The Founder

Dan Morozoff is the Co-Founder and CTO of Vidrovr. 
After growing up in the heart of San Francisco and getting early exposure to the boom and bust cycles of Silicon Valley, Dan went to UCLA to study physics and neuroscience and then ultimately pursued a PhD at Columbia to focus on modeling how the brain understands logic. On the side, he worked on a project called News Rover which laid the foundation for what would eventually become Vidrovr three and a half years later. 
At Vidrovr, Dan and his team build video understanding systems. What that essentially means is that by using the Vidrovr technology stack, a user is able to search videos just like you or I would search on Google. For example, instead of a YouTube search looking up relevant titles, descriptions and keywords, Dan's platform can actually understand the words spoken or images shown in the video itself and then index them. Vidrovr goes to market today by selling this platform to other companies in spaces like media and entertainment, but it’s easy to imagine the benefit of having access to this technology as a consumer. 
This was an eye-opener and really makes you think about what could be possible in the future. 
Tune in to hear Dan's inspiring story and leave a review! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (2:12) What does Vidrovr look like today (mission, vision, products, size)? 
• (4:15) What is your background and what were you working on before starting Vidrovr? 
• (6:43) Where did the initial spark for the idea come from? 
• (9:33) What were the early conversations like with potential clients? 
• (11:39) How did you still down the complexity of the Vidrovr system when selling? 
• (14:34) How did you design pilots for early adopters? 
• (21:06) How did you design the product that end customers could use? 
• (26:59) How did the Vidrovr product evolve? 
• (30:27) What does the competitive landscape look like? 
• (34:13) How has the sales process evolved? 
• (38:33) What were the biggest takeaways from your Techstars experience? 
• (43:29) Walk us through your funding path thus far? 
• (53:27) What were some of your investor pitches like? 
• (56:58) What's the future vision for Vidrovr in the next 5-10 years? 
• (1:00:09) What do you look for in hiring? 
• (1:05:52) How do you deal with self-doubt? 
• (1:09:09) What do you think it takes to be a good founder? 
• (1:11:43) Why do you think it's so hard to be a founder? 
• (1:14:16) Dan's startup manifesto 
• (1:15:10) Dan's founder nomination 
• (1:16:43) Where should we look to contact you? 

Vidrovr - www.vidrovr.com 

• Follow Vidrovr on LinkedIn 
• Follow Dan on LinkedIn 
• Dan's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook 

John Lee is the Founder and CEO of Loopie. 
For John, his obsession has always been to create a dual-benefit venture. He loves the concept of a company that is able to benefit multiple parties, simultaneously. In 2018, he dreamed up the concept for Loopie, a mobile app for laundry that connects people who don’t have the time or desire to do their own with other people who can wash, dry and fold at home for a little extra cash. 
John dubs Loopie the "uber for laundry" in the sense that Loopie is the asset light marketplace that connects customers and washers, but doesn't have to own a single laundromat, washing machine or dryer. 
Today Loopie has pretty impressive traction in Seattle and is planning to launch to new markets soon. 
This was a really interesting interview that sheds light on the path of a first time founder and the climb to product market fit and eventual scale. 
Tune in to hear John's inspiring story and leave a review! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (1:48) What does Loopie look like today (mission, vision, products, size)? 
• (2:29) What is your background and what were you working on before starting Loopie? 
• (7:08) Where did the idea for Loopie come from? 
• (11:34) What came first - idea socialization or early prototype development? 
• (13:28) What was the early feedback on the initial concept for Loopie? 
• (16:04) How long did it take to go from idea to workable prototype? 
• (19:03) What did the team look like early on? 
• (21:45) What are the unit economics on the business? 
• (23:31) How does the laundry drop-off process work? 
• (25:20) How did you acquire your early customers? 
• (26:51) How do you think about growth? 
• (29:45) What's your bigger constraint, finding customers or washers? 
• (33:51) How do you think about competition? 
• (45:25) How do you think about funding? 
• (53:05) What does your team look like today and what do you look for when you hire? 
• (57:02) How are you thinking about scaling the business? 
• (1:04:14) How do you think coronavirus will impact the startup landscape? 
• (1:08:41) Who was your most underrated hire? 
• (1:10:09) Did you have an advisory board? 
• (1:12:36) What books or resources would you recommend? 
• (1:14:37) What's one thing that you know now that you wish you knew when starting out? 
• (1:16:47) What do you think it takes to be a good founder? 
• (1:21:18) What is your morning routine? 
• (1:24:17) John's startup manifesto 
• (1:27:25) John's founder nomination 
• (1:29:35) Where should we look to contact you?

