BUILDERS

BUILDERS

By Front Lines MediaBusinessEntrepreneurship
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BUILDERS episodes

  • Brandon Schulz, CEO and Co-Founder of Violet: $14 Million Raised to Power the Future of E-commerce

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Brandon Schulz, CEO and Co-Founder of Violet, an e-commerce technology company that's raised $14 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Brandon’s career background in social commerce and e-commerce businesses, and finding his calling in entrepreneurship
  • Why so many social commerce team struggle to establish an integrated infrastructure for large numbers of companies selling on a single platform
  • Violet’s vested interest in making their customers make more money, and how their pricing policy reflects this reality
  • How overpromising often ends up compromising the category creation process in the minds of customers
  • Finding product market fit, and the four-year slog towards finally making a commercial breakthrough
    • 38 min
  • Ben Christensen, CEO of Cambium Carbon: $5.5 Million Raised to Build a new Category of Sustainable Wood

    Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ben Christensen, CEO and Co-Founder of Cambium Carbon, a company that has raised $5.5 Million in funding.

    Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

    • Ben’s background in forestry and his lifelong commitment to fighting climate change
  • The staggering figures of urban wood waste in the US and how that material can be harnessed by companies 
  • Why running ultramarathons has been transformational for Ben
  • What founding a startup has taught Ben about dealing with existential challenges
  • How rethinking the uniqueness of products can lead to a smaller carbon footprint

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    Sponsors:

    Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

    www.FrontLines.io


    The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. 

    www.GlobalTalent.co

     

    31 min
  • Stephen de Vries, CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of Threat Modeling

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Stephen de Vries, CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk, a threat modeling platform that's raised nearly $40 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Stephen’s career as a programmer in the Y2K era and transitioning to application software security testing 
  • Being an early entrant to the cybersecurity space, and how the industry has changed over the years
  • How IriusRisk’s automated security approach streamlines the security software design process for developers
  • The expansion of IriusRisk's content to meet market demand, including device-specific protocols for medical devices.
  • The potential implications of impending regulations and working with the federal government to improve security

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    The Bhagavad Gita

    32 min
  • Mark Morissette, CEO and Co-Founder of Foxquilt: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of SMB Commercial Insurance

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Mark Morissette, CEO and Co-Founder of Foxquilt, an insurance technology company that has raised $25 Million in funding.

     Topics Discussed:

    • Mark’s background in distribution strategy and property casualty, his time in business school, and falling in love with insurance
  • How micro and small businesses are neglected when it comes to offering them insurance solutions that fit their individual needs
  • Foxquilt’s work creating economic gains for small businesses through a product that helps agents and brokers offer them the best insurance 
  • Differences between working in insurance in Canada and the US
  • Challenges of attracting venture capital in Canada as opposed to the US
    • 33 min
  • Matt Butcher, CEO of Fermyon: $26 Million Raised to Power the Future of WebAssembly

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Matt Butcher, CEO of Fermyon, a web assembly company that’s raised $26 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Matt’s background as a PhD in Philosophy, and the mistake that led him to learn coding in high school
  • Working in HP and several other companies, including Microsoft
  • Fermyon’s inception, and how it sells to developers as the easiest way to go from a blinking cursor to a deployed application in two minutes or less
  • Matt's thoughts on the difference between a manager and a leader
  • The advantages of starting a startup with a mature team, developing a pattern of boldness, and the importance of Matt’s mentor
    • 33 min
  • Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify: $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of SEO

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify, an enterprise SEO platform that's raised over $82 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Adrien’s experience as a French entrepreneur moving to the US, the excitement and anticipation of starting a new business journey
  • The power of organic search and SEO as part of the internet’s original promise to connect businesses across the world
  • The missed opportunities resulting from poorly optimized indexing processes, even among some of the biggest names in tech
  • How Botify claimed their own space in the market, and rose above the background noise to stand apart from the competition
  • The ongoing shift towards an SEO-focused approach and away from paid media channels

