Forward Thinking Founders

About this episode : Rusudan and George are the cofounders of Giveinternet.org. This organization enables people to donate Internet access to underprivileged high-school students. Listen to this episode if you : - Wondering how to start a non-profit in the tech sphere - Are curious how they got the idea and what lit the flame to start - How does the money end up resulting in internet for the kids?...

About this episode : Michael is the co-founder and CEO of Bottomless. Bottomless enables you to get freshly roasted coffee based on your consumption. Listen to this episode if you: - Want to know what Bottomless does -Want to hear how a scrappy team learns on the job - Wonder why they started with coffee - Are curious how they got the skills to create Bottomless - Wonder what types of skills are n...

About this episode : Meha is the founder and CEO of Silk + Sonder . They make planning, reflecting, and achieving easy and fun by bringing a new pen to paper experience every month. Listen to this episode if you are: What is journaling? How do you convince people who don't value the idea of journaling Where did you get the inspiration from for journal from? Interested in how they raised money as a...

About this episode : Sumukh is a venture fellow a t Rough Draft VC and is the founder of Teendemy . Rough Draft is a student-run venture capital firm, backed by General Catalyst . Teendemy is bridging the gap between academic education and professional success. Listen to this episode if you are: - A student wanting to break into startups - Want to become a VC later in life - Are curious about what...

About this episode : Ishmael is the cofounder and CTO of Paragon . Paragon gives you the power to visually create production-ready API workflows so you can build, ship, and scale faster. Listen to this episode if you are: - Looking for a solution to work w/ APIs without coding - Are curious about different use cases for Paragon - How Ishmael hacked his way into working with his current cofounder -...

About this episode : Alex is the co-founder of MarkUp . MarkUp allows you to turn your website into a dynamic canvas ready for feedback and collaboration. Streamline your feedback with a quicker, easier, and clearer process. Listen to this episode if you are: -Looking for feedback on your product - Curious to learn about Intrapreneurship - Want to know ho Alex knows what to work on every day -  Cu...

About this episode : Helena and Brian are the cofounders of Glimpse . Glimpse enables you to have 2-minute, 1-on-1 video chats with friends in the click of a button. Listen to this episode if you are: - into b2c startups - Are feeling lonely/isolated during COVID-19 - Want to understand how consumer product decisions get made - Wondering how to know which users to listen to when building product....

In this episode, Eric Ries and I talk all about COVID-19 and how early-stage founders can weather the storm and come out on the other side even stronger. Specifically in this episode, we dive into: - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and how founders can apply to this situation - Priorities for founders in a demanding time - How founders can become calm in order to make the hard decisions - How founders...

About this episode : Kelsey and Dan are the co-founders of AlgenAir . They develop a product that removes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen as effectively as 25 house plants for a fraction of the cost, time, and space.   Listen to this episode if you are: - Interesting in Algae - interested in reducing indoor Co2 emissions - Interested in learning what got them so into Algae - Are curious to know...

About this episode : Chris is the creator of  Jetboost . Jetboost enables real-time search, dynamic filtering, and more for Webflow — without writing code Listen to this episode if you are: - A fan of no code - A power user of Webflow - Looking for more advanced workflows for your Webflow stack - Wondering about Chris's take on makers raising capital vs. bootstrapping - Want to know why Chris pick...

About this episode : Jas is the co-founder and CEO of CabTreks . Cabtreks focuses on connecting under-utilized fleets to businesses struggling to meet the demands of same-day delivery. Listen to this episode if you are: - A Pharmacy owner -  interested in competing with Amazon Prime's one-day shipping - Interested in understanding how logistics work - Wondering what type of model is best for bring...

This is Early Bets This is a new segment on the show called "Early Bets". I find young ambitious people who haven't found their startup yet, but might be starting a company soon. We'll be interviewing these people on a recurring basis so we can keep up with their journey. If you are an investor or journalist, these are the episodes to watch to meet young founders to support before they are on the...

