Just Raised

Just Raised

By Joe Sweeny, a Workweek friendBusinessEntrepreneurshipTechnology
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Just Raised episodes

  • Ep.37: Pietra: From Content to Product Though Cloud Tech With Ronak Trivedi, CEO & Co-Founder | VC
    Cloud factories! How does a successful YouTuber diversify into creating a physical product? Through Pietra and visionary CEO Ronak Trivedi.
    The hardest element of launching a direct to consumer product is the physical act of creating that product, then comes packaging, shipping and storage. If you have the audience but not the experience, how can you make this transition?
    Through online factories and letting creators work with some of the biggest suppliers in retail.
    Joe talks to Ronak about how he helped secure $15m from Keith Rabois and Founders Fund, why one creator is going to become the next best selling product line and how the likes of George Clooney, Rihanna and Kylie Jenner did similar with $1b-lines in tequila, lingerie, and cosmetics.
    You’ll hear how Pietra is fuelling the passion product economy and why it offers end-to-end services with its own eCommerce marketplace.
    Follow Ronak:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ronaktrivedi
    Twitter: twitter.com/therealRoShow
    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
    48 min
  • Ep.36: Popchew: How The Internet Got Hungry With Rushir Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO | VC
    Fast-food! Is Popchew the coolest food court on the internet? Co-Founder and CEP Rushir Parikh is betting it is, with his platform that helps creators feed their followers.
    At some point your average YouTube creator begins to look outside the loop of continual creation and uploading, counting subscribers and worrying about algorithms. At some point your average YouTube creator thinks about creating a fast-food delivery network.
    That’s exactly what YouTuber Zik Asiegbu did when he teamed up with Popchew and launched his 60-strong chain of delivery-only restaurants called Wing SZN. 
    Joe talks to Rushir about how the internet-ization of food is allowing creators to generate a lucrative side business, with no need for prior experience. They discuss how the company is building a distributed network of kitchens across the US and why it’s a win-win-win for restaurant owners, creators and Popchew, with previously untapped revenue streams.
    Follow Rushir:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rushir
    Twitter: twitter.com/rushikh
    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
    37 min
  • Ep.35: Cogsy: No More Excel Spreadsheets With Adii Pienaar, Founder | VC
    Spreadsheets! Changing founder behavior is at the heart of Adii Pienaar’s mission to improve business models across the globe. Find out how Cogsy is taking on Excel.
    Business marketing has gone through 3 phases. First, building the infrastructure and platforms to trade online, then focusing attention on email marketing, connecting to audiences, now it’s all about back office features - making sure operations are fully optimized.
    Joe and Adii discuss the difficulties fast scaling brands face when it comes to creating consistent cash flow, how Cogsy is helping eCommerce founders save money and time with smart automation and purchase order flow and why a spreadsheet on steroids is still a spreadsheet.
    As a Co-Founder of Woo Commerce, Adii has decades of experience. He’s obsessed with reimaging tools, like spreadsheets, and pushing scaling startups towards success.
    Follow Adii:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adiipienaar
    Twitter: twitter.com/adii
    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
    29 min
  • Ep.34: Hadrian & Founders Fund: The Race to Monetize Space With Chris Power & Delian Asparouhov | Space Tech Factories | VC
    Grab a seat on the front row of the race to monetize space. Chris Power and Delian Asparouhov are creating innovative solutions to the problem of space tech manufacturing.
    Manufacturing is a broken system, with long lead times, fluctuating prices and technology that hasn’t kept up. For space tech manufacturing this problem is even more intense, with many systems left over from the first space race in the Sixties,
    Joe talks to Chris and Delian about how Hadrian is creating its own manufacturing vertical from scratch, why a user-dashboard is not a great bandaid over an existing problem, and why building trust with customers is top of the list.
    You’ll hear Chris talk about why they’ll be a base on the moon within the next decade and why the tech supply chain needs to turn on a dime to meet customer needs.
    Chris and Delian also discuss how they’re building a factory from the ground up, and how Delian raised $9.5million in VC investment.
    Follow Chris:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/powerc
    Follow Delian:
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/delian-asparouhov-87447742
    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
    44 min
  • Ep.33: Formic: How to Hire a Robot Workforce With Saman Farid, Co-Founder | Automation | VC
    Robotics ! VC-backed Formic is turning automation on its head by offering companies the chance to hire robots by the hour. Find out how Saman is changing the game.
    There’s no doubt robots are amazing, they can revolutionize a workspace and take a company to the next level. They’re also wildly expensive to implement and can take far too long to optimize according to a business’ individual needs.
    Except Formic doesn’t see it that way. Joe talks to Saman about how Formic is democratizing automation based on the principle that this service isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
    Saman explains how Formic is able to offer robots to factories, paid for by the hour and that integrate quickly into the role they’re assigned - all science, no friction.
    Joe unpacks how Formic is tackling bottlenecks in automation by transforming an expensive, front-loaded fixed cost into an affordable monthly subscription, drawing parallels between Amazon Web Service for servers and Culture Bio for bacteria culturing.
