Skin in the Game VC Podcast

In the latest episode of the Skin in the Game VC podcast, hosts Tom Wallace and Saxon Baum sit down with Jeff Gigante, co-founder of Next Level Brands and a major player in Tampa’s restaurant scene. This conversation dives deep into Jeff’s entrepreneurial journey, starting with his first pizzeria at Florida State to now running some of the hottest restaurants in Florida. Jeff shares how his passio...

Ever wondered how a military leader transitions to the world of venture capital? In our latest episode of Skin in the Game, we sat down with retired Four-Star General Tony Thomas to discuss his incredible journey. From leading special operations forces to investing in cutting-edge technologies, General Thomas shares his unique insights on leadership, innovation, and the intersection of the militar...

In this podcast episode, we delve into the world of AI and its transformative potential for the construction industry. Our guest, Patrick Murphy, a former U.S. Congressman and construction industry veteran, shares insights on his company Togalai, which utilizes AI to automate the estimating process in construction. Murphy discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by AI, emphasizing the...

Join us for an insightful episode of the Skin in the Game VC Podcast with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, discussing the city's thriving tech ecosystem, strategic growth during COVID, and the role of AI in governance. Mayor Castor highlights Tampa's appeal as a tech hub, the importance of organic growth in the tech scene, and the city's focus on talent and innovation. Tune in to learn how Tampa is positi...

The episode features Zaid Rahman, CEO of Flex, a Florida Funders portfolio company. Zaid discusses his entrepreneurial journey, Flex's rapid growth in providing financial services to small and medium businesses, and their expansion plans. He shares insights on talent acquisition, customer marketing, and creating a comprehensive financial platform for mid-market businesses. In a rapid-fire Q&A,...

Discover the fascinating journey of Frank Smith, from YouTube sensation to Multimedia Mogul, in the latest episode of the Skin in the Game pod. Join Saxon Baum as he dives into a captivating conversation with Frank, tracing his evolution and success in the multimedia landscape. From crafting short-form sports videos on TikTok to navigating the complexities of influencer marketing trends, Frank sha...

Tune in to the latest episode of the Skin in the Game VC Podcast featuring Charmel Maynard, Chief Investment Officer of the University of Miami. Gain invaluable insights into university asset management and the journey that led Charmel to his prestigious position. Discover the strategies and decisions driving investments, and learn about the dynamic nature of his role overseeing three distinct poo...

Delian Asparouhov, a Bulgarian-born, self-made software engineer, dives into the rollercoaster of a journey from being an MIT dropout to earning the Thiel Fellowship. Delian discusses his initial reservations about a career in venture capital and how early exposure to the field via an internship at Square, a student-run VC, helped change his mind and led him closer to his purpose. Delian touches o...

In this podcast episode, Lucy Guo, a prominent entrepreneur and Thiel Fellow, shares her remarkable journey from receiving a Thiel Fellowship at the age of 20 to becoming the second wealthiest self-made female in the United States. Lucy discusses her experiences with ventures such as Scale AI, her transition from venture capitalist to entrepreneur, and the evolution of her venture fund, HF0. The c...

This episode focuses on Steve MacDonald’s unique experience of spending a year in Florence, Italy, while exploring the cultural and historical aspects, as well as insights into the local tech scene. Steve shares that the decision to move to Florence was driven by a long-standing desire to experience life abroad with his family. He reflects on the cultural differences, the historical richness of Fl...

In this particular episode, Tom and Saxon touch on various subjects, such as the bankruptcy of WeWork, the impact of EVs on traditional automakers, and the changing landscape of commercial real estate due to remote work trends. Guest speaker, David Goldberg, a partner at Alpaca Ventures, talks about his background, the branding of Alpaca Ventures, and their approach to venture capital. Hosted on A...

Joe Bayen, who was Born in Cameroon, shares his journey of moving to the United States as a three-year-old and being raised in Paris, France. Joe shares his experience in the credit industry, starting with his realization of the impact of late payments on his credit score. This led him to found a company aimed at helping students manage their credit. Joe worked on the development of the Bootstrap...

