The VentureFizz Podcast

Welcome to Episode 120 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Aleksandr Yampolskiy, Co-Founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard.

It seems like there is a major data breach announcement every week these days. The most recent one being Capital One, where more than 100 million consumers had their personal information exposed.

The issues that affect consumers are the ones that generally make the news, but if you are a business, you’d probably want to make sure any other business you are working with has a secure environment. That’s where SecurityScorecard comes into play. They provide a security ratings platform, so that you are able to reduce your company’s risk and exposure. SecurityScorecard recently announced $50M in Series D funding.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Aleksandr’s background including his early interest in cybersecurity.

-His experience leading security operations at leading companies and his career path to a Chief Information Security Officer position.

-What led him and his co-founder to start SecurityScorecard and all the details behind the company.

-The most common security issues that companies are dealing with these days.

-What we can be doing as consumers to help keep our information safe.

-And so much more!

Did you know that you can get customized job alerts delivered to your inbox every day? It’s a great way to keep informed of the over 4,000 jobs listed on VentureFizz and have jobs from a specific category sent directly to you. Don’t let that career-defining opportunity pass you by, go to venturefizz.com/email to sign up.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 119 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Gail Goodman, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Pepperlane.

Gail is a legend in the Boston tech scene. As CEO of Constant Contact, she took the company from its earliest days to a successful IPO and later, an acquisition by Endurance International Group for over $1B. Constant Contact was a groundbreaking company that was going against the grain in terms of building a successful SaaS business while working with SMB’s (Small-to-Medium) sized businesses. This was unheard of back then and it is truly an inspirational story that all entrepreneurs should listen to.

Gail is now working with an amazing team to hopefully build another pillar tech company that is unlocking a massive market opportunity. Pepperlane is on a mission to help mothers build successful businesses and become entrepreneurs on their own terms.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-A walk through Gail’s career and the different roles she held before Constant Contact.

-A deep dive into the story of Constant Contact and how they overcome the odds to build one of the most successful tech companies in the Boston area.

-The spider web effect that Constant Contact has made to the Boston tech ecosystem with several CEOs, founders, and executives who are building companies.

-All the details on Pepperlane and why she is incredibly excited about the mission behind the company.

-Why she is the company’s Chief Product Officer versus CEO.

-Advice on how to land a seat on the Board of Directors at a company.

-And so much more.

If you are listening to this podcast, then it is highly likely that you are interested in the entrepreneurial journey and all the lessons learned around building companies. So, make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to The VentureFizz Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or Soundcloud.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 118 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Sam Dunn, Co-Founder and CEO at Robin.

I have a strong appreciation for entrepreneurs, as it is really hard to build and scale a business. But, starting a company while you are still in college is a whole different ball game that requires guts and determination.

Sam, along with his twin brother Zach, and Brian Muse, the 3rd co-founder and CTO, have never worked professionally for anyone else. They started One Mighty Roar while they were still in college and this business eventually evolved into Robin.

Robin is SaaS workplace scheduling and management platform that is modernizing the open office. Back in May, the company raised a $20M Series B round of funding to help fuel their growth.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Office trends, and some interesting hacks on how to set up workplaces.

-The background story of Robin and how the company evolved from an agency to a product company.

-A deep dive into Robin, its platform and the value it provides for their customers.

-The experience of raising capital through multiple rounds.

-Their thought process behind their pricing model.

-The three questions Sam uses to evaluate talent.

-And so much more.

Have you checked out our YouTube channel? You’ll find videos from our podcast, plus lots of other interviews with founders and our very popular Inside: series, which gives you an inside look at a functional area in one of the fastest-growing tech companies. Go to youtube.com/venturefizz to check it out.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 117 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Danielle Cohen-Shohet, Co-Founder and CEO of GlossGenius.

While some children may aspire to become a doctor, astronaut, or firefighter, Danielle’s plan, even from an early age, was very different. Her plan was to start and build a company.

Danielle’s aspirations became a reality with GlossGenius, the all-in-one solution for top beauty professionals. Their platform is helping very small business owners with the complexities of running a business. It simplifies and automates things like scheduling, client management, and payment, so the business owner can focus on servicing their customers.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics:

-Danielle’s background story, including some of her entrepreneurial endeavors as a child.

-All about GlossGenius and how they are helping very small business owners operate and run their business.

-How narrowing the potential customer lens to a specific segment helped propel their business forward.

