10 episodes
Startups Unpacked Dan Hightower
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- Business
The weekly podcast with fresh takes from venture-backed startup founders who are building great products.
Hey ya'll- I'm Dan Hightower, the host of Startups Unpacked, a podcast where I interview early-stage startup founders, diving into their path towards initial Product/Market Fit, and how they landed their first rounds of funding.
We started Startups Unpacked because getting a company started is HARD, and it's even harder for us, the misfits, who want help getting to product/market fit and finding investors, but find ourselves on the outside of the Silicon Valley clubhouse looking in.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur already trying to raise funds, or you’ve been sitting on an idea without direction on where to go next, this show is designed to introduce you to founders who are just one or two steps ahead of you- the ones who have recently been exactly where you are right now.
Our mission is to make starting companies more relatable and accessible, and in turn, way less mysterious and exclusive.
On each episode, we’ll sit down with a founder or investor who can share their story of building a product that customers can't live without, or explain how/here to find & close investors.
We will never interview:
1.) A unicorn "startup"
2.) A VC with an office on Sand Hill Road
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10: Re-Thinking the Educational Marketplace with Shawn Lestage of Riipen
In this episode, Dan sits down with Shawn Lestage, Director of Operations at Riipen, a project-based educational platform that immerses students in industry projects to help equip them with work-ready skills. The conversation includes how Riipen got started and the way they are helping to shape the marketplace.
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09: The Actionable Social Network for Innovators with Ireland Carter of Bricleir
In this episode, Dan is joined by Ireland Carter, Founder and CEO of Bricleir, a platform that helps businesses discover the best of startup innovation and helps to transform B2B e-commerce.
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Going from Product Lead to YC-backed CEO and $10M Raised, with Catch.co's Kristen Anderson
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06: Reinventing How We Learn Languages with Taylor Nieman & Toucan
In this episode, Dan sits down with Taylor Nieman, Co-Founder, and CEO of Toucan, to talk about the innovative startup and how the company is using a web plug-in to allow users to learn new languages.
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05: Building a Rental Marketplace From Scratch with Ross Richmond of Arrive Outdoors
In this episode, Dan Hightower sits down with Ross Richmond, COO and Co-Founder of Arrive Outdoors to talk about the exploding outdoor activities market. Arrive Outdoors looks to create a world where customers can experience the outdoors sustainably. They talk about the starting of the business, lessons in the early stages and where Arrive is headed in the future.
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04: Building a 40k Person Waitlist and Problem Solving like SpaceX with Josh Clemente of Levels