Shows
Smart Business Revolution | Turn Relationships into Revenues | Networking | More Clients | Relationship AdviceWhy the Next Big AI Boom Is in Blue-Collar Jobs With Mike GhaffaryMike Ghaffary is a General Partner at Burst Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments in marketplace, software, and AI companies. With an impressive background spanning roles at Canvas Ventures and Social Capital, as well as co-founding Stitcher, he has been instrumental in the growth of companies like Yelp and Eat24, demonstrating his expertise in scaling businesses. Mike has a background in computer science and holds both a JD and MBA from Harvard, and he’s invested in high-growth companies like Strava, Superhuman, Faire, and Optimizely. In this episode… The rise of artificial inte...
2025-08-0139 min
Everything MarketplacesMarketplace Investor Insights & How AI Is Impacting Marketplaces With Mike GhaffaryThe Everything Marketplaces podcast is an audio version of our group chats. This episode is with Mike Ghaffary, who's a General Partner at Burst Capital. Burst Capital is a venture fund that's backed notable marketplaces like Faire, Hipcamp, Instawork, Bounce, Wonderschool, Wonder, and more. Prior to investing, Mike was also a VP at Yelp for over 7+ years and the CEO of Eat24.Mike on Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/newmikeMike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeghaffaryBurst Capital: https://www.burst.vcMike (Yoroomie) on Twi...
2025-07-1743 min
Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and SocietyIgnite VC: The Art of Early Bets and Founder Evaluation with Mike Ghaffary | Ep154What if cracking video game copy protection as a teenager could someday lead you to reshape how Main Street businesses adopt AI?Mike Ghaffary’s journey is anything but typical: from reverse-engineering games at age 12 to co-founding Stitcher (acquired for $300M) and scaling Eat24 to $750M GMV as Yelp’s Head of BD turned CEO. Now as General Partner at Burst Capital, he’s backing the next generation of AI, software, and marketplace startups—especially those empowering the overlooked backbone of the economy: Main Street.We dive deep into Mike’s f...
2025-04-171h 12
The Shobeir ShowEpisode 23 - Mike Ghaffary - General Partner at Canvas VenturesMike Ghaffary is a General Partner at Canvas Ventures. He has invested in Flyhomes, OfferFit.ai, Strava, Superhuman, Faire, CloudKitchens, Optimizely, Metromile, and several other companies. Mike spent a decade founding and building companies as an operator as VP of Yelp, CEO of Eat24, Co-Founder of Stitcher, Co-Founder of BarMax, and others. Mike was previously a Partner at Social Capital and VP at Summit Partners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2023-05-1940 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage InvestingIs AI The Next Consumer Tech Platform? // Mike Ghaffary, General Partner at Canvas VenturesWelcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta - the easiest way to launch & run your venture investing.Hey Friends,Our guest on today’s episode is the first THREE TIME guest for the podcast. Mike Ghaffary, General Partner of Canvas Ventures. I cold-emailed Mike in 2019 pitching him to come on a show that wasn’t yet a show. He not only accepted but also convinced other VCs to come on the...
2023-04-2544 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyMike Ghaffary (Canvas Ventures) - Could AI Be The Next Consumer Platform After The iPhone?Our guest today is Mike Ghaffary, General Partner at Canvas Ventures. Mike is the first third time guest of the show. The last time I had Mike on we spoke about what’s the next consumer platform after the iPhone? Funnily enough, we didn’t mention AI. We thought we needed to revisit this question and discuss the opportunity in AI from a consumer technology lens.****Sponsor****This issue is brought to you by Vauban from Carta. Vauban from Carta is the easiest way to launch & run your venture inve...
2023-04-2544 min
TechCheckAkamai CEO Tom Leighton on Earnings, Airbnb Delivers in Q4 & Goldman Sachs Scraps DTC Credit Card Plan 2/15/23Our anchors begin today’s show with Satori Fund Founder Dan Niles discussing whether to trust tech stocks rallying in 2023, and Akamai CEO Tom Leighton joins on the cybersecurity and cloud company’s latest earnings. Then, our Julia Boorstin previews streaming platform Roku’s results after the bell, and Canvas Ventures General Partner Mike Ghaffary weighs in on Airbnb’s valuation and performance in Q4. Later, CNBC’s Hugh Son reports on Goldman Sachs scrapping plans for a direct-to-consumer credit card.
