Startup Foundations

Jeff Wilson, also known as Professor Dumpster, is a former HBCU environmental science professor and a serial tech entrepreneur. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Jupe, a hardware startup that creates flat packed shelters and software platforms that operate off grid.

As Professor Dumpster, Jeff has lived in a 33 sq. ft. modified trash dumpster as part of an environmental education and minimalist housing experiment. His work on sustainability and minimalism has been covered broadly by publications like Forbes, The Atlantic, NY Times, and The Washington Post.

Jeff talked to us about his “Dumpster Project” as well as his previous and current startup ventures. As an entrepreneur, Jeff has founded and built a micro housing startup, Kasita, that was sold off in 2018. Jeff’s latest company Jupe, has been a part of the recent Y Combinator batch, and Jeff also highlights what he learned from that experience.

In our conversation with Jeff we also discuss the details of how his current product works, the challenges of building a hardware company, picking the right co-founder, and… fundraising at the urinals.

Analisa Goodin is the CEO & Founder of Catch&Release, a software platform that streamlines the discovery and licensing of content from social media and the open web. The startup has recently raised $14 million series A from Accel Ventures.

Analisa, who has been working with ad agencies and brands for over a decade, talked to us about the hurdles of finding relevant and exciting content that's also ripe for licensing and commercial use, and how her company aims to simplify and automate a lot of the redundant steps in those processes.

Catch&Release has been a bootstrapping affair for a few years, before leaning into venture capital, and Analisa talks about a unique leverage this has created for her company. We also touch upon the differences in running a startup vs an ad-agency and what types of content are licensable through Catch&Release’s services.

Analisa also discusses the challenges she faced scaling her business, the shift from bootstrapping to venture capital, recruiting for startups, the future of digital content production and shares her advice to first time founders: fall in love with what you’re building!

Karn Saroya is the co-founder & CEO of Cover, a YC-backed insurance technology company that simplifies the process of getting property insurance and focuses on underserved communities.

Karn talked to us about the inefficiencies of the property insurance industry and explained how introducing things like financial transaction history and elements of behavioral data results in a better risk segmentation, fair prices, and in many cases - access to the insurance in general.

Karn also discusses how he left a career in finance for startups, and shares details of developing and selling StyleKick, a high-end fashion e-commerce business, to Shopify. Karn also details what made them decide to focus their efforts on young people and under-banked communities.

Karn shares his thoughts on building a diverse workplace and challenges that startups face during the hiring process. He also talks about building a business with his wife and how that influenced their fundraising process for Cover.

This time on Startup Foundations, a conversation with Sari Azout, design-thinker, storyteller, angel investor, and founder of Startupy, a company building a community curated knowledge network for startup founders.

Sari started her career in finance after graduating from Brown University, and eventually transitioned to tech. She talked to us about the idea of psychological freedom, or lack of thereof, resulting from the attention-based revenue generation models in social media. Sari discusses new, innovative ways of monetizing writing, and how phenomenons like crowdfunding or NFTs could positively impact content and creators.

Sari also talks about the untapped potential of newsletters and writing on the internet, and shares examples of how she successfully monetizes her newsletter. Greg and Sari also discuss the regulatory side of the advertising-driven content distribution model, and how it can evolve in the upcoming years.

Sari sums up her perfect startup employee as someone who can wear many hats, be autonomous with alignment, and put the company and the team ahead of their own ego.

Emmanuel Bamfo is the CEO and Co-founder of Globe Inc, a Y Combinator-backed startup that enables property owners to rent out their spaces by the hour.

Manny chats about his entrepreneurial journey, including working for Linkedin, going through the acquisition process with Hitch, and founding his own startup Recharge, which provided hotel room rental by the hour. Due to problems with the supply side of business, Manny had to close down Recharge, despite having a dedicated customer base, and millions in funding and revenue. Manny eventually decided to iterate on his original idea for Recharge and founded Globe, a startup offering home rental by the hour.

Manny addresses the city of San Francisco threatening to shut down Globe and his mindset while building a home-sharing startup during a pandemic, having to go through many pivots and adversities.

He also discusses the co-founder matching, hurdles of terminating a company, and shares an exciting vision for what is next for Globe. Manny’s advice for first time founders? Relax...

Madeline Lauf is the founder and CEO of Begin Health - the toddler and kids nutrition health startup that empowers parents to optimize their kid’s health and well-being.

