The Uncovered Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Episode Summary:Phil Bronner is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of D.C. based Ardent Venture Partners, which was co- founded in 2020 with fellow veteran investor Phil Herget. Phil has had an impressive 15-year career in venture prior to starting Ardent, leading 16 investments (was actively involved in 20) totaling over $100 million. He has also been on the entrepreneurial side, founding Quad Learning, a venture-backed startup acquired by Wellspring Higher Education. In this episode you’ll learn more about Phil’s background and experience working in venture, the challenges and humbling process of starting your own venture fund, and the key strategies and lessons he has learned thus far starting Ardent Ventures.

What is Uncovered:

• Phil’s experience in venture and what has surprised him the most starting Ardent Venture Partners
• The key strategies to think about when starting your first fund
• The importance of team vs finding the next big deal
• The changes in venture over the last 10-15 years
• The sheer number of accomplished VCs out there looking for funding
• The state of valuations today & predictions of what is to come within VC

Learn More About:

Phil Bronner:

Phil Bronner is the co-founder of Ardent Venture Partners, a venture fund investing in companies that transform the way we work. He is currently on the board of Reserve Trust, Verituity, ExecOnline, OneMain Financial (OMF) and an investor in Method Financial and Collective. Before co-founding Ardent Venture Partners, Phil was Founder/Managing Member of Summer League Ventures (SLV). Active SLV deals include Morning consult, ExecOnline, Ordway Labs, Gather.ai, Anno.ai, and AirSide Mobile.

Prior to SLV, Phil was a General Partner with Novak Biddle Venture Partners. Over the course of his 15-year career, he led 16 investments (was actively involved in 20) with investments totaling over $100 million. Three of Phil’s series A investments went on to be worth $880 million or more. Investments include: 2U (TWOU), Infoblox (BLOX), SolidFire (Acquired by NetApp), AddThis (acquired by Oracle), Webs (Acquired by Vistaprint), Approva (Acquired by Infor), LifeShield Security (acquired by DirectTV), ClearStandards (Acquired by SAP), Social Gaming Network, and Logic Library (Acquired by SOA Software). In addition, Phil’s past board observer seats include N.E.W. Customer Service Companies (acquired by Asurion), AnswerLogic, a natural language search engine (acquired by Primus Knowledge Systems), and Spectrum K12 (acquired by Power Schools). Phil was the founder of Quad Learning, a venture-backed startup acquired by Wellspring Higher Education, served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. and worked as a software engineer at IBM.

Phil earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University; a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Law; and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Phil and Brooke live in Washington DC with their 3 kids: Dylan, Sophia, and Mason.

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn.

Ardent Venture Partners:

With over 50 years combined of experience Ardent Venture Partners has proven time and again that the right combination of capital and active strategic support during the seed stage can create significant value and outsized returns for both Founders and investors. To learn more visit their website at https://ardent.vc/.

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Episode Description:In episode 7 of Season 3, Matt and Rob speak with Lee Hower, co-founder and Partner of NextView Ventures. Lee has spent his career as an entrepreneur and investor in early-stage software and internet startups. In this episode, you'll learn more on Lee's early days at PayPal alongside Elon Musk, to co-founding LinkedIn and moving back to the east coast to start his venture career at PJC. You’ll hear more on his experience starting NextView Ventures, the biggest challenges he has faced with NextView and what has surprised him the most being in venture for over 10 years.

What is Uncovered:

• What it was like starting Fund I at NextView
• The parallels of running a startup and raising money as a VC
• What it was like to receive that first LP commitment
• How Lee's experience in tech has influenced his experience in Venture
• The most surprising thing about starting a venture fund
• The biggest challenge Lee has faced over the last 10 years at NextView

Learn more about:

Lee Hower:

Lee is a co-founder and Partner at NextView Ventures. He has spent his entire career as an entrepreneur and investor in early-stage software and internet startups.

Lee started his career as an early employee of PayPal in product and business development roles, through the company’s 2002 IPO and sale to eBay. After PayPal, Lee was a co-founder of LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) and served as head of corporate development during the company’s early years.

Lee began his VC career at PJC, a Boston-based early-stage VC firm, where he was a Principal and helped to build the firm’s internet investment practice. At PJC Lee led investments in and served as a board director of Multiply (acq. by Naspers) and FanIQ.

Lee graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management & Technology program, with a BAS in Systems Engineering and a BS Economics from the Wharton School. He was selected as Wharton’s Commencement Speaker in 2000. He lives with his wife and small daughter and splits his time between Boston and San Francisco.

Connect with Lee on LinkedIn.

NextView Ventures:

Seed stage investors who champion founders who want to redesign the Everyday Economy. NextView keeps their number of deals small and platform offerings expansive so they can help their portfolio with what matters most at the seed-stage. Check out their full pitch deck: https://nextview.vc/approach/

Highlighted Quote rom Lee:

• “People come up with all kinds of sports analogies as to what early-stage VC and investing is like and the best one that I've said is it's kind of like baseball: a hybrid between the base running coach whose standing at third base and the talent-scout. The 3rd base coach gives perspective and input to the founders, who are the ones who are actually building and running the companies. Sometimes they listen to our advice, sometimes they don't, but hopefully the third base coach can see the whole field and see what’s happening and offer that perspective to go around third base and head for home or not. The talent scouting part of it is identifying really exceptional people who sometimes have ideas that seem unusual at the very early stage.”

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Episode Summary:In this episode of Season 3 of the “Entrepreneurial Side of VC” hosts Matt Hayes and Rob May speak with David Martirano, Managing Partner of PJC. Tune in to learn more on his 20+ year career in venture and how its evolved over the years as well as the current trends within venture capital today.

What is Uncovered:

• The differences between raising capital for a VC fund versus a startup
• The ​​parallels between managing and running a venture fund and managing and running a startup as a CEO
• The evolution of venture over a 20 year span from rising hedge fund activity in venture, to an increase in unicorn companies to the IPO market and SPACs
• The J curve and David’s experience fundraising for funds II and III
• Current key trends that are going to require venture capitalists to continue to adapt, grow and change
• Partnerships vs solo capitalists and the pros and cons of both
• PJC’s first-time founder focus and why it's been successful over the years

**Learn more about:

David Martirano:**David Martirano is the Managing Partner of PJC. David has extensive experience investing broadly in B2B SaaS, Consumer and Tech Enabled Service companies.