2023-02-1543 min
The HLEP Podcast“Acing the Pitch” - Mike Ghaffary, General Partner, Canvas VenturesOn episode 14, we speak to Mike Ghaffary, a General Partner at Canvas Ventures. Mike was also the co-founder of the podcast app, Stitcher, a Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Yelp, and the CEO of Eat 24, one of Yelp’s subsidiaries. We learn about venture capital investments, including how VC investors evaluate potential investments, how they make investment decisions, and how to make a successful venture capital pitch. If you’re a law student or lawyer interested in joining the venture capital space one day, or a founder interested in what it takes to successfully secure funding, this...
2023-01-0659 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyHoliday Highlights: Mike Ghaffary (Canvas VC)My guest today is Mike Ghaffary who is a partner at Canvas Ventures, a firm that specializes on leading Series A. Some of their investments include Flyhomes, Nubrakes, and Zola. This is Mike’s second time on Consumer VC and is our first second time guest. His first appearance we went deep on how to evaluate and invest in marketplace businesses. On this episode, we discuss what is the next big thing in consumer after the iPhone? Is it web3, metaverse, remote work applications or something completely different?
2022-12-2328 min
Uncanny Valley | WIREDZucka Kappa MetaFacebook has nearly three billion users, which means that when it makes a change to its business, it affects nearly half the planet. Facebook's ambitions have often manifested in chaotic, unpredictable ways and had profound societal impacts for years after they've been implemented. So when the company decided to rebrand to Meta and funnel billions of dollars toward building its own virtual alternate reality, it's a move that's bound to come with some big consequences—if nothing else, for Meta itself.This week on Gadget Lab, we're joined by Shirin Ghaffary from Recode and Alex Heath from Th...
2022-07-2133 min
The TechCrunch Live PodcastMobility marketplaces and brake repair with Mike Ghaffary (Canvas Ventures) + Walker Drewett (NuBrakes)Walker Drewett founded NuBrakes in May 2019. According to Mike Ghaffary, GP at Canvas Ventures, Drewett is building a high-growth business powered by a marketplace model, which is why Ghaffary led the company's Series A. The product is simple: On-demand vehicle brake repair services. Join this episode to hear how Drewett raised capital and built NuBrakes on the learnings from his previous startup, NuWash (it's on-demand car washes, of course).TechCrunch Live records weekly on Wednesdays at 12:00pm PST.
2022-06-231h 00
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyWalker Drewett (NuBrakes) - How He Started a Mobile Brake Repair Company with No Automative ExperienceThank you Mike Ghaffary for the introduction to our guest today, Walker Drewett, CEO and founder of Nu Brakes. We want to make the brake repair process simple and frustration-free. We discussed why Walker always had his heart being an entrepreneur, the inspiration behind helping people with their cars even though he didn’t come from an automotive background, approach to scale and hiring being a first time CEO.
What was your attraction to entrepreneurship?How did you become interested in cars? How did this lead to Nu Wash?
What was the day-to-day operations? How did you approach growth?
How di...
2022-02-0830 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage InvestingWhat's next after the iPhone with Mike Ghaffary, General Partner at Canvas VenturesWelcome to The Consumer VC, a newsletter about venture capital and consumer startups delivered straight to your inbox. If you aren’t subscribed, come and subscribe below.🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast players.Hey Friends,My guest today is Mike Ghaffary who is a General Partner at Canvas Ventures, a firm that specializes in leading Series A rounds. Some of their investments include Flyhomes, Nubrakes, and Zola. Mike is our first second-time guest on the show. In his first appearance we went deep on how to e...
2022-01-1142 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyMike Ghaffary (Canvas) - What’s next after the iPhone, Unpacking Web3, Metaverse and Remote First Products, and Is this the time to be investing in B2C or B2BMy guest today is Mike Ghaffary who is a partner at Canvas Ventures, a firm that specializes on leading Series A. Some of their investments include Flyhomes, Nubrakes, and Zola. This is Mike’s second time on Consumer VC and is our first second time guest. His first appearance we went deep on how to evaluate and invest in marketplace businesses. On this episode, we discuss what is the next big thing in consumer after the iPhone? Is it web3, metaverse, remote work applications or something completely different?
Questions I ask Mike:
When we spoke a co...
