The Accelerator with Michael Conniff: Recent Episodes
Michael Conniff
This is a Podcast dedicated to bringing entrepreneurs, founders, start ups together with angels, investors and venture capitalists. Anyone who is interested in watching the economy grow in a magnificent way!
In this episode, we have a special guest who is a master of go-to-market strategies and a passionate advocate of data-driven technologies. He is Raviv Kerem, a seasoned specialist in strategy operations, product, and go-to-market.
Raviv Kerem has an impressive background that spans across different industries and continents. He is originally from Israel, where he witnessed the rise of one of the most vibrant and successful tech ecosystems in the world. He moved to New York City a few years ago and fell in love with the city and its dynamic startup scene. He currently lives in Astoria, a charming neighborhood that he describes as a mini-United Nations.
In this episode, Raviv shares his insights on the differences and similarities between the startup landscapes of New York and Israel. He explains why Israel is such a powerhouse of innovation, especially in cybersecurity and intelligence. He attributes this to the culture of ambition, creativity, and collaboration that pervades Israeli society, as well as the support from the government and the military elite units. He also compares the advantages and challenges of being an entrepreneur in New York versus Israel.
Next, Raviv reveals his secrets on how to craft effective go-to-market (GTM) strategies. He defines GTM as the art and science of presenting a product to customers in a way that solves their problems delivers value, and ensures scalability.
He discusses the common pitfalls that companies face when they try to achieve product-market fit. He emphasizes the importance of listening to customers and understanding their pain points, rather than trying to educate them on your solution. He gives an example of how he helped a cybersecurity company grow its revenue by changing its approach and implementing some best practices.
This episode is packed with valuable information and tips on how to succeed in the competitive and fast-changing world of startups. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, an established founder, or a curious listener, you will find something useful and inspiring in this episode. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the industry. Listen to The Accelerator with Michael Conniff and Raviv Kerem today!
In this episode of The Accelerator with Michael Conniff, we speak with Pat Riley, the CEO of Morrow and Managing Partner at Morrow Ventures.
The conversation starts off with Pat explaining the mission of Morrow. The mission of Morrow is to give startups the power to create and grow their business and to make an impact wherever they call home. Pat believes that accelerators are the best way to do this, as they provide startups with the necessary support, data, tools, and community.
He also explains the difference between an accelerator and an incubator, and why he prefers the former. An accelerator is a type of investment vehicle that usually selects five to 10 fully formed companies and provides them with office space, mentorship, and funding for three to six months. The program typically ends with a demo day, where the startups pitch their ideas to potential investors.
An incubator, on the other hand, is a service that offers similar support to fully formed companies, but without investing in them. Instead, the startups pay a fee to the incubator for using its facilities and resources. The main difference between an accelerator and an incubator is the financial arrangement and the duration of the program. Startups in an incubator can stay as long as they need unless they grow too big or fail.
In this episode, you will also hear about work-life balance and whether this is possible for entrepreneurs. Michael and discuss whether work-life balance is taught or modeled. Pat believes that success for entrepreneurs is supposed to extend to the family level and not just about making money. Pat talks about the structures in place at Morrow Ventures that promote work-life balance.
This is a podcast that will inspire you to pursue your dreams and make a difference in the world. Tune in to The Accelerator with Michael Conniff and Pat Riley today!
Joining us from Mexico, our guests today delve into the podcasting arena. Jorge Gonzalez, the founder of Nodalab, introduces their collaborative platform for podcast creation and growth. Sofia Benedicto, Nodalab's co-founder, podcast producer, digital content developer, and creative writer, is Accompanying him.
Remarkably, there are over 200 million content creators worldwide, with the industry valued at $100 billion. Podcasting, a thriving medium, boasts 4 million podcasts and a market worth $13 billion. Astonishingly, only 1% of content is monetized, leaving creators grappling for income and sponsors. The journey to secure a first sponsorship spans around six and a half months, dampening creators' spirits.
Sofia and Jorge birthed Nodalab to tackle this challenge. Nodalab equips podcasters with tools for pre-production, concept creation, post-production, and monetization. Focused on Mexico and Latin America, where podcasting is burgeoning, Nodalab connects podcasters with interested brands, bridging a market gap. Elevate content, engage with brands, and monetize seamlessly with Nodalab – the ultimate podcasting solution.
In today's enlightening conversation, we unveil the inspiring journey of Iambic—a next-generation shoe brand that delivers precision-fit shoes at scale through AI, virtual scanning, and streamlined manufacturing. Speaking with us today is Maeve Wang who is the co-founder and CEO of Iambic and Raza Hassan, co-founder and CTO.
At the heart of Iambic lies a deeply personal struggle endured by Maeve herself. Imagine facing the frustrating dilemma of never finding shoes that fit perfectly. Maeve's breaking point came after an astonishing 300 shoe returns and exchanges within a mere three years—both online and in physical stores.
Her quest led her on a tireless journey, spanning from upstate Connecticut to the depths of Jersey, testing every foot scanner in existence, trying countless brands until the undeniable truth struck her: something was amiss in the shoe-making system.
Maeve didn't stop there. She embarked on a quest to unravel the truth, speaking with countless consumers, friends, and family, only to uncover a staggering reality—27% of people faced the same footwear woes. A chance encounter with a biomedical engineering professor, a friend with an expert perspective introduced her to Raza and that’s how they connected and began the journey to starting Iambic. Raza had just finished his doctorate degree in biomedical engineering with a focus on computational biomechanics and musculoskeletal joint research.
