Secure those bags! Let's dive deep into the wild world of financial management and small-business growth! It isn't just about traditional accounting and capital, but the reasons why...

- Every small business owner hates their accountant

- Black, Latino, and immigrant-owned businesses outperform in profitability

- The changing landscape of venture-backed versus bootstrapped businesses

It's time for Episode 025 of The Sherveen Show!

Featuring Daniel Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Bags, a financial growth platform helping businesses manage their finance and fund their growth with good debt.

Follow Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-taylor-95973662

Secure those Bags! https://securebags.com

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We get into:

How accounting firms for small businesses often fall short, leaving founders with a hot mess come tax season.

Bags's pivot, going from purely lending to a full-fledged “financial growth platform” that manages your books, secures funding, and strategically deploys working capital.

Capital access as a forcing function: the ways in which a business's books can either help or hurt in the moment in which they need more cash to grow.

Overlooked communities & their underestimated ROI: how Black, Latino, and immigrant-owned businesses often outperform in profitability – yet lack consistent credit access. TLDR: Bags is proving that inclusion is good business.

Why Bench collapsed, and the story it tells us about the missed opportunity to serve the long-tail (and how venture capital is now trying to fill that gap).

Building tech-enabled services: why manually helping customers at first can be the fastest route to real product insights and AI-driven scale.

From figuring out the perfect domain to raising capital (or just being profitable from day one!), we cover all the ways founders can ditch boring old spreadsheets and finally start making data-driven decisions.

Join us for more unfiltered founder stories every week, and subscribe to catch all the ways innovators are reshaping the future – one bold idea at a time.

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What's the big deal with Google's Agent2Agent announcement? Why are so many new founders choosing not to raise $$ and avoiding co-founders? What's the deal with RESURRECTING DIRE WOLVES!?

Welcome to Episode 024 of The Sherveen Show. :)

In this episode...

Google’s AI Announcements:

Gemini suite updates, TPU breakthroughs, their Veo 2 video model... but everyone else is covering these updates, so let's focus on their new Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol and how it's going to supercharge cross-platform AI agent workflows.

Plus, why their seemingly trivial Audio Overviews feature coming to Google Docs might be the biggest AI-driven consumer behavior modifier in 2025.

Anthropic’s Claude Max:

Claude’s new subscription tiers – testing whether users will pony up $100 or even $200 for access beyond usage limits... are they actually building something comparable to OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro ($200/mo), and where is AI pricing going next?

Shopify’s Internal Memo:

Leaked! But then said aloud. Tobi Lütke tells his team it's time to get on the AI train, and they'll even be judged for it in their performance review. Are we entering a “no headcount without AI” era?

Dire Wolves Revived:

Colossal Biosciences resurrects a 10,000-year-old species, hinting at future conservation (or Jurassic Park) possibilities. How cute is this!?

Founders Going Solo (in more ways than one):

New data from Carta shows a surprising number of tracked startups have just one founder and no VC funding. Venture capital got so popular over the past decade, so... what's the deal?

Supercharged Image Generation:

Midjourney v7 and OpenAI’s 4o Image Generation innovation is pushing AI generated visuals to completely new heights. Marketers and business owners can now spin out polished ads in minutes – but are the hands good enough yet?

Key Themes

AI Agents & Automation: A wave of next-gen interoperability is here, promising less friction across platforms – if teams adopt new standards quickly.

Enterprise AI Adoption: Memos from CEOs like Shopify’s Toby Lutke show how companies are demanding AI-first mindsets at every level.

Bootstrapping & Solo Founders: Growing data reveals a shift away from multi-founder, VC-led teams – AI is enabling “leaner, meaner” businesses.

Edge Cases in Bioscience: Dire wolf de-extinction signals how frontier tech can resurrect species, with broader implications for conservation – and potential ethical dilemmas.

Connect with Sherveen

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Enjoyed the show? Leave a comment with your thoughts down below! :)

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Get ready for a deep dive into one of the most overlooked (yet crucial) parts of startup life: back-office finances. In this founder to founder fireside chat, Sherveen speaks with Cyrus Shirazi, CEO & Co-founder of Haven, a tech-enabled bookkeeping, tax prep, and tax credit platform for startups and entrepreneurs.

Most CPA firms feel stuck in the past. Attempts to automate miss the human element in the moments that matter.

Cyrus is taking a different approach: he and his team are building a tech-enabled solution to "put your finances on autopilot" while still prioritizing extreme orientation around customer experience – from rapid Slack responses to AI-driven automations that simplify a founder’s life.

We unpack why software alone can’t solve the complexity of startup financials, the power of human-centered support for spiky moments like fundraising and budget planning, and how to do more with less (even if you’ve raised millions). If you’re curious about navigating tax credits, building a talent-dense team of “maniac” hires, or balancing profitability vs. growth, this conversation is a must-see.

