Sit Down Startup

In only three years, financial planning company Origin grew from 20 to more than 150 employees and raised over 70 million USD. While only beginning their journey, the company — created to help employers answer their employees’ tough questions about financial benefits — has found success by focusing on solutions for real-world problems.  We sat down with Co-Founder & CEO Matt Watson, who shared tip...

In March 2020, everything stopped for events company Bizzabo. So they quickly pivoted and designed a new product for the times we were living in — pairing in-person conference tools with a virtual event management platform. With offices spanning the globe and a team from all walks of life, the company is united by one mission: to define the future of hybrid events. We chatted with Co-Founder, CMO...

BharatAgri began as a college project back in 2015 and came to reality when they launched in 2017. Since then, the company has stuck to their mission of being the bridge between tech and farming. Today, their app has over 100K subscribers and is available across India. Co-Founder & CEO Sai Gole gives us a glimpse of their journey:   Think outside the box. When hit by adversity, work around it by c...

When digital B2B payment service Paystand launched in 2013, it had one mission: to democratize commercial payments. Today, the company has over 400,000 businesses making payments through their network, as well as $4B of volume on the block chain. Co-Founder & CEO Jeremy Almond joins Adam to give some advice:   Stay true to your mission. Imagine the world not as it is, but as what it could be.  Mee...

Since launching in late 2017, AI service experience startup Aisera successfully raised over $164M from VCs such as Zoom, Menlo Ventures, First Round Capital and Norwest Ventures — helping them grow to the +180 employee company they are today. Co-Founder and CEO Muddu Sudhakar gives his tips on fundraising:  Vision is everything. Make sure your investors share it and are in it for the long haul. Bo...

It’s been a rocky two years since Ukrainian cloud-based financial company Fuel Finance opened their doors. In 2022, they faced the toughest challenge yet — the invasion of their home country. Here’s what Co-Founder & CEO Alyona Mysko had to say:   Adapt your priorities . When times of uncertainty hit, it’s important to look out for your family and team — understand where they are and be there for...

This week Adam sat down with Cy Scott, Co-Founder of Leafly — think Yelp, but for cannabis — now a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ ($LFLY).  Here are some key learnings: Be smart about hacks — know when and when not to do them. In the long term, doing things the right way can bring far better results than cutting corners!  Keep user experience top-of-mind to choose when to fight for y...

When Pair Eyewear first started, their focus was on making glasses a fun and dynamic accessory for kids. Today, they provide frames for everyone and employ over 90 people across the U.S. In this episode, Co-Founder and Co-CEO Nathan Kondamuri shares their journey as we discuss: The importance of evaluating possible paths when opportunities arise How social media channels like TikTok can be used as...

Tammy Sun co-founded Carrot Fertility in 2016 with a mission to provide personalized fertility benefits for everyone, regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, income or geography. Since then, the company has gone global and their services are available in over 120 countries. Adam sat down with Tammy to get her take on: Why you should always listen to your customers and stay connected to your m...

Jeremy Parker made the unusual switch from documentary filmmaker to entrepreneur in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. Since then, he founded promotional product platform Swag.com in January 2016, before it was acquired by major online apparel retailer Custom Ink in 2021. Adam sat down with Jeremy for a virtual chat to get the stories behind: How Swag.com landed Facebook as its first customer The import...

At the age of 42, Eugenio Pace was a late bloomer in the startup game. But he more than made up for lost time when he built up identity authentication platform Auth0 from scratch in 2013, before the company was acquired by Okta in May 2021. The Co-Founder joined Adam for a chat about: Why developers are so important in the tech industry The first sale being a valuable milestone for any startup How...

Modern Health first opened its virtual doors in 2017 and has since grown to 400 employees — experiencing a surge in demand as a result of changing perceptions towards mental health. We caught up with Founder & CEO Alyson Watson to talk about:  How focusing on the big picture is key in periods of growth  Looking at business objectives to find out where to prioritize resources The importance of look...

When sales software company Outreach began back in 2014, there were three people making the amount of sales a team of 20 would. Today, they have 1,000 employees across the world and over 5,000 customers. We were joined by Co-Founder & CEO Manny Medina to discuss: Encouraging your employees to be high performers in and outside the organization Using feedback to understand what you’re doing right an...