The highlight is when Raza explains in detail the process of creating a shoe. You will also learn how Iambic creates shoes that fit perfectly for each customer using its proprietary technology platform. Raza explains how they use AI and streamlined manufacturing to automate and modernize the shoe-making process, from virtual scanning to production. He demonstrates how they transform a foot shape into a shoe mold, and then into a shoe product, using their advanced computational biomechanics models and machine learning algorithms. He also shows an example of a white sneaker with red highlights that is custom-made for a customer's foot. You will be amazed by the speed, accuracy, and artistry of their technology and their product.
You will also hear how Iambic's product has been very well received by the market, especially by the early adopters and tastemakers who appreciate the premium nature and value proposition of their shoes. Maeve shares how they sold out of their first limited drop without any paid ads, just because of the high demand and the strong connection with the public. She expresses her excitement and gratitude for the overwhelming response and the positive feedback that they have received. You will be impressed by the traction and momentum that they have achieved with their product and their brand.
Welcome back to The Accelerator Podcast hosted by Michael Conniff! In today's episode, we are excited to introduce three remarkable guests: Ryan Coles, Ph.D. He is a Professor at UConn (University Of Connecticut) School of Business along with Peter Goggins from Pisces Atlantic and Massyl Malem from PatentPlus AI.
Our conversation begins with Professor Coles, who shares his inspiring journey into entrepreneurship and his passion for startup culture. He narrates a captivating story of his involvement in a volunteerism startup in the Middle East during the Arab Spring in 2011. This experience exposed him to the challenges of starting a business internationally and understanding the complexities of different cultures and power structures.
After completing his doctoral studies at Cornell, Professor Coles joined the University of Connecticut (UConn) and established the Foundry within Daigle Labs. The Foundry serves as an experimental space for nurturing businesses built around scientific and technological breakthroughs. Professor Coles emphasizes the significance of leveraging academic research to foster successful startups.
Next, we explore Massyl Malem's journey, the co-founder, and CEO of PatentPlus AI. Massyl's fascination with intellectual property began during a co-op program while pursuing his studies in chemical engineering at UConn. This led him to create PatentPlus AI, an innovative AI-powered platform for patent searching and analysis. Massyl discusses the challenges they encountered while accessing global patent databases and how the Foundry's "pivot grant" played a pivotal role in overcoming these obstacles.
Currently, in the beta testing phase, Massyl's company aims to revolutionize the patent search process, making it quicker, more cost-effective, and more accurate compared to traditional methods. They collaborate with pilot programs and potential clients to fine-tune their AI-powered patent search tool.
Next, we hear from Peter Goggins, the visionary founder and CEO of Pisces Atlantic. His company produces sustainable, high-tech fish feeds that are fish meal-free, using alternative protein sources like yeast byproducts, fungal meals, and insect meals. This eco-friendly feed not only benefits the environment but also improves the health of the fish.
Peter shares Pisces Atlantic's challenges during their scaling-up journey and how the Foundry's support was instrumental in identifying niche markets abroad to gain traction. With approximately 10 million USD in sales secured, Pisces Atlantic is now focused on expansion and fulfillment.
Daigle Labs is an essential hub for nurturing startups, employing a unique approach similar to a lab rather than a traditional accelerator. Professor Coles and his team provide ongoing support to startups, even after they achieve commercial success. The Foundry's dedication to fostering innovation underscores its commitment to propelling groundbreaking entrepreneurship forward. Tune in to this informative episode as we explore the dynamic ventures of PatentPlus AI and Pisces Atlantic while gaining valuable insights into Daigle Lab’s pivotal role in their success.
Are you passionate about real estate investing but feel like the traditional options are limiting your chances? Well, let's introduce you to Daniel Rajnoch, the visionary founder of InvestBay, a platform that's changing the game for aspiring real estate investors.
InvestBay's mission is to make real estate investment accessible to everyone, regardless of the financial challenges they may face. They achieve this through cutting-edge blockchain innovation, a supportive investor community, and valuable educational resources that provide a fresh perspective on real estate investing.
Join Michael Conniff as he sits down with Daniel Rajnoch to explore how InvestBay is revolutionizing the world of real estate investments and removing barriers for potential investors.
Have you ever been frustrated by the obstacles preventing you from entering the real estate investment market?
In this engaging episode, Daniel shares the core principles behind InvestBay's success and their unwavering commitment to making real estate investments more accessible. He'll walk you through the three pillars of the platform:
- Instant Accessibility: Discover how InvestBay's innovative payment card system enables investors to participate in real estate opportunities while ensuring they have instant access to funds whenever they need them. This eliminates the traditional hurdles that can hold back potential investors.
- Tokenization Platform: Find out how InvestBay's tokenization platform opens up a wide range of real estate assets for investment, offering diverse options to individuals looking to invest in this lucrative market.
- Lending Platform: Learn about the lending platform provided by InvestBay, which gives investors the chance to explore new investment possibilities and diversify their portfolio, regardless of their initial capital.
Daniel Rajnoch's journey is truly inspiring and filled with innovation. Before InvestBay, he spent 15 years in the restaurant business, managing the most popular bar and nightclub in Prague. However, his desire to explore new horizons and embrace technology led him to create InvestBay, where he utilized invaluable skills gained from his previous venture.
If you're eager to overcome the challenges and embrace a future where real estate investment is more accessible, this episode is a must-listen. Join Michael Conniff and Daniel Rajnoch as they discuss the future of real estate investments and how InvestBay is breaking barriers to create opportunities for all. Get ready for an enlightening conversation that might just change the way you think about investing in real estate!
Are you ready for a game-changing episode of The Accelerator? This week, we dive into the fascinating world of sports and innovation with a groundbreaking company - The Union Community Inc! We had the honor of sitting down with Saskia Webber and Michael Magid, the visionary co-founders of The Union Community Inc!
