Startup Success: A Podcast for Founders & Investors

Statistics show that by the time most women gain enough experience, sufficiently develop their expertise or their networks, they tend to reach a family-planning milestone in their personal lives. This, combined with the fact that women still carry most of the child-rearing responsibilities in traditional family settings around the globe, correlates with the low number of female founders in the bus...

“If we can make venture capitalists reflect society, then we can make the people who get funded reflect society as well.” That is the thesis statement behind Diversity VC, an international nonprofit aiming to make the venture capital industry more inclusive. In this episode, Sarah Millar, Principal at City Light Capital and the US Director at Diversity VC, joins the show to discuss how Diversity V...

It’s early days at your startup. As far as People Operations is concerned, you’ve probably considered your first tactical steps around payroll and tax compliance in every state where you have employees. But have you thought about the workforce policies you should be pursuing from a strategic standpoint right now in today’s challenging work environment? Sara Schrage, Managing Director of Strategic...

It’s easy for CEOs and founding teams to get caught up in the minutiae of growing a startup and lose sight of building a robust finance function. But if you design it well from day one, it can free up the bandwidth for you to tackle the more complex issues that crop up during the startup journey. In this episode, special guest host Steve Lord, Head of Burkland’s CFO, Fintech, and Knowledge Share P...

Not everyone can become a successful founder, but a successful founder can come from anywhere. The increasing number of amazing businesses sprouting up throughout the United States is prompting venture capitalists to seek out new ventures all over the country. In this episode, special guest host Jeff Burkland, Founder & CEO of Burkland, returns! He talks with Andy McLoughlin, Partner at Uncork...

There’s a multitude of new developments regarding fintechs — both on the company side as well as on the VC side. To break it all down, today’s episode features Steve Lord, Fractional CFO, Fintech Practice Lead, and Chief Learning Officer at Burkland. He talks about recent fintech developments and what they mean for venture capital. Topics covered:-The growing demand for data and reporting-Changes...

In order to truly understand SaaS companies, you need to go beyond standard financial metrics, such as revenue and operating income, and dive into SaaS metrics. In today’s episode, Debbie Rosler , Fractional CFO at Burkland , shares her thoughts on how startups should leverage top SaaS metrics. The audio for today’s episode comes courtesy of a previously recorded webinar hosted by the Female Found...

For a lot of investors, Silicon Valley is still the center of the world. But more and more, venture capital is drifting outside of the 100-mile radius of Palo Alto into emerging tech markets. Jonathan Tower , Managing Partner at Catapult , joins the show to explain how his venture firm approaches investments beyond Silicon Valley. He shares: The epiphany behind Catapult How Catapult sets up scouts...

Anupam Rastogi transformed his passion for building and scaling startups into a career in venture capital over a decade ago. He’s currently a Partner at Emergent Ventures , which focuses on seed and early-stage ventures, and he joins us in this episode to offer a VC-perspective into the startup ecosystem. We discuss: Emerging themes across the startup landscape Finding the right startups to invest...

In startup life, cash is king. That’s why it’s essential to ensure you’re avoiding tax penalties and legal fines. One issue you might not have fully considered is employing out-of-state remote workers. To break down all the implications of having a remote workforce, we talk with two Burkland experts, Brian Lahargoue , with HR Services, and Ardy Esmaeili , Head of Tax Services. Topics covered: Lega...

The investment environment is tilted in favor of startups right now. And that means there’s a high likelihood you’ll be able to raise capital — in fact, it’s as high as it’s ever been before. In this episode, special guest host Jeff Burkland , Founder & CEO of Burkland , talks with his friend, Sid Trivedi , Partner at Foundation Capital , about the partnership between entrepreneurs and investo...

Some entrepreneurs wait too long to pivot their business to more fertile ground. Not Munjal Shah , CEO and Co-founder at Health IQ . In all of his ventures, he has found immense value in avoiding a narrow, locked-in view of his business. And in this episode, he talks about the importance of pivoting early if the data points towards a more sustainable business. What we talked about: Early startup s...

If you take a look at any major investment publication, you’ll see that 2020 was a great Fintech fundraising year. Despite the pandemic, the VC community is excited for all of the new innovation in this space. Colin Kennedy, who just joined Ramp as Chief Business Officer, stops by in this episode to discuss how this accelerated momentum in Fintech has changed the space and whether it is here to st...

Hiring is always a major consideration for startups. But with the added challenges of last year, what does the hiring landscape for startups look like today? Jamie Ceglarz , Founder & Executive Recruiter for Guild Talent , joins us to talk about hiring trends and how to attract top talent in today’s competitive hiring environment. What we talked about: Why the competition for top talent is inc...

It’s the dream of every startup — to get acquired by a big internet company. But what is that experience really like? Marko Gargenta , Founder of PlusPlus.co , joins us to share what he learned when his previous startup, Marakana, was acquired by Twitter. He also shared other insights from his extensive startup career. Some topics we cover:-3 reasons why Marko agreed to let Twitter acquire Marakan...

Fintech is at the cusp of revolutionizing markets across the world, but specifically legacy markets. Breaking into these legacy markets is proving to be a competitive landscape rich with opportunity to provide value to consumers. The great news is all of this value should translate into a much better consumer experience. Because ultimately, everybody is fighting for the same consumer and they want...

Plotting a path for growth and success can be especially tough for women-owned startups. They have to deal not only with the usual hurdles of starting a business but also with challenges unique to women entrepreneurs. Virginia Almendarez , a startup coach and Senior Entrepreneur Success Manager at IFundWomen , stops by in this episode to discuss how women entrepreneurs can build the confidence and...

Imagine a scenario where you pitch your SaaS startup to potential investors. How would you prove to them that your company can build a profitable and sustainable business over time? If revenue models weren’t included in your answer, your pitch isn’t as strong as it could be. In a recent episode of Startup Success, we talked with Jonathan Cochrane , Director of Product Management at SaasOptics , an...

Denver is shaping up to be a hotspot for American startups. COVID has accelerated Denver’s tech scene, which is one of the most talked about tech hubs right now. It's 33% cheaper to build a business in Denver than it is Silicon Valley. Plus, Denver has the talent to lead your startup, a moderate political climate and an excellent infrastructure. Here's what you need to know about growing your star...

Most early-stage companies don't have the resources to bring HR in house. If you have fewer than 50 employees, full-fledged HR is just not realistic. But employing the right initial best practices can provide incalculable benefits during the early days of your company. In this episode of Startup Success, Kate Adams talks with Moses Balian and Keely Aguayo . Moses serves as an HR consulting manager...

Let’s talk about debt. Specifically, venture debt. Venture debt is debt financing that has traditionally been used by startups alongside equity financing as a way to provide more capital to the balance sheet in order to extend their runway. Today startups use debt financing much more strategically and for different uses and stages. We take a closer look in this episode of Startup Success, Brian He...

President Trump has approved the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, which provides stimulus support and more clarification around PPP and funding. In this episode of StartUp Success, host Kate Adams chats with Steve Lord , head of Burkland’s New York office and Fintech Practice, and Ardy Esmaeili , head of Tax Services at Burkland, outline the bill’s parameters and discuss the updates made to the...

Burkland began with a mission to help startup founders accelerate their dreams. Founders can focus on innovating while Burkland takes care of the finance. We work with the best CFOs, accountants, tax advisors, venture capitalists, startup service providers and founders. They hold excellent insight, tips, and best practices on scaling, and knowledge of the entire startup ecosystem. We want to help...