Silicon Street

On this episode: We are joined by Scott Malpass who served as the Chief Investment Officer for Notre Dame’s endowment, growing it from $400 million to over $12 billion. We discuss the strategies and practices that allowed Notre Dame’s investment office to achieve amazing long-term returns on its endowed capital. Specifically, Scott gave his thoughts on asset managers and how to find good ones, the...

We are joined by Brian Plamondon, a member of the Healthcare Corporate Venture Relationships team at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). With over 50% of venture-backed life sciences and tech companies in the US banking with them, SVB is engrained within the Silicon Valley ecosystem. During our conversation with Brian, we cover how SVB helped its clients during the pandemic and COVID’s impact on the ventur...

Johannes Burgard, MD and Founder at the solar energy software company Solytic, joins us for this episode discussing his path as a founder.  Johannes explains Solytic’s product and go-to-market strategy that has allowed the company to raise millions in capital and operate in over 60 countries in just 4 years after its founding, and shares his advice from founding his company. As a trained engi...

Elizabeth Davis, a venture investor at Anthemis on their Female Innovators Lab team, helps us kick off the fall semester with an exciting discussion on early-stage investing and the rise of financial technology companies. In addition to diving into key sub-verticals and investment themes within fintech, we focus on how Elizabeth is working to combat inequities that women face in the venture fundin...

Justin Schneider, CEO and co-founder of the LA-based men's fashion brand Wolf & Shepard, joins the show to discuss his journey from track star to shoe designer. Justin talks about the adaptability and willingness to face the unknown that is necessary to become a founder. We also touch on Justin’s industrial design background, his work with Reebok, Adidas, and New Balance, as well as some of hi...

Mike Fitzgerald, co-founder and partner at High Alpha, a venture studio in Indianapolis, comes on the show to discuss the strategy and operations of venture studios. Mike’s background in software, sales, and entrepreneurship guides our conversation on starting companies at venture studios, the attractiveness of B2B SaaS, and guiding exits and innovation through large corporations. This episode als...

On this episode: Tom Mendoza, former President and SVP of Sales at NetApp and benefactor of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, joins the show to discuss his philosophy behind goal setting and establishing a clear vision for an organization. Drawing on his experience at NetApp, Tom also outlines how he developed a strong corporate culture at NetApp and how others can do the same at fast-grow...

On this episode: Conor McCarter is the co-founder of Prequel, which helps companies set up and manage their data stacks so they can focus on what matters: getting insights to drive their businesses. We talk about with Conor about pursuing a dual engineering masters degree and MBA at Harvard and subsequently deciding to jump in full time to work on his startup. We also focus on Conor’s experience w...

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Mike Anello, co-founder and managing director at M33 Growth, a growth equity firm in Boston MA. On this episode we discuss key aspects of providing value to Growth Equity portfolio companies. Mike touches on his experience in his role as a managing director, creating operations teams, and pitching a company's value to its potential customers.

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Michael Bechtel, Chief Futurist at Deloitte. Michael discusses what it means to be a futurist, how to analyze trends defining future operating systems and opportunities, and how companies can prepare workforces for changing technological environments. Get a glimpse into his thought process and learn about how you can prepare yourself for careers in la...

On this episode: With over 20 years of experience in venture capital and degrees from MIT and Harvard, Dr. Jeff Himawan, Managing Director at EW Healthcare Partners, joins the show to discuss the role of venture capital in research-intensive pharmaceutical startups. Jeff outlines the impact that longer holding periods have on healthcare venture firms’ relationships with LPs as well as the characte...

Conor and Alex chat with Rory Conway, Principal Product Manager at Walmart Global Tech. We discuss the necessity of cloud software solutions, the value of data in business operations, and the threat of this data with respect to cybersecurity. Rory also provides insight on how to position yourself for success in cloud and tech.