The Union Community Inc is a game-changing platform designed to revolutionize the way youth athletes engage with professional players and coaches. Their mission is to create a safe haven away from the toxicity of social media, offering a quality space where young talents can thrive, learn, and excel!
Available on both the App Store and Google Play store, and accessible through their user-friendly website (https://www.theunionsports.com), this innovative platform empowers young athletes to network, seek guidance, and receive personalized coaching from the best in the business.
Saskia Webber is a soccer legend known for her influential role in the U.S. Women's National Team's triumphant 1999 World Cup victory. Throughout her esteemed career, she proudly represented her country in the 1995 World Cup and the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic team. As a founding member of the Women's United Soccer Association, Saskia's impact on women's soccer went beyond the field.
Her professional journey took her across continents, from playing for the Philadelphia Charge and the New York Power to earning recognition as the top goalkeeper in Japan's Oki FC league. Honored with multiple awards, including All-American recognition and the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club Goalkeeper of the Year Award, Saskia's dedication to the sport remained unwavering. Even after retiring from playing, she continues to make a significant mark as a founding investor of Angel City FC and the Broadcasting host of the NWSL. Her popular podcast, "Inside The 18," serves as a valuable source of insights and inspiration for goalkeepers worldwide.
Michael Magid has a unique and fascinating journey that blends comedy and soccer. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in a diverse cultural environment, Michael's comedic style draws from a mix of ridiculously self-deprecating stories and hilarious biographical accounts. Embracing his mixed cultural background, Michael's humor resonates with audiences worldwide. Beyond comedy, Michael's passion for soccer has played a significant role in his life. As a dedicated coach for 17 years, he has nurtured and honed the skills of aspiring athletes. Moreover, his role as the Producer of the immensely popular Pro GK (Goalkeeping) Academy and its podcast "Inside The 18" showcases his commitment to the sport's growth and development.
Together, Saskia Webber and Michael Magid have brought their expertise, passion, and innovation to create The Union Community Inc. We uncover the inspiring thought process that sparked the creation of The Union Community Inc. Hear from the passionate founders about their journey, challenges, and the impact they are making in the sports world. Discover how this exceptional community is shaping the future of sports mentorship and providing a sanctuary for aspiring athletes to thrive.
One of the key highlights is when they shed light on the significant size of niche communities, exemplified by the projected 2.7 billion revenue from worldwide goalkeeping in 2023. Together, they emphasize the transformative impact of building a robust network, envisioning a future where millions of passionate athletes can access top-notch facilities, camps, clinics, and exceptional coaching. This eye-opening discussion reveals The Union Community Inc's groundbreaking approach to sports mentorship, solidifying their role as key players in shaping the future of niche sports communities.
Welcome, everyone, to another exciting episode of the Accelerator with Michael Conniff podcast! We're here to bring you inspiring conversations with remarkable entrepreneurs who are making waves in various fields. Today, we have an extraordinary guest joining us: the incredible Brent Barcus. Not only is he a successful real estate investor, but he's also a remarkably talented musician and sound designer. How cool is that?
In our conversation, Brent chats with our host, Michael Conniff, about his company, 65Capital. They specialize in acquiring Multi-Family assets, catering to passive investors. But that's not all—Brent takes us on a deep dive into his two captivating worlds: real estate investing and the mesmerizing realm of music and audio engineering. We'll even talk about some of the incredible hits Brent has been involved in.
Throughout his career, Brent has worn many hats—guitarist, producer, composer—and he's worked with countless artists and projects. On top of that, he's established his very own company, I-65 Capital Investments. This venture focuses on syndicating multifamily properties in high-growth markets across the US. Wondering what syndication is all about and why it's a fantastic way to invest in lucrative assets that generate cash flow and appreciation? Well, Brent will break it down for us and reveal his strategies for raising capital, which involve collaborating with individual investors, family offices, 1031 exchanges, and self-directed IRAs.
But wait, there's more! Brent also enjoys a thriving career as a sound designer and mixer for film and TV. At his state-of-the-art studio, I-65 Sound, he crafts captivating audio experiences for various content, from commercials to blockbuster movies. Just imagine the impressive list of clients he's worked with—Paramount Plus, Hulu, NASCAR, Motor Trend, Volvo, and many others. He's even lent his talent to projects like the critically acclaimed film 1917, which stunned audiences with its seamless shots and intricate soundscapes.
During our conversation, Brent will share fascinating insights into his work as a sound designer and mixer, explaining how he infuses creativity and meticulous attention to detail into his craft. Get ready for some insider tips and tricks as he reveals why he prefers mixing at low volumes and how his hypersensitive ear enhances his work.
This episode promises to be an absolute blast, packed with valuable information and captivating stories. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with the multi-talented Brent Barcus, a true entrepreneur with a wealth of knowledge to share. So kick back, relax, and enjoy the show!
In this episode of The Accelerator with Michael Conniff, we explore the world of freelancing and sit down with Karl Swanepoel, the visionary founder, and CEO of Revolancer. With over 20,000 users, Revolancer is revolutionizing the freelance marketplace by giving freelancers, businesses, and independent professionals the freedom they deserve.
Karl's personal experience as a freelancer on outdated platforms motivated him to create Revolancer. He wanted to establish a platform that prioritizes fairness, effective communication, and better relationships between freelancers and clients. He strongly believes that the current setup on platforms with high commissions and communication restrictions is unfair for both parties involved.
Unlike other platforms, Revolancer eliminates the hefty 20% commission fee cuts, allowing seamless communication and collaboration. They offer an optional monthly subscription plan for additional features at just five pounds per month.
Karl discusses various aspects of the platform. He highlights that Revolancer is an international platform that focuses on quality and empowers freelancers to charge what their work is worth.
