The Trojan Venture Podcast: Recent Episodes
Eric Traub
Hosted by Eric and Vivek, two USC undergrads, the Trojan Venture Podcast will discuss the exciting world of entrepreneurship, venture capital and investing. The podcast welcomes innovators and leaders within these fields to share their story and discuss the past, present and future of entrepreneurship, venture capital and investing! Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Kelvin Beachum Jr. Kelvin is a 12 year NFL veteran, but his impact stretches far beyond the football field. As an investor, Kelvin has become deeply involved within the venture capital ecosystem, serving as a leading voice for athlete involvement in business. Additionally, Kelvin's philanthropic efforts across clean water, hunger prevention and education have helped dozens upon upon of communities. I think the world would be a lot better if we all carried ourselves like Kelvin!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Kristine Locker. Kristine is the Founder and CEO of Locker, a free chrome extension that allows shoppers to save and organize products while shopping online. Throughout the episode, Kristine will discuss what differentiates Locker from others in the crowded world of social commerce. Additionally, Kristine will talk about the importance of curation for customers and Locker's relationships with brands.
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Phil Rosen, a USC alum and an award winning financial reporter. Before leaving last month to co-found Opening Bell Daily, a free daily newsletter reporting on the financial markets, Phil spent three years at Business Insider as a Senior Markets Reporter. Phil is also a published author, writing two #1 bestseller books, and writes about the intersection of personal development, work, and creativity on his blog, "The Blog Of Phil Rosen".
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Howard Lindzon. Howard has become one of the most recognized and respected figures within the investing world over the last twenty years. In 2008, Howard co-founded StockTwits, a social network for traders and investors with over 6 million registered users. Howard is also the public face and Managing Partner of Social Leverage, a seed stage venture capital firm, with investments in Robinhood, Manscaped and Kustomer. During the episode, Howard will discuss changes coming to StockTwits, investing in the "degenerate" economy, and the importance on investing in the stock market at an early age.
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Conor Witt. Conor just started as a Business Development and Partnerships Lead at Setpoint.io, a capital markets infrastructure platform for asset based lending. Before joining Setpoint, Conor served as a Vice President at Upper90, a New York based private credit firm. During the episode, Conor will talk about simplifying the debt raising process for founders, his passion for all things Fintech and evaluating when to switch jobs.
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Cort Post. Cort serves as Principal at Courtside Ventures, a New York based venture capital firm investing in Seed and Series A companies across sports, gaming and wellness. During the episode, Cort will talk about Courtside's portfolio diversification across international markets, why he decided to return to school to get his MBA and how those looking to get into VC can add value before even entering the industry. Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with the CEO and COO of Gemini Sports Analytics, Jake Schuster and Alec Coughlin. Founded in 2021, Gemini Sports Analytics is a data management platform leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to help sports organizations better identify talent, build their teams and drive results. During the episode, Jake and Alec discuss how their previous experiences complement each other, Gemini's unique value proposition and goals for the rest of 2024!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Julia Haber. Julia is the co-founder and CEO of Home From College, a Gen-Z focused professional development platform helping students and new grads secure short term work opportunities and improve their resumes. During the episode, Julia discusses her motivation for starting Home for College, working at Snapchat and Spotify, and how students should evaluate work opportunities at startups.
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Jenni Leong. Jenni is an Investor Relations Partner at DFJ Growth, a leading growth equity firm based in Silicon Valley. Jenni spent sixteen years at JP Morgan, eventually leading JP Morgan’s Alternative Solutions Group for the Americas. Before joining DFJ Growth in 2022, Jenni was an Investor Relations Partner at Next Play Capital. During the episode, Jenni will talk about her day to day as an IR Partner, lessons learned from her time at J.P. Morgan and her involvement in the non-profit, Chick Mission. Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Timothy Li. Timothy is a serial entrepreneur within the world of payments and lending, co-founding five companies, including LendAPI, Magic, MaxDecisions, Kuber Financial and Mobilend. Timothy, a graduate of USC's Viterbi School of Engineering, has served as a professor within Viterbi since 2019. Throughout the episode, Timothy will talk about his time working with fraud detection tools at JP Morgan, his new company Magic and what he loves the most about teaching. Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Will O'Donnell, the Founder and Managing Director of Prologis Ventures. Prologis Ventures, founded in 2016, is the venture arm of Prologis, the global leader in industrial real estate and supply chain logistics. Will has been at Prologis Ventures since 2003, helping to build Prologis' platform across various international markets, while also investing and incubating companies at the cutting edge of the supply chain and logistics industries. Throughout the episode, Will will talk about the investment leverage that Prologis' global platform provides Prologis' venture team, as well as the biggest developments within the supply chain and logistics industries over the last five years. Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Michael Broughton. Michael is the Co-Founder and CEO of Altro, a no-cost credit building platform using individuals monthly expenses, like subscriptions, to help build one’s credit. During the episode, Michael will talk about how his personal experience with credit led him to co-found Altro, Altros' fundraising journey and his work at the USC Credit Union. Tune in!