-The Techstars experience and how they benefited from going through this accelerator.

-Danielle thoughts on why all founders should learn how to code.

-Lessons learned around hiring and onboarding.

-And so much more.

If you are listening to this podcast, then it is highly likely that you are interested in the founder journey and lessons learned around building companies. Please make sure you don’t miss any episodes by subscribing to The VentureFizz Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or Soundcloud.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 116 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed David Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Knox Financial.

David is a serial entrepreneur and as you’ll hear from this episode, his latest company definitely struck a chord with me. My wife and I previously owned an awesome condo in South Boston about 13 years ago. Needless to say, if we were able to hold on to that property and rent it out without all the hassle of being a landlord, it would have been such an amazing investment. Knox makes this situation a reality and we get in lots of details on how the company operates.

Back when he was at Tufts, David always knew that he wanted to start a company. His first company was Boston Logic, an integrated marketing platform for the real estate industry that was acquired by a private equity firm.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-David’s background and how he initially got a taste of startups.

-The story of Boston Logic, including the evolution of their product and how they mostly bootstrapped the company and scaled it to an acquisition.

-A deep dive into the process of hiring and working with an investment banking firm.

-All the details on Knox Financial and how they are helping people turn their homes into investment properties.

-Advice for entrepreneurs trying to build an advisory board.

-And so much more.

Did you know that you can get customized job alerts delivered to your inbox every day? It’s a great way to keep informed of the over 4,000 jobs listed on VentureFizz and have jobs from a specific category sent directly to you. Don’t let that career-defining opportunity pass you by, go to venturefizz.com/email to sign up.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 115 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Isa Watson, Founder and CEO of Squad.

Isa is one of those guests that just makes you go “wow” when you hear about their background. Whether it’s how she skipped two grades in school or the story about how she built her own computer from a young age. Or, how about her experience as a chemist, a VP on Wall Street, and a classical pianist, and this was all before taking the entrepreneurial journey.

Squad is the name of her company, which she calls “social media 2.0.” It’s a social community for millenials and gen-z, who are looking to move beyond screens and share real-life experiences together. The company has raised $3.1M to date, via a seed round that was led by Harrison Metal.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Isa’s upbringing including stories of how her parents instilled a foundation of knowledge and curiosity.

-A walk through her professional and academic history, which spans across various industries and the top academic institutions in the world.

-How she became an entrepreneur, and what made her take the leap.

-The details on Squad, including the story on how the product pivoted and her vision for the company moving forward.

-The meaning of the word “sacrifice” for an entrepreneur.

-How she’s so successful with PR despite having no formal PR strategy.

-And so much more.

It’s summer and no doubt, it’s hot out there. However, it's not as hot as the VentureFizz Job Board. It is on fire! You’ll find hundreds of job opportunities at some of the fastest-growing tech companies across the NY tech scene. Go to venturefizz.com/jobs to start exploring.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 114 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ryan Boyko, Founder and CEO at Embark.

You are probably familiar with the DNA testing companies like 23andMe and Ancestry. I actually tried out Ancestry and was really surprised with my results, as certain parts of my heritage were very different than I originally thought.

Embark is a venture-backed company that is providing a similar service except for dogs. So, I was excited that Embark offered to test our family dog, Stella, as part of this podcast interview. What’s cool about Embark is that you are not only able to determine or confirm your dog's breed, but a key part of their testing is to help discover if your canine has any underlying health conditions. Embark provides the most comprehensive DNA testing in the market which tests for over 170 genetic health conditions.

Before making an investment, most VC’s usually ask the question of “Why this team?" and "Why now?”, and as you’ll hear from my discussion with Ryan, he and his brother spent an extraordinary amount of time building what is a very defensible foundation in terms of the technology and what they are able to provide with this service.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Ryan background, including his time with Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard.

-How Ryan and his brother, Adam, gained an interest in dog genetics and the details behind all their research.

-The story of how Embark was built over time and how their testing works.

-A walk through Stella’s (our family Cavapoo) test results.

-Advice for scientists who are looking to commercialize their research and start a company.

-The things he didn’t expect when he first started running a business.

-Plus, a lot more.

Embark announced a $10M Series A round of funding back in April from a very impressive list of investors and I have some good news for you. They are hiring aggressively, so if you are interested in working at Embark, you can go to their BIZZpage on VentureFizz to see a list of their openings. Go to venturefizz.com/embark for all the details.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 113 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Nitesh Banta, Co-Founder & CEO at B12.

