Minds Capital Podcast

By Will Smith & Niklas JamesBusiness Entrepreneurship Investing

Minds Capital Podcast episodes

February 26, 2025Buying an 800-Unit Hair Salon during Covid
Azhar Quader of Queens Court Capital specializes on special situations and walks us through how he used his large-cap Wall Street experience to take Hair Cuttery out of bankruptcy to become a huge success story.
References and how to contact Azhar:
Azhar Quader | LinkedIn
For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. Our website also contains more information about this podcast and for prospective investors.
Connect with Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with hosts Will Smith and Niklas James
Visit Minds Capital
Credits:
Edited by Anton Rohozov
1 hr 11 min
February 17, 202520x a $10m investment in 2.5 years
Michael Sutton, founder of Guideboat Capital Partners, discusses how he took a restaurant chain from $5m to $25m in EBITDA and then 40x'd the enterprise value of Buff City, a soap retailer.
References and how to contact Michael:
Michael Sutton | LinkedIn
For independent sponsors with a deal under LOI, visit Minds Capital to start a conversation. Minds Capital invests equity into deals by independent sponsors and searchers. Our website also contains more information about this podcast and for prospective investors.
Connect with Minds:
See past + future interviews on the YouTube channel
Connect with hosts Will Smith and Niklas James
Visit Minds Capital
Credits:
Edited by Anton Rohozov
1 hr 4 min
November 06, 2020 Episode 5 - Mike Haven, Head of Legal Operations at Intel, and CLOC Board Member
Mike Haven joins us on the show to share his experience as a pioneer in the growing legal operations space. We discussed stories from his career journey, including why he left Biglaw after making partner, how a chance meeting at a SF Giants game led him to find his way into legal operations, how technology vendors and outside counsel who are interested in working with legal departments should make their pitch, as well as lessons and advice for younger lawyers coming up in their careers.
Mike is Senior Director, Associate General Counsel, and Head of Legal Operations at Intel, and Board Member at CLOC, the world’s leading association for legal operations. Mike was previously the head of legal operations at two publicly traded companies, and his experience includes building up the legal operations function from scratch. Prior to his in-house career, Mike was a partner at K&L Gates, where he served as outside counsel to sophisticated businesses.
Mike's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-haven-057aa1/
46 min
October 16, 2020 Episode 4 - JP Son, VP and Legal Counsel at Vonage
JP Son joins us on the show to share his experience making his way from Biglaw to Vonage, and how he leverages technology in his practice. We'll be discussing stories from his experience as a young IP litigator, and how he made the move in-house to a telecommunications company. We'll also discuss his philosophy on how to leverage technology for legal, especially around "do no harm" and enabling his business teams to engage in self service.
JP is currently the VP and Legal Counsel at Vonage. Prior to joining Vonage, JP was an associate at Bingham McCutchen. JP has a B.S. in Computer Science from Cornell and a J.D. from the Columbia School of Law.
JP's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jp-son-9567309/
31 min
September 25, 2020 Episode 3 - Sarah Feingold, Former General Counsel at Etsy and Vroom
Sarah Feingold joins us on the show to share her experience on the front lines of in-house legal in the startup world. We'll be discussing stories from her career journey, including how she found her way into Etsy as the 17th employee and grew into the General Counsel role during Etsy's dramatic growth. We'll also be speaking about how she's been able to be both a lawyer and an artist through her work on The Legal Madness project.
Sarah is currently a NYU Fellow and a co-founder of The Fourth Floor, an initiative to empower women to join corporate boards and create entrepreneurship opportunities. Previously, she was the first General Counsel at Etsy and Vroom. Sarah has a B.A. from Skidmore College and her J.D. from the Syracuse College of Law.
Sarah's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfeingold/
Sarah's Website - https://www.sarahfeingold.com/
Legal Madness - https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/engelberg/events/legal-madness-dot-party
The Fourth Floor - https://thefourthfloor.co/home
29 min
September 11, 2020 Episode 2 - Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff & Sr. Director of Legal Operations at NetApp, and former CEO/Founder of CLOC
Connie Brenton joins us on the show to share her experience as a pioneer and a community builder in the rapidly growing legal operations space. We'll be discussing stories from her career journey, including why she founded CLOC, as well as her experience with the challenges that come with convincing lawyers to adopt new technologies. We'll also chat about her work driving diversity and inclusion in the legal industry, and her initiative, the Corporate Legal Leaders program.
Connie is currently the Chief of Staff & Sr. Director of Legal Operations at NetApp, and the former CEO/Founder of CLOC, the world's leading association for legal operations. Connie holds a JD, an MBA and a BA in Economics. She was named as one of Corporate Counsel's National Women in Law in 2018, honored as one of the 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley for 2014 and was selected as one of the top 10 Deputy General Counsel in 2012.
Connie's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/conniebrenton/
Corporate Legal Leaders https://cli.corporatelegalleaders.com/
34 min
August 28, 2020 Episode 1 - Craig Katerberg, General Counsel at Anheuser Busch
Craig Katerberg joins us on the show to share what it means to be a true partner to the business, and his thoughts on implementing technology and legal operations. We'll talk about his international legal career, which began in New York, and took him all around the world, including Shanghai and Melbourne. We discuss his management philosophy, and how he's able to unlock the true talents of his team. It's a great thought provoking conversation and you don't want to miss it!
Craig is the General Counsel at Anheuser Busch. Since joining AB InBev in 2012, Craig has led teams in Australia, Asia and Europe. He previously worked at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett and for the City of New York under Mayor Bloomberg. Craig holds degrees from the University of Chicago and from Northwestern University School of Law. He was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Craig's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-katerberg-70a6373/
35 min
August 28, 2020 Episode 0 - Introduction with Meeting of the Minds' Host, Alex Su
What's this podcast series all about? Where did the idea come from? What exactly is "Meeting of the Minds?"
My name is Alex Su and I'm the Director of Business Development at Evisort, and the host of Meeting of the Minds. Each episode of this podcast series will feature conversations with pioneers and leaders who are driving innovation in the legal industry. Our goal is to share real stories from the front lines of the legal industry. We're excited to have you join us along for the ride. Hope you enjoy the show!
3 min