Startup Foundations

On this episode of Startup Foundations we talk to Jack Cohen Martin, co-founder and CEO of GrapeIn — a marketing automation and business networking platform for the wine and spirits supply chain.

Jack talks about the differences between Israeli and US ecosystem, what motivated him to start his journey in that industry back in the 2000s, and how he ended up moving to New York. Jack and Greg discuss Jack’s initial experiences in ad-tech, deep-fake technology, and how he got the idea to start working on a wine startup.

Jack explains the complicated three-tier system that regulates how alcohol can be distributed and sold in the US, the limitations that exist within that supply chain. Jack also talks about how his company GrapeIn aims to solve this problem by creating a network of wholesalers, matching them with small trade buyers, and allowing them to track the distribution of their products across the US.

Jack also shares some valuable insights for founders who are just starting out: be truly interested in what you’re doing, and take time picking your first investors, because they’re going to be on your cap table for a long time.

This time on Startup Foundations we chat with Kristen Wiley, founder and CEO of Statusphere — a marketplace that connects brands with influencers and streamlines the process of scaling influencer marketing campaigns.

Kristen and Greg discuss the startup world in Florida and how Kristen’s native Miami is becoming a new hotspot for startups. Kristen talks about her early fascination with marketing and the journey that took her from reselling purses on eBay, to becoming a CMO at a marketing agency and finally starting her own startup.

We also discuss the space of influencer marketing - where the industry is headed, and why micro-influencers can drive more engagement than celebrity influencers with large followings. Kristen explains how Statusphere works and why social proofing, getting feedback, and building awareness are high priority for brands who are looking to scale up their business.

Kristen shares how she managed to validate her product quickly, using just HubSpot, Wordpress and about $500. She discusses why doing the bare minimum to get your product out there as fast as possible is the way to go.

As a solo first-time founder Kristen shares some of her learnings and advice to other founders who are just getting started: get started quick, fail, learn from it, and realize that nobody has it all figured out.

This time on Startup Foundations, we chat with Joao Batalha, CEO, and co-founder of Amplemarket — a B2B software startup that streamlines sales workflows, customer outreach, and lead generation.

Joao discusses his entire startup journey that took him from studying Computer Science at MIT to working at an early social media mobile app, Path, and then back to his home country of Portugal, where he partnered up with his brother and a friend to found Orankl. His first venture was based around selling services to Shopify stores, and his team’s difficulties building a scalable sales process led to their product pivot to Amplemarket - an software solution streamlining the sales process.

We talk about scaling sales and how Salesforce's domination of the CRM tools space has led to creation of an entire ecosystem of products focused on building on top of it, rather than looking for ways to disrupt it, and what the future of that industry may look like.

We also discuss the current landscape of European startups based on the examples of Portugal and Poland, and how lack of access to venture capital and angel investors, bureaucracy and the state’s involvement in the process can hinder the growth of European startups. Joao also talks about the process of remote hiring and building a decentralized company culture.

Joao sums up his advice to first-time founders: first, choose your co-founders wisely, as founder disputes are the leading reason in startups failing, and, most importantly, learn how to deal with rejection.

On this episode of Startup Foundations, we talk to Aditi Shekar, CEO and founder of Zeta - a modern finance management solution for families and young couples.

Aditi discusses how she developed the idea for Zeta and how the app stands out from other financial management tools for couples. Aditi shares some information about her background, what inspired her to get into the personal finance space, and how she validated her startup idea before beginning work on the Zeta app. She also chats about how she decided to work with her co-founder Kevin Hopkins.

Zeta took an unconventional approach when first starting out. Instead of building the app first, Aditi built a basic landing page and launched on Product Hunt to capture email addresses from interested users…. without an actual product ready first. By first talking to couples about how they manage their finances, she was able to build a better app when Zeta actually launched.

Aditi gives advice for founders who are just getting started and shares valuable insights and takeaways from her experience building Zeta.

CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Aditi Shekar
https://twitter.com/aditishekar

Zeta
https://www.askzeta.com/

This time on Startup Foundations we chat with Erik Torenberg about his journey from founding his first startup to founding his venture capital fund, Village Global.

We cover the full lifecycle of his career: from founding a company, Rapt.FM, which lead to Product Hunt, and how seeing 1000’s of companies on Product Hunt led him to start OnDeck, where he used the information and lessons from seeing so many products launching to create a community for talented founders. In founding OnDeck, Erik was able to find his co-founder at Village Global. A true startup circle of life.

