Pattern Recognition - Investing in the Future

What does the food innovation process look like? In our age of wellness-focused living, Keith Belling has helped pioneer better-for-you products in both the snack and pantry aisle. Keith shares how he and his team focus on scaling a brand's awareness via field marketing and targeted partnerships as well as how he thinks about forecasting supply/demand in the early innings of a CPG startup.

Having just raised at a $2.6bn valuation, Brex is changing the credit card landscape with a novel approach to underwriting and software. Henrique Dubugras, founder and CEO of Brex, walks us through how his company is revolutionizing one vertical at a time as it scales across an incredibly complex and highly regulated industry. Additionally, Henrique shares his reflections on building a sales organization and measuring marketing ROI.

Processing over half a billion dollars in payments per year to support content creators, Patreon is revolutionizing the way we consume the internet. Jack Conte, Founder and CEO at Patreon, discusses how the legacy advertising model has led to perverse consequences on the internet, and how Patreon aligns incentives across all stakeholders, ultimately leading to higher quality content for all audiences. Additionally, we dig into the nuances of rolling out new pricing initiatives, from conducting market diligence to tiering your product offering. 

With a $1.5bn valuation, ZipRecruiter is revolutionizing careers as the #1 Job Search app in the market. Ian Siegel, Founder and CEO at ZipRecruiter, walks us through how ZipRecruiter has created a sustainable competitive advantage with the help of 1) Aggregation Theory and 2) AI/machine-learning capabilities. Ian also shares how ZipRecruiter's novel monetization model and disciplined focus on product have satisfied employers of all sizes.

What does it take to build a thriving multi-unit restaurant in fast casual dining? Leo and Oliver Kremer, brothers and founders of Dos Toros, share the key lessons they've learned bringing a taste of the Mission burrito nationwide. From managing complex supply chains to hiring and retaining talent, Leo and Oliver discuss what it takes to delight thousands of customers a day.

Last valued at $1.3 billion, Thumbtack provides a service marketplace for millions of consumers a year. So what's it like running the ship? Marco Zappacosta, Thumbtack's founder and CEO, walks us through how he thinks about differentiation in the gig economy, how to hire at scale, and how Thumbtack is empowering the small business economy.

Very few founders can tout building an app with millions of users and a marketplace that's originated over a billion dollars in loans. Jared Hecht, the founder and former CEO of GroupMe and founder of Fundera, discusses his reflections selling GroupMe in the early days of mobile to Skype (Microsoft) and the lessons he learned in that sale process. He also shares his perspective on how to navigate a slow-moving regulatory landscape within financial services and how Fundera is enabling the small business economy.

What was it like scaling a marketplace after the the dot-com bubble burst? Jeff Fluhr, General Partner at Craft Ventures and former Founder and CEO at StubHub, sits down to talk lessons learned in hiring, dealing with an unfriendly regulatory environment, and exiting successfully to a strategic. Additionally, Jeff shares his take on marketplace unit economics like LTV/CAC, sell-through rate, and cohort analyses. Jeff also dives into the contrast between building StubHub and his second startup, Spreecast, which he ultimately wound down. 

How do you bootstrap a CPG business to north of $100M in revenue? Doug Bouton, President and COO at Halo Top, discuss how the Halo Top team has built one of the leading consumer brands in today's grocery aisle without raising institutional capital. We'll cover the company's relentless focus on questioning the accepted norm, and how that's translated into profitability and healthy unit economics. Doug also walks us through how iterating through constant employee feedback loops has helped earn Halo Topt he #2 spot on LinkedIn's Top Startups to Work For list.

What's it like to teach 25 million people how to code? Zach Sims, CEO and co-founder at Codecademy, discusses how he's empowering millions while building a scalable and sustainable business.  We dig into specific levers and initiatives Zach and his team have used to increase user retention as well as the business’ entry into enterprise partnerships. Additionally, Zach shares his perspective on consciously hiring and building a culture-first team.