Growth Capital Podcast

👥 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 48 👥 What happens when founders actually listen to their customers? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Gaurav Gupta, Founder & CEO of Squanto—a gig marketplace app for live entertainment. What started as a simple tipping and discovery app for street performers quickly evolved into something bigger. Through countl...

📊 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 47 📊 When does a founder really need a CFO—and how can fractional or interim finance leadership change the trajectory of a business? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Salvatore Tirabassi, Founder & Managing Director of CFO Pro+Analytics, to explore how founders, family-owned businesses, and PE-backed companies c...

🤖 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 46 🤖 What’s hype, what’s real, and where does AI actually deliver ROI? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Jeff Torello, Founder & CTO of Sinjun AI, to unpack the reality of AI adoption for small and mid-sized businesses. From the pitfalls of early adoption to the promise of Agentic AI, Jeff shares how leaders can dist...

🏆 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 45 🏆 What does it take to risk everything — and still push forward? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Amy Bett, Co-Founder & CEO of Melo, a sparkling kava beverage disrupting the non-alcoholic drinks market. Amy shares how a personal struggle with alcohol inspired her to create an alternative, how a family crisi...

🔗 Growth Capital podcast - Episode 44 🔗 What does it take to walk away from a high-paying, stable career—and step into the uncertainty of entrepreneurship? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Mark Stern, Founder & CEO of Custom Box Agency, an experiential marketing firm based in Austin, Texas. Mark shares how a dream (or premonition) pushed him to...

🔁 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 43 🔁 In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Alexander Harmsen, Founder & CEO of PortfolioPilot, to explore how AI is disrupting the financial advisory industry and reshaping how people invest, plan, and build confidence in their financial future. Originally built as a personal side project after exiting his first com...

👤 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 42 👤   What if the strongest growth advantage isn’t found in automation — but in staying human? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Brian Von Ancken, founder and CEO of the Wellness Growth Mastermind, a community for leaders in the wellness industry. What started as an “accidental” mastermind has grown into a trusted hub f...

🏢 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 41 🏢   Static dashboards. Siloed tools. Endless logins. What if you could connect every app you use, ask it a question, and get the answer instantly — in plain English? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Mikael Lemberg, Founder & CEO of mybizz, an AI-native platform that unifies thousands of business applications...

🔋 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 40 🔋 What happens when an oil & gas user sets out to electrify one of the most overlooked parts of aviation? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Nick Holland, Co-Founder & CEO of VIRV, to explore how an outsider’s perspective uncovered a massive opportunity: bringing swappable batteries and electrons-as-a-service t...

💡 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 39 💡 What happens when your product is good—but not good enough? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Trevor Lee, Co-founder & CEO of Myko AI, to unpack the hard-earned lessons behind one of the smartest pivots in early-stage tech. Originally a financial modeling tool, Myko is now an AI-powered platform helping fie...

🧩 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 38 🧩   What does it really take to launch a medical device company without outside funding? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Téa Phillips, Founder & CEO of ATS Innovations, to share her remarkable journey from engineering student to first-time founder—and what it meant to risk everything to build a product that coul...

📉 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 37 📉   Is venture capital always the right move? Or is it just a shortcut to pressure, burn, and misalignment? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with four-time founder and prolific angel investor Adam Spector, now Founder & CEO of Chore, a bootstrapped startup helping founders offload the back-office work that slows...

🔧 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 36 🔧   Most founders in the trades don’t hit a ceiling because of demand—they stall because the business depends entirely on them. In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon is joined by David Forster, Founder and CEO of Systems Over Sweat, a strategic advisory firm helping home service businesses escape founder dependency and build scalable op...

🧠 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 35 🧠 In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Steven Atkins, Co-Founder & CEO of Ease AI, a sales enablement platform using AI to upskill reps and optimize the sales journey, without relying on massive teams or external funding. Steven shares his journey from high-performing sales leader to startup founder, how he met...

🧠 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 34 🧠 What if your biggest growth opportunity is hiding in plain sight—inside the customer experience? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Evan Steele, Founder & CEO of Rater8, to explore how real-time feedback and reputation management are reshaping the way healthcare practices grow. Evan shares his founder journe...

💸 Growth Capital Podcast - Episode 33 💸 What separates a founder who pitches from one who closes? In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Jeffrey Fidelman, Founder & CEO of Fidelman & Co., to decode what it really takes to raise money from investors in today’s market. From creating pitch decks that resonate, to navigating investor psychology and st...

What if the key to productivity wasn’t doing more, but choosing less? In this episode of Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Steven Puri—former Hollywood executive turned tech founder of The Sukha Company, a productivity platform designed to help people and teams find focus and flow. Steven shares what he learned from two failed startups, how that pain reshaped his product philosop...

🛡️ Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 31 🛡️ In this episode, we sit down with Rekha Shenoy to explore Scaling Secure: Building Smarter, Safer Tech Companies. Rekha shares her deep expertise in cybersecurity, data privacy, and scaling tech ventures with security built into the foundation—not as an afterthought. We dive into how today’s fastest-growing companies can balance innovation with protection,...

🔋 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 30 🔋 In this electrifying episode, we’re joined by Madhav Ayygari, Co-Founder and CEO of Inductive Robotics, to explore Charging the Future: Autonomous Power at Every Parking Spot. Madhav shares how his team is redefining the EV charging experience with fully autonomous, wireless power delivery—turning every parking spot into a charging station. We dive into th...

🔥 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 29 🔥 In this episode, we sit down with Brad Medford, CEO and Co-Founder of Imperium Technologies, Inc., to explore Boiling Point: Innovating an Industry Left Behind. Brad shares how he's tackling one of the most overlooked sectors—industrial water heating—with breakthrough technology and bold vision. We discuss the challenges of modernizing legacy systems, driv...

⚡ Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 28 ⚡ In this episode, we’re joined by Scott Wharton, CEO of Tandem PV, to explore Disrupting the Grid, Redefining the Game. Scott dives into how Tandem PV is reimagining the future of solar energy with cutting-edge technology that challenges the status quo of traditional power systems. We talk innovation, sustainability, and the strategic vision required to tak...

🤖 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 27 🤖 In this episode, we sit down with Larissa Licha, CEO and Co-Founder of Joyn, to explore Where Product Meets People: Building Better Teams Through AI. Larissa shares how Joyn is revolutionizing the way companies scale their teams—using AI to align talent, culture, and business outcomes like never before. We dive into the intersection of product innovation,...

🌟 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 26 🌟 In this episode, we’re joined by Laurel Mintz — founder of Fabric VC and Elevate My Brand, Inc. — to explore Scaling Visionaries, Funding the Future. Laurel shares how she’s helping bold founders bridge the gap between brand and capital, blending strategic marketing with smart investing to fuel high-growth ventures. We dive into what it really takes to sca...

🚀 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 25 🚀 In this exciting episode, we’re joined by Trey Ikard Managing Partner of WIV Ventures , to dive into Fintech Launchpad: Fueling Early‑Stage Disruption. Trey unpacks how emerging fintech startups are challenging the status quo, leveraging cutting-edge technology, and securing early-stage capital to transform the financial landscape. From go-to-market strate...

🌍 Growth Capital Podcast – Episode 24 🌍 In this episode, we sit down with Andy Jones to explore Mapping the Market: Data-Driven Deals and Global Perspective. Andy shares how leveraging analytics, macro trends, and a global outlook can uncover smarter investment opportunities and drive more strategic decisions. We dive into how data is reshaping deal sourcing, risk assessment, and value creation—...