Founder Real Talk

Notable Capital
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  • TECHNOLOGY
Founder Real Talk

This is Founder Real Talk, where we get real about the challenges that founders and startup executives face, and how they've grown from tough experiences. Hosted by Managing Partner Glenn Solomon.

  1. Accelerating Cloud Development: The LocalStack Story

    NOV 12

    Accelerating Cloud Development: The LocalStack Story

    In this episode of Founder Real Talk, host Glenn Solomon, Managing Partner at Notable Capital, sits down with LocalStack’s co-founders, Gerta Sheganaku and Waldemar Hummer, to discuss how LocalStack is revolutionizing the developer experience. LocalStack enables developers to emulate cloud environments on their local machines, drastically reducing testing times and costs while accelerating product development. Listen as Gerta and Waldemar share the journey behind LocalStack, from its humble beginnings as an open-source project to its growth into a full-fledged business with over 900 paying customers, including Fortune 100 companies. They dive into the unique challenges of cloud-based development, how LocalStack provides a faster alternative, and why speed in the development cycle—what they call “product velocity”—is crucial for innovation in tech. Glenn also explores why Notable Capital led LocalStack’s Series A funding and what makes LocalStack stand out in the crowded cloud development space. Key Topics Discussed: How LocalStack’s local cloud emulation tool saves time and cost for developersLocalStack’s journey from an open-source project to an enterprise-grade productGerta and Waldemar’s backgrounds and what led them to build LocalStackThe future of cloud development and how LocalStack plans to expand and innovate RESOURCES Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com Learn more about LocalStack: www.localstack.cloud CONNECT Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/  Follow Glenn Solomon on X: https://x.com/glennsolomon Connect with Gerta Sheganaku on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerta-sheganaku/ Follow Gerta Sheganaku on X: https://x.com/Sheg_Ge Connect with Waldemar Hummer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whummer/ Follow Waldemar Hummer on X: https://x.com/w_hummer Produced by Notable Capital Music by Gus Culpo

    18 min
  2. The Power of the Developer: How Jam Used Community to Scale with CEO Dani Grant

    SEP 27

    The Power of the Developer: How Jam Used Community to Scale with CEO Dani Grant

    In this episode of Founder Real Talk, Glenn Solomon and Hans Tung welcome the Founder and CEO of Jam, Dani Grant. Jam is helping 150k builders fix bugs faster, trusted by 32 of the Fortune 100. The conversation explores Dani's journey from being a product manager at Cloudflare to founding Jam, the challenges of being a first-time CEO, and the role of AI in shaping the future of software development. They also discuss how to approach developers as a customer and the launch of Dev Starter Pack, a multi-company initiative aimed at supporting aspiring founders by making it easier to get started. KEY TAKEAWAYS: - Fostering Efficient Collaboration: Jam accelerates communication between product and engineering teams, drawing inspiration from Dani Grant's experience at Cloudflare, while AI integration is a focus for future tools. - Empathy and Community in Leadership: Dani emphasizes empathy in product development, highlights the importance of community in developer-focused companies, and leads by empowering her team while balancing control and trust. - How Users Inform the Product Roadmap: How patience and user feedback are critical to reaching product-market-fit and how users can inspire your next great product idea. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Jam and Its Impact 02:25 Dani Grant's Journey and the Birth of Jam 05:47 The Dev Starter Pack: A Collaborative Initiative 08:41 AI's Role in Shaping Software Development 10:18 Building a Developer Community 15:54 Challenges of Being a First-Time CEO 19:56 Finding Product-Market Fit 21:36 Leadership Style and Team Dynamics 33:45 Commercialization Plans and Future Directions RESOURCES Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com Learn more about Jam: https://jam.dev/ CONNECT Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/ Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon Connect with Hans Tung on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-tung/ Follow Hans Tung on Twitter: https://x.com/hanstung Connect with Dani Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danigrant/ Follow Dani Grant on Twitter: https://x.com/thedanigrant Produced by Saschi Productions Music by Gus Culpo

    50 min
  3. AI's Trust Architects: The Patronus Approach to LLM-Based Applications and Enterprise Adoption with Anand Kannappan & Rebecca Qian

    JUL 16

    AI's Trust Architects: The Patronus Approach to LLM-Based Applications and Enterprise Adoption with Anand Kannappan & Rebecca Qian

