Startup Stories

Dylan Barbour is the Co-founder of Vizer, and Early Stage startup investor, based in San Diego, CA.

Vizer’s mission is to democratize wellness. They believe in leveling the playing field by providing access to a healthy life for all. In short, they're building technologies to increase the utilization of health-forward products, services, and behaviors.

Dylan discusses his journey into the tech world, founding a company, and his time on Bachelor in Paradise.

John Hayes is an experienced finance professional with a passion for launching and scaling early-stage startups and investing in new industry-disrupting ventures.

Based in Chicago, IL, John is VP, Finance at Blackbird Foods, and also spends a great deal of his time Angel Investing at VITALIZE Venture Capital. In this episode, John covers how he become involved in the startup world, not only as an Advisor and Investor, but in-house as well!

Joshua Foster is the Founder & CEO of JAF Creative Solutions.
JAF is an MBE certified, community-impact focused strategic partnership and engagement consulting firm that provides AEC industry professionals across the U.S. an efficient process of authentic engagement outcomes and tangible community impact returns. This impact extends beyond the design and development world through intentional grassroots communication strategies and active implementation.

Chris and Will Salvi, are two brothers based in Chicago, IL, and are the Founders and Executive Producers at Salvi Media. Salvi Media creates branded content for industries ranging from beauty products and the finance sector to professional sports and educational institutions. They specialize in video production, live streaming, and photography, while also offering our specialized knowledge as trusted advisors.

The CEO Series

Ally Nielsen is the Founder of Athlete Relations, which is a lifestyle management company servicing professional athletes. Ally discusses her experience working in agencies and love for sports, along with the prep work for getting her own business off the ground.

She tells her experience of being a Woman in the Sports world, hiring additional resources, and being a trusted resource to her clients.

Chris “CD” Dolezalek, is currently the Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Hum Capital. CD has been in the startup world for 40 years, and his seen his fair share of ups and downs. CD is a wealth of knowledge, and in this episode he discusses his experiences and philosophies about management and being a Talent Whisperer.

Edit from the episode on some of the books mentioned:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers By: Ben Horowitz https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Hard-Thing-About-Hard-Things-Audiobook/B00I0AJC2Y

Gaurav is an Engineer turned Marketer with over 30 years of experience in business. He is the Chief Marketing Officer at ⁠HyperTrack⁠, an API platform for logistics tech builders developing solutions for last-mile fulfillment.

Gaurav discusses how he got into startups, selling a company to IBM, and then getting back into startups. Not to mention the shocking weather difference between California and Ohio, after emigrating from India.

Ralph DeBernardo is currently Head of Investor Relations at Sapphire Ventures. With a successful career in finance, Ralph discusses his navigation through life, entering the financial sector in 2009 and transitioning to working with startups, from an investor perspective.

Stu Smith is an Investor and Entrepreneur who discusses his career around startups and getting started investing.

Stu and his brother Austin started Coughdrop Capital in 2015, investing small checks ($25k-$50k) into rounds of Seed and Pre-seed funded companies. Regardless of sector, industry, or stage, Coughdrop likes to fund smart founders with ambitious plans.

Notable companies that Coughdrop has invested in are: Lattice, Superhuman, and Nira.