BUILDERS BUILD with George Pu: Recent Episodes
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The Builders Build podcast is designed to bring you closer to the entrepreneurs and innovators building new things against all odds. Too much spotlight is given to performers and marketers, not the people building and changing the world while keeping a lower profile.
In Builders Build, young entrepreneur George Pu leads you to get in the minds of people who are building something new and learn their stories behind building something against the status quo.
Soham Mehta is the guest-host (Soham J. Mehta, MAcc | LinkedIn), a management consultant that has recently finished his Master’s in Accounting.
In this week's episode, we discussed the recent wide ranging tech layoffs, the recent news on inflation peaking, Disney's decision to fire its CEO and replace him with the former CEO, potential media bias with SBF vs. Elon Musk, and rumors on Mark Zuckerberg's potential resignation.
(02:39) How the wave of tech layoffs started
(07:23) Why FANG companies are conducting layoffs
(12:10) Tech winter coming? What that means
(13:08) Has inflation peaked?
(21:44) Disney firing its CEO Bob Chapek
(27:15) Media bias covering SBF vs. Elon Musk?
(38:44) Rumor on Mark Zukerberg's potential resignation in 2023
Connect with Soham:
- Soham’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soham-j-mehta/
Matthew Black (Matthew Black | LinkedIn) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Atomic Finance, a web3 startup that helps bitcoin holders to earn returns on their bitcoins without giving up custody.
Soham Mehta is the guest-host (Soham J. Mehta, MAcc | LinkedIn), a management consultant that has recently finished his Master’s in Accounting.
In the podcast, we discuss the implications of FTX’s bankruptcy, how they ended up in this position, and what will happen next in the crypto world.
Bonus content: What’s next for Twitter under Elon Musk as CEO?
(01:26) FTX implosion: before and after it happened
(05:08) How to be certain an exchange is holding your funds?
(10:48) Is unsecured lending viable for crypto markets?
(12:50) Is there a way to save lending in web3?
(25:03) The FED’s digital dollar pilot, what next happen next?
(30:26) What’s going to happen in the crypto space in the future?
(34:57) Twitter’s massive layoffs
(40:55) What’s going to happen to the Blue Checkmark?
Connect with Matthew and Atomic Finance:
- Matthew’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-j-black/
- Atomic Finance website: https://atomic.finance/
Connect with Soham:
Soham’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soham-j-mehta/
Dr. Nahid Jetha is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal of QTS. As a Quantitative Researcher & Trader working with top-tier hedge funds and quant trading firms in North America and Europe, Nahid has extensive experience in research, development and deployment of fully automated AI-based quantitative trading systems.
Formerly COO of QTS and Professor of Physics at the University of British Columbia, Nahid has 18+ years of experience in research and technology development in a diversity of fields ranging from quantitative investment management to molecular and cellular biophysics. Nahid holds a PhD in Physics and a BASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Scott Tomlinson is the Founder and CEO of Choir. Choir Energy is allowing real-time energy control, regardless of source, manufacturer or device. We bring disparate systems from the grid, solar, HVAC, pool, EV, storage, appliances, etc into one easy-to-manage and control application.
Before starting Choir, Scott is a Co-Founder of Beyond Limits, a unicorn company building a symbolic AI that emulates human intuition to deliver cognitive reasoning and intelligence.
While building Choir, Scott has raised capital, not from VCs, but directly from Limited Partners (LPs), who usually put money into VCs.
Ernest Chan is an award-winning quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author.
Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse.
We invited Ernest on the show to talk about the impact Machine Learning (ML) will have on society, and how we can use ML to predict everything in life if we can access enough data with his startup PredictNow.
We also talked about has Google's AI became sentient, whether AI has reached general intelligence, and what that means for humanity going forward. We also discussed Deep Learning and why it will likely fail.
Connect with Ernest:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/chanep
- LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/epchan
- Website: https://predictnow.ai/
Ignat and Danila are co-founders of Ylide (www.ylide.io), a web3 communication protocol that helps other projects to easily integrate communication in their applications.
Ignat and Danila found an elegant solution how to connect crypto users and web3 projects across different blockchains directly rather than through web2 platforms.
Danila, serial entrepreneur and CTO, and Ignat, ex-portfolio manager in DeFi, shared what inspires them in web3, how they started Ylide and what are the long-term views on crypto and web3 in general.
Connect with Ylide: team@ylide.io
Website: https://ylide.io
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/XfKfKhbvHS
Jay Harris is the Founder of the Web3 Podcast Network, which produces audio shows to educate and edify Web3 communities.
Jay describes himself as an artist who uses podcasts as a medium for sharing his creativity with the world. He is also an engaging public speaker who can connect with his audience's needs to inspire performance, collaboration, and change.
Today we invite Jay on the Builders Build podcast to be everyone's podcast coach and showcase why it's now possible to launch a successful podcast from the comfort of your home.
Connect with Jay:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/podmasterjay/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/podmasterjay
- Website: https://web3podcastnetwork.xyz/
What we discussed:
0:00 Introduction
5:08 Can you do podcasting while working full-time?
7:47 How to define success in podcasting?
10:08 What does success look like in podcasting?
25:38 Monetization for your podcasts
31:01 How long should your podcast be?
32:48 How frequent should your podcast be?
"Vance Roush is the Founder and CEO of Overflow (www.overflow.co) and is on a mission to inspire the world to give.
Specifically, Overflow.co unlocks unprecedented levels of generosity by empowering Nonprofits, Foundations, and Corporations to accept non-cash assets like stocks & crypto with ease.
90% of wealth is in non-cash assets and organizations are still mainly fundraising for cash. Overflow is fixing that.
Outside of Overflow, Vance serves on the board of Nonprofits such as needhelp.online, on VIVE Church as a Founding member, and has a tech background from companies like Google. Him & his wife, Kim, live in Silicon Valley with their 4 children.
We discussed Vance's journey from Co-Founding the VIVE Church, to then starting Overflow during the toughest times in COVID, and growing it to where it is today.
I'm especially impressed by Vance's life principles and his devotion to spirituality and using it as a lens to see through challenges in both life and work.
We also discussed how founders today can avoid burnout, what differentiates the best founders and founders who just want to make a quick buck, and tackling the startup talent problem in the startup downturn in 2022.
Episode timestamp:
0:16 Introduction
0:38 Starting Overflow to help people find more ways to give
3:37 Innovating in a traditional industry: what is it like?
6:07 Pay-as-you-go vs. SaaS
8:00 Founding the VIVE Church in Silicon Valley
14:25 Use spirituality to become a better person and founder
19:19 Lead with spirituality and life principles
24:05 Why everyone is having burnout in tech
27:47 Why it's harder for startups to recruit now
30:01 What should aspiring founders do before quitting their jobs
32:55 Why are there more immigrant founders leading unicorns?
37:15 Growing and validating during COVID
39:02 Is startups all about revenue now?
40:55 Making a better culture and how it prepares you to scale
"
"Peter Hazlehurst, Co-Founder, and CEO of Synctera, is a global FinTech entrepreneur and philanthropist with nearly 30 years of experience creating financial products for banks, FinTechs, and large tech companies.
Peter moved from Australia to the US for his first startup in 1993, building core banking technology, Phoenix, that still powers companies today.
Since then, Peter has served as Head of Uber Money, Chief Operating Officer at Postmates, Senior Director of Product Management at Google, CEO and Board Member of Google Payments Corporation, and Chief Product Officer at Yodlee. Peter also led Product at Nokia for Enterprise Mobility and Mobile email and has served as a CTO and consultant at several startups.
Today, Peter is CEO at Synctera - a company providing the platform, experiences, and programs for FinTech builders and community banks to launch great products together. Peter has an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Episode timestamp:
0:11 Introduction
1:23 Building Synctera
6:01 Being an expert: yes or no
13:43 Navigating this tech downturn
19:11 2000 vs. 2001 vs. 2008 vs. 2022
22:12 The future of crypto and web3
28:13 The Evolution of Money
29:41 Scaling Uber
33:01 The future for Synctera
35:45 Building a better society for all"
Jay Krishnan is a globally successful entrepreneur, investor, innovation ecosystem builder, and Chief Executive Officer of the Accelerator Centre (acceleratorcentre.com).
An executive leader with over 20 years of experience, Jay boasts an impressive resume of international success. With experience spanning the venture capital space, entrepreneurship, and product development and management, Jay knows firsthand what it takes to turn a good idea into a great one and to grow a company from a startup to a globally competitive business.
Having been involved in the founding stages of 3 startups himself, he has experienced the full startup lifecycle - from failure to success- spanning seeding, raising capital, scaling, and exit; with one company ultimately acquired by a multi-national conglomerate.
Episode timestamp:
0:51 Introduction
3:41 How an Accelerator can help founders validate and grow
5:30 Jay's entrepreneurial journey and his successful exits
8:18 Principle #1: Working with the right set of people
10:46 How to evaluate whether you are building with the right people
14:37 Principle #2: Having alignments with your Investors: alignment of culture, alignment with goals, alignment with the mission statement
18:27 How to evaluate whether an investor is right for you
22:41 When is the right time for a founder to raise
24:44 How Jay decided to switch from a VC to an Accelerator CEO
29:56 When should founders think about joining an Accelerator, and whether accelerators are right for founders
Tory Reiss is Co-Founder and CEO of Equi (Equi.com), Equi uses technology to unlock elite investing for most accredited investors, representing about 1 in 10 American households today.
