upside

Interview Begins 8:35
Debrief Begins 42:37

Sharon Cryan is the founder and CEO of Foodnerd.

Foodnerd specializes in 100% plant-based superfood products that are designed to increase the world's understanding or accessibility of truly nutrient-dense foods.

They use raw, sprouted, organic ingredients that are GMO-free and never pressurized or treated with chemicals or preservatives, allowing them to maintain up to 98% of nutrients.

We discuss:

• UBE Attorney 9:31
• Japan Healthcare 14:07
• Law School to Foodnerd 18:05
• Sprouted Foods 23:11
•  Foodnerd 28:18
•  Lab Experience 30:33
•  Foodnerd Funding 38:56

Foodnerd was founded in 2017 and based in Buffalo, New York.

Learn more about Foodnerd

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

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This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

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This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

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This episode is sponsored by SnapShooter.

Over 40 percent of businesses will suffer a data loss at some point in their history. That’s the type of event that could destroy your business.

SnapShooter is a software as a service that’s built for backups.

SnapShooter has processed over 145 petabytes That’s a staggering amount of data.

New users can setup 1 free backup job with no credit card required. Go and check out their integrations with AWS, DigitalOcean, WordPress, Laravel, CraftCMS and many more.

Use code upside for 10 percent off your first year of SnapShooter. Learn more at upside.fm/snapshooter.

Interview Begins 5:05
Debrief Begins 25:39

Samantha (Sam) German is a Client Partner in SPMB’s Emerging Markets Practice.

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They work with companies specializing in:

• Technology
• Consumer
• Media
• Finance
• Health
• Sustainability
• ...and more

They bring the knowledge of a large, global firm and combine it with the personalized service and attention of a boutique.

SPMB has been doing this for a long time. And they are bringing their Silicon Valley success and heritage all across the country.

They have a dedicated team focused on serving clients in the Mountain West and Midwest emerging tech markets. They have successfully relocated dozens of top-tier candidates from the East and West Coasts to the Central US and Canada – including Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Bozeman, Phoenix, Edmonton, Toronto, Denver, Boulder, Austin, Salt Lake City, and beyond.

We discuss:

• Executive Recruiting During Pandemic 6:19
• Proximity Matters 8:49
• DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) 13:28
• Compensation Factor 16:50
• National Companies on Remote Hiring 21:38

Learn more about SPMB

Get in touch with Sam

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

John Fein and Chris Marks are the managing partners of Firebrand Ventures.

John started Firebrand Ventures in 2016, and we interviewed him in 2018.

Prior to founding Firebrand, John served as Managing Director for Techstars, a leading startup accelerator with over 40 programs around the world. While at Techstars he ran three accelerator programs in Kansas City and invested in 30 startups. Companies that have gone through Techstars programs have raised a total of over $9 billion in funding and have a collective market cap of over $25 billion.

Prior to Firebrand, Chris was the Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Note Ventures, an early-stage venture fund investing in great technology companies and serving entrepreneurs committed to authentic leadership.

After co-investing in several companies together out of their respective funds, it became obvious that Chris and John not only shared a similar investment strategy, but also an underlying set of values around how they partnered with entrepreneurs. In late 2019 they decided to join forces and merged Firebrand and Blue Note.

Learn more about Firebrand

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

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This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

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This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

Interview Begins 8:02

Debrief 50:00

Kendrick (Ken) Nguyen is the co-founder and CEO of Republic.

Republic empowers everyone to invest in the future they believe in by providing access to startups, real estate, crypto, and video game investments. Focused on creating a diverse, sustainable, connected world, Republic has facilitated over $600 million in investments from over one million global community members.

Previously, Ken was the General Counsel for Angel List from 2014-2016.

We discuss:

• Ken on AngelList as Non-Engineer Role 8:52
• AngelList Syndicates 10:00
• JOBS Act 12:57
• Republic's Launch Timing 18:01
• Republic's Mission 22:04
• Republic's Business Model 24:51
• Equity Crowdfunding 29:10
• Focusing on the Product Experience 32:31
• ROI in Crowdfunding 35:35
• Upside from Retail Deals 42:47
• Arbitrary Cap 43:58

Republic was founded in 2016 in New York City, New York.

Learn more about Republic

Follow Ken on Twitter

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

–

This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

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Interview Begins 8:16

Debrief 54:58

Derrick Reimer is the founder and CEO of SavvyCal.

SavvyCal wants to take the friction and awkwardness out of scheduling time with people. They’re an indie SaaS company with a little bit of financial backing from TinySeed and a few angel investors. 

Previously, Derrick co-founded Drip, which was acquired by LeadPages. He hosts The Art of Product Podcast, where he shares what he is learning building the company.

We discuss:

• Starting at the software industry 11:15
• Drip Before SavvyCal 14:35
• Business Takeaways 17:21
• Sexy Software Business 19:43
• Idea on SavvyCal 21:01
• SavvyCal Reaching it's Market 24:06
• What's Weird About Scheduling Links 28:42
• SavvyCal's Feedback 30:47
• SavvyCal and it's Competitors 34:25
• SavvyCal's Indefinite Free Trial 39:51
• Hybrid Bootstrapper 42:59
• SavvyCal Wanting To Be A Multi-million Business 46:08
• Minneapolis Startup 50:38

SavvyCal was founded in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Learn more about Savvycal

Follow Derrick on Twitter

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

–

This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

Interview begins: 6:52

Debrief: 44:32

Rachel Sanders is the co-founder and CEO of Rootine.

