Startup Happy Hour

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! In this special episode, Diana reflects on what she’s grateful for: diversity in startups and having had the opportunity to have guests on from a wide array of backgrounds.

In this episode, she revisits five of her best conversations with guests about diversity in startups - from gender to race to ethnicity to social upbringing.

If you like what you hear in these clips, don’t forget to go back and listen to the whole episode. Here they are in the order in which they appear:

Episode 2: Bryant Vergara

Episode 16: Cynthia Del’Aria

Episode 6: Lisa Han

Episode 17: Nash Ahmed

Episode 10: Meggie Abendschein

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It’s not everyday you meet someone who holds a PhD and is a startup founder, but it’s not everyday you meet someone like Kat Houghton. After working with children and parents of children with autism for close to a decade while earning her PhD, Kat saw an opportunity to apply technology to psychology and founded ilumivu.

ilumivu offers mobile, web and wearable systems that engage participants in continuous behavioral monitoring and offer a channel for just-in-time adaptive interventions.

Tune in to learn more about how ilumivu helps mental health patients and the biggest lessons Kat learned in the last 11+ years as co-founder and CEO of a startup.

You can find Kat on LinkedIn (let her know you found her through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out ilumivu and Psytech at the links below!

ilumivu: https://ilumivu.com/

Psytech: https://www.psytech.biz/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

Every startup story contains some mistakes and iterations, but some more than others. Tyler Winn is proof that slow and steady can win the race, even in the startup world.

While the company Tyler first started isn’t the exact same company Cirrus Payroll is today, his regimented and thoughtful approach to entrepreneurship certainly contributed to the stability he sees in his business today.

After attempting to replicate the accounting firm model, he recognized a gap in the marketplace and figured out a way to turn that gap into an opportunity.

Tune in to hear Tyler’s story of what led him to start his own company, his humble journey toward success, and his biggest piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

You can find Tyler on LinkedIn (let him know you found them through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out Cirrus Payroll at the links below!

Cirrus Payroll: https://www.cirruspayroll.com/

Other resources discussed:

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

With all the fake news and skewed media we’re being fed these days, it’s only fitting that on Election Day 2020 we get to hear from Arjun Moorthy, CEO and Co-Founder at The Factual, which provides unbiased news on trending topics, like the election.

The Factual uses a custom algorithm to evaluate news articles and rate each article’s level of trustworthiness based on a number of factors like diversity of sources, factual tone of writing, author’s expertise, and more.

Tune in to hear Arjun’s story of how he’s always been passionate about news - starting from when he was a paper delivery boy as a kid to how he got the idea for The Factual and actually built it. Stay tuned until the end to hear his biggest piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs - it’s unlike anything you’ve heard in previous episodes.

You can email Arjun at [email protected] or find him on LinkedIn or Twitter (let him know you found them through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out The Factual at the links below!

The Factual: https://bit.ly/3p9yFwg

Don’t forget to VOTE!

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

They say not to mix business with family, but what do “they” know anyway? Mother-daughter duo Heidi and Tori Ganahl are not only rocking their business as co-founders of SheFactor but also inspiring and changing the lives of so many young women in their 20s and 30s.

While Heidi (the mom) has always had an entrepreneurial bug, Tori (the daughter) joined this venture purely out of a need she saw in the space with young people - especially women - graduating college with little direction as to a career path and subsequently dragging through careers and jobs that don’t fulfill them.

Unlike many businesses that were hit hard by Covid-19, SheFactor has thrived. Their meetups over Zoom have exploded, and right now they’re planning for one of their biggest events yet - the SheFactor Wellness Summit, which launches on October 29.

Tune in to hear how Tori and Heidi got the idea for SheFactor, how they were able to exponentially grow their membership during a pandemic, how their mother-daughter dynamic plays out in business, and what you (our female listener) can gain from joining SheFactor today.

You can find Tori on LinkedIn or Instagram and Heidi on Linkedin or Instagram (let them know you found them through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out SheFactor at the links below!

SheFactor: https://www.theshefactor.com/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/startuphappyhour/

CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

It’s not easy for most entrepreneurs to admit they don’t have that innate entrepreneurial bug, but Oleksandr Perelotov has no problem talking about it.

