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Midstage Startup Momentum
Midstage Startup Momentum episodes
- How to Aim to be a Great Startup Leader—Regardless of your Product with Pat Larsen of ZenLedger
Cryptocurrency is slowly but surely taking over the world, one blockchain at a time. Unfortunately, the IRS has caught on and isn’t going to let people make money off crypto investments without paying taxes. But the silver lining is a tech startup like ZenLedger, which works to help investors and tax professionals with their tax compliance needs as it relates to cryptocurrency.
In the latest edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Siebelink spoke with ZenLedger co-founder and CEO Pat Larsen. They discuss ZenLedger’s strengths as a company and Pat’s unique journey to becoming the CEO of a startup:
- How Pat’s time as a chemistry major and Navy pilot led him to become a CEO.
- The challenges of deciding you want to be a CEO before having a use case.
- Why startup leaders should take every meeting they can get when looking for investors.
- Why curiosity is a quality that startups shouldn’t overlook when hiring employees.
- The importance of CEOs accepting that they don’t have all of the answers, as long as they’re looking for answers.
24 min - How Pat’s time as a chemistry major and Navy pilot led him to become a CEO.
- How to sell your new product to creatures of habit with Ophir Tanz and Kyle Stanley of Pearl
There are no limits to how Artificial Intelligence can have a positive impact on the world, and the dental industry is about to learn that first-hand. The aptly named Pearl, led by Ophir Tanz, Founder & CEO and Kyle Stanley, Chief Clinical Officer, is changing the way that dentists diagnose and treat patients. Thanks to Pearl, every dentist in the world will one day have AI technology double-checking their work and making sure patients get the best care possible.
In this week’s edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Siebelink spoke with Ophir and Kyle. They discuss Pearl’s lofty goals to forever change dentistry for the better and the unique startup journey Ophir and Kyle have taken with Pearl:
- How Pearl’s AI technology helps solve the problem of inconsistency in the dental profession.
- How they plan to seamlessly embed Pearl in the workflow of every dental practice.
- Why the time is right for Pearl to become a pioneer in an emerging market.
- Why Pearl has made its biggest investment in solving problems rather than making sales.
- Why a willingness to learn is essential for all entrepreneurs, especially first-time startup founders.
27 min - How to Focus on Fewer Things—to Achieve Much More with Matt Tucker of Koan
It’s always good for startups of all stages to have goals and be working every day in pursuit of those goals. However, too many startups lose sight of those goals and the practices that can help get them there. That’s the precise problem that founder and CEO Matt Tucker is looking to address with his startup Koan, an alignment platform that’s heavily inspired by OKRs.
In the latest edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Siebelink spoke with Matt. The two discussed a wide array of topics related to Koan and the qualities that put startups in a position to be successful:
- How Koan is solving a “structured collaboration problem” by helping teams work together and work transparently to create a common purpose across the entire company.
- Why several small but positive behaviors can end up making a significant difference in the end.
- The importance of startup leaders “doing the basics,” even when a business is in its infancy.
- How a combination of coaching and software can be the right combination for creating lasting change within a startup.
- Why leaders need to take into account the problem they’re solving and how quickly they need to scale when it comes to fundraising.
25 min - How Koan is solving a “structured collaboration problem” by helping teams work together and work transparently to create a common purpose across the entire company.
- This Is Why Every Line of Code Is a Business Decision with Ori Keren and Dan Lines of LinearB
Efficiency is always the name of the game, particularly for development teams that don’t like distractions or interruptions. That’s why co-founders Ori Keren and Dan Lines have created LinearB.io, a project management tool aimed at improving workflow for dev teams without distracting meetings, standups and reporting tools.
In the latest edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Siebelink spoke with Ori and Dan. They discuss how LinearB is empowering dev teams to work asynchronously as well as Ori and Dan’s journey as startup founders:
- Why dev teams can sometimes function at a high level while, at other times, productivity falls off.
- Why LinearB built both engineering and go-to-market infrastructures during the early days of the company.
- Why interacting with your community can be invaluable in finding product-market fit.
- How LinearB found success by getting its product in the hands of customers as soon as possible, even if the product was far from perfect.
- The meaning of Ori’s saying that: “every line of code is a business decision.”
26 min - How to find Perfect Product-Market-Fit amidst an Economic Crisis with Trevor Lain of LexAlign
There are few things in this world as complicated as banking regulation. That’s especially true when so many small-medium businesses become part of the delivery chain. Tech startup LexAlign is simplifying compliance for banks by developing the “missing piece in the digitization of banking.”
In this week’s edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, tech-ally Roland Siebelink speaks with LexAlign CEO and co-founder Trevor Lain. They discuss the complexities of what LexAlign does and the challenges of a startup that’s hoping to conquer a new frontier:
- How the mortgage crisis helped Trevor realize the need for a company like LexAlign.
- How LexAlign tries to empower small-medium businesses while also fostering innovation and competition.
- What it’s like for a startup with broad capabilities to find a target customer.
- Why it’s okay not to have a finished product during the early days of your startup.
- The importance of having a purpose behind your day-to-day activities rather than being solely focused on money.
23 min - How the mortgage crisis helped Trevor realize the need for a company like LexAlign.
- How to Steer Clear of Founder Burnout With the Right Support System with John Manlove and Rob Fess of Apex Trading
With adult-use cannabis products legal in 11 US states and several countries, the industry is poised for massive growth over the next several years. Tech startup Apex Trading is aiding in that growth by providing a wholesale business management and sales platform for businesses in the US cannabis industry.
In the latest edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Siebelink speaks with Apex Trading co-founders John Manlove and Rob Fess. They discuss the goals and challenges of a young company that was founded in early 2018:
- How far the cannabis industry has come, as well as the challenges it still faces.
- What John’s experience with another startup taught him about the dangers of a CEO burning out.
- The importance of co-founders understanding one another and understanding the dynamic between one another.
- How keeping a “plant-first” mentality has allowed Trade Apex to connect with the cannabis community and earn the trust of clients.
- Finding product-market fit when your product is needed but not required.
24 min - "Growing 3X per month, after 7 years of trial-and-error. As if our growth came out of nowhere!" with Pedro Góes of InEvent
In a world that’s been reshaped by the ongoing pandemic, remote work and virtual events are becoming more common than most of us could have ever imagined. InEvent provides a platform for team management and virtual events, and as a result, the startup has grown by leaps and bounds over the last several months.
In this week’s episode, Roland Siebelink speaks with InEvent co-founder and CEO Pedro Góes. They talk about InEvent’s journey to product-market-fit and the startup’s sudden success during the pandemic:
- How quickly the demand for virtual events has grown and the potential for future growth.
- The many steps InEvent took to find the right type of customer.
- How InEvent views salespeople for a self-service product that they want to sell itself.
- Why InEvent places so much emphasis on customer satisfaction and customer feedback.
- The importance of not comparing yourself to other startups when it comes to finding product market fit.
26 min - How quickly the demand for virtual events has grown and the potential for future growth.
- How CloudApp Grew to 4 Million Users During the Global Pandemic with Scott Smith and Joe Martin of CloudApp
Companies are doing their best to remain efficient in this remote-working world. They are eager to try any tool that helps to keep their employees productive. CloudApp is one of the tools benefiting from this trend.
In this episode, Roland Siebelink speaks with CEO Scott Smith and CMO Joe Martin. They discuss the growth of their startup and what CloudApp brings to the SaaS market.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Scott and Joe share:
- How CloudApp can save time and be a useful tool for async workers.
- Why working for a startup is attractive option compared to a larger company.
- The best times to seek advice and suggestions from investors and board members.
- Why CloudApp doesn’t subscribe to the typical Silicon Valley approach to business.
- The new meaning behind the acronym ARR and how it’s shaping CloudApp’s approach.
26 min - "How to Play an Awfully Long-Term Game" with Fredrik Thomassen of Superside
There’s no doubt that is more and more business being conducted remotely these days with the ongoing global pandemic. Of course, some companies like design startup Superside were ahead of the curve. Superside has been 100% remote since Day 1, delivering better and faster design projects and giving customers 24/7 support. In this week’s edition of the Silicon Momentum Valley Podcast, Roland Siebelink of scaleupallies.com speaks with Superside founder and CEO Fredrik Thomassen about how the changes in the world have helped Superside and how he hopes Superside can help change the world.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Roland and Fredrik discuss:
- How Superside’s technology and commitment to finding the best designers in the world help separate the startup from its competitors.
- Why it’s so important to Fredrik that Superside helps to level the global playing field when it comes to labor.
- How the purpose of outsourcing has changed over the last 20-30 years.
- Who Fredrik listens to when he needs advice about Superside.
- The vision Fredrik has for Superside over the next 10 years and how that long-term vision has impacted his decisions as the company’s CEO.
25 min - How Superside’s technology and commitment to finding the best designers in the world help separate the startup from its competitors.
- How to get Rid of Time Sucks in your Startup
There’s nothing worse than seeing your time go down the drain. In this week’s edition of the Silicon Valley Momentum Podcast, Roland Seibelink of scaleupallies.com tackles the issue of potential time-sucks for startup CEOs. With so many potential distractions, it’s easy for startup leaders and their companies to lose focus on what’s important. The result is time wasted on tasks that could be outsourced or accomplished more efficiently as opposed to the differentiations that a startup brings to the market.
Listen to this week’s podcast to listen to Roland advise startup CEOs on:
- Common mistakes startups make that result in time-sucks.
- Doing a self-review of your startup to find your market-observable differentiators.
- The four key criteria to determine if a task is worth your time and effort.
- Why it’s okay to outsource certain tasks to avoid time-sucks so you can focus on what you do best.
6 min - Common mistakes startups make that result in time-sucks.
About Midstage Startup Momentum
From the publisher's feed
Roland Siebelink talks all things tech startup and bring you interviews with tech cofounders across the world.