BUILDERS

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ishveen Jolly, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship, a sports influencer marketing platform that's raised over $5 Million in funding, about why sponsorship is all about experiences that it feels like money can’t buy, and how this billion-dollar industry looks set to keep growing well into the future. By giving their clients access to a whole range of sponsorship options across events of all shapes and sizes, OpenSponsorship is positioning themselves as ‘the Airbnb of sports sponsorship.’ 

We also speak about Ishveen’s passion for sponsorship, and how she found her way into the industry despite not everyone around her always being on side, how sponsorship provides an ideal opportunity for athletes to earn independent income, and why ease of access and a streamlined service is putting OpenSponsorship well ahead of the competition.

Topics Discussed:

• Ishveen’s background in school sports, and how this passion for athleticism eventually grew into a business idea

Favorite book: 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

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 David Campbell, CEO and Co-Founder of Tropic, a software procurement platform that's raised $68 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Identifying a Market Need: David recognized a gap in the procurement space, where traditional methods were not designed for the rapidly growing software industry, leading to inefficiencies and high costs.

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ben Sesser, CEO & Co-Founder of BrightHire, an interview intelligence platform that's raised $36 Million in funding, about why business side of people is so important, and why this venture-backed SaaS startup was founded to find a better way to hire. With an innovative offering empowering their clients to make better hiring decisions, reduce bias and unlock new insights, BrightHire is set to transform the way companies build market-winning teams into the future.

We also speak about Ben’s passion for people at the heart of every business, why their role in building success is going nowhere in the years to come, the central importance of giving value to early customers as part of a growth-stage business strategy, and why short-term ROI should never obscure long term growth prospects on the road to success.

Topics Discussed:

• Ben’s career background in HR, and what it taught him about the central importance of the people who make up a business

Favorite book: 

The Lean Startup

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO and Founder of Orum, an API integration platform for instant payouts that's raised over $85 Million in funding, about why the future of financial services looks fundamentally different, with everyone given the freedom to build their potential. With fully-developed financial infrastructure enabling their customers to more effectively save, manage and receive funding, Orum’s mission is to eliminate the constraints of socioeconomic status for all.

We also speak about Stephany’s background in financial planning, how she became a ‘savings and payments nerd,’ why payout solutions can really help businesses grow through easier access to all important finance, why 250 million Americans are in need of a better financial system, and how to build something new based on breaking free from the status quo.

Topics Discussed:

• Stephany’s career background as a financial planner, and how she eventually became a ‘savings and payments nerd’

Favorite book: 

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 Stephany Lapierre, Founder & CEO of Tealbook, a supplier data platform that's raised over $72 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Inspiration from Family Legacy: Stephany was inspired by her entrepreneurial family background, particularly her grandmother's successful management of a Pepsi bottling and distribution business.

//

Sponsors:

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

www.FrontLines.io

www.GlobalTalent.co

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Kirby Winfield, Founding GP at Ascend VC, about his love for angel investing and the passion he feels in providing founder-friendly venture capital with genuine value to add to their partners’ offerings. By leaning into projects they have a genuine love for and interest in, Ascend gives so much more than just capital, forging a unique identity among a crowded field of VC firms through real commitment and support to turn business aspirations into commercial reality.

We also speak about Kirby’s background in the startup space and taking his first company public in 1990s, how Ascend was founded and developed its investment strategy, the future of venture capital in a post-covid economy, and why, when trying to raise funds, building relationships is a never-ending process that takes dedication to get right.

Topics Discussed:

• Kirby’s career in the startup space, and taking his first company to market as far back as the late 90s

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Brian Lozes, Founder & CEO of Kinemagic, an industrial immersive experience platform that's raised $3 Million in funding, about why virtual spaces for clients to review critical engineering solutions is the future of the industry, and how Kinematic is making it happen. By providing a fully immersive walkthrough experience for clients to really understand what’s being built before expending time and resources on a solution that might need some reworking, Kinemagic is making some of our most important sectors more efficient, saving time, money, and wasted effort.

We also speak about Brian’s background in the engineering and construction space and how he found himself living the problem statement that Kinemagic would eventually solve, why VR is allowing people to really see into the future, and the future of the technology itself including what it means for Brian’s industry and beyond.

Topics Discussed:

• Brian’s career in engineering and construction, and what it taught him about the importance of thorough design inspection

Favorite book: 

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Eden Full Goh, Founder & CEO of Mobot, a mobile app testing platform that's raised over $17 Million in funding, about why realtime mobile testing is critical for the future of our app-driven lifestyles, and how Mobot positions itself as an indispensable tool in streamlining the process. 

We also speak about her journey as a young entrepreneur and how she developed her company into a successful venture. She discusses her passion for environmental sustainability and how it led to the creation of Mobot, the importance of having a strong team, seeking mentorship, and staying true to one's values while building a business.

Topics Discussed:

• How Eden took an early interest in entrepreneurship which has continued to shape her career

Favorite book:

Atomic Habits

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Shane McRann,  CEO at CHAMPtitles, a digital title management platform that's raised over $31 Million in funding, about why challenges of identifying ownership for key assets can have implications far beyond the sector they’re focused on, and how CHAMPtitles’ simplified, streamlined process helps get transfers and sales in motion. With an innovative digital platform to help people register their movable assets, CHAMPtitles’ long-term mission is to help people across sell, insure, and borrow money against them, empowering their critical economic choices.

We also speak about Shane’s long road towards founding CHAMPtitles, through years of experience in finance and managing some unusual asset classes, why titling is so critical to economic empowerment, and how a system that people in the US take for granted could be a game changer for both governments and their constituents in other parts of the world.

Topics Discussed:

• Shane’s career across finance and asset management, and the inspiration for CHAMPtitles’ tech offering

Favorite book: 

The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Craig Rupp, Founder & CEO at Sabanto, an AG tech company that's raised over $22 Million in funding, about why autonomy is the future of agriculture, and how Sabanto’s innovative offering is driving the next generation of farm tech. With a full stack of solutions covering practically every field in row-crop planted agriculture, Sabanto allows their clients to deploy autonomous technology into the world’s oldest economic sector.

We also speak about Craig’s career path before founding Sabanto, and what finally led him to AG tech, the complex challenges associated with planting and producing agricultural products and how it took years to develop a marketable product, and why autonomy is set to establish itself firmly in the future of farming.

Topics Discussed:

• Craig’s career trajectory up until founding Sabanto, and how he eventually found himself at the cutting edge of agro-tech

Favorite book: 

How to Win Friends & Influence People