Ventures

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Susie Kataoka ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiekataoka/ ), Norris Liu ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenorrisliu/ ), and I discuss the origin story of Zebra Health, the work they are doing to bring transparency to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) global market, starting a joint venture between their startups, distributing rapid antigen and antibody t...

In this episode of Ventures , my guests Bill Murphy ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamwmurphy/ ), Sol Cates ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/ ), and I discuss the worlds of private equity and investment banking, how founders should think about engaging strategic investors, the different stages of technology leadership as a company grows, and the services that Cresting Wave ( https...

In this week’s episode of Ventures, my guests Tony Rutkowski ( http://www.circleid.com/members/6809/ ), Sol Cates ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/ ), Tony Sager ( https://www.cisecurity.org/ ) and I extend last week’s conversation about cybersecurity and web 3.0. We dive into topics related to international data controls, entrepreneurship in a global landscape, 5G, SSL certificates,...

In this episode of Ventures , my guests Tony Sager ( https://www.cisecurity.org/ ), Sol Cates ( https://twitter.com/solcates ), and I discuss Tony’s journey through the National Security Agency during the cold war and dawn of the Internet. We talk about how Sol and Tony crossed paths, and how cybersecurity has evolved over the past 50 years, and how the Web 3.0 generation can (and should) learn fr...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Cheryl Kemp (founder of https://indifit.co/ ) and I discuss her journey of starting a company at the beginning of the pandemic, finding co-founders, leveraging no-code technology to validate her idea, pivoting into a completely different business model, providing software for fitness instructors, experimenting with growth strategies, and raising money in 2021...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Alice Crisci ( https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/ )  and I discuss her journey as a cancer survivor and entrepreneur in the medical/fertility space. While many people turn to “Dr. Google” when trying to find answers to their medical questions, Alice and her team have created a more sophisticated and personalized approach for finding answers to ferti...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Valerie Groth ( https://www.ryanbanksacademy.org/ ) and I discuss the Ryan Banks Academy story, her background in social work and in Chicago Public Schools, resiliency when starting a school and nonprofit, and life for students in a pandemic. With social entrepreneurship gaining increasing attention globally, in this conversation we dive into a number of topi...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Foxy Davison and I discuss her journey as a community advocate and venture-builder in Seattle’s Central District and beyond. Foxy has a remarkable ability to listen and serve, and we - as fellow entrepreneurs - have many things to learn from her about how to pay attention to our communities. In addition to hearing about her entrepreneurial pursuits, we also d...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest (Jed Collins: https://www.tiktok.com/@fullbackoffinance ) and I discuss the basics of financial literacy and Jed’s journey into the NFL and entrepreneurial venture thereafter. Of particular interest is not only Jed’s story and important content he is teaching young people, but also how he has been using TikTok as a marketing engine to grow his business.  Visi...

In this episode of Ventures , Sol Cates ( https://twitter.com/solcates , cloud and cybersecurity expert at Thales) and I discuss advice for founders regarding technical infrastructure security. We also have a bit of a Random Show at the end of the year here as we discuss ways to combat COVID-19, provide technical founder training, practice self-discovery with the Enneagram, and think about New Yea...

In this episode of Ventures , Joel Fariss ( https://joelfariss.com ; a design research and strategic futures associate at Gensler) and I continue our conversation from Episode 21 and explore the implications of self-defined virtual identities and data stores as it relates to innovation, human progress, Dream Thinking, and Web 3.0.   Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-24 for det...

In this episode of Ventures , my guests Franci Zidar ( https://mybirdbuddy.com ) and Kyle Buzzard ( https://protaventures.com ) discuss the Bird Buddy story from an idea to a successful Kickstarter campaign . Bird Buddy is a smart bird feeder that notifies users of visiting birds with a live stream and AI-assisted photo capturing features. We discuss many aspects of the story to date, including ea...

In this episode of ventures, my guests Joe Clarke ( TaskBill.io ) and David Parrott ( ProtaVentures.com ) and I dive deep into the world of web development. We discuss its history over the past few decades, languages and frameworks, tools for entrepreneurs, tips for those learning to code, and thoughts about the upcoming “New Magic” from the Rails and Basecamp communities. FYI: If you are learning...

