Founders Couch

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A talk show about the most inspiring student founders and their intrepid journeys of starting their own thing. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

19/02/2021

I have some news

Follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to get notified of updates. We are @founderscouch on Instagram. See ya'll in a bit! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

2 min
05/02/2021

#35: Michael Broughton - On great pitching and being backed by Jay-Z

This episode, we welcome Michael Broughton! Michael is a USC student on a leave of absence and cofounder of Perch, a free app that allows users to build their credit through recurring expenses such as rent, Netflix and Hulu. Coming from a military family of nine, Michael started the company out of some personal experience and in the early days of the company conducted thousands of user interviews to validate the need. So far, Perch has launched on the iOS App Store and is available for download here. They recently raised a $2.5M seed round and are backed by Village Capital, Citi, SoftBank, Concrete Rose Capital and Marcy Venture Partners. We talk Perch's founding days, what goes into a great pitch, and what it's like being backed by Jay-Z and so many incredible others. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

24 min
22/01/2021

#34: Shreyas Parab - 3 key lessons from a 3x student entrepreneur

Today, we have Shreyas Parab! Shreyas is a junior at Stanford and co-founder of Angle Global, an online education platform with the goal of teaching the world English. So far, Angle Global has struck a partnership with one of China’s largest spelling bees to provide technology to their 5 million students and have been working in collaboration with several education companies across Canada and the United States . But this isn’t Shreyas’ first business. When Shreyas was a freshman in high school, he cofounded Spell for Success, another educational tool used by spellers across the country to train, and was the winner of Diamond Challenge, the world’s top entrepreneurship competition for high school students. And before that, he founded the tie business NovelTie, making him the “Tie Guy” of the Greater Philadelphia Area. Through NovelTie, he has sold thousands of ties across the country and became a supplier to Walmart. What are the top 3 lessons Shreyas has taken away from his biz endeavors? What does he mean by "package your ties?" How was Diamond Challenge monumental to his entrepreneurial journey? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

29 min
08/01/2021

#33: John Peurifoy - On the importance of velocity as a student founder (ft. Frederick Daso from Forbes)

Welcome to Season 4 of the Founders Couch! This episode, I'm joined by the wonderful Frederick Daso, senior Forbes contributor who writes on college entrepreneurship. We interview the stellar John Peurifoy. John is currently the co-founder of Floating Point Group (FPG), a 14 person cryptocurrency trading infrastructure venture-backed startup. He grew up in Springfield, Missouri and graduated MIT with a double major in Physics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. At MIT, his research focused on using AI tools to solve inverse design problems in physics. He holds 2 patents for novel neural network architectures, and has published in “Science Advances," ICML, and NIPS. Earlier in 2020, FPG raised a $2 million seed round from AngelList founder Naval Ravikant, Steve Kokinos, Seabury Global Markets, and BoxOne ventures. John is an active alumni with MIT and is known for his unique footwear apparel. We talk crypto, what it's like to be a student founder, and having to decide between pursuing a PhD and running a company. Make sure to listen until the end to hear a special something... what Fred and I personally think student founders need to know. And, check out Fred's Forbes article on John & FPG from last April here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

38 min
30/10/2020

Why I started Founders Couch, and where I hope it will go

Look out for Season 4 in the new year :) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

3 min
02/10/2020

#31: Ayushi Sinha (Princeton) - On the importance of user interviews and the balance between staying true to your vision & taking feedback

Why are user interviews so important when building a product that's not for yourself? What are some clever tactics? And how do you balance staying true to your vision vs. taking feedback? Ayushi Sinha joins us on the couch today! Ayushi is a recent Princeton grad who studied Computer Science and received a certificate in Cognitive Science. Hailing from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ayushi was the founder of several ventures during her time in college. She co-founded the startup WellPower, a vertically integrated Uber for water filtration and distribution in East Africa. She also co-founded Princeton’s first student-led VC, Prospect Student Ventures, to invest in student founders and teach core concepts of venture capital. She is currently an incoming member of the Product team at Nines, a startup bringing AI to radiology diagnostics and backed by Accel and 8VC. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

28 min
18/09/2020

#30: Tejasvi Desai (Johns Hopkins) - On transitioning from a class project to a real startup and de-risking a medical device MVP

We welcome Tejasvi Desai! Tejasvi is a Johns Hopkins senior who studies Biomedical Engineering. Hailing from Pleasanton, California, Tejasvi is the cofounder of Relavo (https://relavomedical.com/), a medical device venture preventing infections in home dialysis. So far, they’ve developed a working prototype, verified the efficacy of their disinfection method, and participated in renowned accelerators such as MassChallenge Boston and MedTech Innovator. They have won over $650,000 in non-dilutive funding and are currently raising a pre-seed round. We discuss: What are the unique aspects of transitioning from class project to real startup? How is a medical device MVP different from a software MVP? Why is it important to de-risk different facets of your business? Subscribe to Founders Couch wherever you get your podcasts. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

24 min
04/09/2020

#29: Tim Skapek (Duke) - On selling to customers who were initially less likely to adopt new tech

How did Protect3d come to be? And how does Tim approach selling to customers that might be less likely to adopt new tech? Tim is a recent Duke grad who studied Mechanical Engineering. Hailing from Dallas, TX, he is the cofounder and CTO of Protect3d (https://www.protect3dpads.com/), a startup that leverages 3D technology to create anatomical precise protective devices for athletics. So far, they’ve created products for 9 total athletic programs and 90+ athletes across the country, as well as an iOS app to be used by athletic trainers to capture 3D scans from an iPad. They have won 3 grants so far, highlighted by the 2020 NFL 1st and Future Grand Prize for Innovations in Athlete Health and Player Safety, and have also closed a pre-seed round of fundraising from friends and family. Subscribe to Founders Couch wherever you get your podcasts. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

29 min

See All (35)

A talk show about the most inspiring student founders and their intrepid journeys of starting their own thing. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/founderscouch/support

Creator

Founders Couch
Years Active

2019 - 2021
Episodes

35
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Founders Couch

Founders Couch

I have some news

#35: Michael Broughton - On great pitching and being backed by Jay-Z

#34: Shreyas Parab - 3 key lessons from a 3x student entrepreneur

#33: John Peurifoy - On the importance of velocity as a student founder (ft. Frederick Daso from Forbes)

Why I started Founders Couch, and where I hope it will go

#31: Ayushi Sinha (Princeton) - On the importance of user interviews and the balance between staying true to your vision & taking feedback

#30: Tejasvi Desai (Johns Hopkins) - On transitioning from a class project to a real startup and de-risking a medical device MVP

#29: Tim Skapek (Duke) - On selling to customers who were initially less likely to adopt new tech

About

Information

Founders Couch

Episodes

I have some news

#35: Michael Broughton - On great pitching and being backed by Jay-Z

#34: Shreyas Parab - 3 key lessons from a 3x student entrepreneur

#33: John Peurifoy - On the importance of velocity as a student founder (ft. Frederick Daso from Forbes)

Why I started Founders Couch, and where I hope it will go

#31: Ayushi Sinha (Princeton) - On the importance of user interviews and the balance between staying true to your vision & taking feedback

#30: Tejasvi Desai (Johns Hopkins) - On transitioning from a class project to a real startup and de-risking a medical device MVP

#29: Tim Skapek (Duke) - On selling to customers who were initially less likely to adopt new tech

About

Information