Just Raised

Peter Platzer is the founder and CEO of Spire, a nanosatellite company with over 100 satellites in orbit. Peter just announced a $1.6 billion SPAC. Spire manufacturers all its own satellites, but their main product is data in the form of a SAS platform for companies and governments here on earth.

In this episode, we talk about who has rights in space, Moore’s Law for satellites, and what you can do with a satellite network that scans every spot of the earth every 15 minutes.

You can follow Peter on LinkedIn here and Joe on Twitter at @joeysweeny

Jimmy Chen is the founder and CEO of Propel, a fintech focused on low-income Americans. Propel has raised $18.5M to date from investors like Nyca Partners, Inspired Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.

In this episode, we talk about the opportunity in building products for underserved Americans, how Jimmy bootstrapped the company for the first 3 years of its existence, and how government safety net programs work.

You can follow Jimmy on Twitter at @jimmychen and Joe's at @joeysweeny

We have two guests on this episode, Chris Power, Founder of Hadrian and Delian Asparouhov who returns to the show to talk about leading Hadrian's VC round. Hadrian is building software-powered factories for the space and defense industries. Chris just raised $9.5M from Delian at Founders Fund and Josh Wolfe at Lux capital.

In this conversation, we cover manufacturing, defense, how the deal came together. And what it would take to build a base on the moon.

You can check out the AI-generated transcript here: https://bit.ly/3w3BVM3

You can follow Delian on Twitter @zebulgar, Chris at @2112power, and Joe at @joeysweeny

Stephany Kirkpatrick is the founder and CEO of Orum, a payments infrastructure company building a platform for real-time money movement. Stephany just raised 21 million from Bain Capital and repeat backers, Homebrew, Primary VC and Inspired Capital.

You can follow Stephany on Twitter @StephKirkpat and Joe at @joeysweeny

Adam Bercu is the founder and CEO of Guardian Agriculture, an autonomous EVTOL crop dusting company. Adam and his team just raised $10M from Bayer. 

On this show, we talk about the year Adam spent manufacturing in Shenzhen, China, building truck-sized drones, corporate venture capital, and the huge scope of ag-tech.

You can follow Guardian on Twitter @guardianagri and Joe @joeysweeny

Ben Gilbert is a founder and General Partner at Pioneer Square Labs, a startup studio and VC firm focused on the Pacific Northwest. He’s also the host of the incredible Acquired podcast. On this episode, we talk about PSL’s new $100 million venture fund, the startup studio, and what Ben looks for in funding early-stage founders.

Check out PSL!

You can follow Ben on Twitter @gilbert and Joe @joeysweeny

Justin Mast is the founder and CEO of Bloomscape, a direct to consumer houseplant company. Justin is here fresh off a $15 million series B from General Catalyst and is hiring across the board for roles like VP of Product, Indoor Plant Buyer, Copywriter, and Growth Marketer.

We break down key metrics in the D2C space, talk about how Bloomscape built a new plant-specific logistics network from scratch, and how Justin adapted his family's 5 generations of plant cultivation to the internet age.

Careers at Bloomscape

Follow our new brand page on Twitter @justraisedfm!

Sam Corcos is the founder and CEO of Levels, a consumer wearable to track blood glucose in real-time. Levels just raised $12 million from Andreessen Horowitz and is hiring engineers, a general counsel, and a head of clinical research. 

We dive into the science that makes this possible, the hardware subscription model, and the go-to-market that has athletes, celebrities, and seemingly every investor who can get their hands on one raving about the company. Plus, Sam talks about the emotional challenges of starting a company and using network theory to raise capital.

Careers at Levels

Updates on Twitter

Nico Barawid is the founder and CEO of Casai, a boutique travel company based in Mexico City. Nico just raised $23 million from Andreessen Horowitz in Mexico's largest Series A to date. 

In this episode, we dive into prop tech, tech-enabled hospitality, emerging markets, and the future of international business travel. 

Book your next trip with Casai: www.casai.com

Shoutouts

A16Z Casai Investment Memo

Casais in Tulum 

Updates on Twitter

Austen Allred, CEO and Founder of Lambda School, joins the show to launch Season 2! Lambda School is an online code academy that popularized the income share agreement as an alternative to upfront tuition. Austen and his team raised $74 million from Gigafund in August 2020. We dive into the fintech side of ISAs, the headwinds facing four-year universities, and Austen's long term vision for Lambda and vocational school in the US.

Open Roles!

https://lambdaschool.com/

Highlights on Twitter