In 2001, David partnered with Governor Gina Raimondo, and together they founded Point Judith Capital in Rhode Island. Point Judith Capital subsequently relocated to Boston in 2011 and later rebranded to PJC.

Prior to PJC, David Co-founded Rex Capital Ventures, which was a venture division of a family office that invested in early stage technology companies around the world. Before embarking on his 20-year venture capital experience, he worked on Wall street and was a member of the Investment Banking Group at Cowen & Company. David sits on the Board of Trustees at the University of Rhode Island and the Investment Committee of Lifespan and has been actively involved with Year Up Rhode Island.

For fun David punishes himself by playing golf and working on his golf game (not well), in addition, to skiing and other outdoor activities with his kids.

Connect with David on LinkedIn.

PJC:PJC is an early stage venture capital firm investing in innovative, high-growth companies that are building technology to disrupt the status quo. The firm seeks to be the first institutional capital deployed into a company and is focused on being a true partner to entrepreneurs as they drive their companies toward becoming industry leaders in their respective categories. The firm has invested in over 100 companies across North America including notable companies like Expensify, Nest, Blockfi, GetWellNetwork, Nexamp, and Yandex. PJC was founded in 2001 and is based in Boston, MA. For more information, visit http://www.pjc.vc.

This episode was recorded in September of 2021.

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Episode Summary:Virginie Raphael is the Founder and Managing Partner of FullCircle, a pre-seed fund focused on the structural changes required to create a better workforce and closing the incentive alignment gap. In this episode, Matt and Marissa talk with Virginie about her path to venture, her motivation for starting FullCircle (first launched in June of 2021) and her passion for helping companies at the earliest stages with FullCircle’s perpetual fund structure.

What is Uncovered:

• Virginie’s unexpected journey to venture
• FullCircle’s perpetual fund structure
• The strategies and challenges with fundraising for a perpetual fund
• What her first LP commitment was like
• The parallels between fundraising for a startup and a venture fund

Learn More About:

Virginie Raphael

Virginie Raphael is obsessed with serving founders at the earliest stages and passionate about finding ways to better align founders and funders.

Virginie launched FullCircle to scale the impact of her work with a perpetual fund structure to invest in a better workforce.

Prior to founding FullCircle, Virginie was a Managing Director at Tusk Ventures where she was an early employee and spent eight years advising and investing in early-stage founders operating in highly regulated industries. Before Tusk, Virginie honed her analytical and financial skills as a banker at Lehman Brothers/Barclays.

French born, she was swept away by New York’s resilient entrepreneurship culture and enduring optimism. Connect with Virginie on LinkedIn and Twitter. FullCircle:

FullCircle is an early-stage venture firm investing at pre-seed out of a perpetual fund. We serve founders as trusted long-term partners with shared values and a startup mentality.

We invest up to $250k into initial rounds ranging $500k-$1.5M.

​We are highly collaborative and network-driven, co-investing with the angels and small early-stage funds you want around the table.

​We are passionate about the changing composition of the workforce.

​We see an overlooked opportunity to build technologies serving the needs of working caregivers, deskless workers in traditionally low-tech industries, as well as independent workers.

​We value trust and transparency above all else.

​We align with you right from the start as your most insightful, transparent and candid partner in executing your vision with clarity and focus.

Learn more about FullCircle on their website.

Quotes from Virginie:

• “VC is a team sport, especially at pre-seed. Those rounds are going to be syndicated out, so if you want to be a repeat player, you have to be able to be collaborative."
• “I love collaborating with other firms whom I know our values are aligned with and treat founders the same way I would want them to be treated.”

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Episode Summary:Vishal Vasishth is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Obvious Ventures, founded in 2014, and investing in both early and growth stage companies. In this episode we speak with Vishal on his path to starting Obvious Ventures - from his time at Patagonia which greatly influenced the way he thought about brand and culture to his entrepreneurial path focused on how to solve real problems in the world. Tune into this episode to learn more on the parallels between building a company and venture funding, the importance of a clear focused thesis and how to build trust with key stakeholders.

What is Uncovered:

• Vishal’s journey to starting Obvious Ventures
• The process and experience of getting those first few LPs to invest
• The biggest difference between being a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur
• The parallels between venture capital and starting a company
• Biggest challenge running Obvious Ventures thus far
• How Obvious Ventures is growing and differentiating themselves in a competitive VC landscape

Learn More About:

Vishal Vasishth

Vishal invests in values-driven founders and companies that dramatically improve healthcare outcomes, create more human-centered financial systems, and reimagine consumer services from the ground up.

He leads Obvious’ investments in full-stack healthcare with Virta, Galileo, and Devoted Health; financial technology startups such as Hedvig, One, Corvus, and Openly; and purpose-led consumer services like Good Eggs and Block Renovation.

Before co-founding Obvious, Vishal was the founding partner of Indian-based fund SONG Investment Advisors. He also served as a senior executive at Steve Case’s Revolution, LLC. Prior to his career as an investor, Vishal spent a decade at outdoor gear and apparel retailer Patagonia, in roles ranging from product manager to Chief Strategy Officer. He was selected as a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly, both recognizing value-based leadership. Vishal earned a B. Tech degree in India, an MS from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Vishal grew up in the fast growing city of Chandigarh, India. He is an avid cricket fan and aspiring batsman.

Connect with Vishal on LinkedIn

Obvious Ventures:

Obvious is a venture capital firm investing in startups reimagining trillion-dollar industries through a world positive lens. Our three investment pillars are Sustainable Systems, Healthy Living, and People Power. We invest at both early and growth stages. Learn more by visiting their website at https://obvious.com/.

Quotes:

• On raising money for follow-on investments: “It's a journey. I think it's similar to building companies and operating companies, which is ultimately building trust. You need to be building trust with all the stakeholders, including internal teams, external teams, customers, and showing progress, day after day, which enables you to get more people involved in your tribe.”
• “You are becoming better by doing the things which have brought success and learning from the failures”

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Episode Summary:
In our third episode of Season 3, Matt joins forces with Marissa Millbury, VP at PJC, to speak with Abby Miller Levy, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Primetime Partners. We learn more on how she went from wellness entrepreneur to founding Primetime Partners in 2020 which is focused on the trillion dollar global sector of Aging. A powerful conversation around this particular sector that is ripe for innovation.

