Episode 410 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Paul Holder, CEO & Co-Founder of OnRamp.

I’ve been working with startups since 1998—that’s nearly 28 years now! Since the beginning, I’ve noticed the massive impact that startups can have on one's career.

Take Paul… who joined an early-stage startup called Troops, which was later acquired by Salesforce. During his tenure there and at a software company prior (VTS), he didn't just experience the rocket-ship growth and accelerated career path that comes along with a successful startup—he also identified the massive challenge that led to OnRamp. It’s a challenge that faces every company, not just software companies: Customer Onboarding.

Founded in 2020, OnRamp is the intelligent, AI-enabled customer onboarding and engagement platform that helps companies accelerate adoption, strengthen customer relationships, and unlock revenue growth. The company recently announced its $15M Series A round of funding led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, with contributions from existing investors like Contour, Javelin, Pear, and others.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* Advice on taking the entrepreneurial "leap of faith" and why you have to commit to a decade-long vision to build something meaningful.

* Paul’s background studying Finance at Boston College and his early career in strategy consulting.

* His time at HighTower (where he met his co-founder Ross Lerner) and leading customer success and post-sales revenue at Troops.

* How the friction of onboarding customers led to the original idea behind OnRamp.

* Building their first version using Bubble (a no-code solution) long before "Vibe Coding" became a buzzword, and how they landed those crucial early adopters.

* How OnRamp stays disciplined with their product roadmap while integrating AI to solve real-world customer pain points.

* How they’ve successfully moved upmarket to land some of the world's largest companies and their philosophy on hiring the first sales leader.

* And so much more!

Episode 409 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ilia Papas, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Band and Blue Apron.

Do you know what the enchilada factor is? Probably not… unless you were part of the Blue Apron team that created a national brand and one of the pillar companies in the meal-kit food delivery category that ultimately went public.

In this interview, Ilia shares the inside look at those hypergrowth years, including the company’s use of machine learning for planning labor and food ordering, so they could fulfill those enchilada orders (also known internally as the enchilada factor) which always caused a spike when it was offered on the menu.

Ilia’s latest company is Band—and no, it’s not the musical kind. Instead, the company is focused on a massive, underserved sector where trillions of dollars flow between businesses, yet technical innovation has been severely lacking. Band has built the smart operating system for B2B trade agreements, providing AI-powered rebate and incentive tracking for distributors, manufacturers, and purchasing groups.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* Ilia’s background story, plus the details on his siblings and their collective success in the tech industry.

* Interning at his brother Art’s company, Bullhorn, and then building the foundation of his career at web consulting firms like Molecular and Optaros, where he worked on the original version of Rue La La.

* How he met his co-founder, Matt Salzburg, and why they pivoted from a “Kickstarter for science” idea to food delivery in 2012.

* Bringing on a third co-founder, Matt Wadiak, who brought the culinary expertise and why they names the company Blue Apron.

* Their approach to growth marketing to compete against HelloFresh & Plated and scaling to millions of meals a week.

* The story of the IPO in 2017 and the unique challenges of running a publicly traded company

* All the details about Band and why Ilia chose this underserved industry, plus how his approach to building a company is different this time around.

* And so much more!

Episode 408 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Matt Fates, Partner at Innospark Ventures.

Did you know that the first modern venture capital firm was started right here in the Boston area? It’s true. Back in 1946, Georges Doriot founded the American Research and Development Corporation (ARDC), marking the birth of an industry that has fueled the entrepreneurial dream for nearly 80 years.

Matt Fates entered the industry during the “Internet 1.0” era, a time when VC firms were just beginning to gain major visibility. Over the course of his career, he has invested in over 100 companies. Through those investments, he has developed a deep expertise in data-driven enterprise and infrastructure startups—experience that has perfectly positioned him for the current massive shift toward AI.

Innospark Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in AI-native companies solving previously intractable problems across healthcare, life sciences, and the enterprise.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

00:00 Intro

02:22 VentureFizz OG

03:42 How to Land a Job in Venture Capital

07:49 Matt's Background

13:05 Getting into Investment Banking in the Tech Industry

16:22 Transition to Venture Capital

21:07 Dartmouth MBA

24:05 Experience at Ascent Venture Partners

28:59 Details of Innospark

30:39 Foundational Knowledge in AI and Machine Learning

32:41 Area of Focus for Investments at Innospark

37:04 Recent Investments for Innospark

43:36 The State of the Boston Startup Scene

46:51 The Anti-Portfolio - Missed Investments

49:04 Rapid Fire Questions

50:09 Personal Interests

Episode Sponsor: As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 407 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Seth Rosen, Founder & CEO of CustomMade.

A common theme that you’ll hear throughout this interview is the importance of resiliency.

Sure - the media loves the story of the latest company that has achieved $100M ARR in a month (I’m obviously kidding), but the overwhelming majority of businesses are a grind. It’s about taking a bunch of punches, getting back up and figuring it all out.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, which is why I was excited to interview Seth. The story of CustomMade has lots of twists and turns… from rapid growth… to later salvaging the company by structuring a deal with Wayfair to acqui-hire their employee base… to the insanely successful reboot!

