Virginia Startup Podcast

Boomer Muth’s journey, featured on the Virginia Startup Podcast, is a case study in how startups evolve. Starting as a teenager learning instruments to form a band, Boomer carried that same scrappy determination into building Koalafi, a Virginia-based fintech company that’s raised over $190M. He shares what most founders only realize after hard mistakes: focus matters, customers know more than you do, and the best ideas often come from understanding their pain points—not from pushing your own agenda. This episode is a masterclass on how to build something people want, packed with lessons on grit, transparency, and the messy but rewarding process of learning by doing. If you’re an early-stage founder, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Virginia Startup Podcast, host William Leonard engages in a deep conversation with James McGoff, co-founder of Richmond-based TemperPack. They explore how building a company in Virginia’s growing startup ecosystem shaped TemperPack’s journey from scrappy beginnings to product market fit. McGoff shares how the region’s talent pool and affordable warehouse space made Richmond the perfect launchpad for his sustainable, last-mile thermal packaging solution. What started with experiments in a sauna evolved into a category-defining company, securing over $140 million in funding while addressing the critical needs of the perishable goods market. Throughout the episode, McGoff reflects on how Virginia’s supportive environment helped TemperPack transition from bootstrapping to raising significant venture capital, scaling from local operations to national impact.

In this episode, join Valor VC Managing Partner Lisa Calhoun as she chats with her Kauffman Fellows colleague, venture investor  Linda Li, Partner, a seasoned biotech investor based at the Cleveland Clinic. Discover how the 5,600 scientists working at the Cleveland Clinic are driving innovation, how they use a partnership lens for investment strategies, and key trends they’re tracking. Cleveland Clinic is calling for founders and startups in Virginia and beyond to share their expertise and is hunting for potential partnerships. Founders, this is your chance to learn how to connect with the Cleveland Clinic’s innovation team in person too--listen in to hear about their next big event in Las Vegas this October hunting for healthcare, AI, and patient care startups.

George Mason, Virginia's largest university, has supported 1,600 tech startups in Virginia, helping them secure more than $200M in funding. Paula Sorrell, Associate VP, leads this unique innovation and economic development platform.  Get her insights on how your startup or small business can grow faster with the support of George Mason in this far-ranging, fun conversation with Paula Sorrell and Lisa Calhoun, managing founder at Valor Ventures, an active Virginia seed lead investor.

Today on the Virginia Startup Podcast, we're joined by Gene Riechers, Venture Partner at Sands Capital Management & Seda Goff, Founder and General Partner at Flintlock Capital to unpack the momentum fueling the Virginia startup ecosystem. We broadly discuss the phases of growth the Virginia startup scene has traversed, contrary thoughts on the AI craze, tactical steps to keeping quality university talent in the state, how the federal government empowers an unfair advantage for VA startups, and more.