Sand Hill Road

Sand Hill Road

A place to talk about startups, venture capital and tech. For a full download, double-click on sandhillroad.io

  1. E53 Going from no app to a super app with Henry Shi, co-founder of super.com

    7 JAN

    E53 Going from no app to a super app with Henry Shi, co-founder of super.com

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Henry Shi, co-founder of super.com an all-in-one savings super app for everyday Americans. Having recently raised a $85m Series C led by Inovia Capital, the company is trusted by over 5 million customers worldwide and has helped them save over $150M to date. Super.com is backed by Tier 1 investors including NBA superstar Steph Curry and has raised over $150M USD and surpassed $1B in sales. 00:00​​ Intro 01:37 From Chatbot to Super App 03:02 V1 of the product 04:55 Product Today 06:39 Going from appless app to super app 09:34 Going from travel-only to Walmart 12:47 Going from Seed to Series C 14:56 Fundraising in 2016 16:15 Surviving the pandemic 17:45 The Las Vegas offsite 19:34 Perfecting Distribution 21:29 Founder transition 25:04 Vision for Super.com

    27 min
  2. E52 Pricing strategies for generative AI with Orb co-founder and CTO Kshitij Grover

    16/08/2024

    E52 Pricing strategies for generative AI with Orb co-founder and CTO Kshitij Grover

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Kshitij Grover, co-Founder and CTO of Orb (www.withorb.com), a billing platform provider that solves usage-based billing needs. The SF based startup has to date raised a total of c. $19.1 million across its Series A ($14 million led by Menlo) and seed ($5.1 million led by Greylock).

    35 min
  3. E51 Raising $1bn to bringing entrepreneurship to Japan with World Innovation Lab founder and CEO Gen Isayama

    06/04/2023

    E51 Raising $1bn to bringing entrepreneurship to Japan with World Innovation Lab founder and CEO Gen Isayama

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Gen Isayama, co-founder and CEO of World Innovation Lab, a Palo Alto and Tokyo based venture firm investing in growth-stage companies and serving as a bridge between startups and Japanese corporations. 00:00​​ Intro 01:30 World Innovation Lab 04:10 From Japanese lawyer to Silicon Valley VC 09:10 From DCM to WIL 13:55 WIL investment thesis 19:40 Japanese entrepreneurial culture 26:57 Open innovation Models at WIL 31:57 Raising Fund I 37:00 Full spectrum of WIL Activities 42:16 Investment strategy and portfolio construction 48:06 Outlook for WIL III 51:23 Call to action

    53 min
  4. E50 Establishing a growth equity firm with Left Lane Capital founding partner Dan Ahrens

    07/03/2023

    E50 Establishing a growth equity firm with Left Lane Capital founding partner Dan Ahrens

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Dan Ahrens, founding partner at Left Lane Capital, a New York based venture capital and early growth equity firm that invests in high-growth internet and consumer technology businesses.  00:00​​ Intro  02:43 Consumer vs. enterprise tech  05:09 Getting into venture  07:54 Raising Left Lane I  10:35 Investing while fundraising  13:09 The Left Lane Capital playbook  17:09 Due diligence in a hot market  18:52 Scaling Left Lane Capital  21:36 Deployment pace  23:28 Focus area  26:04 Hard conversations  28:10 Arc  32:53 Exo Freight  35:28 Supply Chain Tech  37:04 Call to action

    41 min
  5. E49 Cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora

    22/02/2023

    E49 Cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Divyang Arora, founder and CEO of Byte Kitchen about cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora.   0:00 Intro  1:24 2 minute elevator pitch  4:27 Going all in  8:07 Business Model  14:52 The Byte Kitchen playbook  18:52 Optimal Partner Restaurant Profile  25:39 End customer benefits  27:25 Raising the Seed Round   30:14 Early traction  31:54 Byte Kitchen's Use of Tech  34:50 Call to Action

    36 min

  6. 31/01/2023

    E48 Protecting passwords through open-source software with Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Michael Crandell, CEO Bitwarden about scaling open-source password manager Bitwarden.   00:00​ Intro  00:50 What is Bitwarden  03:22 From side hustle to venture-backed  06:36 Joining a Bootstrapper at Series A  09:58 Open-source GTM  13:25 Open-source defensibility  15:35 Community vs. enterprise edition  17:37 Revenue traction  19:51 Competition  22:25 Fundraising journey  25:46 Use of funds  28:25 Go-to-market strategy  31:40 Building a remote-first company  35:11 Arbitrating talent  36:00 Next steps for Bitwarden  38:28 Not the first time at the rodeo

    39 min
  7. E47 Your fund size is your strategy with Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary

    13/01/2023

    E47 Your fund size is your strategy with Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Kyle Harrison, general partner at Country about everything from the economics of whale hunting, the venture product offering to his recent joining of Contrary.   00:00​ Intro  01:11 Way into venture  04:58 Time of reflection  07:24 The under-innovated venture model  10:46 Your fund size is your strategy  16:16 The nature of the general partnership  20:38 Rethinking the org chart  25:13 VC product vs. VC service  28:31 VC product industry practice  31:13 From monolithic brands to solo capitalist  37:18 The future of venture tribes  39:52 Joining Contrary

    48 min

  8. 20/11/2022

    E46 Uncovering tax credits (aka free money) for startups with MainStreet founder and CEO Doug Ludlow

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Doug Ludlow, co-founder and CEO of MainStreet, which helps startups and small businesses uncover tax credits.    00:00​​ Intro  01:05 Hipster  05:09 Happy Home Company  07:10 Starting MainStreet  11:22 The nature of Tax credits  16:03 The Path Act  17:52 The MainStreet Product  19:14 Customer success stories  20:41 Customer profile  22:40 Audit protection / guarantee  24:13 Moats  25:37 Whitespace vs. Switching  26:30 MainStreet traction  27:47 Fundraising   28:17 Pre-empted Series A   30:22 MainStreet layoffs  32:42 Unit economics  33:42 Unit economics  34:50 Vision for MainStreet   37:42 Fast five  39:01 Call to action

    40 min
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About

A place to talk about startups, venture capital and tech. For a full download, double-click on sandhillroad.io

Information

  • Creator
    Sand Hill Road
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sand Hill Road
  • Show Website
    Sand Hill Road