The Room Podcast

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ben Witte, Founder and CEO of Recess, a consumer wellness brand pioneering a new category of functional beverages designed to help people relax, unwind, and feel better in an increasingly high-stress world. Recess blends ingredients like magnesium, adaptogens, and other functional compounds into beautifully branded drinks that position themselves as the “Red Bull for relaxation.”  Before launching Recess, Ben built his career in early-stage startups and hypergrowth companies like AdRoll, where he developed a deep understanding of digital marketing, brand building, and emerging consumer trends. In this conversation, Ben shares the core insight behind Recess: that relaxation would define the next major consumer category, driven by rising anxiety, changing alcohol consumption habits, and a cultural shift toward mental wellness. We dive into lessons on identifying non-obvious trends early, building a lifestyle brand in a crowded CPG market, and navigating major challenges like regulatory uncertainty and COVID-driven disruption. Ben also unpacks his philosophy on category creation, why great brands market outcomes instead of ingredients, and how founders should think about fundraising, timing, and long-term vision when building enduring companies. We also discuss: • How Recess validated product-market fit through user behavior • Building a brand-first flywheel using digital and DTC channels • Navigating the CBD regulatory crisis and COVID simultaneously • Fundraising strategy in capital-intensive categories like beverages • The long-term evolution of alcohol moderation and non-alcoholic drinks Learn more about Ben on LinkedIn and explore Recess at https://takearecess.com/ (04:59) Ben Witte’s childhood and early influences (05:24) Whether Ben always saw himself becoming a founder (06:15) Early career and entry into startups through AdRoll (08:36) The aha moment behind starting Recess (11:16) Choosing adaptogens and betting on the relaxation trend (13:54) Early signs of product-market fit for Recess (15:57) Building the initial marketing flywheel and go-to-market strategy (18:04) The first investors who backed Recess (18:43) Fundraising strategy in a modern CPG environment (20:30) A major challenge and unexpected twist in building Recess (23:59) Scaling operations and evolving the supply chain (34:15) Ben’s favorite Recess products and flavors (34:28) What’s next for Recess and Ben personally (34:45) Perspective on alcohol moderation and consumer behavior trends (35:51) A woman who had a profound impact on Ben’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Follow us on InstagramFollow us on TikTokCheck out our guide to podcasting here! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Scott Woody, Co-Founder of Metronome, a platform helping companies implement usage-based billing and modernize how they monetize software. Metronome enables businesses to move beyond rigid subscription pricing and instead charge customers based on actual product usage. The platform sits at the core of a new shift in SaaS: pricing that aligns directly with value delivered, rather than seats or static tiers, giving companies more flexibility and better feedback loops on how their products are used.  This episode explores how billing and pricing infrastructure are becoming critical levers for modern software companies and why aligning pricing with value will define the next generation of SaaS businesses. Before founding Metronome, Scott founded Foundry (later acquired by Dropbox) and went on to spend six years at Dropbox leading engineering teams, where he helped scale monetization systems from $200M to over $1B in revenue. His experience operating at scale deeply informed how he approached building billing infrastructure from the ground up. In this conversation, Scott shares the core insight behind Metronome: pricing is one of the most important yet underbuilt parts of software, and usage-based billing unlocks a more accurate reflection of customer value. He also reflects on early founder lessons, recognizing product-market fit, and why solving “unsexy” problems can lead to the biggest opportunities. We also discuss: • Lessons from building and shutting down his first startup, Foundry • Scaling monetization systems inside Dropbox during hypergrowth • Why usage-based pricing is more aligned with long-term customer value • Early signals of product-market fit and how to recognize them • Building trust and reliability in core infrastructure products • Navigating the acquisition of Metronome by Stripe Learn more about Scott on LinkedIn and explore Metronome at https://metronome.com/ (04:50) Scott’s childhood and how it shaped his worldview (06:11) Did Scott always think he would become a founder? (07:15) The founding of Foundry and lessons from his first startup (09:29) Lessons from scaling monetization at Dropbox (12:37) The core insight behind Metronome and usage-based billing (15:43) Surprising ways customers used Metronome early on (18:55) The first customer that signaled product-market fit (21:27) The first investor who backed Metronome (23:48) A time during the founder journey when things didn’t go as planned  (30:32) Building trust and reliability in billing infrastructure (41:15) Navigating the Stripe acquisition and transition (43:26) What Scott is most excited about for the future of usage-based billing (44:49) A woman who had a profound impact on Scott’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ryan Daniels, Founder and CEO of Crosby, an AI-first law firm rethinking how legal work gets delivered. Crosby combines AI systems with human legal expertise to provide faster, more transparent, and more scalable legal services, moving away from traditional billable hours toward outcome-driven work. Crosby is part of a broader shift in professional services, where AI is not just augmenting workflows but fundamentally reshaping how services are delivered. Instead of selling tools to lawyers, Crosby operates as a full-stack legal provider, meeting customers where trust already exists while embedding AI into the core of legal execution. In this conversation, Ryan shares the core insight behind Crosby: legal work is only partially about legal expertise, and largely about understanding business context, speed, and responsiveness. AI enables a shift where repetitive work is automated, allowing lawyers to focus on high-judgment decisions that actually impact outcomes. We also discuss: • Why selling tools to lawyers wasn’t enough and the importance of building a full-stack service • The broken incentives behind billable hours and how Crosby rethinks pricing • How trust plays a central role in legal services and in adopting new technology • The concept of “taste” in AI and maintaining high-quality outputs in critical workflows • The future role of lawyers as AI handles more of the repetitive work • Lessons from early customer behavior and product iteration • The mindset required to build in a rapidly evolving AI landscape This episode explores how AI is transforming professional services and why the next generation of legal companies will be built around integrated systems, speed, and aligned incentives rather than legacy workflows. Learn more about Ryan on LinkedIn and Crosby at their company website. (04:14) Crosby’s exciting news! (06:31) Ryan’s childhood and how it shaped his worldview (07:22) Growing up in a legal household (08:47) Whether Ryan always saw himself becoming a founder (10:02) Early career decisions from law into startups (11:51) The moment Ryan decided to build Crosby full time (12:00) The insight that selling tools to lawyers wasn’t enough (14:53) Rethinking legal pricing beyond billable hours (17:35) Early customer behavior and unexpected product usage (22:11) Dividing responsibilities with his co-founder (22:35) How Ryan’s legal background informs product development (26:33) The first investor who backed Crosby (32:43) Maintaining high taste in AI-driven legal work (34:46) Pareto efficiency in AI-powered legal negotiations (41:06) Personal growth as a founder and CEO (42:11) A woman who had a profound impact on Ryan’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Alex Halliday, founder and CEO of AirOps, a platform helping companies build AI-powered content workflows and automate complex marketing operations. AirOps enables marketing and growth teams to orchestrate large-scale content generation using structured workflows, AI models, data integrations, and human-in-the-loop systems. The platform is part of a new category emerging in the AI ecosystem: the AI marketing stack, where companies move beyond simple prompt-based tools and instead build repeatable systems for producing high-quality content. Before founding AirOps, Alex built viral fan websites as a teenager and later founded SocialGo, eventually becoming the youngest CEO of a publicly traded company in the UK. His career has spanned early internet startups, hypergrowth technology companies, and now the modern AI platform landscape. In this conversation, Alex shares the core insight behind AirOps: great AI-generated content requires content engineering, meaning multi-step workflows that combine models, structured data, and human review rather than relying on a single prompt. We also discuss: • Alex’s early experience building viral websites and the origin of SocialGo • Lessons from becoming one of the youngest public-company CEOs in the UK • The importance of learning velocity as a competitive advantage for startups • Why the gap between AI-generated text and publishable content is larger than most teams realize • The concept of content engineering and why structured AI workflows matter • How AirOps discovered its initial product-market fit with marketing teams • Advice for founders raising venture capital in the AI startup environment • Why early-stage startups should focus obsessively on a narrow user segment • The emotional discipline required to navigate the founder journey This episode explores how AI is reshaping marketing infrastructure and why the next generation of software companies will be built around AI workflows, automation, and operational systems, not just models. Learn more about Alex Halliday on Linkedin and AirOps at https://www.airops.com/ (05:03) Introduction and overview of AirOps (05:13) Alex Halliday’s childhood and early internet projects (05:54) Did Alex always think he would become a founder? (06:54) The viral fan website projects that led to SocialGo (08:09) Becoming the youngest CEO of a publicly traded company in the UK (10:15) Transitioning from SocialGo to product leadership and founding AirOps (13:36) Lessons learned operating inside hypergrowth companies (14:52) The original insight behind AirOps and the pivot to AI content workflows (18:36) What “content engineering” means and why AI content requires multi-step workflows (21:13) Interesting and unexpected use cases customers are building with AirOps (23:00) The first investor who backed AirOps (25:05) Fundraising advice for founders raising capital in the AI era (28:51) A founder moment where things did not go as planned (31:57) How to compete with other SEO platforms (40:14) How AirOps thinks about integrations and building an AI agent ecosystem (44:28) What’s next for AirOps (46:00) Personal growth as a founder and CEO, of their fourth company (47:20) A woman who had a profound impact on Alex’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie. WX Productions

In this season opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Nirav Tolia, the co-founder and CEO of Nextdoor, the neighborhood network designed to connect verified neighbors and strengthen local communities. Nirav shares and refelcts the story behind building Nextdoor, one of the world’s largest hyperlocal social platforms, and reflects on the lessons he has learned scaling a product designed around real-world communities. Before founding Nextdoor, Nirav was one of the first 100 employees at Yahoo, where he witnessed the rise of the early consumer internet and the power of network effects. He later co-founded Round Zero, an early startup studio that helped shape his thinking about entrepreneurship and product development. In this conversation, Nirav discusses: • Growing up in Odessa, Texas, as the child of Indian immigrant physicians, and how those experiences shaped his understanding of belonging and community • Why he never planned to become a founder and how failure at Stanford University helped him find his strengths • The early days of Yahoo and how the dot-com era influenced his entrepreneurial path • The founding story behind Nextdoor and the challenge of building a platform designed for neighborhoods rather than global networks • How founders can identify product-market fit, including his framework of building a “painkiller vs. vitamin” product • The responsibility technology companies have when platforms surface bias, trust, and safety challenges • Why Nextdoor prioritizes quality of interactions over pure scale and engagement metrics • How Nirav thinks about the role of artificial intelligence in local communities, and why he believes AI should act as an advisor rather than a driver Learn more about Nirav Tolia on LinkedIn and explore Nextdoor at nextdoor.com. (03:51) Growing up in Odessa, Texas, and how early experiences shaped Nirav’s worldview (07:31) Why Nirav never planned to become a startup founder (09:51) Transitioning from pre-med to an English major at Stanford (12:41) Lessons from failure and discovering personal strengths (15:51) Joining Yahoo as one of its earliest employees during the dot-com era (18:01) How the early internet shaped Nirav’s view of network effects (20:51) Why Nirav left Yahoo at its peak to pursue entrepreneurship (22:21) The story behind Round Zero and how it prepared him to build companies (22:51) The founding story of Nextdoor and the opportunity in hyperlocal networks (25:21) How founders know when to pivot versus persevere (29:51) Identifying product-market fit and early signals of traction (34:25) The “painkiller vs. vitamin” framework for product strategy (36:25) Trust, safety, and moderation challenges in community platforms (37:55) Lessons from addressing racial profiling and bias on Nextdoor (40:25) How technology can help people become better neighbors (48:55) Why Nextdoor prioritizes quality interactions over traditional network effects (49:55) Nirav’s perspective on artificial intelligence and community platforms (1:00:25) A woman who had a profound impact on Nirav’s life and career For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Julie Bornstein, founder and CEO of Daydream, a new AI-powered shopping platform reimagining how people discover fashion online. Julie is a two-time founder with deep roots in digital commerce, having previously helped build Stitch Fix and later founded The Yes, which was acquired by Pinterest. With decades of experience at the intersection of retail, technology, and consumer behavior, Julie has been at the forefront of how people shop as the internet — and now AI — evolves. In this episode, Julie shares why search has always been the hardest and most important problem in e-commerce, and how generative AI finally unlocks a more human way to shop. She walks through the lessons she learned building algorithmic fashion at Stitch Fix, why inventory ownership limits personalization, and how The Yes shaped her thesis around intent-driven discovery. We also dive into founding Daydream after an acquisition unwind, the challenges of hiring the right early team, navigating retailer relationships without becoming an ads business, and what the future of shopping looks like when your stylist lives in your pocket. Tune in for a masterclass on consumer AI, founder resilience, and why being early — twice — doesn’t make it easier the third time around. (00:00) Introduction (05:20) Where did Julie grow up and how did it shape her view of the world? (06:31) Did Julie always think she would become a founder? (07:42) How did Julie’s early career in retail and e-commerce shape what she’s building today? (09:59) How did Julie’s philosophy evolve from Stitch Fix to The Yes to Daydream? (11:54) Why did Julie decide to become a founder again after selling The Yes to Pinterest? (14:54) How does Daydream avoid getting squeezed between retailers and consumers? (17:58) Who is Daydream’s core customer and why did Julie choose them first? (18:45) Who was the first investor to say yes to Daydream? (19:39) What unexpected challenges did Julie face early at Daydream? (21:41) How is AI changing Daydream’s business model decisions? (22:26) Should retailers rethink site architecture in an AI-driven search world? (23:14) How can companies make products more discoverable in an LLM-first future? (23:33) Does better AI indexing by retailers threaten Daydream’s value? (25:48) How does Daydream think about LLM interoperability and model choice? (26:44) How should retailers think about cloud providers in modern e-commerce stacks? (27:57) Does Julie consider Daydream an AI-native company? (29:23) What does the future of online retail look like? (31:39) What advice does Julie have for new founders? (33:44) Who is a woman in Julie's life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this special live panel episode of The Room Podcast from Inside Summit 2025, host Ash Kumra sits down with an all-star group of AI and product leaders: Noah MacCallum of OpenAI, Grant Lee of Gamma, Malte Ubl of Vercel, and Chris Messina, inventor of the hashtag and longtime product strategist. Together, they represent the cutting edge of applied AI, developer platforms, design tooling, and the social technologies that shaped how we communicate today. Throughout the conversation, the panel digs into what ethical AI actually means in practice, how founders should think about scaling from early demos to real-world robustness, and why “iteration velocity” may matter more than perfection. From Noah’s breakdown of vibes-based iteration versus formal evals, to Chris’s framing of AI as a new expressive medium rather than just a technology, this episode is packed with perspective for builders navigating the next era of software. The discussion ultimately challenges founders to focus less on hype and more on clarity of vision, taste, and long-term impact. (00:00) Introduction (04:28) Who are the panelists and what is each of them building or focused on today? (06:39) How does Noah define ethical AI, and where do the real risks show up in practice? (08:02) How should early-stage AI companies think about trust, safety, and responsibility? (11:26) What advice would the panel give founders trying to scale AI products from one to one hundred? (12:21) How do founders balance intuition, taste, and formal evals when improving AI products? (13:32) Why is long-term founder conviction more important than early AI traction? (14:33) How should founders think about AI as a medium rather than just a technology? (17:42) Which industries remain underexplored for AI, despite the current hype cycle? (20:25) Which customer segments surprised Gamma as adoption scaled beyond early users? (23:30) What unexpected user behaviors emerged during the early days of social media and AI? (27:00) What specific product, feature, or workflow is each panelist most excited about building right now? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this special Inside Summit episode of The Room Podcast, Claudia moderates a powerhouse panel featuring Michelle Edwards, Partner at Perkins Coie, Indy Guha, GP of VMG, Dan Kang, CFO of Mercury, and Jared Roesch, a founder who recently exited to NVIDIA.  When startups challenge incumbents, winning deals requires more than just a great product. This episode shares how to master founder sales by building strong relationships and leveraging insider knowledge. Learn about crafting a compelling sales strategy and how to sell effectively, even when facing executive changes. With perspectives spanning legal, investor, financial, and operator experience, the panel breaks down how deals get sourced, what drives acquirer motivation, and how macro conditions—from AI acceleration to shifting public markets—are reshaping the paths available to startups. In this conversation, the group shares tactical lessons on preparing your company years before an exit, cultivating strategic relationships, and understanding the human and emotional realities of selling a business. They explore why deals fall apart, how founders can signal readiness to buyers, and why the best outcomes often begin long before a term sheet is drafted. Whether you're raising, scaling, or fielding interest from potential acquirers, this episode offers clear, actionable insights for building toward a successful transaction. (00:00) Introduction (06:05) What has each panelist’s experience been with M&A? (08:51) How is M&A shifting in 2025 from the investor side? (10:56) What is driving more companies towards M&A? (12:25) What are some of the most common structural shifts in deals today versus the past? (14:49) When does a founder know acquisition is the right path? (17:41) What is something that most founders don’t think of when it comes to being acquired? (21:28) How does a founding team build relationships with investors? (23:28) What red flags should a buyer or seller be looking for during negotiations? (28:27) How do you manage a team that's working and building that might not know that an acquisition is happening? (29:48) What do buyers wish founders did more of to set themselves up for a successful transaction? (32:36) How should founders approach the conversation of acquisition with their investors? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another LIVE rendition of The Room Podcast! This week, we are back at our live conference, Inside Summit. Listen in as we sit down with Michel Tricot, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbyte — the open-source platform that’s transforming how companies move data across their modern stacks. Airbyte gives teams the ability to extract and load data from virtually any source, empowering both AI-native companies and legacy enterprises to sync their information seamlessly and securely across hundreds of tools. In this conversation, Michel shares the lessons behind scaling Airbyte from its first connector to 600+, building open source community momentum, and navigating shocks like COVID and a disrupted engineering team during the war in Ukraine. We dive into why ELT architecture matters, what separates AI-native companies from incumbents trying to adopt AI, and why founders should optimize for survival before anything else. Tune in for tactical guidance on fundraising, building at “internet scale”, breaking data silos, and how to stay grounded when the journey becomes nonlinear — because it always does. (00:00) Introduction (04:23) Where did Michel grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (05:09) Did Michel always think he was going to become a founder? (05:35) What early career milestones led Michel to move to San Francisco? (07:56) What insights brought Michel to want to develop a better data stack? (09:25) How did Michel transition from full-time work to launching an open-source solution and building Airbyte? (11:05) Why did Michel choose to name Airbyte’s architecture as “ELT”? (12:01) How did the “ELT” architecture choice influence decisions around scaling the company? (13:15) What was Airbyte’s first connector? (13:33) What was harder — going from 1 to 50 connectors or from 50 to 600? (14:20) Who was the first person to ever say yes to investing in Michel? (14:47) What metrics convinced investors that Airbyte was a billion-dollar-plus market? (15:23) What advice does Michel have for first-time founders preparing for their first fundraise? (16:00) What is something that went wrong during the founder journey? (16:31) What does “AI data infrastructure” really mean — is it just rebranding? (17:39) Where does Airbyte fit in the evolving AI ecosystem? (18:47) How does Airbyte think about competing with giant platforms building internal integration tools? (20:08) What separates AI-native companies from larger incumbents trying to cross the AI chasm? (21:21) When data infrastructure is fully solved, what does that mean for the world? (22:26) What general career and life advice does Michel have for future founders today? (23:49) Who is a woman in Michel’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Tomer London, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Gusto, the all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll, benefits, and HR for over 400,000 small businesses across the U.S. From humble beginnings as ZenPayroll, Gusto has become one of the most beloved products in the SMB ecosystem—known for turning one of the most stressful business tasks into a delightful experience. In this episode, Tomer shares the personal roots behind Gusto’s mission—growing up around his family’s small clothing store in Israel—and how those early lessons shaped his empathy for small business owners. He walks us through finding the right customer base, building emotional resonance into product design, and why “customer love” is the most powerful growth channel. Listeners will gain valuable insights into startup decision-making, measuring true product–market fit, and the mindset needed to scale from a scrappy YC-backed idea into a category-defining company. (00:00) Introduction (05:25) Where did Tomer grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (05:50) Did Tomer always think he would become a founder? (10:13) What early challenges inspired Tomer to build something of his own? (11:23) What were Tomer’s first experiences like coming to the U.S. as an immigrant? (13:33) What was the “aha” moment that led to starting Gusto? (16:38) What were some early moments when things didn’t go as planned? (20:11) How did Gusto find product–market fit with small businesses? (23:51) What advice does Tomer have for founders navigating their beachhead market? (26:26) How did Gusto create emotional connection and delight through product design? (29:11) What has leading Gusto taught Tomer about building teams and company culture? (33:11) How does Gusto approach innovation while staying true to its mission? (36:04) How does Gusto assist businesses and customers during crisis moments? (38:04) How is Gusto adapting to the AI era? (44:08) Who is a woman in your life that had a profound impact on you? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with William Allen, Head of Emerging Tech and AI at Cloudflare, and previously a key leader at Adobe and Behance. Will has spent his career at the intersection of creativity, technology, and infrastructure—from helping launch TED Talks and building Behance into a global hub for creatives, to leading initiatives like the Content Authenticity Initiative that aim to make the internet more trustworthy. In this episode, Will shares insights on the evolution of digital content, the challenges of building authenticity in an AI-driven world, and what it takes to create infrastructure that both empowers creators and protects their work. He discusses lessons learned from scaling startups, navigating acquisitions, and fostering innovation within large companies. Listeners will walk away with actionable takeaways on balancing speed with integrity, building products for real users, and creating a “better internet” rooted in trust and transparency. (00:00) Where did Will grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (01:09) Did Will always think he would become a founder like he did with Chamber? (03:17) Was that first startup what led him to Adobe? (04:38) What was it like launching TED Talks for the first time? (06:35) What did Will learn from his decade at Adobe and leading Behance? (09:06) How did those experiences shape what Will wanted to do next in his career? (10:25) How did Will transition from Chamber to joining Cloudflare? (11:12) What was it like selling his startup and choosing not to join the acquiring company? (12:21) What was the idea that finally convinced him to join Cloudflare? (14:00) How is Cloudflare balancing protection and innovation in the AI era? (16:05) What advice does Will have for founders building resilient infrastructure in the age of AI? (18:18) What’s something that didn’t go as planned while building or launching a product? (21:04) How does Cloudflare communicate with creators and non-technical users? (23:00) How does Will think about policy and communicating with broader stakeholders? (24:40) What does the end-to-end C2PA workflow look like from capture to display? (27:30) In five years, what will creators’ relationship be with AI model providers? (32:45) What’s next for Will personally, and what is he excited about? (34:10) Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Will’s life and career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