Conor and Alex chat with Michael Hortatsos, VP of Partnerships at Dataiku, a leading enterprise AI company focused on providing a centralized data platform for businesses. We discuss the basics of enterprise AI, Dataiku’s mission to enable professionals of all backgrounds to be data-driven, and the key applications of AI in industry. Michael also dives into what leading partnerships entails and ho...

Conor and Alex chat with Michael Watt, VP of Sales, Strategy, and Operations at expert.ai, an enterprise artificial intelligence company focused on natural language processing. This episode dives into the key corporate objectives of the CEO, mission-critical priorities of the sales team, and the rise of growth marketing. We also discuss the relationship between marketing and sales departments as w...

On this episode Conor and Alex chat with Chris Stevens, the man behind Keurig's monumental rise in the at-home, instant coffee industry. Chris discusses the marketing and sales strategies he employed, the importance of competitive advantages, and management of rapid growth in the beginning of the company's history. Listen until the end to also hear Chris' advice on giving back in your communities,...

On this episode: Tess Michaels, founder of Stride Funding, talks with Conor and Alex about her journey to expand the opportunities available to students for financing their education. Tess discusses the basics of income share agreements (ISA’s) and Stride Funding’s efforts to provide a differentiated service to students. We also chat about the importance of hiring a strong team as well as Tess’ ex...

On this episode: Doug Brody, a Managing Director at KKR, joins the show to discuss his career in capital markets and the basics of private equity. Doug outlines the process of finding and making deals, the structure of leveraged buyouts, and how private equity firms leverage operational efficiencies and financial engineering to create attractive returns. We also discuss common PE exit strategies a...

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Sean Cantwell, founder and managing partner of Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital. Sean provides insight into the process of raising capital from limited partners (LPs) for a new fund and factors of differentiation for investment firms. We also discuss the key metrics and qualities Sean looks for when making new investments and Volition Capit...

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Jay Newman, director of strategy at Jump, a strategy and innovation consulting firm. This episode provides insight into what it’s like to work as an innovation consultant, and also discusses the struggle of trying to find and develop innovative new products. Learn about why this branch of consulting is becoming a must-have service for innovators.

On this episode: Ireland Carter, founder of innovative management platform Bricleir, joins the show to discuss the process of creating a B2B SaaS business. Specifically, Ireland highlights her experience with convincing different stakeholders to join her platform, facilitating corporate and startup partnerships, and pursuing a career in tech with a liberal arts background.

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Ted Smith, co-founder of technology investment bank Union Square Advisors, on his 25-year career serving clients on strategic transaction execution, finance, and operations. Ted walks through his day to day and provides his perspective on the state of the technology markets. We also discuss the rise of technology-focused private equity firms and the inters...

On this episode: Heather Eaton, co-founder of Frankly Apparel, joins the show to discuss her braless clothing company and her journey as an entrepreneur. We dig into the process of understanding the customer through ethnographic interviews, developing an initial product line, and utilizing experiments to test market hypotheses and product viability. Heather also talks about some of her favorite cl...

On this episode: Conor and Alex chat with Cristin Pacifico, manager and venture capitalist at TechNexus. We discuss TechNexus’ unique combination of businesses, corporate joint-ventures, and a fast-growing startup investment portfolio in addition to Cristin’s outlook on the biggest opportunities for technological disruption. Cristin also talks about her background in financial planning and analysi...

On this episode: Ryan G. Smith is the co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, a wholesale cannabis marketplace and technology platform. Ryan talks about growing a technology business in a highly regulated space and his focus on creating diversified business solutions that tackle hair on fire problems for cannabis brands and retailers. We discuss his navigation of raising capital, including his plans for t...

On this episode: Tommy Flaim, founder of activewear brand Fox & Robin, joins the podcast to discuss his desire to create a sustainable and humane clothing brand that seeks to partner with manufacturers that provide factory workers with living wages. Tommy talks about incorporating as a benefit corporation, applying for B corp certification, and the importance of ethics in business. We also cha...