Oleksandr started Excited Agency about two years ago not because he was passionate about business but because he was passionate about creating high quality designs for other businesses.

You won’t have to listen long to hear Oleksandr’s passion for design, but you’ll want to tune in for the entire episode to hear about the journey Oleksandr took to get here and his best advice/inspiration for aspiring designers.

You can find Oleksandr on LinkedIn (let him know you found him through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), email him at [email protected], or DM him on Instagram, and don’t forget to check out Excited at the links below!

Excited: https://www.excited.agency/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excited.agency/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

WEBSITE: https://www.startuphappyhourpodcast.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/startuphappyhour/

CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

Until recently, if you wanted custom made clothing, you’d have to go to a tailor or a high end shop and pay tons of money. When you think about it, that’s a huge hassle and high price tag to just get clothes that fit… is that really so much to ask for??

Mark Zheng says no - everyone deserves to have clothes that fit without going through so much trouble and emptying their wallets. And yes, that’s including people who don’t have the exact measurements you find in sizing charts online.

That’s why he founded Sene, a custom clothing company that uses a top secret SmartFit algorithm to determine your ideal fit without ever having to bust out the measuring tape.

Sene is on a mission to empower people of all shapes and sizes to feel their best - and they’re doing a darn good job of it so far.

You can find Mark on LinkedIn (let him know you found him through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), or DM him on Instagram, and don’t forget to check out Sene at the links below!

Sene: https://senestudio.com/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

Unlike most PhD candidates who dream of teaching at a prestigious university, Aditya Nagrath dreamt of creating a solution to a problem that so many kids in our country face: math.

Over the last 4+ years, Aditya has been helping kids learn math a different way - an easier and more effective way - with Elephant Learning.

After working as a software developer for a number of years, Aditya knew he had to go out on his own in order to make the kind of impact he knew he was capable of making. And so he did.

Using only 10 minutes per day of a student’s time, Elephant Learning guarantees that a student will learn one year of math in only three months.

How can they so confidently make such a guarantee? Tune in to find out.

You can find Aditya on LinkedIn (let him know you found him through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out Elephant Learning at the links below!

Elephant Learning: https://www.elephantlearning.com/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/startuphappyhour/

CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

Despite having founded Undock only two years ago, Nash Ahmed had been brewing the idea in his head for nearly a decade. Undock helps companies instantly schedule, host, and document meetings, and it’s on track to make an even larger impact in the world of remote work.

After going through Startup School at Y Combinator and putting Undock through an accelerator program, Nash got a clear vision for Undock and was able to build it to the product it is today.

In addition to sharing about Undock and his path to entrepreneurship, Nash also opens up about his experiences as a BIPOC in a white male dominated industry.

Stay tuned until the end to hear Nash’s biggest piece of advice for young entrepreneurs, no matter which path they want to take with their business.

You can find Nash on LinkedIn (let him know you found him through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out Undock at the links below!

Undock: https://undock.com/

Nash Theory: http://nashtheory.com/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

WEBSITE: https://www.startuphappyhourpodcast.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/startuphappyhour/

CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/

Cynthia Del’Aria learned to code at age 8, built her first company at age 15, sold her first company to a major competitor at age 19, built four more successful tech startups, and now runs Raika Technologies, an incubator for new tech startups.

As if that weren’t impressive enough, she did all of that through her own determination and willpower, vowing to leave behind the trailer park life she once knew as a child and build a better life for herself.

In addition to helping new entrepreneurs validate and build out their business ideas, Cynthia also coaches women and other gender minorities to stand tall in their authentic selves and succeed in the male-dominated tech space.

Stay tuned until the end to learn about who Cynthia is outside of work - and the shocking hobbies and accomplishments she’s earned in her personal life.

You can find Cynthia on LinkedIn (let her know you found her through the Startup Happy Hour podcast), and don’t forget to check out Raika Technologies at the links below!

Raika Technologies: https://www.raikatech.com/

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SUBSCRIBE to Startup Happy Hour to get episodes like this delivered to your device every Tuesday!

WEBSITE: https://www.startuphappyhourpodcast.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/startuphappyhour/

CONNECT with Diana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadchen/