upside

Interview begins: 6:23

Debrief: 50:32

This week we’re hosting an upside feed takeover from When Pigs Fly! When Pigs Fly is a podcast covering the Cincinnati business ecosystem on the upside podcast network. 

And in this episode, they talk to Scott Shane, the Managing Director of Comeback Capital, to learn precisely what venture capital is, what investment looks like for the investor and the entrepreneur, and why the midwest is underserved in the investment world.

They discuss:

• Who does Venture Capital? 7:14
• Exit Event 9:50
• Industry and Trends in VC 12:36
• Venture Capital for Startups 19:33
• Comeback Capital 24:35
• Effective Storytelling in Entrepreneurship 29:41
• Demographic for Venture Capital 32:20
• Pain points 38:19
• Cincinnati's Market 40:28
• Rolling Fund 46:44
• Tips for Startup Entrepreneurs 49:09

Learn more about Comeback Capital: https://www.comeback.vc/

Subscribe to When Pigs Fly: https://pod.link/1549482801
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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.

Follow upside on Twitter

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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.

Interview Begins: 6:16
Debrief: 37:03

Michael Cohn and Sean O’Brien are the Managing Directors of Overline.

Overline is an Atlanta-based, founder-operator led venture capital firm focused on investing in seed-stage businesses, primarily in Atlanta and the Southeast region of the United States. We partner with founders throughout their seed stage and lead investments ranging from $250K to $1.5 million.

Prior to Overline, Michael served as both a managing director for Techstars Atlanta and the co-founder of Cloud Sherpas, which was acquired by Accenture. And Sean served as Chief Strategy Officer at PGi.

We discuss:

• Focus on Overline 9:34
• Growth in Atlanta 13:38
• What makes a good seed lead? 15:22
• Sell Discipline 17:46
• Launching and angel investing 22:12
• Founder Operator 25:56
• Hands on, Lean in Strategy 28:20
• Geographical Investment 33:35

Overline was founded in 2019 and based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Learn more about Overline

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.

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

--

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: 5:49

Debrief: 51:25

Abby Mercado is the co-founder and CEO of Best Shot.

Best Shot is a patient’s companion in fertility treatments, providing medication management & education, streamlining the pharmaceutical ordering experience and enabling safe, supportive micro-communities led by experts.

Abby is a former venture capital investor, and current mom of IVF twins, who experienced a miscarriage resulting from an error made in administering one of her IVF medications.

We discuss:

• Analyzing Macro Trends 11:43
• The idea of fertility 17:18
• Fertility decreases over time. 18:57
• IVF 19:59
• Best Shot 22:12
• Alleviate the black market 30:27
• Targeting problems 34:32
• Simplfying treatment 36:21
• Target market 39:20
• Earning Revenue 43:31
• Fertility Stigma 46:23

Best Shot was founded in 2019 and based in Denver, Colorado.

Learn more about Best Shot

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.

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

Interview begins: 7:15

Debrief: 55:14

Jackie DiMonte is a partner at Chicago Ventures.

Prior to joining Chicago Ventures, Jackie was a principal at Hyde Park Venture Partners, working with portfolio companies such as RoadSync, Podchaser, Fixer, FactoryFix, and PartySlate. Before that, she worked at Silver Spring Networks (now Itron), an IoT company for critical infrastructure, driving development and pilot projects for emerging smart city technology. 

She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Starting Block Madison and Chicago:Blend and a Venture Partner at Republic.

We discuss:

• Feedback Loop 13:54
• Evolution in a Venture Firm 17:14
• What Level is a Deal Flow Done? 21:46
• Get a Deal Through 24:17
• Programmatic Venture 26:35
• Working Virtually from Austin 31:13
• Partner at Chicago Ventures 35:27
• Inbound Pitches 42:43
• Fragmenting Markets 48:53
• Personal Goals for the role 50:26

Chicago Ventures was founded in 2012.

Learn more about Chicago Ventures

Follow Jackie on Twitter

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.