About this episode : Kyle is the co-founder and CEO of Punch List . Punch List makes it easy for contractors and homeowners to work together. Listen to this episode if you are: - A homeowner or contractor - Curious about the inefficiencies in the home remodeling process  - Wondering how Kyle came up with the idea - Want to know what areas Punch List puts on software and what areas its leaves to hu...

About this episode: Will is the founder and CEO of Endless Events, a leading event production company in the industry for the past decade. In the last week, he pivoted his while company so he and his 30 employees can weather  the storm. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - First-hand experience of what's going on in the events industry w/ COVID-19 - How it personally affected Will an...

In this episode, you get to overhear a real founder-investor conversation. Mariam El Sheikha and Adin Roemer, cofounders of N eXST Rehab , are talking to Elizabeth Yin from Hustle Fund for the first time, trying to get a 2nd meeting from her. None of this is staged, so I hope you learn a lot from this episode. This episode is perfect for: Founders wanting to understand what actually happens in an...

I am starting a new series on the FTF network called Forward Thinking Founders Save The World. In this series, I will be talking about ways the Forward Thinking Founders of the world can build solutions to help solve serious problems in their households, communities, states, and countries. We will be diving into topics such as: - Thinking ahead of the market - Making essentials from raw materials...

About this episode: Max is the founder and GM at 8020 , who helps companies move faster without code (AKA, a no-code agency) Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - What is 8020? - What 8020's no code stack - What does building on no code allow Max that other agencies cannot do - What are the limitations of 8020? - What is Tiny Capital and how was it involved in the creation of 8020? -...

About this episode: Anthony is one of the cofounders of Vinovest . Vinovest helps you diversify your portfolio by investing in the world's most sought-after wines. Professionally stored for you, and always insured. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Wine (to drink) - Wine (as an asset class) - Investing - The LA startup scene - Risk when starting a company - What Anthony spends his...

About this episode: Jeanna is the co-founder and CEO of Layla Wellness. The Layla Technology device is an intravaginal ring fertility monitor that predicts the entire fertile window and ovulation. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Fertility - Starting a Hardware startup - Getting tens of thousands of dollars through grants - When to hire a CEO (if ever) - The knowledge gap between...

About this episode: Nick is the co-founder and CEO of Balto . Balto is the sports gaming platform made for the casual, everyday fan. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Sport pools - The legalities behind betting - What interests Nick in this space - How to stay lean as a team - Other spaces that Nick is interested in - How to think about fundraising as an early-stage startup - The...

  About this episode: Mariam and Adin and cofounder of  NeXST Rehab , the world's first home vagus nerve stimulator to help with stroke rehabilitation. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Brain-Machine Interfaces -  Stroke rehabilitation - Starting a startup at ASU - Remote teams - Virtual reality - Raising VC outside of SF - And tons more! FTF is on GrowthMeter Radio GrowtMeter is...

About this episode: John is the co-founder and CEO of Plato Design. Plato works with the most innovative companies in the world to make them more valuable through design. They are effectively scaling the agency model. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Design challenges - How to scale services - Challenges that freelancers go through - Me geeking out on the Gig economy - What is th...

About this episode: Ammon is the co-founder and CEO of Triplebyte . Triplebyte offers a test that evaluates your technical skills. Go through the Triplebyte test once, then skip straight to final interviews with top tech companies. Once you pass, you're accepted for life. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Hiring developers - How recruiting systems work - A new Triplebyte product r...

In this episode, you get to overhear a real founder-investor conversation. Dave Goldblatt from Wavechat is talking to Elizabeth Yin from Hustle Fund for the first time, trying to get a 2nd meeting from her. None of this is staged, so I hope you learn a lot from this episode. This episode is perfect for: Founders wanting to understand what actually happens in an investor conversation. Founders want...

About this episode: Susanne is the founder and CEO of Wingspan Health . Wingspan Health automatically compiles all of your medical information into one always-accessible platform so that you (and your doctors) can get the full picture, no stress. Listen to this episode if you are interested in: - Healthcare - How doctors compete with eachother - Mental Illness - Kleine-Levin Syndrome - Knowing wha...