We are back with another live rendition of The Room Podcast! This week, Madison sits down with Jack Barrett, Co-Founder and CEO of Almost Friday Media, the creative force behind the viral comedy brand Friday Beers. After starting and leaving his career in investment banking, Jack followed his storytelling instincts into media, co-founding a creator-first company that now spans comedy, live events, digital media, and even its own beer brand. Almost Friday Media has quickly become a cultural touchpoint for millennial and Gen Z audiences craving authenticity, humor, and community online. In this episode, Jack shares how moments of failure shaped his path, how comedy can connect people across generations, and what it takes to build a modern media business in the era of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram Reels. Listeners will hear insights on evolving with algorithms, scaling creator ecosystems, and staying true to a mission that celebrates friendship, optimism, and laughter. Listen in as we take a look at how Almost Friday Media became a blueprint for the future of entertainment—where community meets creativity. (00:00) Introduction (02:00) Jack’s upbringing in Greenwich and how family and sports shaped his creative drive. (04:20) Madison on her childhood and early curiosity about tech and creativity online. (06:10) The role of siblings, humor, and community in shaping perspective. (06:50) Jack’s Dartmouth years, finding identity, rejection from Yale, and lessons on belonging. (08:45) Discovering campus culture & humor, how fraternity life and writing led toward comedy. (09:50) What Jack learned (and hated) about his first career path. (10:45) Meeting Radical Media’s John Kamen and discovering the power of storytelling. (11:10) Launching a podcast during COVID and finding purpose in connection. (13:40) Why storytelling became essential for investors and founders alike. (15:00) Birth of Friday Beers, from Instagram memes to a viral cultural brand. (16:45) Defining “Friday Beers” ethos, friendship, humor, and inclusion as the new comedy tone. (17:40) Building Almost Friday Media, from side hustle to full-scale creative network. (18:40) How The Room connects founders, investors, and community. (20:00) Digital disruption and audience ownership. (21:40) Shifts from TV to streaming to creator-led entertainment. (22:50) Adapting to algorithm changes and engagement analytics. (23:40) Indie creators vs. traditional media networks. (24:10) Expanding Almost Friday Media across content, live events, and culture. (25:30) Closing reflections, celebrating creativity, collaboration, and the next era of storytelling. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram Follow us on TikTok Check out our guide to podcasting here! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

We are back with another live installment of The Room Podcast! This week, we sit down with Barry McCardel and Caitlin Colgrove, Co-Founders of Hex, the collaborative data workspace trusted by teams around the world. Hex empowers data scientists, analysts, and business operators to explore, visualize, and share insights in one connected platform—bringing together code, no-code tools, and now AI-powered features that make data storytelling seamless and accessible to everyone. In this episode, Barry and Caitlin unpack Hex’s origin story, from their early days at Palantir to building one of the most beloved modern data tools. They share how deep empathy for early users shaped their product decisions, why great co-founding relationships require shared values and “stress testing,” and what it means to truly be “AI-first” in 2025. You’ll also hear lessons on problem-driven entrepreneurship, managing investor relationships, and how Hex is redefining what it means for everyone to be a data person. (00:00) Introduction (06:47) Where did Barry and Caitlin grow up and how has that shaped their view of the world? (09:12) Did Barry and Caitlin always think they would become founders? (10:02) How did time at Palantir shape Barry and Caitlin’s conviction to start Hex? (12:45) What was the “aha” moment that made Barry and Caitlin decide to actually start Hex full-time? (15:02) What advice would Barry and Caitlin give to founders looking to find or choose the right co-founders? (16:48) What is Hex’s core product and who is it built for? (18:18) Is Hex an AI-native company, and how does AI integrate into the product and strategy? (22:16) What is “Hex Magic,” and what has building AI features taught you about product development? (25:13) Who was the first person to believe in Hex and invest? (27:29) How do Barry and Caitlin work with their board, and what’s that dynamic like as founders? (30:07) How do Barry and Caitlin think about scaling culture as the company grows? (32:21) What are some of the biggest leadership lessons Barry and Caitlin have learned since founding Hex? (34:54) How do Barry and Caitlin maintain product focus while expanding features and teams? (37:12) What’s the vision for the future of data collaboration and AI in analytics? (39:15) How is the role of the data team evolving with AI? (40:15) So… humans — we’re here to stay? (42:05) What’s next for Hex and for Barry and Caitlin personally? (43:49) Who is a woman in Barry and Caitlin’s lives who has had an impact on them and their career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Eric Simons, Co-Founder and CEO of StackBlitz and creator of Bolt.new, the AI-powered development platform redefining how people build web and mobile apps. From humble beginnings coding in Naperville, Illinois, to literally living inside AOL’s Palo Alto offices at age 19, Eric’s journey is a Silicon Valley legend. StackBlitz emerged from a desire to eliminate setup friction for developers, enabling instant browser-based coding environments that reimagined how software gets built. In this episode, Eric shares the highs and lows of the founder journey — from near-shutdown to a $20M ARR turnaround powered by Bolt’s viral AI tools. He offers candid advice on knowing when to pivot, how to approach investors during uncertain times, and why obsession and experimentation are critical to surviving the startup grind. Tune in for insights on product-market fit, storytelling as a leadership superpower, and what the “vibe coder” movement means for the next generation of builders. (00:00) Introduction (04:40) Where did Eric grow up and how has that shaped his view of the world? (06:08) Did Eric always think he would become a founder? (08:06) How did Eric’s early interests, like acting, shape his storytelling and leadership today? (08:08) How did Eric gain attention as the “AOL Squatter” and what did that experience teach him? (12:04) What was the original idea behind StackBlitz and the aha moment that started it? (14:52) How did Eric convince early investors and engineers that StackBlitz was even possible? (16:48) How did StackBlitz navigate finding product-market fit and monetization challenges? (19:55) What advice does Eric have for founders at a crossroads between pivoting or shutting down? (21:51) In Eric’s words, what is Bolt and who is it built for? (22:59) How did Eric shift his storytelling as Bolt expanded beyond developers? (24:37) Who was the first person to believe in Eric and say yes to his vision? (25:43) What advice would Eric give to founders raising early-stage capital in 2025? (27:01) How did Eric approach his investors and board during the pivot from StackBlitz to Bolt? (27:05) Can Eric peel back the curtain on how he approached investors about the pivot? (31:25) How did Bolt turn a viral spark into durable long-term traction? (38:16) What is Eric most excited about for Bolt this year—and personally? (39:51) Who is a woman who profoundly shaped Eric and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we sit down with Celine Halioua, Founder and CEO of Loyal, a biotech company pioneering FDA-approved longevity drugs for dogs. From a childhood surrounded by rescue animals to an academic journey through neuroscience, health economics, and venture capital, Celine’s path to entrepreneurship is as winding as it is inspiring. Today, Loyal is leading the charge in redefining what’s possible in veterinary medicine—aiming not just to treat disease, but to extend healthy lifespan itself. In this episode, Celine shares how her scientific curiosity about aging and her love for animals converged into a singular mission. She takes us behind the scenes on the founding story of Loyal—from a chance conversation around a campfire, to navigating the capital-intensive world of biotech, to winning over regulators and pet parents alike. Listeners will walk away with hard-earned insights about fundraising in uncertain markets, balancing ambition with operational discipline, and the importance of being both scientifically rigorous and soulfully driven when building something truly generational. (00:00) Introduction (05:00) How did Celine’s early upbringing in Austin shape her worldview? (06:31) Did Celine always think she’d become a founder? (06:49) What early research made Celine believe in longevity as a real field? (08:51) How did Celine’s love for dogs intersect with her scientific passion? (10:48) What was the aha moment behind starting Loyal? (16:14) What was it like convincing early investors and team members to believe in Loyal? (19:41) Who was the first person to invest in Celine and Loyal? (21:29) How did Celine build trust with both regulators and pet owners? (24:24) What’s a moment that didn’t go as planned, and how did Celine turn it around? (30:47) Is it challenging to build a brand while the product isn’t ready to go to market? (34:17) Is getting a drug for animals approved by the FDA different than a drug for humans? (36:41) What did Celine consider when building her team at Loyal? (40:21) Can Loyal’s work in dogs translate to longevity solutions for humans? (42:34) Who is a woman in your life who has had a profound impact on you and your career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

This week on The Room Podcast, Claudia and Madison sit down with Zach Lloyd, Founder and CEO of Warp. Before founding Warp, Zach spent nearly a decade at Google, where he led engineering on Google Sheets and Docs, and later co-founded the startup Self-Made before launching Warp in 2020. Warp is a modern re-imagining of the command line, transforming one of the most widely used developer tools into an AI-powered, productivity-boosting experience. In this episode, Zach shares lessons from his challenge of finding the right founder–market fit, we explore how Warp integrates AI into developer workflows, why timing mattered during the ChatGPT wave, and the importance of retention before growth. Tune in for insights on building developer-first products, rethinking foundational tools, and how to adapt a startup in a fast-moving AI landscape.   (0:00) Introduction (04:54) Where did Zach grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (06:04) Did Zach always see himself becoming a founder or CEO? (07:07) How did Zach’s early years shape his career path, and why did he leave law school after one year? (09:37) How did Zach’s time at Google shape some of the insights behind Warp? (11:47) What did Zach’s first startup Self-Made do, and how did that experience influence Warp? (15:08) Why was the developer tools space so exciting and important for Zach to tackle with Warp? (18:41) In Zach’s words, what is Warp and how does AI supercharge the new terminal experience? (21:52) What was Zach’s “oh shit” moment in November 2022 when AI changed Warp’s trajectory? (24:58) How did Zach explain this AI-driven shift in product direction to investors? (26:53) What were Warp’s first growth inflection points and what drove that traction? (29:34) How did Warp differentiate itself from the explosion of AI coding tools after ChatGPT’s launch? (31:27) Who was the first person to invest in Warp? (33:29) What were some of the toughest user-experience or branding challenges Warp faced early on? (35:25) How is Warp growing into a dual approach of PLG and enterprise? (37:17) Do we need new business models to support what is happening in tech? (39:24) Who does Zach see as Warp’s true competitors in the AI developer tools space? (40:49) What’s Zach’s quick take on Model Context Protocol and how it fits into Warp’s future? (42:13) What can new users look forward to next with Warp? (43:11) Who is a woman in Zach’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?   For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music!   Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.   WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, hosts Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain sit down with serial entrepreneur Craig Walker, founder and CEO of Dialpad. Craig’s story begins in Cupertino, back when apricot orchards defined the neighborhood and a young Steve Jobs lived just a few houses down. From those early days in Silicon Valley, Craig went on to earn degrees from Berkeley and Georgetown before starting his career as an M&A lawyer advising Cisco, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia. That legal lens shaped his entrepreneurial instincts and prepared him for the rollercoaster ride of building companies through both downturns and booms. Craig shares the pivotal moments behind: Rescuing Dialpad Communications in the wake of the dot-com crash, cutting $3M in monthly burn down to $100K.Founding GrandCentral, which became Google Voice after its acquisition by Google in 2007.Launching UberConference, later rebranded as Dialpad Meetings, and returning to his passion for modern communications.We dive deep into how Dialpad became an AI-native platform, from the bold $50M acquisition of TalkIQ in 2018 to pioneering real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and call coaching. Craig explains why “work isn’t a place, it’s what you do” has been his guiding philosophy—and how that mindset shaped Dialpad’s remote-friendly, AI-first culture long before the pandemic. The conversation also covers: What it means to build an AI-native company vs. bolting on AI features.Lessons for founders raising capital in today’s market.How to balance automation with maintaining authentic human connection.Craig’s vision for the future of Dialpad and AI-powered work.The woman in Craig’s professional journey who has had a profound impact.This is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and leading at the edge of technological change

Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Room Podcast, recorded live at New York Tech Week! This week, we're thrilled to chat with Shreya Murthy, Co-Founder and CEO of Partiful, the modern social events platform that is revolutionizing how we make plans and build real-world relationships. Since launching in 2021, Partiful has scaled to millions of users and earned major accolades, including Google's Best App of 2024, Apple's Editor Choice, and recognition as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies for 2025. With its SMS-based approach and frictionless event creation, Partiful has become the go-to platform for gathering people together—so much so that "to partiful" has become a verb! In this episode, Shreya takes us through her unconventional journey from studying political theory at Princeton to building enterprise software, before ultimately founding Partiful to combat social isolation. We dive deep into fascinating topics like launching a party platform during a global pandemic, the strategic decision to start with SMS instead of an app, and how Partiful has maintained remarkable growth with an intentionally lean team. Shreya also shares invaluable insights on co-founder dynamics, navigating venture fundraising as a consumer company, and her vision for building community at every stage of life. Tune in for lessons on product development, authentic relationship building, and what it takes to create a platform that brings people together in an increasingly digital world. (00:00) Introduction (07:02) Where did Shreya grow up and how has that shaped her view of the world?  (08:13) Did Shreya always think she was gonna become a founder? (08:47) How did going from Princeton to the real world spark curiosity about entrepreneurship? (11:30) How has Shreya seen the New York tech ecosystem evolve over the past decade? (13:14) What was the initial idea behind Partiful and what was the aha moment?  (17:33) How did Shreya meet her co-founder Joy and cultivate trust?  (20:10) What advice would Shreya give to folks looking for a co-founder?  (21:33) What was COVID like for the Partiful team and how did the product evolve?  (23:31) What was the strategy behind Partiful's SMS-based approach instead of launching with an app?  (25:53) What metrics did Shreya orient around to know when to launch and build an app? (27:58) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Partiful?  (29:27) What made Partiful and Shreya so compelling as an angel investment?  (32:56) What is Partiful's go-to-market strategy and business model?  (35:40) How has Shreya managed conversations with VCs about when to start monetization? (36:57) How has Shreya thought about scaling the team at Partiful?  (38:35) What's Shreya's favorite Partiful Invite that she's ever seen?  (40:13) How has Partiful thought about building into the social graph network? (43:56) What is Shreya's take on consumer as a sector for growth and opportunity?  (45:45) What have you seen resonate with consumer investors for folks fundraising?  (49:16) What's next for Shreya personally?  (51:45) Who is a woman that has inspired Shreya and impacted her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this season’s finale of The Room Podcast, we're thrilled to chat with Neil Parikh, Co-Founder of Casper and current Co-Founder of Slingshot. Neil first disrupted the mattress industry by building Casper into a household name, pioneering the direct-to-consumer sleep revolution before taking the company public. Now, he's tackling an even bigger challenge with Slingshot, building a foundational AI model specifically designed for psychology and mental health therapy. In this episode, Neil takes us through his unconventional journey from medical school dropout to D2C pioneer, sharing the serendipitous moments that led to Casper's creation and the harsh realities of going public during a pandemic. We delve into the mental health crisis facing society, the limitations of current AI therapy approaches, and how Slingshot is training models on real-world human therapy data to create more effective interventions. Neil also opens up about his therapy journey, the power of taking nudges when they appear, and why he believes we're entering an era of unprecedented change that will reshape how we think about mental health access and self-actualization. (04:06) Where did Neil grow up and how has that shaped his view of the world? (04:54) Did Neil always think he was gonna become a founder? (06:06) Was entrepreneurship in the water at Brown like it is today at Stanford or Harvard? (07:38) What led to Neil's decision to drop out of medical school? (10:52) What did Neil do after dropping out of medical school? (14:20) What made Neil believe that VC was the right route for a mattress company in 2014? (16:44) What was the name before Casper? (18:46) What advice would Neil have for DTC founders during this current climate? (22:17) What did Neil learn from the later stages of fundraising and preparing for the IPO? (27:14) How did Slingshot become the idea for Neil's next exciting phase? (31:40) How did Neil get the confidence to take "the nudge"? (32:48) How is Neil thinking about data sources, model training, and ethical guardrails for psychology? (38:53) How is Neil's model specificity even better than using ChatGPT for therapy? (41:58) Who's the first person to say yes to backing Slingshot? (43:25) What does Neil think is next for Slingshot and what is he excited for? (44:55) What's next for Neil personally, and what is he excited for this year? (46:34) Who is a woman in Neil's life that has had a profound impact on himself and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Madison and Claudia sit down with Alex Konrad, former Senior Editor at Forbes and now Founder of Upstarts Media. After a decade covering technology and venture capital at Forbes, where he pioneered coverage from the Midas List to the Cloud 100, Alex has launched his own media company focused on telling the stories of early-stage founders and companies challenging the status quo. Throughout this conversation, Alex shares insights from his front-row seat to some of tech's most defining moments, including interviews with industry leaders like Sam Altman and Mark Benioff. He discusses the evolution of media in the age of AI, his decision to bootstrap rather than raise venture funding, and his vision for building a community-first media company. Alex also reveals how his upbringing in New York City shaped his no-nonsense approach to tech reporting and why he believes the future of media lies in creating direct, authentic connections with audiences. Tune in for a fascinating look at the changing media landscape and what it takes to build a modern media company from the ground up. (03:52) Where did Alex grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (04:49) Did Alex always think he would become a founder? (05:35) What was the story as an intern that Alex got printed? (07:57) When Alex reflects on his Forbes interviews with tech leaders like Satya Nadella and Sam Altman, which ones stand out most? (10:04) What has Alex learned about power, vision, or vulnerability from being in the room with industry giants? (12:10) Why has Legacy Media been struggling to build an authentic connection with the startup community? (13:27) How is Alex thinking about building a foundation with Upstarts that's going to build into a legacy as lasting as Forbes? (16:03) How is Alex going to be thinking about events as a complement to media? (17:30) Is Alex seeking venture dollars to get Upstarts off the ground? (19:52) If Blue Links are dead, how does Alex think building an audience for the future is going to shift with AI? (23:57) How is Alex using AI in his workflow from editorial decisions to distribution? (29:05) What's next for Upstarts and for Alex personally? (40:06) Who is a woman in Alex's life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we're excited to chat with Anna Kazlauskas, Co-Founder of Vana, a pioneering company creating an alternative to centralized AI monopolies. Vana uses crypto principles like ownership, incentives, and decentralization to build AI models that users collectively own and benefit from, empowering individuals to control their data while earning from its use. In this enlightening conversation, Anna takes us through her journey from growing up in cold places around the world to her time at MIT's AI lab, and how that led to her vision for data ownership. We explore fascinating concepts like Data DAOs (which Anna compares to labor unions for your data), the emergent "DataFi" category, and how Vana enables users to pool their data to create more powerful AI models than any company could build. Anna shares invaluable insights on fundraising across both crypto and AI spaces, emphasizing the importance of aligning with investors on long-term vision. Tune in for a glimpse into how the future of data ownership could revolutionize our relationship with technology. (00:00) Introduction (03:57) Where did Anna grow up, and how has that shaped her view of the world? (05:25) Did Anna always think she was going to become a founder? (06:58) How did Anna go from just building in general to building in a tech-forward way at MIT? (08:44) What research did Anna ultimately do during her time at MIT's CSAIL? (11:02) How did Anna's insight around the power of data lead to iAmbic, her YC batch 2018 startup? (14:21) How did Anna's experience at Celo shape her understanding of decentralization and data ownership? (16:52) How did Anna decide to start something again and commit to a five-to-ten-year journey? (18:14) Why should users care about Vana creating an alternative to centralized AI monopolies? (21:56) What kind of compensation models is Anna exploring for users who contribute their data? (24:30) To what extent does Anna feel big tech companies will start to empower users with their data to compete with the unionization DAO approach? (27:20) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Anna? (31:30) How has Anna navigated constantly evolving her story and telling that to both customers and investors? (34:41) What are some of the product and company-wide milestones that Anna is excited about looking into 2025 and beyond? (37:19) What degree of technical feasibility, from a crypto native perspective, is Anna seeing from these builders? (39:15) What is something Anna is most excited for that Vana will be launching later this year? (41:13) Who is a woman in Anna's life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode, we are joined by Elia Wallen, Founder and CEO of Engine (formerly Hotel Engine), the B2B travel booking platform that's streamlining how businesses manage their travel needs. From its origins as an internal tool for Elia's previous company, Travelers Haven, to becoming a $2.1 billion company, Engine has carved out a significant niche by focusing on serving SMBs with a frictionless approach to corporate travel management. In this conversation, Elia shares his unconventional path from dropping out of college to founding multiple businesses, including the fascinating story of how Engine began as a side project that he almost shut down several times. We explore his philosophy of maintaining "strong conviction loosely held," his approach to fundraising (including a nail-biting near-miss with payroll), and why staying focused on doing one thing extremely well before expanding was crucial to Engine's success. Elia also offers valuable insights on bootstrapping versus raising capital, building in a non-tech hub, and why eliminating friction for customers has been central to Engine's competitive advantage in the crowded travel tech space. (00:00) Introduction (04:20) Where did Elia grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (04:42) Why did growing up in Naples push Elia to succeed? (05:32) Did Elia always think he was going to become a founder? (06:28) How did earlier founding experiences shape his view of leadership? (07:28) What is Engine's core product? (08:51) How does someone break into the corporate travel space? (10:05) How did Elia think about scaling the go-to-market motion? (11:59) How did Elia position Engine as it scaled? (13:55) How did Elia and his leadership team discern which was the right scaling direction to go? (15:57) How does a founder balance extreme focus while managing two businesses? (18:29) How was building a company in Denver, and what prompted the decision to move to the Bay Area? (20:42) How did fundraising begin for Engine? (22:40) What is a moment when things didn't go as planned during Elia's founder journey? (25:41) How did Engine think about building out both the integration suite and the business model? (28:25) How will AI affect Engine's business model and policies? (30:07) How is Engine thinking about diversifying customer benefits? (31:35) How is Elia feeling about corporate travel as a sector for growth and opportunity? (32:04) Where does Elia think Engine and he will be in five years? (33:20) Who is a woman in Elia's life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! In this episode, we sit down with Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes, co-founders of Factory, a company building the command center for software development. With backgrounds in physics and computer science, this dynamic duo is unifying all engineering contexts from GitHub to Notion, empowering product and engineering teams to collaborate with autonomous AI systems. Their impressive journey has already attracted $20 million in funding from Sequoia, Lux Capital, and Mantis Ventures, positioning them at the forefront of the AI-native movement. During our conversation, Matan and Eno share their unexpected journey from Princeton classmates who barely interacted to co-founders who launched their company just eight days after reconnecting at an AI hackathon. They dive deep into how AI is shifting the center of gravity in software development from coding to understanding and planning, the challenges of enterprise adoption, and why they believe we're currently at "the lowest number of developers that will ever be for the rest of human history." Their insightful perspectives on building an AI-native company and transforming developer workflows offer valuable lessons for founders navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape. (00:00) Introduction (03:56) Where did Matan and Eno grow up, and how did it shape their worldview? (06:29) Did Eno always think he'd become a founder? (07:01) Was it inevitable that Matan and Eno would start something together? (07:36) How did Matan and Eno end up in this room today? (09:15) Was it inevitable for them to start a company together after meeting at Princeton? (11:26) Did Matan always see himself becoming a founder? (11:33) How did Factory come to life after they reconnected? (16:05) Did the Factory demo work for their Sequoia pitch? (16:32) What was in Factory's original deck and demo? (18:29) What was the biggest challenge in getting developers to use Factory? (20:22) How does the Factory team see AI shaping the role of developers in the next five years? (22:04) What was Factory's go-to-market strategy and first big customer win? (30:06) What fundraising advice do they have for AI founders looking to raise a Series A? (32:19) What does it mean to be AI-native from Factory's perspective? (37:59) What inefficiencies did they see in developer workflows before starting Factory? (40:00) Does Factory care about chip technology like Nvidia versus Traum? (42:09) Where do they see Factory in five years? (45:06) Is Factory hiring? (45:31) What are they most excited about on Factory's roadmap? (49:18) Who is a woman that had a profound impact on Matan and his career? (50:33) Who is a woman that had a profound impact on Eno and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