Equi allows most accredited investors to be able to have access to:
- Exclusive opportunities with a proven track record.
- Diversified portfolios of elite alternative investments.
- Professional risk management to deploy capital effectively.
Tory is an experienced three-time startup leader. He has scaled from a small founding team to a team of more than 40 people. Along his journey, he has strived to develop the skills that go into creating the conditions for a successful and productive team.
As an individual contributor and Sales Leader, Tory has held everything from $1M to $89M+ quotas and have surpassed every quota he has ever been given.
Episode timestamp:
1:06 Democratizing investor access with Equi
6:53 Finding additional return drivers for everyday investors
11:23 For experienced founders: when to start another startup?
14:06 Tory's unique way to tackle product market fit
16:02 Clarify your doubts before you start a new company
19:01 The third-time founder approach to hiring world-class talent
22:19 Building a kick-ass co-founder team as a third-time founder
24:24 How founders can deal with the daily stress
28:18 Tory's unique way to grow the team initially with contractors
29:52 Why founders should hire a recruiter early on if they are serious about growth
31:34 How much time do you spend on recruiting as a CEO
33:43 For founders: how to let values and principles drive you forward
36:28 Tory's way of growing a distributed team and maintaining high morale
38:30 'Minimum Vacation Policy' and why that matters
43:28 The next 5 years for Equi - the de factor destination for world-class alternative investments
Henry is CEO and Co-founder of Rocket Dollar, a web platform that lets people invest tax-advantaged retirement dollars into private alternative investments.
He is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, licensed Realtor®, and has 20 years of experience in finance.
In the past, Henry was the founder of venture-capital-backed Robo-advisor Honest Dollar (acquired by Goldman Sachs), was the founder of MY Group LLC ($2.6B AUM retirement plan advisory firm), and spent 10 years at Merrill Lynch.
He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin, has an MBA from Cornell University, and lives in Austin with his wife and two daughters.
We talked about Henry's journey of being a multi-founder, and what is it like for his company to be acquired by Goldman Sachs and now become Goldman Sachs Marcus. Advice for founders on whether to raise or explore exit strategies and many more interesting prospects!
Episode timestamp:
0:33 Introduction
1:55 How Henry got into the world of entrepreneurship
11:31 A founder's journey: from employee to CEO
13:22 Working in traditional finance vs. working in fin-tech
15:01 When's the best time to start a startup in someone's career
16:24 Multi-Founder Mindset: lessons from building 3 startups
18:41 When should founders think about acquisition vs. continuously raising
22:25 A founder's decision: bootstrapping, raising growth rounds, weighing the decisions on acquisition/merger, IPO.
24:58 Who should founders talk to to get advice on a potential acquisition
26:20 Henry's personal experience on his recent exit
29:30 Approaching the board about a potential acquisition
31:38 What to do when a potential acquirer is interested
33:21 Founder-investor: angel investing while being a founder
37:36 Why not raise more capital? Potential problems with over-raising
Cato is the co-founder and CEO of Loop where he has been building financial products for Canadian businesses for the better part of a decade. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and small business owners, Cato has an acute awareness of the challenges SMBs face and has advocated for banking reform, pioneered low-cost funding methods for SMBs and lent more than $100M to businesses across the country.
Jeff Parks is the CEO of Stack Capital (TSX: STCK).
Stack Capital Group Inc. (TSX:STCK) is democratizing access into some of the world's most innovative and disruptive pre-IPO businesses - giving all investors the opportunity to participate; and providing shareholders with a valuable liquidity option.
Sectors that Stack Capital is focused on include SAAS, mobile, robotics, AI, travel/leisure, space, cybersecurity, crypto, and more.
In today's episode, we will discuss Jeff's innovative approach to providing liquidity to a traditionally illiquid industry, and democratizing access for growth-stage investors.
This is a great episode for any current and prospective investors looking to get into private equity & venture capital, and for early and late-stage founders looking to see how late-stage investors evaluate a new deal.
Episode timestamp:
0:52 What is Stack Capital
5:21 How to evaluate growth-stage deals
10:43 Taking a 'VC' public
12:11 Providing liquidity as a 'VC'
13:55 Who should founders put on their cap tables
16:59 Backing Varo Bank, SpaceX, and Bolt
23:45 What does the future for PE and VC look like
33:56 How is 2022 going to change everything (we recorded our episode in March 2022)
36:17 What should founders do to stay above the curve in the current market environment
Justin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rize Money.
