparking tears of joy with each & every one of them. The ThankYouKindly team is made up of a resourceful group of former Customer Success Directors, Sales Strategists, and Account-Based Marketing Enthusiasts who set out to build the service they always wished they had. Ebere identifies herself as scrappy, joyful, and passionate about AI, creating livelihoods & giving unforgettable gifts. Some of the Topics Covered by Ebere Anosike in this Episode What...
2021-01-0439 minJust Go Grind#256: Shubhra Srivastava, Co-Founder & CEO of GaragePlug, a Next Generation Software for Auto Repair and Detailing Businesses Shubhra Srivastava is the Co-founder and CEO of GaragePlug, a cloud-based easy-to-use software providing an end to end digital platform for auto repair workshops and detailing centers. Shubhra started her career as a software developer in 1999 and worked for almost 18+ years in various multinational companies in different roles, starting as a developer and eventually leading various Global Programs and platform launches. She has worked in various domains such as telecom, engineering, cybersecurity, and instrumentation. In her 18 years of experience, she has learned the art of problem-solving and developing strong teams and organizations. Shubhra's journey with...
2020-12-2840 minJust Go Grind#255: Andrew Jamison, Co-Founder & CEO of Extend, a Digital Credit Distribution Platform That's Raised $14M in VC and is Redefining How Credit and Cards are Issued, Distributed and AccessedAndrew Jamison is the Co-Founder & CEO of Extend, a company that enables credit card sharing amongst non-cardholders via a simple and ubiquitous P2P platform. Extend enables banks, and their customers to capture more business spend on their existing card accounts by connecting account holders and their workforce. Some of the Topics Covered by Andrew Jamison in this Episode What Extend is doing today and why Andrew decided to start it The discussions in the earlier days between Andrew and his co-founders around creating Extend The go-to-market strategy for Extend How Andrew...
2020-12-2348 minJust Go Grind#253: Ethan Austin, Chief Strategy Officer at Gig Wage and Former Managing Director at Techstars, on Fundraising, Joining an Accelerator, and His Experience as a Founder and Investor Ethan Austin is the Chief Strategy Officer at Gig Wage, former Managing Director at the Techstars Western Union Accelerator, and the Founder of GiveForward. Gig Wage, a company that's raised more than $10M in venture capital, is a platform designed for innovators who want a simplified way of managing contractor payments so they can recruit and retain world-class 1099 talent and power modern contractor commerce. Some of the Topics Covered by Ethan Austin in this Episode What Ethan's role is at Gig Wage and what the company is doing...
2020-12-1851 minJust Go Grind#252: Antony Arena, CEO at Unbnd Group, an Immersive Technology Creative Agency and the Creator of Aura, the Future of Interactive Mobile EntertainmentAfter studying Communications and Marketing, Antony worked in Advertising Agencies for many years as a Strategic Planner and later running his own agency. He noticed opportunities in the marketplace around a lack in tech-focused content distribution platforms for immersive experiences and sought to create one. Many years later, and with the help of some very talented people, Antony has lead the creation of Aura and has begun commercializing it during COVID with success. Some of the Topics Covered by Antony in this Episode What Unbnd does and how it got started Why...
2020-12-1637 minJust Go Grind#251: Steve Massey, Co-Founder & CEO of Prewitt Ridge, on Partnering with NASA JPL, His Experience at Techstars, Lessons from His Time at SpaceX and Slingshot Aerospace, and Building Collaboration Software for Deep Tech Teams Steve Massey is co-founder and CEO of Prewitt Ridge, which was founded in 2019 to tackle the largest meta-problem in deep tech: systems engineering. They reduce friction in collaborative design efforts by connecting critical data elements between engineering teams and offering git-like tracking of project-wide changes. Prior to co-founding Prewitt Ridge, Steve was at Slingshot Aerospace for 2 years where he led the development of their real-time edge analytics pipeline working with USAF and defense contractor customers, and 5 years at SpaceX where he acted in a mission management and integration engineer role for multiple early...