Loopie - www.loopie.io 

• Follow Loopie (@loopielaundry) on Instagram // Twitter 
• Follow John on LinkedIn // Instagram 
• John's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook 

Michael Schneider is the Founder and CEO of Service. 
After getting his start at USC building and selling custom websites, Michael has spent the last two decades as a serial tech entrepreneur. In 1998, he founded Fluidesign, an award winning interactive digital agency. He proceeded to launch nesting.com, a Facebook style site for moms to keep track of their busy lives and then Mobile Roadie, a Wordpress style platform that enabled users to inexpensively build and maintain mobile apps. With Mobile Roadie, he focused on the music industry and powered the apps for Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Drake and many others. In 2015, he launched his most recent venture, Service.  
Service was designed as an automated solution to save you time and money as you travel. The platform connected to your inbox and automatically detected when an airline or hotel delayed or cancelled your reservation. Service would then reach out to the airline or hotel on your behalf, file a claim, and get you cash, points, or vouchers. 
This will be a unique episode in the fact that Michael shut Service down just a few days after the interview was recorded. We talk about launching and growing the business as well as reasons for why it ultimately didn't work out. 
Tune in to hear Michael's inspiring story and leave a review! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (2:16) What does Service look like today (mission, vision, products, team)? 
• (3:35) What is your background and what were you working on before Service? 
• (10:57) Where did the idea of Service come from? 
• (14:21) What strategies did you use to spread the word about the Service early on? 
• (20:29) What did the business model look like and how did it evolve? 
• (22:10) Was there a demand inflection point and what were the marketing strategies that caused it? 
• (25:48) What did the competitive landscape look like? 
• (28:53) What was your approach to fundraising? 
• (32:39) What criteria do you look for when you hire? 
• (35:17) Why is the company shutting down? 
• (40:11) How long ago did you start seeing the warning signs and what are some of the things you tried to keep the company running? 
• (46:51) What would you say to other founders that are in the same position you were 6 months ago? 
• (52:27) What is something you know now that you wish you knew? 
• (59:47) What is your morning routine? 
• (1:04:34) Michael's startup manifesto 
• (1:07:23) Michael's founder nomination 

Service - www.getservice.com 

• Michael's non-profit - www.streetsforall.org 
• Follow Michael on LinkedIn // Instagram // Twitter 
• Michael's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook 