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

--

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: 7:12

Debrief Begins: 55:03

Jessica Peltz-Zatulove is a Founding Partner at Hannah Grey, a first check venture capital firm investing in customer-centric founders reimagining everyday experiences to improve work and life.

She is also the co-founder of Global Women in VC, the world's largest and most active community for women investors, empowering women VCs around the world to better find each other to connect, collaborate, and create a sense of community.

We discuss:

• Disconnect in large and a small companies 11:29
• Find the right stakeholder 13:23
• Working with Startup Founders 18:33
• Coming out of Corporate VC 23:19
• Women in VC 30:04
• Hannah Grey 36:33
• What does Hannah Grey Support? 35:51
• Economic Trends 44:13
• Pre Seed Fund 48:39

Haannah Grey was founded in 2020 and based in New York City and Denver.

Learn more about Hannah Grey

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.

Follow upside on Twitter

Advertise with an upside classified

--

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: 8:19

Debrief 46:25

Zachary Spradlin is a co-creator of Protoball, a futuristic first-person sports game merging basketball, soccer, and high tech style. Players athletically jump, slide, run, and dash around the arena trying to pass the Protoball through the opponents goal.

We discuss:

• Failed Kickstarter Campaign 10:22
• Protoball and the concept behind it. 12:42
• Unreal Engine 16:26
• Needing a Hit Game 19:15
• Creating Protoball 20:49
• Game Jam 22:25
• What makes a good game 23:52
• Scenes from Protoball 26:02
• Scoring 30:37
• Protoball as eSports 32:15
• Unserved Audience 33:31
• Free to Play 35:12
• Funding the game 38:05
• Game Development vs. Business Development 41:16
• Protoball open to public 43:50

Protoball was started in 2018 and based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Learn more about Protoball

This episode is sponsored by Fundboard. You can build a tailor-fit list of startup investors in minutes with FundBoard. Learn more at https://upside.fm/fundboard

Follow upside on Twitter

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Interview begins: 7:58

Debrief: 47:33

Chris Bergman is the founder and CEO of Gylee Games and a General Partner at The Fund Midwest.

Gylee Games believes in building big worlds. They believe in games that can be enjoyed in smaller chunks, not requiring hundreds of hours, but a delightful experience in short bursts. Gylee Games creates games for PC, Console and VR.

The Midwest Fund was born from The Fund, an NYC-based venture capital group. Founded in 2018 by an all-star cast of Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Katie Hunt, Adam Carver and Matthew Brimer, The Fund has since expanded with micro-funds in Los Angeles, London and the Boulder/Denver region. And with each expansion, local founders and investors are tapped to lead each region.

We discuss:

• ChoreMonster 9:26
• Gylee Games and The Fund Midwest 10:19
• Chris Bergman as a game developer and creator 11:56
• Surrounding yourself with people that are really good 13:35
• Funding a gaming studio 16:59
• Game Studio Aspects 18:41
• Gaming and Venture Capital 19:51
• Pre-release marketing 23:27
• Pressure on the first game 29:03
• Strategy on acquisition model 30:46
• Twitch to become stakeholders 32:04
• Entering The Fund Midwest 32:56
• Investment Thesis 38:31
• Funded by founders, run by founders 39:50
• Raising as an operator vs as a VC 44:50

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Learn more about The Fund Midwest: https://thefund.vc/community/midwest/

Learn more about Gylee Games: https://gyleegames.com/

Follow Chris Bergman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisbergman

This episode is sponsored by Fundboard. You can build a tailor-fit list of startup investors in minutes with FundBoard. Learn more at https://upside.fm/fundboard

Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm 

Advertise with an upside classified: https://upside.fm/classifieds 

Interview begins: 6:51
Debrief: 53:55

Ben Kellie is the Founder and CEO of The Launch Company

The Launch Company is building the world’s first multi-user, mobile launch site for this planet and beyond. They develop standardized hardware, ground support equipment, and processes.