What is Uncovered:

• The catalyst behind Primetime Partners
• Why Abby went from writing business plans for older adults to instead starting her own VC fund
• The strategic steps she took to get Primetime Partners off the ground
• What surprised her the most with fundraising
• The staggering statistics around our aging population & the enormous amount of white space in this sector
• The biggest challenges Abby has faced thus far with starting Primetime

Learn More About:

Abby Miller Levy:
Abby is the Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Primetime Partners. Abby has spent her career helping businesses and consumer brands grow as an operator, entrepreneur and advisor, most notably in the wellness sector. Prior to Primetime Partners, Abby was an executive at SoulCycle, where she oversaw business development and revenue growth outside the consumer studio business, with an emphasis on building new digital products as the Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth. Abby has also been a Founder herself, teaming with Arianna Huffington to launch Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company focused on employee productivity and wellness. Abby served as President of Thrive Global and remains on the Thrive Board. Abby began her career at McKinsey & Company then led product development at OXO International. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School. Connect with Abby on LinkedIn.

Primetime Partners:
Primetime is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in, and builds from the ground up, companies that can transform the quality of living for older adults.

They support the founders and organizations that create meaningful new products, services and experiences in the under-served, trillion dollar global sector of Aging. They accelerate business growth through their direct-to-consumer marketing expertise, their strategic distribution partners, synergies across portfolio companies and an engaged network of advisors. Also core to their mission, is to unlock the talent and expertise of experienced older adults as founders and business builders. Follow on: LinkedIn.

Quotes from Abby:

• "Don’t discredit anyone’s questions or criticism. I think it's really easy to say, ‘oh, they just don't get it.’ Or, you know, ‘screw them’ or whatever else it is, but actually, in the critiques is where you can learn the most. I felt that way when I fundraised in the past and I still feel like it raises your game to get that criticism and feedback.”
• “The emotional reaction of being told no still takes getting used to, even if you have been successful and are prepared and know the stats of first time funds”
• “Fifty percent of Americans are going to run out of money and no one's dealing with it or talking about it. There's only two million senior living beds in our country. How are people going to age in place? There are just tons of macro issues that entrepreneurs can help solve.”

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Episode Summary:Join us for episode 2 where we speak with Managing Director and Co-founder of General Catalyst Partners, David Fialkow. In this episode, we learn more about David’s journey from documentary filmmaker to venture capitalist and the common thread they share.

What is Uncovered:

• David’s unique path to starting General Catalyst alongside his long time friend Joel Cutler
• The importance of mentorship and following your passion
• The lessons that Joel and David learned while starting their own travel company (last-minute travel)
• The story behind David signing up and completing his first Ironman with only 90 days of training
• Why David and Joel saw themselves as B entrepreneurs and how this realization was the impetus to starting GC Partners
• What makes a successful VC firm and GC’s early wins
• The common thread between founding a venture capital firm, a start-up, and creating documentary films.

Learn More About:David Fialkow is a co-founder and managing director of General Catalyst, a venture capital firm that partners with founders from seed to growth stage to build companies that withstand the test of time. David's focus areas include financial services, digital health AI and data analytics, as well as leading General Catalyst’s XIR program. His portfolio of investments includes Casana, Catalant, Crossfit, CLEAResult (acquired by General Atlantic), Datalogix (acquired by Oracle), Datto (acquired by Vista Equity Partners), Highwinds (acquired by StackPath), NotCo, OGSystems (acquired by Parsons Corporation), PathAI, TrueMotion, and Vitrue (acquired by Oracle).

Before going into business, David studied film at Colgate University, earned a law degree from Boston College and made documentary films. David has raised millions in dollars in philanthropy to support kids’ programs by biking, running, climbing, and rowing. He and his wife Nina produce documentary films focused on social justice. Their film Icarus won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2018. His non-profit boards include Facing History and Ourselves, The Pan-Mass Challenge (former chairman), the Dean's Advisory Council at the MIT School of Engineering, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is chair of the Investment Advisory Committee of The Engine (launched by MIT).

Select Current Investments: Casana, Catalant, CrossFit, Elysium, NotCo, Outdoor Voices, PathAI, and TrueMotion

Alumni Investments: BBN Technologies (acquired by Raytheon), CLEAResult (acquired by General Atlantic), Datalogix (acquired by Oracle), Datto (acquired by Vista Equity Partners), Highwinds (acquired by StackPath), Index (acquired by Stripe), OGSystems (acquired by Parsons Corp.), Rue La La (acquired by GSI Commerce), Vitrue (acquired by Oracle)

Education: BA Fine Arts from Colgate University; JD from Boston College

General Catalyst: General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that provides early-stage and growth equity investments. They provide ongoing momentum that accelerates ideas, careers, and companies toward standout success. They create the ideal conditions for growth, surround clients with the right people, and offer mentorship based on deep experience.To date, General Catalyst has managed eight venture capital funds totaling approximately $3.75 billion in capital commitments.

Quotes from David Fialkow:

• “Founders need empathy to drive their vision and dreams."
• “Great firms are defined by great funds and great funds are defined by great companies”
• “In order to win, you need people to win with, nobody is so good that they can do it on their own.”

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Episode Summary:
Our first guest of Season 3 is Ian Rountree, Founder of Cantos. Ian grew up the son of a Marine and a public school English teacher from South Florida. He was introduced to VC at an early age while visiting his aunt in the bay area who was married to a venture capitalist. Although Ian’s interest in venture capital came at an early age, his trajectory to starting Cantos zig zagged as he went from graduating with a degree in political science to then working in the nonprofit industry. Ian’s passion to solve big world problems at scale however led him back to business and finance and working at SoFi. This ultimately led him to what he calls earning a street MBA in VC, where he began to invest his savings in various startups, 11 to be exact, for which one made it big. The success of this company led him to starting his own VC fund. To learn more about Ian, his experience starting Cantos and fundraising be sure to tune into this episode and conversation.

What is Uncovered:

• Ian’s path to starting Cantos
• How Ian generated deal flow at SoFi and expanded his network for potential LPs
• Ian’s first LP Commitment and how it felt to write a check on behalf of someone else
• The parallels of starting a VC fund and being an early stage founder
• The differences between being told ‘No’ from a LP or investor vs. a VC passing on startups
• The VC 3.0 community and how it helps emerging managers

Learn more about:

Ian Rountree:
Ian started making angel investments in 2012 while on the early teams at SoFi and then Invisible Technologies. He founded Cantos in 2016 to continue backing world-positive startups at pre-seed and seed. In 2018 Cantos went all-in on "near frontier" startups across cutting edge hardware and wetware with a focus on billion-dollar opportunities in mitigating disease, climate change, poverty, conflict, and existential risk. Cantos manages roughly $50M across several entities, typically investing $500K to $1M, and prefers to be a startup's first investor.