Rize is building AWS for financial services, offering fintech developers access to all the financial capabilities they need across both banking and brokerage verticals through a single API integration, and providing custodians a complete risk management platform so that they can work with fintechs at scale while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Justin is a dedicated entrepreneur – He Co-founded and worked at several startups in an operating capacity. He acted as an advisor to numerous other early-stage companies, including as an investor and board member.
We discussed transitioning from traditional finance to fin-tech, the 'walls' fin-tech founders have to break through, navigating through compliance in fin-tech, and how Justin and his team at Rize are here to help fin-tech founders build their apps 10 times easier.
0:00 Introduction
1:31 From hedge fund to building in fin-tech
5:32 Do founders from trad. finance build better startups?
6:47 What Rize can do for all fin-tech founders
13:53 Fin-tech infrastructures and why it matters
17:47 Key to success: make complicated things simple
27:59 Are Super-Apps the next big thing in fin-tech?
31:00 Does fin-tech founders need financial backgrounds?
35:41 Growing and scaling Rize in a year
37:34 Building a co-founder team in fin-tech
40:02 Dealing with fin-tech regulations
44:47 Is Fin-Tech becoming more saturated?
Darshan Vaidya is the Founder & CEO at XMargin.
X-Margin is the world's first distributed private credit oracle that can facilitate loans to trading firms at scale without needing to see their sensitive data. This delivers high yields to investors with unparalleled risk management and transparency.
We discussed Darshan's humble journey of coming from traditional finance to starting his own business in web3, the early days of crypto, and what innovating in the web3 space looks like.
Today, X-Margin has already facilitated over $400 million of uncollateralized loans and monitoring on lenders' behalf of around $3 billion of assets.
0:40 The start of the entrepreneurial journey
5:07 Getting into web3 and crypto
9:33 How X-Margin works
17:08 Building an infrastructure company in web3
20:12 Scaling a web3 company
32:51 Finding ideas worth innovating in web3
37:15 Building a team fit for web3
42:19 ICO vs. Not ICO, which one is better?
We discussed everything from building and innovating in web3, how XMargin has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars of credit transactions to date, and what web3 founders can build in the new world of web3.
We also discussed many topics that are relevant to today's fin-tech and web3 founders, such as how to find ideas worth innovating in web3, how to build a team fit for web3, and whether crypto firms should do ICOs or not.
Danielle is the Co-Founder and General Partner of 1517 Fund.
Danielle has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade. In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and operations.
Danielle has worked with some of the most prestigious founders like Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum) and Ritesh Agarwal (OYO Rooms). Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led project-based learning and other alternative programs.
0:00 Introduction
0:42 Big exclusive news from 1517 fund
2:09 What the 1517 name stands for
3:54 How 1517 Fund invests
4:49 Having fun while investing
7:30 How to be comfortable writing the first check
11:00 Do younger founders build better startups?
13:33 Is dropping out of college worth it?
17:08 Do only wealthier students can afford to drop out?
20:52 Pursuing a community while building in VC
23:05 Solving 'let me know how I can be helpful' syndrome
32:37 Are founders and investors on the same team?
37:55 Unique journey in starting a VC fund
42:15 How VC firms raise capital to fund startups
47:56 What is a typical day like for a VC general partner
Caleb Avery is the Founder & CEO at Tilled.
With experience in the payments industry for nearly a decade, Caleb was often asked to help software companies who were looking to monetize their payments. Unable to find a solution that didn’t require his clients to compromise on either technology, user experience, or economics, he decided that he needed his own solution. That led him to build Tilled and create PayFac-as-a-Service.
Tilled’s revolutionary platform allows software companies to enjoy all of the benefits of becoming a PayFac without any upfront investment or ongoing overheads. All while capturing the lion’s share of the economics.
In today’s episode, we will discuss Caleb’s entrepreneurial journey, the early days of building at Tilled. What it means to do founder-led sales and when to hire a sales leader.
This is a great episode of an experienced founder giving a masterclass of how to build and scale a startup company.
Episode timestamp:
0:48 Entrepreneurial journey
3:59 What is Tilled
23:27 Early days at Tilled
29:52 Selling as a founder
37:10 Networking as a founder
38:25 Building in public
44:37 Dealing adversity as a founder
46:47 When to hire a sales leader
50:00 Lessons from scaling Tilled as a startup
59:44 Tilled is hiring, email Caleb at caleb@tilled.com