Freelancers on Revolancer have the freedom to directly contact clients without cutting out the platform. The main categories of skills offered by freelancers on Revolancer include design, web development, media, and marketing.
Karl envisions freelancers staying on the platform due to the benefits it offers and access to a vibrant marketplace. He positions Revolancer as a deal-making platform that empowers freelancers to negotiate their terms and eventually establish direct relationships with clients, thereby fostering long-term partnerships.
If you're curious about the future of freelancing, you won't want to miss this episode. We'll uncover the secrets behind its success and the driving force behind Karl Swanepoel's passion for creating a platform that empowers freelancers and fosters a fairer work environment. So grab your favorite pair of headphones and get ready to be inspired by the remarkable story of Revolancer.
On this episode of The Accelerator with Michael Conniff, we're catching up with Katie Dunn and Kat Weaver, the dynamic duo behind Power To Pitch. Power to Pitch is helping founders confidently raise their first round of capital and get directly matched with investors. Kat is the CEO of Power to Pitch.
In the podcast, the discussion revolves around Kat Weaver's experiences with pitch contests, her entrepreneurship journey, and her current venture called "Power to Pitch". Kat won 22 out of 23 pitch contests she participated in, and her loss was to a deserving candidate who went on to feature on Disney Plus. Kat's first entrepreneurial venture was a wearable wrist wallet that she invented after her valuables were stolen from her gym locker. Unfortunately, she lost everything to a fire, but she persevered and used pitches as a form of survival. Her second venture, "Power to Pitch", began accidentally when FedEx posted her top pitch tips on their YouTube channel. Founders began reaching out to her for advice on storytelling and raising funds. Seeing the demand, she sold her first company, Locker Lifestyle, after six years to focus full-time on Power to Pitch.
Katie Dunn is an Angel Investor, Board Member, and Finance & Due Diligence Expert. Katie's a whizz in commercial real estate finance, and Kat's been on the rollercoaster ride of starting up her own business, so they really get the ins and outs of the startup scene. They're all about pulling out the real heart of the founder's story and helping them show investors why they're the best person for the job.
Ever heard of adaptability, relatability, and grit? Well, these two reckon they're the secret sauce for a winning pitch. They're all about helping founders really hit home on their company's value, making investors understand the problem and the solution as they've never before.
Remember Jennifer Eden from Tampontribe who was on our show a while back? You can listen to her episode here. She's a Power To Pitch alum and boy, did her fundraising take a turn for the better after working with them. Same story with Guilty Grape, a fab wine business, and Cheeky Cocktails, a super cool mixer company.
But you know what? It's not just about the money for Katie and Kat. They're here to help founders really get to grips with their business and their vision. You're gonna learn a lot from this episode, so don't miss it!
In a captivating discussion, Marek Palys, co-founder and Head of Sales at Startup House, spoke with Michael Conniff about the unique value proposition of his company in serving startups.
Marek's entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 26 when he and his best friend decided to quit their jobs and establish their first company, a decision that would lay the groundwork for their future endeavors.
Despite the inherent risks, the pair embarked on this journey driven by a shared vision and unwavering determination. This experience endowed them with invaluable insights and skills that would eventually inform the foundation of Startup House. Today, Startup House stands as a testament to their entrepreneurial spirit, offering a holistic suite of services designed exclusively for startups.
Unlike traditional development firms, Startup House is dedicated to becoming an all-inclusive platform for startups, helping them at every stage, from ideation and concept validation to technology selection, design, and team building. Operating internationally, Startup House has grown rapidly since its inception in 2016, servicing around 80 startups with a full-time staff of 100 people.
Marek emphasized the importance of organic SEO and referrals in their business growth, alongside participation in significant trade shows. He underlined the industry-agnostic approach of Startup House, with their client portfolio spanning diverse sectors. On the topic of successful entrepreneurship, Marek advocated for focus, open-mindedness, and the willingness to embrace potential failure. He underscored the need for feedback from users even before coding begins.
Marek highlighted a few projects of which Startup House is particularly proud, including global initiatives addressing carbon footprints, apps connecting users with NGOs, and cybersecurity solutions. The company's ability to nurture the growth journeys of its client startups, some of which are backed by notable investors like Gen 0 VC, keeps the prospect of nurturing a future unicorn alive. Startup House is more than a technological solution provider - it is a catalyst for startup growth and success.
Nektar Baziotis is the CEO of ICARUS AI E-Learning which is an AI-enabled E-Learning solution. He is also the president and co-founder of ENKI technologies, an IT services and IT consulting firm that helps companies and professionals around the world to move beyond local and conceptual boundaries. Additionally, Nektar is the Chief Technology Officer of Expert Dojo a growth accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams by providing a path for entrepreneurs who need investment and mentorship.
He has been in the IT industry for over 20 years. His experience and learnings over the years drew him to e-learning and that is how he started ICARIUS-E-Learning. The impact that e-learning has on education is very huge and this was a huge motivating factor for Nektar. He talks about how he has used AI to make a difference in e-learning and his experience with Expert Dojo.
Tune in for an enlightening episode.
A few months ago we spoke to Marina Sol. She is passionate about women’s health. Creating accessible tools to improve women’s well-being and reproductive health has become a personal goal and driver of her career. She has dedicated her path to health and technology, starting her own companies and helping big corps to pave their way toward digital transformation.
Marina Sol is the founder and CEO of Diagnio. The company helps women to take control of their reproductive health through a home testing solution that they have developed. The home testing solution works together with an app to track fertility and hormonal balance at home in a cost-effective way. The company is backed by Alchemist & ExpertDOJO in the US and In5 & NRG Ventures in the Middle East.
Tune in for an enlightening episode.