Founders of Lula, Michael and Matthew Vega-Sanz joins the episode of Skin In The Game VC Podcast with Tom Wallace and new co-host Saxon Baum. Matthew and Michael discuss their journey of creating a car sharing app called Lula. They talk about how they came up with the idea while in college and built an app that initially had many flaws. However, over time, the app gained traction and went viral, b...

Laura DiBella, the Secretary of Commerce for the State of Florida as well as the president of CEO of Enterprise Florida, joins us for this episode of Skin in the Game .  Laura explores the robust evolution of Florida's tech industry and the state's response to COVID-19. Florida's open strategy during the pandemic made the state a magnet for tech talents, thereby catalyzing innovation. She acknowle...

Brad Feld, an avid ecosystem-builder, tech entrepreneur, and early-stage investor for over 35 years shares his insights on the venture capital, startup, and tech community in this episode of Skin in the Game VC Podcast. Brad began his journey in tech and venture capital in the ‘80s and has since become a respected and influential figure in the industry. He has written several books on entrepreneur...

On this episode, Tom interviews Joey Levy. You may have seen him recently all over the news and social media alongside his business partner and top sports influencer Jake Paul. They have recently launched Betr (initially known as Instabet), the world’s first micro-betting focused app and new media venture for the next generation of sports fans. If you want to learn more about investing in early-st...

Lakshmi Shenoy is the CEO of Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Tom Wallace discusses her story and how she ended up helping to build and lead the fastest-growing startup hub in Florida. If you like what you hear, please rate us 5 stars and check out other episodes here: https://www.floridafunders.com/category/podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florida Funders partners Tom Wallace and Marc Blumenthal discuss the ups and downs of markets and the lessons learned from the past. Learn more about early-stage tech investing during these times. If you like what you hear, please rate us 5 stars and check out our site: https://www.floridafunders.com/category/podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, my name's Tom Wallace, and I'm the Managing Partner of Florida Funders. Welcome to Florida Funders podcast. Our podcast is all about how to make all of us better angel investors, or better founders or entrepreneurs. We really address two audiences here. One thing that I love about angel investing and entrepreneurship is, it's so dynamic, so fluid, and there's always something new to learn,...

When you paint a picture in your head of the American Dream, what do you see? For many of us, it involves the vision of being ‘self-made’ and designing our own destiny, no matter where we came from.  For Elias Torres, the choice his mother made when she immigrated from Nicaragua to Tampa would prove to be a fortuitous one in helping him realize that dream. After his early start at IBM, Torres beca...

It's been more than 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic started and we experienced weeks of lockdowns, quarantines, and a total reconfiguration of the way we work. For venture capitalist David Blumberg, the pandemic took him from his ancestral home of California across the country to Florida. Realizing that he was no longer chained to his fixed, physical office in San Francisco, he took the plun...

What happens when a brand new tech startup finds itself in the middle of one of the worst financial crises the country has ever seen? With a little luck, some intuitiveness, and a lot of hard work, a pivot in the right direction can not only save a company, it can create major success, too.  Brian Murphy founded ReliaQuest in 2007, just as the US was plunging into the Great Recession. While he did...

Discipline, initiative, and responsibility are all skills you would expect a young person to learn in the military. But what about teamwork and learning to successfully collaborate with others as a whole greater than its parts? For Hugh Campbell, his time in the US Army taught him this invaluable lesson.  When Campbell entered West Point fresh out of high school, he never dreamed of the opportunit...

We’ve all had that lightbulb moment at least once in our lives, where we have a striking realization seemingly independent of everyone else around us. What we don’t all have the privilege of experiencing? Having that moment lead to an early adoption of and investment in what would quickly become the most important, groundbreaking technology on the planet.  Arnie Bellini began his career at Price W...

Have you ever had a moment of recognition that an issue you were experiencing was readily solvable, and you might just be the one to figure out how? Reuben Pressman started on the journey that brought him to where he is today when he began coding as a 10-year-old. As a student at the University of South Florida, he realized that the majority of the learning he was doing was going on outside the cl...