2020-12-1442 minJust Go Grind#249: Deon Nicholas, Co-Founder & CEO of Forethought, on Raising $27M from Top VCs, the Importance of Self-Awareness as a Founder, and Building an Innovative Company Empowering Customer Support Teams with AIDeon is the Founder of Forethought. Previously, Deon built products and infrastructure at Facebook, Palantir, Dropbox, and Pure Storage. He has ML publications and infrastructure patents, was a World Finalist at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, and was named to Forbes 30 under 30. Originally from Canada, Deon enjoys spending time with his wife and son, playing basketball, and reading as many books as he can get his hands on. Some of the Topics Covered by Deon Nicholas in this Episode What Forethought does and how it got started Where Deon's interest in technology came...
2020-12-0945 minJust Go Grind#243: Lori Shao, Founder & CEO of Finli, on Building an Innovative Fintech Company Powering Neighborhood BusinessesLori Shao is a financial services veteran with deep expertise in payment technology and innovation. In April 2019, she walked away from her 17-year career in banking to build Finli, a vertical payment solution to power neighborhood schools and freelance instructors. Finli stands for financial lift and operates with the clear mission to financially lift communities through innovation and narrow the gap of accessibility, affordability, and outcome for all. Lori resides in Arcadia CA with her husband Derek and two children Ed and Ryan. Some of the Topics Covered by Lori Shao in this Episode
2020-11-2555 minJust Go Grind#241: Gregory Ugwi, Co-Founder of Thinknum, a Web Platform that Allows Investors and Large, Fast-Growing Tech Companies to Wield the Web as Data to Outsmart Competitors Gregory Ugwi is the cofounder & CEO of Thinknum, KGBase and the Business of Business. Thinknum Inc has raised $12.6 million to date. Prior to founding Thinknum, Greg graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and worked at Goldman Sachs. Greg was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. Greg enjoys playing soccer and is an investor in New Amsterdam FC. You can find Greg on Twitter and Linkedin. Some of the Topics Covered by Gregory Ugwi in this Episode What Thinknum does and...
2020-11-2144 minJust Go Grind#238: Ranbir Arora, Co-Founder & CEO of Dorm, a University for the Passion EconomyRanbir Arora is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dorm, a hypercasual learning app that aggregates and curates the world's audio content to provide a seamless learning experience that fits into your day and makes your downtime more gratifying. Previously, Ranbir was the Chief Growth Officer at Sweatcoin, which he grew to 50M users. Some of the Topics Covered by Ranbir Arora in this Episode What Dorm is and how it got started The business model behind Dorm Why Ranbir chose audio as the way to educate people at Dorm How Do...
2020-11-1853 minJust Go Grind#235: Santi Bibiloni, Founder & CEO of COR, the Next-Generation Solution for Creative and Professional Teams that Intelligently Suggests How to Manage your Projects, Teams, and FinancesSanti Bibiloni is a Silicon Valley-based technology entrepreneur and co-founder & CEO at COR, an AI Management Software that serves Worldwide top Agencies and Consultants. Prior to COR he founded Balloon Group, one of Argentina's fastest-growing digital agencies, among other businesses. Today he also mentors on Sales & Fundraising in 500 Startups. Some of the Topics Covered by Santi Bibiloni in this Episode What COR is and how it got started Going after a $50T market Some of the questions Santi asked to evaluate the problem he wanted to solve in the early days Building...
2020-11-1545 minJust Go Grind#231: Magnus Hillestad, Co-Founder & CEO of Sanity, a Unique Developer-Focused Content Platform, on Choosing Co-Founders, Raising Millions in Venture Capital, and Building a Fast-Growing StartupMagnus is CEO and co-founder of Sanity.io, the American-Norwegian Content Platform company that is reinventing the content space with its unique customizable and collaborative approach. Having worked in investment banking and private equity, Magnus started coding at age 35 and left his finance career, and later joining Sanity.io as co-founder. Sanity now has almost 40 employees and serves more than 4 billion API calls per month. Magnus is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the Topics Covered by Magnus Hillestad in this Episode What Sanity does and how it got...
2020-11-1148 minJust Go Grind#230: Eytan Bensoussan, Co-Founder & CEO of NorthOne, a Digital Business Bank Built for America and Trusted by Over 190,000 Businesses Eytan deeply believes that the success of the small business sector is one of the most important causes of our time. It has the potential to reduce income inequality, empower immigrants, and provide disproportionate leadership opportunities for female and minority businesspeople. Creating a banking service that is as modern as these companies is why Eytan started NorthOne. Prior to NorthOne, Eytan was a Sr. Engagement Manager for McKinsey & Company. He served many wonderful clients in Financial Services industry, usually on the topic of digital customer experience and financial inclusion. Prior to that, he...