Milan Krajnc is an academician who works with governments and advises companies in crisis situations. He is an advisory board member at UNIFY PLATFORM AG(UNIPLAT). Milan is also a Nobel Prize nominee. He started his career as a teacher, a physics teacher. He then moved to the corporate world where he helped companies create good business processes. Soon after, he enrolled in a psychology and psychotherapy course to better understand people’s thought processes and mindsets as it relates to work.
In this episode, he explains how being in the right mind contributes to the well-being of individuals and societies. He offers insights into healthy societies from his background in psychology. He also discusses the universal impact of UNIFY PLATFORM AG (UNIPLAT).
In today’s episode, we host Angel Colon. Tune in for an enlightening episode on capital management and how this has evolved over the years. You will also learn what to expect from equity crowdfunding going forward.
Mr. Colon is the Managing Director at NY Capital Management LLC. The company provides services to high-net-worth individuals, businesses, and sizeable institutions to produce solutions that facilitate the advancement and management of capital. He is an established financial professional with over 15 years of expertise in negotiating and marketing financial products, risk management, and both, fixed-income and equity securities transactions. He addresses all elements of transaction structuring and special situation equity for small, private, and public companies, specializing in distressed asset funding, mitigation of risk, and capital markets introductions.
Guilia Imperatrice is the COO at WEVE Acceleration. This is a startup accelerator that helps international startups get entry into the US market. They go for companies that have traction, growth, and a strong product. They offer support in fundraising, opening an office, building a team, attracting clients, and many more
WEVE capital work with over 25 countries across different continents. One of the companies they have worked with in fundraising has gone on to raise up to $100 Million in capital. Another company they worked with on the business development side went on to grow their user acquisition and eventually got acquired.
Conversational intelligence can be defined as a combination of machine learning and natural language processing technology. Today's episode is focused on someone who has made an amazing invention in conversational intelligence.
Aleks Smechov is the co-founder and CEO at Wordcab. This is a technology that uses deep learning to automatically summarize conversions at scale. Aleks has a background in journalism and copywriting. It is during his journalism career that he came up with the idea behind the technology. Alecks is on a mission to build the world’s summarisation layer one call at a time with the aim of expanding this beyond calls, but also general business communication.
Tune in for an enlightening episode.
Dr. Nigel Clarke is the Senior IT Professional focused on sales, marketing, and customer success. An Executive with 20+ years of experience in international (Europe, APAC & Middle East, and North America) technology sales and SaaS.
Dr. Nigel Clarke wears many hats. However, he has a special heart for startups, marketing, and capital raising. Since he is in the Startup scene, he gets a lot of pitches. As a healthcare investor, these are some of the qualities that distinguish a potentially successful Startup from the rest include, Interesting science. The Startup should be able to offer a solution where current treatments are inadequate. Is it going to make a difference? Is the technology going to make an impact globally? Not just in Europe or the Americas.
He is also a member at UNIPLAT. This is a platform specifically designed to help researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide get more exposure and connect with others who want to contribute to improving global research and humanitarian projects.
Rossana Ceccato is the CEO of Redress and Matias Matías Hercovich is, Global Inhouse General Counsel & Board member at Redress. This is a platform for trading slightly used garments. What you need to do is to take a picture of the garment and send it to them where they inspect it for eligibility. Not every dress/clothing item is eligible. Generally, they look for dresses that have been worn either once or twice. When you send a garment, you get points which you can use to redeem other clothing items from the Redress inventory
Maggie Brennan is an educational consultant. She currently works as the Admissions Director at Innovation Experience. One of the programs that she is working on is called Israel 360. This program seeks to create an ecosystem where founders can interact with the Israeli business ecosystem. The goal is to create networking opportunities as well as investment opportunities.
The Israel 360 program has two components. The first is an online academy which is run online on zoom. This component runs for 13 weeks. The second component is a one-week trip to Israel where the participants go through a series of business meetings and also get to experience the Israeli culture which is a huge part of Israeli innovation and creativity.
In this episode, one of the things Apoorva talks about is the untapped use of Web3. He describes Web3.0 as the future of computing. Apoorva Ruparel describes himself as a Problem Solver, Sales Leader, Entrepreneur, and Growth Catalyst. Additionally, he is a general partner at Venture Rock Capital. Venture Rock seeks to help Startups at the most critical stages where they are most likely to fail. They invest in multiple rounds from pre-seed to scale, through a metered and auditable process. Based on progress metrics, founders earn equity in the venture.
Diane Bailey is an expert Startup Lifer and Accelerator. She wears many hats including Head of Accelerator Growth & Colorado Director at Founder Institute, Investor, and Community Builder. Founder Institute is The World’s Largest Pre-Seed Accelerator. They specialize in working with early-stage companies and help turn ideas into fundable startups. Diane is also a successful entrepreneur. In this episode, one of the things she talks about is the Lean Startup Model. This involves, creating something, testing, and then measuring the idea. The findings and learnings are then used to create a better model. This is useful for founders to do before sending their product out in the market. To find out whether the product is really needed in the market. The lean startup model ensures that the startup provides value by meeting a need in the market.
Phuong Phan- is the Regional Manager - East & Southern Africa for Draper Startup House. This is an entity under the Draper Network which was founded by Tim Draper. The vision that Draper Startup House has is to build a global network for entrepreneurs and digital nomads so that they can invest in Startups.
Some of the criteria that they go for in screening companies is they look at companies that are solving real problems in the communities and also companies that are scalable.
In today’s episode, we talk to a service-oriented and impact-driven professional, Manveer Sandhu. Manveer Sandhu is a Venture Capitalist and an intelligent analyst with the Air Force. He is driven to make an impact in his areas of influence. As a VC, he seeks to find companies with promising ideas in order to help foster them to reach their full potential. In addition, he is an elected Trustee to the Travis Unified School District Governing Board. Interestingly, this is where he went to school.