    Formic is a venture capital backed startup that attracted $26m Series A funding from Lux Capital and hasn’t looked back.
    Follow Saman on:
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanfarid
    LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/samanfarid
    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
    35 min
  • Ep.32: Irreverent Labs: Robot Chicken Meets NFT Gaming with Founder Rahul Sood
    Robo chickens! If you’re looking for the future of gaming, you’ve found it. Rahul Sood and Irreverent Labs are combining art and entertainment with NFT tech and it’s wild.
    It’s 2140, an alien race has visited Earth and left behind thousands of eggs that hatch robotic chickens. These chickens fight, learn, and fight some more.They are beautifully designed and rendered by some of the most talented digital artists in the world. They’re also looking for an owner.
    Joe talks to Rahul about Irreverent Labs current game in development, Mecha Fight Club. Rahul shares why his “dumb idea for a game” made his co-founder walk out of his job developing defense technology at Microsoft to join him. And why companies like Apple need to get on board with crypto, or risk being left behind.
    You’ll hear Rahul’s vision for the industry and how music, entertainment, arts and culture will converge, using gaming as a Trojan horse. Plus how he and Co-Founder David, raised $5 million from VCs by going all-in.
    Follow Rahul on:
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/rahulsood
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/serialceo
    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
    39 min
  • Ep.31: Clay: How to Solve The Problem of Fragmentation With Zachary Ahmed & Matthew Achariam, Co-Founders | Relationship Management | VC
    Fragmentation! Zachary Ahmed & Matthew Achariam are changing the way we manage relationships with the important people in our lives. Find out how Clay is solving the problem of fragmentation.
    At its core Co-Founders Zach and Matt are product designers, obsessed with creating beautiful, bespoke solutions. Backed by $8m in seed funding led by Forerunner Ventures and General Catalyst, Clay unifies contact information across Twitter, LinkedIn, email, calendars,and iMessage creating a singular profile for every person in your life.
    Like a personal CRM, Clay tells you when you last interacted with a contact and on which platform, taking the heavy lift out of relationship management.
    Joe talks to Matt and Zach about why the smallest details matter in design and his experience of pitching for funding in a highly competitive space.
    You’ll hear Matt and Zach’s ambitious plans for scaling the platform and why people will always be at the heart of what they do.
    Follow Zach on:
    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/zmh
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyhamed/
    Follow Matt on:
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/mg
    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
    33 min
  • Ep.30: Fan Controlled Football (FCF): Football Reimagined With Sohrob Farudi, Co-Founder & CEO | VC
    Football! Passive football watching is done. And Sohrob Farudi, Co-Founder and CEO of FCF is bringing the game to fans in a wholly immersive new way over on Twitch. Find out how.
    Game day has changed. FCF is pro-football reimagined in digital. You watch real games, played in a high-tech studio arena, but the difference? You call the plays in real time and you draft the players.
    Joe and Sohrob discuss why fanatical fandom communities are demanding more from the sport and how FCF is bringing its A-game, embracing everything crypto and sports do well.
    You’ll hear how Sohrob raised a $40m Series A round, led by crypto venture capital investors, and why NFL players are jumping on board the new league.
    Follow Sohrob on:
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/sohrobf
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohrobfarudi/
    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
    35 min
  • Ep.29: Culture Biosciences: Bioreactors for All! With Will Patrick, Co-Founder | VC
    Biotech! When Taiwan introduced affordable chip manufacturing, tech firm startups exploded. Now Culture Biosciences is working on the same play for biotech.
    Bacteria is the building block for everything from drugs to proteins. But building bioreactors to create bacteria is wildly expensive and a huge block for many startups in the biotech space.
    That’s where Culture Biosciences is stepping up to the plate. Building in-house bioreactors and making the technology available to biotech companies through the Cloud, means those companies zero their capital expenditure, freeing up liquidity. 
    Will Patrick shares with Joe his experience in democratizing bioreactor technology, and how Culture Biosciences is shaping up to become the AWS of the biotech industry.
    Follow Will Patrick on:
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/wgpatrick
    LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/wgpatrick
    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
    1 hr 1 min
  • Ep.28: Kosen Labs: Why The Future of AI is Blockchain With Miljan Martic, Co-Founder & CEO | VC
    Blockchain! Miljan Martic is breaking new ground with blockchain and shaking up AI.
    Most AI research centers around games - poker, chess - anything with a strategy and a set of logical rules you can repeat many times over.
    And when you look at smart contracts built on blockchain, you see the exact same thing. Defined rules governing automated cash flow, logical and predictable.
    Kosen Labs believes AI needs new challenges to evolve. New harder games that are infinitely composable.
    Join Joe as he talks to Miljan Martic on why Kosen Labs is building the future of AI with blockchain.
    Follow Kosen Labs on:
    Twitter: https:https://twitter.com/kosenlabs
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kosenlabs
    To stay up-to-date on all things Just Raised, visit https://workweek.com/brand/just-raised/ or follow Joe Sweeny on Twitter @JoeySweeny
    34 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…