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy

    35 min
  • Jon DeWald, CEO and Co-Founder of HELIXIntel: $17.6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Building Management

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Jon Dewald, CEO and Co-Founder of HELIXIntel, an asset management platform that has raised $17.6 Million in funding.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Jon’s entrepreneurial family and background, his four years in the Marine Corps, and the greatest lesson he learned in the military
  • Problems in property and equipment insurance, and how HELIXIntel helps insurers manage risks and losses
  • Managing people, and what aligning incentives means
  • Benefiting from investors who are very sophisticated in capital allocation, and also bring value creation for the startup
  • The entrepreneurs that most inspire Jon, and his favorite biography

    •  

    Favorite book: 

    Washington: A Life

    26 min
  • Funding the Future: Kendrick Kho, Co-Founder and GP of Sierra Madre

    In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Kendrick Kho, Co-Founder and GP of Sierra Madre.

    Topics Discussed:

    • Kendrick’s transition from data science and engineering to VC founder, including the anxiety that comes with the fundraising mission
  • Tailoring strategies to generate investment for different investors and variable market dynamics
  • Key traits of successful founders, including "desperate urgency" and "founder Problem Fit," aligning skill sets with key risks
  • Category creation versus disruption, and Sierra Madre's preference for disrupting existing markets with innovation
  • Why Sierra Madre specifically seeks out technologies shaping the future of our production system, and what ‘industrial evolution’ really means
    • 31 min
  • Yana Welinder, CEO and Founder of Kraftful: Over $3 Million Raised to Help Product Builders Create Better Products and Communities

    Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Yana Welinder, CEO & Founder of Kraftful, a product research tool that has raised over $3 Million in funding.

    Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

    • Founding Kraftful: Yana transitioned from law and academia to product management, eventually founding Kraftful to revolutionize product research.
  • Early AI Experimentation: Started experimenting with large language models in 2020, leading to the development of Kraftful’s current product.
  • Organic Growth Strategy: Leveraging community-building on Twitter and focusing on solving specific problems for product managers.
  • Competitive Landscape: Kraftful stands out by specifically addressing the needs of product teams, differentiating from general user feedback summarization tools.
  • Go-To-Market Challenges: Faced new challenges with the launch of Meta’s Threads, prompting a reassessment of user acquisition strategies.
  • Vision for the Future: Aiming to become the leading human-AI interface for product builders, integrating user feedback seamlessly into the product development process.
    • 21 min
  • Ori Keren, CEO and Co-Founder of LinearB: Over $70 Million Raised to Build the Future of Software Delivery Management

    Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Ori Keren, CEO & Co-Founder of LinearB, a software delivery management solution that's raised over $70 Million in funding.

    Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

    • Dual Mandate for Engineering Leaders: LinearB focuses on helping engineering leaders master both operational efficiency and business alignment, a dual mandate critical for modern engineering teams.
  • From Concept to Growth: Ori shared the journey from founding LinearB in 2019 to achieving significant growth, including a 6x revenue increase in 2021 and a 3x increase in 2022.
  • Product Transformation and PLG Motion: In 2020, LinearB transformed its product and go-to-market strategy by adopting a product-led growth (PLG) approach, offering value to both engineering leaders and developers.
  • Investment in Content Marketing: LinearB's podcast, Dev Interrupted, played a crucial role in educating the market and sharing their philosophy on software delivery management, contributing to their early success.
  • Customer-Centric Metrics: Ori emphasized the importance of improving internal engineering metrics, such as reducing cycle time from nine days to less than two, showcasing the value LinearB brings to its users.
  • Vision for the Future: Ori envisions LinearB becoming the orchestrator of the entire software delivery process, integrating with CI, CD, and feature flag vendors to streamline the journey from code to production.

    • //

     

    Sponsors:

    Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

    www.FrontLines.io



    The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.

    www.GlobalTalent.co

    27 min

About BUILDERS

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to BUILDERS — the show about how founders get new technology adopted.