Michael Pastko is one of the co-founders of Satoshi’s closet. The company creates physical apparel on the blockchain via NFT. Satoshi's Closet made its first mark on the blockchain in 2019 as the first project to create ERC-721 tokenized streetwear. The motivation behind the company is to enable the NFT economy in real life. Ultimately, the goal is to enable a full stack NFT solution at sporting events, concerts, art galleries, retail, etc to help in building a decentralized economy.
Vylto enables royalty revenue on all secondary market transactions, product authentication, and more. This is especially great as it connects artists and their audiences while ensuring artists get royalty revenue on secondary market transactions.
Kurt Hallead is the co-founder and president of Legacy League. This company has carved out a niche in the NFT space. They enable college athletes to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) by creating, marketing, promoting, and trading NFTs.
Kurt has a wealth of experience with 30 years spent working in a number of global investment firms. He has always had a passion for sports and saw an opportunity in Sports. This made him step away from Wall Street and that is how he founded Legacy League which incorporates business, technology, and sports.
The technology enables college athletes to make money from their sport while still playing their sport.
Scott Levy is the founder of SNL consulting. People need help. We all need help. This is especially true for business owners and start-up founders who because of the nature of their work, wear many hats. Family, friends, and the people that they work with can’t necessarily offer the support business founders need. This is where coaching comes in. Tune in to listen to how Scott Levy accelerates business through coaching. He has a lot of experience, he is highly communicative, and is a certified business coach.
Jim Friedrich CEO is the CEO of Native Traits Corporation. The company uses proprietary technology that screens ancestral strains of corn as a natural source of genes to improve commercial varieties. The seeds are screened for drought tolerance and the ability to tolerate extreme temperatures. The company has successfully passed the proof of concept stage and is already seeing tremendous outcomes.
In this episode, he simplifies the concept of blockchain, tokens, smart contracts, and everything crypto.
He is the CEO and co-founder of Brickken which is a tokenizing solution. The company offers tools to help tokenize the world. The company’s mission statement is to help asset owners around the world raise decentralized funding utilizing blockchain-based technology, giving individuals and businesses the chance to generate passive revenue. Brickken is providing the tools needed to tokenize the world.
Robert Tame is the CEO of Noktos. The company offers a solution that is revolutionizing the way companies pay for travel. What sets them apart is they give corporates the ability to control their travel costs and the ability to have a one-stop shop for all accommodation needs.
Robert is a serial entrepreneur who has experienced both success and failure on the business front. He shares some of the lessons that he has learned in his entrepreneurial journey.
Nathan Beckord CEO Foundersuite. This is a SAAS platform that has a collection of tools for startups seeking capital. They have built products from every part of the startup journey. It is the “Ultimate Funding Stack” The team has plans to add more features to the platform in order to make startups more discoverable.
Nathan’s whole career has been focused on helping startups raise capital. He started off in investment banking. This path led him to start Foundersuite. He made a product out of the process of raising capital. In addition to the software, the company offers additional support outside the software to help the founders succeed, for example, pitch deck reviews, weekly webinars, and the Foundersuite podcast.
Hayden Hughes is the Co-Founder and CEO of Alpha Impact, social trading built for the 80% of people who aren’t yet in crypto. He is originally from Canada but is based in Singapore.
Alpha Impact is a copy-trading social media platform designed to connect followers with professional traders. Users can connect their investment account to Alpha Impact to copy top traders in our community, get the latest market news from traders, and learn crypto investing from influential traders, masterclasses, and beginner guides. Traders can earn another stream of income from sharing trades, trading knowledge, and building industry reputation.
Torkel Falkenberg graduated with Ph.D. from Karolinska Institutet close to 30 years ago. After getting his Ph.D., he discovered that he was more geared to global health. He has dedicated his time and effort since 1995 to help low and middle-income countries with healthcare reforms. Through this work, he started working with the World Health Organisation. He is one of the authors of global strategy for traditional medicine for the World Health Organisation.
He is also on the advisory board for UNIPLAT. This is a platform specifically designed to help researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide get more exposure and connect with others who want to contribute to the improvement of global research and humanitarian project.
He discusses how much Uniplat aligns with his lifelong passion for global health among other great initiatives. To learn more about Uniplat, go to https://www.uniplat.social
Jonathan Moore is a tech enthusiast and entrepreneur who has lived in Korea since 2006- He is originally from Texas. He randomly decided to go to South Korea right after college off a spinning globe and he has lived there ever since. Jonathan started off as an English teacher. Later on, met his future co-founder and they started a company called Be Native. This is when he discovered his purpose was in the startup scene. He has been a part of a couple of Startups in Korea. He derives a lot of joy from accelerating startups. He is driven to share his experience and learnings as an entrepreneur to help upcoming entrepreneurs.
Jonathan has been privileged to work with many startups with amazing inventions and solutions. One such company is called Business Canvas and he describes the company as Google Docs on steroids. This is just one of many great startups he works with.
Anastasia Lit is the Director of Investor relations for Europe and the Middle East for the Deep Knowledge Group
Deep Knowledge Group is a consortium of commercial and non-profit organizations active on many fronts in the realm of DeepTech and Frontier Technologies (AI, Longevity, FinTech, GovTech, InvestTech), ranging from scientific research to investment, entrepreneurship, analytics, media, philanthropy and more.
The vision for the company began back in 2014. Over the years they have grown and now work with amazing companies in the longevity industry like pension and insurance companies.
Michael Guastamacchio Co-Founder / CEO at MediaZilla talked to Michael Conniff about his revolutionary company.
