More Equity

In this episode of Winners Welcome, we sit down with Deon Nicholas, founder and CEO of Espa AI, the AI executive assistant built for founders, operators, and anyone trying to achieve more. Before Espa, Deon founded Forethought, where he raised over $115M and became one of the earliest leaders in AI customer service, well before the current AI wave. Deon shares how he first got into AI as a high sc...

In this episode, Aman Mathur joins us to unpack how AI is reshaping the way software gets built. We talk about what’s changed inside Replit as the platform has scaled, why AI agents are lowering the barrier to creation, and what it takes to move from experimenting with prompts to actually shipping real products. The conversation also explores the future of software creation as design, development,...

Today’s conversation with Mitchell Jones covers what most founders miss: survival comes first. We unpack second-time founder advantages, fundraising psychology, and long-term trust with investors. And we go deep on why AI agents demand a new payments infrastructure. Mitchell Jones is a fintech founder building Lava Payments, a modern payments infrastructure company focused on enabling faster, more...

Today’s conversation with Kate Ryder explores what it takes to build a category-defining company in one of the most complex and regulated industries in the world, healthcare. We discuss scaling Maven into a $1.7B company serving over 28 million members globally, the role of timing, resilience, and storytelling in building generational businesses, and how AI is beginning to transform care delivery,...

Today’s conversation with Ryan Williams explores what it really takes to modernize a trillion-dollar asset class and build through cycles in one of the most competitive markets in the world. We discuss raising over $100M from top-tier investors, facilitating billions in real estate transactions, and the leadership, conviction, and resilience required to earn trust in private markets. Ryan Williams...

Today’s conversation with KJ Sidberry explores where we are in the AI super cycle and why consumer technology may be entering a new renaissance. We discuss how AI could reshape healthcare, education, play, and storytelling, and what Google Ventures looks for in the next generation of founders. KJ Sidberry is a Partner at Google Ventures (GV), where he focuses on consumer and AI-native companies. P...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso speaks with Andrew Gazdecki, founder and CEO of Acquire. Having built multiple startups, including one he bootstrapped to $10M in annual recurring revenue, Andrew founded Acquire to make acquisitions easier for startups across the globe. Tune in as Nicole and Andrew discuss bootstrapping versus venture capital funding, building a brand through content and media, g...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso connects with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director at Sapphire Partners. With over 15 years of experience in venture capital, predominantly on the LP side, Beezer provides insights into what institutional LPs look for when evaluating emerging managers. They discuss Sapphire's new $2 billion program focused on emerging VC managers in partnership with CalSTRS, as well...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso speaks with Ruben Harris, Founder and CEO of Career Karma. Ruben started Career Karma in 2018 to provide career navigation technology to help people explore growth opportunities, and has now raised $52 million in funding and serves over 1 million people per month looking for career advice. Tune in as Nicole and Ruben discuss how he utilized media like Twitter and...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso chats with Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and General Partner at Hustle Fund, a venture capital firm aimed at democratizing wealth through startups. They delve into the importance of having a niche in VC, Hustle Fund's unique approach to investment promotion, and their focus on post-pre-seed startups with proven product-market fit. Discover how grassroots methods like...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso talks with Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta. Carta manages over two trillion dollars in equity for nearly two million people globally. The company is trusted by more than 30,000 companies, over 5,000 investment funds, and half a million employees for cap table management, compensation management, liquidity venture capital solutions, and more. Together, Nico...

In this episode, Nicole DeTommaso chats with Nichole Wischoff, founder of Wischoff Ventures, which invests in early-stage, high-growth tech companies transitioning massive offline industries to online platforms. Join us as they explore Nichole’s journey of building her brand on social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok, her unique strategies for standing out in a landscape of limited capital...

Welcome to More Equity, brought to you by Harlem Capital. In this episode, our Henri and Gabby discuss Harlem Capital's unique approach to taking breaks and time off, highlighting the the value of collective downtime. Building startups can contribute to burnout, but trusting founders and encouraging teams to practice self care goes a long way.

Welcome to More Equity, brought to you by Harlem Capital. In this episode, our hosts Henri Pierre-Jacques and Jarrid Tingle delve into the pivotal role of feedback in our personal and professional lives. They unpack their distinctive methodology for feedback sessions, emphasizing the need for fostering a conducive atmosphere for transparent conversations within teams. Henri and Jarrid also discuss...

