MBIT: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology Shamus Madan

Adam Pritzker co-founded General Assembly back in 2010; an education company focused on providing professional development and teaching the most in-demand technology, business, and design skills. Since its launch in 2011, General Assembly has trained over one million students at campuses across four continents. Now, at his new venture, Assembled Brands Group, Adam partners with emerging direct-to-consumer companies to provide working capital, business insights, and a professional network to help scale their businesses. 
Listen to his full story here, and discover the most valuable lessons he has learned throughout his journey as an entrepreneur.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Adam Pritzker): @adampritzker

Learn more about Assembled Brands here: https://assembledbrands.com/

Heather Hartnett is the founding partner of Human Ventures. The firm is a startup studio and a venture firm investing in wellness and digital health. It is backed by renowned investors, including Ray Dalio of Bridgewater, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, and James Murdoch. 

As the CEO of Human Ventures, she has created one of New York's premier startup studios and early-stage venture funds. Since launching under Heather's leadership, Human Ventures has invested in and co-built more than 65 companies, with key investments including Reserve (acquired), Current, TheSkimm, Tiny Organics, and Tia Health. Those companies have grown to more than $7.5 billion in enterprise value and have raised over $500 million in additional capital from notable later-stage investors.
As one of The 50 Most Influential Women in America by Hearst Digital Media Publications, Heather is a frequent speaker at TechCrunch Disrupt and a regular contributor to Forbes, where she covers various venture capital topics.


Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Heather Hartnett): @HeatherHartnett

Learn more about Human Ventures here: https://human.vc/

NOTE: Podcast intro and outro background music on behalf of Superhero (Heroes & Villans) by Metro Boomin.

David Abney is the former Chairman and CEO of UPS. David’s story is anything but traditional. At just the age of 19 years old, he began his career as a part-time package loader. Little did he know doing so would start his trajectory to CEO, leading one of the largest package delivery companies in the world.

Listen to the full story, and if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend and tag me on Twitter below.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

NOTE: Podcast intro and outro background music on behalf of Superhero (Heroes & Villans) by Metro Boomin.

When Brian Scudamore was four, he drew a picture of himself hauling away junk. Little did he know he'd become a millionaire from doing so. Fifteen years later, he got to work on his idea investing a thousand dollars, $700 for a pickup truck and the rest for some business cards and flyers.

At the time, his girlfriend had an idea to call the local newspaper to tell his story, which made the front page, and in 24 hours, he had a hundred job offers. The business took off, but he wasn't satisfied. He dreamed bigger and did not have the right people in place for the business. So he fired all of his employees, took a piece of paper, and wrote what he envisioned for the future.

Today he is turned that paper into an empire that owns multiple brands, nearing a value of a billion dollars using a franchising model.

Listen to the full story, and if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend and tag me on Twitter below.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Brian Scudamore): @BrianScudamore

Order Brian's book WTF here: https://www.amazon.com/WTF-Willing-Fail-Failure-Success-ebook/dp/B07JXY3823

NOTE: Podcast intro and outro background music on behalf of Superhero (Heroes & Villans) by Metro Boomin.

Brian Smith is the founder of UGG. Brian was born in Australia, where he first developed his love of surfing. With just $500, he founded UGG Imports to bring sheepskin footwear to America.  After seventeen years, as sales reached $15 million, he sold the business to Deckers Outdoor Corporation. The UGG brand has since exceeded $1 billion in international sales. 

Brian is also the author of The Birth of a Brand, detailing his experience founding UGG, and speaks to entrepreneurs all over the world, inspiring them on their journey of building a business.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Learn More About Brian's Book Here: https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Brand-Unlikely-Start-Up-Billion/dp/1582705380/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1677042731&sr=8-1

Today we are joined by Noor Sweid, a Managing Partner at Global Ventures. Over the years, Noor has worked for some of the largest companies in the world, including Charles Schwab and Accenture.

Noor has facilitated her family business Depa, a contracting company headquartered in Dubai, multi-million dollar growth and eventual IPO; she's launched and run her own business (the ZenYoga, the first yoga studio in the Middle East and Africa, which she founded in 2006), and ran until its sale in 2014. Most recently, Noor has been an investor and mentor for several startups in the Middle East ecosystem with Global Ventures.

Learn More About Global Ventures Here: https://www.global.vc/

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Noor Sweid): @nsweid