On today's episode, Eric sits down with Landon Campbell. Landon is the general manager for Drive Capital's Chicago office, a pre-seed fund based out of Columbus, Ohio. During the episode, Landon will talk about lessons learned from guests of his popular business podcast, InTheir20's, what excites him about the Chicago venture capital ecosystem and what he looks for in founders. Tune in!
On the twenty sixth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with Adam White, CEO of Front Office Sports. Since founding Front Office Sports in 2014, Adam has grown Front Office Sports into the preeminent multimedia platform covering the business of sports. Throughout the episode, Adam will talk about Front Office Sports early days, his opinion on the recent Sports Illustrated layoffs and advice for graduating college students. Tune in!
Welcome to 2024 everyone! To kick off the new year, Eric sits down with Bobby Pinckney, CEO of Discz. Discz is a song recommendation app connecting Gen Z around music and culture. Throughout the episode, Bobby will talk about his partnership with his co-founder, Michelle Yin, his experience taking the company through Y-Combinator and Discz's rise to the top of music app charts. Tune in!
On the twenty fourth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with his former entrepreneurship professor, Rob Schoeben. Outside of teaching at USC from 2019 until the spring of 2023, Rob has held senior marketing roles at places like Microsoft, Apple and Carbon. During the episode, Rob will talk about his unique college work experience, his time working with Steve Jobs and his motivation for getting into teaching. Tune in!
On the twenty third episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with USC alum, Nicolas Mindel. He received both his undergrad degree and MBA at USC. Currently, Nicolas is a partner at Amberstone, a Bay Area based venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough food, beverage and consumer companies. Nicolas spent the early part of his career in investment banking and private credit. During the episode, Nicolas will talk about he looks for in consumer focused companies, his decision to come back to USC for his MBA, and future trends he's excited about within the food and beverage space. Tune in!
On the twenty second episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with Laurel Touby. Laurel is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Supernode Ventures, a NYC based venture firm which invests in pre-seed and seed stage tech startups. Laurel has had several different parts of her career, starting in journalism before founding mediabistro, a community for journalists and media professionals. During the episode, Laurel will talk about the keys to building a strong community, the value of working at a startup and promising new investment sectors, notably, cybersecurity and aging. Tune in!
On the twenty first episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with Ken Shapiro, a seasoned media and advertising executive with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Ken’s most recent roles have included Chief Revenue Officer of the Morning Brew and Chief Revenue Officer of Fandom. During the episode, Ken will talk about the differences in the advertising world from 20 years ago to now, which trends he is most excited about and advice he would give to his 22 year old self. Tune in!
On the twentieth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with Nadine Pfeifer to discuss the world of mental health and confidence building. Nadine is the founder and CEO of HopStair, a confidence building app based in the United Kingdom. Nadine has been involved in the healthcare system in the UK for several years, with prior experience at the UK NHS and NEL. During the episode, Nadine will talk about her experience with fundraising, why she believes confidence is integral to mental health and the problems that currently face the mental health sector. Tune in!
Live from Tech Crunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Eric sits down with Gregg Stein, Founding Partner at TripleG Ventures. TripleG Ventures is a global business growth accelerator and venture studio for rising brands. Gregg comes from the music world, starting his career as a professional drummer before making the transition over to the business world. During the episode, Gregg talks about what he looks for in entrepreneurs, the most exciting companies within TripleG's portfolio and TripleG's operations first approach to company growth. Tune In!
On the eighteenth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric sits down with Saad Alam, Co-Founder and CEO of Hone Health. Hone Health is the largest men's hormone optimization and longevity clinic in the United States. During the episode, Saad will talk about Hone's commitment to patients, challenges Hone has had to work through and the people that have helped accelerate Hone's growth. Tune in!
For our first episode of September, Eric welcomes USC alum, Jordan Banafsheha. Jordan is the founder of IcePop, a performance marketing agency focused on helping companies grow profitably through major ad platforms. Jordan got his start at Tinder as a product manager before becoming a founder member of Verishop. Additionally, Jordan is a guest lecturer at USC's Marshall School of Business as well as an angel investor in several exciting startups. During the episode, Jordan shares the lessons he's learned from his time as a product manager, IcePops' value proposition and advice for current USC students. Tune in!
After narrowly escaping the so called "hurricane" that hit LA on Sunday, Eric and Vivek are back with another episode. Today's guest is Jamie McLaughlin, CEO and Founder of Monday Talent, a recruitment agency specializing in the marketing, communications and creative fields. Jamie has over a decade of experience in the recruitment industry and has used this experience to help grow Monday Talent over the last two and a half years. During the episode, Jamie talks about the characteristics that makes marketing and communications recruitment unique, Monday Talent's DEI initiatives and how the recruitment landscape has evolved over the last 15-20 years. Tune in!
On the fifteenth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric chats with Amobi Okugo, owner and founder of A Frugal Athlete. A Frugal Athlete is an online platform that helps athletes make, manage, and multiply money through financial education and athlete empowerment. Amobi is a former professional soccer player in both the MLS and USL and has been a part of numerous successful brand campaigns and partnerships across the sports world. On today's episode, Amobi talks about the importance of finding the "right" financial advisor, his personal relationship with money and grassroots efforts to grow soccer in America. Tune In!