This is Episode 023 of The Sherveen Show!

Follow Cyrus on X: https://x.com/Cyrus845

Follow Cyrus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cy-m-s

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

In this episode...

Tax & Accounting Redefined: Why old-school CPAs fail on experience, and how Haven flips the script for digitally native startups

Founders vs. Finances: Critical “spiky moments” (fundraising, new hires, expansions) where a hands-on partner changes everything

Bootstrapping Mindset: Why starting lean fosters creativity, control, and better long-term results – even if you ultimately raise VC

AI as an Assistant, Not a Substitute: The hidden ways automation can free up CPAs to give more personal, high-touch support

Talent Density & ‘Hiring Divas’: Building a culture that prizes intellectual curiosity, rapid iteration, and problem ownership

Join us for more unfiltered founder stories every week, and subscribe to catch all the ways innovators are reshaping the future – one bold idea at a time.

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Get ready for a candid chat about building a premium non-alcoholic beverage brand – without selling your soul to “growth at all costs.” In this startup founder fireside, Sherveen sits down with Lily Geiger, founder & CEO of Figlia, a mission-driven aperitivo company providing sophisticated alternatives to alcohol.

From her personal journey and motivation to start the company, to cold-calling restaurants and personally handling distribution, Lily shares her journey toward creating Figlia’s flagship flavor and brand. And for those wondering after listening to this conversation: Figlia is now available in Whole Foods!

Hear how she navigated formulation in the middle of COVID, managed packaging logistics from LA to NJ, and found a no-nonsense approach to balancing brand integrity, profitability, and real human connection. If you’re curious about direct outreach in CPG, the sober-curious trend, or what it takes to stand out in a crowded beverage market, this episode is for you!

This is Episode 022 of The Sherveen Show!

In This Episode

Mission-Driven: Lily’s personal story and pathway to starting the company, and how it shaped Figlia’s “no-alcohol analog” approach

Formulating the Future of Drink: Balancing cost, shelf life, and taste for a new wave of mindful drinkers

Navigating Supply Chain: Going from a scattered LA–NJ pipeline to a more efficient setup in Utah, and the trials and tribulations in between

DTC vs. Wholesale: Why a direct outreach strategy (500+ accounts!) beat “waiting on a distributor," and the more recent change

Sober-Curious Movement: Making a stylish, sophisticated product that resonates with both non-drinkers and casual drinkers alike

Bootstrapping to Angels: Lily’s mindset around self-funding, strategic investors, and protecting brand integrity

Follow Lily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-geiger-1735b011b/

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Join us for more unfiltered founder stories every week, and subscribe to catch all the ways innovators are reshaping the future – one bold idea at a time.

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Why do some communities get left behind by public transit - and how can startups fix it? Get ready for a deep dive into public-private partnerships, govtech, and how a mobility startup is tackling “transit deserts” across underserved communities.

In this episode, Sherveen sits down with Su Sanni, co-founder and CEO of Dollaride, a mobility company building digital and physical infrastructure for community transit.

It's a financial services, SaaS, and IoT platform for small private transit companies in NYC with the ultimate goal to bring clean transportation to underserved communities. They offer solutions like facilitated financing, tools for payments/rides/tracking, and data and insights to help these small biz owners scale in their communities.

They've raised $12M from Elemental Impact, Everywhere Ventures, Prehype, and Backstage Capital, and are the recipient of a $10M New York Clean Transportation Prize facilitating their Clean Transit Access Program (CTAP) project in NYC.

This is Episode 021 of The Sherveen Show!

From Su’s family roots in New York’s dollar van ecosystem to securing major insurance + EV financing deals for small fleet owners, this conversation highlights how creative problem-solving - plus a healthy dose of patience - can reshape local transportation.

If you’re curious about B2G sales, turning a complex social challenge into a scalable startup, or how policy and innovation collide, you’re in the right place!

From the economics of transit to the power of government collaboration, this conversation is a masterclass in turning a local need into a scalable impact.

In This Episode

- Transit Gaps & Underserved Communities: How local entrepreneurs fill the void and why official agencies often lag behind

- Dollar Vans & Jitneys: The global phenomenon of “informal transit” and how it can be a stepping stone for regulated services

- B2G Sales & RFPs: Securing large contracts, dealing with red tape, and the importance of patience in government deals

- Public-Private Partnerships: The role of insurance, EV adoption, and government-backed programs that help scale private-sector solutions

- Venture vs. Other Funding: How Sue pivoted from traditional VC to impact investors, grants, and creative debt vehicles

Follow Su on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sulaimansanni

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Join us twice weekly on The Sherveen Show for unfiltered conversations at the intersection of tech, startups, and society! If you’re into solving big social problems through innovation (or if you just love a good founder story), hit subscribe and let’s go.

