Just Go Grind

Dejan Pralica is a sneaker enthusiast and entrepreneur with a passion for building community-first businesses that empower consumers. In 2018, DP co-founded SoleSavy to address the challenges and growing frustrations sneaker consumers face amidst a booming resale economy. SoleSavy provides community, tools, and technologies to help fans connect and buy sneakers at retail and has grown into one of the world's largest paid sneaker communities. As SoleSavy's CEO, DP leads a growing team of 50 people servicing thousands of members globally. Prior to SoleSavy, DP co-founded KicksDeals, a leading source for news releases, deals, and coupons on sneakers. This is DP's second time on the Just Go Grind Podcast— listen here to his first chat with Justin on episode #168.

Topics Covered by Dejan Pralica in this Episode

• Dejan's insane sneaker collection
• SoleSavy's growth since Dejan was last on the Just Go Grind podcast in September of 2020
• From 10 to 50 employees in a year and a half
• Dejan's approach to building out SoleSavy's team and why he scares people off on purpose
• The evolution of SoleSavy's peer to peer marketplace as an element of their end to end experience
• How they utilize cohorts to manage their community of 7k members and why the process can't be automated
• Navigating trial and error with community dynamics and what hasn't worked
• How the rise of Web3 and NFTs has affected SoleSavy and the trades and resale economy
• How they've leveraged partnerships with NBA teams as a brand building opportunity
• How they decided to partner specifically with the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Meghan Jewitt is the CEO and Co-Founder of Uniform Teeth, a modern orthodontic startup that uses advanced technology to deliver a best in class experience. Meghan believes in making orthodontic care higher quality, more patient-centric and more affordable. After over a decade in the healthcare industry, Meghan's past experience includes executive roles at DaVita Kidney Care and One Medical Group, and she holds a Biomedical Engineering degree from Columbia University and a MBA from Harvard Business School. In her downtime, Meghan skis, surfs, bikes and climbs.

Topics Covered by Meghan Jewitt in this Episode

• What makes Uniform Teeth a modern orthodontic services provider
• Meghan's journey to starting Uniform Teeth and her mission to improve the health care industry
• Meeting her co-founder Kjeld Aamodt and what empowered Meghan to commit to their idea
• The evolution of Uniform Teeth
• The technology that enables a seamless experience for patients
• Their "scrappy" approach to early customer acquisition
• Deciding to go the VC route for funding and what Meghan would do differently
• Fundraising vs. bootstrapping
• Their fundraising experience as a tech-enabled brick and mortar service business
• What has fueled their growth over the past few years
• Facilitating an organic referral engine
• Hiring for a diverse range of positions and how the challenges have been different than they expected
• Considering the four-day work week
• How Uniform Teeth is pioneering orthodontics care of the future

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Abby Mercado is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rescripted and a mom of IVF twins. Rescripted is the #1 global social network for people interested in fertility topics, providing tech tools & resources for wherever you are on your journey to build a family. From a vibrant fertility community and trusted IVF content to a tech-enabled fertility pharmacy and mental health counseling, Rescripted brings together everything you need to feel fully supported on your fertility journey.

Abby is a first-time founder but lifelong entrepreneur, and previously a VC investor.

Topics Covered by Abby Mercado in this Episode

• What Rescripted is and how Abby's personal experience led her to the idea
• Abby's founder story and how winning a Techstars Startup Weekend gave her the push to commit to her idea
• Abby's objectives going through the Techstars program while simultaneously starting the company
• What Abby found most valuable from Techstars
• Their experience raising $2M+ exclusively from angel investors
• The blocks they ran into that led to a pivot from B2B to D2C
• Building a friendship and mentorship with Kristyn Hodgdon and eventually merging their businesses
• The process of acqui-hiring Kristyn
• How the concept for Rescripted has evolved over the years into their current multi-prong model
• The tech, tools and resources Rescripted provides as an integrated care platform for fertility patients
• How they're helping women cope with an infertility diagnosis through mental health programming
• Being community and cohort centric
• How Abby allocates her time
• What's on deck for Rescripted and their big vision

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Abby Mercado is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rescripted and a mom of IVF twins. Rescripted is the #1 global social network for people interested in fertility topics, providing tech tools & resources for wherever you are on your journey to build a family. From a vibrant fertility community and trusted IVF content to a tech-enabled fertility pharmacy and mental health counseling, Rescripted brings together everything you need to feel fully supported on your fertility journey.

Abby is a first-time founder but lifelong entrepreneur, and previously a VC investor.