MediaZilla empowers organizations and individuals to communicate powerful information and experiences through video. MediaZilla specializes in making sure your important recordings remain confidential. The company has put specialized security protocols to ensure the videos remain private. What sets the company apart is the fact that they are customer-focused
Adam C Grant is a venture partner at Republic. He is currently investing with a venture firm called Overlooked Ventures. This is a venture capital firm focused on transparently supporting and investing in early-stage companies with one or more historically ignored founders. The community is made up of minorities, women founders, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. They work with winners and disruptors who have the vision to change the world.
Adam’s dream is to change the world through investing. He also believes in good and authentic leadership.
He Worked in medical software for 14 years, first as an employee and then as a consultant. He began his investor journey soon afterward. He primarily focuses on C-stage startups. He shared with us some of the great companies he has invested in. When the pandemic struck, he started looking for a hobby that wouldn’t be affected by lockdowns and that is how his blogging journey began. His blog is called tremendous. blog. The blog is an angel investor's take on life and business.
He is Russian by Nationality and has Tatar origins. He works for Starta VC where is the Head of African Track. This entails creating an African Accelerator business for Starta VC which has its Headquarters in New York. Starta VC is a global accelerator that helps international business founders scale their businesses irrespective of their origins.
He talks to us about his experience working with African start-ups and how the Start-up scene compares to Russia where he is from and New York. One of the ways that Starta VC empowers business founders is by offering communication workshops and one on one sessions with the founders where they are taught how to pitch their business to international clients and investors.
Andy Gibbs is the CEO of Fidotek Corporation. Fidotek enables pet owners to speak with their pets via a smart speaker. The company achieved this by acquiring dog data, using AI to determine dog behavior, and converting it into a human voice played into a smart speaker in the home which enables the pet owner and the pets to communicate.
Andy has a wealth of experience in starting and running businesses. So far, he has started six companies. He started his first start up venture when he was 14 years old.
Tune in to today’s episode to learn more about Fidotek, the game-changing data-driven enterprise, and tips on running a successful business enterprise.
She is a sought-after brand strategist, entrepreneur, and investor. As an investor, she thrives at helping start-ups thrive. She is also the founder of Brandprenuer, Brandfluencer a marketing agency that supports visionaries and change-makers, and pioneers to gain traction and acquire new clients. Dr. Irene Kilubi uses her background in corporate influence strategy to achieve this.
Huey Ching is an aspiring entrepreneur doing amazing things while in university. She is the founder and CEO of Chingspire Webdesign Solution. This is a company that creates websites for businesses for the purpose of marketing and identifying potential leads and bringing revenue to the business. She is currently majoring in International Business at Sunway University where she has won the Outstanding Leadership Award and Commitment Service Award. Huey has always had a passion for business since she was young. When her friends were busy reading comics, she would be reading books on business. She strongly believes in lifelong learning, being inspired, and to never stop creating.
Giannandrea Giammanco is the CEO of FVTURA. This is not your typical start-up incubator. Giannandrea describes the company as a venture builder rather than a start-up incubator
A typical start-up incubator usually offers just funding and mentorship. What differentiates Fvtura from other incubators is that they give more. In addition to funding and mentorship, they offer support in terms of operational support. They have the capability in terms of manpower to support the different functions of a start-up, be it coding, marketing, design, etc. All this is done through the in-house Fvtura team.
Andrea took this path from personal experience. As a start-up founder, he initially struggled to find the right operational support for his business. The few he found were very expensive and were not trustworthy. Fvtura does not charge start-ups for operational support. They offer investments for the start-ups in return they get equity. This ensures that Fvtura and the start-up are aligned. The team have to make sure the start-up succeeds in order for them to get a positive return on their investment. The company has team members from across ten countries. They target the most under-served communities which they believe have great entrepreneurs which can be used in the larger and greater cities if only they get the right guidance early on in the start-up stage.
James Spurway is a purpose-driven, impact-focused, angel lead investor who helps first-time sustainable business model founders navigate their external fundraising journey.He is also known as the fundraising angel. He is originally from Australia. He comes from a rural setting in Queensland Australia. In his own words, he was born in a very poor family. His family was literally dirt poor. This phrase had a whole meaning to him since their floor was even made of dirt! With such an upbringing, he learned very early in life the importance of working hard, that hard work gets you to where you want to go. His upbringing also conditioned him to be someone who always gives back. He believes it is important to give back not just when you have plenty but also when you have little.
His first company is Indochina Consulting Pte. Which was in existence for 23 year up until 5 years ago. He left his corporate job in the early 90s and moved to Vietnam to set up his company. Years later during his entrepreneurial journey, he discovered he was really good at making money and deep down he was motivated to see other people succeed. As an angel investor, he derives a lot of joy in helping young and upcoming start-ups overcome the hurdles that are there at the beginning and helping them stand on their feet.
Bjorn Ekeberg is the Chief Commercial Officer at Recharge Health. The company offers a revolutionary technology called the FlexBeam which is targeted red light therapy. The technology offers an alternative way of managing pain without using painkillers. The target user of the device is people who are keen on trying new technology and people aged between 35 to 55 years. The technology is still evolving and they are now targeting people who are in sports, fitness and active recreation since they are more prone to pain and injury. Bjorn is a screenwriter by profession and was approached by the co-founder of the company to join him in launching a new technology that is revolutionary. He was worn over by the possibility of coming up with a solution to manage pain that does not involve using painkillers. This made him switch careers
Michelle Katics is the Co-Founder and CEO of BankersLab. BankersLab was started in Thailand by former bankers who decided to come up with solutions to the pain points they encountered in the Industry. The company has been around for ten years and is in 30 countries! Being in the business for this amount of time has seen the company go through a lot of pivotal moments. The most recent change was brought about by COVID which opened up new ways of doing business. The company has developed an improved digital lending process through its core product, The Simulator which is an award-winning simulation-based online training workshop for banking and finance professionals.