Today, CustomMade is a leading online custom jeweler that specializes in creating personalized, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, such as engagement rings, wedding bands, and more. The platform simplifies the entire custom process, helping buyers create their vision and working with master jewelers to bring it to life.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:11 Importance of Resiliency

01:20 The Right Business Model: Subscription vs Marketplace

02:52 Seth's Background

06:24 Meeting Mike Salguero While Working in Real Estate

12:51 Background Story of CustomMade

20:55 Raising Venture Capital for CustomMade

24:58 Building & Running an Online Marketplace

27:30 The Challenges of Running an Online Marketplace

29:24 Making a Deal with Wayfair

31:33 CustomMade Reboot

36:38 CustomMade Today - The World's Largest Online Custom Jeweler

40:10 What are Lab Grown Diamonds

44:24 SEO & GEO

49:20 Seth's Other Initiatives in the Gem Industry

50:46 Seth's Role as a Venture Partner at WTI

Episode 406 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Bill Simmons, serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Orbit.me and DataXu.

I’m going to use the cliché: Bill actually is a rocket scientist. His background is in aerospace engineering, he holds a PhD from MIT, and he worked on 13 space missions. In addition, he was part of a major Government competition for simulating options for space travel to Mars. His team simulated 35 billion possible options to generate 1,100 different Mars missions that were all feasible.

This groundbreaking technology that leverage Big Data, which we now recognize as AI and machine learning, launched his first company, DataXu, in 2008. DataXu became a pioneer in the programmatic ad platform category and raised over $87M in funding. The company scaled as a major player in the Boston tech scene, and was acquired by Roku in 2019.

Now, Bill is tackling a challenge we all likely face with his new startup, Orbit.me. Information is scattered across texts, multiple email inboxes, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and social apps—it’s impossible to keep track of what matters. Orbit.me is a perfect use case for AI, organizing your scattered messages into “Orbits” which are dedicated spaces built around the real contexts of your life, like parenting, work, or other important matters.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:41 Current Status of Space Travel & Mars

08:34 Bill Simmons Background Story

10:21 Academic Experience

13:12 Space Missions including Mars Research

17:19 How DataXu Came to Fruition & Focus on AdTech

20:03 Scaling DataXu & Market Strategies

23:15 The Competitive Landscape of AdTech

26:20 The Technology Behind Real-Time Bidding

29:49 Building DataXu’s Culture During Growth

32:51 DataXu Acquisition by Roku

35:54 The Transition to Product Management & Experience at The Trade Desk

37:13 The Details of Orbit.me

43:07 The Team Behind Orbit.me

48:58 The Evolving Role of Software Engineers in the AI Era

52:01 Lightening Round Questions

Episode 405 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ed Jennings, CEO of Quickbase.

The terms 'narrow' and 'growth' seem to contradict each other, yet in Ed’s mind, the two concepts go hand-in-hand. Based on his experience, true scaling doesn't always mean adding new products or wildly expanding into new industries.

It can be a huge challenge to say "no" to new opportunities when the goal is increased revenue. But as Ed explains, the key to sustainable success is to look deeply at your core customer and double down on your core value. This focus is what helps you win and retain customers—a factor often overlooked, but insanely important for long-term growth.

Quickbase is the AI operations platform used by more than 12,000 organizations worldwide to transform ordinary work into extraordinary impact. Combining powerful AI capabilities and the flexibility and ease of low code/no code technology, Quickbase boosts productivity, improves efficiency, and enhances employee safety for organizations managing large-scale projects and operations in industries like construction and manufacturing.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:00 Core Foundational Elements for Scaling Companies

06:21 Ed's Background Story & Post College in Japan

13:01 Career & Executive Roles in Tech

15:26 Experience at PTC

18:04 First CEO Role

21:55 Time at ADP

24:44 Experience at Veracode

28:22 Lessons Learned as CMO

30:13 COO Role at Mimecast

35:55 Details About Quickbase

36:56 Narrowing the Focus and ICP at Quickbase

39:09 The Culture at Quickbase

41:00 Hiring at Quickbase

42:44 Quickbase's Customer Community

44:23 Advice for Building a Career Path to CEO

46:56 Advice on Hiring Executives

49:51 Lightning Round Questions

Episode 404 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ben Sesser, CEO & Co-Founder of BrightHire.

Well this is a first…

It’s common to time my podcast interview around a milestone for a company like a funding announcement. But, this is the first time that in the span between my interview with the founder to the publishing date that the company announced its acquisition.

Last week, BrightHire announced that the company has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Zoom. It certainly is a combination that makes a lot of sense.

BrightHire is an interview intelligence platform. We saw its influence firsthand this past summer when VentureFizz hosted a series of AI job searching events. Talent acquisition leaders consistently mentioned BrightHire as the most-adopted application—a signal that immediately led me to reach out to Ben for this interview.

As Ben shares, when they started, "interview intelligence" was a brand new category in hiring, and they faced plenty of doubters. But fast-forward to today, and much like the success of companies like Gong for sales teams, BrightHire's value is now obvious. But isn't that the case for all great companies in hindsight?

