Tracy Davis and Melissa have an engaging conversation on why solving a business problem is crucial for a startup's success. Tracy shares how she uncovered the business problem for Trax Analytics and why their solution is so important for clients. She delves into the importance of asking prospective clients a simple question - “What’s the cost of not doing something?” and how this one question provides a springboard for a sales proposition and solution. She also talks about funding, why she decided venture capital wasn’t suitable for her company, and the importance of being a true leader.

We all have knowledge gaps and blindspots; getting different perspectives often unlocks needed insights. Chris Fellows and Melissa dive into why having a good co-founder and CEO group can uncover insights and help founders succeed. Chris also shares his journey from running a services company to launching Bold Street, a product company. He shares insights on how they found product market fit and the process they used to fund their startup. 

Melissa and Dan Gallancy, CEO/Co-founder of Atakama, have an in-depth conversation on what it takes to start a company. His journey started in finance, exposing him to how others finance and create businesses. He then jumped into Bitcoin in the early days, which turned to filling the need for a multifactor encryption platform. He details how they financed the company, including personal capital, funding from venture capital, equity crowdfunding, and non-dilutive funding from Lighter Capital.

Melissa and the CEO/Co-founder of StoreAutomator, Gokhan Erkavun, have a lively discussion on Gokhan’s experience of getting StoreAutomator off the ground. Gokhan shares where the inspiration came from, his challenges, and the time required to find a market fit. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, curiosity, and a passion for solving customers’ needs.  Plus, he touches on essential topics like managing outsourced teams, building trust, raising funds, and building market fit. 

We are fortunate to call ⁠Marc Verissimo⁠ our Chairman. With over 40 years of banking and finance experience, including serving as Silicon Valley Bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Marc has a unique view of what’s happening in finance and banking. When we last spoke with Marc, he shared insights on the contributing factors to SVB's downfall. Today he reveals what the continued changes in banking will mean to venture capital, venture debt, and the overall impact it may have on startups.   

Melissa and Align's CEO, Doug Walner, dive into a compelling conversation on the significance of fostering a company culture that champions the importance of processes and how to track and streamline them. During their discussion, Doug sheds light on the value of business coaching, distinguishing it from CEO coaching and why CEOs and their executive teams should wholeheartedly embrace this approach. Moreover, Doug provides insights into the construction of Align Technology's growth capital structure, sharing why they blended equity and non-dilutive funding.

Melissa engages with the founders of Ticket Socket, Mark Miller and Kai Blache, to discuss their journey of founding and managing a white-label event ticketing and registration startup.  Mark and Kai share why they started TicketSocket, how they built a company culture that creates happy and dedicated employees, the advantages of tribal thinking and decision-making, and why non-dilutive funding was the right fit for their company, including how revenue-based financing provided the flexibility they needed during the pandemic.  

Melissa speaks with Alex Yi, CEO/Co-founder of Nyble, who shares the secrets of how to bootstrap into a revenue-generating startup. Many lessons were learned along the way, including how a New York incubator set them on their path, what it took to build the initial product, and when to accelerate. He shares tips for staying motivated, when to raise capital, the importance of a co-founder, and why the first step in your journey to success is validating product fit.

This week, Melissa engages in a riveting conversation with Sunil Patro, CEO and Founder of Signeasy, an esignature and contract workflow platform, to learn about the rewards of forging one's path in a world full of possibilities. From his remarkable transition as a sought-after employee at prestigious companies like Microsoft to becoming a bootstrapping CEO, Sunil shares why he seized the opportunity in the esignature/contract workflow marketplace, his relentless pursuit to differentiate his value prop, and why he advocates for bootstrapping vs. selling equity to raise capital.  

In this week’s podcast, Melissa talks with Sharon Nouh, CEO and founder of ProSpend, a platform for proactive business spend management, to discuss Sharon’s journey from starting her company as an individual entrepreneur to bootstrapping to where it is today.  Sharon shares her insights on life as a women CEO, what she learned, which professional organizations she found most helpful, why a startup mentality is so important when hiring employees, and the three things every startup CEO needs to focus on (almost daily), and why they are crucial to success.