Startup Savant

#60: Chen Amit joins Ethan to chat about his fintech startup, Tipalti, a global, scalable, and holistic payables automation system. Chen recalls the process of creating Tipalti and deciding to start as a one-man show. The pair discuss what factors led to Tipalti’s success and growth, how skills from Chen’s former poker career are useful for business, and his evolutions of leadership. Chen also pro...

#59: Marina Martianova joins Ethan to discuss her innovative web3 digital fashion startup, Seamm, a startup that produces virtual replicas of physical fashions to be utilized in the metaverse, in tandem with fashion houses. The pair chat about the future of the metaverse, refining an investor pitch, and building Seamm as a two-sided marketplace.   Seamm Links:  https://www.seamm.io/ https://www.li...

#58: Andy Choi joins the podcast chat about his mission-driven startup and how he found the 'why' behind his company. Andy is the founder of Do Good Points, a nonprofit and tech startup hybrid that offers a rewards system for charitable donations incentivizing people to give back to their communities. Check out the Cashing Out podcast: https://cashingout.exitwise.com/ In this episode we dive into:...

#57: James Graham joins Ethan to chat about his telecom startup, Community Phone which provides cell and landline service to users all across America. The pair have a riveting conversation about product market fit, the necessity of experimentation, and how you can generate unique startup ideas in order to disrupt the marketplace. In this episode we dive into: The importance of product market fit W...

#56: Mir Hwang is the CEO and Co-Founder of GigFinesse, a platform that connects music artists with venues to the benefit of both parties. Mir is an NYU alumni who utilized their extensive entrepreneurial support system to build the startup into what it is today. In this episode we dive into: Going from app to desktop due to consumer demand The choice to move from New York to Austin during the pan...

#55: Annafi Wahed joins Ethan to discuss her political newsletter and social media platform, The Flip Side, which uses “equal bias” in order to explore both liberal and conservative perspectives. The pair chat about the polarization of American politics today, cultivating an audience by utilizing incentives as well as self-created luck, and the dire need for balanced discussion in America’s divide...

#54: Jeremy Barnett sits down with Ethan to discuss his martech startup Rad AI. A startup that utilizes influencers or what Jeremy calls, “key opinion leaders,” and artificial intelligence to assist companies on their marketing journeys. The pair discuss the makings of a strong content marketing strategy, how AI has impacted the martech space, and how to leverage influencer marketing to grow your...

#53: Adam Nash is the co-founder and CEO of Daffy. With an extensive background in Silicon Valley, Nash previously served as CEO of Wealthfront, VP at LinkedIn as well as Dropbox, and Director at eBay. In addition to his role at Daffy, he is also an angel investor and board member at companies such as Acorns and Shift. Visit Daffy.org/AdamNash/invite for a discount at Daffy! In this episode we div...

#52: Founder and CEO, Sufian Chowdhury joins the podcast to discuss his fast growing and essential startup, Kinetik. Committed to serving the underserved, Kinetik is a non-emergency medical platform which connects patients on medicare or medicaid with transportation services. Sufian dives deep into the logistics of Kinetik, including the origins of Kinetik, how he gained his clientele and the fund...

#51: Co-Founder and CTO, Simone May joins the podcast to discuss her innovative digital marketing freelancing platform, Clutch. Clutch connects businesses who need social media marketing and web design support to college student creators who are able to easily keep up with trends and assist clients meet their marketing goals. Simone breaks down the mission of Clutch, the future of the gig economy,...

#50: Ethan is joined by founder and CEO David McFarland to chat about his cutting edge business insurance company, Coterie. Coterie is committed to providing high quality insurance policies for small businesses who may not have been approved by other companies. David discusses his impassioned decision to start Coterie, how the company is funded, the importance of making insurance simple for entrep...

#49: Andrew Hollar and Max Rebarber are co-founders of the startup, Fig. After discovering their own dietary restrictions, they realized the frustration and isolation associated with not knowing what brands of foods they could eat without flaring up symptoms. Dedicated to helping others with the same plight, the pair started Fig. With the help of TikTok and word of mouth, they have grown to over f...