BrightHire's investors include Flybridge, Index Ventures, 01 Advisors, Zoom Apps Fund, and others.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:48 State of Hiring in the AI Era

06:51 Ben's Background Story

19:40 Getting Started in the Tech Industry

25:26 Origin Story of BrightHire

33:06 Creating a New Category

35:31 The Value of Video in the Hiring Process

41:17 BrightHire Screen - New AI Screening Platform

45:51 Experience of Raising Capital

48:36 Biggest Lessons Learned

50:22 Common Mistakes Companies Make When Hiring

51:57 Lightening Round Questions

Episode Sponsor: As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 403 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Nick Ornitz and Shannon Kay, Co-Founders of Topline Pro.

Make something people want is the motto behind Y Combinator. It sounds simple, yet so many founders miss this fundamental requirement.

Topline Pro is a perfect case study in getting it right. They didn't fall victim to early false positives; instead, they listened, experimented, and successfully pivoted to solve a true, massive problem for an underserved market.

Topline Pro is building AI that empowers local home service pros to grow and scale their businesses. They provide a critical platform to help with the marketing, sales, and operations of running a business in the trades, allowing these business owners to focus on their craft.

The company recently announced a $27M Series B funding round led by Northzone, with new participation from Tactile Ventures, and Industry Ventures, alongside continued support from existing investors Forerunner Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, TMV, Flybridge, and BBG Ventures.

In this interview, we dive into:

* The inspirational backstory of Nick and Shannon and how they decided to build a company together after meeting at HBS.

* Their initial concept called Dwelling, the "false positive" they experienced, and the strategic pivot.

* Their time at Y Combinator and how early access to GPT opened their eyes to the potential of AI.

* The value that Topline Pro is providing customers and the exciting opportunities ahead following their Series B.

* Growth plans, hiring goals, and the culture they're building at Topline Pro.

* Advice for non-AI native companies that are starting to build out their own AI strategy.

* And so much more!

Episode Sponsor:

As a longtime champion of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank supports innovative companies with the solutions and financing they need through every stage of growth. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors, and $42B in loans as of Q2 2024 – SVB delivers the right people, service and resources to support your entire financial journey. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 402 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Aaron Sekhri, CEO & Co-Founder of Le Walk.

Most apps are trying to get you to stare at your phone and create a stickiness factor for doomscrolling. Yet, Le Walk wants you to look up and take in the world.

If you have ever experienced a group tour for a museum or some other historical location, it can be a crap shoot and for me, even with the best tour guide, I have a hard time focusing and taking it all in.

This is where Le Walk comes to the rescue. It is your personal tour guide, right in your headphones. The company uses AI to enhance, not replace, human creativity. Every tour still relies on real guides, editors, and storytellers — AI just helps amplify their reach.

Le Walk recently announced a $4.1M seed co-led by Adverb Ventures and Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Origins Fund and Point72 Ventures. In beta, Le Walk has reached 110k downloads, 160k+ social followers, and 20k+ tours taken.

In this interview, we cover:

* Aaron’s experience growing up in Hong Kong and how he landed at Stanford to study Symbolic Systems.

* Getting his career started in Product Management while at Uber.

* His experience at TikTok and what he learned there.

* All the details about Le Walk and the plans ahead.

* Their content playbook for customer acquisition and why content is king when it comes to building traction for a startup and their strategy around content.

* And so much more.

Episode 401 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Nicole Phillips-Bastian of Qatch.

This episode was recorded live at Startup Boston Week at Suffolk University which is the third year that I’ve hosted it onsite. Thank you to Stephanie Roulic for the invitation, as it’s a lot of fun and great to be involved in such a meaningful conference. And, since it was hosted live, this episode is audio only and my apologies for the background noise.

Personalization isn’t a new term in the world of tech but as a consumer, it often fails. It could be a failure around the data, the actual tech powering the experience, or executional challenges.

For Qatch (which stands for Quick Match), they have been able to overcome these challenges by establishing trust with consumers in one of the most coveted spots for obtaining first party data… no, it’s definitely not email, but through text messaging.

Qatch is a personalized shopping platform that allows user preferences to dictate what products they see next. Their platform enables the company to capture user engagement to a degree other brands are not, which gives them incredibly valuable insight into what products a specific shopper would buy, so they can recommend it to them in real-time.

It all falls under that trust factor which is so important, because if Qatch is not delivering value, it’s easy to block that text message and it is this level of trust that has been so key to their success.

Two interesting points to note:

1. Nicole’s co-founder for Qatch is her sister Raquel.

2. They have built a very capital efficient company, as they have raised just under $2M in funding.

In this interview, we cover:

* The importance of founder-led sales.

* Nicole’s background story and her journey into law as a retail attorney with a focus on fashion law and regulations.

* All the details about Qatch and why they decided on text messaging as their primary method of communication.

* How the platform works and their use of AI.

* Sales and getting brands to join their platform, plus how they evolved their pricing strategy.

* The competition and how they differ from companies like Stitch Fix.

* Her experience raising capital as a female founder and why sales is the best form of funding.

* And so much more.