The Innovators & Investors Podcast

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast hosted by Kristian Marquez, Yash Hemaraj, General Partner at BGV, shares deep expertise on early-stage venture capital investing in enterprise AI startups. Yash discusses BGV’s investment thesis, emphasizing human-centric AI that augments enterprise workflows with ethical guardrails and human oversight. He sheds light on the firm...

In this compelling episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Romy Kochan, General Partner at Frances Ann Capital Partners, to explore a distinctive investment thesis centered on customer acquisition strategies as the primary driver of business growth and venture success. Drawing from over 15 years and 300 transactions in private markets, Romy an...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Ash Vaidya, Managing Director of Multiplier Capital, to explore the evolving landscape of venture debt and technology investing. Ash shares his firm’s investment focus on mission-critical technology and technology-enabled services businesses that demonstrate strong recurring revenue, product-...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Andrea Dottillo and Jeff Esposito, co-founders of VeraAI Technologies, to explore how their AI-powered SaaS platform is revolutionizing the remodeling industry. Drawing from Jeff’s 20+ years of experience in remodeling sales and Andrea’s expertise in technology and research, they discuss the...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jim Curry, co-founder and CEO of BuildGroup, to explore a unique operator-led investment philosophy. Jim shares how their permanent fund focuses on early growth-stage, data-enabled workflow SaaS companies, leveraging deep operational expertise to drive long-term value beyond just entry and ex...

In this episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Edward Hieatt, Chief Customer Officer and Board Member at Mechanical Orchard, to explore the complex challenge of modernizing legacy mainframe systems that underpin many of today’s largest enterprises. Edward shares the genesis of Mechanical Orchard, a startup dedicated to solving the decades-old...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Kim Thanos, founder and CEO of Lumen Learning—a pioneering company transforming higher education by providing affordable, digital textbook alternatives aimed at increasing student success in critical gateway courses. Kim shares the origin story of Lumen Learning, detailing how a grant from th...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Manfred Heiss, Founder of MyAutoData and President of MAUD Incorporated, to explore the revolutionary concept of automotive data ownership. Manfred shares his extensive experience from BMW, Oracle, and Hewlett Packard, explaining how his frustration with current data practices inspired him to...

In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Jacqui and Steve DIMarco, the CEO and the President of IMAGExRay, about their groundbreaking development of a portable, ultra-low dose radiation x-ray system designed specifically to diagnose and treat dysphagia, a dangerous swallowing disorder. They discuss how their FDA-approved and patented technology ad...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jon McLaughlin, managing partner at Emberline and CEO of TBX. Jon shares his unique journey from Wall Street derivatives trading to backpacking around the world, followed by an MBA and deep private equity operational experience. Together, Jon and Kristian explore Emberline’s thematic inv...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Todd Thomas, founder and CEO of Woodchuck and bestselling author of  Unleashing Abundant Energy . Todd shares how Woodchuck is tackling two pressing global challenges—waste reduction and renewable energy generation—by diverting wood waste from construction and manufacturing sectors desti...

In this compelling episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Adam Mangana, President and CEO of Optima, to explore how immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing K-12 education. Adam shares the origin story of Optima—born from his experience as an AP computer science teacher—and how the company...

In this insightful episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Levi King, CEO and Chairman of Nav, to explore the crucial role of business credit and financial health for small businesses. Levi shares his entrepreneurial journey, from bootstrapping multiple ventures in diverse industries to founding NAV, a fintech platform that empowers over a million smal...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Amar Bakshi, founder of Shared Studios and Noro, to explore how Amar’s visionary work is redefining human connection through immersive technology. Amar shares the evolution from his original art project, which connected strangers worldwide via life-size video portals installed in locations from New York t...

In this episode, host Kristian Marquez welcomes David Evans, managing partner at Sentiero Ventures, to discuss the firm’s investment thesis focused on seed-stage companies that leverage AI-enabled software to address real-world challenges in sectors like manufacturing and e-commerce. David elaborates on how Sentiero Ventures is uniquely positioned to combine proprietary, private data with public A...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez welcomes Ralph Groce, an angel investor and partner at Scroobious. The conversation dives into the systemic challenges faced by underrepresented founders—especially women and people of color—in accessing capital. Scroobious aims to bridge the gap between these talented founders and a vast network of angel investors, tac...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Suzanne El-Moursi, co-founder and CEO of BrightHive, to discuss how AI-driven data solutions are transforming the workplace. Suzanne shares BrightHive’s mission to make data insights accessible to all employees through agentic AI—specialized autonomous agents that function like a full data team. She expla...

Join host Kristian Marquez in this insightful episode of The Innovators and Investors Podcast featuring Raj Malik, partner at Pixel Perfect Ventures. In this episode, Raj delves into the significance of grit and adaptability in founders as they navigate the uncertain landscape of startups and shares the firm’s unique perspective on investing, rooted in their extensive operational experience as for...

In this episode of Innovators and Investors, host Kristian Marquez talks with Erin Niehaus, partner at DigitalDx Ventures, about how AI is transforming healthcare. Erin shares her journey from finance to venture capital and explains DigitalDx’s focus on non-invasive early disease detection. They discuss the challenges of AI adoption in healthcare, investment trends, and how DigitalDx supports earl...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Tanis Jorge, author of “The Cofounders Handbook” and founder of the Cofounders Hub. The conversation delves into Tanis’ entrepreneurial journey and insights regarding co-founding partnerships. Tanis emphasizes the importance of communication, shared expectations, and roles within co-founder relationships. She...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Matt Smith, principal at Kickstart, a Colorado-based venture capital firm. Matt shares insights into the firm’s investment thesis, which focuses on early-stage funding for entrepreneurs in the mountain states, particularly between Phoenix and Bozeman. The conversation covers Matt’s personal journey into ventu...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Albert Bou Fadel, founder and CEO of Smart Barrel, a company that has developed a unique hardware-software solution for labor management in the construction industry. Albert shares his journey from a decade in the construction field to launching SmartBarrel, driven by the need to solve prevalent issues like l...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Keith Harrington, the co-founder and COO of Novel Capital. Keith discusses the unique approach Novel Capital takes as a capital provider for early-stage Software as a Service (SaaS) and tech-enabled service businesses. Keith shares insights on the importance of optionality for entrepreneurs in raising capital...

In this episode of the Innovators and Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez interviews Yakov Filippenko, founder of Intch, a platform designed to connect companies and professionals for part-time projects. Yakov discusses the challenges of the evolving workforce landscape, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where many professionals seek flexible work arrangements. He shares insi...

Join us for an engaging episode of The Innovators and Investors Podcast, hosted by Kristian Marquez, where we explore the vibrant intersection of technology, investment, and entrepreneurship. This week, Kristian welcomes two dynamic guests: Kevin Weber, Managing Director at Amex Ventures, and Ayal Karmi, Co-founder and CEO of Nakuda. In this episode, Kevin shares his fascinating career journey, in...