Welcome to More Equity, brought to you by Harlem Capital. In this episode, our hosts Henri Pierre-Jacques, Brandon Bryant, and Gabby Cazeau discuss investing incentives, the influence of Elon Musk's Twitter following, the societal impact of movies like Black Panther and Barbie, and the need for term limits in the Supreme Court. The discussion also encompasses the role of unifying marketing campaig...

Welcome to More Equity, brought to you by Harlem Capital. In this episode, Henri Pierre-Jacques, Gabby Cazeau, and Nicole DeTommaso explore the rise of Threads as an alternative to Twitter and discuss how unique features can propel the success of platforms, using TikTok as an example. They share insights on the market shift towards pre-seed deals and the challenges in the seed stage investment spa...

Welcome to More Equity, brought to you by Harlem Capital. Today, Henri Pierre-Jacques, Brandon Bryant, and Nicole DeTommaso discuss the evolution of venture capital, and how their venture strategy has become more network-driven, providing better accessibility to entrepreneurs. They dive deep into the rising popularity of AI and consumer fintech as industries of interest. Furthermore, they reflect...

Welcome to the latest episode of More Equity's Latina Luminaries series, brought to you by Harlem Capital and hosted by Melody Hahm. We're privileged to chat with Daniela Corrente, founder of Reel, a financial platform recently acquired by Suma Wealth. Daniela shares insights into the top financial concerns troubling the Latinx community and walks us through her unique journey of raising capital f...

Welcome to the latest episode of More Equity's Latina Luminaries series, hosted by Harlem Capital's Melody Hahm. In this episode, we sit down with Mariana Costa, Co-Founder of Laboratoria, Latin America's revolutionary boot camp program empowering women in tech. Mariana shares her perspective on the disappointing trajectory of venture capital funding for Latina businesses since its peak in 2018, w...

Welcome to the latest episode of More Equity's Latina Luminaries series, hosted by Harlem Capital's Melody Hahm. In this episode, we sit down with with Noelle Acosta, Co-Founder & CEO of Noula, which provides tailored, hormone based virtual care to patiences. Noelle shares her experiences with imposter syndrome and explores her mission of creating a path for founders and CEOs of color, especia...

Welcome to the latest episode of More Equity's Latina Luminaries series, hosted by Harlem Capital's Melody Hahm. In this episode, we sit down with with Suzy Ferreira, Founder and CEO at Dinie, a complete infrastructure that enables businesses to offer credit to their customers. Suzy's journey from Iturama, Brazil to co-founding Dinie required resilience, passion, and determination. While working i...

Welcome to the latest episode of More Equity's Latina Luminaries series, hosted by Harlem Capital's Melody Hahm. In this episode, we connect with Angela Acosta, the founder and CEO of Morado, a SaaS platform for the beauty salon industry in Latin America. Angela's unique upbringing and career experience has helped her create and scale Morado, which is now operating in 100 cities in Colombia and ba...

Welcome to More Equity. Today, we’re bringing you a new episode from our Diverse Emerging Managers Series: The Next Wave — hosted by Gabby Cazeau. In this episode, Gabby speaks with Megan Ruan, General Partner at Gold House Ventures. Having studied at Yale, London School of Economics, and Stanford, Megan is a GP at Gold House Ventures, a $30 million vehicle investing in the next generation of exce...

Welcome to More Equity. Today, we’re bringing you a new episode from our Diverse Emerging Managers Series: The Next Wave — hosted by Gabby Cazeau. In this episode, Gabby speaks with Brandon Hoffman, founder of Sunset Ventures. A Wharton alum currently based in Los Angeles, Brandon invests in pre-seed and seed stage startups. Prior to his career in venture capital, Brandon was working in the music...

Welcome to More Equity. Today, we’re bringing you a new episode from our Diverse Emerging Managers Series: The Next Wave — hosted by Gabby Cazeau. Today we speak with Sydney Thomas, founder of Impressionism Capital. Impressionism Capital invests in companies that reflect the real world, focusing on communities that haven't been "over-fished". Before founding Impressionism, Sydney worked in the pub...