Cantos:
Cantos is a first-round venture capital firm with $50 million under management that invests where the innovation curve casts previously intractable problems in new light –– where new technology might positively impact billions. At a time when venture capital has become synonymous with growth equity, we exist to take the first steps with founders on bold journeys that would have been impossible just years prior. That is, to return venture capital to its roots.

Areas of focus: Clean Tech, Bio + AI, and Aerospace

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Episode Summary:In our final episode of this season we speak with Miguel Vega who is a partner at Cooley LLP. Miguel has been practicing law for 27 years representing clients in the technology and life sciences space. He has worked on M&A transactions of all sizes and provides great advice for both CEOs looking to sell their company and buyers. You will discover the common mistakes each player can make, when to start engaging with a lawyer, and the ins & outs of what goes into a M&A deal from a lawyer’s perspective.

What is Uncovered:

• Miguel’s background in law & the interesting complexities that M&A deals bring
• How the M&A team is set-up at Cooley
• When a startup should bring on an attorney: pre-LOI or during LOI
• The importance of having your legal records in order as you scale your company
• Miguel’s tactical advice to his clients who have never sold a company before
• The percentage of deals that go through post LOI
• The common issues or requests that have surprised CEOs the most as they go through the buying process
• The common mistakes that acquirers make that cause deals to fall apart
• How Miguel positions himself between an acquirer and buyer when things can get contentious
• The 3 trends Miguel has seen change over the last 10 years

Learn more about:

Miguel VegaMiguel J. Vega is the Head of the Boston Business & Finance Group. His practice focuses on the representation of private and public companies in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and financing transactions. He also advises public companies on SEC compliance, stockholder activism and corporate governance. Miguel has worked on more than 200 M&A transactions, over a career that has spanned more than 27 years.

Miguel has been recognized in Massachusetts Super Lawyers each year since 2005. He has also been named as one of the leading corporate lawyers in the United States by the peer review and legal directory, The Best Lawyers in America, 2011 – 2019 editions. Since 2017, Miguel has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leader in the Corporate/M&A category.

Cooley: Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California with offices worldwide. Clients partner with Cooley on transformative deals, complex IP and regulatory matters and high-stakes litigation, where innovation meets the law.

Quotes from Miguel:

• “There are things that can be cleaned up before the transaction commences, which will make the process a lot easier.”
• “Leverage matters very much in terms of transaction terms.”
• "If you're selling your company to one of the big tech companies it is truly a 24/7 effort that requires the internal team to intensely focus on that transaction and can leave limited time to keep running the business”
• “We encourage our clients to let us take the bullets for them during negotiations and be the intermediary in discussions”

This episode was recorded on October 20, 2020

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Episode Summary:On Episode 10 we speak with Emeka Iffih, who is the Head of Strategic Planning & Corporate Development at Commvault.Emeka has been in corporate development for over 20 years and in this episode we learn more on his role at Commvault, how they approach investments vs M&A and the common mistakes entrepreneurs make that cause deals to fall apart. We also hear more on how Emeka got started in corporate development and his advice for others looking to pursue a career in this field.

What is Uncovered:

• Commvault’s focus & strategy when it comes to M&A and investing in startups
• Fielding vs Hunting - how Commvault finds opportunities
• What the corporate development process looks like at Commvault
• The common mistakes that entrepreneurs make that cause them to walk away from a deal
• The number one reason why deals typically don’t meet their full potential
• Cultural fit when it comes to M&A vs investments
• Emeka’s path to corporate development and his advice for those looking to pursue a career in this field.

Learn more about:

Emeka Iffih:Emeka Iffih has 15+ years of experience as a technologist and strategist. He enjoys working in the nexus of technology, strategy and business. He leads strategic planning and corporate development at Commvault. Emeka is the father of four, an avid reader and podcast listener, and is nuts about soccer ( or football to those outside the US).

Commvault: Commvault's data protection and information management solutions provide mid- and enterprise-level organizations worldwide with a significantly better way to get value from their data Commvault can help companies protect, access and use all of their data, anywhere and anytime, turning data into a powerful strategic asset.

This episode was recorded on October 16th, 2020

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Episode Summary:Tune into this episode to hear from Kevin Spain, General Partner at Emergence Capital. Kevin’s background in both VC and corporate development over the last 20 years brings a unique perspective on how M&A have changed, the trends he is seeing in this space along with great advice for entrepreneurs looking to go public. What is Uncovered:

• How the landscape of M&A has changed over the last 20 years
• Kevin’s advice to startups who are looking to make the M&A process go smoothly
• Why startups shouldn’t be focusing their energy on exiting and instead should stay focused on building an amazing business and culture
• Advantages and disadvantages of SPACS vs traditional IPOs
• The trends Kevin is seeing in the VC space as it relates to IPOs
• The common mistakes entrepreneurs make when negotiating with a buyer
• Financial vs strategic acquisitions
• Advice to founders as they get approached from buyers

Learn more about:Kevin Spain: Working closely in a team of equals is what drew Kevin to Emergence. The mission of the firm excited him, and he loved the culture they wanted to build.

Early in his career, he co-founded and was CEO of atMadison.com. Founding and running a company in the heat of the dot-com bubble was an exciting and challenging experience that strongly influenced his decision to ultimately enter the venture business. Today, he enjoys the high of creating new businesses vicariously through the entrepreneurs he invests in.

He has also spent time as a senior member of the corporate development teams at Microsoft, and was part of the group that launched Electronic Arts’ original online gaming business. During that part of his career, he learned an incredible amount about digital media, online services, and software businesses from some of the most successful executives in the technology industry.

Kevin earned his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and completed his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program.

As a native Texan and foodie, he’s always trying to find great barbecue and southern food joints (though unfortunately there are few in the Bay Area). Kevin lives in Palo Alto and loves spending time with his wife and two sons.

