Inside Startup Investing with Chris Lustrino

Chris meets David Shapiro, the CEO of OPEN. Together, they dive into the venture capital world, exploring OPEN's unique positioning and value proposition in the investment landscape. David shares insights into OPEN's mission, its differentiated approach to investing, and the transformative impact it aims to create in the startup ecosystem. Highlights include… David Shapiro provides an overview of...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino talks with Oakland Roots co-founder and CMO, Edreece Arghandiwal. They dig into the world of soccer, discussing the emergence of Oakland Roots, its strategies in player development, revenue generation, and the influence of community and celebrities on the club's trajectory. Highlights include… Importance of player development in the US (1...

In the episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino hosts Michael Friedman, CEO of Moneyline Sports, exploring the innovations and intricacies of sports betting. Michael shares how Moneyline Sports is reshaping the sports betting landscape, serving as a beacon for both novices and experienced bettors. Chris and Michael dive into the unique offerings, challenges, milestones, and future aspir...

In this episode of the Inside Startup Investing podcast, Chris Lustrino is joined by Andrei Klochko, CEO of Airthium. They dive deep into clean heat pump technology, discussing Airthium's groundbreaking contributions to the clean tech sector. With a strong emphasis on climate technology, Andrei, a trained physicist, provides insights into the complex yet fascinating world of Airthium's tech innova...

In the latest Inside Startup Investing podcast episode, Chris Lustrino interviews Chris Lindsay, CEO of Manta Biofuel. Chris Lindsay discusses Manta Biofuel's journey from its early days as a biofuels company to its current focus on water remediation. With a blend of innovative technology and practical applications, Manta Biofuel is working towards addressing critical water pollution issues and ex...

In this Inside Startup Investing podcast episode, Chris Lustrino chats with Fran Maier, the co-founder and CEO of BabyQuip. Fran sheds light on how BabyQuip, as a leading baby gear rental service, has become a game-changer for traveling families both nationally and internationally. As a new father, Chris resonates with the need for such a service, making the conversation both personal and insightf...

On the Inside Startup Investing podcast, Chris Lustrino speaks with Katrina Spade, Founder and CEO of Recompose. Katrina offers a fresh perspective on the funeral industry by introducing a sustainable and environment-friendly alternative to traditional death care: human composting. With a unique blend of personal curiosity and environmental responsibility, Katrina discusses the journey of founding...

Chris Lustrino is joined by Alli Schaper, the co-founder, and CEO of Supermush. They discuss Alli's personal journey and her deep connection with functional and psychedelic mushrooms. Alli shares how these experiences inspired her to start Supermush; a company focused on making mushroom-based products more accessible to the public. Despite being in an emerging and competitive market, Supermush has...

Inside Startup Investing hosts Courtney Boyd Myers, the founder and CEO of AKUA, a company committed to transforming ocean farming into a mainstream source of food and offering consumers sustainable, plant-based options. Courtney shares the story of AKUA's origins, the challenges they've faced, their business model, and future goals. Highlights include… The discussion about the benefits of kelp as...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Anthony Tassone, the founder of Truleo, discusses how his company uses AI to transcribe and analyze police body camera footage to improve policing standards. Anthony dives into the potential of their AI platform to provide valuable insights from unreviewed body camera data, reduce administrative burdens, and increase the professionalism and accountabili...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino interviews Collin Castellaw, Co-Founder of PlayersTV. They discuss the shift in athletes’ perspective on content creation, the rise of PlayersTV, the potential for athlete-driven content, and the future of the sports media landscape. Highlights include… The genesis of PlayersTV and how it's become a one-stop-shop for athlete-driven conten...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino interviews Linh Dao Smooke, the chief operating officer of HackerNoon. HackerNoon is a platform where technologists publish their stories. Chris and Linh delve into the origins of HackerNoon, the platform's community-focused approach, and its ability to empower writers to monetize their content. Linh provides insight into their partnershi...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino talks with Manish Kapoor, the founder and CEO of TruKno, a cybersecurity startup. They discuss the unique AI-driven cybersecurity approach TruKno uses, the team's diverse background, their journey to find product-market fit, the company’s current fundraising efforts, and more. Topics include... How TruKno uses advanced AI algorithms to fi...

