Nothing Ventured

Nothing Ventured

By Aarish Shah - EmergeONEBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Nothing Ventured episodes

  • Mark Kleyner: From Russia to Africa | Main Episode 1

    In this episode of the Nothing Ventured podcast, host Aarish Shah interviews Mark Kleyner, the co-founder of Dream VC. They discuss building capacity in the venture ecosystem in Africa, the challenges faced by startups and VCs in Africa, and why Kleyner and his co-founder launched Dream VC. The episode also touches on Kleyner's background and experiences in various emerging markets.

    👂 Listen to the Primer here - https://youtu.be/eWl6bCsIgHw

    🕒 Time stamps -

    02:51 Building resilience through diverse experiences.
    06:29 Contrasting experiences shape perspectives.
    10:07 Investors should support African tech.
    14:33 Investment gap in African market.
    20:07 Building African venture ecosystem with African investors.
    26:47 Education is key for innovation.
    30:04 Educate yourself on African tech.
    34:20 Reach out to Mark Kleyner.

    🔗 Mark's links -

    LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/markkleyner
    Twitter/X - https://twitter.com/markkleyner
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markkleyner/
    Dream VC - https://www.dream-vc.com/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    35 min
  • Mark Kleyner: Accelerating Investment and Innovation in Africa's Startup Scene | Primer 1

    In this episode of the Nothing Ventured Primer, Aarish interviews Mark Kleyner, the co-founder of Dream VC. Mark shares his background as an entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and early-stage investor in emerging markets. He discusses his experience in research and consulting before diving into the tech and venture ecosystem. Tune in to learn more about Mark's journey and insights into the African investment landscape.

    This episode is sponsored by Odin, a platform that helps angels, VCs, and founders raise and deploy capital seamlessly. https://www.joinodin.com/

    🕒 Time stamps -

    03:11 Moving into venture consulting.
    04:16 Building startups and adrenaline junkie.
    07:08 VC bubble idea.
    10:05 VCs fundraising as much as founders.
    14:04 African focused investors.
    16:09 VC space revamp.
    19:43 East Asian and South Asian funds.

    🔗 Mark's links -

    LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/markkleyner
    Twitter/X - https://twitter.com/markkleyner
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markkleyner/
    Dream VC - https://www.dream-vc.com/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    22 min
  • Getting Inclusive | Highlights Episode 2

    🕒 Time stamps -

    01:07 Eleanor Kaye (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q83n5lnRRhA)
    06:47 Emmie Faust (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwtjL3I0Hto)
    12:23 Agata Nowicka (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnwbA1UcUpk)
    16:39 Anishka Prasad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEb_e5Ng0Xs)
    22:28 Andy Ayim (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIYFnBJI0Mo)


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    32 min
  • Across The Pond | Highlights Episode 1

    In this highlights episode, we'll take a look back at all our friends from across the pond since the beginning of the year.

    You'll hear from Adam Besvinick and his journey to launching his fund Looking Glass; Brett Martin live and direct from Costa Rica talking about Charge ventures; Michael Palank, General Partner at MaC Ventures talking diversity, Los Angeles and spacetech; Daniel Glazer, Managing Partner of the London office of WSGR on launching in the US and Zecca Lehn on raising Resposibly Ventures and why you don't have to sacrifice returns even if you're building in the impact space.

    🕒 Time stamps -

    00:38 Adam Besvinick (https://youtu.be/vifBiUrRL-o)
    08:19 Brett Martin (https://youtu.be/Q7sz8pye330)
    15:54 Michael Palank (https://youtu.be/yvltYpMiO50)
    22:04 Daniel Glazer (https://youtu.be/JRL_HI_bPpA)
    30:25 Zecca Lehn (https://youtu.be/JdYgsUmt4K8)


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    37 min
  • EP31 - Matt Jonns - Founder + Lightning | Nothing Ventured Podcast

    Matt Jonns is the founder & CEO of Founder and Lightning. Founder and Lightning have helped build over 30 companies in the last 8 years and have a portfolio valuation of £100m+

    👂 Listen to the Primer / Main Episode here -

    🕒 Time stamps -

    0:00 - Intro - Who is Matt Jonns?

    01:06 - Tell me about Founder + Lightning and what it does.
    02:32 - What was Matt's first job?
    03:04 - What was Matt doing before he got into the tech ecosystem?
    04:29 - How did you get into building Founder + Lightning?
    05:47 - What kind of founders does Matt work with, and what sectors does he focus on?
    08:07 - Is Matt looking for venture-scale small businesses, or does he prefer smaller exits?
    10:57 - What are some of the challenges and misconceptions founders face when chasing unicorn valuations?
    13:31 - Are there any ventures that Matt is really excited about inside or outside your portfolio?
    17:32 - What are the most common mistakes made by non-technical founders when building their startups?
    19:08 - How do you address the challenge of founders spending too much money on MVPs and taking too long to launch?
    21:03 - What advice does Matt give to founders about building successful products, especially when big corporates can create their own versions?
    21:23 - What mistakes do many founders make when developing their solutions, and what should they focus on instead?
    22:07 - What are some of the reasons why founders struggle to raise investment for their startups, as mentioned by the speaker?
    22:45 - What advice does Matt give to founders regarding choosing the right co-founder and maintaining control of their startup?
    35:20 - How would Matt describe himself - an accelerator, incubator, venture builder, or a fund?
    36:02 - Is Matt looking for unicorns or zebras when investing in companies?
    39:00 - With the explosion of generative AI and no-code tools, is software still a moat for startups, and how should founders approach this?