This week, we're excited to speak with Tiancheng Lou, Co-Founder and CTO of Pony AI, a leading autonomous vehicle technology company that went public in November 2024. As a two-time Google Code Jam champion and former engineer at both Google X and Baidu's Autonomous Driving Division, Tiancheng brings exceptional technical expertise to his pioneering work in developing driverless technology with over 40 million kilometers of autonomous driving testing. In this episode, Tiancheng shares fascinating insights into the evolution of autonomous vehicle technology, explaining the difference between level two and level four autonomy and why highway driving is more challenging than city driving for AI. We explore Pony AI's virtual driver technology, their approach to commercialization, and how they're training AI through imitation learning and reinforcement learning in virtual environments. Tiancheng also offers valuable advice for founders on balancing technical ambition with market realities, the importance of finding the right co-founder with aligned visions, and why success can't be copied but failures can be avoided. Tune in for a deep dive into the future of transportation and the journey of building a billion-dollar autonomous technology company. (00:00) Introduction (04:09) Where did Tiancheng grow up, and how did that shape his view of the world? (04:43) Did Tiancheng always think he would become a founder? (05:11) How did Tiancheng's competitive programming background influence his approach to tech? (06:08) How did Tiancheng find out about these competitive programming competitions? (08:46) How did Tiancheng get into the autonomous vehicle space? (11:22) What advice would Tiancheng give listeners on how to break into the autonomous tech space? (13:16) What was the "aha moment' when Tiancheng realized he wanted to start Pony.ai? (14:54) What were the differences between the American and Chinese autonomous vehicle industries? (16:25) What is setting the new virtual driver technologies apart? (18:06) What sets the technologies for autonomous trucks and taxis apart from average consumer cars? (20:56) How do you prepare an autonomous car for unexpected events that may happen on the road? (23:24) When did Tiancheng first put an autonomous car on the road? (24:02) How have consumer reviews been of Pony.ai vehicles? (26:15) How does Pony.ai prioritize their developments? (29:23) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Pony.ai? (31:02) What advice does Tiancheng have for first-time founders?\ (32:30) How does Pony adapt to different regulatory environments across markets? (34:40) How important is mass production and scaling of autonomous vehicles to Pony.ai and the overall industry? (36:01) Are we now in the commercialization era of Robo Taxis? (37:05) Is there an amount of autonomous driving data or a certain metric that Pony.ai aims to collect?\ (40:27) What are Tiancheng's thoughts on the future of AI? (42:03) What are Tiancheng's thoughts on Deep Seek? (43:41) What's the next market Pony.ai will be launching in, and what are their goals for global market expansion? (44:19) What's next for Tiancheng personally? (44:44) Who is a woman in Tiancheng's life that had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode, we're joined by Alexa Grabell, Co-Founder and CEO of Pocus, a company revolutionizing how sales teams work by creating AI agents that supercharge sales representatives. Pocus has developed a suite of tools that combine internal and external data to help sales teams identify opportunities, prepare for calls, and close deals more effectively, generating over half a billion dollars in pipeline for their customers in a single quarter. During our conversation, Alexa shares her journey from consulting at KPMG to Stanford Business School and eventually founding Pocus with her co-founder, Isaac, through the Lean Launchpad program. She offers valuable insights on building a sales team, navigating design partnerships, fundraising strategies for B2B startups, and the evolving landscape of AI-powered sales tools. Alexa also candidly discusses the challenges of being a female founder, the importance of finding community among peer founders, and how her mother's entrepreneurial spirit influenced her own path. Whether you're building a sales team, raising capital, or are interested in how AI is transforming business workflows, this episode delivers practical wisdom from someone who's successfully navigated these waters. (00:00) Introduction (03:52) Where did Alexa grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? (05:12) Did Alexa always think she was going to become a founder? (06:26) How were Alexa's experiences at Vanderbilt and KPMG? (08:07) Why did Alexa choose to go to business school after college? (09:07) How did Alexa's time at GSB encourage her to try becoming a founder? (12:41) What was the moment that made Alexa want to start Pocus? (14:06) How did Alexa navigate conversations with peers to find the right fit for a business partner? (15:56) What is the core product of Pocus? (17:27) How did Pocus successfully sell its product in the beginning? (18:45) What advice does Alexa have for founders in the design partnership phase? (21:16) How is Pocus helping move data from "Point A" to "Point B"? (22:34) Who was the first person to say "yes" to investing in Pocus? (23:18) What's a fundraising hot-take that Alexa has? (24:08) What advice does Alexa have for B2B founders raising their A? (25:41) How is Poucs thinking about and utilizing AI? (27:41) What can go wrong when building a marketing team? (28:59) What advice does Alexa have for PLG or B2B founders who might not feel comfortable in sales? (30:15) How should founders be thinking about the AI sales tool space and the modern tech stack? (31:56) How has the necessary startup capital changed over time? (33:06) What was a moment in founding Pocus when things didn't go as planned? (35:59) How has the experience of being a woman founder changed over time? (40:22) What's coming up for Pocus and for Alexa? (41:13) Who is a woman that has a profound impact on Alexa and her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another season of The Room Podcast! To kick off season 12, we are joined by Ryan Petersen, Founder and CEO of Flexport, the revolutionary digital freight forwarder transforming how goods move around the world. Launched in 2013, Flexport combines technology and logistics expertise to bring transparency and efficiency to the complex world of global trade, having grown to become the third-largest American company in the ocean freight industry. In this episode, Ryan takes us through his entrepreneurial journey, from his early days running an e-commerce business importing Chinese motorcycles to identifying the massive inefficiencies in international shipping that led to Flexport's creation. We dive into fascinating topics like building a company that combines tech talent with logistics veterans, navigating highly regulated international markets, and leveraging AI to transform an industry that still largely runs on email attachments. Ryan also shares valuable insights on fundraising strategies, responding to tariff changes, and maintaining resilience through unprecedented global disruptions like the pandemic and shipping crises. Tune in for a master class in spotting industry-wide inefficiencies and building a venture-scale business that's reshaping global trade. (00:00) Introduction (04:17) Where did Ryan grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (06:08) Did Ryan always think he would become a founder? (07:30) What was Ryan's experience prior to Flexport, after Berkeley and Columbia? (13:05) What was it like doing business in China in the early 2000s? (16:447) How did Ryan go from observing inefficiencies to creating Flexport's first product? (20:11) What's Ryan's advice on when founders should say no to customers? (25:05) When did Ryan know to hire supply chain experts versus engineers? (27:20) Who was the first person to invest in the Flexport vision? (35:10) How did Flexport navigate the highly regulated logistics market early on? (37:19) What key tech bets shaped Flexport's path in the early days? (43:04) What's Ryan's view on AI in the logistics workforce? (49:44) How is Ryan thinking about the shifts in the US tariff market? (54:40) How has Ryan handled uncertainty as a founder through unprecedented times? (58:26) Who is a woman who has had a profound impact on Ryan and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this special holiday episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Agatha Kluk and Sonia Farber, the co-founders of Kluk Farber Law (now part of Perkins Coie), a specialized law firm dedicated to supporting innovative founders and startups. Their firm provides strategic legal guidance to entrepreneurs navigating the complex landscape of building and scaling companies.  This candid conversation takes us through the evolution of their practice, from its founding in 2017 to its strategic partnership with Perkins Coie. Throughout our discussion, we explore the intersection of law and entrepreneurship, highlighting how the right legal partnership can empower founders to achieve their vision. At its core, Kluk Farber Law provides comprehensive legal services tailored specifically for startups and emerging companies.  Key topics in this episode include strategic guidance for company sales and earn-out negotiations, balancing tech automation with historically successful advisory services, and AI regulation and compliance considerations. (00:00) Introduction (05:07) Where did Agatha and Sonia grow up and how did that shape their view of the world? (07:10) Did Agatha and Sonia grow up thinking they would be founders and lawyers? (08:44) How did Agatha and Sonia find themselves at the intersection of law and tech? (12:24) How did Agatha and Sonia meet? (13:02) What made Agatha and Sonia want to work together? (19:29) What was the original goal of the firm that Agatha and Sonia started? (21:22) What is the most common pitfall founders face when fundraising from VCs and, what are some of the mistakes to look out for when selling your company? (23:48) Who or what is a memorable client or case that stands out from the first few years of working together? (29:17) What encouraged Agatha and Sonia to say yes when being acquired in 2022? (32:17) What is something that is not discussed enough when it comes to acquisition? (34:19) How is tech affecting the legal sector, specifically for Agatha and Sonia? (36:35) How do Agatha and Sonia feel about the current proposed AI regulations? (39:28) Do Agatha and Sonia fund or support the founding of a venture firm? (40:42) Are Agatha and Sonia bullish or bearish on first-time fund managers in today's market? (47:06) Who is a woman in Agatha and Sonia's lives that has had a profound impact on them and their careers? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we’re thrilled to chat with Wade Foster, CEO and Co-Founder of Zapier, the tool that’s revolutionized workflows by making automation accessible to anyone. Zapier helps businesses and individuals connect the apps they rely on, creating seamless integrations that save time and boost productivity. In this episode, Wade takes us through Zapier’s origins, its flagship no-code-needed automation platform, and how the company has carved out a niche as the go-to solution for streamlining business processes. We also dive into fascinating topics like growing a fully remote team before it was trendy, navigating the unique challenges of bootstrapping in a venture-driven world, and the surprising lessons Wade learned while literally counting telephone poles during a college internship. Tune in for insights on building impactful products, a behind-the-scenes look at Zapier's innovative culture, and a glimpse into what it takes to lead one of today’s most versatile SaaS companies. (00:00) Introduction (04:53) Where did Wade grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (06:08) Did Wade always think he was going to become a founder? (07:01) How did Wade develop an interest in entrepreneurship? (09:58) Why was Wade's first internship so impactful? (12:31) How did Wade meet his cofounders and come up with the idea for Zapier? (14:24) How was Wade's experience at YC? (15:38) What lessons has Wade learned about marketing and sales tactics? (16:53) What advice does Wade have for founders entering YC to maximize their experience? (22:09) What were some moments when Wade realized they were onto something with Zapier? (22:42) What advice would Wade give to founders looking to grow in today's market conditions? (25:36) What's a memorable moment from the founding journey of Zapier? (27:08) How did Zapier scale while maintaining authenticity to its core values? (30:37) What is Zapier's core product? (32:07) How has the business model of Zapier scaled alongside the product? (35:24) What lessons has Wade learned on pricing and packaging B2B SaaS products? (37:58) How is Zapier thinking about the future of their business? (39:35) What is Zapier's view on how AI and automation are coming together? (42:57) What are some things Zapier customers can look forward to in 2025? (44:02) What is Wade personally excited about for the near future? (44:19) Who is a woman in Wade's life who has had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this LIVE version of The Room Podcast, we’re thrilled to chat with Immad Akhund, Co-Founder and CEO of Mercury, a fintech company built specifically for startups and tech companies. Immad walks us through his journey from founder to industry leader, and how Mercury is reimagining banking with streamlined financial tools for growing businesses. Mercury’s core product offers an intuitive digital banking experience, designed to handle startups' unique cash flow and management needs. Join us as we explore Immad’s early entrepreneurial journey, his strategic shift from gaming with Hayzap to founding Mercury, and the insights he gained along the way. This episode highlights Mercury’s goal to simplify banking for tech founders, Immad’s take on the importance of resilience and adaptability, and how Mercury’s modern approach is transforming financial services for the startup ecosystem. (00:00) Introduction (08:40) Where did Immad grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (09:17) Did Immad always think he would become a founder? (10:22) At what point did Immad move to the States? (11:06) What lessons did Immad learn when running HayZap? (12:55) How did Immad know who he wanted as cofounders when starting Mercury? (14:07) What advice does Immad have for finding a co-founder and resolving conflict with a co-founder? (15:31) Why did Immad want to tackle a problem in banking specifically? (16:30) How was Immad's experience breaking into the fintech space? (19:28) What advice does Immad have for founders in complex regulatory spaces? (21:20) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Mercury? (22:46) What's a fundraising "hot take" that Immad has? (24:39) How did Mercury's go-to-market strategy change as they scaled? (26:39) How does Mercury scale their feature set and their product to meet the scaling needs of their clients? (28:14) How did the liquidity crisis at Silicon Valley Bank impact Mercury and the fintech space? (30:01) What traits does Immad look for when investing in a startup? (31:03) What advice does Immad have for founders looking to be acquired in the current market? (33:53) What does Immad expect in the future of fintech? (34:48) What's next for Mercury and for Immad personally? (35:31) Who is a woman in Immad's life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to explore the fast-evolving world of B2B tech innovation with Shensi Ding, co-founder of Merge. Merge has become a leader in unified APIs, creating a category that addresses the challenges many companies face with complex integrations. Shensi’s journey is a unique one—from her coding days in Boston to Columbia, then a career at Silver Lake, all of which prepared her to tackle the 'SAAS sprawl' problem head-on. Together with her co-founder, Gil Feig, Shensi has built a powerhouse team and a product that’s essential for clients like Ramp and BambooHR. Their customer-first approach has secured $75 million in funding and a growing presence across SF and NYC. In this episode, we delve into topics like using customer insights to drive category creation, balancing skills in co-founder dynamics, and navigating fundraising from seed stage through metrics-driven growth.  (00:00) Introduction (05:04) Where did Shensi grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? (06:07) Did Shensi always think she was going to become a founder? (06:29) How were website designers making money in the early 2000's? (07:25) How did Shensi move from making websites to computer science? (08:19) How has finance influenced Shensi to become a founder? (10:26) Why did Shensi leave finance to join Xpanse? (11:35) How did Shensi meet her co-founder, Gil, and why did they decide to find Merge? (14:20) What was the aha moment that encouraged the start of Merge? (14:57) What is the core product of Merge? (16:48) Who was the first company to say yes to using Merge? (17:53) What are some of the ways that customers are using Merge? (18:48) How does Shensi classify the space that Merge is a part of? (19:38) How did Shensi think about building her initial team? (21:00) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Merge? (21:31) How was Shensi's experience fundraising for Merge? (22:44) What advice does Shensi have for fundraising? (25:37) What is Merge's go-to-market strategy and how did Shensi build the initial sales team? (26:29) How do you scale up after the seed round? (28:19) How is AI disrupting the unified API space and how does Merge fit into that? (29:14) What is a part of the founding journey that Shensi didn't expect? (31:17) How is the founding landscape today? Are people looking to keep building? (32:52) What companies are a part of Merge's tech stack? (33:38) What's next for Merge and for Shensi? (34:48) Who is a woman in Shensi's life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Jason Lee, the founder of Salt Labs and DailyPay, to explore his journey from finance to fintech entrepreneurship. Salt Labs, Jason’s latest venture, focuses on empowering workers to maximize their earnings potential, while DailyPay revolutionized the way employees access their wages.  We cover a range of topics such as the need for improvement in front-line workers' payment structures, how Jason’s years in investment banking shaped his approach to entrepreneurship, his pivotal "aha" moment that led him to create DailyPay and Salt Labs, and advice to founders looking to start fundraising.  (00:00) Introduction (05:38) Where did Jason grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (07:23) Did Jason always think he was going to become a founder? (09:11) What attracted Jason to stay with Goldman for 16 years? (10:39) When did Jason eventually leave Goldman? (14:31) How did Jason convince employers to integrate Daily Pay into current payment structures? (18:18) How did Jason get into this nice crossover of lending and fundraising? (20:34) How has Jason scaled Daily Pay? (23:50) How has Salt Labs helped solve employee retention and turnover? (27:56) How was the experience fundraising for Salt Labs? (30:03) What advice does Jason have for early-stage founders looking to fundraise? (33:24) What was a moment in Jason's founding journey when things didn't go as planned? (38:18) What are the key trends in the hourly worker market that will shape the evolution of Salt Labs? (41:18) What's next for Salt Labs? (44:38) Who is a woman in Jason's life that had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Kevin McCarthy, the CEO of Unreal, a company dedicated to creating healthier alternatives to classic candy. Unreal is known for creating delicious, better-for-you snacks that ditch artificial ingredients, offering cleaner, more natural options in the world of sweets. We discuss the intersection of entrepreneurship and health-conscious innovation, bringing a refreshing approach to an industry ripe for disruption. Kevin shares his journey to becoming CEO at just 24 years old, the pivotal changes Unreal made to become a leader in the health-conscious snack market, and how leadership lessons from his political campaign days shaped his approach to business. Key topics in this conversation include; the challenges of rebranding during and after a pandemic, what it takes to lead a company and board room through major pivots, and the value of a transparent and in-person DTC strategy.  (00:00) Introduction (04:54) Where did Kevin grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (05:39) Did Kevin always believe he was going to be a CEO? (06:46) How did Kevin's early passion for government shape his career? (09:38) What lessons has Kevin learned that he employs on a day-to-day basis? (10:50) How and why did Kevin join Unreal? (13:49) When did Kevin realize he would be with Unreal for a long time? (15:27) What is the original Unreal core product? (18:06) What is Unreal's approach to the supply chain layer? (20:10) How did Unreal incorporate a DTC approach to their business model? (21:57) How has Kevin built a relationship with the Board of Unreal without being the founder? (23:44) What advice does Kevin have for people entering a board room for the first time? (25:34) What was a moment while CEO of Unreal when things didn't go as planned? (27:47) How does Unreal think about "URL vs. IRL" in their go-to-market and sales strategy? (29:35) What challenges can arise when running an omni-channel strategy for a business? (31:58) How is Unreal cultivating a community around their product? (34:41) What is Kevin's favorite Unreal snack? (36:12) What's next for Kevin personally? (37:05) Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Kevin and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we’re joined by Sami Inkinen, co-founder of Virta Health, a company transforming the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Virta Health’s mission is to not just manage, but reverse diabetes using personalized nutrition plans backed by clinical research. Sami also shares his journey from humble beginnings on a Finnish farm to co-founding the real estate platform Trulia, and ultimately, Virta Health.  Key highlights include the current state and effect of GLP1 drugs in America alongside the growing prevalence of diabetes, overcoming skepticism and resistance to adopting non-traditional treatments for chronic diseases, and the intersection of technology and healthcare overall. (00:00) Introduction (05:07) Where did Sami grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (07:11) Did Sami always think he would become a founder? (9:12) What was Sami's plan when he finished college at Stanford? (11:16) When did Sami know it was time to start his journey as a founder? (14:30) What was the aha moment behind Trulia? (17:57) What were some lessons learned from Sami's first startup journey? (22:13) How was Sami's experience with his first startup being acquired by Zillow? (25:56) What is the core product of Virta Health? (27:41) What is Virta Health's mission? (31:43) How does Sami feel about GLP 1 medications becoming mainstream? (35:34) What is Sami's approach on go-to-market strategy with Virta? (38:04) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Virta? (40:07) How has Virta changed its clients' lives? (45:09) What has been the hardest part of breaking into the healthcare space? (47:21) Who is a woman in Sami's life that had a profound impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ariel Kaye, the founder of Parachute, a brand known for elevating the home essentials industry with a focus on comfort and wellness. Ariel shares her journey from a creative upbringing to her path through advertising, where she discovered her passion for building brands, eventually leading to the founding of Parachute. Join us as we dive into how Parachute taps into the wellness movement by focusing on the importance of sleep and home comfort. We explore the company's core product—bedding— and why it resonated with consumers looking for better home essentials. Ariel also shares insights on creating a brand from scratch while disrupting a market, the importance of consumer insights and communication in building a business, and the ups and downs of running a business while raising a family.  (00:00) Introduction (04:50) Where did Ariel grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? (06:09) Did Ariel ever think she would become a founder? (07:35) How did Ariel's experience at NYU lead her to found Parachute? (11:27) What was the "aha moment" that encouraged the founding of Parachute? (15:11) Why did Ariel think online sales would be best? (18:29) What encouraged Ariel to take Parachute to brick and mortar? (21:01) When did Ariel realize it was time to raise capital? (23:34) What advice would Ariel give to other DTC founders? (27:32) What was a moment in Parachute's life cycle when things didn't go as planned? (30:37) What advice would Ariel give to founders facing uncertainties? (32:24) How does Ariel think the role of digital vs physical sales will change in the near future? (35:05) How does Ariel know when it's time to launch a new product? (37:20) How does Ariel balance what she likes as a product vs what's best for the business? (39:06) What advice does Ariel have for managing career and family balance? (42:10) Who is a woman in Ariel's life that had a profound impact on her and her career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

Welcome back to a new season of The Room Podcast! To kick off Season 11, we're joined by Johnny Ho, co-founder of Perplexity, an AI-powered platform transforming the way everyday consumers interact with search. Johnny shares his path from competitive programming to entrepreneurship and offers insights into the development of Perplexity’s core product, which aims to deliver precise, reliable answers in a simple, intuitive way. In this episode, we covered topics such as how Perplexity uses AI to deliver accurate and reliable search results using multiple LLMs, building a user-first product in a competitive tech space, and the importance of finding investors who want to work with you in the right ways.  Want to work with Perplexity? Apply here! (00:00) Introduction (05:05) Where did Johnny grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? (05:42) Did Johnny always think he was going to be a founder? (06:21) How did Johnny get into competitive programming? (07:23) What brought Johnny to start working at Quora? (08:06) What lessons did Johnny take away from his time at Quora? (08:49) How did Johnny meet his cofounders of Perplexity? (09:17) Why did Johnny, Arvin, and Dennis decide to start a company together? (10:01) Why did Johnny think Arvin and Dennis would be good partners? (10:56) What was the "aha moment" that inspired the core product of Perplexity? (12:04) Why was user interface so important to Johnny and the team? (13:26) What was the decision-making process behind implementing a unique feature allowing consumers to choose what LLM they use? (16:09) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Perplexity? (17:06) What advice does Johnny have regarding picking the right investors to partner with? (18:11) What's a fun story or anecdote from founding Perplexity? (19:11) When should a founder consider trying a new idea/ altering their concept? (20:32) How is Perplexity's go-to-market strategy changing with its success? (21:39) How is Perplexity differentiating themselves from their competitors? (23:21) Is B2B selling a part of Perplexity's future plans? (24:51) How does Johnny get authentic reviews from customers? (26:03) What was a moment in Perplexity's life cycle when things didn't go as planned? (27:22) Is it possible that some of Perplexity's partners could be future competitors? (29:43) Has Perplexity created a governing board? (30:00) What's next for Perplexity? (30:59) What's next for Johnny Personally (31:45) Who is a woman in Johnny's life that had an impact on him and his career? For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram  Follow us on TikTok  Check out our guide to podcasting here!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music! Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.* *Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. WX Productions

In this episode, we dive into the Future of DTC panel from this summer’s Inside Summit. This panel was moderated by our very own Claudia Laurie, who is also the founder of Prive, a leading eCommerce billing platform. In this discussion, the panelists explore the future of DTC, how to build authentic brand communities, building a celebrity brand, challenges and opportunities around customer acquisition and retention, and advice for brand founders and builders. This conversation includes an incredible mix of perspectives from leading brands, agencies, and tech partners. Our panelists included: Nik Sharma is widely known as “The DTC Guy,” a Forbes 30 Under 30 member, AdWeek’s Young & Influential, and a resource that brands and investors turn to for growth. Nik is the founder and CEO of Sharma Brands, where clients include Feastables, Jolie, Milk Bar, Everlane and more. Outside of Sharma Brands, Nik writes a newsletter to 50,000 investors, founders, and marketers and is also the co-host of Limited Supply, an award-winning marketing podcast.  Scout Brisson is the CEO of De Soi, a line of sparkling non-alcoholic apéritifs, co-founded by Katy Perry and Morgan McLachlan. Scout's professional journey spans over seven years in management consulting at McKinsey, and venture capital at M13.In 2020, Scout co-founded better-for-you CPG brand, DEUX, innovating a functional alternative with edible cookie dough.  Marissa Steinmetz is an accomplished digital product leader with 13+ years of eCcommerce and omnichannel expertise. She is currently the Head of Digital Product, eCommerce at Coterie and has spent her career helping well-known brands and businesses transform their digital enterprises, including Moda Operandi, Pernod Ricard, Drunk Elephant, and Target. Breana Teubner is COO of TYB, a community rewards platform with customers like Glossier, Urban Outfitters, JuneShine, and Rare Beauty. Prior to TYB, she helped scale Skillz, the first pay-to-earn gaming platform to go public - and was an executive at Walmart and Gap. She is an LP in two early-stage funds, Let’s Open the Door!

