Elena Ponte is the co-founder and CEO of Zumo Labs.

The team you build is the company you build, and where that starts is with finding the right co-founder(s). Although one of the most important steps, it is often overlooked by other hotter topics such as securing funding or how to find product market fit.

But without the basics covered, the other steps just won’t matter.

Elena is a lawyer by trade, having worked in private practice as well as public policy positions at the United Nations. Her education is equally impressive, having recently received her LLB at the University of Washington. In our episode today, we talk about her unique take on how to build these relationships and the hard questions to ask upfront. For young professionals, we also discuss what employees should look for in a founding team.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with ZumoLabs

Website: https://www.zumolabs.ai/

Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/zumo-labs

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZumoLabs

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zumolabs/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcU2Z8ArljfDzfq7SOz-ytQ/

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

The team you build is the company you build, and where that starts is with finding the right co-founder(s). Although one of the most important steps, it is often overlooked by other hotter topics such as securing funding or how to find product market fit.

But without the basics covered, the other steps just won’t matter.

To address such an important topic, we are speaking with Zumo Labs co-founder Elena Ponte. She is a lawyer by trade, having worked in private practice as well as public policy positions at the United Nations. Her education is equally impressive, having recently received her LLB at the University of Washington. In our episode today, we talk about her unique take on how to build these relationships and the hard questions to ask upfront. For young professionals, we also discuss what employees should look for in a founding team.

Catherine Casuga is an Operating Partner at Khosla Ventures. 

She is an incredibly accomplished women, having spent close to 10 years recruiting and assembling world class teams at Google that worked on products we know and love like Google Earth and Google Maps. However, even with so much success, she revealed in our call how much she questioned whether her situation was just an anomaly or simply the product of good luck.

“At times, I didn’t even know how I ended up here, how I got this job, or why these people even believed in me” she said.

Imposters syndrome is incredibly difficult to deal with and it’s also one of the most common things high achieving individuals feel – always wondering if your best is good enough.

This is why we’re talking about it. Regardless of where you are in your career, realize that you’re not alone, and it will always be something that comes up from time to time. The goal shouldn’t be to avoid the feeling at all costs, but rather how address it in an effective manner so it doesn’t hinder your performance or life in other ways.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with Catherine Casuga

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneco0lcat

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinecasuga/

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Fehintolu Olaogun is the co-founder and CEO of CredPal.

CredPal is an emerging fin-tech startup in Lagos, Nigeria. Our episode covers multiple topics, including the technology ecosystem in Africa, as well as recent milestones made by the team. Their team has received funding from Visa, Google, and Y Combinator. We feel incredibly lucky he's joining us on the program today.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with CredPal

Website: https://credpal.com/

Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/credpal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CredPal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/credpal/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/credpal

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Avisha Mehra is the Director of Executive Talent at Khosla Ventures.

Such topics related to culture and diversity are incredibly important to discuss and should be taken seriously for good reason. It was a pleasure to have someone as qualified as her speak to us about what her team has been doing to create a more inclusive Silicon Valley.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with Avisha Mehra

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MehraAvisha

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avishamehra/

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Preeti Shrimal is co-founder and CEO of Chaos Genius.

Many people see Silicon Valley as the haven of all thing’s technology. Preeti however is an example of how exceptional founders can be all over the world. Growing up in a small town in India, we talk about her non-linear path to entrepreneurship. She is a prime example of no matter where you find yourself, you can create a company that will change the world for the better.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with Chaos Genius 

Website: https://www.chaosgenius.io/

Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/chaos-genius

GitHub: https://github.com/chaos-genius

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chaosgenius/

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Preeti Shrimal is co-founder and CEO of Chaos Genius. Many people see Silicon Valley as the haven of all thing’s technology. Preeti however is an example of how exceptional founders can be all over the world. Growing up in a small town in India, we talk about her non-linear path to entrepreneurship. She is a prime example of no matter where you find yourself, you can create a company that will change the world for the better.

Austen Allred is the co-founder and CEO of Lambda School - rebranded to the Bloom Institute of Technology.

Lambda School is an online program that helps you break into the tech industry by teaching you how to code - and get your first software engineering job. Lambda is free until you get hired. In this episode, we discuss Austen own story of entrepreneurship and how his early beginnings molded him into who he is today.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with Lambda School (rebranded to Bloom Institute of Technology)

Website: https://lambdaschool.com/

Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/lambda-school

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lambdaschool

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/lambdaschool/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lambdaschool/

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Brittani Dunlap is the co-founder and CEO of BrightReps - rebranded to FlowEQ.

Who is this non-male, non-technical, non-Ivey league founder? How did she not only get accepted to YCombinator but also lead rounds in raising money with prestigious venture capital firms like Tri-Valley and Roble Ventures? Why is she successful and how can you outsmart your imposters syndrome to be successful too? Let Brittani tell you her secrets.

Homeroom is hosted by Cassius Felicella.

Connect with BrightReps (rebranded to FlowEQ) 

Website: https://hello.brightreps.com/

Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/brightreps

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brightreps

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brightreps

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

Brittani is the co-founder and CEO of BrightReps (YC W21), a company that helps fortune 500 companies replace training documents with a real-time workflow tool.

Connect with BrightReps

Website: https://hello.brightreps.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brightreps

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brightreps

We talk to founders and entrepreneurs! We're in the business of learning and want to look at everything startup related. Our hope is to show just how significant this segment of business is to the world, and the things it can accomplish.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].