#48: Olive oil enthusiast and startup founder Katina Mountanos sits down with Ethan to discuss her exceptional company, Kosterina. A startup that is dedicated to making quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO for short), the Mediterranean lifestyle, and its associated health benefits accessible to Americans. Kosterina is a lifestyle brand that has gained overwhelmingly positive reviews, leading Whole...

#47: Suki Mulberg Altamirano   is the founder and CEO of Lexington Public Relations . She initially began doing PR in the beauty industry  at KENZO and Elizabeth Arden, but after a period of burnout, Suki decided to go independent and start her own company. In addition to Lexington PR, Suki is also a partner at PressReady, which works to provide newer companies and startups with the tools they nee...

#46: Tony Tran   is the founder and CEO of Lumanu , a company working to build the financial infrastructure needed for our modern day creative economy. Lumanu currently has over 40,000 users and has raised $12 million in their Series A. Tony studied computer science at MIT and initially began working for big name companies like Google, McKinsey, and Booz Allen, but after learning about the difficu...

#45: David Utley, M.D. is the founder and CEO of Pivot , a digital health company helping users eliminate their tobacco use. Pivot has raised over $40 million, and David has over 100 published US patents. David is a seasoned entrepreneur and had previously been a founder at BARRX, which raised $70+ million in VC funding before being acquired in 2012. He has also served on the board of numerous sta...

#44: Jaideep Singh is the founder and CEO FlyFin , a VC backed startup helping automate finances for freelancers and business owners. While he initially began working as a software engineer, he later went on to become a founder of various companies and received an MBA from Wharton. One of his first startups, Spock, worked to create a database of over 1 Billion people to help companies find talent....

#43: Josh Cliffords is the founder and CEO of FreeWater , the world’s first free beverage company. Josh has founded numerous companies, but in 2018, he decided to tackle the world’s water crisis and hasn’t looked back. Josh’s ‘negatively-priced’ business model leverages advertising to make goods and services pay for themselves, and while he is currently focused on growing FreeWater, he has plans t...

#42: Former NFL player turned entrepreneur Parker Graham joins Ethan to discuss his startup Finotta , which offers banks a digital platform geared towards improving their customers’ financial health. Parker details his journey from a professional athlete to a startup founder. He discusses how his first company’s initial failures shaped his approach to creating Finotta and ultimately raising over $...

#41: Kyle York is the founder and CEO of York IE . Kyle has advised and invested in 100+ startups and is a board member for several companies. Kyle initially began working in EdTech, and after developing an interest in the tech space, he became the CRO at Dyn, a software company that was later acquired by Oracle. In addition to York IE, Kyle is a co-founder of York Real Estate and York Athletics....

#40. Matt Blumberg is the Founder and CEO of Bolster , a company working to help startups scale by pairing them with executive talent and board members. In addition to running Bolster, Matt is the author of Startup CEO: A field guide to scaling up your business , and he runs a popular entrepreneurship blog, StartupCEO.com . Matt has worked with many companies throughout the years, and he has conti...

#38: Anthony Nitsos joins Annaka and Ethan to discuss startup Finances. As a fractional CFO, Anthony works with startups to build their financial systems and ensure that they have the correct figures to make informed decisions. Anthony recommends startups put in the work building a strong financial system in their early stages to help facilitate growth and success. In this episode we dive into:  T...

#38: Alex Song is the CEO and founder of Proxima , which helps brands boost their marketing abilities by using big data and Proxima’s AI-powered software. Alex began his career in finance, but eventually he decided to start his own business. He is no stranger to entrepreneurship and has confounded many companies over the years. While Proxima works to help other companies leverage data to improve m...

#37:  Ksenia Yudina joins  Annaka and Ethan to discuss her journey founding UNest , a fintech app designed to help families invest in their kids’ futures. Ksenia walks us through the problem she saw with traditional options for families, and she shares her story innovating the finance industry, an industry that is often reluctant to change. In this episode we dive into:  Innovating an industry Usi...

Shellye Archambeau serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta. She previously served as the CEO of MetricStream, a software company focused on risk management and compliance. Her book, Unapologetically Ambitious was chosen by Fortune magazine as the business book of the year.  In this episode we dive into:  Analyzing the risk in order to decide if an opportunity is wo...