Emergence Capital

Quotes:

• “The best companies that we have worked with at Emergence don’t think about exits, they’re focused on solving a huge problem for their customers, building an outstanding business, and a great culture.”
• On assimilating into a larger corporation: “How you show up in those meetings and your willingness to demonstrate that you can actually shift and work successfully in that kind of environment is something that I know acquirers are assessing.”
• “An IPO is a little bit of a rite of passage, it forces you to grow up, forces you to think about how much you can grow and serve your customers in ways you haven’t before, when staying private doesn’t necessarily force you to do”
• On counseling companies on selling or not selling: “I listen to the entrepreneur very intently when it comes to decisions like this. They're the founders of the company, they had the vision for this company initially…. what is it in their guts that they really want to do or are drawn to?”
• “I think the real key is you've got to be in an area that is deemed highly strategic and just an absolute top priority for a company, and if you’re in that range, then you can expect a strategic deal rather than a financial deal. “

This episode was recorded on October 14, 2020

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Episode Summary:On episode 8, Matt and Rob speak with Leigh Price, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at IBM. Leigh has over 30 years in the industry and has overseen just north of 400 purchases at IBM. In this episode you will learn everything from the strategies IBM takes with acquisitions, how the corporate development team is organized and the importance of culture & integrity in this business. Leigh also shares his advice for entrepreneurs looking to build a relationship with IBM & why deals can often fall apart in this business.

Heads up: At the beginning of this episode Rob says, the undercovered podcast. Please ignore this blooper, and continue listening to hear more on this episode of the Uncovered Podcast. :)

What is Uncovered:

• How the corporate development team is organized at IBM
• Where the vast majority of deals are sourced from
• Leigh’s advice for entrepreneurs looking to work with IBM
• How IBM’s culture has changed over the years and the importance of the soft elements during an integration
• An example of trust being compromised and why integrity in this business means everything.
• The importance of good business hygiene for startups & why more companies should be spending their time in this area
• The common reasons deals fall apart from the buyer’s perspective

Learn more about:

Leigh Price:Leigh Price is Vice President, Corporate Development Strategy at IBM where he is responsible for leading the development of IBM’s worldwide inorganic strategy including acquisitions and divestitures. Previously, Leigh was the Vice President of Intellectual Property for IBM, leading its patent and research licensing businesses, contributing nearly $500M to IBM profit. Before that he spent nearly 15 years in IBM Corporate Development leading both acquisition and divestiture transactions. His deal sheet numbers over 50 transactions with an aggregate transaction value nearing $20B.

Before IBM, Leigh was the CFO and COO of Zucotto Wireless, Inc., a semiconductor startup focusing on Java IP, based in San Diego, California. While at Zucotto, Leigh raised $42M in 4 private equity financings involving both equity and debt.

Leigh holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.

IBM: IBM is a leading cloud platform and cognitive solutions company. Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are the largest technology and consulting employer in the world, with more than 350,000 employees serving clients in 170 countries. With Watson, the AI platform for business, powered by data, we are building industry-based solutions to real-world problems. For more than seven decades, IBM Research has defined the future of information technology with more than 3,000 researchers in 12 labs located across six continents. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.

Quotes from Leigh:

• “We take a particular focus on culture and change, it’s actually a discreet stream in our due diligence and is taken seriously.”
• “M&A is a relationship business, and trust is an important part of any M&A deal and I’ve been in deals where that trust has been compromised, and I will never forget those.”
• “Integrity in my mind is everything in this business”
• “If both parties want to get a deal done, they will find a way”

This episode was recorded on October 2, 2020

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Episode Summary:In episode 7, we speak with John Swanciger, who runs strategic alliances at Toast. John shares the unique path that brought him to corporate development after many years working in tech as a C-level executive, and his advice for others who are considering corporate development. He discusses what it has been like joining Toast after its first acquisition, and how the team thinks about staying true to Toast’s culture with the partnerships they pursue.

What is Uncovered:

• John’s path to Toast and why he became interested in corporate development
• The 3 buckets to corporate development: corporate development strategy, deal execution, and integration
• How Toast thinks about corporate development and the bucket they spend most of their time in these days
• Inbound vs Outbound and how Toast thinks about building relationships
• The lessons John has learned thus far at Toast and being part of the post-integration process
• John’s thoughts on how COVID-19 has impacted the restaurant business and if there have been changes to the way acquisitions are looked at within their market
• Advice to listeners looking to pursue a career in corporate development

Learn More About:John Swanciger John Swanciger leads Business and Corporate Development at Toast. He is a proven results-driven executive with over 20 years of experience building and growing innovative businesses globally. Recognized as a creative thought leader skilled in structuring and managing high-value partnerships from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Previously, John was CEO of Manta (acquired in 2018) and held leadership positions at Starwood Hotels, Hotwire, and Switchfly. He holds a BS in Finance from Boston College.

Toast Launched in 2013, Toast powers successful restaurants of all sizes with a technology platform that combines restaurant POS, front of house, back of house and guest-facing technology with a diverse marketplace of third-party applications. By pairing technology with an unrivaled commitment to customer success, Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue and deliver amazing guest experiences. Toast was named to the 2019 Forbes Fintech 50, 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Finals, 2018 Forbes Cloud 100, and recognized as the third fastest-growing technology company in North America on the 2017 Deloitte Fast 500. Learn more at www.toasttab.com.

Quotes from John:

• In regards to the Integration process:“Most importantly we haven’t changed our culture and values with serving the customer first. If an issue arises and requires more support we have always followed through on that promise to deliver.”
• In regards to COVID-19: “The Big question here is what does it look like post-vaccine and post-vaccine plus 6 months. It used to be a multi-year plan and now I view it as “in COVID” and “after COVID.” Nobody knows what that may look like. I don’t think we are any different than a lot of the businesses and that whatever the next phase of this looks like, we need to be prepared for it.”
• On a career in corporate development: “In corporate development a lot of us have banking, consulting or finance backgrounds. There are also a lot of product people who are coming into corporate development because they are often involved in diligence process, which is how it started for me”

This episode was recorded on September 23, 2020.

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Episode Summary:On episode 6, Matt and Rob speak with Charlie Burckmyer, Director of M&A and Corporate Development at Culligan International. We learn more about how an M&A deal looks at a company with over 80 years of delivering water filtration & softener products. Charlie discusses the types of companies Culligan looks to acquire and how that has changed over the years, new technologies emerging within the industry, how acquisition sizes and valuations differ from traditional software companies and the key skills to have to follow a career path to corporate development.

