The VentureFizz Podcast VentureFizz

This is an exciting episode because Paul is my first repeat guest on the podcast! I interviewed him about 2.5 years ago for Episode 37 where we spent a lot of time talking about his background and all the details around KAYAK and Lola.com.

This time around, we took a slightly different approach. We of course caught up on Lola.com, which as you may remember is focused on helping companies with business travel. We talk about the effects of the pandemic where business trips booked on Lola.com were down 97%. But the real story here is the resiliency of the team. Not only did the team fight against an incredibly tough situation, but they launched a major new product called Lola Spend and expanded their product offering and value for finance teams at companies.

We also talk about his latest side product that he’s been working on called Moonbeam which is a new podcast player. Moonbeam is the easiest way to discover great new podcast content. It’s almost like a TikTok for podcasts, plus it has additional features that make it unique in terms of growing an audience, monetization, and other cool features.

But then, we spend a lot of time talking about hiring. I was particularly excited about this part because Paul is well known for his hiring practices, as he’s a master in this field.

For hiring, we discuss:

* His 7 Day Rule - which has been written about many times. It is the timeframe and speed of his process from when he first hears about a candidate to making an offer.
* How to qualify and hire talent for remote teams.
* His thoughts on building out initial teams within engineering and design.
* What job seekers should be thinking about before joining a company.
* When is the right time to bring in a company’s first recruiter.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

Did you know that rowing works 86% of your muscles? It provides a full-body workout that puts less stress on your joints, yet it’s been an under-rated exercise in terms of popularity. Maybe that’s because of accessibility, as rowing on the water is not as easy to pull off as it is to run and cycle outside and let’s face it, the old style rowing machines in gyms were never really that appealing.

Technology has caught up with the needs of consumers where you can have a fully immersive and instructor led experience right in your own home and let’s not ignore how the pandemic has really turned the fitness industry upside down.

Well, now rowing is having its moment and Hydrow is leading the charge.

Hydrow is the company behind the beautifully designed Live Outdoor Reality rower. In addition, they are a content company that provides classes with world-class athletes which are streamlined live on the water and they are building a massive library of classes..

It’s not a coincidence that Bruce founded Hydrow. As you’ll learn from our conversation, he has been involved in the sport of rowing for many, many years as a rower, coach, and entrepreneur.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* How competition within an industry can help pick each other up.
* Bruce’s background growing up including how he got involved in rowing and his career in the sport.
* A deep dive into Hydrow in terms of creating their product, producing content, scaling the company, and more.
* How they were able to land comedian and actor, Kevin Hart, as a Creative Director and investor in the company.
* Advice for founders on building out their initial core team.
* A look into the future of the fitness industry.
* And so much more.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

It’s 2021 - Happy New Year to everyone!

We are kicking off the new year with an amazing episode, as my guest is Paul Liberman, President, Global Technology and Products & Co-Founder of DraftKings.

The story of DraftKings has all the twists and turns of a Hollywood movie. It has the classic beginning of three co-founders looking to radically transform an industry, but this story is not a linear path. Along the way, there were so many obstacles to overcome which we discuss like regulatory changes, raising massive amounts of venture funding, a fierce battle against the competition for market share, scaling to a public offering, and more!

We also have a deep discussion about their tech and platform, which is incredibly complex and it operates at a massive scale.

In addition, we also cover:

* A fun recent story featuring Michael Jordan, who was recently announced as a special advisor to the company’s board of directors.
* Paul’s background story, including immigrating to the US from Russia at a young age
* His experience at Vistaprint where he met Jason Robins and Matt Kalish, the two other co-founders of DraftKings.
* A look into DraftKings’ culture and hiring plans ahead.
* Hiring advice at different stages of a company
* And so much more.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

This is episode #200...yes, we are at another milestone episode! Three years ago we kicked off The VentureFizz Podcast to bring you the amazing stories from leading entrepreneurs and investors. It’s been a blast and I want to say thank you to Alex, who made it happen initially, Dan, who is our podcast editor, and of course a special shout-out to all of our amazing guests!

For Episode 200, I’m really excited to share with you my interview with Helen Greiner, CEO of Tertill.

Helen is a legend in the tech industry and one of the co-founders of iRobot which brought robots into our homes with the Roomba. At this point, I can’t imagine not having our Roomba… it’s a game changer.

Helen’s next company, CyPhy Works, revolutionized the drone industry and now as CEO of Tertill, she is looking to tackle another domestic chore and it's one that is dreaded, in my opinion, way more than vacuuming and that is weeding. I think I was scared as a kid and if a robot can take away this task, then please sign me up!

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* What Helen envisions for the future of robotics & drones.
* Her background growing up, including how R2D2 was her inspiration, plus her time at MIT.
* The story of iRobot - from the early days of the company, to bringing the Roomba to market, and building a pillar tech company to an IPO.
* The details on CyPhy Works and how they helped pushed the drone industry forward.
* Why she joined Tertill and how the product works, which is brilliant.
* Advice for founders on building a company centered around innovation.
* And so much more.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

"Let’s schedule some time to meet” is a common phrase that you’ll hear multiple times a day. Sounds simple, but it’s not, especially the more people who are involved. It starts an endless amount of back & forth to coordinate schedules. It’s a problem that affects everyone and there have been attempts to solve this problem with things like online scheduling tools, but no one has gotten it right.

There has to be a better way and that is exactly the way of thinking that led Nash down the path of starting Undock. The company is on a mission to connect the world’s calendars and dramatically change the future with predictive scheduling.

Undock recently announced $1.6M in funding from investors like Lightship Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital, and many more.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* Why startups should think bigger when it comes to launching products and advice on planning a launch event.
* Nash’s background, including his time as a music producer and then moving into the role as CEO at Viper Box.
* A deep dive into Undock and how the product works, plus some insights about the bigger vision of the company.
* Hiring advice for startups.
* And so much more.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

The world needs more risk takers, big thinkers, and problem solvers that are willing to take on the really hard problems that need to be solved. As you’ll hear from this interview, the world needs more Eden’s.

She started her first company in high school which was focused on improving energy and water access in the developing world. She left Princeton to pursue an opportunity as a Theil Fellow as the program was just beginning and Eden is now building a company that is taking an innovative approach to mobile app testing.

Her company is called Mobot and they are using robots (real robots) to test mobile applications. This was a problem that she witnessed firsthand as a Product Manager and decided to build a company around solving this problem. The company is backed by leading investors like Primary Venture Partners, Newark Venture Partners, Bling Capital, RRE Ventures, and Y Combinator.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

* Words of encouragement to others on taking risks and starting a company.
* Eden’s background growing up and the creation of her first company, SunSaluter and the progress she made building it.
* The story behind her decision to leave Princeton to become a Thiel Fellow.
* A deep dive into Mobot and how they are taking a much more effective approach to mobile testing.
* Why she decided to build a company as a solo-founder.
* Advice on getting traction from the media.
* And so much more.

If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and review us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.