In this episode we speak with Darren Cohen, the Co-Head and CIO of the Goldman Sachs Growth Equity team, a position he has held since 2018.  Darren manages a $5.2 billion global growth fund and oversees one of the largest dedicated growth equity platforms in the world focused on the Enterprise Software, Financial Technology, and Healthcare Technology sectors.  He manages a talented, diverse team of over 80 investors and collaborates with world-class operating advisors to accelerate value creation across the portfolio.

Darren is an accomplished technology investor with a 25+ year career spanning public and private global markets.  His investment journey began with a strong foundation in fundamental research, honed during his tenure as a technology research analyst in Goldman Investment Research and as a buy-side analyst at a global hedge fund.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Brian Beutler, the Founder and CEO of Alianza, which delivers the only true cloud-native, carrier-grade communications platform built for service providers.

In 2009, after previous years of helping businesses embrace cloud communications, Brian decided to take that same model and help service providers with their next-generation infrastructure. Service Providers that are powered by Alianza are growing faster, drastically simplifying their operations, and delivering better customer experiences.

Before Alianza, Brian founded GetFon, which was sold to AT&T/Alestra in 2008.

Brian supports Water for South Sudan. To learn more about this organization click here.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Robert Mittendorff, a General Partner and Head of Healthcare at B Capital, a multi-stage global investment firm with over $6 billion in assets under management.

The firm partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology by investing out of multiple funds from seed to late-stage venture growth, while focusing primarily in the technology, healthcare and climate sectors.

Previously, Robert was at Norwest Venture Partners for nearly a decade as a Partner and Co-Head of Healthcare. He has been involved in investments and associated exits with public equity value or acquisition value that exceeds a total of $10 billion.

Robert is a Stanford-trained, board-certified emergency physician who earned his MD from Harvard in the Harvard-MIT program, his MBA from Harvard Business School and his MA in International Affairs from King’s College London. Robert received his undergraduate degree (honors) in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with the Co-Founder and CEO of Armada, Dan Wright. Armada is the world’s first full-stack edge computing platform, revolutionizing connectivity, compute, and AI solutions.

Armada enables companies to rapidly deploy, operate and monitor a complete modular data center to the remote corners of the world.

Before Armada, Dan was the CEO of DataRobot and COO of AppDynamics. He is invested in the future of technology as an investor, advisor, and board member for various visionary startups, including Abnormal Security, Avi Networks (acquired by VMware), and Embrace.

Dan is a Board Member of JDRF. To learn more about this organization click here.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Mitchell Green, the Founder and Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital, a growth equity firm with over $5 billion in assets under management.

Investing in software, internet, and tech-enabled services businesses globally, the firm specializes in helping growth-stage companies scale.  Lead Edge Capital has an interesting model that combines elements of private equity, growth, and an active network of over 700 limited partners to build a very powerful moat.

Prior to founding Lead Edge, Mitchell was on the investment teams at Eastern Advisors and Bessemer Venture Partners. Mitchell is formerly a nationally ranked alpine ski racer.

Mitchell is one of the members of the Board of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. To learn more about this organization click here.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Sami Inkinen, the Founder and CEO of Virta Health. Virta is an online specialty medical clinic that reverses type 2 diabetes safely and sustainably, without the risks, costs, or side effects of medications or surgery.

Created in 2014, Virta’s innovations in nutritional biochemistry, data science, digital tools, and clinical expertise are shifting the diabetes treatment paradigm from management to reversal.

Before Virta, Sami was a Co-Founder of the leading online real estate marketplace Trulia. He also previously worked for top companies including Microsoft, McKinsey, and Nokia.

Sami is also an endurance athlete.  Sami and his wife rowed from California to Hawaii—2,750 miles, completely unsupported. He is also a triathlon age group world champion and 8 hour 24 minute Ironman with seven Hawaii Ironman finishes.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Andrew Adams, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Oak HC/FT, one of the leading growth investment firms with $5.3 billion in assets under management.

Founded in 2014, the firm invests in companies driving transformation in healthcare and fintech, two uniquely complementary and high-growth sectors. With deep domain expertise and strategic resources, the firm partners with leading entrepreneurs at every stage, from seed to growth, to build businesses that make a measurable, lasting impact on these industries.

Before founding Oak HC/FT, Andrew spent 15 years, primarily at Oak Investment Partners, investing in early and growth stage companies.  During the over 25 years Andrew has spent investing in leading healthcare companies, he has had 35 exits, including 6 IPOs.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with David Lazovsky, the Co-Founder and CEO of Celestial AI.  Founded in 2020, Celestial AI is the creator of the Photonic Fabric™ technology platform, a pioneering optical compute and memory fabric solution for supercharging AI infrastructure.

David leads the company in using his in-depth knowledge of semiconductors, data/telecommunications, photonics, clean energy industries, and extensive international business experience.

His impressive career background includes being an Executive Chairman of POET Technologies, Venture Partner at Khosla Ventures, and founder of Intermolecular.

David supports Canary Foundation. To learn more about this organization click here.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with Max de Groen and Scott Kirk, Partners at Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms with approximately $185 billion in AUM. The firm pioneered the value-added approach to investing and has been at the forefront of growth investing since its founding in 1984.

Max joined Bain Capital in 2011. He is a Partner on the North American Private Equity team. He focuses on supporting the growth of cutting-edge cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and horizontal application businesses.

Scott joined Bain Capital in 2019 and is a Partner on the Bain Capital Tech Opportunities team. He co-leads the team’s investments across application software and information services, most notably focusing on vertical SaaS, SMB platforms and B2B marketplace investments. Previously, Scott was a senior investment professional with TCV.

Max and Scott were recognized by GrowthCap as Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2023.

Max supports YMCA. To learn more about this organization click here.

Scott supports Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. To learn more about this organization click here.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

In this episode, we speak with the Founder and CEO of Masterworks, Scott Lynn. Specializing in the art investment market, Masterworks securitizes blue-chip artworks between $1-20 million per painting and sells shares to over 200,000 investors via their site.

Blue-chip art has historically retained its value and appreciated in times of high inflation. Masterworks was founded in 2017 by Scott to make the art market more accessible to investors.

Scott is an early Internet entrepreneur with a focus on online advertising, martech, and fintech. Over the past 15+ years, he’s founded, acquired, sold, or remained a controlling shareholder in over a dozen tech companies. Prior to Masterworks, Scott founded Payability, V2 Ventures, and Virtumundo.

I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.