The Lead Up

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Maurice and Gregoire, cofounders of SympliFi, a one of a kind fintech solution that enables migrants to help their families and loved ones back home access credit without having to send money and pay high fees.

With a wealth of financial knowledge and a very ambitious vision, the team explains how they have positioned themselves in a highly competitive industry, the process of securing partnerships with organizations like the United Nations, and using those endorsements to establish trust in the communities they serve with their product.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

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On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Brendan, Tim, and Nick, cofounders of Sourcery. They empower developers to write beautiful, clear code, all the time, through real time refactoring.

As a team with decades of combined experience in software development and scaling, they share their thought process behind pursuing a bottom-up go-to-market model, deciding against going open source, launching on Product Hunt, and how negative feedback helped improve their team dynamic and vision.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Ren and her team behind Lightning Social Ventures, a fintech startup that enables charities and public sector organisations to quickly verify and process financial support applications for millions of people in financial hardship.

Founded in the midst of the pandemic, the team explains their human-centric approach to building a product for a distressed audience, common misconceptions about selling to charities, and how to build a successful pool of advisors.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Sam, Erich, and Grace, cofounders of Bippit, a platform helping businesses provide free financial coaching to their teams.

Having experienced the lack of accessible financial coaching themselves, this incredibly mission-driven team tells us about their user research process within the sensitive topic of personal finances, the relationship between money and mental health, and ways of fostering product-lead growth within their B2B2C approach.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Teddy, founder of Enzyme, a software that turns words into websites in seconds, by using GPT-3 technology. 

A programmer turned serial entrepreneur, Teddy shares his thoughts on the process of finding the right audience for your product, the challenges of describing a product that seems too good to be true, his data-driven approach to building a company, and the importance of building the right team around a solo-founder.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Anna, the founder of Yoona.ai, a company using AI to help apparel makers and fashion companies like Puma and Vaude to shorten their design processes. 

Inspired by the intersection of technology and design, Anna explains her approach to building an innovative product for an incumbent industry full of traditions, how she’s earned the trust of some of the biggest players in fashion, and the process of putting together a strong support system for herself as a solo founder — from a solid team to an impressive board of directors with big names from the industry.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Waina and Meg, cofounders of Mockmate, a tool helping job seekers practice interviews, while also helping companies screen candidates faster using natural language processing.

Motivated by their own frustration with traditional recruitment — its lack of diversity and transparency, just to name a few elements — the founders shed light on their strategy of shifting from a B2C to B2B focus, how it’s never too early to start building your company culture, and how they’re positioning themselves as a challenger brand. 

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Niels, Aleks, and Nev, co founders of Faredirect, a software company helping airlines maximize the revenue they make from the sale of ancillary products, like seat selection and luggage.

Oozing with passion and experience in the aviation industry, the team talks to us about the challenges of selling to modern enterprises like airlines that still rely on established, old-school infrastructure, finding champions within these companies as part of the sales process, adapting your positioning, and how they’ve adjusted their pricing model to de-risk their company.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Arta, Fiona, and Glenn, cofounders of Labbox, an ed-tech startup delivering electronic kits to inspire kids (ages 8+) for engineering. 

Based in Kosovo, the founders discuss with us the difficulties of building a hardware startup in a small market and its effect on expansion, using early adopters to your advantage for building quality products, and how proactively avoiding premature scaling might be the best way to actually scale a business.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Lead Up, we catch up with Lukas and Jerome, co founders of Creatext, a B2B software helping sales teams personalize cold outreach and increase reply rates. 

Both Natural Language Processing specialists and life long friends, they walk us through the challenges of pivoting during an accelerator program, finding product market fit, and mixing business with friendship.

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.