In this episode of "Inside Startup Investing," Chris Lustrino engages in a lively conversation with Maria Springer, chief executive officer of Capital Department. They delve into how her company is providing a unique blend of fundraising expertise to help ambitious startups secure the financial backing they need to succeed. Maria gives insight into the challenging world of fundraising, t...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with John Panaccione, CEO of Folla Capital, a company specializing in regulatory crowdfunding. Panaccione discusses the evolution of crowdfunding, the impact of recent regulatory changes, and how Folla Capital helps startups navigate this landscape. He emphasizes the importance of extensive due diligence for securing investment, wh...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino interviews Etan Butler, chairman of Dalmore Group, to discuss the growing landscape of online private markets and fractional ownership. Etan shares insights on Dalmore's all-in-one solution for issuers and platforms, the increasing sophistication of issuers, and the growing demand for private alternative investments. They also cover the c...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Aquagga CEO Nigel Sharp. Aquagga takes an innovative approach to mitigating PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in water. Nigel discusses the origins of the company, its public benefit mission, and the traction it’s gained through grants, contracts, and industrial clients. Nigel also shares the environment...

Jesse Randall is the CEO of Sweater Ventures, which he founded in 2018 after 20 years of experience in venture capital (VC) and startups. He dropped the idea of a traditional VC fund due to his ineligibility as an accredited investor and worked with the SEC to create a structure for everyday investors to access the asset class. Randall previously founded six companies and ran a software accelerato...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, host Chris Lustrino interviews Darren Marble, CEO of Issuance and co-founder of Going Public. They discuss Darren's unique approach to entrepreneurship, the sober founder mindset [05:34], and the future of equity crowdfunding. Darren shares insights on how the industry can improve, the role of investment banks, and the importance of having institutional...

Netcapital is one of the main platforms that hosts online startup investment opportunities. And it's been there since the early days of equity crowdfunding. Rob Burnett has grown alongside the company, beginning in a business development associate position. Now he's taken over as CEO. And as an industry insider, Rob has a unique view on how online startup investing is evolving. On today's episode...

Fun may not be the first word you associate with investing. But Anthony Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Vinovest, is making it easy and fun for anyone to become a wine investor. Through Vinovest, investors don't have to worry about issues like storage or bottle sourcing that have historically kept everyone but the very wealthy from investing in wine. Instead, you can just tell Vinovest how much you w...

If you're familiar with The Walking Dead or Invincible, then you've encountered Skybound. Skybound is a new breed of media company. Rather than focusing solely on movie or television show production, it does full stack entertainment. From merchandise and comic books to video games and shows, Skybound sees endless opportunities in creative media. On today's episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chri...

Pureboost is a startup that is primed for success. From its stacked founding and executive team to its key product launch timing, things have just fell into place for Pureboost. Pureboost makes clean and health energy drink mixes. And it stands out in the crowded energy drink market through its branding and its target audience of women. In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino t...

The new year is an excellent time to try and find ways to improve your life. And a common thing we all face is stress. Stress is a natural part of life -- but how we manage it can make a huge difference in our wellbeing. And Sensate is here to help. Sensate has created a device that uses sounds and infrasonic resonance to reduce stress in users. It does this by tapping into the vagus nerve -- a ce...

Security cameras can't provide safety on their own. It takes someone actually watching the footage to identify hazards or crimes. But what if surveillance could be proactive instead of reactive? That's the goal of Cloudastructure. Cloudastructure provides surveillance software that automatically stores footage on the cloud. Then the company uses machine vision to crawl through that footage and ena...