Scaling Nerds | Startup PR, Thought Leadership and Storytelling for Startup Founders

Marina Schmidt
  • 5.0 (11)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Scaling Nerds (formerly Red to Green) helps science and tech founders master the essential communication skills for VC-backed growth: from branding and storytelling to media strategy and investor decks. Ranked in the top 5% globally, with listeners in 160+ countries, Scaling Nerds will help you win minds, markets, and your next fundraise. Hosted by strategic communications advisor Marina Schmidt. Scaling Nerds is a premier startup communications podcast on startup marketing, founder thought leadership, and storytelling for technical and science-driven companies.

  1. 5D AGO

    9.  Choose VCs That Won't Go Bust - Hard Truths from an LP with Ariel Barack from Ordway Selections

    Early-stage founders spend years learning how to fundraise from venture capitalists. But very few ever look beyond the VC sitting across the table. Just like founders need to fundraise from VCs, VCs need to fundraise from limited partners. Who are the guys who give VCs the molah-molah? What are the hidden incentives? And how those dynamics quietly shape fundraising, timing, and pressure. “Everyone thinks they’re pitching one person. They’re not.” Ariel Barack is a Senior Partner and the Chief Executive of Ordway Selections, a private investment office investing primarily in food and agriculture, health, blockchains, and digital assets. As Einstein said, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” Well, today we will look at the rules of the game, so you can play better than anyone else. This was a very interesting conversation, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Links Connect with Ariel Barack https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielbarack/ Mentioned: Anterra Capital https://anterracapital.com/ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ marina@wearekinetik.com Could use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/

    50 min

  2. FEB 3

    8. Close Corporate Deals Faster Without Getting Ghosted: Pilots are NOT the Answer with Ben Kimura-Gross from Catalyne

    Find out how to solve the top 3 issues you may face in corporate sales: .1 not understanding the process, 2. the sale taking way too long, 3. getting ghosted or declined and not knowing why. An absolute must-watch episode for any founder currently hustling for big client deals. Links Connect with Ben Kimura-Gross: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-k-g/ Check out Catalyne https://www.thecatalyne.com/https://www.thecatalyne.com/ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ marina@wearekinetik.com Could use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/

    53 min

  3. JAN 28

    7. Skip Panels, Do This Instead: Founder Thought Leadership 101 with Sarah Rall from Cherry Ventures

    Thought leadership. It's a big topic. You may know of Infarm, the vertical farming company that raised $600 Million before going bust after the Ukraine war drove up energy prices and made their business collapse. Regarding their operations can say all you want, the CEO of Infarm was an exceptional fundraiser. But how did he do it? One of my close friends worked for infarm and thats how I found out that they actually hired a full-time employee in charge of supporting the founders with thought leadership. Raising funds requires investors trusting the team, especially the founders. To me, thought leadership is about scaling yourself. Instead of only relying on one-on-one introductions you create ways for people to get to know you and what you are up to. But well... how? Lets explore this in the second half of this conversation with Sarah Rall, Director of Communications at Cherry Ventures. Links Connect with Sarah Rall: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahrall/⁠ Check out Cherry Ventures ⁠https://cherry.vc/⁠ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠ marina@wearekinetik.com Could use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/

    33 min

  4. JAN 20

    6. Prevent a Media Crisis: DON'T do this Post Series A with Sarah Rall from Cherry Ventures

    At pre-seed and seed stage, many scientific and technical startups don’t have a comms specialist on board. So pitch decks are puzzled together in endless iterations, website copy is written off the cuff, and the founders just riff in interviews. That may work out fine until the company starts truly scaling and you may face a growing amount of media interest and scrutiny. In this episode you will hear from Sarah Rall, Vice President of Communications and Brand at Cherry Ventures. Based in London, Sarah has faced journalists digging for dirt and media crises, been through the communications journey of a startup all the way to IPO, and supports startups across their portfolio. Cherry’s 2022 fund is 320M large, with 50% of their fund reserved for supporting their founders on their growth journey. In this episode, you will find out what comms pitfalls to avoid on your startup growth journey, including an essential tool for aligning your growing Links Connect with Sarah Rall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahrall/ Check out Cherry Ventures https://cherry.vc/ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠ marina@wearekinetik.com Could use some help with your comms? Check out https://www.wearekinetik.com/

    31 min

  5. 12/03/2025

    5. Live Pitch-Fix: Finding the Right Narrative for Critical Minerals Startup Magmatic

    How can you adapt your pitch on the fly to a potential customer, to an investor, or to a generalist audience? Today you can listen in on a live consulting session where I help a founder crack this question. In this episode, I'm consulting Oliver Siegel, the co-founder and CEO of the deep tech startup Magmatic Bio. Magmatic designs synthetic proteins that separate critical metals from each other. Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠ marina@r2g.media Need help communicating your tech? https://www.wearekinetik.com/ Check out Magmatic https://magmatic.bio/ Connect with Oliver https://www.linkedin.com/in/siegel-oliver/https://www.linkedin.com/in/siegel-oliver/