Lev Chneider is the CEO of Happiness As A Service (HAAS). According to Lev, HAAS is a mindset. They take data on customer satisfaction and curate it to give customers a 9/10 and even 10/10 satisfaction index. They focus on smaller/silent voices that may otherwise be overlooked or drowned by popular voices. Lev believes that companies and corporations who do not listen to their customers will disappear over time. HAAS does not only apply to customer service but also to job satisfaction. The tool is versatile and adaptable to different markets and use cases. Lev is passionate about the business of happiness.
Aditya Sharma is the Co-founder and CEO of HiCounselor. This is a career accelerator for recent grads and early stage professionals. The company has been in existence for two years, 8 months and has a success rate of 100%. Candidates who go through HiCounselor get ten times more interviews, they get jobs within five to six weeks instead of waiting for six months or more.
Aditya was prompted to start the company from a personal experience. He sent out numerous applications for a job after clearing grad school at Duke University without any success. The few interviews he got, he wasn’t ready for them. This went on for six months and out of frustration, he came up with a solution to help people like him secure jobs. Aditya believes the two key problems that recent graduates face is lack of interview preparedness and lack of strong professional networks that can help them secure jobs. This is the key solution that HiCounselor offers.
Alex Porter, Founder & CEO of Mod Tech Labs Inc talks to Michael Conniff about their revolutionary technology. MOD is a mobile + cloud-based software that makes 3D in minutes! The way this works is, you take images using your mobile phone or any camera and upload it to the MOD processing portal. The automated portal outputs 3D digital content. The technology uses the data from the photos and scans to create a real and true 3D object. The goal is to make 3D data much more accessible. The company is always evolving and adding features to make 3D imagery more accessible. They are on track to add 3D to NFT capability to their technology.
The company has had a successful first round which was a venture round. They managed to raise $770,000 in venture funding. They have an app on the Apple App Store and Android Playstore where anyone can go download and explore the basics of the technology.
Andre Facote is from Lisbon, Portugal. He is the co-founder of Skizo. Skizo is a company dedicated to making an impact on the environment by cleaning up plastic in the ocean. They do this in collaboration with fishermen. The idea came to Andre when he and his one-and-a-half-year-old son were out having fun on the beach and his son picked up plastic waste and started to eat. He was greatly disgusted by this and was prompted to do something about the menace of plastic. This is how Skizo was born. Andre runs the company together with his wife.
The company produces high-quality items from beach waste including sneakers.
Andre Facote is from Lisbon, Portugal. He is the co-founder of Skizo. Skizo is a company dedicated to making an impact on the environment by cleaning up plastic in the ocean. They do this in collaboration with fishermen. The idea came to Andre when he and his one and a half-year-old son were out having fun on the beach and his son picked up plastic waste and started to eat. He was greatly disgusted by this and was prompted to do something about the menace of plastic. This is how Skizo was born. Andre runs the company together with his wife.
The company produces high-quality items from beach waste including sneakers.
Daniel Sarquis from Brazil. He is a managing partner at Mergus Ventures. At Mergus Ventures, they believe in investment through a transparent, balanced, and prosperous environment. They are made of founders who dive into problem-solving opportunities. They operate in markets that have a lot of potential. He has an engineering background but was introduced to the world of investment by his dad.
Jeremy believes that the best investors are former founders. It takes being a founder to know a founder. Jeremy is both an investor and an entrepreneur at heart. He believes that the best investors are former founders. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His dad instilled in him the value of caring for the people around you, whether family, colleagues, or the society at large. According to Jeremy, the true mark of an investor is not someone you avoid, it is someone you seek help from not only when things go well but also when things don’t go well.
Blue Lake is a venture capital firm with a focus on the UK to Ukraine companies. They are keen on helping founders from under-represented places such as Ukraine, India Greece, and France
Ligo Partners co-invests with their discrete and invitation-only consortium of like-minded investors into disruptive tech-focused deal flow sourced directly from family offices and top venture capital firms worldwide. Travis believes that the best companies are the ones that solve smaller problems. When you solve smaller problems, you stumble into billion-dollar solutions. He believes that the pursuit of trillion-dollar ideas usually comes in the way of the small steps along the way which are very fundamental.
With a $10 million valuation, Connected Home is looking to raise $2 million to drive expansion in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Dubai—and ultimately the United States—after generating $1.5 million in revenue from an installed base of 1,500 homes. The company integrates its technology with utilities and other services—even food delivery and the quality of air outside the home. The kicker is customers never know they've paid an installation fee and are billed monthly on their utility bill.
Author of Rebel Leadership: How To Change In Uncertain Times, consultant Larry Robertson, a Fullbright Scholar, spends his time trying to figure out the secrets of leadership—secrets he can impart to founders and entrepreneurs. In The Accelerator with Michael Conniff, he details the many surprising ways to instill leadership top to bottom in an organization, no matter how new it might be. .
Anna Federova, CEO of Unicorn Events, the world's largest pitch contest for startups, entrepreneurs, and founders, tells The Accelerator's host Michael Conniff about plans for over 300 events in 2022—starting with Gaming and Entertainment Thursday, January 20, 2022—for angel investors, venture capitalists, and investors from all over the world. Unicorn is part of Network VC, formerly known as Startup Network.
Michael hosts Soerinder Dataram CEO, WAUWTEC. Maria McKenzie Business Development Lead, WAUWTEC
WAUTEC is offering a new video compression solution that will take your 100% original video file and will compress it to 99.7% without losing quality. How amazing! They are a pioneer in this space.
Sarah White of Little Bridge Limited talks about creating a safe social media platform for children