What is Uncovered:

• How the corporate development team is structured at Culligan
• Details on Charlie’s role & the type of work he focuses on
• Why deals may fall apart and the importance and value of your word
• How Culligan thinks about acquisitions and the type of new technologies within water filtration and softening that have impacted the way they think about M&A
• The type of acquisition sizes and valuations a company like Culligan looks at compared to those that VCs and other firms are looking at with tech companies
• How Culligan focuses on high quality teams with high quality products to become satellites of Culligan rather than doing heavy integration

Learn More About:

Charlie Burckmyer: Charlie Burckmyer serves Director for Culligan International’s global Corporate Development team, a role he’s held since early 2017. Charlie joined Culligan from JMC, a middle-market Private Equity fund based in Boston. He began his principal investing career in 2008 following a successful early career in sales leadership. He and his family live on the North Shore of Boston.

Culligan International:Water touches everything in your home. For over 80 years, Culligan Water has been making that water cleaner, soft, and delicious for your friends, neighbors, and probably even your grandparents. Culligan Water provides the best in water softening and filtration technology. Let’s see what Culligan Water can do for your home. You could give your people Culligan Water.

This episode was recorded on September 17th, 2020

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Episode Summary:Hilary Shirazi may have had a more traditional path to corporate development, but it wasn’t what she had planned. On this episode we learn more about Hilary’s various roles in corporate development from being an early member of LinkedIn's Corporate Development team and working through the Microsoft acquisition to her role at Zendesk today. We uncover more on how she thinks about building relationships, how corporate development differs at Zendesk, and advice for entrepreneurs looking to get acquired.

What is Uncovered:

• Why the skills you acquire in your career take precedence over your previous job roles
• Why Hilary decided to move to the west coast after several years in NYC and what led her to work at LinkedIn
• The corporate development structure at Zendesk
• The 3 stages of the corporate development funnel
• How you get on a potential buyers radar & why it’s not always the corporate development team you should reach out to
• The fine line between sharing too much and sharing too little
• The red flags to look out for at pre & post-term sheet stages
• When to make the decision on M&A or raising another round, and why your chances of getting acquired become smaller as you grow

Learn More About:

Hilary Shirazi:Hilary Shirazi is Director of Corporate Development at Zendesk. Previously, she held senior roles at LinkedIn and InVision after years of growth investing at Spectrum Equity in internet and software companies such as Grubhub and Lynda.com. She is also an active angel investor and was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work in education technology.

Zendesk: Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds support, sales, and customer engagement software designed to foster better customer relationships. From large enterprises to start-ups, we believe that powerful, innovative customer experience should be within reach for every company, no matter the size, industry or ambition. Zendesk serves more than 150,000 customers across hundreds of industries in over 30 languages. Zendesk is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates offices worldwide.

This episode was recorded on September 11, 2020.

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Episode Summary:On our 4th episode of Season 2, Matt and Rob connect with Brandon Greer, Manager of Corporate Development at HubSpot. We chat with Brandon on his experience from investing and helping SaaS teams in VC to working in partnerships and leading the venture arm at HubSpot. We uncover more on how HubSpot invests and what makes their venture arm unique. It’s a great episode for entrepreneurs to listen to and gain a better perspective on how corporate development works at a company like HubSpot and how to establish a rapport early on with potential buyers.

What is Uncovered:

• Brandon's journey from investing at Openview to working in corporate development at HubSpot
• The main differences between venture investing at a tech company vs investing at a VC firm
• HubSpot’s investment strategy
• Hunting vs Fielding inquiries: what has worked best at HubSpot
• Brandon’s thoughts on who should be managing the conversation when it comes to investing
• Why deals can slow down and fall apart
• How data from HubSpot’s integration partners provide early signals on where and how to invest at HubSpot
• How a startup should best prepare for an acquisition or merger - and how early you should be thinking about it
• Brandon’ thoughts on strategic vs financial buyers and what entrepreneurs should think about before selling

Learn More About:

Brandon Greer: Brandon sits on on HubSpot's Corporate Development & Strategy team, where he manages the HubSpot Ventures portfolio, strategic acquisitions, and works with HubSpot’s core technology partners. Together, with the business development, product, and strategy teams, Brandon manages the pre-and-post investment process for HubSpot Ventures.

Previously, Brandon worked as an Associate at OpenView Venture Partners, a software-focused VC fund based in Boston.

He holds a Bachelors of Science in Applied Economics from Cornell University.

@bmarshallg on Twitter

HubSpot: HubSpot is a leading growth platform with thousands of customers around the world. Comprised of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and a powerful free CRM, HubSpot gives companies the tools they need to grow better. Our company culture builds connections, careers, and employee growth. How? By creating a workplace that values flexibility, autonomy, and transparency. If that sounds like something you’d like to be part of, we’d love to hear from you. To learn more about HubSpot, visit www.hubspot.com and to join our team, visit www.hubspot.com/careers

Quotes from Brandon:

• “The most exciting things happen to come from people who know the pain points really well”
• “We don't do investments unless we have a vision for where we can work with this business in a really meaningful way."
• “The types of companies that are most attractive are the ones that can augment the HubSpot experience and provide distinct value to our customer base”
• “We’ve got a lot of data points and data sources which is a really cool competitive advantage of a strategic venture arm”
• “There is this middle ground that everyone has to work to strike here, and you manage it like an active relationship and it should be nurtured”
• “The more power I can place into an entrepreneur's hands, the happier I am, I think there's a two way relationship to be struck with any corporate conversation.”

This episode was recorded on August 17, 2020.

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Episode Summary:
On this episode Rob and Matt speak with Scott Haylon, Director of Business and Corporate Development at Datadog. This episode dives into Scott’s unique background & trajectory to corporate development, and is packed with advice for founders considering a merger or acquisition. Scott also provides great insight into his role at Datadog and the secrets to success for a M&A and the road to an IPO.