    42 min

  6. 11/26/2025

    4. How to Sell Something People Don't Understand (yet) with Nina Mannheimer from Klim

    If your startup needs to speak to very different audiences — investors, corporates, consumers — this episode lays out why that skill matters more than most founders think. How you explain your work changes depending on who’s in front of you, and that can decide whether people actually understand what you do. If you’re selling cookies, fine. If you’re building a complex solution to a complex problem, communication becomes core to the product. In this episode, you’ll hear from Nina Mannheim, previously the co-founder and CPO of Klim. Klim started back in 2019 in Berlin, when “regenerative agriculture” was still a barely known term. The team had to figure out how to make a complicated topic land with groups who had completely different levels of context and completely different interests. Not easy — but they still managed to raise a 22M Series A in 2024. What Klim learned applies far beyond agriculture. 00:00 – Why stakeholder communication matters 00:42 – Klim’s origin and early challenges 02:23 – Business model and stakeholder map 03:41 – Why consumers still mattered 06:26 – Building credibility as a tiny startup 09:07 – Which stakeholder group was hardest 12:20 – Early communication mistakes with farmers 23:45 – Tailoring communication for investors Links Connect with Steve Molino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamannheimer/ Check out Klim https://www.klim.eco/ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠ marina@r2g.media

    35 min

  7. 11/19/2025

    3. Pitching Specialised VCs: Cutting-Edge Tech Doesn’t Sell Itself, with Steve Molino From Synthesis Capital

    When you are working on a technical or scientific innovation, pitching a specialized VC firm may seem like the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, someone who will get it. Or… will they? Today’s guest, Steve Molino, is Principal at Synthesis Capital based in New Jersey. And today’s episode asks: How can founders with complex tech craft pitch decks that help them get there, past the initial interest? Ironically, having cutting-edge technology may make it harder, not easier. Steve Molino works across food tech and biotech. Previously, he led investment activity at Clear Current Capital as Partner and Head of Investments. He focused on early-stage investments and now covers Series A, B, or later. You are listening to Scaling Nerds, the podcast covering all things communications for science and tech founders. Links Connect with Steve Molino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmolino/ Check out Synthesis https://synthesis.capital/ Connect with me: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠ marina@r2g.media Resources Mentioned: Granola AI Slidebean Slidesgo Canva

    37 min

  8. 11/12/2025

    2. How to Announce Your Fundraise Without a Headache - A PR Crash Course With Elisheva Marcus from Earlybird VC

    A crisp crash course on announcing your fundraise correctly, including: a good timeline for drafting, reviewing, and sending out the press release how to correctly manage stakeholder feedback and how to maximize the benefits of the announcement The guest you’ll hear from today, Elisheva Marcus, and I met at the Deep Tech Momentum conference in Berlin and connected over nerding out about comms. Elisheva Marcus has an MSc in Biomedical Communication and brings expertise from the San Jose Mercury News, Ada Health, Bayer, and more. Since 2020, she has been the VP of Communications at Earlybird Venture Capital, supporting portfolio founders as a sparring partner. By the way, Earlybird Venture Capital was founded in 1997 and is among the most experienced venture investors in Europe, covering all development and growth stages from pre-seed to growth in industries like fintech, health tech, and deep tech. --- Links Connect with Elli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisheva-marcus/ Check out Earlybird: https://earlybird.com/ Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/ Structure of a Strong Press Release or Announcement Title Use active, direct language. Avoid buzzwords. Commit to a single, powerful title (no subtitle). Key Bullet Points Three concise bullets summarizing the essential news. Designed for quick journalistic scanning. Represent the three to four main ideas the body will expand on. Header Information Include date and location. Opening Paragraph Start with a strong, engaging first sentence. Avoid generic or slow openings. Main Body Expand on the bullet points in a clear, logical flow. Ensure coherence and story progression. Cover the who, what, where, when, and why. Include: Amount raised (with correct denomination) Impact and significance The team and why they’re the right people A quote from leadership or a client How the funds will be used and why it’s memorable Closing Section End with a short About section or call to action. Provide contact or follow-up information.

    34 min
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Scaling Nerds (formerly Red to Green) helps science and tech founders master the essential communication skills for VC-backed growth: from branding and storytelling to media strategy and investor decks. Ranked in the top 5% globally, with listeners in 160+ countries, Scaling Nerds will help you win minds, markets, and your next fundraise. Hosted by strategic communications advisor Marina Schmidt. Scaling Nerds is a premier startup communications podcast on startup marketing, founder thought leadership, and storytelling for technical and science-driven companies.

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