We're back for another podcast with another great guest! Eric and Vivek welcome Dave Vu, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ribbon. Ribbon is a professional social platform centered around verified achievements and ownership, powered by the blockchain. Dave has a decade of experience in the talent and people operations space. During the episode, Dave talks about the importance of hiring great talent, Ribbon's value proposition and the implications of generative AI on documenting professional experience. Tune in!
We're kicking off a busy August with a conversation with John Ailanjian, Managing Partner at Next Legacy Partners! John has a wealth of experience investing in public and private markets, with experience at Goldman Sachs, Aspen Highland Management, a family office, and Next Play Capital, a minority owned venture capital firm. During the episode, we chat with John about the VC downturn in 2023, exciting new tech hubs ripe for investment and about how his investment strategy has evolved throughout his career. Tune in!
On the twelfth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek chat with Troy Bannister, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Particle Health. Troy has experience in just about every facet of the healthcare sector, from the clinical side to the business side. During the episode, Troy explains how Particle's API platform accesses over 300 million unique medical records, allowing healthcare organizations to deliver better care for their patients. In addition, Troy gives his perspective on the challenges of founding a company in the healthcare space as well as how recent legislative changes has transformed the control that patients have over their medical data. Tune in!
With July 4th weekend right around the corner, it's only appropriate that Eric and Vivek dive into the hottest topic in the tech and business world, artificial intelligence. To help facililate their conversation around AI, Eric and Vivek welcome Maya Mikhailov, founder of SAVVI AI. SAVVI AI is an AI platform that helps businesses optimize their workflows and make better decisions, faster. Throughout the episode, Maya highlights many practical use cases of SAVVI AI across numerous industries and provides perspective on the parallels between the emergence of AI and the rise of mobile. Tune in!
On the ninth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Keith Richey, Operating Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners. Utilizing his 20+ years of experience in marketing and branding, notably serving as Senior Director of Global Marketing at Linkedin, Keith helps Bessemer portfolio companies drive growth through marketing. Keith is also the creator of the Play Well Newsletter, which explores the connection between play and mental health. Throughout the episode, Keith will talk about mental health, its connection to technology, as well as marketing and branding. Tune in!
On the eighth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek are excited to welcome fellow trojan, Dominic-Madori Davis. Since graduating from USC in 2019, Dominic has been killing it! She started her career as a reporter at Business Insider and recently became a senior reporter at Tech Crunch! Throughout the episode, Dominic will take us down memory lane as she discusses her work at the Daily Trojan, what she's up to at her current role, and what excites her most about the entrepreneurship and venture landscape. Tune in!
On the seventh episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Shane McCassy. Shane is currently the President at Altwell, which is the maker of Gym Weed, a CBD based energy drink. Shane is a seasoned veteran in the marketing space, with notable roles at Muscle Milk and Tone It Up. On today's episode, Shane will talk about his passion for marketing, his entrepreneurial story, and his prior work with a certain athlete that you will know, maybe. Tune in!
On the sixth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Eric Chebel, CEO and Founder of Cher. Cher is a real estate online marketplace that allows anyone to own partial equity in residential real estate. During the episode, Eric will tell us more about Cher's all in one platform, Cher's current developments and the differentiated approach Cher brings to home ownership. Tune in!
On the fifth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Uzo Ometu, founder of BlackOak TV. Uzo has over 15 years of experience in the digital media space (Google, Youtube, Inc.) and has utilized these experiences to start his own venture, BlackOak TV. BlackOak TV is a video streaming service focused on delivering black content and media through its platform. Throughout the episode, Uzo will discuss his passion for digital media, the ins and outs of BlackOak TV, as well as what's coming next for the platform! Tune in!
On the fourth episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Asher Weiss, CEO & Co-Founder of Tixologi. Tixologi is a blockchain-based ticketing software that allows event producers to get the most out of their ticketing experience. Throughout the episode, Asher will talk about his entrepreneurial background, his inspiration for starting Tixologi, Tixologi's future goals and more! Tune in!
On the third episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Connor Hailey, CEO & Co-Founder of Axle Health. Axle Health provides in-home healthcare as a service, allowing any company to utilize Axle Health's platform to add in-home care to their existing patient offering. Throughout the episode, Connor sheds light on his personal story, along with discussing all things Axle Health, entrepreneurship, healthcare and more! Tune in!
On the second episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek welcome Nathan Jones. Nathan is currently the Investment & Ecosystem Associate for Kapor Center Investments, based in Oakland, California. During the episode, Nathan sheds light on his personal story and the power of entrepreneurship and investing in fostering meaningful change. Tune in!
On the first episode of the Trojan Venture Podcast, Eric and Vivek discuss their love for venture capital and entrepreneurship, highlighting their experiences with entrepreneurship at USC and beforehand. The topic of today's episode is Telehealth and its impact on the United States healthcare system. To facilitate this conversation, Eric and Vivek welcome Dr. Ajay Haryani, clinical systems director at Galileo Health, a Telehealth startup. Dr. Haryani gives his insight on the present and future of remote care, and details how Galileo fits into the new wave of healthcare. Tune in!