In this episode, we dive into the Future of Platforms panel from this summer’s Inside Summit. This panel was moderated by Alexandra York, Associate Editor at Forbes and a key figure behind the 30 Under 30 lists. Alexandra brings her expertise in covering young entrepreneurs and emerging brands to guide a discussion on the evolving digital platform space.   In this discussion, the panelists explore the future of digital platforms, the impact of social commerce, and how they’re navigating challenges like AI integration, community engagement, and finding the right revenue models. They also share personal insights on pivoting, fundraising, and defining success in today’s competitive tech landscape.   Our panelists included: • Emma Bates, CEO and co-founder of Diem, a social search engine pioneering a new, inclusive internet for women. With a background in partnerships at Away and community-building at Whalar, Emma is a recognized advocate for gender equity in the digital world. • Miri Buckland, COO and co-founder of Landing, a social commerce app revolutionizing how Gen Z interacts with shoppable content. Miri's experience spans corporate strategy and consumer tech, with a passion for fostering creativity and community. • Judy Thelen, CEO and co-founder of Beli, a platform transforming how consumers discover and recommend restaurants globally, with over 30 million ratings across 30,000 cities since its launch. • Dylan Diamond, co-founder and CEO of Saturn, a calendar platform tailored for high school students, with significant backing from top-tier investors. Dylan’s journey includes a stint as Tesla’s youngest software engineer and recognition as a Thiel Fellow.   Let’s Open the Door!

In this episode of The Room Podcast, we recap the Inside Summit x Gen AI Collective panel, moderated by Sriram Ramakrishnan. The panel featured Vaikkunth Mugunthan (Dynamo AI), Hassaan Raza (Tavus), Ankur Patel (Multimodal), and Lulu Chang (Canapi Ventures), who shared their insights on the challenges and opportunities in the AI landscape. Key questions discussed: 1. Career Journeys: What led each panelist to venture into AI or invest in it? 2. Fundraising for AI: How does raising funds for AI-focused startups differ from other ventures? What’s the investor perspective? 3. Enterprise Adoption: What hesitations do enterprises have regarding AI, and how can companies overcome them? 4. Building Sustainable AI Businesses: What are the keys to long-term success in AI? 5. Unlocking Mass Adoption: What needs to happen for AI to see widespread adoption in enterprises? 6. This episode is a must-listen for those interested in AI’s growing role in enterprise and the practical steps to navigate this evolving field. About Gen AI Collective: The Gen AI Collective is a community dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration within the generative AI space. By bringing together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors, the collective aims to accelerate the development and adoption of AI technologies that transform industries and improve human experiences.

Episode StructureIntroductionKJ Sidberry's BackgroundCareer Pivots and Decision-Making FrameworksAdvice for FoundersInsights for FundersIndustry Experience and Market ChangesConclusionKey Discussion Points1. KJ Sidberry's BackgroundEast Coast upbringing between Connecticut and NYCExposure to entrepreneurship and education through parentsEarly rejection led to a pivot in career direction2. Career Pivots and Decision-Making FrameworksPivot 1: Consulting to VC (Forerunner Ventures)Three key priorities in decision-makingPivot 2: Forerunner Ventures to GVPrioritizing family and career growth3. Advice for FoundersImportance of pre-existing relationships with investorsThree key traits that catch attention during pitches:MagnetismDeep curiosityFounder-market fitTip: Consider using memo format for pitches4. Insights for FundersRed flag when evaluating founders: "Lack of paranoia"How to be a good board member:Speak lessOffer contextualized perspectiveStay informed between meetings5. Industry Experience and Market ChangesEvolution of VC landscape since 2017First deal experience: Alchemy43 (MedSpa company)Current investment thesis: "Small communities that aren't actually that small"Changes in the VC market since 2017Predictions for emerging technologies (focus on AI)

In this episode:   Dive into the highlights of our intimate gathering of 120 talented friends from the DTC space Get a taste of the dynamic perspectives and human connections that made Inside Summit unique Preview the upcoming episodes featuring panel conversations with leaders in: • Generative AI • Consumer social platforms • DTC • And more!   We're thrilled to share how our pandemic side hustle has blossomed into a vibrant in-person community of impressive leaders. Join us as we recap the most powerful takeaways and key learnings from this extraordinary event. Don't miss the rest of this 5-part series, releasing weekly, to experience the full impact of Inside Summit!

Welcome to the finale of Season 10 of The Room Podcast! In this episode, we're thrilled to sit down with Ben Goodwin, Co-Founder of OLIPOP, a pioneering beverage company at the intersection of taste and gut health. Ben takes us on a journey through his upbringing and how it shaped his worldview, his pivotal realization about lifestyle changes, and the catalysts that drove him to become a founder. Join us as we delve into the core product of OLIPOP and its unique approach to promoting gut health through delicious, low-sugar beverages. Plus, we explore the health components of OLIPOP's offerings, shedding light on the company's commitment to providing nutritious alternatives to traditional sodas rather than other more risky weight loss tactics.   Some key topics in the episode are; cultivating a community through strong branding and DTC marketing, gut health and beverage innovation of today, and observing consumer trends and demands while maintaining sustainable practices. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:03 - Where did Ben grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:44 - What made Ben realize that he needed to change his lifestyle? 9:34 - Did Ben’s drive to make an impact lead him to become a founder? 12:37 - What lessons did Ben take from his early founding journeys? 18:56 - What is the core product of Olipop? 21:41 - What are the health components of Olipop? 26:41 - When did Olipop realize they had a skill for DTC marketing? 30:39 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Olipop? 32:53 - What advice does Ben have for founders looking to take on Venture Capital? 36:53 - What was a time in Ben’s career when things didn’t go as planned? 41:06 - How did Olipop think about creating a community through its marketing? 44:19 - How do Ben and Olipop feel about “get healthy quick” alternatives? 47:17 - What is Ben’s favorite Olipop flavor? 47:49 - What’s next for Olipop? 48:33 - Who is a woman in Ben’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! This week, we're excited to sit with and interview Matt Martin, Co-founder of Clockwise, a revolutionary productivity platform. Matt shares his career journey, detailing his evolution from tech enthusiast to the founding team of Clockwise, why he founded Clockwise, and his passion for properly utilized software. Matt elaborates on Clockwise's success in providing efficient scheduling solutions, leveraging advanced technology with intuitive design. In our conversation, we explore Clockwise’s approach, using AI to transform time management for professionals and reshaping the way individuals approach their schedules.  Throughout the episode, we explore key topics such as the evolution of Clockwise's go-to-market strategy versus adoption strategy, the seamless integration of AI technology with human workflows, and the recent importance and societal demand for inclusive solutions in the realm of professional productivity.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:03 - Where did Matt grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:13 - Did Matt always think he was going to become a founder? 7:22 - How was Matt’s experience at Dartmouth and how did it shape his early career? 10:55 - What was Maatt’s first entrepreneurial endeavor and how did it go? 14:08 - What was the “aha moment” that encouraged Matt to start a business? 16:54 - What was the initial product of Clockwise? 20:40 - How did Clockwise reach Hallmark Brands such as Netflix, Uber, and Twitter? 23:38 - What was the go-to-market strategy of Clockwise and how did they proceed to drive adoption? 28:11 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Clockwise? 29:11 - When was a time in founding Clockwise when things didn’t go as planned? 34:37 - Why is now the time for AI calendar innovation? 39:09 - How have people begun using calendars differently and how has that shaped Clockwise’s product? 42:20 - What’s next for Matt personally? 42:52 - Who is a woman in Matt’s life that has a profound impact on him and his career?  WX Productions

We are back with another installment of The Room Podcast! This week, we are joined by Meghan Joyce, the visionary CEO behind Duckbill, a revolutionary, AI-powered life management service. Listen in as Meghan shares her journey from pivotal roles at Uber and Oscar Health to founding Duckbill, where she's pioneering accessible solutions for the modern adult. We delve into Meghan's mission of democratizing access to assistance, exploring how Duckbill combines cutting-edge technology and human expertise to tackle life's endless time-consuming, and energy-draining tasks. Hear how Meghan's passion for addressing societal needs led her to redefine the concept of life management, making it more affordable and accessible for all.  In this episode, we explore insights and themes such as the balance of B2C versus B2B go-to-market, building cutting-edge AI platforms alongside human-driven services, and the societal shift towards inclusive support systems for working families. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:23 - Where did Meghan grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:21 - Did Meghan always think that she was going to be a founder? 9:27 - How did Meghan's experience at Harvard play into her career trajectory?  12:39 - Why did Meghan join Uber and how was her experience with the company? 17:58 - How did Meghan go from Uber to Oscar Health? 20:26 - What did Meghan learn about growing a company at scale during her time with Oscar Health? 22:46 - What was the initial “aha moment” that inspired Meghan to star Duckbill? 26:03 - Is there a lesson learned from Harvard that Meghan thinks of often? 28:00 - What role does AI play in Duckbill’s product? 31:08 - Why did Meghan run an extensive beta and what advice would she give about going to market?  36:08 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Duckbill? 38:31 - Would Duckbill ever create its own AI product instead of utilizing other popular AI products? 41:11 - Where does Meghan think AI application technologies are going and where does Duckbill fit in? 42:45 - How did Duckbill come up with their B2C go-to-market strategy and will they ever go B2B? 44:42 - What was a moment when things didn’t go as planned during Meghan’s founding journey? 47:08 - How does Meghan balance running a company while starting a family? 49:45 - Who is a woman in Meghan’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Welcome to the latest episode of The Room Podcast! Today, we have the privilege of hosting Eva Ho, the co-founder of Fika Ventures, a driving force in the tech startup ecosystem. Eva Ho is no stranger to breaking barriers, and in this episode, she offers candid advice for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to carve their own paths. Join us as Eva takes us through her journey from her early days in the tech industry to her current role as a trailblazing venture capitalist.  In this episode, we explore the role of personal history in professional pathways, knowing when to leave and take the leap of faith as a founder, and the evolution of the emerging manager landscape. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur, an aspiring fund manager, or simply intrigued by the inner workings of venture capital, this episode is packed with wisdom and inspiration from one of the industry's most respected voices. Tune in as Eva Ho shares her vision for the future of technology and entrepreneurship. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:33 - Where did Eva grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:31 - Did Eva always think she was meant to be a founder? 9:17 - How has the culture around entrepreneurship changed over time at Harvard? 14:48 - What brought Eva to the tech industry? 17:50 - Why has Eva become an angel investor? 20:51 - How did Eva get involved with Susa? 22:18 - When did Eva realize it was time to leave Susa? 25:41 - What is the mission behind Fika? 27:26 - Who was the first team to say yes to investing in Fika? 29:35 - How does Fika decide what industries it invests in? 32:57 - When does Eva know it’s time to say yes to investing in something? 36:58 - What does Eva look for in a founder who encourages her to support them? 41:48 - Why is Eva passionate about All Raise and how has it shaped her career? 44:37 - What are some recent projects that Eva is excited about? 46:17 - Who is a woman who has had a profound impact on Eva and her career? WX Productions

This week, we are excited to return with another LIVE rendition of The Room Podcast! Last December Madison and Claudia traveled down to Miami for Art Basel to sit down live with some incredible guests. We are joined by Daniel Betts, founder of Blue Frontier Labs, and Tosh Ernest, Head of SVB Catalyst 2045, a new program started by SVB to further support under-represented founders across every industry.  In this episode, we delve into Daniel's early career in the energy sector, where he recognized the pressing need for efficient air conditioning solutions. From merging fuel cell technology to founding Blue Frontier Labs, explore the intersection of digital and physical solutions in the cleantech space as Daniel shares his vision for a sustainable future and the transformative impact of investing in cleantech companies.  Plus, Tosh discusses the importance of founders forging strong banking relationships, such as SVB’s partnership with Daniel, to support startups through various stages of growth. Discover how SVB Catalyst 2045 empowers underrepresented founders and drives innovation in emerging segments, reshaping the entrepreneurship landscape. This week's episode covers topics such as Blue Frontier’s innovative approach to air conditioning, the value of strong banking relationships, and the importance of diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  8:16 - Where did Daniel grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 9:26 - Did Daniel always think she was going to become a founder? 10:42 - Why did Daniel turn his attention to the energy problem space? 12:13 - How did Daniel’s prior work experience lead him to founding Blue Frontier? 15:17 - What was the initial product that Daniel and Blue Frontier launched? 17:46 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Blue Frontier? 19:13 - How is SVB uniquely positioned to best service founders like Daniel as they tackle big problems and start their journey of building the next big thing? 23:01 - Why is it important for founders to have strong relationships with their banking partners? 24:44 - Why has Daniel’s relationship with SVB been so important to the success of Blue Frontier? 26:32 - How does SVB help founders from inception to IPO and everything in between? 28:39 - What was Daniel’s go-to-market strategy with Blue Frontier? 31:07 - What advice would Daniel give other founders in the advanced energy technology space? 35:22 - Why is Daniel excited about Cleantech? 38:29 - What is SVB Catalyst 2045? 41:34 - What are some upcoming exciting projects coming from Catalyst 2045? 43:25 - Who is a woman in Tosh’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? 46:26 - Who is a woman in Daniel’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

We’re back with another installment of The Room Podcast! In this episode, we're honored to host Julie Rice, the co-founder of SoulCycle and Peoplehood. Join us as Julie shares her journey from revolutionizing the fitness industry with SoulCycle to her latest venture, focused on strengthening human connections. We discuss the genesis of SoulCycle, exploring how it became a cultural phenomenon by fostering community and motivation beyond traditional fitness. Julie also sheds light on Peoplehood, a practice aimed at enhancing relationships through guided group conversations. Julie re-defined a category with SoulCycle and now she's doing it again with making self-workouts a habit in building stronger relationships with Peoplehood.  Key topics include finding your own entrepreneurial path, the importance of transparency and investing in people, and Julie's thoughts for founders thinking about acquisition or strategic partnership. Whether you're into fitness, entrepreneurship, or building connections, this episode offers valuable insights from a true trailblazer.  We're also excited to offer a special Peoplehood promo code for The Room Podcast listeners. Simply use the code "Peoplehood1" for one free Gather! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:32 - Where did Julie grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:06 - Did Julie always think she was going to become a founder? 8:12 - What was the entertainment industry like when Julie was a part of it? 10:31 - What was the “aha moment” that led to the founding of Soul Cycle? 13:52 - How did Julie and Elizebeth come up with the product of Soul Cycle? 18:15 - When did Julie think that Soul Cycle had reached product market fit? 20:49 - How was word-of-mouth marketing impactful to the growth of Soul Cycle? 22:41 - What does it mean to get acquired or to sell or to chart an exit strategy and, what advice does Julie have for founders looking to sell? 28:10- How did Julie and Elizebeth come up with the product of Peoplehood? 33:56 - What can consumers expect from Peoplehood? 39:57 - Where does Peoplehood lie on the spectrum of spiritual to tactical? 42:35 - What can consumers look forward to in the future of Peoplehood? 44:19 - What’s next for Julie, personally? 45:53 - What is Julie’s favorite music to Soul Cycle along to? 47:18 - Who was a woman in Julie’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! In today's episode, we're thrilled to have Larry Diamond, co-founder of ZIP, joining us for an insightful conversation. Larry and his co-founder, Peter Gray, identified a critical gap in the market, leading to the birth of ZIP. This episode delves into the evolution of digital payments, exploring ZIP's role in providing seamless financial solutions for businesses of all sizes. In this episode, we discuss the transformative impact of ZIP on the fintech ecosystem, the importance of innovation in the digital finance space, and Larry's advice for budding entrepreneurs navigating the enterprise SaaS sector.  Tune in for an up-to-date discussion on the future of finance, transparent M&A strategies, and the vital role of user-friendly, secure financial solutions. Whether you're a fintech enthusiast or a budding entrepreneur, this episode is jam-packed with wisdom and inspiration. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:42 - Where did Larry grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:27 - Did Larry always think he would become a founder? 7:45 - What key lessons did Larry learn early on in his career?  10:51 - When did Larry meet his business partner, Peter? 12:20 - Why did Larry and Peter start Zip? 13:35 - What was the initial product and go-to-market strategy of Zip? 16:27 - When did Larry realize they were having a successful product-market fit? 18:28 - Who was the first person to invest in Zip? 20:45 - What insights does Larry have from his experience of a unique capitalization structure? 23:35 - When was a time when things did not go as planned? 25:43 - What was Zip’s Go-To-Market strategy for their core customers?  27:42 - How does Zip consider banks stakeholders and partners in their ecosystem?   30:05 - How was Zip’s expansion into the US market? 31:32 - What advice would Larry give founders looking to break into the US market? 33:38 - How is Zip thinking about putting its customer base at the core of its business? 36:55 - What is Zip looking forward to in 2024? 39:18 - What’s next for Larry in the new year? 40:30 - Who is a woman in Larry’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

Welcome back to another new season of The Room Podcast! Season 10 kicks off with an exploration into the world of health and wellness entrepreneurship featuring Katerina Schneider, the innovative founder and CEO of Ritual. Join us as we uncover the story behind Ritual, a company that revolutionized the supplement industry. Dive into Katerina's journey, her insights on transparency, and how Ritual's approach is reshaping the way we view vitamins. It's an episode filled with inspiration and a closer look at the visionary mind behind this wellness sensation. Key topics in this episode include; challenging traditional norms in an industry, the importance of transparency in wellness products, and products reflecting a commitment to consumers. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:03 - Where did Kat grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 6:02 - Did Kat always think she was going to be a founder? 7:00 - How was Kat’s early career as an investment banker? 8:58 - How did Kat become the global lead of digital innovation at Universal Music Group? 11:04 - How did Kat’s career experience prepare her for being a founder? 13:14 - When did it occur to Kat that there was a gap in the market that she needed to solve? 15:45 - How did Kat think about other gaps in the healthcare ecosystem and did she feel uniquely positioned to solve them? 20:08 - What was Ritual’s first product/vitamin and how did the idea come around? 22:19 - What did Kat learn as an early mover in the direct-to-consumer healthcare space? 24:41 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Ritual? 26:14 - How was Kat’s experience of raising a family while starting a company? 27:54 - What was a moment in Ritual’s development where things didn’t go as planned? 30:26 - How has Kat’s experience been going omnichannel and bringing Ritual to retail? 33:10 - What is Ritual’s tech stack? 36:10 - What advice does Kat have for other CPG founders of today? 39:07 - Who was a woman in Kat’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Welcome to The Room Podcast! A series interviewing your favorite tech founders and funders. Our guests were in the room where it happened and they're sharing their stories.  The Room is hosted by Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain, two digital natives based in SF, who are challenging the status quo just like our guests. WX Productions

Welcome back to Season 9 of The Room Podcast. In our final episode of the season, we sit with Cristina Junqueira. Cristina co-founded Nubank, a Brazilian fintech that revolutionized the industry with its user-friendly digital banking services. Nubank's transparent fee structures and mobile app have disrupted traditional banking, setting a new industry standard. Their innovative approach has made a significant impact, especially in Latin America, where Nubank has gained wide popularity. When NuBank went public in December of 2021 it was valued at 45 billion at IPO. In this episode, we discuss key themes for today's business world, including product diversification, innovation as a practical strategy, customer-centricity, problem-solving, and the importance of resilience in a dynamic environment. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here! 4:38 - Where did Cristina grow up and how did this shape her view of the world? 7:22 - When Cristina was younger did she always want to become a founder? 8:40 - Why did Cristina get an MBA and come to the U.S.? 10:27 - What were some learnings from Cristina’s early career? 13:41 - What was the “aha moment” that inspired Cristina and David to start Nubank? 16:19 - What was the initial product of Nubank? 18:48 - Why does Cristina think word of mouth was so important to the success of Nubank? 20:52 - What advice does Cristina have for any new founders in the fintech world? 22:23 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Nubank? 24:05 - How was the experience of starting a daily while also starting a business? 26:52 - Are there any memorable moments from the IPO of Nubank? 28:49 - What was a moment in Nubank's life cycle where things didn't go as planned?  31:40 - What should customers be excited about for the future of Nubank? 33:46 - What trends has Cristina seen over the past year as the global economy is shifting and how has that impacted what products customers leveraging?   35:46 - What are Cristina’s thoughts on the future of leadership in fintech? 38:01 - Who is a woman in Cristina’s life who has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week’s guest is Christelle Rohaut, the CEO and co-founder of Codi. Christelle and Codi are leading the way to happier urban living through innovative approaches encompassing remote work, sustainability, and intelligent urban design. That’s why Codi’s mission is to offer more flexible and secure office spaces, providing a convenient alternative to traditional office setups. Companies of all sizes use Codi to attract and retain talent, reduce commuting hassles, and adapt to evolving needs, contributing to a broader workplace revolution.  In this episode, we expand on ideas such as personal transformation through parenthood as a catalyst for achieving business success, transforming underutilized neighborhood spaces into flexible hubs for businesses to share and revitalize local economies, and emphasizing in-person interactions, and streamlining operations to maximize supply and demand matching. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:29 - Where did Christelle grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:00 - Did Christelle always think she would become a founder? 5:39 - Where does Christelle get her interest in cities? 6:39 - What is a key difference between cities in France and cities in the States? 7:51 - How has Christelle’s previous work impacted her journey as a founder? 10:26 - What was the earliest inception of what Codi could and should be?  12:16 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Codi? 13:38 - How has Codi’s core product evolved over time? 14:10 - What was Codi’s original cord product? 15:39 - How did Codi’s roadmap change over time? 17:50 - What does Christelle think about the current commercial real estate climate? 19:18 - How does Christelle adapt to changes in the commercial real estate market? 21:34 - How are startups plugging into the current commercial real estate landscape? 34:28 - How does Christelle envision being creative about a business model that's breaking in front of our eyes?  26:56 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Codi? 27:38 - What advice would Christelle give to someone who is going out into the market today? 29:24 - What was a moment in Codi's life cycle where things didn't go quite as planned? 32:17 - How does Christelle think about marketplace growth and how does that affect the future of Codi? 34:02 - Where does Christelle think physical space for startups and businesses is going to be in the next five years? 35:23 - What is Christelle excited about in her personal life? 35:48 - Who is a woman in Christelle’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career?  WX Productions

We continue this season of The Room Podcast with another incredible guest, Christina Cacioppo, co-founder and CEO of Vanta. Vanta is an automated security monitoring platform that helps companies get SOC 2, HIPAA, or ISO certified quickly and easily. We and Christina share experiences working for Dropbox as she details what she learned from her time there and how that impacted her decision to start Vanta. In this episode, we learn more about topics such as transitioning from product manager to founder and the path of finding a problem to solve, product and marketing differentiation in the competitive landscape of enterprise SaaS and, building out an early enterprise Go-To-Market team in motion.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:10 - Where did Christina grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 4:49 - Did Christina always think she was going to become a founder? 6:16 - How did Christina’s first jobs in venture impact her? 8:14 - What was the “aha moment” when Christina knew she wanted to start her first company? 10:30 - How was Christina’s experience at Dropbox? 13:14 - What was the “aha moment” when Christina knew she wanted to start Vanta? 14:17 - What is the core product of Vanta? 16:41 - What key problem is Vanta working to solve? 18:17 - How should a company think about the right time to get compliant? 19:59 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Vanta? 21:06 - What advice would Christina give founders thinking about getting started in the security space today? 22:42 What was a moment in Vanta's life cycle where things did not go as planned? 24:38 - How do Christina and Vanta consider differentiating themselves in the market? 28:29 -  How did Christina think about building and scaling her company from a Go-To-Market perspective? 31:18 - How is Vanta thinking about AI? 32:18 - How can we build an ecosystem that works to achieve parity with SAS companies founded by women? 34:39 - What is Christina looking forward to in her personal life? 36:08 -  Who is a woman in Christina’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

