22 episodes
The Startup Solution Threshold Ventures
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- Business
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5.0 • 37 Ratings
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The Startup Solution tackles the make-or-break situations that entrepreneurs face, offering clear advice on how to survive and thrive in an early-stage company. Who’s it for? Founders, startup execs, and investors who want to learn from real-world situations, unpacked by Heidi Roizen, a “recovering" entrepreneur and current VC who has seen it all through 40 years and 40 boards.
Heidi uses a case method to unpack a new situation in each episode, breaking down why it’s a big deal and talking about how it was solved or could have been solved. The situations are from her direct experience, though all names and details have been changed to uphold our commitment to the Entrepreneur Protection Program.
Heidi has spent 40 years in the tech startup world, the first dozen years as an entrepreneur herself, and since then, 25 years as a venture capitalist. She’s served on over 40 boards, from seed stage to public companies. She also co-leads the Threshold Venture Fellows program at Stanford University and is a partner at Threshold Ventures.
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The Case of the Infallible Founder
Chester, an early-stage entrepreneur, wants to put terms in place so he can never be fired by his board. Like many founders, he saw what went down with Sam Altman at OpenAI and wants to know what he can do to avoid a similar situation from ever happening to him. Heidi explains why boards are set up the way they are and reassures him that a board and accountability are good for an entrepreneur and their company.
More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-infallible-founder -
The Case of the Fraudulent Founder
Some ambitious entrepreneurs embellish the truth to achieve their goals. Is this seemingly innocent practice appropriate, or is it a gateway to engaging in illegal activities down the road? Heidi shares why well-meaning people become frauds and the steps every founder can take to catch and prevent this behavior.
More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-fraudulent-founder -
The Case of the Ace Advisor
Miles wants to hire an advisor, a well-respected University of California professor but needs help defining the role, setting expectations, and formalizing the rules of engagement. Heidi, an experienced advisor herself, walks Miles through a step-by-step process to help him establish an advisor’s obligations and compensation to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship.
More Information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-ace-advisor -
The Case of the Nepo Nightmare
The CTO needs to fire someone who is awful at their job but is the big brother of the CEO. Heidi recounts firsthand experience of navigating a complex commingling of family and startup dynamics to strengthen a healthy and productive company.
More info: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-nepo-nightmare -
The Case of the Secondary Showdown
Secondary stock sales can be tricky. Heidi shares a financial drama where the founder is upset that her VC is selling, and the VC is upset that the founder is selling. Learn about the ins and outs of a process that can lead to happier, wealthier, and wiser stakeholders.
More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-secondary-showdown -
The Case of the C-Suite Shuffle
Leon no longer wants to be the CEO of the company he founded. He makes his decision after completing an exercise Heidi suggested to him in Episode 5 – “The Case of the Frustrated Founder." In this segment, Heidi helps Leon take the steps needed to communicate his decision to the board, identify and onboard a new CEO, and transition into a new role and happier life.
More info: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-c-suite-shuffle
Customer Reviews
What more could you ask for?
Helpful, digestible, concise, practical, actionable. Delivered in a positive upbeat way. By someone who has seen it, lived it, mentored and taught it. What more could you ask for? Great job Heidi!
About life
As I have listened to the episodes, my sense of the relevance and application of this has followed this path.
At first I thought, “This is really good for entrepreneurs.”
Then, I thought, “This is really good for anyone who works in pretty much any kind of business.”
Then, I thought, “This is about LIFE.”
Each episode, for me, ended up being about how to navigate life: showing up the way you hope you will in relation to other people, in hard situations involving a lack of experience and the mistakes that inevitably occur when there isn’t enough experience.
I also love Heidi’s voice. While telling about some quite cringey moments, her Kindest Elementary School Teacher voice is actually very calming to the nervous nervous system.
There is wisdom and mentoring in this podcast for living life.
Laughing while learning
Such amazing information in the most entertaining and easy to digest way. Thanks Heidi!!
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