Fast Frontiers

In this episode we cover:

Resources & People Mentioned

• Duolingo Investors: Kleiner Perkins, Union Square, NEA, Drive Capital, General Atlantic, Ashton Kutcher’s A-Grade Investments, Tim Ferriss
• Google Play - the App store for Android
• Dave Mahwinney, Executive Director at Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at CMU
• Andy Rubin, co-founder and CEO of Android
• Duolingo co-founders: Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker
• Andrew Moore (CMU and google)
• Luis previously founded reCAPTCHA that was acquired by Google in 2009
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Duolingo English Test

Connect with Bob

• Connect with Bob on LinkedIn
• Duolingo Website

Connect with Tim

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode we’re bringing you my conversation with Tim Holcomb, Professor and Director of the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship at Miami University.

In this episode we cover:

• Tim’s first career as an entrepreneur and his path to Miami University
• His work at the Center for Entrepreneurship at Miami
• Capitalizing on their alumni base
• His bet on the next Fast Frontier: Data

Resources & People Mentioned

• John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship at Miami University
• Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University
• Telecom Global Solutions acquired by Flex (Flextronics)
• Helping venture-funded companies: ReliaQuest, Oros, Cerkl
• Miami Faculty member: Jim Friedman
• StartupCincy
• Michael Markesbery and Rithvik Venna of Oros
• The Brandery
• In 2016, Money Magazine ranked Miami University No. 3 for producing the most Fortune 500 CEOs (behind Stanford and Princeton) 
• PitchBook
• RedHawk Ventures
• Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub and Bill Tucker
• Art Collins, former CEO at Medtronic, made the social impact fund possible
• Drive Capital in Columbus
• Hyde Park Venture Partners in Chicago
• Stuart Frankel, founder of Narrative Science
• Air Force Research Lab

Connect with Tim Holcomb

• Follow Tim Holcomb on Twitter: @TimRayHolcomb
• Connect with Tim Holcomb on LinkedIn

Connect with Tim Schigel

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode, we’re bringing you my conversation Nick Moran, Founder and General Partner of New Stack Ventures and the Founder of the first venture capital podcast, The Full Ratchet.

In this episode we cover:

• How New Stack approaches working with portfolio companies
• The human element is super important, at the end of the day, it’s people that build businesses and build value
• Investing in the middle of the country - with mission driven leaders

Resources & People Mentioned

• Danaher Corporation
• M25
• Jonathan Ellis at Sandalphon Capital
• Sarah Tavel, General Partner at Benchmark Capital 
• Cintrifuse
• Eric Paley at Founder Collective

Connect with Nick

• Follow Nick on Twitter: @TheFullRatchet
• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn
• New Stack Ventures Website
• The Full Ratchet Website

Connect with Tim 

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode, we’re bringing you my conversation Dr. Anant Madabhusi, Professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University and Director for the center for computational imaging and personalized diagnostics

In this episode we cover:

• Anant’s distinguished background - patents, peer-reviewed articles and the multidisciplinary lab he has created 
• The unique medical research ecosystem in Cleveland, OH
• The collaboration across departments, working together towards a common goal and making a real impact on the future

Resources & People Mentioned

• Dr. Alberto Montero, Director of Breast Cancer Program at UH
• Dr. Joseph Willis, Vice Chairman of Pathology at UH
• Dr. Lee Ponsky, Chair of Urology and Director of Urologic Oncology Center at UH
• Dr. Vikas Gulani, Chair of Radiology at Michigan institute of Imaging Technology and Translation 
• Tata Memorial Cancer Center in Mumbai
• Baiju Shah, Senior Fellow for Innovation at the Cleveland Foundation
• Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute
• Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute 

Connect with Anant 

• Connect with Anant on LinkedIn
• Follow Anant on Twitter: @anantm 
• Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics Website

Connect with Tim 

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode we cover:

• Finding early-stage companies across the country and being the bridge to Silicon Valley  
• Having a great idea is different than building a successful company
• Three things necessary to build a great company: the capital, the people, and the playbook

Resources & People Mentioned

• Scopus Technologies, went public in 1995
• Octane Software, aquired by E.piphany
• Two Sierra portfolio companies that went public under Tim, Sourcefire and MakeMyTrip
• Cintrifuse in Cincinnati, OH
• Renaissance Venture Capital in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Shared portfolio company of Sierra and Refinery, Astronomer in Cincinnati, OH
• Treasure Data in Tokyo, Founded by Kaz, sold to SoftBank’s ARM group
• VC research databases: Pitchbook, Crunchbase
• Michael Driscoll, CEO - known by Tim and Scott Yara from Greenplum
• Sierra’s CXO Advisory Board
• Tim’s motoring adventure in Endurance Rally, 2019 - Peking to Paris

Connect with Tim Guleri

• Follow Tim Guleri on Twitter: @timguleri
• Connect with Tim Gueleri on LinkedIn
• Sierra Ventures Website

Connect with Tim Schigel

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode we cover:

• Personal connections to championing entrepreneurs
• The role of city government and economic development in attracting and understanding what startups need to thrive and build an ecosystem
• Understanding the stages and locations of VC funding across the country
• The future of work post-COVID

Resources & People Mentioned

• Ian’s new book - The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
• Techstars
• Cintrifuse
• Richard Florida
• Eric Ries’ book - The Lean Startup
• Kauffman Foundation
• Scott Dorsey started High Alpha after ExactTarget was acquired by Salesforce

Connect with Ian

• Follow Ian on Twitter: @IanHathaway
• Connect with Ian on LinkedIn
• Ian Hathaway Website

Connect with Tim

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode we cover:

• Building bridges and relationships not just for capital, but across the spectrum
• Delevoping ecosystems in surprising places like Buffalo, NY
• Long term view - developing an ecosystem takes time, which leaders and entrepreneurs in the community are going to be here in 20 years?
• Launching companies and raising capital in a recession

Resources & People Mentioned

• Techstars
• Co-Founders of Techstars with David Cohen: David Brown, Jared Polis and Brad Feld
• Give First
• Adam Grant’s book - Give and Take
• Brad Feld’s book - Startup Communities: Building and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City
• Jesse Marble - The Botchcast Podcast
• Cintrifuse
• SendGrid - started in LA, incubated in Boulder, grew offices in Denver and San Francisco (aquired by Twilio)
• WELL Health
• Tasso
• Chowbotics
• University of Waterloo outside Toronto, Canada
• ConnXus in Cincinnati (aquired by Coupa)

Connect with David

• Connect with David on LinkedIn
• Follow David on Twitter: @davidcohen
• David Cohen Website
• Techstars Website

Connect with Tim

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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In this episode we cover:

• Working at Kroger Digital
• Founding VNDLY and raising capital
• Understanding the market and simplifying the message
• Are you earning or buying revenue?
• Knowing your levers so you don’t burn out of runway
• Location: Cincinnati, is that a disadvantage or an advantage?

Resources & People Mentioned

• Kroger
• Battery Ventures
• Hyde Park Venture Partners
• EPIC Ventures
• Insight Partners
• Bowery Capital
• Narayana Surabhi
• Workday
• Cintrifuse in Cincinnati
• Duo Security in Ann Arbor (acquired by Cisco)
• Exact Target in Indianapolis (acquired by Salesforces)

Connect with Shashank

• Connect with Shashank on LinkedIn
• VNDLY Website

Connect with Tim

• Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVC
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn
• Follow Refinery Ventures on LinkedIn

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