Chris Neumann is a 4x Founder turned Early-Stage Investor with a focus on enterprise software, developer tools and AI!

Chris was previously a General Partner at Panache Ventures, Canada’s leading early-stage fund. Before that, Chris founded Commonwealth Ventures, a San Francisco-based accelerator for Canadian and UK startups. He was also a Venture Partner at 500 Startups, the CEO and Cofounder of DataHero (acquired by Cloudability) and the first employee of Aster Data (acquired by Teradata). Chris is dedicated to supporting the most ambitious founders in Canada and around the world as an investor and through his blog, chrisneumann.com.

Join us for our final conversation of the season as we delve into Chris' journey, while he gives us advice on fund-raising start-ups.

Josh Green, co-founder of Mysa, discusses the company's journey from its inception nine years ago to its current state with over 80 employees. Mysa specializes in smart thermostats for energy management, having launched five products and recently acquired Zen Ecosystems to expand into the commercial market. Josh emphasized the importance of trusting the process, surrounding oneself with great people, and focusing on customer feedback. He highlighted the challenges and successes of the acquisition, noting that 70% of the commercial market approach was new.  Josh also stressed the significance of energy efficiency and the need for more cleantech startups in Atlantic Canada.

To learn more about Mysa visit: https://getmysa.com/

Nicole LeBlanc, Partner at Woven Capital,  joins Kathryn Lockhart to share her experiences navigating the global startup ecosystem.

In this discussion, Nicole emphasizes the importance of networking and relationships in securing meetings with potential investors and discussed the current challenges faced by startups, including geopolitical market dynamics, AI, data privacy, infrastructure, sustainability, and regulatory changes. Both Kathryn and Nicole share awesome insights on how to navigate career opportunities through networking and curiosity while raising capital for startups by researching investors, tailoring the pitch, and engaging on a personal level. Their conversation also touched on the evolving landscape of raising capital in Atlantic Canada, highlighting the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

To learn more about Woven Capital, visit: https://www.woven.vc/

Sean Power, CEO & Co-founder of SOMMS.AI. joins Kathryn Lockhart to chat about the importance of data provenance in the AI space.

Sean is an internationally published author who enjoys speaking on topics related to technology & business. He is currently on the board of Propel where he advises founders of early-stage startups, with a particular focus on media, entertainment & SaaS and AI business models. Sean describes himself as passionate about businesses that revolve around the entertainment space. As a creative himself, he speaks strongly about giving credit to creators.

Sean and Kathryn have a well-rounded chat covering a range of topics from AI governance, building meaningful relationships with founders, venture capital fundraising, team building and unlocking Atlantic Canada's potential with a focus on talent and collaboration.

To learn more about SOMMS AI and their work in the AI provenance space, visit https://somms.ai/

In this episode of Founder Journeys, host Kathyrn Lockhart is joined by Annette Verschuren, Chair and CEO at NRStor Inc.
 
From growing up on a small town dairy farm in North Sydney, Cape Breton to becoming a global change maker, Annette has had an impressive journey taking risks being unapologetically brazen and prioritizing purpose with profits. She is the Co-Founder of the craft chain Michaels Canada, the former CEO of Home Depot, Canada and Asia, and co-founder of trailblazing clean tech firm NRStor., best-selling author, and now a podcaster. Annette has a clear mission to inspire budding leaders to look within, harness their strengths, and bet on themselves. To learn more about her corporate career journey visit https://annetteverschuren.ca/.

Annette and Kathryn discuss her current company NRStor Inc., her focus on solving a global problem, the importance of equity ownership and sustainability,  why we should be investing in immigrants and women, and finding alternative ways to "move up the mountain". Annette pulls back the curtain and talks about the pivotal moments in her corporate career and what she has learned along the way. 

"The right traction unlocks the path to scale."

In this episode, Kathryn Lockhart sits down with Max Menke Co-founder of GrowthX, a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests in B2B founders from rising cities. Max is the creator of the Market Acceleration Program (MXP) - a proprietary go-to-market system that has helped thousands of founders find product-market fit and grow revenue.