Don't have time to listen to the full episode? Read the 5-minute version here

Connor Wilson is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Thursday Boot Company. 
What started as a business school surfing trip to Nicaragua in 2014 quickly turned into a quest for Connor and his future Co-Founder Nolan to reimagine the men's boot from the ground up. Their goal was to combine the durability of a work boot with the sophistication of a fashion boot to make a product that could stand up to the work and play of a Thursday. 
After raising 9x their initial goal on Kickstarter, the duo was off to the races. Over the past 6 years, they've sold to tens of thousands of customers in 60 countries and launched product lines for men and women across boots, shoes and other leather goods.
Tune in to hear Connor's inspiring story and leave a review! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (1:41) What does Thursday Boots look like today (mission, vision, products, team)? 
• (3:29) What is your background and where did you grow up? 
• (5:08) Where did the spark for Thursday Boots come from? 
• (10:39) What excited you about chasing the idea? 
• (16:11) How did you socialize the concept early on to get feedback? 
• (19:32) How did go from idea to a kickstarter-ready product? 
• (28:39) What was the strategy with kickstarter and how did the launch go? 
• (32:58) How did you convert paying customers after kickstarter? 
• (36:03) How do you think about product iteration and launching new products? 
• (43:13) How do you think about brand collaborations? 
• (46:00) What other marketing strategies worked for you? 
• (48:15) After kickstarter, how did you approach fundraising? 
• (53:07) What is your hiring process and what do you look for? 
• (57:27) What was the most underrated or most valuable hire you've made? 
• (58:55) What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started?  
• (59:42) What questions kept you up at night early on and what keeps you up at night now? 
• (1:00:49) Fast forwarding 10 years, what do you want Thursday Boots to be when it grows up? 
• (1:03:06) What qualities do most good founders have? 
• (1:05:06) What key resources would you recommend? 
• (1:06:58) Connor's startup manifesto 
• (1:09:50) Connor's founder nomination 
• (1:11:15) Where should we look to contact you and explore Thursday Boots products? 

Thursday Boots - www.thursdayboots.com 

• Follow Thursday Boots (@thursdayboots) on Instagram // Twitter 
• Follow Connor on LinkedIn // Instagram // Twitter 
• Connor's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook 

Don't have time to listen to the full episode? Read the 5-minute version here 

Vicki Kotris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cleveland Cookie Dough Company & Remixx (launching summer 2020). 
When she wasn't satisfied with the monotony of corporate America, she turned to entrepreneurship to satisfy her creative endeavors. On a trip to New York City with her husband Steve in 2018, Vicki discovered edible cookie dough and instantly knew it would be a hit in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. 
What started out as a passion project has since seen tremendous growth and excitement throughout Ohio. Vicki and her team now have a bright pink food truck, pop-up shop and several exciting brand collaborations in the works. As if that wasn't enough, Vicki is taking another step towards dessert domination in 2020 with Remixx, a next generation ice cream storefront that makes custom soft-serve McFlurry type goodness. 
Tune in to hear Vicki's inspiring story and leave a review! 
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (9:15) Where did the spark for the idea come from? 
• (14:42) How were you affected by self-doubt? 
• (16:38) How did you think about sharing your idea vs keeping it secret? 
• (19:08) What was the process to come up with your first prototype? 
• (22:08) How did you think about getting consumer feedback on your early products? 
• (25:54) How did you start acquiring your early customers? 
• (33:45) How do you think about the product roadmap? 
• (36:31) How are you thinking about your brand evolving over the next 10 years? 
• (37:24) What's different in building Cleveland Cookie Dough (food truck) vs Remixx (brick and mortar)? 
• (39:34) How are you diversifying resources between multiple businesses? 
• (44:58) How did you think about marketing? 
• (50:09) How do you think about competition? 
• (55:39) How did you think about funding the business early on? 
• (1:02:43) What do you look for in people you hire? 
• (1:08:24) Who were the key mentors that have helped you along the way? 
• (1:13:24) What are the biggest struggles you faced early on and what would you have done differently? 
• (1:15:32) What do you know now that you wish you knew? 
• (1:17:15) What are your biggest challenges right now? 
• (1:20:01) What have you had to sacrifice? 
• (1:24:08) What would you say to someone having a quarter-life crisis? 
• (1:30:33) Vicki's startup manifesto 
• (1:33:44) Vicki's founder nomination 

Cleveland Cookie Dough Company - www.clecookiedough.com 

• Follow Cleveland Cookie Dough (@clecookiedough) on Instagram // Twitter 
• Follow Vicki on LinkedIn // Instagram 
• Vicki's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook 

Don't have time to listen to the full episode? Read the 5-minute version here