Topics Covered by Abby Mercado in this Episode

• What Rescripted is and how Abby’s personal experience led her to the idea
• Abby’s founder story and how winning a Techstars Startup Weekend gave her the push to commit to her idea
• Abby’s objectives going through the Techstars program while simultaneously starting the company
• What Abby found most valuable from Techstars
• Their experience raising $2M+ exclusively from angel investors
• The blocks they ran into that led to a pivot from B2B to D2C
• Building a friendship and mentorship with Kristyn Hodgdon and eventually merging their businesses
• The process of acqui-hiring Kristyn
• How the concept for Rescripted has evolved over the years into their current multi-prong model
• The tech, tools and resources Rescripted provides as an integrated care platform for fertility patients
• How they’re helping women cope with an infertility diagnosis through mental health programming
• Being community and cohort centric
• How Abby allocates her time
• What’s on deck for Rescripted and their big vision

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Ryan Feit is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedInvest, a leading equity crowdfunding platform that provides individual investors with access to vetted startup investment opportunities. To date they have over 600,000 investors on their platform, through which founders have raised over $350M. SeedInvest sold to Circle in 2019.

Prior to founding SeedInvest, Ryan worked at Wellspring Capital Management and Lehman Brothers in New York City where he invested in, financed, and managed dozens of private and public businesses. Ryan was instrumental in the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act, which changed 80-year-old U.S. securities laws to make it possible for entrepreneurs to raise capital over the Internet.

Since then, Ryan has served as a focal point of the budding Equity Crowdfunding industry, co-founding the Crowdfunding Professional Association and serving as a board member of the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates. He also worked closely with members of the SEC, FINRA, the White House, and the Treasury Department on the implementation of the JOBS Act. In addition, he frequently serves as a subject matter expert on startup investing and the JOBS Act for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, CNBC, FoxBusiness, the Economist and the New York Times as well as a columnist for Fortune Magazine and Inc. Magazine.

Ryan received an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Topics Covered by Ryan Feit in this Episode

• SeedInvest in a nutshell
• How Ryan got into the digitization and democratization of investing
• Getting the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act approved
• The challenges of building a two-sided marketplace
• Getting SeedInvest off the ground and why they started with onboarding investors
• How they scaled the platform
• Shifting from onboarding investors to focusing on onboarding great companies
• Risk mitigation and how they vet companies for SeedInvest
• Their semi-automated diligence process
• Following up with and supporting companies who don't qualify for the platform
• Tracking investors
• Supercharging their business with more resources by selling to Circle
• Their decision-making process and Ryan's advice around acquisition
• SeedInvest's big ambitions and Ryan's thoughts on the future of investing

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Cary Breese is Co-Founder and CEO of NowRx, a technology-leveraged pharmacy service using software automation, logistics, robotics, and micro-fulfilment strategy to transform retail pharmacy. Traditional retail pharmacy is broken, marked by inefficiencies and terrible customer experience. NowRx is on a mission to rebuild healthcare the way it should be – accessible, convenient, and affordable for all. Cary is a multi-time CEO with more than 15 years of experience leading companies that leverage innovative software and automation technologies to disrupt large legacy industries. Topics Covered by Cary Breese in this Episode

• The vision of NowRx
• How NowRx works as a full stack pharmacy solution
• What led Cary to start NowRx
• Disrupting legacy industries
• Why existing incentive structures have prevented the pharmacy industry from being disrupted before
• The process of getting NowRx rolling
• Cary's hands-on customer discovery process and early customer acquisition
• How they developed their business model
• Why they decided to crowdfund
• How they approach geographical growth through micro fulfillment
• Their plan to become a national brand
• The challenges they've faced in building NowRx
• What Cary has learned from his experience as a multi-time founder

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Jordi Hays is the Co-Founder and CEO of investing platform Party Round. Party Round is building better tools for founders, starting with an automated fundraising tool. Generate & send docs, collect signatures, and receive funds, automating your raise from open to close. Previously, Jordi Hays founded Likewise and Branded Native. Topics Covered by Jordi Hays in this Episode

• How Party Round is simplifying the process of raising capital for founders
• How Jordi got inspired to start Party Round and what sets it apart from other fundraising platforms
• How Jordi and his co-founder Sarah Chase got Party Round off the ground
• Why they focused on marketing early on
• The story behind Party Round's viral drops
• How their team brainstorms and executes their drops
• Why their BIGTECH Fellowship drop was meaningful for Jordi
• How Jordi approaches choosing investors
• What's next for Party Round

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Nhon Ma is the CEO and Co-Founder of Numerade, a venture-backed, high-growth education technology startup based in Los Angeles. Numerade is singularly focused on creating exceptional video and interactive content experiences for education, making the knowledge and skills of world class educators widely accessible and affordable to student audiences of all backgrounds. Their mission is to close the educational opportunity gap by unlocking and democratizing access to extraordinary educators and the content they have to offer. Previously, Nhon Ma and Alex Lee co-founded Tutorcast, which eventually led to the founding of Numerade. Prior, Nhon also worked at Google.