In this episode, Joel Fariss - a design research and strategic futures associate at Gensler ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfariss/ ) - and I discuss the nuances of the word “design” in light of 2020 and the future of work and innovation. Based on his experience at Gensler and in the nonprofit world, we dive into the connection between design and value for humanity, the need for time and space f...

In today’s episode of Ventures I had the honor of interviewing Omari Salisbury ( https://twitter.com/Omarisal ) about his journey as an entrepreneur in the international media space, his company Converge Media ( https://www.whereweconverge.com/ ), their unique spotlight in Seattle, and their new campaign NoExcusesJobs ( https://NoExcusesJobs.com ) in collaboration with Prota Ventures ( https://www...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Andrew Cronk (Co-Founder, Figment.io ) and I discuss practical ways to engage with the Web 3.0 stack, how to keep up with information in the blockchain space, how to learn and teach others about crypto technologies, and where everyone is going to be storing and sharing baby photos in the future.   Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-19 for...

In this episode of Ventures, I discuss with my guests Spencer Graham ( https://twitter.com/spengrah ) and Tony Little ( https://twitter.com/DrTonyLittle ) the past, present, and future of blockchain technologies and Web 3.0.  Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-18 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned.  You can watch this episode via video...

In this episode, Alexandra Skillman ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexskillman/ ) shares her extensive knowledge in the world of PR for an entrepreneurial audience. We discuss at length PR considerations for startup founders regarding go-to-market strategies, overall marketing plans, working with journalists, reaching out to influencers, and avoiding common mistakes. Visit https://satchel.works/@w...

In this episode of Ventures I had the honor of interviewing executive coach Shandel Sutherland ( https://www.shandelgroup.com/ ) about topics including organizational effectiveness, personal/team wiring and communication, the “why” behind a company, and setup work that is necessary for teams to be maximally efficient. Establishing clarity is one of the hardest jobs as an entrepreneur and business...

My guest this week (John Biggs, https://twitter.com/johnbiggs , https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndbiggs/ ) is an entrepreneur, writer, and technologist. He was the east coast editor at TechCrunch for fifteen years, was an editor at Coindesk, and is currently the Editor in Chief at Gizmodo. In this conversation we dive into a wide range of topics including 5G, the future of work, blockchains, recomm...

This week I’m excited to share an in-depth conversation with Troy Henikoff  ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyhenikoff/ , https://www.mathventurepartners.com/ ) about his entrepreneurial story and path into startup investing. Troy is one of the most amazing and inspiring people I know. I first met him when I moved to Chicago in the mid-2010s, and his generosity, enthusiasm, and support for founder...

In this episode of Ventures we examine the origin story of Lead Honestly , a web-based software platform designed to help managers have better one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. My guests Shay Howe ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayhowe/ ) and Darby Frey ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/darbyfrey/ ) have a frank and open conversation about starting a side business, balancing family life a...

In this episode we cover the full spectrum of an amazing startup story: Patrick’s original idea, recruiting a team, landing his first customers, getting into an accelerator (Techstars), raising a $1.2 million seed round, and being acquired by ServiceNow. Overall, the purpose of this show ( Ventures ) is to educate and inspire a new generation of venture builders and investors. In this episode, we...

In this episode of Ventures , my guest Dave Feldman ( @DaveKeto ) and I discuss a variety of topics related to lipids, immunology, ketogenic diets, and the future of health tech. I first came across Dave’s work when I noticed my cholesterol levels (specifically LDL-C) raised significantly when fasting and/or low-carb dieting, and I found that there is a large community of people who have noticed t...

In this episode my guest Rachael Kim (Founder & CEO, Project Untaboo) and I discuss period equity, period health/care/education, Project Untaboo, and advice for entrepreneurs and investors considering the space of femtech and healthcare in general.  Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-10 for detailed notes and links to resources mentioned.  You can watch this episode via vid...