We are back again with another episode of the The Room Podcast! We take a deep dive into blockchain technology with Kathleen Breitman, the co-founder of Tezos. Kathleen sets the stage for a fascinating discussion about Tezos' contributions to the blockchain space. We talk about Tezos’ self-amending nature and community-driven governance, how companies are tokenizing real assets on Tezos, and how these features drove Tezos to become a pioneering force in the blockchain industry. In this episode, we cover themes such as security in the early blockchain landscape, approaches to funding startups in the crypto space, self-governance in Web3, and the current regulatory environment.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:00 - Where did Kathleen grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 4:50 - Did Kathleen always think she was going to become a founder? 6:46 - How did going to an all-girls school impact Kathleen? 8:29 - How did Kathleen end up working in the blockchain industry and what was the landscape like when she started? 12:14 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Tezos? 14:39 - What pushed Kathleen to make Tezos one of the first blockchains to leverage a proof of stake mechanism to provide high security and low energy usage compared to the popular proof of work chains?  16:30 - How was Kathleen’s fundraising journey for Tezos? 19:42 - What was a moment when starting Tezos when things didn’t go as planned? 26:25 - What is Kathleen looking forward to in the back half of 2023? 29:43 -  What are Kathleen’s thoughts regarding some of the reputational damage that has been done by bad actors in the blockchain ecosystem? 32:38 - What are some current projects that Kathleen is looking forward to? 35:27 - How is Kathleen thinking about the relationship between self-governance and the current regulatory environment? 37:25 - How has Kathleen’s work in the blockchain ecosystem interacted with the art world, and how does she see that aspect of crypto really evolving? 39:37 - Who is a woman in Kathleen’s life that has a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Hey, The Room Podcast Family! In this exciting episode of the series, we dive headfirst into the open-source world of tech entrepreneurship with Guillermo Rauch, the visionary founder behind Vercel and Next.js. Guillermo takes us on his incredible journey, from growing up in Argentina to moving to Switzerland to becoming a driving force in shaping the future of web development. He shares the pivotal moments that led to the creation of Vercel, the platform that's revolutionizing front-end development on top of the react framework. Join us as we explore the tech landscape and gain insights into Guillermo’s journey from MooTools to Next.js to Vercel, many pieces of advice for founders in the open-source landscape about timing and fundraising, the future of open-source development alongside AI, and much more! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:29 - Where did Guillermo grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:00 - Did Guillermo always think he was going to become a founder?  7:12 - What inspired the creation of MooTools? 9:13 - What was it like moving across the world to Switzerland and then to San Francisco after, especially during this “post .com boom”? 11:23 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders considering acquisition opportunities? 15:46 - How did Socket and Mongoose change the development landscape and what did Guillermo learn through co-authoring and contributing to those projects? 18:58 - What was Guillermo’s experience co-authoring Next.js? 22:26 - What was the “aha moment” that led to creating Vercel and the early Go-To-Market strategy with it?  27:56 - How was Guillermo’s transition from Next.js to Vercel and how do the two differ? 31:33 - How did Guillermo unlock his first enterprise customers and what advice does he have for founders who are also looking to make that leap?  35:05 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Vercel? 36:52 - What advice does Guillermo have for founders working in open source who are thinking of getting fundraising? 38:43 - What was a moment in Guillermo’s journey with Vercel when things just did not go as planned? 40:48 - What is Guillermo’s take on the future of AI and development and what's next on Vercel's roadmap in regards to AI? 46:25 - What is Guillermo excited about for this upcoming year? 47:22 - Who is a woman in Guillermo’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

We are back again this week with another episode of The Room Podcast! This week we are joined by Julianna and Reed, the co-founders of Stych. TTopics in this episode include; the need for transparency and enabling conversations for potential M&A deals in the startup environment, the need for a more user-friendly and secure authentication method, and advice for other up-and-coming founders in the enterprise SaaS space. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:00 - Where did Julianna and Reed grow up and how did that shape their view of the world? 7:27 - Did Juliana ever think that becoming a founder would be something she pursued?  9:47 - How did Reed relate to being a founder when growing up and what was his path from undergrad to becoming a founder? 12:32 - How did Julianna and Reed meet at Plaid? 17:38 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Stych? 22:05 - Who are the core buyers of Stych and what is the Go-To-Market strategy for Stych? 24:39 - What advice would Julianna and Reed give to new founders in the enterprise SaaS space? 27:39 - What advice do Julianna and Reed have for deciding if someone is a good partner? 32:10 - Who was the first person who said yes to investing in Stytch? 33:27 - What was a moment when things did not go as planned? 35:25 - What are some learnings from being the buyer persona for another startup that is looking to sell to another startup? 38:17 -  What was/is the most successful growth channel? And how have Julianna and Reed thought about outbound versus inbound marketing as a result?  40:25 - What's kind of next for Julianna and Reed personally? 42:44 - Who is a woman in your life that has had a profound impact on you and your career?  WX Productions

Season 9 continues with another multi-dimensional guest. DeVon “Devo” Harris went from producing platinum records with G.O.O.D. Music to founding Adventr, an interactive AI-powered marketing tool that makes content more interactive to reach and connect with audiences more easily. “Adventr makes it easy to create smart, interactive video content that allows engaged viewers to connect with your message on demand.” In this episode we discuss; when to use the art of “fake it till you make it,” how to challenge other people’s perceptions, how to apply lessons from one industry to another, and the future of interactive content.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:00 - Where did Devo grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:27 - Did Devo always think he would become a founder? 7:10 - How did Devo find his passion for writing and producing music? 8:00 - What was Devo’s first job after college? 11:18 - How did Devo come up with the idea to start G.O.O.D. Music? 13:54 - What were some of the early highlights of G.O.O.D. Music? 17:27 - What lessons did Devo take from the music industry that he applies to being a founder? 21:30 - Was there ever a sense of satisfaction when receiving rewards for music? 23:12 - How did Devo feel when he joined Vimeo? 27:36 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the creation of Adventr? 32:11 - Who are the buyers of Adventr and how did that impact the go-to-market strategy? 33:50 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Adventr? 35:44 - What was a moment when things didn’t go as planned? 37:08 - What’s next for Adventr? 41:14 - What work has Devo done with the Lehman program? 43:06 - Who is a woman in Devo’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

Welcome back to another season of The Room! We are kicking off Season 9 by diving into healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship with Iman Abuzeid, the visionary Co-founder & CEO of Incredible Health. Incredible Health partners with hospitals to hire nurses more effectively by flipping the recruiting standard on its head and having hospitals search for nurses instead of the other way around. Incredible Health is known for its software that sources experienced candidates, so recruiters have more time to interview and close candidates. In this episode topics include; what helped Incredible Health stand out in the healthcare labor marketplace, when to bring investors into your process, what impacts the pandemic is having on recruiting, and the future of the healthcare labor market.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:52 - Where did Iman grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:23 - Did Iman always think she would become a founder? 6:48 - How was Iman’s experience in college learning about healthcare? 8:51 - How did Iman’s experience in consulting assist her in healthcare? 10:46 - What lessons did Iman learn early on as a founder? 13:26 - How did Iman’s previous founding experiences impact what became Incredible Health? 14:18 - What was the early vision of Incredible Health? 16:16 - Why is it so important to have hospitals search for nurses instead of the other way around? 18:20 - What are some of the supply restraints in this market? 19:48 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Incredible Health? 22:22 - What value did investors and investment capital add to the journey? 24:11 - What are examples of a time when things didn’t go as planned? 26:32 - How did Iman approach selling to hospitals, a notoriously challenging clientele? 28:44 - What were some of the first hospitals to sign on and why did they? 30:21 - How does Increible Health balance keeping both nurses and recruiters happy? 31:47 - How is Incredible Health thinking about the future of Healthcare? 34:01 - What long-term impacts does Iman see the pandemic having on staffing and recruiting? 36:24 - What can we, as a society, do to better support healthcare professionals? 38:31 - What has Iman’s perspective been as a female founder? 40:26 - What’s next for Iman, personally? 41:45 - Who is a woman who has had a profound impact on Iman’s life and career?  WX Productions

While we are waiting for season 9, we are thrilled to share a podcast that we know you would love from our friends at Bessemer Venture Partners. Check out their podcast Wish I Knew's conversation with Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar. Wish I Knew is about the revelatory, life-changing aha moments that founders, CEOs and leaders discover along their business journeys and why taking risks leads to growth. Presented by Bessemer Venture Partners. From consultant to investor to CFO to CEO, Sarah Friar has a business acumen rivaled by few others. Today, Sarah Friar is at the helm of NextDoor, the social network that services over 300,000 neighborhoods globally. On Wish I Knew, she shared why you should pay attention to what you both love and hate about your job, why strong conviction in a market thesis can buoy you through hard times, and why it’s never a bad time to raise money. She shares how she navigated her career and trusted her intuition to make smart decisions along the way. Listen to all the Wish I Knew episodes at bvp.com/wish-i-knew and subscribe to them wherever you get your podcasts!

In our season 8 finale, we explore the world of TYB, or Try Your Best, a community management platform that directly engages and rewards fans for taking action, founded by CEO Ty Haney, former founder and CEO of Outdoor Voices. Discover how TYB revolutionizes customer engagement, loyalty, and retention through its innovative platform. Explore their groundbreaking approach of using digital membership collectibles to create a sense of ownership and reward customers for their daily actions. Additionally, learn about Ty Haney’s path from being a brand founder with Outdoor Voices to launching TYB to further her mission of connecting brands and fans. Through TYB, Ty and Breana are seamlessly connecting engagement activity to purchase data, empowering businesses with valuable insights for small-scale and enterprise brands alike. In today's episode, we explore themes such as leveraging communities as growth channels, acquiring long-term customers in e-commerce given the current shifts in data regulation, and scaling effectively with an early-stage board.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  5:42 - Where did Ty and Breana grow up and how did that shape their views of the world? 8:24 - Did Ty always think she would become a founder? 11:52 - How was Breana’s transition from Capitol Hill to founding and building a company? 13:43 - What was the “aha moment” that was the origin of Outdoor Voices? 16:42 - How did Banana Republic respond to other up-and-coming D to C brands? 19:32 - How did Outdoor Voices think about building community? 21:54 - What was the initial concept for Try Your Best? 24:06 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in TYB? 24:45 - What was a moment in founding TYB when things didn’t go to plan? 29:03 - What is TYB’s core product? 33:45 - How does TYB work with skincare and fashion brands such as Topicals? 38:10 - What do Ty and Breana think of the up-and-coming e-commerce tech stack? 41:18 - How do Ty and Breana feel about the concept of a board? 46:22 - What’s next for Ty and Breana in their personal lives? 49:00 - Who is a woman in your life that has had a profound impact on you and your career? WX Productions

This week, we brought our conversation inside the room to a LIVE audience! Join us in this enlightening episode as we sit down with Yin Wu, the founder of Pulley, a groundbreaking company revolutionizing equity management for startups. Pulley provides innovative equity solutions that empower founders and streamline the complex processes of equity administration, cap table management, and employee equity grants.  In today's riveting episode, we delve into the realm of cap table management, emphasizing the importance of adopting a long-term perspective. We also provide insightful guidance on building your inaugural sales team, challenge the notion of working smarter, not harder, and explore an additional theme of fostering a culture of innovation within your organization.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  6:37 - Where did Yin grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:12 - What was the inception of Yin moving out to California?  7:34 - When did Yin start having an interest in becoming a founder? 9:39 - What were some of the learnings from previous companies; Oven Labs and Echo Locker? 11:52 - What company did Yin apply to YC with?  12:54 - What advice would Yin give to founders about when is the right time to pivot? 14:07 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Pulley? 16:19 - Why cap tables?  17:23 - What is one common mistake that founders often make when dealing with cap tables putting together equity?  19:32 - How does Pulley help founders? 21:36 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Pulley? 22:36 - How was Yin’s experience fundraising during Covid? 23:40 - What advice does Yin have for founders beginning their fundraising journey? 25:32 - What was a moment when building Pulley that things didn’t go as planned? 26:49 - What tips does Yin have for making difficult decisions? 28:50 - What is Yin’s Go-To-Market strategy? 30:21 - How has Pulley thought about products that can scale with larger companies?  31:44 - What advice does Yin have on building an initial team? 34:31 - What advice would Yin give founders about competitive dynamics? 35:55 - How does Yin balance being a mother and a founder? 37:57 - What’s next for Yin and Pulley? 38:49 - Who is a woman in Yin’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Join us for an engaging conversation with Rahul Vohra, CEO and founder of Superhuman, the fast, efficient email client that has become a favorite among professionals. With its focus on productivity, Superhuman has revolutionized the way people manage their email, and has achieved a loyal following of users who enjoy its advanced features, such as keyboard shortcuts and the ability to snooze emails for later. In this episode, we explore the benefits of manual onboarding and how it has helped Superhuman build a loyal user base, Rahul shares insights on how to properly take advantage of the investment "game" and, how to navigate the current state of the seed stage for both founders and investors. Articles referenced in the Episode:  Founders How to Stop Worrying and Love Being Acquired How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product Market Fit SuperHuman AI Announcement  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here! 6:20 - Where did Rahul grow up and how did he become introduced to computer science? 8:00 - Did Rahul always think he would become a founder? 8:40 - How did working as a game designer shape Rahul’s approach to building digital products? 9:56 - How many companies has Rahul founded and how were those experiences? 12:39 - How was Rahul’s experience founding Reportive? 16:30 - How are companies looking at productivity tools now versus 12 years ago? 17:48 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Superhuman? 19:38 - What inspired Rahul to include onboarding with Superhuman’s product? 21:48 - When did Rahul realize that Superhuman had a substantial product market fit? 25:04 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Superhuman? 26:47 - What advice does Rahul have for seed stage and Series A stage founders? 28:39 - What was a moment when things didn’t go as planned during Rahul’s founding journey? 29:45 - How did Rahul react when his acquisition by LinkedIn nearly fell through? 34:07 - How has Superhuman’s Go-To-Market strategy evolved over time? 38:38 - How is selling to teams different than selling to individuals? 40:47 - How is Superhuman thinking about AI? 42:29 - What is Rahul’s perspective on new companies starting in the application space? 44:16 - What’s next for Rahul? 45:37 - Who is a woman in Rahul’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

In this episode, we sit down with Adam Turner, the CEO of Postscript, to discuss how his company is transforming the world of e-commerce. From boosting conversion rates to maximizing ROI, Postscript is the ultimate SMS marketing tool that's helping businesses achieve their goals. But don't just take our word for it - Postscript has raised over 106M to date from the likes of YC, Accomplice, Greylock, and more. Join us as Adam shares his experience starting a company with his brother and his insights on the ups and downs of direct-to-consumer marketing.  Themes in this episode include the importance of building strong customer relationships and engaging with customers through personalized messaging, how Postscript is helping businesses maximize their ROI and drive revenue growth, and the future of the direct-to-consumer e-commerce space. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  4:31 - Where did Adam grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:02 - Did Adam always think he would become a founder? 7:26 - How did Adam become interested in the commerce enablement space? 11:20 - What did Adam learn from Stack Commerce that he carried with him to Postscript? 15:12 -  Why in the late 2010s did SMS start to overtake email as a comms channel? 17:54 - What was the “duct tape version” of the first product for Postscript? 19:27 - How does Adam like running a business with his brother? 21:42 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Postscript? 23:05 - What was a moment in starting Postscript when things didn’t go as planned? 26:01 - How was Postrscript able to earn a million in revenue prior to using any YC money? 29:39 - How has Adam navigated competition and differentiation as his industry becomes more prevalent? 32:19 - Has Adam observed any changes in DDC companies marketing spending habits? 33:40 - Is Postscript considering incorporating AI into its product? 36:50 - What role does Twilio play in Postscript's strategy? 42:14 - What other commerce enablement companies are achieving success? 43:54 - What’s next for Adam? 45:16 - Who is a woman in Adam’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

This week we are taking it back to one of our favorite episodes where we interview Shishir Mehrotra, founder and CEO of Coda. Coda is a venture-backed workflow tool valued at over $600 million dollars. With Coda, docs are now as powerful as applications. Although Coda was started in 2014, Coda is more relevant now than ever as a key player in 2020’s “future of work.” Coda continues redefining what it means to stay organized, engaged, and effective even in our remote-first culture. In this episode, we explore Shishir’s path to building one of the world’s most powerful work tools- where the flexibility of a doc is combined with the power of a spreadsheet and application. We’ll explore insights and themes such as prioritizing opportunities that foster personal growth, the benefits of building a company in stealth and, scaling a distributed workforce and culture well. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. Check out our guide to podcasting here!  8:27 - Did Shishir always think he would become a founder? 10:39 - Before the Cloud was standard use, Shishir founded Entrata, a data center management tool. What data did Shishir store and how? 14:28 - What was it like fundraising right out of college? 17:32 - How was Shishir’s experience working at Google and Youtube? 23:15 - How did Shishir’s experience inspire his approach to starting Coda? 29:52 - How has the company culture changed as Coda has scaled? 33:52 - How will the return to work affect Coda and other companies? 38:43 - What is Shishir’s unique philosophy to frame big problems? 44:58 - How does Shishir balance work and family, especially during the pandemic? 46:56 - Who is a woman in Shishir’s life that had a profound impact on his career? WX Productions

Looking to discover the story behind one of the most successful website-building platforms in the industry? Tune in to this episode of The Room Podcast, where we sit down with Vlad Magdalin, the founder of Webflow, for an in-depth conversation about his journey from designing websites for clients to building a powerful platform that has revolutionized the way we create websites. To date, Webflow has raised over $335M in funding from the likes of Accel, CapitalG, Draper Associates, and YC. Join us as we delve into the early days of Webflow and the challenges Vlad faced in bringing his vision to life. We'll explore how Webflow has evolved over the years and the key features that have made it a favorite among designers and developers alike. Vlad also shares his insights on the future of web design and development, including his thoughts on the rise of AI and no-code tools and the importance of accessibility in creating inclusive online experiences. In this episode, we discuss the importance of timing while building a startup and how ideas sometimes take years to come together, how Webflow established a multi-layered ecosystem for their customers and developers, and what’s ahead in the future of websites.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 5:33 - How did moving to a new country at a young age shape Vlad’s view of the world? 7:59 - How did Vlad’s childhood shape how he operates as a founder? 10:02 - Why did Vlad love digital design and animation in college? 12:22 - How was Vlad’s first startup experience? 16:12 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Webflow? 20:48 - What encouraged Vlad to focus on Webflow full-time? 26:33 - Who was the first investor to say yes to Vlad and Webflow? 29:32 - Who are the core customers of Webflow and what was the initial go-to-market strategy? 34:48 - How does Vlad see Webflow's position in power and commerce beyond the storefront? 36:56 - How is Webflow thinking about the future of websites and generative AI? 38:53 - Is there a language model or transformer that Webfow is considering partnering with in the future? 40:03 - How many websites has Webflow helped build? 40:53 - What’s next for Vlad and Webflow? 43:11 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Vlad and his career? WX Productions

Join us for another insightful conversation with Jaclyn Rice Nelson, the visionary CEO and founder of Tribe AI. Tribe AI is a firm that provides and connects AI and machine learning-focused engineers to businesses wanting to optimize their operations and make data-driven decisions. Jackie noticed a gap in the market where many specialized AI/ ML engineers were only hired via the occasional ad-hoc consulting gig. However, she knew there were countless companies that desperately needed the help of exactly these experts. She wanted to build a new market for leveraging AI experts. This was the birth of Tribe AI.  Themes in this episode navigating the windy path to identifying a gap in the market, alternative ways to start, fund, and scale a startup, and the future of AI in today’s market, including a discussion on defensibility and IP. Let’s open the door.  For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 5:45 - Where did Jackie grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 8:07 - Did Jackie ever think she would become a founder? 10:11 - How was Jackie’s experience at Google? 13:45 - What is the origin of Coalition Operators' mission of empowering women investors? 17:47 - How did Jackie meet her cofounder? 21:50 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Tribe AI? 25:07 - How has the AI landscape been changing and what effect has that had on Tribe AI? 27:59 - How are companies utilizing Tribe AI? 29:16 - What was a moment in founding Tribe AI when things didn’t go as planned? 34:17 - How do Tribe AI and its engineers think about IP and ownership? 37:03 - What are some ideologies that Jackie has heard in regard to privacy in APIs? 40:10 - How is Jackie thinking about the application layer? 43:58 - Who is a woman who has had a profound impact on Jackie and her career? WX Productions

Join us in this episode as we sit down with Sampriti Bhattacharyya the CEO and Founder of Navier. Sampriti shares her incredible journey of founding Navier, and her passion for sustainable and efficient watercraft technology. Discover how Navier's hydrofoiling boats are revolutionizing the boating industry, with advanced technology that delivers unparalleled speed, efficiency, and comfort.  In this episode, Sampriti talks to us about the challenges that she faced in bringing this innovative technology to market, especially as an Indian woman, how Navier is addressing key sustainability concerns in the marine transportation sector, as well what inspired her to start Navier in the first place.  Whether you're a boating enthusiast or just curious about the future of sustainable marine transportation, this is an episode you won't want to miss! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter! 6:01 - Where did Sampriti grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:02 - Did Sampriti always think she would become a founder? 7:53 - What drove Sampriti to move across the world for school? 11:45 - What did Sampriti study while at school? 13:08 - What inspired Sampriti to work on massive problems like nuclear energy? 15:08 - What was the “aha moment” that led to Hydroswarm? 16:49 - What caused Sampriti’s transition from Hyrdoswarm to Navier? 18:20 - What is the mission and core product of Navier? 21:18 - What are Sampriti’s thoughts on the Navier 30? 24:53 - What was the Go-To-Market strategy for Navier and how has it changed over time? 28:08 - Who was the first person to say yes to Navier? 29:23 - What advice does Sampriti have for new and underrepresented founders? 31:09 - When was a moment during the founding of Navier when things didn’t go as planned? 33:41 - Did Navier develop their software in-house and how was AI thought about in the process? 36:05 - Why is now such an important time to be looking at the geopolitics of the ocean? 38:30 - What’s next for Navier? 39:06 - What’s next for Sampriti? 39:53 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Sampriti and her career? WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast! We start off season 8 by jumping straight into the modern era of audio and video editing with Cristóbal Valenzuela, the CEO and co-founder of Runway. Runway is “everything you need to make anything you want.” Runway makes the future of editing accessible to everyone by providing over 30 AI Tools to make your editing journey quicker and easier, from ideation all the way through post-production.  Themes in this episode include blending art and business to disrupt an industry, the added pressures of starting a successful business as a first-generation immigrant, and the future of generative AI at the hands of large language models such as Runway’s GEN1 model. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, Subscribe to our newsletter! 6:06 - Where did Cris grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 7:49 - Did Cris always think he would become a founder? 9:11 - What was Cris interested in building? 12:53 - How did Cris meet his cofounders? 15:20 - What was the “aha moment” that sparked the start of Runway? 17:29 - What is the core product of Runway and how is it different than when Runway began? 19:28 - How have early language models played a role in the Runway product suite? 22:08 - How has the Go-To-Market strategy of Runway evolved over time? 24:33 - At what point did Cris reach out to CBS and why? 25:54 - What was a moment during the creation of Runway when things didn’t go as planned? 29:49 - Who was the first person to say yes to Runway? 32:10 - In regards to AI and machine learning, what is the difference between generative and discriminative? 34:02 - What can users look forward to in “Gen-1” of Runway? 38:00 - how does Cris see things evolving between cloud services and edge apps? 39:45 - What advice would Cris give to investors looking in the AI space? 41:37 - How does Runway empower creators of all shapes and sizes? 44:23 - What advice does Cris have for new founders? 45:39 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Cris and his career? WX Productions