    🔗 Matt's links -

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-jonns/

    Web - https://www.founderandlightning.com/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    48 min
  • Nothing Ventured Podcast Primer - Matt Jonns - Founder + Lightning - S1E31

    Matt Jonns is the founder & CEO of Founder and Lightning. Founder and Lightning have helped build over 30 companies in the last 8 years and have a portfolio valuation of £100m+

    👂 Listen to the Primer / Main Episode here -

    🕒 Time stamps -

    0:00 - Intro - Who is Matt Jonns?

    0:10 - What was Matt's first job?
    3:00 - Were was Matt doing anything before he got into the tech ecosystem?
    4:43 - What would Matt be doing if he wasn't supporting founders in this way?
    6:05 - What sort of founders should work with Matt, and what stages and sectors does he work with?
    8:02 - Is Matt looking for venture-scale businesses or is he interested in digitizing existing businesses?
    10:03 - If there were three ventures that Matt is most excited about either inside or outside the portfolio, what would they do?

    🔗 Matt's links -

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-jonns/

    Web - https://www.founderandlightning.com/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    16 min
  • EP30 - Maya Moufarek - Full Stack CMO | Nothing Ventured Podcast

    Maya Moufarek is the founder of Full Stack CMO. Full Stack CMO partners with start-up and scale-ups Founders & CEOs define & implement their growth path.

    👂 Listen to the Primer Episode here - https://youtu.be/O2n4rfB1fgs

    🕒 Time stamps -

    0:00 - Intro - Who is Maya Moufarek?

    0:52 - Maya Muthurek's background and experiences
    2:02 - What are the key lessons and challenges DTC Ventures face today in a saturated digital acquisition environment?
    4:07 - How did Pharmacy2You balance profitability and growth in the low-margin business of online repeat prescriptions?
    5:02 - Why is understanding your customers and building real communities important for DTC businesses?
    6:05 - How should early-stage businesses approach retention and acquisition in their growth journey?
    8:01 - What does "fitting a giraffe into a brand" mean, and how does it apply to brand building and marketing strategy?
    12:01 - How do you balance retention and acquisition for VC-backed businesses that need to show growth?
    14:19 - How can companies struggling to understand their identity and mission start developing a clear narrative?
    19:55 - What are the considerations for businesses that have a functional product/service without much emotional appeal to customers?
    20:26 - How can startups understand their customers' frustrations and needs to build products that address them effectively?
    23:05 - Why is cross-functional growth essential for startups to succeed and why should founders avoid outsourcing the entire marketing function?
    26:17 - How important is building trust for startups, especially when selling into established businesses, and what are practical strategies for building and maintaining trust with customers?
    35:04 - What is your investment philosophy and how do you approach angel investing, especially in the areas of Health Tech, FemTech, and AI?
    44:46 - How can investing be viewed as a way to continuously learn and gain valuable insights into different markets, products, and technologies?
    45:03 - Where can listeners connect with Maya online?

    🔗 Maya Moufarek's links -

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmoufarek?originalSubdomain=uk

    Twitter - https://twitter.com/msmaya?lang=en-GB
    Web - https://www.marketingcube.co/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    46 min
  • Nothing Ventured Podcast Primer - Maya Moufarek - Full Stack CMO - S1E30

    Maya Moufarek is the founder of Full Stack CMO. Full Stack CMO partners with start-up and scale-ups Founders & CEOs define & implement their growth path.

    👂 Listen to the Main Episode here - https://youtu.be/9EtfTrIhSlk

    🕒 Time stamps -

    0:00 - Intro - Who is Maya Moufarek?

    0:25 - What was Maya Moufarek's first job?
    1:56 - What triggered Maya's move into startups?
    3:08 - What would you be doing if you weren't an early-stage operator?
    4:14 - What is Marketing Cube - who is it for, what stages of companies do you work with, and what sectors and geographies do you focus on?
    6:10 - What three ventures are you involved in that you're really excited about right now?
    8:49 - Tell us more about YuLife and how they are transforming life insurance?
    9:55 - How does Maya support tech conferences and help them with their go-to-market strategy?
    10:45 - Who are We are Jude and what is their significance in the female health sector?

    🔗 Maya Moufarek's links -

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmoufarek?originalSubdomain=uk

    Twitter - https://twitter.com/msmaya?lang=en-GB
    Web - https://www.marketingcube.co/


    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    12 min

About Nothing Ventured

From the publisher's feed

In conversation with the people who make the start-up world go round. Join Aarish Shah as he talks to founders, investors, and operators across the tech and venture ecosystem exploring some of the…

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