The Thread Podcast

Dr. Maheen Mausoof Adamson, CEO and Co founder of Soof Solutions, joins the show to talk about

• The intersection of neuroscience at Stanford and entrepreneurship, and path to founding Soof.
• Building Soof to help her father speak again after experiencing a stroke in 2007.
• The importance of timing and how Apple's advancements in hardware openned up the market for Soof.
• How Dr. Adamson worked with Stanford and the biodesign program to apply research and real patient interacton insights to build their venture.
• How to leverage your investors and advisors to complement your team's strengths.

Megs Shah, CEO and Co founder of Parasol Cooperative, joins the show to talk about:

• Surviving abuse and founding Parasol Cooperative to battle a growing, global, shadow pandemic
• Keeping our kids safe online, and the insights that led Megs to building her two products, SafeConnect and Ruth solutions overview
• Diddy's downfall, the shift toward disconnecting and digital minimalism, and the responsibility of developers to consider safety of your end users up front. 

Dr. Jennifer Hintzsche, CEO and Founder of PherDal, joins the show to talk about:

- Dr. Hintzsche's personal story of being defined as "in-fertile", a $10,000 invoice for a solution to a problem that doctor's couldn't define, and how she used her PhD to prove those physician's wrong.

- The process of crowdfunding for PherDal and lessons learned by launching on their platform. 

- Market sizing the fertility market, dealing with the FDA, and going from 0 to 1 in biotech. 

Daniel Saks, Co founder and CEO of Landbase, joins the show to talk about

- Growing up in an entrepreneurial family in the business of furniture and the insight that led to founding Daniel's first business, AppDirect.

- The importance of establishing "go-to-market credibility" before engaging in sales outreach. 

- Daniel's experience fundraising for AppDirect, and most recently Landbase's $12.5M seed round.

- The importance of "founder-market" and "founder-product" fit.

Alex Douzet, CEO and co founder of Pumpkin, joins the show to talk about

- Building his first company Ollie, in the pet food and delivery space, and how doubling down on his experience in pet care and the "humanization of pets"  led to founding Pumpkin

- Picking the brand name "Pumpkin" and the importance of building flexibility into what you ultimately call your business. 

- The decision to focus on quality of care and alignment with the veterinary community to grow and scale Pumpkin.

- Unpacking the psyche behind a 7 time ironman and a three time founder, embracing the pain cave, and near death experiences in company building

In this episode Justin sits down with Nico Simko, the dynamic CEO and co-founder of Clair, a trailblazing company set on revolutionizing on-demand payroll. Nico shares an inspiring narrative from his beginnings as an economics tutor to spearheading a fintech powerhouse. We uncover how Clair smartly embeds on-demand pay within HR platforms, bypassing the conventional approach of targeting employers or employees directly. Nico also articulates the challenging yet rewarding journey of building Clair into a secure and compliant fintech solution, highlighting the crucial art of maintaining focus and discerning when to say no.

As we explore the intricacies of Earned Wage Access (EWA) services, Nico offers candid insights into navigating the intricate regulatory maze. We dive deep into the significance of foresight in compliance and how strategic partnerships bolster Clair's success amidst evolving financial regulations. Nico's vision stretches beyond the present, painting a picture of a generational fintech company that could redefine employer-linked financial services. This episode is packed with wisdom for entrepreneurs eager to grasp fintech opportunities, and we wrap up with a teaser for our next episode featuring an innovator making strides in the pet tech world.

Tim Fung, Co founder and CEO of Airtasker, joins the show to talk about

• How an apartment move led to the founding of Airtasker.
• How tasking and labor markets differ globally, and what this market looks like in Australia.
• How Airtasker is focusing on localization and community to differentiate from platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.
• Finding product, channel fit, and how Airtasker used regional media outlets to drive awareness in local markets to create local jobs.

Dr. Lewis Bernstein, Co founder of 3G and former executive producer for Sesame Street, joins the show to talk about:

• Dr. Bernstein's early work at Sesame Street, working alongside Jim Henson, and how the mission and message of Sesame Street has evolved over time.
• The founding story of 3G and using multiple generations to help combat loneliness in our youth.
• Current state of children's programming and content. How it has evolved for better and worse. 
• The future of early stage childhood education

Tad Milbourn, Founder and CEO of RankedVote, joins the show to talk about

• The momentum that's building around ranked choice voting. What it is, how it works, and why it's a better method of getting consensus.
• Lessons learned from Tad's first company, Payable, the YC experience, and navigating a successful exit and selling to Stripe.
• "Upgrading state and federal elections".  An election software market overview and current state of election reform at state and federal levels.
• Eliminating friction in the user experience to build stronger advocates for ranked choice voting. 
• Tad's decision to start RankedVote as a solo founder, and the differences in the founder journeys between Payable and RankedVote.

Jon Staenberg, Founder and CEO of Agate Hound Fund joins the show to talk about 

• Growing up in Nebraska to Silicon Valley to Microsoft to Venture
• How Venture Capital has changed and the rise of the Search Fund.
• What is a "Search Fund" and the reason behind why it's such a successful asset class.
• The Silver Tsunami and baby boomers without an exit plan.
• The criteria that Jon has established for the successful businesses he backs and the traits that his funds look for in the entrepreneurs they invest in.
• Launching "Hand of God" wines and challenges of building an independent wine brand.