Rootine was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2018 and creates custom daily vitamins based on your DNA, lifestyle, and blood level data.

Follow Rachel Sanders: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-soper-sanders/

Website: https://rootine.co/

Key Points:

• The genius behind Rootine 8:53
• Fads and the underlying truth 9:55
• What makes Rootine? 11:52
• Rootine personalizing your vitamins 16:53
• Results with Rootine 20:20
• Rootine earning as a business 21:14
• Commercializing Rootine 26:51
• Raising capital for Rootine 27:44
• Data privacy and security 29:55
• Rootine's Demographics 35:30
• Distribution 37:40

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.
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This episode is sponsored by Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, a full-service law firm known for assisting entrepreneurs across the Heartland.

Click here to learn more about Taft

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This episode of upside is also sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

Interview Begins: 7:25
Debrief Begins: 46:24

Nick King is the co-founder and CEO of Vint.

Vint is the first fully transparent platform for anyone to invest in fine wine and spirits. They democratize this high-returning asset class with SEC-qualified collections.

Fine wine has returned over 9% annually and has low volatility over the long term. Wine has offered diversification benefits in both good times and bad times. In 2008, the S&P 500 dropped 38%, while wine remained stable.

Vint takes a small sourcing fee for each offering. Vint also purchases between 0.5% and 10% of each offering.

We discuss:

• Value vs. Growth Investing 8:49
• Vint's Concept 13:53
• Wine Industry 17:51
• Wine Investment 21:42
• Future of Wine Trading 24:35
• Catalysts 29:47
• Whiskey Market 33:55
• Approach on Getting Experts 38:52

Vint was founded in 2019 in Richmond, Virginia.

Learn more about Vint

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

–

This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

–

Today we are launching the upside network on Product Hunt! We've put a ton of work in preparing for this campaign, and we'd love for you to check out our campaign.

Just visit https://upside.fm/hunt to leave us feedback, questions, or a little love! Your support goes a long way.

Click here to visit our Product Hunt campaign

Interview Begins: 9:01
Debrief: 59:30

Victor Gutwein is the Founder and Managing Partner of M25

M25 is an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago, investing solely in tech startups headquartered in the Midwest. Since they launched in 2015, they've become the most active investor in the region.

They are led by two of the youngest fund managers in the industry, and they enjoy challenging traditions. They invest broadly, and our unique, analytical approach to venture investing aims to reduce the risk, while maintaining the high returns typically associated with this stage of investing. They emphasize our expansive networks, and thrive on collaboration - helping to syndicate deals, encouraging fair terms as a best practice, and prioritizing relationships. 

A Kauffman Fellow (Class 22) and former leader in Hyde Park Angels, Victor founded M25 in 2015 and quickly grew it to become the most active venture firm in the Midwest. 

We discuss:

• Generational Entrepreneurship 12:27
• Starting small with VC 19:04
• Value Negative Capital Before 21:36
• Angel Groups Before and Now 23:51
• Knowing the Best Deals in the Region 26:18
• M25's Model 29:46
• Maintaining Reputation 33:50
• Trending Opportunities in the Midwest 37:58
• Concerns in the Midwest 41:11
• Expanding beyond the Midwest 44:52
• Midwest on Early Stage VCs 52:28
• M25 Summit 55:07

M25 was founded in 2015 in Chicago, Ilinois.

Learn more about m25
Follow Victor on Twitter

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

–

This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

–

Interview Begins 8:09

Debrief 48:37

Andy Hakes is the founder and CEO of AirExpert.

AireXpert offers maintenance control, quality assurance, base, line, and vendor maintenance, enabling users to experience reduced repair times, decreased delays, and lowered time costs, while mitigating the risk of FAA compliance.

Andy has been an aircraft maintenance guy & aviation geek since 1989. A founding member of the AireXpert crew, he’s worked in Tech Ops and on the heavy iron for several decades. 

We discuss:

• Airplane Maintenance 10:49
• Idea Behind AireXpert 13:20
• Aviation Business Model  17:34
• Outsource Maintenance 20:03
• Airline Maintenance Process 22:53
• AireXpert 27:39
• Evolution of AireXpert 28:42
• Target Airlines 30:22
• Operational Validation 33:22
• Pricing Model 35:44
• AireXpert and 3rd Party Vendors 39:55
• AireXpert Funding 45:36

AireXpert was founded in 2018 in Buffalo, New York.

Learn more about AireXpert

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

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This episode of upside is sponsored by SPMB. 

SPMB is one of the fastest-growing retained executive search firms in the country, closing hundreds of C-level searches every year.

For over 40 years, SPMB has specialized in recruiting upper management and board members to VC-funded startups everywhere from early-stage to growth stage.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/spmb to learn more.

–

This episode of upside is sponsored by Ethos Wealth Management. 

Managing wealth with an eye toward the future demands vigilance and skill in today’s global economy. Over the years, Ethos Wealth Management has worked with clients and their other professional advisors – including attorneys and accountants – to create comprehensive wealth management plans designed to make the best use of their wealth today and help ensure its endurance for future generations.

They can do the same for you. 

Visit upside.fm/ethos to learn more.

–

This episode is sponsored by SavvyCal. 

SavvyCal is the most intuitive and powerful scheduling tool on the market. In fact, we just started SavvyCal to book interviews with our guests! 

You can create personalized links in seconds and even allow recipients to overlay their calendar on top of yours. 

You really gotta see how this works, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this easy.

Sign up to create a free account at savvycal.com/upside and when you're ready to test out a paid plan, use the code UPSIDE to get your first month free.

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