In the season seven finale, we chat with Edith Harbaugh, CEO and Co-Founder of LaunchDarkly, the feature management platform which allows development teams to innovate faster by gradually releasing new software features to any segment of users on any platform. Edith speaks to the lessons she learned during her earlier career as a software engineer and product leader. She describes the key learnings she had in selling a product she ardently believed in to buyers who didn’t know yet why they needed her platform. Today, Edith has been named on the Forbes Cloud 100 list, Entrepreneur's 100 Women of influence list, and NASDAQ Female Leaders Council. Themes you expect in this week's episode include; the trade-offs to a development team of building vs buying, the need for feature management across startups and enterprises, and how trust drives your go-to-market strategy with early customers. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 6:04 - Where did Edith grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 7:19 - Did Edith always think she would become a founder? 8:38 - What did Edith learn when she stayed at her first job through an acquisition? 12:17 - What was the “aha” moment that encouraged Edith to launch LaunchDarkly? 17:59 - How did engineering and product teams manage feature flags before LaunchDarkly? 19:34 - When did Edith know it was time to leave TripIt and focus entirely on LaunchDarkly? 21:02 - How has the LaunchDarkly product evolved since its creation? 23:03 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in LaunchDarkly? 25:13 - What was a moment in Edith’s journey where things didn’t go as planned? 29:26 - How did Edith earn the trust of the stakeholders she was selling to? 31:25 - Did Edith have to rethink her go-to-market strategy once she realized the trust factor in selling a product like Launch Darkly? 33:36 - What changed behind the scenes once LaunchDarkly hit its stride? 37:22 - How has the competitive landscape evolved since LaunchDarkly’s origin? 40:02 - How does Edith empower her team amidst periods of uncertainty? 41:17 - How has Edith’s experience been on the NASDAQ Female Leaders Council? 43:24 - What's next for LaunchDarkly? 44:24 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Edith’s life and career? WX Productions

Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! We are so excited to share another inspiring conversation with the co-founder and CEO of Vise, Samir Vasavada. Vise is an AI powered asset manager that enables financial advisors to build, manage, and explain personalized portfolios for their clients. Vise is on a mission to create financial freedom for all with a platform that allows all investors, regardless of age, net worth, or geography, to access personalized, automated, and intelligent investments across all asset classes. Samir started vise with his cofounder Runik when they were just 16 years old. After giving advice to finance professionals through expert networks, Samir and Runik decided to bootstrap the company before raising 128M from funds like Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Bling Capital. In this episode, we sit down with Samir and discuss topics such as advice for young or first-time founders, tips on fundraising & going-to-market, and the mission of Vise and future of tech-enabled investing. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:45 - Where did Samir grow up and how did that affect his view of the world? 5:27 - How old was Samir when he started founding? 7:06 - How and why did Samir switch from making apps to consulting? 9:47 - What encouraged Samir to found Vise 12:25 - When did Samir know it was time to fully commit to Vise? 14:11 - What advice does Samir have for founders who are in the stage of turning their idea into an actual product? 17:51 - What is the mission behind Vise? 20:33 - Who is the team behind Vise? 23:31 - How did Samir convince investors to get in early on Vise? 26:49 - What advice does Samir have for businesses going through financial struggles? 30:26 - What was the go-to-market strategy for Vise? 32:39 - What roadblocks has Samir run into while growing Vise? 34:33 - What does Samir think of UBS acquiring Wealthfront? 36:57 - How will the market of investing evolve as we head into a market downturn? 39:43 - What is coming up for Samir, personally? 30:39 - Who is a woman in Samir’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

We are so happy to be joined by this week's guest, Sarah Flint. The Founder, CEO, and Designer of Sarah Flint, Inc. Sarah Flint proves that beauty doesn’t have to mean pain by creating comfortable and stylish luxury shoes for women who live any kind of lifestyle. When Sarah noticed a gap in the women’s shoe market, she began designing her own and she used her network to produce them at mass! She realized that it is time to consider the needs of the modern woman and she does this by creating luxury fashion designed by women on the go for women on the go. We chat with Sarah about her decision to go entirely online, to now opening up her own storefronts for the first time. In this episode, we discuss themes such as breaking into an industry with a non-traditional background, what it takes to disrupt the luxury brand market, and the future of retail 3.0. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:56 - Why did Sarah study fashion and what was her early career like? 7:43 - What led Sarah to approach Italian factories to produce her products? 8:56 - What type of person wears Sarah Flint shoes? 10:04 - Did Sarah always want to become a founder? 11:44 - What were the early stages of starting Sarah Flint, Inc. like? 13:59 - What brought on the decision to take the store completely online? 16:34 - How did Sarah make her decision on fundraising? 18:09 - What is Sarah Flint’s favorite Sarah Flint shoe? 18:54 - How has Sarah Flint, Inc. grown over the past few years? 20:13 - How does Sarah feel about the future of e-commerce vs. storefronts in regard to luxury fashion? 22:15 - What is Sarah’s strategy when picking locations to market in? 23:12 - What does ‘E-Commerce 3’ look like? 25:32 - Who was the first or most notable celebrity to wear Sarah Flint shoes? 26:25 - What advice does Sarah have for designers hoping to break into retail? 28:01 - What does it mean to be a ‘modern heritage brand?’ 30:08 - What is next for Sarah Flint, Inc? 31:05 - What is next for Sarah? 31:37 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Joining us this week is Kashish Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Hightouch. Hightouch is a software for your data stack that syncs any data warehouse to the SaaS tools that your business runs on, making internal usage and sharing easier for everyone. Kashish talks to us about the current state of the modern data stack community and how the industry is constantly pushing forward. He describes how this plays into their sales tactic of “evangelizing” larger corporations by teaching them about “Reverse ETL” and how Hightouch works without pushing the sale. We cover themes such as starting a company with two of his good friends and the procedures they take when it comes to decision-making, the perfect modern data stack, and how to sell your business when the product is something that no one has heard of yet. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 6:00 - Where did Kashish grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 8:08 - Did Kashish always want to be a founder? 9:27 - How did Kashish's education impact his professional goals? 13:08 - What is the story behind Mama’s Cooking? 15:01 - What was the “aha” moment that got Kashish thinking about Hightouch? 18:10 - How do businesses take advantage of Hightouch? 19:56 - How is Kashish's relationship with his partners, Tejas Manohar and Josh Curl? 21:28 - How do Kashish's and his partners split up responsibilities and tasks? 22:24 - How do Kashish and his partners handle things when there is a disagreement? 25:03 - What part of the go-to-market is Hightouch going to continue investing in? 27:58 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Hightouch? 29:51 - When is the right time for a company to embrace its data warehouse? 32:29 - What is Kashish's stance on the semantic layer? 34:38 - What are some tools in the modern data stack? 35:39 - What tools does Kashish recommend for a company building their modern data stack? 38:15 - What advice would Kashish give to an entrepreneur building in this space? 40:44 - What’s next for Kashish and Hightouch? 44:00 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Kashish and his career? WX Productions

We have another incredible episode in store with Cynthia Plotch and Jamie Norwood, the founders of Stix, the company transforming women's health experiences. Stix was founded to “create a convenient, discreet, and judgment-free way to get the products you need.” Cynthia and Jamie walk us through their negative personal experiences that drove them to create Stix. Plus, they share their ideas to evolve Stix past being just a DTC brand and becoming an entire community of women who can help each other with anything health related. Cynthia and Jamie also explain what led them to go down the VC route for funding this journey. Themes in this episode include knowing when is the right time to fully commit yourself to your passion project, today’s women’s health climate, and what's next in DTC. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:30 - What were the first few years of Jamie’s career like? 5:17 - What brought Jamie to Hungry Harvest and broke her into the world of D2C? 6:18 - How did Cynthia’s early career influence her decision to start Stix? 9:35 - Did Cynthia and Jamie always plan on being founders? 11:26 - When did Cynthia and Jamie know that they were ready to go full-time on Stix? 16:41 - How would Cynthia and Jamie describe Stix? 17:52 - What was the initial mission for Stix when Cynthia and Jamie founded it? 19:29 - How has Stix been connecting to its community and helping solve their problems? 23:30 - What prompted Cynthia and Jamie to raise VC funding? 25:39 - What advice would Cynthia and Jamie give to founders thinking about starting in D2C? 27:25 - What is the process like of getting an affordable product delivered discreetly to those who need it? 29:32 - Why is it so crucial for Stix products to be delivered discreetly? 33:16 - What does the future of D2C look like? 35:27 - What does Amazon acquiring One Medical mean for the future of health care? 37:54 - Who is a woman in Cynthia and Jamie’s lives that has had a profound impact on them and their careers? WX Productions

This week we chat with another phenomenal guest, William Santana Li, the founder and CEO of Knightscope. Knightscope is the developer and manufacturer of autonomous security robots. William explains how and why Knightscope was created and why he believes that the future of national security is autonomous. William details his professional experience in the auto and motor industry and how even that couldn’t prepare him for the unorthodox lifestyle of a founder. In today’s conversation with William, we chat about his unique founding story after being an entrepreneur and executive for 30 years. Plus, we dive into topics such as different ways to get funded, how robots are fighting crime in the U.S., and the future of robotics and technology in public safety. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:48 - Did William have an interest in the vehicle and motor space from a young age? 7:51 - How was William’s early experience as a founder starting Knightscope? 9:45 - What did William learn during the fundraising process of Knightscope? 17:04 - Why is William so passionate about preventing crime and protecting the safety of Americans? 22:19 - How was the experience of starting from the ground and creating a legitimate robot? 26:10 - How is William staying focused on the blend of hardware and software with Knightscope? 28:19 - What advice does William have for a founder with a product that is starting locally but wants to go nationwide? 30:27 - When building Knightscope, was there a time when things didn't go as planned? 32:58 - How does William think that robots will change public safety and security? 36:55 - What does a Knightscope robot do to report crime and build safety? 39:31 - Why is it that William is the only male on the board for Knightscope? 45:57 - Who is a woman in William’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? WX Productions

Season 7 continues with another incredible episode as we chat with Kelsey Mellard, co-founder and CEO of Sitka. Sitka is an online network of experts in medicine, technology, policy, and product with the goal of making access to specialists more available for all people. Kelsey talks to us about her initial career in healthcare, both public and private, and what that taught her before she began her journey of founding Sitka. Kelsey also details her experience of raising a baby and a company at the same time and how her investors felt when she broke the news. The themes of this episode include; problems in the healthcare system and how Sitka is making a difference, the complexities of being a new mom while founding a company, and lessons learned in developing a core product and go-to-market strategies. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 5:04 - How did beginning in the public sector help form Kelsey’s view of the world? 6:35 - What has Kelsey learned about the complexities of the healthcare system? 8:27 - How did Kelsey’s career drive her to start Sitka? 11:00 - Did Kelsey ever think she was going to become a founder? 12:16 - What problem did Kesley identify that encouraged her to create Sitka? 13:27 - What were some of the early days like in founding Sitka? 15:00 - What product did Sitka take to market? 16:42 - What lessons did Kelsey learn during the creation and evolution of Sitka’s core product? 18:36 - What was Kelsey’s fundraising journey like? 23:45 - What did Kelsey learn when developing her go-to-market strategy? 27:24 - What does Kelsey think will become the status quo five years from today that perhaps right now maybe would sound very unlikely? 30:47 - What did Kelsey’s investors say when she told them that she was having a baby while running the company? 36:49 - What is something that Kelsey is excited about moving forward? 38:10 - What should users and potential Sitka users be looking forward to? 39:17 - Who is a woman in Kelsey’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? WX Productions

Welcome back to The Room Podcast. We kick off Season 7 with Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and previous CEO of Zillow. Spencer walks us through how he and the team came up with the idea for Zillow and the unforgettable “Zestimate” feature. Prior to Zillow, Spencer had been the founder of Hotwire, which sold to Expedia for $685 million. Currently, Spencer is an active angel investor in more than 100 companies and is incubating several more through his startup studio and venture capital firm, 75 & Sunny. He serves as executive chair of dot.LA, a news site covering the Los Angeles tech scene and he is co-founder and board chair of Pacaso, the company pioneering a new way to own a second home. In our conversation today, we explore insights and themes such as the art of a killer feature, like the Zestimate, managing team morale and execution amidst a macroeconomic downturn, and why the future of real estate is fractional. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 5:05 - Where did Spencer grow up and how did that change his view of the world? 6:33 - Did Spencer always want to be a founder? 7:38 - What was the public opinion of the internet when Spencer was at Harvard? 11:23 - What did Spencer learn about being an entrepreneur from his experience at Harvard? 13:23 - What was the aha moment that sparked the launch of Zillow? 15:51 - How did Spencer and the team hone in on the specific product feature for Zillow? 19:04 - Did Big Data play any role in the start of Zillow? What was the data stack at the time? 21:15 - Who was the first external investor to say yes to investing in Zillow? 21:53 - What is the best case board dynamic? 26:04 - How did Spencer balance internal and external stakeholder management through his founding journey? 29:52 - What advice would Spencer give to entrepreneurs navigating “the early stages of our recession?” 31:49 - What is Spencer hoping to accomplish with Pacaso and “fractional ownership” of property? 34:08 - What is the user journey of purchasing a Pacaso home? 35:09 - What is one sector that Spencer believes is undervalued at the moment? 35:33 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Spencer and his career? WX Productions

In our final episode of season 6 of The Room Podcast, we close out with another incredible guest, Anvisha Pai, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Dover. Dover is a modernized recruiting platform that adapts to your business's needs to connect you with people that you would want to meet and that would want to meet you. In this episode, we and Anvisha discuss her journey as a multi-time founder growing up in Mumbai as the daughter of two doctors. Plus, Anvisha shares recruiting and hiring advice for start-ups and her thoughts on the future of work and hiring automation. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:40 - Where did Anvisha grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 4:50 - Did Anvisha always think she was going to become a founder? 6:35 - How was Anvisha’s training as an engineer helpful from a product perspective? 9:33 - How did Anvisha go from Product Manager at Dropbox to a multi-time founder? 12:28 - What were Anvisha’s takeaways from her experience at the Y Combinator? 14:23 - How does Dover automate the initial candidate sourcing? 18:19 - How was Dover's fundraising journey, how did that experience impact the team and what were some lessons learned along the way? 22:05 - How has a content marketing approach contributed to the growth of the customer base for Dover? 23:53 - How does Dover think about training data sets without creating a potential bias that can be embedded in the data? 25:59 - What positive and negatives come from scaling up from a leadership perspective? 28:40 - What is Anvisha’s perspective on the future of recruiting, given the context of the last two years? 30:21 - What is Anvisha excited about in Dover's near future? 31:55 - What's next for Anvisha? 32:55 - Who is a woman in Anvisha’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In this special episode of The Room Podcast, we get to listen LIVE as Madison interviews David Yuan, long-time investor and more recently, Founder and General Partner of Tidemark Capital. Tidemark is a venture capital firm built to serve category-leading technology companies as they succeed and scale. In this episode, Dave details how he went from investor to founder and is now a fund founder with Tidemark. Plus, we discuss focused investment themes, the people and processes needed to build a successful firm, and the future of fund transformation. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 9:42 - Live Interview Begins 9:54 - Dave Introduction 12:25 - How was Dave’s early journey as a founder? 14:17 - How important is a founder's resume when selling themselves to investors? 16:02 - How does Dave think about pitching investment theses to LPs? 18:17 - When starting Tidemark, who did Dave go to for help? 19:40 - What is one thing Dave wished he knew starting the 2021 year? 23:04 - How does Dave think the LP market will change over the next 5 years? 26:21 - Who is a woman in Dave’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are joined this week by Andrew Savage, Founder & CEO of Suma Brands, a commerce platform focused on developing marketplace brands, specifically on Amazon. Andrew is using his experience from helping establish early E-Commerce for Target and Amazon to guide other growing retailers to high-level success. Andrew and Suma Brands will “find, acquire, and help brands realize their potential.” In this episode, we chat about what is an “aggregator” in the sense of online retail and Andrew’s quintessential blend of focuses that most companies must adhere to; retail, tech, and content. Plus, Andrew shares his thoughts on the evolution of E-Commerce from its origin to now, and even some of his future predictions. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - Where did Andrew grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 6:24 - Did Andrew always think he was going to be a founder? 7:28 - What was Andrew’s early career path like while focusing on E-Commerce? 10:52 - What were some “aha” moments while establishing early E-Commerce for Amazon and Target? 13:06 - How has Andrew's experience been, being a part of the Amazon ecosystem? 14:48 - What is Suma Brands and when did Andrew realize he wanted to found the company? 18:31 - What inspired the name of Suma Brands? 18:38 - What does it mean to be an aggregator, and does the term apply to Andrew’s business model for Suma? 20:43 - What separates Suma from its competition? 23:59 - Who was the first investor of Suma Brands and what was that experience like? 26:03 - What things are Suma Brands looking for when considering acquiring a retailer? 28:41 - Is Suma Brands focused on retail, tech, or something else? 30:46 - What trends is Andrew seeing in the E-Commerce ecosystem that will continue to gain traction over the next few years? 32:01 - What’s next for Andrew personally? 32:51 - Who is a woman in Andrew’s life that impacted him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