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Episode 020 of The Sherveen Show takes on the latest in tech, startups, AI, and society –nothing is off-limits.

This week, we’re digging into Elon Musk’s newly released Grok 3 model from xAI, dissecting the fate of Humane’s Ai Pin, and exposing how crypto power plays and political maneuvers shape our world. Get ready for unfiltered takes and some strong opinions!

Stay Connected

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Some of the things we discuss:

- Grok and LLM benchmarks, and how to think about claims that Elon has gotten here faster than OpenAI, Google, and other players

- Humane being bought by HP, why its Ai Pin failed to deliver on the hype, and how it should've just been an "imagination agitating product"

- The SEC dropping its case against Coinbase, and how we should think about technologists claiming "wins" that they bought

- Amazon paying a billion dollars to get the rights to create new movies and TV shows in the James Bond franchise, and what this means for content

- And... some politics to wrap things out!

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Get ready for a deep dive into the future of retail, e-commerce, and how brands can finally bridge that elusive gap between offline and online. In this conversation, Sherveen sits down with Kait Stephens, co-founder & CEO of Brij, a fast-growing platform that helps brands collect critical customer data and craft immersive experiences across every sales channel – whether that’s Amazon, big-box retail, or direct-to-consumer.

This is Episode 019 of The Sherveen Show!

From leveraging QR codes and sweepstakes, to powering product registrations and real-world brand activations, Kait explains how her team is disrupting legacy “point solutions” by building a single platform that unlocks omnichannel data and deeper customer relationships. You’ll hear how Brij landed major creator-led brands like Feastables (MrBeast’s snack empire) and Skullcandy, and why venture-backed consumer products – especially those selling through retail – now consider offline data a must-have. Whether you’re curious about influencer marketing, building a SaaS platform, or just how to break out of the direct-to-consumer bubble, this episode is for you.

Follow Kait on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

We cover:

Evolving Consumer Behavior: How the pandemic popularized QR codes, changing offline-to-online engagement forever

Modern Omnichannel Strategy: Why D2C-only brands struggle to scale and how offline data solves the margin problem

Enterprise Sales & Retail Partnerships: Convincing major retailers and brand buyers to share (and utilize) data in new ways

SaaS Product Development: Moving from point solutions to a unifying “platform” approach that adapts to different industries

Influencer-Backed Brands: The do’s and don’ts of building for creators with massive reach

Private Equity to Startup: Kate’s personal journey, finding product-market fit, and becoming an “optimistic operator”

Whether you’re a founder scaling a SaaS product, a CPG brand expanding into big-box retail, or just curious about bridging the online-offline divide, this episode is packed with insights on the next wave of commerce innovation. Subscribe for weekly conversations on tech, startups, business, and society – only on The Sherveen Show.

Keywords: omnichannel commerce, CPG brand strategy, private equity to startup, influencer-led brands, QR codes, product registration, rebates & sweepstakes, e-commerce, brand data, offline-to-online, direct-to-consumer (D2C), retail distribution, marketing automation, SaaS platform, venture-backed startup, The Sherveen Show

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Get ready for a fresh take on adulthood: the messy, ever-evolving set of tasks and life admin most of us wish someone else would just handle. In this episode, Sherveen sits down with Genevieve Bellaire, founder & CEO of RealWorld, an AI-powered platform that helps you organize everything from your health insurance and taxes to your TSA PreCheck and friends’ birthdays—all in one place. Think of it as your digital co-pilot for “adulting,” whether you’re figuring out health benefits at a new job or finally tackling that 401k rollover you’ve been putting off.

From defining what “adulthood” even is in 2024, to harnessing generative AI for a membership-based consumer app, Genevieve shares why solving this multi-category problem requires a holistic approach that goes way beyond finance alone. They also get into hard-learned lessons on fundraising a “non-existent category,” building (and pivoting) a product in real time, and how the new wave of AI tools is suddenly making the impossible—“automating” big chunks of your life—feel entirely within reach.

If you’ve ever scrambled to find a missing insurance card, juggle 10 different health apps, or wished you had a personal assistant for everything from your taxes to your dentist appointments, this conversation is for you.

This is Episode 018 of The Sherveen Show!

We cover:

Emerging Adulthood: Why real adult responsibilities start at different ages for different people, and the growing “quarter-life crisis” trend.

Creating a Category: Genevieve’s fundraising journey for an app that handles all of adulthood—from work and finance to health and “fun stuff.”

AI & Automation: How generative AI, autonomous agents, and OCR have drastically accelerated RealWorld’s roadmap, making truly automated life management possible.

Onboarding Challenges: Why even “15 minutes to upload your docs” can feel like a barrier—and how RealWorld is leveraging user behavior (and AI) to solve it.

Consumer Behavior: Delaying marriage and homeownership, switching jobs every 18 months, and how these trends create even more complexity for 20- and 30-somethings.