Max also founded The Revenue Accelerator, a program designed specifically to help B2B founders do the actual work of finding customers and growing revenue while simultaneously providing unique investible insights to GrowthX and other funds. Through The Revenue Accelerator, as well as through our affiliate accelerator partnerships, Max is able to help hundreds of founders every year.

Speaking from his extensive experience in the start up space, Max touches on understanding customer metrics and its role in building a go-to strategy. He gets into market and sales growth strategies; and most importantly highlights the importance of traction, and its vital role in the scaling process.

For more information:
https://growthx.com/
https://www.propelict.com/ 

"Learning precedes revenue. Not all revenue is created equally."

In this episode, we get an inside look at the evolving world of venture capital from expert Andrew Goldner, co-founder and CEO of GrowthX.
He joins host Kathyrn Lockhart to discuss today's complex VC landscape and its impact on founders, why venture capital is not right for everyone,  growth strategies, the importance of narrative and company culture, and why listening to your customers is vital for companies. They also talk about the effectiveness of Demo Days, the power of community, why managing your time is a key asset in success and entrepreneurship in the Atlantic Canada region.

Andrew has been in the startup scene since 1998, based in NYC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Palo Alto and Nashville. When Google acquired DoubleClick, he co-founded a financial news business for the Thomson family and when they acquired Reuters and became Thomson Reuters Andrew became Publisher of Reuters News. GrowthX helps B2B founders get to market, scale revenue and secure investment, and helps investors deploy capital with conviction and improve fund performance. 

For more information:
https://growthx.com/
https://www.propelict.com/

In this episode, Kathryn welcomes Mireia Llusia-Lindh, Founder & Director of DeMellier, an award-winning contemporary handbag brand based in London. DeMellier designs handbags that empower women, produced ethically and sustainably, while also giving back to those in need. DeMellier handbags have garnered a strong following among women worldwide, including celebrities such as Beyoncé, Emily Blunt, January Jones, and many more. Their products are crafted ethically in Spain using the finest, sustainably sourced materials. For every piece sold, DeMellier funds vaccines and treatments for children in need.

Mireia was born in Barcelona and after having lived in a number of different cities, she settled in London, which she now calls home. She attended university in Barcelona and Switzerland and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She further developed her business skills and passion for fashion, working as a strategy advisor to numerous consumer and luxury goods firms such as Burberry, and LVMH. She also spent a number of years working at Bain and Company, she is also a mother of three and passionate about children, education, and championing women.

Kathryn and Mireia dive into her motivations for becoming a founder, the core values driving her company, the challenges she encountered on her entrepreneurial journey, and the importance of upholding company values.

For more information visit:
https://demellierlondon.com/
https://www.propelict.com/

"Being a sole founder is a lot harder and more isolating than we tend to talk about in the ecosystem."

In this episode of Founder Journeys, Kathryn Lockhart chats with Tannya Gaxiola, COO of Turing Fest. Turing Fest is Scotland's cross-functional tech conference that supports the UK tech ecosystem, with a focus on building better startups. The conference covers three tracks: BUILD, GROW & LEAD. Prior to Turing Fest, Tanya's career has spanned from Wall Street to being an entrepreneur and small business leader. She worked globally in everything from candy, to Telecom, to education, and always in finance and strategy.

Kathryn and Tannya talk about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship including the value of taking risks, the importance of having a support system, building self-confidence, entrepreneurship trends in Scotland, hurdles to overcome in business and why you should lead with your values.

For more information visit:
https://turingfest.com/
https://www.propelict.com/

"When those dark moments come, it's not going to be the mission that sustains you. It's going to be the people that you're surrounded by."

On our first episode of Founder Journeys, host Kathryn Lockhart talks with Josh Green, COO and co-founder of Novata.

Prior to Novata, Josh was co-founder and CEO of Panjiva, a supply-chain data start-up that became an Inc. 500 company before it was acquired by S&P Global. Following the sale of Panjiva, Josh joined the leadership team of S&P Global Market Intelligence, the $2 billion data and analytics division of S&P Global. He is based in New York.

Kathryn and Josh talk about his journey becoming a founder and the lessons he has learned along the way. They chat about the importance of listening to your customers, the art of receiving honest feedback, understanding sales, building great teams and why you shouldn't put everything you have into just one startup.

For more information visit:
https://www.novata.com/
https://www.propelict.com/