Hear from industry leaders, founders, and investors.
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Democratizing AI
Conor and Alex chat with Michael Hortatsos, VP of Partnerships at Dataiku, a leading enterprise AI company focused on providing a centralized data platform for businesses. We discuss the basics of enterprise AI, Dataiku’s mission to enable professionals of all backgrounds to be data-driven, and the key applications of AI in industry. Michael also dives into what leading partnerships entails and how to position new technology products to potential customers in a market.
The Art of Selling Technology
Conor and Alex chat with Michael Watt, VP of Sales, Strategy, and Operations at expert.ai, an enterprise artificial intelligence company focused on natural language processing. This episode dives into the key corporate objectives of the CEO, mission-critical priorities of the sales team, and the rise of growth marketing. We also discuss the relationship between marketing and sales departments as well as utilizing consultative and value selling to acquire clients.
Driving Sales Through Competitive Advantages
Conor and Alex chat with Chris Stevens, the man behind Keurig's monumental rise in the at-home, instant coffee industry. Chris discusses the marketing and sales strategies he employed, the importance of competitive advantages, and management of rapid growth in the beginning of the company's history. Listen until the end to also hear Chris' advice on giving back in your communities, and making long-lasting impacts.
Reimagining Education Financing
Tess Michaels, founder of Stride Funding, talks with Conor and Alex about her journey to expand the opportunities available to students for financing their education. Tess discusses the basics of income share agreements (ISA’s) and Stride Funding’s efforts to provide a differentiated service to students. We also chat about the importance of hiring a strong team as well as Tess’ experience raising capital from both traditional venture capitalists and strategic investors.
Capital Markets & Private Equity
Doug Brody, a Managing Director at KKR, joins the show to discuss his career in capital markets and the basics of private equity. Doug outlines the process of finding and making deals, the structure of leveraged buyouts, and how private equity firms leverage operational efficiencies and financial engineering to create attractive returns. We also discuss common PE exit strategies and how KKR responded to the pandemic to ensure the health of its portfolio companies.
The Business Behind Growth Equity
Conor and Alex chat with Sean Cantwell, founder and managing partner of Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital. Sean provides insight into the process of raising capital from limited partners (LPs) for a new fund and factors of differentiation for investment firms. We also discuss the key metrics and qualities Sean looks for when making new investments and Volition Capital’s stake in the growing low-code/no-code technology space.
Navigating Innovation
Conor and Alex chat with Jay Newman, director of strategy at Jump, a strategy and innovation consulting firm. This episode provides insight into what it’s like to work as an innovation consultant, and also discusses the struggle of trying to find and develop innovative new products. Learn about why this branch of consulting is becoming a must-have service for innovators.
Creating a B2B SaaS Platform
Ireland Carter, founder of innovative management platform Bricleir, joins the show to discuss the process of creating a B2B SaaS business. Specifically, Ireland highlights her experience with convincing different stakeholders to join her platform, facilitating corporate and startup partnerships, and pursuing a career in tech with a liberal arts background.
Lessons from Running a Tech Investment Bank
Conor and Alex chat with Ted Smith, co-founder of technology investment bank Union Square Advisors, on his 25-year career serving clients on strategic transaction execution, finance, and operations. Ted walks through his day to day and provides his perspective on the state of the technology markets. We also discuss the rise of technology-focused private equity firms and the intersection of the tech mega-trends cybersecurity, edge computing, and internet of things (IoT). Finally, Ted tells us about the opportunity he had to sit down for lunch with Steve Jobs as a young investment banker.
Experimentation & The Path to Product-Market Fit
Heather Eaton, co-founder of Frankly Apparel, joins the show to discuss her braless clothing company and her journey as an entrepreneur. We dig into the process of understanding the customer through ethnographic interviews, developing an initial product line, and utilizing experiments to test market hypotheses and product viability. Heather also talks about some of her favorite classes she took during her time at Stanford Business School and how she organizes her day to stay productive.
Supercharging Startups & Corporate Innovation
Conor and Alex chat with Cristin Pacifico, manager and venture capitalist at TechNexus. We discuss TechNexus’ unique combination of businesses, corporate joint-ventures, and a fast-growing startup investment portfolio in addition to Cristin’s outlook on the biggest opportunities for technological disruption. Cristin also talks about her background in financial planning and analysis, the M&A process for a startup seeking an exit, and the rise of SPACs as a means for companies to go public.
The Tech Transforming the Cannabis Industry
Ryan G. Smith is the co-founder and CEO of LeafLink, a wholesale cannabis marketplace and technology platform. Ryan talks about growing a technology business in a highly regulated space and his focus on creating diversified business solutions that tackle hair on fire problems for cannabis brands and retailers. We discuss his navigation of raising capital, including his plans for the $40 million his company just raised from Founders Fund, and examine the biggest challenges LeafLink has faced during its product-market fit and growth stages. Finally, Ryan tells us about his experiences maintaining company culture during rapid hiring as well as his expectations for the cannabis industry moving forward.
Creating Sustainable Activewear
Tommy Flaim, founder of activewear brand Fox & Robin, joins the podcast to discuss his desire to create a sustainable and humane activewear clothing brand that seeks to partner with manufacturers that provide factory workers with living wages. Tommy talks about incorporating as a benefit corporation, applying for B corp certification, and the importance of ethics in business. We also chat about designing and manufacturing an initial product line, advertising, and competing against the big guys.
Leveraging Liberal Arts in Tech
Conor and Alex talk with Tom White, an ex-Googler and current writing partner at On Deck. Tom has worked in a variety of roles at Google including an associate for Google Launchpad’s pre-incubation program, senior editor for responsible innovation, and mentor with Google for Startups Accelerator Program. We discuss how Tom pursued a career in technology with a liberal arts background and his current entrepreneurial ventures as an advisor for a Silicon Valley startup and writing partner for On Deck, a platform serving the many strands of identity of ambitious people who want to change the world.
Pursuing & Monetizing your Passion
Conor and Alex chat with Alessandro DiSanto, the co-founder and head of growth and finance for the catholic meditation app Hallow. Prior to pursuing entrepreneurship, Alessandro worked as an investment banking analyst and private equity associate at Goldman Sachs and GTCR, respectively. During our conversation with Alessandro, we discuss the importance of structure and cohesion amongst the founding team, the lean development process, forecasting and achieving growth benchmarks, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
How to Start a Company in College
Bryan Ritchie is the first vice president and associate provost for innovation at the University of Notre Dame and he leads the University’s IDEA (Innovation, De-risking, and Enterprise Acceleration) Center. Conor and Alex discuss with Bryan the process of developing an idea from conception to minimum viable product to commercialization as well as the opportunities available for Notre Dame students to find funding for their ideas.
What is Growth Equity?
Conor and Alex speak with Fred Kauber, an analyst at the software and consumer focused growth equity firm Stripes. We discuss the defining characteristics of growth equity compared to early stage venture investments, Stripes’ investment thesis, and the importance of leveraging the firm’s network and operational expertise to help portfolio companies tackle their toughest challenges. Fred also provides some background on how he broke into the growth equity space and what his day to day job entails as a growth equity analyst.
Breaking into VC
Conor and Alex interview Caroline Yeager, a Senior Associate at Vitalize Venture Group, and discuss the fundamentals of venture capital, how to break into VC, and the role of an entry-level analyst. Drawing from her experience sourcing potential investments and managing the due diligence process at Vitalize Venture Group and GE Ventures, Caroline provides her perspective on what makes a successful startup and touches upon the differences between corporate and traditional VC.
Introduction to Silicon Street Academy
An introduction to Silicon Street Academy by Conor and Alex.