2022-01-1141 min
StrictlyVC DownloadFlyHomes' Giant Round and a Small Growth Fund Among GiantsConnie and Alex talk tech news and chat with two VCs - Mike Ghaffary of Canvas Ventures and Sean O'Sullivan of SOSV. Music: 1. "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired)2. "Dream Catcher" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4650-dream-catcher)3. "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance)4. "Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea)5. "EDM Detection Mode" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3687-edm-detection-mode)License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
2021-06-1216 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage InvestingBuilding a community for bikers and runners with Mark Gainey, founder of StravaHey friends,Today’s Consumer VC podcast episode is with Mark Gainey, the founder of Strava. Strava is the #1 app for runners and bikers and is THE destination to record any activity. In this conversation we talk about - * How Mark's passion for sports compelled him to start Strava* Why he decided to first focus on bikers* How to get specific with your target demographic* His approach to building community and scale* Some of the differences building a consumer so...
2021-05-2043 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyMark Gainey (Strava) - Building the social network for athletesThank you Mike Ghaffary for the introduction to our guest today, Mark Gainey, the founder of Strava. Strava is the #1 app for runners and bikers and is the destination to record any activity. In this conversation we talk about how Mark's passion for sports compelled him to Strava, what focus really means as a founder and Mark has some amazing examples of that, we also talk about scaling and his approach to building community. Without further ado here's Mark.Some of the questions I ask MarkThe first company you founded was in...
2021-05-2043 min
Sand Hill RoadE16 Unpacking marketplaces and modern food delivery wars with Mike Ghaffary from Canvas VenturesIn this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Mike Ghaffary, GP at Canvas Ventures.
00:00 Intro
02:21 Swiss army knife of education
04:04 Business school after Dotcom bubble burst
05:06 Founding Stitcher
06:14 Focusing on news
08:03 Becoming CEO of Eat24
09:39 Growing Eat24 to $700m top line
10:45 Food delivery wars
11:55 Grubhub Partnership that never launched
13:12 Jeremy Stoppelman and Steve Jobs on search on mobile
14:30 Becoming a successful angel investor
15:35 Making the most expensive iPhone app ever
16:37 Angel investment in Strava
...
2020-08-2945 min
Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands | TechnologyMike Ghaffary (Canvas Ventures) - How to Evaluate Online Marketplaces, Why This is a Contrarian time to Invest in ConsumerMike Ghaffary is a General Partner at Canvas Ventures, one of the premier thesis-driven early-stage venture capital funds in San Francisco that invests in Fintech, Digital Health, Marketplaces, and New Enterprise. Prior to Canvas, Mike was a General Partner at Social Capital and as an angel investor, some of his investments include Strava, Skip Scooters, Pocket, Philz Coffee, Atrium, and Superhuman. He also has 10 years of operating experience as CEO of Eat24, VP Business and Corporate Development at Yelp, Director of Business Development at TrialPay, and co-founder of Stitcher and BarMax. And before that, Mike started his investing career...
2020-01-0940 min
HBR IdeaCastGenerosity BurnoutSenior leaders Brad Feld, Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Mike Ghaffary, Heidi Roizen, and John Rogers Jr. discuss burning out on giving, the techniques they use to avoid it, and how they recognize it in their employees.
2017-01-2820 min
Discover the Top 100 Audiobooks in Radio & TV, News, Business, & Culture561: Generosity Burnout Audiobook by Sarah Green CarmichaelListen to this audiobook free with a 30-day trial. Go tohttp://hotaudiobook.comTitle: 561: Generosity Burnout
Author: Sarah Green Carmichael
Format: Original Recording
Length: 20 mins
Language: English
Release date: 01-26-17
Publisher: HBR Ideacast, Harvard Business Review
Genres: Radio & TV, News, Business, & Culture
Publisher's Summary:
Senior leaders Brad Feld, Sarah Robb OHagan, Mike Ghaffary, Heidi Roizen, and John Rogers Jr. discuss burning out on giving, the techniques they use to avoid it, and how they recognize it in their employees.
2017-01-2620 minHow to Get Free Audiobook in Radio & TV, News, Business, & Culture561: Generosity Burnout by Sarah Green Carmichael | Free AudiobookListen to full audiobooks for free on :https://hotaudiobook.com/freeTitle: 561: Generosity Burnout
Author: Sarah Green Carmichael
Format: Original Recording
Length: 20 mins
Language: English
Release date: 01-26-17
Publisher: HBR Ideacast, Harvard Business Review
Genres: Radio & TV, News, Business, & Culture
Summary:
Senior leaders Brad Feld, Sarah Robb OHagan, Mike Ghaffary, Heidi Roizen, and John Rogers Jr. discuss burning out on giving, the techniques they use to avoid it, and how they recognize it in their employees.
Contact: info@hotaudiobook.com
1970-01-0120 min