My Biggest Lesson

This week Chris speaks with Kirsten Suddath, General Partner at Next Frontier Capital, an early stage venture firm that focus on B2B tech startups. Kirsten has been involved with numerous Boulder-based startups across CleanTech, telecom, and software technology companies. She helped launch Flytedesk, a Techstars advertising technology startup, and was a Senior Associate for Blackhorn Ventures prior to joining NFC. On this episode, Kirsten shares her career journey that has given her perspectives as both a startup operator and as an investor. She details how Boulder's tech community expanded right before her eyes and her biggest lesson on how the impact of culture and values may differ from each venture.

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Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam speaks with Brian Pontarelli, the CEO and founder of Inversoft inc, the parent company to softwares FusionAuth, a leading customer identity and access management platform & Cleanspeak, a platform to filter offensive and inappropriate content. Prior to launching FusionAuth, Brian studied computer engineering at CU Boulder, was an employee at tech companies such as Orbitz and was co-chairman of Denver and Boulder Startup Weeks along with Adam. On this episode, Brian talks about his recent success with FusionAuth, his time building a company in Colorado's thriving tech community, plus a lesson on fostering a positive and enthusiastic company culture.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts!

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam speaks with David Cohen, the Founder and Chairman at Techstars, a global network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Techstars, which launched in Boulder, has invested in more than 4,000 startups with offices in over 40 cities and 16 countries. He has played a significant role in putting Colorado tech and specifically Boulder on the map. Prior to Techstars, David founded three companies, two of which had succesful exits (Pinpoint Technologies and earFeeder). On this episode, David talks about his journey from a computer programmer to starting his first company and ultmately launching Techstars. Plus we learn why his biggest lesson encompasses three key elements: choice, language, and belief.

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David is the co-author (with Brad Feld) of "Do More Faster; Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup".

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Chris speaks with Dan DeGolier, founder of Ascent CFO Solutions, a fractional CFO firm for growing companies. Ascent was recently named a "Fast 50 Company" by The Denver Business Journal. Dan has nearly 30 years of experience previously operating as a CPA with a global accounting firm and full-time CFO with multiple private companies in tech, SaaS, e-commerce and other industries. In this episode Dan shares what inspired him to launch his company, his experiences over the years evolving with Denver's growing ecosystem, a Colorado company he keeps his eyes on, plus what actions he takes to implement the values of his biggest lesson within his company and team.

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Ascent CFO Solutions - https://ascentcfo.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam  speaks with Blakely Graham, the co-founder and former CEO of TaskRay, the leading software product for managing the post-sale customer experience. Under Blakely’s leadership, TaskRay grew from a bootstrapped startup in her basement to a mission-critical enterprise application with marquee customers including Salesforce, Domino’s, and GE Healthcare. Salesforce recognized her contributions to their ecosystem by awarding her the MVP Hall of Fame designation. On this episode Blakely talks about her early experiences with dot com startups and Starbucks, her perspective on the magic of the Colorado ecosystem, and a powerful lesson on the impact of creatively investing in your people and how treating them well has a momentous effect.

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TaskRay - https://www.taskray.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Chris speaks with Alison Lange Engel, a partner at Greycroft, where she focuses on early-stage investments across fintech, enterprise, and education. Alison has 20+ years of experience leading, structuring, and scaling high-growth businesses including roles at Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, HBO as well as being the first CMO at Stripe and the VP of marketing at LinkedIn. On this episode, Alison shares her experiences transitioning from media into investment banking and high growth startup operations, what Colorado business she currently has her eye on, plus her biggest lesson involving understanding the motivators of success.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

AMP Robotics - http://www.amprobotics.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam speaks with Matanya Horowitz the founder and CEO of AMP Robotics, an industrial AI and robotics company applying automation to modernize recycling and waste industry. Prior to launching AMP in 2014, Horowitz earned four bachelor’s degrees, along with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He holds a doctorate in control and dynamical systems from the California Institute of Technology. In this episode, Matanya shares what inspired him to start a robotics company while in still in grad school, his perspective on Colorado's ecosystem for raising funding, plus how navigating various nuances in the recycling industry lead to his biggest lesson.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

AMP Robotics - http://www.amprobotics.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Chris speaks with Godard Abel, the CEO of G2, the leading business software review platform and marketplace, which he co-founded in 2012. G2 recently achieved unicorn status at a $1.1B valuation after raising $257M in capital to fuel global growth. Godard is also Executive Chairman of ThreeKit and Logik.io. Previously, he served as CEO of SteelBrick which was acquired by Salesforce in 2016 for $360M. In this episode, Godard shares how his first company inspired him to create G2, his perspectives on the evolution and differences in the SAAS and tech ecosystems in Colorado compared to Silicon Valley, and how his biggest lesson helped ease the burden on anxiety.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

G2 - https://www.g2.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam speaks with Jake Bolling, Co-founder and CEO of Skupos, a technology platform used by over 15,000 convenience stores nationwide, as well as companies like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Hershey, and more. Skupos has raised over $60M in funding and Jake was recently recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30. In this episode, Jake talks about how fixing a problem with a bankrupt gas can company he bought led to the launch of Skupos, what prompted him to grow his company in Colorado's emerging tech scene, and how his biggest lesson taught him the value of trusting the process.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Skupos - https://www.skupos.com/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Adam and Chris speak with Topher Marie, the CTO and co-founder at Strata Identity, the leader in Identity Orchestration for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Prior to launching Strata, Topher was the CTO and co-founder of JumpCloud. In this episode, Topher shares what got him started in startups, his thoughts on why Colorado is attractive to top talent, and the value in focusing on what's within your control.

Listen now on: Amazon Music (Alexa) | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Strata Identity - https://www.strata.io/

Check out more about what we're up to at Range.vc 

Connect with hosts Adam and Chris and the Range VC team on LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/range-ventures/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.