Startup Grind

Today we have a conversation with Peng T. Ong, one of the most successful entrepreneurs to come out of Singapore. Peng is the founder and CEO of Interwoven, which went public on the NASDAQ. Prior to Interwoven, Peng was co-founder of Match.com which was acquired by IAC. After Interwoven, Peng founded Encentuate, the leader in the enterprise identity management. The three businesses he started now generate annual revenues that total more than $1 billion.  Peng earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas and a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Illinois. Peng is also a passionate music lover and digital hifi fanatic.  Lets listen into Peng Ong interviewed by our Singapore Chapter director earlier this year.  Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with only the top 3%. So basically you just let Toptal know what you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for the job.  You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires too.  You can get an amazing no risk free trial for up to 2 weeksl Get started with Toptal by emailing [email protected].  the best part is that you can work with the developer or designer, and if you're not satisfied by the end of the trial, you don't pay anything.  Toptal pays the talent.  So to get started with this trial, email L a u r a @startupgrind.com

Today we have a great interview with Ben Einstein, general partner and co-founder of Bolt, an early stage venture capital fund that invests and the intersection of hardware and software. Prior to starting bolt, Ben ran Brainstream Design, a product design and development consultancy in Massachusetts. Ben has been directly responsible for bringing a long list of products to market covering diverse sectors including consumer electronics, high-performance audio, sporting goods and green energy. Ben developed his engineering skill sets at MIT.  Lets listen into Ben Einstein interviewed by our Startup Grind Boston Chapter director Carlos Cardenas.  Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with only the top 3%. So basically you just let Toptal know what you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for the job.  You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires too.  You can get an amazing no risk free trial for up to 2 weeksl Get started with Toptal by emailing [email protected].  the best part is that you can work with the developer or designer, and if you're not satisfied by the end of the trial, you don't pay anything.  Toptal pays the talent.  So to get started with this trial, email L a u r a @startupgrind.com

Owner and General Manager of the Seattle Sounders, Adrian Hanauer.  Prior to becoming the owner of the Sounders, Adrian was a seed stage investor in aQuantive Inc. and an early investor in Amazon.com.  He is also the Director at the Cambridge United Football Club Limited and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of History and the Industry Advisory Board at the of The University of Washington. Overall, Adrian has 15 years of business experience in a variety of industries and has invested in numerous early stage technology companies in gaming, advertising, infrastructure, and wireless communications. Adrain has earned an Intercollegiate Sports Master's degree.  Lets listen into Adrian Hanauer interviewed by Startup Grind Seattle Director, Mike Grabham.  Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with the top 3% of developers and designers. So basically what happens is that you let Toptal know what type of developer or designer you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for you. You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires as well.  If you want to get connected to them, send me a note at  [email protected] and I can personally introduce you to my friend Nelson. He's a VP at Toptal who will make sure you get an amazing experience.

Today we have a great panel discussion between Simon Rothman, Partner at Greylock VC, Andrei Hagiu of the Harvard Business School, and Al Roth Nobel prize winning economist.  Simon is a partner at Reid Hoffmans Greylock Venture Capital firm where he oversees their marketplace investments in companies like lyft and sprig. before greyloc simon built eBay motors from the ground up into a 14 billion a year global business.  Andrei Hagiu is a professor in the strategy group at the Harvard Business School and prinicipal at Market Platform Dynamics. Andrei received a PHD in economics from Princeton University.  Al Roth is the George Gund professor of economics and business administration at Harvard university. In 2012 he won the Nobel prize in economics for his work in matching doctors to hospitals, kidneys to patients and kids to high schools.  Lets listen into Andrei, Simon and Al at Startup Grind’s Global Conference.  Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with the top 3% of developers and designers. So basically what happens is that you let Toptal know what type of developer or designer you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for you. You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires as well.  If you want to get connected to them, send me a note at  [email protected] and I can personally introduce you to my friend Nelson. He's a VP at Toptal who will make sure you get an amazing experience.

Amy Banse, Managing Director of Comcast ventures. Comcast made news recently when it was announced that their NBCUniversal arm would be buying DreamWorks Animation for 3.8 Billion dollars. Prior to leading Comcast’s corporate venture arm, Amy spent more than 20 years as an in house attorney for Comcast responsible for programming acquisition including brands like E, the golf channel, versus, G4 and more. Amy received her BA from Harvard and her JD from the Temple university law school.  Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with the top 3% of developers and designers. So basically what happens is that you let Toptal know what type of developer or designer you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for you. You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires as well.  If you want to get connected to them, send me a note at  [email protected] and I can personally introduce you to my friend Nelson. He's a VP at Toptal who will make sure you get an amazing experience.