    In a world where enterprises are moving faster than ever to adopt generative AI solutions, Patronus AI offers solutions to scalably and reliably catch mistakes and evaluate the performance of large language models (LLMs). In this episode of Founder Real Talk, host Glenn Solomon and guest host Dan Cahana sit down with AI visionaries and Patronus AI co-founders Anand Kannappan and Rebecca Qian to explore their journey from CS students at the University of Chicago to AI leadership roles at Meta and the reasons they felt compelled to start Patronus after recognizing the need for robust evaluation tools following the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Anand and Rebecca illuminate the challenges enterprises face in adopting AI and the ways they’ve built Patronus to mitigate challenges like hallucinations and brand alignment. Against the backdrop of rapid AI adoption at large companies, the founders share their vision for creating the enterprise standard for unbiased, independent evaluations. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. AI Visionaries: Anand and Rebecca's extensive experience in AI and machine learning, including their time at Meta and the University of Chicago, laid the foundation for Patronus. 2. Day -1 for AI: The founders see AI adoption as still being in the very early stages, describing it as "Day -1." Large companies are moving faster than ever to adopt AI technologies but face challenges in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape. 3. Solving Critical AI Issues: Patronus addresses the challenges of LLMs, such as hallucinations, unexpected behavior, and brand misalignments, making AI deployment safer and more reliable for enterprises. 4. API-First Approach: Patronus's API-first solution allows for seamless integration into various parts of the tech stack, offering flexibility and scalability for real-time and offline use cases. 5. Enterprise Adoption: The rapid adoption of AI by enterprises, driven by the need for reliability and safety, highlights the importance and urgency of Patronus's solutions. 6. Future of AI: Patronus describes “Scalable oversight" and how humans will learn to supervise increasingly intelligent AI systems RESOURCES • Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com • Learn more about Patronus AI: https://www.patronus.ai/ CONNECT • Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/ • Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon • Connect with Dan Cahana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancahana/ • Follow Dan Cahana on Twitter: https://x.com/dan_cahana • Connect with Anand Kannappan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandnkannappan/ • Follow Anand Kannappan on Twitter: https://x.com/anandnk24 • Connect with Rebecca Qian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaqian/ • Follow Rebecca Qian on Twitter: https://x.com/rebeccatqian Produced by Saschi Productions Music by Gus Culpo CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro and Introductions 5:00 What does Patronus do? 6:55 What’s been some of the surprises in AI? 10:00 The Patronus Product 12:15 How are customers using Patronus? 15:27 Why is an API-first approach important? 16:45 How did you know this was the right place to focus? 19:40 Large companies of the world are moving faster than ever 26:40 Into the Future: What will you look for to know that AI has been successful? 29:00 How do customers plan to deploy this type of technology? 32:00 AI Predictions 35:00 What motivates the Patronus founders? 36:40 What advice would you give to founders looking to start a company in the AI field?

    38 min
  4. Unlocking Developer Productivity: The Coder Journey with CEO Rob Whiteley and Co-founders Ammar Bandukwala & Kyle Carberry

    JUN 25

    Unlocking Developer Productivity: The Coder Journey with CEO Rob Whiteley and Co-founders Ammar Bandukwala & Kyle Carberry

