Just Raised

Just Raised

By Joe Sweeny, a Workweek friendBusinessEntrepreneurshipTechnology
Download on the App Store

Just Raised episodes

  • S2 Ep7: Pipedream: A Moonshot Pipe Delivery Company
    Pipedream is a delivery startup, but they’re not using bike messengers or Uber drivers, they’re using robots that will deliver you a burrito in minutes via pipes underground.Pipedream is GoPuff crossed with Elon Musk’s boring company. It’s building a hyper logistics network to delivery anything, anywhere in a city in minutes. And they’re doing it with bots running through maintenance pipes.Joe gets into it Founder and CEO Garrett McCurrach, talking about what makes a good city for Pipedream’s pipes, how to pitch this to VCs, and how Garrett aims to generate revenue while they’re first getting started.Stick around to the end to hear Garrett flip the interview on Joe and ask what kind of startups he would love to build one day.If you want to tell your story like Pipedream, you need to check out MarketerHire. Hiring is hard, which is why MarketerHire exists, to match your business with a top-tier marketer fast. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Garret
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegarrettscott
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tYStay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
    43 min
  • S2 Ep6: Propel: Upgrading American Government
    Meet the founder building a fintech business to upgrade government.
    Propel is building the banking app for the 42M Americans on food stamps. The US government deploys $70 billion a year into food stamps and it doesn’t have a website where users can check their balance. Propel is changing that and building a killer business at the same time.
    Jimmy has onboarded nearly 5 million users on less than $20M in venture capital - wildly capital efficient for a neobank. Now he’s building out a recruiting platform to help users find jobs, an advertising platform, and an all-in-one banking app.
    Jimmy talks to Joe about how entrepreneurs can work with government and why people in the tech sector have failed to build products for Propel’s customer base - missing massive opportunities in the process.
    If you’re growing fast, like Propel, and need marketing talent on board, check out MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Jimmy
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmychen
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    47 min
  • S2 Ep5: Eco: How to Onboard The Next Billion Crypto Users with Andy Bromberg, CEO
    How do you bring in the next generation of crypto users? You create your own currency.
    Most fintech companies are skimming from customers when it comes to saving and investing but the Eco platform is different. By making spending, saving and investing easy, without the skim, it’s turning traditional finance on its head. And it’s doing that through Eco Points, a rewards currency for the Eco community.
    Joe brings back Andy, getting into how he got started in Crypto way back in 2014, the launch of the Stanford Bitcoin Club, and his recent raises of $25m and $60m.
    You’ll also hear Andy talking about stable coins, what it’s really like creating a new currency, and why it’s on course to be a major disruptor.
    If you’re growing fast, like Eco, and need marketing talent on board, get MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Andy
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andybromberg
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    42 min
  • S2 Ep4: Why Graphite is Changing The Game for Engineers With Tomas Reimers and Greg Foster.
    Meet the startup backed by the GitHub CEO and investment team. 
    Graphite is growing like crazy. Taking inspiration from Discord and Twitter, this is a company offering a code review tool for engineers. Operating as an open source CLI and dashboard, the platform is for users who want to review code quickly and efficiently.
    Joe gets into it with Co-Founders Tomas and Greg, talking through their recent $20M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, why they’ve welcomed GitHub investor Peter Levine to the board, and what makes them unique as an engineers tool.
    You’ll also hear how Graphite plans on growing, creating a better desktop experience, and better integration with a host of other tools.
    And if, like Greg and Tomas, you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Greg:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gregorymfoster
    Follow Tomas:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomasreimers
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    40 min
  • S2 Ep3: Switchboard: The Masterclass You Need on Product-Led Growth, With Amir Ashkenazi
    Meet the company on a mission to make teamwork the best part of work. Backed by a $14M Series A, Switchboard is one to watch.
    Tapping into the remote working space, Switchboard brings all the right people and tools together on the cloud to make coworking a breeze. And they’re doing it beautifully.
    Joe and Amir get deep in conversation, talking about what it takes to build virality and customer acquisition into a product, the process of raising, and why remote working is exhausting without the right tools.
    You’ll also hear Amir’s ambitious plans for continued growth and where Switchboard is heading.
    And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, like Amir, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Amir:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amirashkenazi
    Twitter: twitter.com/AmirTime
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    31 min
  • S2 Ep2: Composer: How to Templatize Trading With Ben Rollert and Ananda Aisola
    Templates! Great trading strategies can get lost in a sea of spreadsheets and complicated code. Composer makes it easy for traders, with a building block system that can be endlessly customized.