Membership & Monetization: Building a direct-to-consumer subscription product that aims to eventually be your single trusted vault for every important life document and reminder.

Follow Sherveen

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Follow Genevieve

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-bellaire-24736237

In this episode…

We explore the new frontier of AI-powered “life management” apps and what it really takes to unify everything—finances, healthcare, government paperwork, everyday errands—into one streamlined, user-friendly platform. You’ll hear hard-won founder insights on building trust with consumers, establishing brand credibility, and why success depends on owning the user’s context in a way ChatGPT alone can’t do. If you’re juggling endless to-do lists and dreaming of an automated, organized future, you don’t want to miss this conversation.

Join us for in-depth talks with founders, investors, and innovators shaping how we live and work at the intersection of tech, startups, and society. Subscribe for more weekly insights on building companies that transform everyday life.

Keywords

adulthood, adulting, RealWorld, Genevieve Bellaire, membership product, AI-powered platform, personal finance, health insurance, frequent flyer programs, automation, generative AI, OCR, user onboarding, product-market fit, venture capital, consumer SaaS, brand trust, user experience, The Sherveen Show

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Get ready for a raw, urgent conversation about fixing America’s broken healthcare system — starting with obesity care. In this episode, Sherveen sits down with Elina Onitskansky, founder & CEO of Ilant Health, a value-based care startup tackling the $1.7 trillion obesity crisis by combining AI-driven analytics, human-centered care teams, and a mission to slash systemic costs while saving lives.

From battling stigma and bias in medicine to calling out “pill mill” startups hijacking GLP-1 drugs for quick profits, Ilana pulls no punches. She shares why most digital health models fail patients, how TikTok “diagnoses” are worsening healthcare inequity, and why Ilant's high-touch, human-first approach is proving that obesity treatment can extend lives and save employers, insurers, and taxpayers billions.

From her personal journey through weight loss (incl. bariatric surgery and shame) to building a healthcare company that's challenging deep-rooted stigmas, Elina shares raw insights about what's broken in American healthcare — and how to fix it. (+, inside the GLP-1 gold rush and why 80% of users quit, and why "calories in, calories out" is dead).

This is Episode 017 of The Sherveen Show!

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Follow Elina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elinaonitskansky

We cover:

- The GLP-1 Backlash: Why “miracle drug” startups are repeating the opioid crisis playbook — and how Ilant Health is flipping the script.

- Bias in Healthcare: Why 70% of doctors still call patients with obesity “lazy” (and how Ilant's peer navigators are breaking the stigma).

- Value-Based Care vs. “Pill Mills”: Why employers and insurers are dumping cash into AI nudges (spoiler: they don’t work) and betting on Ilant's outcomes-driven model.

- TikTok’s Diagnosis Problem: How social media fuels misdiagnosis — and why “lived experience” is Ilant's secret weapon.

- Obesity ≠ Willpower: The data proving diets fail and why laparoscopic surgery + personalized care teams drive 10X better outcomes.

- VCs’ Healthcare Blindspot: Why Silicon Valley still funds “adversarial” startups gaming prior authorizations — and the metrics that won over Ilant's investors.

It’s about: value-based care, obesity stigma, health equity, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Medicaid/Medicare innovation, healthcare SaaS, AI in clinical analytics, employer health plans, digital health startups, and the future of chronic disease management.

What's key:

obesity care, healthtech, health equity, GLP-1 drugs, healthcare startups, chronic disease management, Medicaid innovation, employer health plans, AI in healthcare, telehealth, digital health, prior authorization, healthcare costs, social determinants of health, clinical analytics, peer support, healthtech SaaS, healthcare bias, venture capital in healthcare

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Today, we've got... OpenAI's browser agent, controversies surrounding Stargate, bad tweets by people who know better, and attention being all you need, both in AI and outside of it!

It's time for Episode 016 of The Sherveen Show! If it's your first time, we wrestle with the intersection of startups, tech, business, and society. Let's connect the dots together.

We cover:

- OpenAI’s Operator: Why this early research release is one you should pay attention to, including a live preview.

- Tech Meets Politics: Stargate, Trump, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk’s competing incentives - it's a mess to sort.

- Instagram’s “Forced” Following Fiasco: Everyone put on their tinfoil hat for 24 hours there...

- Substack’s $20M Creator Fund: A bold move to bring more creators into Substack’s ecosystem. We also connect the dots to Netflix’s gaming pivot and Instagram’s Reels bonuses.

- Sherveen's grievances: Complaints about the WFH crowd, the All-In Pod and Chamath Palihapitiya, and a recommendation for a podcast to watch this weekend.

If you’re fascinated by how AI innovation, political power plays, and creator monetization shape our world, this episode is a must-listen.

All links and references:

(coming later today)

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