S6E5: Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder of Studs, is Bringing the Ear-Piercing Industry into the Modern Era with Integrated Piercing and Shopping Experiences Our season continues with Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Studs, the modern platform for ear-piercing and earrings. Studs is all about safe and accessible ear-piercing for all people. Plus they have an easy-to-use, refreshingly branded e-commerce website with every earring fashion choice available. In this episode, Lisa talks to us about what “Earscaping” means to them, as well as what it’s like building a business with a complementary co-founder and the future of the modern shopping mall. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:47 - Where did Lisa grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:43 - Did Lisa always think she was going to become a founder? 6:51 - How did Lisa’s degree in Visual Studies from UPenn translate into her early work experience? 8:52 - What lessons did Lisa learn around the intersection of the digital and physical while working at Jonathan Adler and home Polish? 11:11 - What does the term “Earscape” mean to Lisa and Studs? 14:00 - How did Lisa meet her partner, Anna, and what got them started on the founding journey together? 15:27 - What advice would Lisa have for new founders looking for co-founders? 16:53 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Lisa and Studs? 17:48 - What was Lisa’s first piercing experience like? 19:07 - How is Studs thinking about the future of omnichannel retail? 20:18 - How did the pandemic affect Studs business? 21:46 - What is the feeling that a customer gets when walking into a Studs store? 23:10 - What does Lisa think the modern mall will look like in five years? 25:05 - What are some of the tools in Studs’ D to C tech stack? 26:29 - Has Studs considered a subscription model? Why or why not? 27:27 - What’s next for Studs? 29:09 - What’s next for Lisa? 30:18 - Who is a woman in Lisa’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are returning this week with another incredible guest, Sarah LaFleur. Sarah came up with the idea to create comfortable and fashionable, professional attire for women because she herself found that whenever she was searching for work outfits, it seemed that fashion would always be sacrificed for comfort. In this episode, we discuss the current state of the apparel market and how things have changed so rapidly due to the evolution of the internet and e-commerce, the future of DTC from the brand and consumer perspectives, and how previous work experiences influence a persons fashion choices. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:05 - What did Sarah take away from her college career, especially at Harvard? 8:17 - What was the fashion industry like at that time of Sarah’s early career? 12:24 - What was the aha moment when Sarah knew that she wanted to become a founder? 17:52 - What were some of the early supply chain processes of iterating and designing some of the first garments that were built for the “modern American woman?” 23:07 - What advice would Sarah give to founders who are looking to raise today in retail and e-commerce spaces? 23:34 - What advice would Sarah have to any founder today who might be thinking they’re going to disrupt retail? 27:04 - What does Sarah think the future of selling directly to the consumer is? 29:00 - Should women seeking to be mothers be freezing their eggs? 33:33 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 continues with Sandra Abrevaya, CEO and co-founder alongside her husband, of Synapticure. Synapticure's mission is to make sure no one living with ALS is ever told, “I'm sorry, I can’t help you” because Brian and Sandra know firsthand how difficult it can be to receive ALS treatment. We chat with Sandra about balancing a romantic relationship and a business relationship with your significant other, what the current treatment options are for ALS patients, and how the COVID pandemic affected business in the medical field. Check out Synapticure here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - What convinced Sandra to go to Law School? 5:21 - What are Sandra's top three takeaways from her career in politics that she uses as an entrepreneur? 9:37 - Did Sandra ever think she was going to become a founder? 10:57 - What has Brian's journey with ALS been like and how did it lead him and Sandra to found Synapticure? 16:32 - Are there many options for treating ALS currently? 22:17 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Synapticure? 26:20 - What advice would Sandra give to a founder who is looking to build a mission-driven startup? 25:33 - What are some of those unique challenges in building a product and getting it into the hands of customers? 26:07 - How does Sandra interface with patients during this need-finding process? 31:14 - How did the COVID pandemic accelerate part of Synapticure’s roadmap? 33:37 - How does Sandra balance her romantic relationship and her business relationship with her husband? 36:16 - What’s next for Sandra and Brian? 37:49 - What’s next for Sandra personally? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 of The Room returns with Julie Bornstein, Founder and CEO of THE YES, a personalized web-based fashion retailer that works with hundreds of brands, large and small. Julie describes what she learned from her time at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Stitch Fix and how she was able to use those experiences to create THE YES. Julie gives advice to new founders and the best first steps to take to raise capital from investors. Julie also walks us through THE YES’s algorithm and how they continue to provide an accurate and personalized selection for each user, as well as future goals for the company. Plus, she shares her insight on the future of online retail and Web3/ e-commerce 3 in general. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:58 - What was investment banking like when Julie was in college? 6:31 - What were some of the innovations that Julie brought to Sephora to make them the cutting edge brand they are today? 13:10 - How did Julie end up working with Stitch Fix? 16:35 - What was it like taking a company public after building it for over five years? 18:29 - What led to Julie founding THE YES? 22:30 - What does THE YES do? 24:00 - Who were the early partners that said yes to working with THE YES? 29:52 - What advice does Julie have for new founders? 29:47 - What goals did Julie set for THE YES early on, and how did she carry out her vision? 32:21 - How far are consumers from a fully personalized shopping experience? 26:48 - How does THE YES’s algorithm learn from picky users and continue to provide an accurate personalized selection? 36:25 - Who was the first brand to say yes to joining THE YES’s collection? 38:18 - What was a time when things didn’t go to plan while starting THE YES? 41:59 - What does Julie believe is the future of e-commerce? 43:44 - What’s next for Julie? 44:47 - Who is a woman in Julie’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Thank you for joining us for Season 6 of The Room Podcast! We are starting strong with our first guest, Shuo Wang. Her company Deel was evaluated at over $5 billion last year from their revolutionary work in remote work and international payrolling. Shuo joins us to talk about her experience at the Y Combinator and the impact it had on her work with Deel. Subjects continue with how the pandemic was a catalyst for the growth of Deel and what metrics Deel uses to track that success. Plus, we ask Shuo about her strategies for competitively innovating and expanding Deel. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:12 - Where did Shuo grow up and how has that shaped her worldview? 7:01 - How did a Mechanical Engineering degree translate into founding? 8:21 - What encouraged Shuo and her co-founder to start thinking about global hiring? 10:40 - How was Shuo’s experience at the Y Combinator and what was the MMVP of the Deel product? 12:07 - What country first started using Deel’s services? 12:45 - What is the core product of Deel? 15:35 - Who was the first to say yes and invest in Deel? 16:20 - How would Shuo define her role as co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer? 17:15 - What was Shou’s strategy for competitively innovating Deel? 18:52 - What tips does Shuo have for founders who think they over perfectionists? 20:24 - What metric does Deel mainly use to track revenue? 21:25 - How did the pandemic affect the growth of Deel? 22:32 - When was a moment things didn’t go as planned in the Deel story? 24:45 - How does Deel plan for expansion? 24:53 - What does Shuo think the future of hiring looks like? 26:57 - What can look forward to for Deel? 27:59 - What is coming up for Shuo personally? 30:06 - Who is a woman in Shuo’s life that impacted her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of Movers & Shakers ends with another incredible guest, Founder and CEO of Meet Cute, Naomi Shah. Meet Cute is a “rom-com incubator.” Audio, written video, short-form video, long-form video, etc. Meet Cute produces them all. Naomi tells us what inspired the idea for Meet Cute and what it was like for her to raise funding at the start of her founding journey. Naomi also speaks on balancing inspiring other underrepresented founders while not being stuck in the box of a “female founder.” Other themes discussed in this episode include turning an investment thesis into a company, the “girl boss” trope and what it means for founders, and the future of the romance genre. Let’s open the door. Watch Extracurricular Here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:05 - Where did Naomi grow up and how did that impact her view of the world? 2:34 - Did Naomi always think she was going to be a founder? 4:10 - How did a mechanical engineering degree specifically translate into Naomi’s work? 7:50 - What was the initial aha moment for Meet Cute? 11:37 - In a few words, what is Meet Cute? 12:47 - What is Naomi’s favorite Meet Cute series that they’ve made? 14:43 - How was the process of getting the first funding for Meet Cute, and what did Naomi learn? 17:49 - What advice does Naomi have for new founders? 22:00 - How does Naomi balance paving a wave for underrepresented entrepreneurs, while also removing the stigma of being a “female founder?” 27:09 - How do we appropriately help make things more equal for underrepresented founders? 29:49 - What is Naomi’s favorite rom-com moment? 32:46 - How has a data-driven approach to storytelling helped unlock unexpected insights on consumers? 37:09 - What does the Netflix stock drop say about the volatility of the entertainment market? 40:19 - What's next for Naomi and her team at Meet Cute? 42:31 - Who is a woman in Naomi’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Our mini-series, Movers & Shakers, continues with Rachel Goddard, a partner at Cooley LLP for over 22 years. Rachel walks us through her path to becoming a lawyer before becoming a partner at Cooley. She explains why she loves her job and what she and Cooley do to assist emerging managers to start their funds. Rachel also shares some best practices on things new managers might now know, like management fees and GP commitments. We also get Rachel’s perspective on the next five years for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market and non-accredited investors investing in venture funds. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:14 - Where did Rachel grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 0:58 - Did Rachel always want to be a Lawyer? 1:41 - What was the pivot that led Rachel into law? 3:34 - How is Cooley focused on supporting venture capital? 6:04 - What comes up in early conversations with emerging managers? 8:43 - Rachel clarifies some of the terminology used to describe different stakeholders. 10:42 - What are the four documents that Rachel always starts with? 12:15 - What are some best practices on things like management fees and GP commitments? 16:31 - What is the definition of a smaller fund to Cooley? 17:21 - What are Rachel’s thoughts on non-accredited investors investing in venture funds? 20:25 - What do you think the next five years hold for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market? 22:00 - What advice does Rachel have for first-time fund managers and underrepresented fund managers? 25:41 - What is coming up for Rachel, personally? 27:35 - Who is a woman in Rachel’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of “Movers and Shakers” continues with a legend in the digital marketing ad space, Zach Coelius, Co-Founder of Triggit and Managing Partner at Coelius Capital. Zach and his sister, Susan, played an instrumental role in modernizing the way advertisers use targeted digital ads. Zach deep dives into “retargeting,” a form of online advertising where the ads are targeted to consumers based on their previous internet behavior. The conversation progresses with the constantly changing legislation on privacy from large companies like Google and Apple. Plus, we further discuss Zach’s take on cryptocurrency, which is very different from the mainstream opinion. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:03 - Where did Zach grow up and how did this shape his view of the world? 4:37 - Did Zach always think he was going to be an entrepreneur? 5:37 - Why did Zach attend five Olympic Games? 8:52 - What is Triggit and how did Zach get started founding it? 11:34 - What is the core product of Triggit and what was the competitive landscape like in the ad tech space? 14:44 - How does Zach feel about the new privacy changes that Google and Apple are implementing? 16:35 - Now in 2022, would Zach recommend entering the digital marketing ad space? 18:05 - What are Zach’s thoughts on working within digital marketing on the paying side? 19:41 - How is Coelius Capital structured? 22:31 - How would Zach describe his fund? 26:14 - Why is Zach not bullish on Crypto? Has his opinion changed in the last six months? See his mentioned User Manual here. 30:28 - What are some sectors that Zach is bullish on? 31:36 - What advice does Zach have for founders looking for funding? 36:12 - What’s next for Zach? 37:25 - Who is a woman in Zach’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are kicking off our second entitlement of “Movers and Shakers” with a bang! In The Room with Mary D’Onofrio, partner and co-founder of the growth investment practice at Bessemer Venture Partners. Topics this week include the very active investing climate of 2022 and how to be proactive when searching for businesses to partner with, how to find, obtain, and retain skilled, specialized new hires, and the difference between growth-stage and early-stage investing. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:34 - Where did Mary grow up and how did this shape her view of the world? 5:05 - Did Mary always think her career would be in Venture? 7:28 - What lessons in “deal-making” did Mary learn during her time at Morgan Stanley? 8:15 - What initially brought Mary to Bessemer in 2018? 10:10 - What are some of the key characteristics you look for when searching for “the next big thing?” 11:52 - How did Mary level up in that way to be able to really effectively evaluate these technical businesses? 13:41 - How do you weigh valuing a company and its team versus the growth of the customer and the metric data? 15:58 - What will continue to evolve within the cloud ecosystem for enterprise SaaS and software companies? 17:34 - What is one company that is changing the way cloud is used or changing the technical ecosystem? 19:02 - How does Mary work with businesses she invests in? 21:10 - Is there a common stumbling block or something that is particularly tricky for new businesses? 24:10 - What advice does Mary have for post-B-level businesses who are struggling to retain talent and hire? 25:50 - How is Mary thinking about 2022 and this current very accelerated pace of investing? 28:53 - What does the future hold for Mary? 29:32 - Who is a woman in Mary’s life that has had a profound impact on her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Co-Founder of Gilt Groupe, GLAMSQUAD, and Clerisy. In our final episode of the season, and 50th episode of The Room Podcast, Alexandra shares her experience breaking into the online retail fashion world with her smash hit, Gilt Groupe, alongside her partner, Alexis Maybank. Alexandra explains how she had limited merchandising experience but took advantage of the consumer ‘FOMO’ by creating the early forms of fashion brand “drops.” In this conversation, we cover themes such as the original “drop” model, what’s happening in Miami’s ‘Silicon Valley Beach’, and the adoption of Omni-channel 3.0. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:23 - Where did Alexandra grow up and how did that experience shape her view of the World? 5:55 - Did Alexandra always think she would become a founder? 7:35 - When Alexandra was at Harvard, were many people looking to become founders? 10:03 - What was the retail climate like in 2007 when Alexandra started Gilt Groupe? 13:05 - Did Alexandra realize she was creating the early stages of fashion brand “drops”? 14:24 - What inspired Alexandra to structure Gilt Groupe in the way that it was? 15:13 - Was it difficult pursuing larger purchase orders without having much retail fashion experience? 18:32 - Who's the first person to say yes to Alexandra and Gilt Groupe? 20:39 - What challenges did Alexandra face when building the robust catalog of items on Gilt? 25:31 - Is Alexandra more or less bullish on the gig economy than she was when she founded Glamsquad in 2014? 26:56 - What is the investment strategy of Clerisy? 29:44 - How is the technology ecosystem evolving in Alexandra’s new home city of Miami? 32:07 - What do the next five years hold for commerce? 33:54 - How is Alexandra thinking about the evolving tech world, especially in regard to Web3? 36:38 - Who is a woman in Alexandra’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Rathna Sharad, Founder, and CEO of FlavorCloud. With the constant growth of social media and the impacts of the pandemic, more businesses and brands are looking to export or import internationally. And since consumer expectations are only increasing, there is immense pressure on independent companies to unlock access faster. Enter, FlavorCloud, who takes care of the whole cross-border shipping process, including all customs requirements, wherever you’re shipping to. In this episode, CEO and co-founder, Rathna covers topics such as unlocking “anywhere to anywhere” shipping, the increasingly higher expectations of online consumers, and theories on how the supply chain issues will shape up this year. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:34 - Where did Rathna grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:24 - When Rathna was growing up did she want to be a founder? 7:04 - What did the logistics ecosystem look like in the early 2000s? 9:31 - What challenges did Rathna face when switching from B2B to B2C? 13:02 - How did Rathna’s first company, Runway to Street, inform what is now FlavorCloud? 18:45 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in FlavorCloud? 19:41 - Who is the target customer of FlavorCloud? 20:57 - Which international markets are growing the fastest and where would Rathna recommend retailers expand? 25:25 - How will the supply chain shape up next year? 29:09 - What advice does FlavorCloud have for businesses that manufacture and distribute in multiple countries? 32:06 - How has consumer expectation shifted the need for logistics to become faster and faster? And how have the supply chain constraints stunted e-commerce growth? 34:40 - What’s next for Rathna? 35:00 - Who is a woman in Rathna’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Mac Conwell, the Managing Partner and founder of RareBreed Ventures. After founding a few of his own startups, Mac’s life changed when he learned about the world of VCs and funders. This inspired him to start RareBreed Ventures, a pre-seed fund that invests in founders outside of large tech ecosystems. Mac and RareBreed provide resources, capital, and financial education to new and underrepresented founders. This episode discusses; strategies for bridging the gap between funders and marginalized founders, the unique uses of TEDCO, a state-sponsored VC that provides resources to early stage companies in Maryland, and how Mac is utilizing Rule 506(c) to publicly fund new founders. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:17 - Where did Mac grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 1:21 - How did Mac’s early career start put him on a path to entrepreneurship? 3:15 - At what point did Mac decide to quit his job and become an entrepreneur? 5:06 - What resources are available now versus when Mac started his career? 5:53 - Who did Mac start his first company with? 8:59 - How did Mac’s experience as a founder lead him to venture? 12:27 - What is it like to be primarily investing in your home state? 16:19 - Is there a “top of the funnel” issue when it comes to who is receiving funding and financial education? 18:13 - What is TEDCO and how is it tying venture to state funding? 20:13 - Why did Mac start RareBreed Ventures? 21:31 - How and why does Mac have a “become an LP” button on his website? 26:46 - Who are some of Mac’s favorite companies that he works with? 30:46 - How will access to capital change for new founders in the future? 33:32 - What’s next for Mac? 34:30 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Mac and his career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Ash Rust, Managing Partner at Sterling Road. Since moving to Silicon Valley in 2008, Ash Rust has become an experienced mentor to startup founders and funders. Ash realized that he didn't like the traditional Silicon Valley approach of meeting someone for a small amount of time before making a decision on a large check, as fast as possible, because “that's the cool thing to do.” Instead, he chooses to spend a lot of time with founders early on to build an organic and more valuable relationship. This allows a better perspective on how Ash can properly assist the project. This episode includes insights on making an enterprise sale as an early or first-time founder, the right time to implement a sales team and who should be on it, and the current and future impacts of developing technologies on enterprise sales. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:57 - What interested Ash about becoming a founder and sales coach? 7:48 - What is important when making your first enterprise sale? 11:38 - When is the right time to bring a dedicated sales person to your team? 13:41 - How do you balance asking for a sale while managing an overcritical internal mindset? 17:00 - How has the landscape changed over time for making a sale? 18:44 - As technology continues to develop, what will the future of optimizing the sales funnel look like? 21:36 - What are some indicators or metrics of sales success? 24:51 - Are there any overlooked tips in mastering enterprise sales? 26:04 - Who is a woman in Ash’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, General Partners of F7. For this episode of The Room, we chat with the women who lead the investments and operations of F7. F7 is a seed investment fund, composed of seven senior female operators. With their combined 16 years at Facebook, Kelly and Joanna explain what they learned from their time there and how they want to use their experience, relationships, and capital to make a difference. Kelly and Joanna manage F7 because they see a huge issue with the number of women that have “a seat at the table” in the investment industry and they want to encourage more women to be founders. This conversation describes some of the barriers to entry as a woman in the investment world and the importance of giving everyone an equal starting place in the industry. Plus, Kelly and Joanna reveal some common mistakes that new founders make and explain how the women of F7 can be beneficial at any stage in the startup process. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:55 - Joanna left Facebook after 9 years to pursue F7, how did her time there shape her career? 5:57 - How did Kelly get involved with VCs, and why did she see the need for F7? 7:32 - How did Kelly first make the transition into Venture? What was the aha moment that venture was next for her career? 12:02 - What is the initial mission and investment thesis of F7? 13:55 - What stage in a startup is the right time to call F7? 16:43 - What are the barriers to entry on founding a fund and what was the process like for Joanna, both tactically and emotionally? 18:17 - What are some common mistakes that founders make? 19:55 - What are some tips for a founder whose idea is not clicking and may need to start thinking outside the box? 21:58 - What are some examples of a really good executor and what are things to look for when hiring executors into your business? 22:52 - Who is a company in F7’s portfolio that has really knocked their socks off based on their execution? 24:15 - Where does Kelly see the investment industry in 10 years? 26:19 - Who is a woman in Kelly’s life that has had a profound impact on her? 25:58 - Who is a woman in Joanna’s life that has had a profound impact on her? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Faye Keegan, Co-Founder, and CEO of Dipsea. Consumers are leaning more and more into audio as their primary medium for receiving content. Faye describes how Dipsea is the first of its kind by using the new consumer love of personal audio to empower women. “Sexy audio stories and intimate wellness sessions to help you find joy and confidence in and out of the bedroom.” This episode covers concepts such as good practices when partnering on a startup with a friend, the current state of audio platforms creators, and advice for fundraising in a non-traditional space. Bonus in time for Valentine's Day, Faye explains why it’s so important to sexually empower women and create a safer environment for sexual education. USE CODE: “THEROOM” on Dipsea's Website to get a free 30-day subscription to Dipsea and have access to over 500 stories, hot & heavy content, dreamy bedtime stories, wellness sessions, and an ad-free experience. Plus, you can cancel at any time. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:08 - Where did Faye grow up and did she always want to be a founder? 1:06 - What did Faye think of her time at Bridgewater and how did it affect her leadership style? 2:06 - What was a lesson that Faye learned at Bridgewater that she has taken with her into the Dipsea culture? 3:16 - What inspired Faye’s career shift from investing to software engineering? 4:40 - What was the initial a-ha moment that sparked the creation of Dipsea? 6:19 - How did Faye meet Gina? 6:54 - What is Dipsea’s core product? 7:41 - How was the fundraising journey for Faye? Who wrote the first check? 9:08 - What advice would Faye give founders who are just starting to think through an idea with a friend? 11:19 - What was the process like finding a product-market fit for this unconventional user experience? 13:09 - Has there been any issues marketing these sensitive subjects? 15:25 - How does Dipsea utilize their ability to empower women? 18:00 - How does Dipsea feel about the future of audio platforms and audio creators? 19:10 - What is Faye’s take on social audio platforms? 19:42 - What things can people get excited about for the future of Dipsea? 20:20 - What’s next for Faye? 20:52 - Who is a woman in Faye’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Graham Fortgang, Founder of MatchaBar. Season 5 continues with Graham Fortgang, co-founder, and CEO of MatchaBar. Graham runs MatchaBar alongside his brother, Max, whom he’s worked with for over 7 years. We asked Graham why he and Max fell in love with matcha and, to break down their mission of bringing matcha to the mainstream whether through grocery stores, online shipping, or wholesale offerings. From guerrilla marketing in the busiest grocery stores to flying to Japan to study the origins of matcha, Graham has dedicated his life to his cause of bringing more attention to the benefits of matcha over your regular caffeinated drink. This week’s episode explores insights and themes such as the thousand-year-old origins of matcha, the power of hustle in building a business, and tactical tips on being an omnichannel retailer in 2022. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:29 - What was Graham doing before MatchaBar? 6:40 - What made Graham and his brother, Max, decide to take MatchaBar seriously? 9:51 - What was it like owning and operating cafés? 11:53 - How did guerrilla marketing become an integral part of the MatchaBar brand? 13:08 - How did it benefit Graham to study the history of matcha? 16:00 - Who were the early suppliers of matcha to MatchaBar? 18:02 - How was the transition from real cafés to a CPG brand? 20:37 - Who was the first retail partner that believed in MatchBar? 22:30 -What brought the decision to capitalize MatchaBar? 24:14 - What has been the added value of having household name celebrities as endorsers? 25:14 - What is Graham’s favorite matcha drink? 26:33 - Why direct to consumer has been successful for MatchaBar and how the company has incorporated E-Commerce? 23:44 - What advice does Graham have for another founder planning to rebrand their business? 30:10 - Graham discusses how customers are the most sensitive they’ve ever been. 31:10 - Who is in Graham’s D2C tech stack? 32:22 - What is the next tool or platform that will help brands connect with their customers? 35:02 - Where does Graham think this current movement for brand and product transparency is going next? 37:05 - What are other trends to look out for in the CPG category? 38:19 - What is Graham looking forward to next in his life and career? 39:35 - Who is a woman in Graham’s life that had a profound impact on him? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Jeremy Cai, Founder, and CEO of Italic. We start off season 5 of The Room with Jeremy Cai, the Founder and CEO of Italic. Jeremy and Italic are changing what it means to be a manufacturer by connecting directly to customers and consumers, breaking from the traditional path of utilizing a middle-man distributor. Jeremy details the evolution of Italic, expanding on the changes they’ve made to the business model. Plus, we ask him about the future of the E-Commerce space and any predictions he may have. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:21 - Who is Jeremy Cai and how has his family background influenced his interests? 4:42 - Jeremy compares what he learned from his time as a Theil Fellow to his time running his two subsequent startups. 8:02 - What inspired the start of Italic? 12:37 - Who was the first manufacturer to sign up with Italic? 15:41 - What was the first product Italic sold and how did Italic get consumers to join? 18:01 - What is the design process of Italic’s product offering? 22:45 - Was getting a VC the first step in getting Italic off the ground? 23:18 - Who was the first Venture that said yes to supporting Italic? 24:48 - What led Italic to step away from their original mandatory membership model? 27:11 - What does Jeremy think the next innovation in E-Commerce is? 30:24 - Italic is not a brand but, they can create an experience. 32:56 - What is Jeremy’s favorite product on Italic? 33:51 - How has the current supply chain crisis affected Italic? 35:14 - What advice would Jeremy give to a new E-Commerce startup founder? 36:30 - What’s new for Jeremy in 2022? 38:29 - Who is a woman that has impacted Jeremy? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Welcome to the last episode of our four-part mini-series Movers & Shakers! This week, Madison and Claudia sit down with Ryan Mundy, Founder & CEO of Alkeme Health. Any football fans? You may also recognize Ryan as the Super Bowl-winning safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After eight seasons in the NFL and playing across three teams, Ryan retired at age 31 and embarked on a self-discovery journey to find his identity outside of football. This led him to spend time both on the investing side at Techlete Ventures and starting his first company SWZLE, a sustainable CPG brand. That year, Ryan and his family faced an unfortunate number of personal health crises, ultimately shedding light on healthcare inequalities that millions of Black Americans must face. From this personal experience came Alkeme Health, a digital health platform that features content from black practitioners and respected experts in wellness, including psychology and mindfulness to tackle the issues that are historically unaddressed by health tech, such as intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, anxiety and microaggressions. The platform is set to launch in January 2022. This week’s episode of The Room Podcast explores insights and themes such as endurance on and off the field, building an ecosystem of culturally competent care, and healthcare's future in America. Let's open the door. Movers & Shakers is proudly sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

Welcome back to The Room- today’s conversation is another installment in our mini-series, Movers & Shakers where we sit down with early-stage entrepreneurs to hear about their stories. Today we sit down with Paige Finn Doherty, Founding Partner of Behind Genius Ventures. Behind Genius Ventures is an early-stage fund investing in product-led growth companies and play at the pre-seed/seed stage. They are backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Tribe Capital, Bonfire Ventures, and others. Behind Genius focuses on API-first products, wellness, creator economy, and dev tools. Paige is also the author of Seed to Harvest: A Simple Explanation of Venture Capital. Today we chat about her passions, how she got into venture, and her take on future tech trends. Let’s open the door.

In today’s episode, Claudia and Madison sit down with Gaby Goldberg, an investor at The Chernin Group. A self-proclaimed Gen Zer, Gaby natively understands the creator and gamer economies. Through a self-discovery semester off from Stanford, where she spent time working at a startup in Tel Aviv, Gaby fell in love with venture capital. Through Twitter, she landed her first job in VC at Chapter One. After this experience, she found herself at Bessemer before recently joining The Chernin Group to focus on the evolving space of crypto. Today's episode explores insights and themes including navigating early career milestones, the concept of modern friends, and the future of Web 3. Let’s open the door.

Before the launch of season 5 of The Room Podcast, we are so excited to introduce a four-part mini-series: Movers & Shakers, where Madison and Claudia sit down with early-stage entrepreneurs and influencers to hear their stories. In this week’s episode and series launch, we sit down with Madison Campbell, Co-Founder and CEO of Leda Health, a health and wellness startup turning the conversation around sexual assault into actionable change lead. A company created for survivors by survivors, Leda Health provides the care and resources needed for a full recovery and works towards bettering the many systemic shortcomings surrounding sexual assault services. We chat with Madison on her journey to founding Leda Health and her mission and vision for the future of healthcare and wellness. Let’s open the door.

As we recently wrapped on Season 4 of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia take a trip down memory lane to look back on our past two seasons. Over the past year, we’ve had the most amazing guests come to join us in The Room to share their inspiring stories. Take a look back on some of our key themes and insights from the past two seasons. Thank you so much for joining us for four seasons now! We have so much more in store, but for now, let’s take a look back and open the door.