    In this episode of Founder Real Talk, Glenn Solomon welcomes the team from Coder, including CEO Rob Whiteley and technical co-founders Ammar Bandukwala and Kyle Carberry. They discuss Coder’s journey from its inception, the company’s product pivots, and its growth trajectory. Listeners will gain insights into how Coder enables developers to write code directly in the cloud, enhancing productivity and security. They’ll also learn about the strategic decisions behind Coder's open-source approach, the challenges faced, and the recent successful $35 million funding round. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Shift to Cloud Development: Coder allows developers to write code natively in the cloud, improving productivity and security. This shift is akin to moving from old-school word processors to modern office suites. 2. Open Source Evolution: The company pivoted from a consumer-focused SaaS application to an open-source project, resulting in the popular Code Server and later the Coder platform, which supports team-based remote development. 3. Product Market Fit and Customer Adoption: Coder has achieved significant traction with large enterprises and tech companies by providing a product that enhances developer productivity while maintaining security. 4. Strategic Leadership Changes: Bringing in Rob Whiteley as CEO and Josh Epstein as CRO helped Coder focus on large enterprises, leveraging their expertise in go-to-market strategies. 5. Future Growth and Vision: Coder's recent $35 million funding round will support further development and expansion. The company aims to capitalize on opportunities in both the VDI market and the emerging generative AI tools sector. Tune in to hear how Coder's innovative approach is reshaping software development and their plans for the future. RESOURCES • Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com • Learn more about Coder: www.coder.com CONNECT • Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/ • Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon Produced by Saschi Productions Music by Gus Culpo CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Coder and its Founders 02:54 Evolution of Coder's Product and Business Model 05:07 The Decision to Build Coder as an Open Source Company 08:14 Building Code Server and Transitioning to Coder 10:23 The Role of Open Source in Coder's Growth 13:16 Justification for Coder in Different Customer Segments 15:20 Bringing in a CEO and Building a Strong Culture 20:43 Building the Go-to-Market Team and Strategy 22:28 Future Opportunities in the Cloud Development Market 26:40 Recent Fundraise and Milestones for Coder 29:20 Critical Milestones and Innovations for Coder 31:30 Rob's Biggest Learning as a First-Time CEO

    36 min

  5. FEB 23

    Adam Bain, Co-founder & Managing Partner at 01 Advisors, on the Power of Storytelling

    Adam Bain is a co-founder and managing partner at 01 Advisors, a venture and advisory firm helping founders go from building a product to building a company. In this episode, Adam highlights the similarities between his storytelling roots as a journalist and how he now backs founders as an investor. Drawing on lessons learned as Twitter’s Chief Operating Officer pre- and post-IPO, Adam also shares how those key traits—intellectual curiosity, hustle, and resilience—shape the way he supports startup founders today.

    44 min

  6. 09/27/2023

    Arie Zilberstein, CEO & Co-founder of Gem, on the Technology (and Psychology) Needed to Stop Cloud Attacks

    Arie Zilberstein is the CEO and co-founder of Gem, a startup that’s building a Cloud Detection and Response platform for security operations teams. In this episode, Arie recalls how his experience in the Israel Defense Forces not only shaped his outlook but also introduced him to his future co-founders: CTO Ron Konigsberg and VP of Product Ofir Brukner. Together, they’re changing the way that organizations identify and stop attacks in the cloud. Tune in for Arie’s thoughts on the technology (and psychology) of managing incident response, how Gem is leveraging generative artificial intelligence, why he believes in distributed teams, and more. This episode is co-hosted by Oren Yunger, Managing Partner at GGV Capital.

    21 min

  7. 07/12/2023

    Tony Holdstock-Brown & Dan Farrelly, Inngest Co-founders, on Embracing Feedback from Early Customers

    CEO Tony Holdstock-Brown and CTO Dan Farrelly are the co-founders of Inngest, a startup that’s building a serverless, event-driven workflow platform to help developers create better apps with simpler, more intuitive tools. The duo reflects on the engineering career paths that ultimately led them to meeting in a co-working space in New York City, plus hear what shifts in technology are setting the stage for Inngest, what surprising customer feedback is shaping the platform, and what opportunities lie ahead. This episode is co-hosted by GGV investor Dan Cahana.

    29 min

  8. 05/11/2023

    Nicole Perlroth, Cybersecurity Advisor and Author, on Modern-Day Cybersecurity

    Nicole Perlroth is an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the bestselling author of the 2021 book This is How They Tell Me The World Ends, a groundbreaking in-depth exploration of the global cyber arms race. Prior to that, she spent a decade as the lead cybersecurity, digital espionage and sabotage reporter at the New York Times. She’s now building her new early-stage venture fund, Silver Buckshot Ventures, which she describes as “a mission fund backing next-generation cybersecurity startups that, together, take out every tool in an attacker’s arsenal.” Fighting cyber crime requires collaboration and multiple approaches. Nicole shares stories of how she fell into the cybersecurity beat, her advisory work with the DOJ, some of the challenges with cybersecurity work, and her thoughts about how Silver Buckshot Ventures can help.

    51 min
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About

This is Founder Real Talk, where we get real about the challenges that founders and startup executives face, and how they've grown from tough experiences. Hosted by Managing Partner Glenn Solomon.

Information

  • Creator
    Notable Capital
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2024
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Founder Real Talk Notable Capital
  • Show Website
    Founder Real Talk

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