Ben has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from University of Alaska Fairbanks, as well as an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Ohio State University.  Before returning to Alaska, Ben worked in rocketry at SpaceX, designing and operating launch sites, and ran the first missions to return a first stage from orbit.

We discuss:

• Launch Pad? 13:26
• Privatized Spaceflight Project 15:08
• Doing the Math on Launch Pads 17:38
• Measuring Precision 20:40
• Rocket Launching 22:31
• Space program through the years 23:48
• Demand for Space Exploration 27:12
• Putting stuff into space 28:40
• Kessler Effect 30:14
• The Launch Company 31:39
• Being in an off planet project 35:40
• Red Tape in transactions 37:39
• SpaceX Mafia 39:23
• Capital in Space 40:44
• Bootstrapping The Launch Company 41:36
• Horizontal Rebundling 43:45
• Building a company in Alaska 46:05

The Launch Company was founded in 2015 and based in Anchorage, Alaska.

Learn more about The Launch Company: https://www.launch-company.com/

Follow Ben Kellie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/northroadben

This episode is sponsored by Fundboard. You can build a tailor-fit list of startup investors in minutes with FundBoard. Learn more at https://upside.fm/fundboard

Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm 

Advertise with an upside classified: https://upside.fm/classifieds 
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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.

–

This episode is also sponsored by Fundboard. 

FundBoard is a free tool to help you find startup investors and manage your fundraising process.

You can build a tailor-fit list of startup investors in minutes with FundBoard. Learn more at https://upside.fm/fundboard

Interview begins: 11:40

Debrief: 58:48

John Crain is the Founder and CEO of SuperRare.

SuperRare is a marketplace to collect and trade unique, single-edition digital artworks. Each artwork is authentically created by an artist in the network, and tokenized as a crypto-collectible digital item that you can own and trade.

Each artwork on SuperRare is a digital collectible– a digital object secured by cryptography and tracked on the blockchain. That’s just a fancy way of saying they’re probably scarce items that can be collected, and that hold value just like cryptocurrencies like ether and bitcoin.

You can think of SuperRare like Instagram meets Robinhood. A new way to interact with art, culture, and collecting on the internet!

Key points:

• Getting to the world of crypto 10:45
• Difference of Bitcoin and Etherium 13:31
• What’s does SuperRare offer 14:58
• SuperRare 16:28
• Crypto Kitties 20:02
• Art world and Technology 23:00
• What is Digital art? 25:49
• Collecting digital art 26:45
• Value of digital art 30:57
• Audience of SuperRare 34:00
• Certificate of Authenticity 35:37
• SuperRare as a marketplace business 40:36
• Transaction fees and costs 45:52
• The future of art/museums 51:17

Learn more about SuperRare: https://superrare.co/

Follow John Crain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnacrain/

Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm

Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm 

Advertise with an upside classified: https://upside.fm/classifieds 

--
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 also sponsored by Fundboard. 

FundBoard is a free tool to help you find startup investors and manage your fundraising process.

You can build a tailor-fit list of startup investors in minutes with FundBoard. Learn more at https://upside.fm/fundboard

Interview begins: 4:27

This week we’re hosting an upside feed takeover from Lay of The Land! Lay of The Land is a podcast covering the Cleveland business ecosystem on the upside podcast network. And in this episode, Jeff talks with Steve Muszynski, the founder and CEO of Splash Financial.

Jeff and Steve discuss the student loan crisis and how Splash, one of Ohio’s fastest growing companies, is helping people save on their student loan debt.

We discuss:

• Status Quo for Student Loans 6:34
• Coming up with Splash Financial 8:12
• Progress amidst the current situation 13:12
• Loan Forgiveness 15:53
• Think about growth 18:32
• Starting in Cleveland 21:38
• Hiring employees 25:12
• Challenges for Splash 29:26

Splash Financial was founded in 2015 and based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Learn more about Splash Financial: https://splashfinancial.com/ 

Subscribe to Lay of The Land: https://pod.link/1539921799 

Follow upside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/upsidefm 

Advertise with an upside classified: https://upside.fm/classifieds 

--

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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