Topics Covered by Nhon Ma in this Episode

• How Numerade is tackling their mission to democratize STEM education
• How Nhon and his co-founder Alex Lee's previous company Tutorcast evolved into Numerade
• Why they were inspired to address the issue of access to tutoring through technology
• How they're approaching content creation at scale and onboarding educators
• How COVID affected their process and led more contributing teachers
• Working towards digitizing teaching and learning styles in order to drive deep learning
• Their platform of courses and practical videos
• How they've reached students through organic growth
• The current age demographic of their students and why it's important for Numerade to expand to younger demographics
• How they're utilizing community to reinforce accountability and motivation
• How being a mission-driven company has helped them grow the Numerade team and navigate the "war on talent"
• Numerade's approach to cultivating healthy company culture
• How Nhon's time at Google has impacted him as a founder
• What fuels Nhon and how this has shifted over the years to focus on the "why"
• The "three acts" of their business and the big vision for Numerade

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Suman Siva is the Co-Founder and CEO of Marco, a platform for discovering, planning, and booking high-quality experiences. Marco is helping companies and teams up-level their next Zoom happy hour or offsite and do something collaborative and engaging via virtual experiences that evolve modern teams into thriving cultures.

Suman has spent his career advising, operating, and investing in consumer tech companies and marketplaces, and now he's excited to be working on building one! His experience includes working as a Growth Advisor to marketplaces at Basis One, investing at SoftBank Vision Fund Consumer Internet, and consulting at Bain.

Topics Covered by Suman Siva in this Episode

• How Marco is bringing companies and teams together through their experiences platform
• How Suman's time investing in the experiences space at SoftBank led to him founding Marco
• The evolution of Marco and how the pandemic led to a pivot
• Shifting from B2C to B2B
• Their go-to-market strategy and exploring paid acquisition
• Expanding into enterprise solutions
• The pain point that Marco is addressing and their current business model
• Their journey raising nearly $3M in capital
• Getting early traction
• Suman's transition from investor to entrepreneur
• How Marco is enabling the creator economy
• Their opportunistic approach to hiring part-time, distributed employees
• Marco's Future of Culture E-Book
• The types of experiences Marco's customers are looking to engage in
• How they're zooming in on inclusivity in the workplace
• The trends Suman is expecting to see regarding in-person versus virtual offerings

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212

Vivian is the Founder and CEO of Rise (joinrise.co), a professional social network that enables companies to proactively build relationships with people. Rise connects members with the world's most innovative and forward-thinking companies across roles and industries. They are a data-driven tech platform that provides access to impactful opportunities to those who want purpose, advancement, and equity.

Prior to starting Rise, Vivian was an operator who built brands and products for high-impact businesses, Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, as well as leading VCs, PE firms, and global institutions. She has advised and worked with companies such as L'Oreal, Greenhouse Software, Glamsquad, Klarna, Bain Capital, the AARP, and more.

Vivian has been featured in Business Insider, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Bustle, and other media outlets for her work in championing women. Her work has been recognized by Forbes as a Next 1000 company, Cartier as a Top 10 Female Founded Company in North America, JP Morgan as a Woman on the Move, and Barclays as a leader for the Future of Work.

Vivian is on the board of Wharton Alumnae Founders & Funders Association (hellowaffa.org), a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to accelerate the success of Penn Wharton female founders and investors.

Topics Covered by Vivian Chen in this Episode

• What Rise is and the belief system it's built on
• Combating "the great resignation"
• Rise's origin story
• Leaving her job to become an entrepreneur before she had a business idea
• Using consulting as a strategy to leapfrog her career
• How COVID affected Rise and its iterations, resulting in an early pivot and "Rise 2.0"
• The UX and business model for Rise
• The strategy to onboard companies to the Rise platform
• How Vivian built out the product herself
• How she has approached early outreach and growth
• Embracing "the great re-hiring" and onboarding big tech companies
• How they're differentiating themselves in the now booming virtual recruitment industry
• The recent fundraising experience for Rise
• Joining the founder program Day One and how that led to the first investments in Rise before Vivian had a formal pitch deck
• The unique questions she was asked by investors who truly believed in her
• The importance of investors getting to know founders on a personal level
• What's next for Rise

Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com

Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212