In the Season 4 finale of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Andy Ruben, Founder and CEO of Trove, an end-to-end technology and supply chain platform, unlocking second-hand shopping for your favorite brands. Before founding Trove, Andy served on the senior leadership team at Walmart, including the role of Chief Sustainability Officer. A big congratulations to Trove who recently announced their $77.5M Series D funding. With the resale and e-commerce space expected to hit $64B in annual sales by 2028, Trove is at the forefront of enabling top-tier brands like Patagonia, REI, and Lululemon to capture this rapidly growing market. This week’s episode covers key themes such as how we empower sustainable consumption, the art of the reframe, and building a business in a supply-constrained market. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. …

In The Room with Katie Warner Johnson This week on The Room Podcast, we are excited to share our conversation with Katie Warner Johnson, Founder and CEO of Carbon38. Carbon38 is one of the leading activewear e-commerce platforms, carrying brands like Beyond Yoga, Isabel Marant, Adidas by Stella McCartney and their own line. Katie's journey to disrupting the activewear industry started early on as a professional dancer from childhood and later, a Physique 57 fitness instructor. After years of being immersed in the health and fitness world, Katie realized that the sports bras and leggings that were being sold were just not meeting the needs of women. She decided to move to Los Angeles and build a business that provided fashion-forward activewear designed by women, for women. In this episode, Katie talks about the relationship between being a performer and an entrepreneur, serving the needs of her customer, The Boss, empowering women with women-led brands, and the future of activewear. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

In The Room with Sashee Chandran In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast with co-hosts Madison and Claudia, they are joined by Sashee Chandran, CEO, and Founder of Tea Drops. Founded in 2015, Tea Drops are organic, ground leaf teas pressed into fun shapes that dissolve in water. Think of a bath bomb, but tea! Using 15% less waste than traditional tea bags, Tea Drops provides an environmentally friendly, convenient, and high-quality tea experience. Tea Drops are now sold in nearly 2000 store retailers around the United States. This week’s key themes include what it's like to start and fund a venture-backed business in the CPG space, the importance of passion and grit, and the future for D2C. Let’s open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

In The Room with Vera Shokina In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia take a break from chatting with their typical founder or funder to cover a core need of every startup and fund: their bank. They are joined by Vera Shokina, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank where she covers U.S. banking and early stage international banking, helping VC funds and startups with all of their banking needs. From the founding moment of SVB, the bank has been focused on early stage technology companies and venture capital funds. Vera walks us through the top tips for founders looking to establish a banking relationship, the process of getting a debt line, and how a bank like SVB helps out with remote work. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. The episode is now live on all podcast streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Welcome to another episode of The Room Podcast! In this week’s episode, co-hosts Madison and Claudia chat with Danielle Cohen-Shohet, Co-Founder and CEO of GlossGenius. Danielle, a freelance hobbyist makeup artist, started GlossGenius when she knew that there had to be a better way to manage a business and engage with clients. From scheduling to booking and payments, GlossGenius meaningfully helps freelancers and small businesses in US salon and studio spaces. In this episode, Danielle talks about building for a specific need and passion, developing a tech platform for hyper-local businesses, and where the beauty industry is going next. Let's open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. This episode is now live on all podcast streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Katherine Salisbury, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Qapital, a mobile banking app designed to help incentivize people to save smarter. Qapital’s Chief Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely leverages science to propel people into better money habits. Since its inception in 2015, Qapital has helped millions of users collectively save over $2 billion. This week’s key themes include navigating raising venture capital with an untraditional background, co-founding your business with your significant other, and when to make your product a paid product in the world of free. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. … Key Theme 1: Navigating raising venture capital with an untraditional background After graduating from Cornell Law, Katherine started her career as a lawyer in New York City before moving to Europe to found and run a sports management company focused on soccer. Without a background in FinTech, Katherine advises founders to just show up and put in the time and energy. It’s a learning curve to work out all the kinks, but you have to be willing to try, be embarrassed, and mess up. Key Theme 2: Co-founding your business with your significant other Co-founding Qapital with her significant other George Friedman, Katherine gives some tips on how to balance personal and work life. She says it’s sometimes easier to be on the same rollercoaster with a significant other as they share compassion for one another whether it be through the good or bad moments. Katherine also emphasises the importance of turning it off and knowing when to put work aside for the day. Key Theme 3: When to make your product a paid product in the world of free When deciding the pricing scheme for her product, Katherine and her team went to several pricing experts and ended up developing a lasting partnership with Simon Kucher. They tested different options out and were able to back up Katherine’s initial intuitions with detailed research. … Thank you so much for tuning into another week of The Room Podcast. Join us on Clubhouse on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 1:30PM PST to hear directly from Katherine! New episodes launch every Tuesday at 7AM PST.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Sydney Sykes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BLCK VC. Founded in 2018, BLCK VC empowers and advances black venture investors by providing a focus community built for and by black venture investors. Out of Harvard undergrad, Sydney joined New Enterprise Associates as an investment analyst before moving on to e-commerce planning with Dolls Kill. Today, Sydney is also studying at Stanford GSB for her MBA. This week’s key themes and insights include solving the problems you see in the world, the future of direct-to-consumer investing, and the integral role of a unique perspective and driving innovation. Let’s open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. Learn more about SVB’s Access to Innovation initiative here. … Key Theme 1: Solving the problems you see in the world Blck VC is evidence that you have the ability to solve the problems you see in the world. Sydney took her lived experience and passion for building a better tomorrow into action. This passion to unlock more equity in who’s represented in venture led her to create her non-profit. Whether you’re thinking of starting a non-profit or a for-profit business that solves something you deeply believe should change; Sydney reminds us that you are empowered to build for that future. Key Theme 2: Direct-to-consumer Brands and their Evolution Having spent time in operations at Dolls Kill, a venture-backed DTC brand, Sydney has unique insights into the future of e-commerce. As an investor, Sydney is compelled by brands who are taking a more differentiated approach to finding and cultivating community with their customers. She specifically is interested if they’re providing a product or service that no one else is offering. Two driving questions Sydney shared when it comes to investing in DTC are What's different about what I'm building? Why is this going to take off in a way that works for venture capital? Key Theme 3: The integral role of a unique perspective and driving innovation Sydney believes the venture capital industry’s growth is dependent on unique perspectives and new ideas. “If a venture capital firm continues to have the same perspectives for long periods of time, or doesn't bring in new networks or doesn't bring in something that gives them a competitive advantage, that firm will fall behind.” She gives the example that lack of diversity in a firm leads to a massive ecosystem gap. Without any black investors, firms are missing 15% of consumers as well as the inability to relate to and fully understand some of their founders. … Thank you to Sydney for joining us in The Room! We will be back next week with a new episode on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 7AM PST.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Room Podcast! We start off this brand new season with Kara Goldin, Co-Founder and CEO of Hint. Hint is known for its healthy fruit-infused flavored water that brands itself as a better alternative to sugar-laden sodas and artificially sweetened drinks. Hint Water in a variety of fun and fruity flavors is found at any local supermarket. Today, Hint has also expanded its product line to sun and body items, including sunscreen and deodorant. Kara’s newest book Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters is also available now for purchase. In this week’s episode, Madison and Claudia chat with Kara on value-driven product development, building and growing a CPG brand, and accidental entrepreneurship by being undaunted. Let’s open the door.

In the Season 3 finale of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Heidi Zak, CEO and Co-Founder of ThirdLove, a multi-generational women's lifestyle brand focused on elevated essentials across bras, underwear, loungewear, and much more. ThirdLove’s products are designed to support women feeling effortlessly comfortable and confident. ThirdLove is also the third largest underwear and bra retailer in the world, which is a true testament to how its unique model truly disrupted how consumers shop for bras and other essentials. This week’s key themes include what fundraising looks like for non-software businesses, finding product market fit and innovating on distribution, and the future of e-commerce. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia cover a relevant topic as the world begins to re-open and adapt to a life post-pandemic: the future of work. They are joined by two CEOs, Frank Weishaupt and Roy Hirshland, who are both innovating on the new normal as leaders of their companies. Frank is the CEO of Owl Labs, a video collaboration technology company that provides the inclusive meeting experience remote participants need and deserve. Roy is the CEO and Co-Founder of T3 Advisors, a global real estate firm that inspires companies to think more strategically about real estate and their workplace. We discuss key insights and tactical advice surrounding the future of work, including the hardware and software tools needed to empower a hybrid work culture, leadership’s vital role as reopening brings transition, and multi-generational perspectives on navigating a crisis while empowering employees to thrive at work. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. The questions today were researched through SVB’s Future of Work Report.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia chat with Analisa Goodin, Founder and CEO of Catch&Release, a company making it easier to discover the best content for an open web and making it available for licensing to agencies and brands worldwide. As a classically trained artist and art historian, Analisa personally understood these pain points of creatives. This past April, Catch & Release announced its $15M Series A, led by Accel. We cover the key themes of the intersection between art, creatives, and technology, tips for fundraising and pitching for founders who don’t have traditional tech backgrounds, and how Analisa translated customer pain points into a scalable marketplace. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by SVB and Cooley. Find this newest episode of The Room Podcast on all streaming platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. Enjoy!

In this week’s episode, Madison and Claudia sit down with Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder, President and COO of Cloudflare. Public since 2019, Cloudflare is a web performance and security company keeping millions of businesses and, by association, consumers safe online through their cybersecurity infrastructure, stopping over 70 billion attacks a day. Michelle is one of few female founders to take a company public, and now Cloudflare is valued at over $24 billion as the world increasingly realizes the importance of keeping our internet safe. We discuss with Michelle themes including diversity of thought in co-founding teams, the power of changing your own framing of a problem, and only needing to get a few things right. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia cover early stage startup legal needs, an essential part of the startup journey. Oftentimes, the first round of fundraising is the first time founders will interact with lawyers, and this relationship will continue for years beyond just the initial fundraise. They are also joined by Lauren Creel, Early-Stage Partner at Cooley, to help walk us through what the legal side of startup fundraising looks like. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Cooley is an international law firm with one of its specializations in startup and venture capital legal needs. We are proud to be sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank alongside Cooley LLP for Season 3 of The Room Podcast. This week’s key learnings include when to involve a lawyer when you are starting a startup, understanding the common components of a term sheet and what to look out for, and finally digging into the legal implications of company building decisions. Let’s open the door.

We are so excited to sit down with Maria Salamanca, Partner at Unshackled Ventures, in the newest episode of The Room Podcast. Unshackled Ventures is a pre-seed venture firm focused entirely on investing in immigrant founders. An immigrant herself, Maria came to the United States from Colombia when she was six years old. After attending UC Berkeley, Maria joined the FWD.us team, a political organization supporting immigration reform started by tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. In 2015, she joined Unshackled Ventures and was recently named Partner at the firm. Before Madison and Claudia chat with Maria, our two co-hosts walk us through the pre-seed round from both the founder and funder perspectives. This week’s episode explores the key themes of navigating the pre-seed round, the unique experiences of being an immigrant founder, and the value of time versus money in the early stages. Let’s open the door. This episode is brought to you by Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley LLP.

This week on the room, we are thrilled to be sitting down with SJ, Sacchetti, CEO of Cleo, a working parent family benefits platform for employers. SJ didn’t always think she was going to become a CEO and chats with us about her career path, her learnings along the way, and what it's like coming into a company as CEO just months before COVID and work from home. SJ started her career in politics and policy, cutting her teeth in the world of political fundraising, which “set her clock” for the startup world. SJ made her way into tech as a marketing consultant at Formspring, then as SVP of Marketing at Collective Health, and ultimately CMO- a pivotal step towards her career at Cleo. After nearly 5 years at Collective Health, SJ joined Cleo as CEO late 2019. This March, Cleo announced their $40 million dollar Series C round. Today we dig deeper into themes such as leadership during unfamiliar and unusual circumstances, overcoming imposter syndrome, and being a boss amidst uncertainty. Let’s open the door. This episode is brought to you by our partners at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley LLC.

In The Room Podcast’s very special Season 3 opener, Claudia and Madison sit down with the one and only, Ciara. We all know her as the Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter behind hit classics like “1, 2 Step,” “Goodies,” and “Level Up,” but she is also a businesswoman and entrepreneur behind multiple businesses. Ciara is the CEO and Founder of music label Beauty Marks Entertainment, through which she produced her latest album, as well as Co-Founder of The House of LR&C, a fashion house she started with husband Russell Wilson. This week’s special episode walks through the themes of digital media’s transformation of the music industry, having a level up mentality, and surrounding yourself with people aligned to your vision. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is brought to you by our partners at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

We cannot believe that we have concluded season 2, but are even more excited for season 3, airing next week! Thank you so much to all of our listeners for joining us on The Room! We have big plans for Season 3, launching Tuesday, May 4th, featuring international pop star & entrepreneur.... *drumroll please*.... Ciara Wilson! But before we enter the room where it happened with a whole new slew of entrepreneurs, we take a look back on Season 2, its guests, our biggest takeaways, and share some life updates.

Yesterday, Brex announced their Series D round, led by Tiger Global, which now valued them at $7.4 billion. Today, we share an episode of The Room Podcast that just couldn’t wait! Madison and Claudia sit down with Henrique Dubugras, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brex in late March. For those who don’t know, Brex is the unicorn fintech startup that provides the all-in-one money and banking solution for startups. Both Brazilian natives, Henrique and his co-founder Pedro Franceschi founded Pagar.me before both attending, then dropping out of Stanford to found Brex. We discuss the key themes of deciding what market you are built for, the multi-time co-founder experience, and Brex’s decision to remain fully remote in the future. Let’s open the door.

In the Season 2 finale of The Room, we sit down with Trae Vassallo, co-founder of early stage venture fund Defy.vc. Out of undergrad at Stanford, Trae worked for the iconic design and innovation firm IDEO, developing products for companies including the Palm Pilot and Dell. During her second year of business school at Stanford, Trae founded Good Technology, a mobile device company whose purpose was to connect islanded devices to the Internet. Good Technology sold to Motorola for $500 million. Through a relationship built with John Doerr and Kleiner Perkins backing Good Technology, she then spent 11 years at Kleiner Perkins. In 2016, Trae and fellow industry veteran Neil Sequeira founded Defy.vc where her paths intersected with our co-host Madison a few years back. On today’s episode we discuss the early days of the Internet, the pros and cons of venture funding, and how an opening of the venture ecosystem has fostered more equity and inclusion across the table. Let’s open the door.

In this week’s episode of The Room, we welcome Liz Meyerdirk, CEO of The Pill Club, a women’s telehealth platform that simplifies and personalizes the experience of prescribing and delivering birth control. Prior to joining The Pill Club Team, Liz was a founding member of the Uber Eats team, leading strategy and global business development for six years. As The Pill Club hit a $100 million run rate, Liz joined as chief executive officer, now leading the team into an exciting product line launch that we have the exclusive on! We talk knowing when to launch a new product line, transitioning CEOs in a growth-stage startup, and the future of women’s health care. Let’s open the door.

This week on The Room, we sat down with Zubin Koticha, co-founder and CEO of Opyn. Opyn is a decentralized finance platform for ethereum options, which recently raised their series A, lead by Paradigm only months after their seed. Zubin graduated from Berkley in 2018 after a Manu-year love and obsession with the crypto space. Post-graduation Zubin worked at Thunder researching blockchain but soon started open with his two co-founders Alexis and Aparna in 2019. Zubin has worked in the crypto space through highs and lows, but given today’s wildly hot crypto market, I think it's safe to say Zubin and the Opyn team are hitting product-market fit. Today we will learn more about fundraising during difficult times, navigating a pivot, and a lot about crypto, DeFi, and NFTs. Let's open the door.

In this week’s episode of The Room, we talk to Allison Barr Allen, Co-Founder and COO of Fast, a one-click, passwordless checkout platform. Allison started her career as tech consultant with PwC then joined Uber in its early days, eventually serving as Head of Global Product Operations on the Money Team. While launching Uber Money products including Instant Pay, Cash, and Wallets, Allison delved into the world of angel investing. In 2019, she met her Fast Co-Founder Domm Holland on Twitter, and within a few months had raised a Series A funding of $20 million. Less than a year later, the Fast team raised $102 million in Series B Funding led by Stripes this January. We discuss the early days of Uber, how Fast grew so fast, and why investing is for everyone. Let’s open the door.

Claudia and Madison welcome Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO and Co-Founder of Neeva, into The Room this week. Sridhar immigrated from India for his PhD in Data Science at Brown, back in 1989. Today, Sridhar is a Silicon Valley legend, first growing Google’s search ad program to a $115 million business as the Senior Vice President of Ads and Commerce. After 15 years with Google, he joined Greylock as a Partner, a position he still holds today. Now, he’s also onto his newest venture called Neeva, an ad-free private search engine that just announced its Series B funding of $40 million led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock. Through Neeva, Sridhar is rebuilding trust within the Internet, reimagining the ways we can use data for value. We discuss information and privacy in serving your customer, rethinking pre-existing mental models, and leadership principles. Let’s open the door.

In this week’s episode, we welcome Jesse Draper, Emmy-nominated television star turned venture capitalist who founded Halogen Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on investing in female entrepreneurs. You’ve seen her on TV in The Naked Brothers Band and as the host of The Valley Girl Show, interviewing tech and business entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. As a fourth-generation venture capitalist, Jesse moved away from entertainment to build her own venture firm, Halogen Ventures, which invests entirely in female founding teams. Having recently closed her second fund, Jesse is just getting started on changing the technology ecosystem for the better. Jesse shared with Madison and Claudia the value of building a brand for yourself, her experiences on being an angel and an institutional investor, and her thoughts on the future for female founders. Let’s open the door.

This week on The Room, we sit down with Jane Metcalfe. Jane was the co-founder of the legendary Wired magazine and media company, TCHO chocolates, and now NEO.LIFE. In the early 1990s, Jane and her life partner and co-founder Louis Rossetto came to the Bay Area with the idea and passion to build a magazine and media company devoted to cutting-edge technology. This magazine is what we now know as the iconic Wired, home to some of the most futuristic, but also technology-defining stories. Jane and Louis launched Wired with a big story to tell: the internet becoming mainstream. Today we chat with Jane to hear about her three-time founding stories, from media to chocolates, to biotech, Jane has seen it all and has some deep wisdom to share. Let's open the door.

In this episode, co-hosts Madison and Claudia, interview Ajay Kori, co-founder and former CEO of UrbanStems. They find out more about his journey of founding and scaling this massively successful eCommerce flower delivery service business. He shares a few of his learnings about customer satisfaction and the best way to ensure the longevity of new customers. His inspiring story of failing during the initial phases of the business, but not letting that deter him or his team from making a huge success of the company, should be a great motivation for any aspiring entrepreneur. Ajay shares why he eventually decided to hand over the CEO reins of UrbanStems and start a new business that now has the potential to help millions of people find relief from migraines.

In this episode of The Room, Claudia and Madison kick off the new season with Amy Chang, Co-Founder of Accompany, an AI-driven relationship intelligence platform acquired by Cisco in 2018 for $270 million. we hear from a first-time founder and long term product guru on the ups and downs of transitioning from big tech to founding a company. Listen here to learn about the power of early career decisions, battling anxiety and uncertainty, and the right reasons to sell your company.

And that’s a wrap on Season 1! Thank you so much to all of our listeners for joining us on The Room! We have big plans for Season 2, launching Tuesday, Feb.9, but before we enter the room where it happened with a whole new slew of entrepreneurs, we take a look back on Season 1, its guests, and our biggest takeaways.

Claudia and Madison close out The Room’s first season with guest Amit Sharma, CEO, and founder of Narvar. Madison first met Amit in Narvar’s offices back in 2019, as a customer at Gap Inc. If you’ve ever received an email about your tracking update or returned something online, odds are you’ve interacted with Narvar’s core products. Narvar is a post-purchase customer engagement platform helping over 650 retailers streamline their customer communication, returns, and exchanges. Founded in 2012, Amit saw what others did not, post-purchase is a powerful mechanism for e-commerce customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction. Rather than “ghosting” your customers, retailers needed to handhold customers every step of the way from the “complete purchase button” to the ring of the doorbell. As we learn in today’s episode, this wasn’t Amit’s first try at start-up. Listen to the episode to hear about his journey from India, the first start-up with unfortunate market timing, his time working at multiple large retailers, and ultimately taking the plunge to start Narvar.

Alexa Buckley is the Co-Founder of Margaux - a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of insanely comfortable and beautiful shoes. If you pay attention to Instagram posts from influencers wearing handcrafted ballet flats in every color of the rainbow, then you’ve probably seen a Margaux shoe. Alexa started the shoe line during her senior year at Harvard. Alongside co-founder, Sarah Pierson, the two women realized the pervasive shoe shuffle, where working women would have to swap their walking shoes with their office shoes under their desks due to a lack of style in the former and comfort in the latter. Why wasn’t it possible to have both? It was time to take a leap of faith and disrupt the shoe industry. Landing on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and nailing a Vogue spread, Alexa and the story of Margaux inspires us all to Guax for it!

This week, we sat down with Amy Nelson, CEO and founder of The Riveter, a digital and physical community for women. Spending 10 plus years in corporate law, Amy never thought she'd be a founder. However, after the 2016 election, she took a closer look at what mattered most to her - The Riveter was born. While it's been a challenging year for physical spaces, Amy has gallantly persevered by building a growing digital space proving our belief that "the room" is more than four walls. In today's episode, we'll explore insights and themes such as how political and venture fundraising have more in common than you might think, motherhood in the workplace, and core product pivots. Let's open the door.

This week on The Room, we interview Shishir Mehrotra, founder and CEO of Coda. Coda is a venture-backed workflow tool recently valued at over $600 million dollars. With Coda, docs are now as powerful as applications. Although Coda was started in 2014, Coda is more relevant now than ever as a key player in 2020’s “future of work.” Coda is redefining what it means to stay organized, engaged, and effective during COVID-19’s acceleration of a remote-first culture. In today’s episode, we explore Shishir’s path to building one of the world’s most powerful work tools- where the flexibility of a doc is combined with the power of a spreadsheet and application. We’ll explore insights and themes such as prioritizing opportunities that foster personal growth, the benefits of building a company in stealth, and scaling a distributed workforce and culture well. Let’s open the door.

This week on The Room, we interview Jessica Lessin, founder of The Information. In Silicon Valley, whenever there is a breaking story, The source that founders, funders, and technologists turn to to get the inside scoop is the subscription-based news-source that Jessica founded in 2013. Jessica has created a platform the tech world can’t get enough of in a world crowded by media coverage and ad-blockers. In today’s episode, we explore her path to disrupting journalism and how information is consumed in the tech world. We’ll explore insights and themes such as knowing what’s valuable and not giving it away, sustainable growth, and dealing with the hard stuff, like controversy.

This week on The Room, we interview Hope Cochran, managing director at Madrona Venture Group. It's probably easier to ask, what hasn't Hope done? Music and economics at Stanford. Founder and CFO of SkillsVillage, bought by Peoplesoft in 2001. CFO of Clearwire and King Digital. Board member of three public companies, Hasboro, Mongo DB, and New Relic. Today we explore colorful stories of her time in C-suites and boardrooms discussing insights and themes such as advocating for yourself at work, what makes a good board, and the little moments that matter.

This week on The Room, we interview Coral Chung, the CEO, and co-founder of Senreve. Sitting down with Coral to hear about the start of her luxury D2C brand, we learned about the early days of founding an accessories brand in Silicon Valley, her global expansion plans, and a bit about juggling the hats of CEO and mother.

In this episode of The Room podcast, Madison and Claudia spend some time diving into the history of Silicon Valley power couple; Matt Rogers and Swati Mylavarapu - founders of Venture Capital business - Incite. Previously to Incite, Matt Rogers was the co-founder of Nest. They go into detail about how they have been able to juggle the highs and lows of building a business together while pursuing their own individual passions - all while taking care of each other as a married couple and their growing family. In this episode, they share their passion for building innovative businesses, developing entrepreneurs and non-profits as well as helping to fund political candidates. These passions played a profound role in shaping the way they built Incite.