2020-11-1048 minJust Go Grind#228: Vivek Khandelwal, Founder of iZooto, a Company that Helps Media Publishers and Retailers to Own, Build, and Engage Their Audience Using Web Push Notifications Passionate about mobile and technology, Vivek leads the Marketing and Customer Operations at Datability. At Datability, they are building iZooto - an owned audience marketing platform that helps publishers build, engage, and retain their owned audience using web push notifications. iZooto is the World's First Owned Audience Marketing Platform that helps media publishers and retailers to own, build, and engage their audience using web push notifications. Over 15,000 marketers push over 18B notifications every month to engage their audience and drive repeat traffic. Some of the Topics Covered by Vivek Khandelwal...
2020-11-0846 minJust Go Grind#225: Gary Skulnik, Founder & CEO of Neighborhood Sun, a Mission-Driven Company Using Community Solar to Fight Climate ChangeGary Skulnik is a senior executive and strategic thinker who has been a leader in developing the clean energy market in Maryland and Washington, DC, through innovative marketing and sales, partnerships, community building, business management, and legislative advocacy. Founder of two entities focused exclusively on marketing clean energy, a for-profit and a non-profit, which collectively helped more than 17,000 consumers and businesses switch to clean power. Currently, Gary is the Founder and CEO of Neighborhood Sun, exclusively focused on the fast-growing community solar space. Some of the Topics Covered by Gary Skulnik in this Episode ...
2020-11-0549 minJust Go Grind#224: Zach Adamson, Founder at DIVERTbrands, on Pivoting During COVID-19, Raising $500K in 10 Days on Wefunder, and Creating Positive Change by Making Action Sports More Accessible to All Zach Adamson is the Founder of DIVERTbrands, the parent company of two subsidiary companies, both of them with one unified purpose, breakdown the barriers to Action Sports for at-risk inner-city youth as a platform for creativity, self-discovery and passion in order to help them "Achieve their I'mpossible." The first is DIVERTcity/sessions, a mixed-use Action Sports Facility currently under development in cities across the country that brings Surfing, Skateboarding, Snowboarding, and Lifestyle Educational Programming to the inner-city. They have an all-star team, city support, and are on the path to a successful operation. ...
2020-11-0452 minJust Go Grind#221: Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green, an Innovative Vertical Farming Technology CompanyEddy Badrina is CEO of Eden Green Technology ( https://www.edengreen.com/ ), a vertical farming technology company dedicated to changing the way we farm our food and feed our communities. He is also co-founder of BuzzShift, a digital strategy agency for mid-sized brands and organizations. Eddy has over thirteen years of experience in growing organizations, leading teams, and bringing brands to market. He has had mission-critical roles at the US Department of State, executive leadership at a White House Initiative, and director-level positions at two successful startups. Some of the Topics Covered by Eddy Badrina in...
2020-11-0148 minJust Go Grind#210: Yamandou Alexander CEO & Chairman of Makeba, a Fintech Company Enabling Emerging Markets to Transact Securely Without Credit Cards or Cash Yamandou Alexander is the founder of Makeba ( https://www.makeba.money/cv-por/index.html ) a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist with decades of experience building technology and infrastructure projects in Africa. Makeba's Wefunder Campaign: https://wefunder.com/makeba Just Go Grind Wefunder Discount: https://wefunder.com/raisemoney/justgogrind Some of the Topics Covered by Yamandou Alexander in this Episode How Makeba got started How Makeba is able to reduce merchant fees by 90% Deciding on which markets to enter Fundraising for Makeba and why...
2020-10-2143 minJust Go Grind#203: Jelani Memory, Co-Founder & CEO at A Kids Book About, on Creating Impactful Books for Kids About Racism, Feminism, Adventure, Empathy, Divorce, Death, and Other Important Topics Jelani is the Co-Founder and CEO at A Kids Book About ( https://akidsbookabout.com/ ) and Co-Founder at Circle and Narrative. He's a bit obsessed with making things that matter. At A Kids Book About, they make kids books that matter. There are no dragons, silly bears, or cute tales about princesses. Only the challenging, empowering, and important topics that kids experience every day. Kids' lives are complicated, and their mission is to help kids and their grownups have honest conversations about things that matter. Some of the Topics Covered by...
2020-10-1455 min