We also talk about how to approach finding the right co-founder and the keys to forging a co-founder relationship that is built to last through the high and low points of the startup journey.

Erik reflects on the benefits of having a positive-sum mindset and how that is essential to being an effective startup founder and investor. In addition to his best investments and mental models, we also go through some of the ones he has missed or passed on.

This was an awesome interview that will be especially meaningful for people who are interested in building a product or investing in startups at the early stage.

On this episode of Startup Foundations, we chat with Dorna Moini, who is the CEO and founder of Documate, a startup building no-code document solutions for lawyers & law firms.

Dorna talks about her experience as a lawyer, how she came up with the idea for Documate while doing pro bono work for victims of domestic violence, and how she eventually left her career in law behind to build Documate.
Dorna talks about how she met her cofounder Michael Joseph years before they started working together on the product.
Dorna discusses broader trends in the legal services market and how legal tech software can make legal services more accessible in the United States.
She shares how Documate evolved from a software tool supporting legal aid organizations to a comprehensive no-code platform streamlining data acquisition and contract generation for legal professionals. The conversation concludes with Dorna offering words of wisdom for first-time founders about the importance of getting user feedback for your product when building a new product.

CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Dorna Moini
https://twitter.com/dorna_moini

Documate: https://www.documate.org/

Listen to the full episodes here:
Podcast website: https://capbase.com/podcast
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/startup-foundations
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4T2esUZpqHHcfinGd3DzvH
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-foundations/id1533421986

On this episode of Startup Foundations, we talked to Andrew Peterson, CEO & co-founder of Signal Sciences, an edge security solutions company that just sold to Fastly for almost $1B.

Andrew and Greg discuss the impact that the acquisition had on him and his employees. Andrew also shares his insights on what it takes to build a strong company culture and the challenges he faced as a first-time founder. Andrew chats about the specific challenges of building a startup into a trusted brand in the security industry.

The episode wraps up with Andrew sharing his experience fundraising for Signal Sciences and how he raised his first investor check for his startup from Michael Dearing at Harrison Metal. Finally, Andrew offers advice for early-stage founders and discusses the importance of building a great team from day 1.

CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Andrew Peterson - Founder & CEO of Signal Sciences
https://twitter.com/ampeters06

Signal Sciences
https://www.signalsciences.com/

This time on Startup Foundations, we chatted with Shuo Wang, Co-Founder and CRO at Deel - an international payroll & compliance platform for remote hiring.

Shuo details the beginnings of her startup journey, her first venture inspired by fighting air pollution in China, and what made her decide to move on to founding Deel afterward.

We also discuss the role of the Y Combinator in getting Deel off the ground and how founders' feedback allowed Shuo and her team to continuously improve their product.

The conversation then progresses to topics related to the future of work and trends in remote hiring and wraps up with a quick analysis of compliance issues related to recruiting internationally.

CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Shuo Wang
https://twitter.com/copernicussw

Deel
https://www.letsdeel.com/

On this episode of Startup Foundations, Jude Gomila, an angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and father, joins us to discuss how he is juggling parenthood and being a CEO, as well as his approach to building products and investing in startups.

Jude discusses his startup, Golden, and how their technology works, as well as the company’s customer base and product development. We also discuss HeyZap, Jude’s previous venture, which was acquired by Fyber in 2016. He talks about moving to Silicon Valley, finding a co-founder, and navigating the company’s exit.

The conversation wraps up with a quick analysis of the post-pandemic startup landscape and what advice Jude has for people thinking about launching their startups right now.


CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Jude Gomila, Founder/CEO of Golden / Investor 200+ cos: Carta, Gusto, Airtable, Boom, Ginkgo, Benchling, Ironclad, Superhuman, Linear, Relativity.
https://twitter.com/judegomila

Golden
https://golden.com/

Today on Startup Foundations, we speak with Maia Bittner who is the Voice of the Member at Chime Mobile Banking, which she joined after the acquisition of her third startup, Pinch. Maia is a serial entrepreneur and started her first business at a young age selling goods on eBay. Maia loves technology and has had many roles in her previous startups. In our conversation, we discuss her career trajectory as well as her approach to building startups and recruiting talent.


CREDITS:

Host: Greg Miaskiewicz, co-founder of Capbase
https://twitter.com/miaskiewicz

Guest: Maia Bittner, Voice of the Member at Chime Mobile Banking
https://twitter.com/maiab

Chime Mobile Banking
https://www.chime.com

Music by: Chris Latina
https://www.discogs.com/artist/4062629-C-Latina
https://soundcloud.com/articlecollection?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0