Since launching at New York’s TechCrunch Disrupt back in 2014, DocSend was acquired by Dropbox in March 2021 and has brought on over 20,000 customers. In our Season 5 opener, Adam sat down for a virtual coffee with Co-Founder Russ Heddleston to get the lowdown on: How word of mouth is still important to achieve growth Using customer feedback as a base for making improvements Why founders should mo...

Since 2015, Jane Technologies has been revolutionizing the world of e-commerce, providing a channel for cannabis businesses to get their product directly to consumers' homes. We talked to Founder & CEO Socrates Rosenfeld to learn more about: Market innovation through product development Focusing on long term strategies  UPC codes and product data in e-commerce Shout out to our top partner Segment!...

Founded in 2014 and acquired by Medallia in September 2020, Sense360 offers businesses clearer insights on customer behavior through data. We met for a virtual chat with Founder & CEO Eli Portnoy to find out more about:  Prioritizing value at every step of your pitch Effective cold outreach strategies  Leverage your existing data to engage prospects Shoutout to our top partner Deel ! They are a gl...

After 16.5 years in business and a half a billion-dollar IPO, Olo still has that “day-one energy” and lives by its original vision: to enable restaurants to meet the needs of on-demand consumers. We caught up with Founder & CEO, Noah Glass to discuss:  How to best segment in the early days How to leverage the demonstration effect to create FOMO with prospects How resilience is the best founder sup...

Over the past five years, ZoomInfo has grown 10X to an $800 million dollar run rate business with over 3,000 employees and 25,000 customers. We sat down with Founder and CEO Henry Schuck to hear a few of his growth strategies. Here are a few things we talked about: Prioritize your go-to-market fit Increase expansion with CDRs (customer development reps) Never stop listening to prospect calls 

Rapidly expanding Fintech company, Capchase, partners with startups to help them tap into upfront capital in order to grow. Zendesk’s Adam O’Donnell and Capchase CEO & Co-Founder Miguel Fernandez dive into:  His personal path to entrepreneurship  What it takes for a startup to succeed Customer centricity: the importance of action over words How Capchase raised over $500mil in equity in one year

Combining seed capital and hands-on support, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator has gained the title of NYC’s top technology accelerator and early-stage venture capital firm. We sat down with serial entrepreneur and ERA Co-Founder, Jonathan Axelrod to talk about:  How ERA helps founders learn, fail and succeed faster The need for agility and a customer-driven mindset for growth Stories of compan...

Using AI as fuel, Ada equips companies with everything they need to make personalized customer experiences at scale. And all without the help of an engineer. Co-Founder and CEO Mike Murchison takes us behind the scenes of Ada in this discussion about:  How to free up live agents and focus on more creative work What to look at when building software Behavior traits among top leaders

Pachama is on a mission to remove carbon from the atmosphere — with the aim of protecting and restoring forests globally. Through machine learning, the startup monitors carbon capture and finances both conservation and reforestation projects. Zendesk’s Brad Bowery chats with Co-Founder and CEO Diego Saez Gil about: How to help companies and consumers navigate carbon removal and offsetting The impo...

Lang.ai is a no code AI platform designed to help CX teams automate repetitive tasks. This startup is breaking the stereotype that AI is built for engineers by engineers. Zendesk’s Pedro Muller sits down with Co-Founder Jorge Peñalva to discuss:  How AI boosts efficiency and prepares companies for the unexpected The importance of tagging systems in early stage startups Lang.ai’s role in freeing up...

In this episode, we reflect on how two startups navigated a rocky year. Our hosts, Pedro Muller and Tara McCann, handpick their favorite moments with past guests from TravelNest and Wavy. Both businesses found unique ways to grow, even during the pandemic. Find out some of their top lessons, including:  Switching strategies in times of crisis Ways to put your customers first How customer experienc...

In our first episode recorded on Clubhouse, we invited the Co-Founders of OneSkin onto the show. OneSkin develops products to improve “skinspan”, and was founded by Brazilian entrepreneurs, Alessandra Zonari and Carolina Oliveira. Join their conversation with Zendesk’s Pedro Muller to learn : The unique challenges of growing a startup in a new country  Creating a business based on a love of scienc...