Today we have a presentation & Q&A with Christine Tsai from the VC stage at Startup Grind’s Global Conference earlier this year. Christine Tsai is a managing partner at 500 Startups, where she oversees the accelerator program and distribution growth team. Prior to 500 Startups, Tsai was in product marketing at Google and YouTube for many years. Before life in consumer internet, Tsai worked in international sales at OSIsoft and ChevronTexaco. Tsai earned a Batchelor's degree in Cognitive Science from the University of California Berkeley. Christine also has has a hobby of ballet dancing, which she has participated in for over 20 years. Lets listen into Christine Tsai from our Global Conference chapter earlier this year. Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with the top 3% of developers and designers. So basically what happens is that you let Toptal know what type of developer or designer you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for you. You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires as well.  If you want to get connected to them, send me a note at  [email protected] and I can personally introduce you to my friend Nelson. He's a VP at Toptal who will make sure you get an amazing experience.

Today we have a presentation from our 2016 Global conference with Johan Brenner, General Partner of the European based Venture Capital Fund Creandum.  Johan is one of Europe’s most experienced venture capital investors who has worked across a broad set of industries globally. He has built a number of successful businesses as an entrepreneur and has also been a Partner in several other  leading venture capital firms.  Before Creandum, Johan spent more than 4 years as a General Partner at Balderton Capital (previously called Benchmark Capital Europe) with investments in companies like MySQL, Rebtel, Zopa, Habbo Hotel and Wonga. Lets listen into Johan’s presentation on the European Startup Ecosystem at Startup Grind’s Global Conference earlier this year.    Toptal is an amazing company. They've got over 2,500 developers and designers in their network.  They've screened them extensively so that you get to work with the top 3% of developers and designers. So basically what happens is that you let Toptal know what type of developer or designer you're looking for, they understand your business and technical requirements and they search for the right person for you. You don't have to do all the screening and interviews that you normally would and they make it really easy for you. You can even do part time hires that are a few hours a week or full time hires as well.  If you want to get connected to them, send me a note at  [email protected] and I can personally introduce you to my friend Nelson. He's a VP at Toptal who will make sure you get an amazing experience.

Iliana Montauk the co-founder and chief operating officer of Gaza Sky Geeks, the first startup accelerator in Palestine launched with support from Mercy Corps and Google in 2009. Before arriving to Gaza sky geeks, Iliana helped launch Wamda’s Research Lab. She has previously worked at Google, the Monitor Group, which is now part of Deloitte Consulting, a startup that failed, and a microfinance nonprofit. She graduated from Harvard in 2006 and claims to speak five languages.  Lets listen into Iliana Montauk talk about founding Gaza Sky Geeks from Startup Grind’s Global Conference earlier this year.  Quick question. How many emails do you have in your inbox right now? A hundred? A thousand? Twenty thousand?  If your email is anything like mine used to be, the answer is too many. But here’s the thing—even though I knew I wanted to do something about it, I didn’t know how. I knew I’d miss something important if I just deleted them all, and there were too many emails to go through one at a time.  Thankfully I found SaneBox, and I can’t recommend it enough. SaneBox sorts through your email and moves all of the trivial stuff into a different folder so the only messages in your inbox are the ones you actually want to see.  There's also this amazing thing called BlackHole. Move an email into that folder and you’ll never hear from that sender again. It’s so rewarding.  Visit sanebox.com/startupgrind today and get an extra $20 credit on top of the already free two-week trial.   Check it out today and let me know if you love reaching inbox zero as easily as I do nowadays.  Again, that’s S-A-N-E-B-O-X.com/startupgrind

Today we

have a conversation from the VC corner stage at Startup Grind's

Global Conference held each year in Silicon Valley. Joining us

today is a presentation by Clara Brenner co-founder and CEO of the

Tumml Urban Solutions Accelerator which has supported supported

companies like HandUp, Chariot, and Popupsters solve problems

specifics to cities and dense populations. 

 

Prior to

founding Tumml, she worked in real estate

development – at a real estate tech startup called

Fundrise, as well as at AECOM, GVA Advantis, and Monument

Realty. 

 

Clara

earned her MBA from MIT Sloan and her BA from NYU. She is a member

of the MIT Sloan Alumni Board. In January 2014, Forbes listed her

as one of its “30 Under 30” for Social Entrepreneurship.

 

Lets listen

into Clara Brenner live from the VC stage at Startup Grind’s Global

Conference

Today we

have a conversation with Eoghan McCabe, Co-Founder & CEO of one

of the worlds largest customer engagement platforms,

Intercom. 

 

Eoghan previously founded an

award-winning software design consultancy called Contrast, and

co-founded Exceptional, a developer tool startup acquired in 2011

by Rackspace. He moved from Ireland to San Francisco that same year

to start Intercom. Intercom has really become a fundamentally new

way for internet businesses to communicate with customers,

personally, at scale. The company has raised $116M from 500

startups, bessemer ventures, iconiq capital, biz

stone and several more inidivudal and insttutional investors.

Intercom now has over 10k happy paying customers around the

world including Startup Grind! 

 

Lets listen

into Eoghan McCabe the co-founder and CEO of intercom

interviewed by yours truly in San francisco earlier this

month.