What is Uncovered:

• How Scott’s role evolved over the last 3 years working in Corporate Development for Datadog
• Inbound vs. Outbound: How Datadog approaches mergers and acquisitions
• Scott’s advice to entrepreneurs on how to have conversations early on with Corporate Development execs
• The key strategies Scott’s team uses to find the best companies to acquire or merge with
• Why a company’s deal size may hinder or benefit buyers
• The most common mistakes founders & corporate development execs make that cause a deal to fall apart
• Financial vs strategic buyers: The advice Scott gives to founders looking to IPO & how it’s best to fully understand a buyers motives
• What post acquisition looks like at Datadog
• 7 key takeaways on what a founder should do ahead of a M&A

Learn More About:

Scott Haylon Datadog: Datadog has seen tremendous growth over the years and in August of 2019 went public and today is estimated to be a $31B market cap company. Founded in 2010 with HQ in NYC, it is the essential monitoring platform for cloud applications. Datadog brings together data from servers, containers, databases, and third-party services to make your stack entirely observable. These capabilities help DevOps teams avoid downtime, resolve performance issues, and ensure customers are getting the best user experience. Learn more on their website: https://www.datadoghq.com/about/latest-news/

This episode was recorded on August 11, 2020.

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Episode Summary:
Our first guest of Season 2 is Anders Bialek who talks to us about his role as VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at iRobot. Tune in as Rob uncovers more about the ins and outs of working within corporate development as well as the strategies & secrets for both founders and corporate development teams to know ahead of a M&A.

What is Uncovered:

• How Anders got started within corporate development at iRobot & the common tracks folks take towards this career
• How the team is structured at iRobot and what the day to day may look like for someone working within corporate development.
• The benefits of having M&A & strategy teams work in tandem under corporate development
• The importance of being proactive, clear on strategy with M&A teams and effectively communicating with bankers on what you are looking for in terms of deals
• How the process of corp dev works specifically at iRobot & why establishing relationships and conversations early on is the best strategy for both parties
• Common things that cause deals to fall apart - from both the buyer and seller side
• Misconceptions on how M&A work and how the press can influence this misperception
• As a founder, to understand your valuation, control, and the expectations of your board members which can all have a profound impact on the M&A process
• Trends Anders is seeing within the consumer robotic space
• Is there a right time to sell?
• Why you should hire an advisor early on (whether it be a banker and/or board member whose been through M&A process) to help navigate conversations on purchasing

Learn More About:Anders Bialek:Anders Bialek leads iRobot’s Corporate Development team which is responsible for Strategy, M&A, Partnerships and Venture Capital. Prior to iRobot, Anders worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Europe serving clients in a variety of industries including telecommunications, financial services and private equity. Prior to management consulting, Anders spent several years in the technology sector in Boston, MA. Anders holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BA from Hobart College.About iRobot:Founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists with the vision of making practical robots a reality, iRobot has sold more than 30 million robots worldwide. The company has developed some of the world's most important robots, and has a rich history steeped in innovation. Its robots have revealed mysteries of the Great Pyramid of Giza, found harmful subsea oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and saved thousands of lives in areas of conflict and crisis around the globe. iRobot inspired the first Micro Rovers used by NASA, changing space travel forever, deployed the first ground robots used by U.S. Forces in conflict, brought the first self-navigating FDA-approved remote presence robots to hospitals and introduced the first practical home robot with Roomba, forging a path for an entirely new category in home cleaning. With more than 30 years of leadership in the robot industry, iRobot remains committed to building robots that provide people with smarter ways to clean and accomplish more in their daily lives.

This episode was recorded on March 10, 2020.

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Episode Summary:Join us for season two of The Uncovered Podcast where we explore the world of corporate development. On our intro episode you’ll hear from PJC partners, Rob May, Matt Hayes and David Martirano as they discuss this past season’s episodes, the biggest takeaways and consistent lessons uncovered from the world of corporate development. Find out more on what is uncovered in this season by tuning into this episode and stay up to date on the latest episodes by simply subscribing on your preferred directory. We hope you enjoy.

This season you'll hear from corporate development execs at iRobot, Toast, IBM, Datadog, Emergence Capital, HubSpot, Commvault, Cooley, Culligan International, and Zendesk!

What is Uncovered in Season Two:

• The different roles of corporate development and the way teams are structured
• How much of corp dev is hunting vs fielding inbound requests
• How startups should prepare in advance to ensure a smooth M&A process
• What causes deals to fall apart
• When a startup should sell vs. continue to raise
• The best time to start talking to a corporate development team
• The pros and cons of strategic vs financial deals
• The different avenues that lead to a career in corporate development
• And much, more!

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Episode Description: In our final episode of our COVID-19 miniseries, Matt & Rob discuss the state of the economy, the macroeconomic changes from the pandemic and how these changes, such as in human behavior, will impact the economy on a longer term scale. 

Topics covered include:

• Inflation and the decrease in globalization from COVID-19
• How entrepreneurs may think differently around pricing power
• PPP Loans and the adverse effects it could have to small businesses
• Conversations with our portfolio companies and how they have thought about taking or not taking a PPP loan
• How political and societal views of PPP loans would change overtime
• Reopening the economy in MA and how Rob and Matt feel about going to restaurants once open again
• The continued push for companies to have more runway and how spending will change within companies

For questions, feedback or comments on the podcast feel free to reach out at podcast@pjc.vc. 

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Episode Description:
In the latest episode of our miniseries, Matt and Rob talk to Fred Magnanimi about how his company, Luca and Danni, has seen massive growth during COVID-19 as well as some of the new challenges he has faced. You’ll learn more on the company’s founding and the inspiration for starting the jewelry line. Other topics include, building a community and brand, the benefits of local manufacturing, and the upsides of having an e-commerce platform during the closing of many brick and mortar stores. We hope that this can bring a bit more optimism to the often negative news we are hearing these days and that you can learn to embrace the journey, whatever that may be.

Topics covered include:

• The story behind Luca and Danni & why Fred went from investment banking to starting a jewelry company
• The inspiration for creating the jewelry brand and how they have built a community around embracing the journey
• The upsides of having a local manufacturing company and being able to pivot quickly and develop products more fluidly
• The massive growth on the e-commerce side due to COVID-19
• The new challenges they are facing from COVID-19
• The changes they plan to make in response to this pandemic
• Looking for the positive and learning to innovate & think outside the box

Show Notes:

• https://lucadanni.com/

Quotes:

• “It’s forcing us to be innovative and think outside of the box, and we are choosing to look at the glass half full, and embrace the innovation and keep things moving forward, so for us it’s been a good challenge” - Fred Magnanimi

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In the 4th episode of our miniseries, Rob talks to Matt about his experience battling COVID-19 after testing positive on March 25th. Luckily, his symptoms have been mild and manageable at home. During the episode, Matt discusses the elusiveness of COVID-19 and his biggest takeaways from his experience thus far (as we release this, Matt is still recovering from the virus).