Madeline talked to us about transitioning from a career in finance to founding her own company Revolt Electrics — an e-bikes startup back in 2021. We chat about how Madeline first started working on Begin Health, and what was her inspiration to explore the kid’s health industry. Madeline’s current venture Begin Health is focused on developing tools to support young children’s digestive health by providing better nutritional supplements.

Madeline discusses the process she went through to find the first customers for Begin Health, and a shift in consumer mindset when it comes to science and products. We also chat about how Madeline went about raising money from investors, how being a repeat founder influenced the whole process, and what really helped her at this stage.

Madeline sums up with some words of advice to first-time founders — never ever give up, and take strength from knowing that you’re doing something that is greater than you.

Kanishka Maheshwari is the CEO and co-founder of InterPrime Technologies, a YCombinator backed startup offering a treasury management service for businesses to manage their money.

Kanishka moved to the US to study at Carnegie Mellon and afterward joined Salesforce early in the lifecycle of the company. He sums up the key learnings from his tenure in Salesforce by emphasizing the importance of a customer-focused approach and treating customers as partners, that help you develop the right solutions.

As a foreign founder, Kanishka talks about the advantages of registering a company in the States, the hurdles of the US immigration system, and how it could be changed to better accommodate non-US founders.

Kanishka also discusses his current venture — InterPrime, and how he got the idea to democratize corporate treasury management, so not only big companies like Apple could keep their finances safe, liquid and get a market rate of return.

Kanishka sums up the most important traits to look for in a co-founder — integrity, chemistry, and complementary skills, and shares his advice to first-time founders: prepare for a marathon, not a sprint; make your company resilient; listen to your customers.

Sònia Hurtado is the co-founder and chief scientist of Kuleana, a food startup focused on developing plant-based seafood alternatives.

Sònia talks about her background as a food biotechnology researcher, and how she came to be interested in startups and decided to found Kuleana in 2019. Sònia shares her scientific perspective on the evolution of alternative meat products, including cell-based and plant-based alternatives, and discusses the state of 3D food printing technology.

Sònia talks about meeting her co-founder Jacek Prus, and the environmental mission of Kuleana -- saving bluefin tuna species from extinction and limiting overfishing. Sònia and Greg discuss the importance of the meat alternatives market and its high potential for growth and innovation. Sònia also talks about a unique set of challenges facing biotechnology startups, like getting access to the lab space without spending a fortune on equipment.

Sònia gives her thoughts on the startup landscape of her native Barcelona, the visa application process for overseas founders, and shares advice to scientists who want to transition into working in startups or becoming entrepreneurs.

James Lott is the founder and CEO of Script Health — an early-stage health-tech startup empowering pharmacies to revolutionize healthcare in the US.

James talked to us about multiple ways in which pharmacies can provide access to healthcare in remote areas and communities that don’t have hospitals or proper medical facilities, frequently preventing poor outcomes and even saving lives. A pharmacist himself, James discusses how he got the idea for Script Health, and what made him decide to quit his day job and focus on building a startup in a difficult and tightly regulated space like medicine.

James shares some news regarding innovation happening in the digital health industry, and how the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual care and highlighted the need for a change in healthcare policies and regulations.

James also tells the story of how his company started as an online platform that allowed people to purchase a lifesaving opioid antidote Noloxone without a prescription. Eventually they had to pivot due to unsustainable business model and co-founder disputes, ultimately focusing on empowering pharmacies to provide more services.

James and Greg also discuss startup accelerators, particularly Techstars and Y Combinator, and the specific cases in which they can be helpful to founders. James sums up his advice to other entrepreneurs: being passionate about what you’re working on is a guarantee of longevity.

This time on Startup Foundations we host Carolyn Pitt, founder of productions.com, a job marketplace for film production that connects studios, music labels and corporate brands with local film crews.

Carolyn explains how huge inefficiencies in hiring for film production in her native Atlanta inspired her to build a platform that leverages technology to make hiring easier, more diverse and more cost-effective. Carolyn discusses the entertainment industry landscape from the production perspective, how parts of it are still pretty archaic, and how the pandemic accelerated some necessary changes.

Carolyn also breaks down her customer base and shares how she managed to quickly expand her business from Georgia to a few major cities in the US and Canada. She talks about some of the challenges she faced raising money as a non tech African-American woman founder based in Atlanta, and how her experience in an incubator and in accelerators helped her during the fundraising process.

Carolyn chats about the success of Calendly influencing the startup scene in Atlanta, and gives her thoughts on what can be done to make the world of startups more inclusive. She also shares valuable advice for first-time founders who are based outside of the major startup centres like Silicon Valley or New York.