    Even the most experienced retail investors can get frustrated with the endless amounts of coding and paperwork that comes with creating trade strategies. As investing becomes more complex, having access to a library of tried and tested strategy templates is invaluable.
    Joe gets into conversation with Ben and Ananda, who believe, in Composer, they’ve created a product that’s both powerful and flexible. You’ll find out why Composer has layers, making it both approachable and highly customizable, and why you can be irreverent but still be smart with your product.
    You’ll also hear how Sub-Reddits are setting the tone, Ben’s lightbulb moment, and how they’re planning on taking over the industry.
    And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Ben:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/benrollert
    Twitter :twitter.com/benrollert 
    Follow Ananda:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anandaaisola
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    37 min
  • S2 Ep1: Empire DAO: How to Build a Web3 Community, With Mike Fraietta
    Kicking off Season 2 is an extraordinary guest, building way more than just a business in New York City. Mike Fraietta is creating community, art, and co-working space in this fascinating DAO.
    Web3 has a new home, a heart in SoHo where the Empire DAO community of entrepreneurs, startups, and developers will have ample space to create alongside artists.
    Joe talks to Mike, a talented founder with an ambitious vision. Mike explains his triple chicken and egg theory, how expansion is already on the cards, and the importance of building genuinely helpful products in Web3
    You’ll also hear what it’s like being at the very tip of the adoption curve, and how you’d better have your NFT swipe card ready to book a desk.
    And if you’re ambitious to grow your business, you need MarketerHire. Using advanced AI tech and a thorough vetting process MarketerHire will match your business with a top-tier marketer and they’ll do it quickly. Get signed up today and find your marketing professional at marketerhire.com
    Follow Mike:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fraietta
    Twitter: twitter.com/MikeFraietta
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    36 min
  • How Dune Became a Billion Dollar VC Success Story
    Fredrik Haga couldn’t have started a crypto startup in a tougher environment, now Dune has a billion dollar valuation. 
    Three years ago Fredrik and co-founder Mats Olsen were getting used to hearing ‘no’. Rejected by 100s of investors, they decided to go back to basics, zeroing in on creating a product people genuinely wanted and recognizing the importance of traction.
    Through sheer grit and no small amount of stubbornness from its founders, Dune is now commanding $69 million in Series B.
    Joe interviews Fredrik, getting into the weeds of scaling a crypto company, building community,  and their recent raises.
    You’ll also hear Joe and Fredrik diving into the difference between live reporting and quarterly reports and why that matters for investors.
    Follow Fredrik:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fredrikhaga
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised.
    38 min
  • How Revel is Leading The Electric Transport Revolution
    From a cycling chef to CEO of a fleet of EVs, meet the founder changing the face of NYC transport.
    When you plan on competing with the likes of Uber, you’d better bring your A-game. Revel is that extraordinary company, with a fleet of 100% electric vehicles, with their unique blue livery, and electric mopeds to hire by the hour, the company is also building the largest EV charging station in New York.
    Joe gets into conversation with Frank Reig, the Co-founder and CEO of Revel. Frank lays out his ambition to spread the EV mission across the US, how he went about raising $126 million from Blackrock and Toyota and why Revel drivers are riding Teslas.
    You’ll also hear how cars will become batteries on wheels, the Revel approach to rideshare employment, and how to build an infrastructure large enough to scale EV use across the country.
    Follow Frank:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/frank-reig-35052454
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised.
    43 min
  • Guardian Ag: How VC-Backed Drones Are Revolutionizing Crop Spraying
    Ag Tech! You may have seen crop spraying in movies done by biplanes or Vietnam veteran pilots. That is still how the market works today. Which is why our guest today is building a new kind of ag tech company based on crop spring drones. 
    We dive into Adam's year in Shenzhen China building protocols-types for an automated dog feeder startup and eventually Guardian, what It means to raise corporate venture capital and have a giant corporation on your cap table, and what the agriculture market in the US really looks like.
    Maybe most interestingly, we dive into the history of how some of the biggest breakthroughs in technology - from genetic engineering to autonomous driving today - all started with with equipment on American farms in the Midwest.  
    Follow Adam:
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bercu-10838b164/
    Check out the Just Raised newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Ghj2tY
    Stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised: https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeySweeny
     
    And if you’re a fan of Acquired, Invest Like The Best, Business Breakdowns or 20VC, you’ll love Just Raised
    41 min

About Just Raised

From the publisher's feed

Venture-backed startups are springing up across the globe, but how do you keep up with what’s coming next? On Just Raised, you’ll be first to hear from the founders of those newly minted companies…