Nitesh is deeply rooted in the tech industry as both a serial entrepreneur and investor. We actually go way back, as I remember connecting with him while he was a VC at General Catalyst. He was co-founding a new, first of its kind, student-led VC firm called Rough Draft Ventures. Fast forward, this initiative that is still powered by General Catalyst, has gone on to make a massive impact with over 150 investments in early stage startups.

Today, Nitesh is back as an operator with his next startup called B12. It is a venture-backed company that has a human-assisted AI platform called Orchestra. The current use case of their technology is focused on building websites that are a fraction of the price of hiring an agency and a lot less work than a DIY site.

In addition to building out B12, he is still very active in the startup community as a mentor and an angel investor.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Nitesh’s passion for outer space.

-How he became a Venture Capitalist and what’s the hardest part about being a VC.

-His experience at General Catalyst and the story behind the launch of Rough Draft Ventures.

-B12 and all the details behind its platform.

-What he looks for when making an angel investment, and advice for others looking to be an angel investor.

-Common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to raise capital.

-Plus, a lot more.

Are you hiring? If the answer is yes, then you should definitely consider adding a BIZZpage on VentureFizz. Is our employment branding and hiring solution that helps you engage with our very targeted audience of professionals in the tech scene. It is an incredibly cost-effective solution used by all stages of companies, from early startups to larger publicly traded companies. If you are interested in learning more, please send an email to [email protected].

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 112 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Anant Agarwal, Founder and CEO of edX & Professor at MIT.

Anant is the very definition of a serial entrepreneur. Over the course of his career, he has founded five companies including Tilera Corporation, Virtual Machine Works, and others. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, he is also a professor at MIT, where he teaches electrical engineering and computer science.

edX is a non-profit company that is changing the world by bringing education to the masses through its open source, online learning platform. Founded by Harvard & MIT, edX is home to more than 20 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Anant’s background including running a chicken farm as a teenager and what that taught him.

-A journey through his experience as an entrepreneur and the companies he founded.

-The story of edX, its evolution, and the massive scale of its platform.

Current plans for hiring and growth at edX.

-What areas of education are still ripe for disruption.

-And so much more.

Whenever someone asks me who are the fastest growing tech companies in Boston or New York City, I simply direct them to our BIZZpages. From there, you can do a virtual tour of each tech scene and explore over 280 companies! Each BIZZpage tells you everything you need to know from a high level like the details on the company, culture, job openings, leadership team, and more! Go to venturefizz.com/bizzpages to start exploring!

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

Welcome to Episode 111 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast from the leading authority for jobs & careers in the tech industry.

For this episode of our podcast, I interviewed Todd Garland, Founder of BuySellAds.

BuySellAds is an adtech company that builds scalable revenue programs for companies with captive audiences. Todd has built the company by bootstrapping it from day one. There are no tricks to their business model. It is a marketplace that aims to find audiences who are passionate and match up advertisers who are interested in advertising their product or service to these audiences. The goal is to add value to the web with contextually relevant ads for consumers.

Here’s a fun fact about BuySellAds that you might not know. Remember the website Digg, the popular news sharing website from the early Web 2.0 era of user-generated content? The site was founded by Kevin Rose, who infamously appeared on the cover of BusinessWeek representing this new wave of Silicon Valley founders. Well, did you know that Digg was acquired last year buy BuySellAds? It’s true.

I find it fascinating that a Boston company owns this piece of internet history. At the beginning of our podcast, we get into lots of the details behind this acquisition. Although the site is not nearly as popular as it once was, I’m really curious to see what they do with it - stay tuned!

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

-Todd’s background growing up in Maine and his experience as an early employee at HubSpot.

-The origin story of BuySellAds. How it went from being a side project generating over a million dollars in revenue to becoming his full-time job, and the challenges of building the first versions of the product.

-How he built out the marketplace in terms of supply and demand.

-Why he’s decided to bootstrap his company over raising outside capital.

-Speculation on the future of AdTech.

-Advice for founders looking to acquire companies.

-Plus, a lot more.

We just published the July edition of Career Forward. It has over 120 of the hottest jobs across the Boston tech scene. There are positions listed across all levels of experience and all functional areas like sales, product management, software engineering, and more. Go to venturefizz.com/careerforward to start exploring.

Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!