Disclaimer: This information is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider or a professional if you are experiencing any symptoms related to COVID19 and if you have questions on your health. Continue to stay safe, practice social distancing, and follow all CDC recommendations. Topics covered include:

• Matt’s early symptoms and why he thought he only had a bad cold
• How the testing process worked
• What surprised Matt the most about the virus
• What has helped him ease the symptoms of COVID-19
• Matt’s latest thoughts (and how his thoughts have evolved over the past few weeks) on on the future of work and business after this pandemic

Recommended website to follow for updates on COVID-19:

• Website by Physicist, Yaneer Bar-Yam, studying social challenges including pandemics. Now focused on stopping the Coronavirus. https://www.endcoronavirus.org/

Highlighted Quotes:

More on the experience:

• "It [the virus] seems horrible, and they are talking in the news about how people are going to the hospital in troves. So I thought that when you get it you will know...but that has completely flipped upside down for me." - Matt Hayes
• “The sneakiest part of this, despite the fact that I’m still coughing and I'm still tired when I wake up in the morning, is... I could see how people could go to work and not realize they had COVID-19, but I was also fortunate to have fairly mild symptoms” - Matt Hayes

More on the impact of the business:

• “We are looking at bigger rounds at lower valuations with stronger syndicates to adjust to the additional risk that is in the world” - Rob May
• “We invest in people, but when you don't get a chance to actually sit across from the person, that is hard. That is definitely a barrier so hopefully we find ways to mitigate those effects and get to know people in a very real way.” - Matt Hayes

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In the latest episode of our miniseries Rob May and Matt Hayes chat with guests, and fellow VCs, Charlie O’Donnell, Partner and Founder of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures based in NYC, and Russ Wilcox, General Partner at Pillar VC based in Boston. During this raw and uncut conversation Russ and Charlie discuss how they have managed Covid-19 within their own portfolio and what advice they have for startups managing this volatile economic landscape (recorded on March 25th 2020).

Topics covered include:

• Short term vs. long term advice for founders & entrepreneurs based on their cash flow position
• Advice for those who were planning on raising capital with less than 6 months of runway
• What kind of companies or investments they are looking at right now and why
• The rare opportunities you can find during this pandemic and strategies for capitalizing on those today
• The metrics VCs will look at when evaluating potential new investments during a recession
• What kind of signals to look for to reveal when the economy may return to normalcy
• What type of marketing you should be doubling down on during this pandemic
• Predictions on the economic landscape post Covid-19 and the type of companies that may come out the other side stronger than before

Show notes:

• Charlie O'Donnell is the sole Partner and Founder at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. The fund makes seed and pre-seed investments and was the first venture firm located in Brooklyn--where he was born and raised. Brooklyn Bridge invested in the first rounds of The Wing, Canary, Hungryroot, Ample Hills, Clubhouse, Imagen, and goTenna among others. Learn more about Charlie here: http://www.brooklynbridge.vc/charlie-odonnell
• Russ Wilcox has 20 years of start-up operating experience, having founded three companies and raised $150 million in private capital. Learn more on Russ here: https://www.pillar.vc/team/russ-wilcox/

Highlighted Quotes:

• “VC can be more useful to help make decisions about cuts, runway, openings in the venture market and I think that is where we can bring some perspective” - Charlie O’Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
• “We have all gone through a lot of chaos in the last few weeks, and I think that there will be, even once Covid-19 has been managed, a lasting appreciation for reliability, simplicity, and things you can count on. Consumer products that appeal to that side are likely to do well” - Russ WIlcox, Pillar VC
• “In the venture business, if you are doing startups everybody is in a different cycle in cash flow and when their next round is going to be. Based on whether you thought your round was just 90 days away or 90 months away, you have a very different outlook and different strategy” - Russ Wilcox, Pillar VC

Have comments or feedback on the podcast? Send them to podcast@pjc.vc – Thanks!

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In Episode 2 of our Covid-19 miniseries, Matt Hayes and Rob May chat with Zac Prince,Founder and CEO of BlockFi, and Vishal Sunak, Co-Founder & CEO of LinkSquares, about the biggest changes they have made since the Coronavirus outbreak, how they are managing remote work, and the strategies they have for dealing with this new climate moving forward. Topics covered include:

• What has impacted the two companies the most with the recent developments of Covid-19
• The challenges of working remotely and fun ideas for keeping company culture alive
• How each founder is thinking about financing and cash burn after both recently closing financing rounds
• What tools they are using to help their teams work remotely and stay connected

Show notes:

• Link to Joshua M. Brown video Zac mentions in the podcast: https://thereformedbroker.com/2020/03/19/we-are-not-going-to-participate-in-this-recession/

Quotes:

• “It’s challenging to stay as motivated when you don’t have that human to human connection and the interpersonal interactions …” - Zac Prince
• “Be more conservative now, add more talent at a slower rate” - Vishal Sunak
• “One thing we have learned is that when onboarding new employees we’ll need to give them more than one charger” :P - Zack Prince in reference to folks not having chargers for their at home laptops
• “Let’s control what we can control” - Vishal Sunak
• “We will not be participating in this recession, and he is talking about his company, but that is the approach we are taking at Blockfi right now, our plans haven't changed, this is an opportunity for us to grab market share or to accelerate new client adoption…” - Zac Prince
• “Continue to push hard on the engineering and the product side, and continue to make new features and new add ons in order to be ready for when things are in a better situation... That really is what the silver lining is." - Vishal Sunak

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In Episode 1 of our Covid-19 miniseries, Matt Hayes and Rob May discuss the impact that the Coronavirus is having on the venture capital and entrepreneurial landscapes, and the new normal that we can expect moving forward. Topics covered include:

• Advice for entrepreneurs on cash management, financial planning, and supply chain vulnerabilities
• Why early-stage companies may be impacted in a different way than growth companies
• What entrepreneurs can expect going into future funding rounds
• How PJC is thinking about investing in new opportunities
• The industries to keep an eye out for as an investor

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Episode Summary:

On our second episode, Rob May sits down with Drew Magliozzi, Cofounder and CEO of AdmitHub, a company focused on helping schools boost enrollment and strengthen retention through an AI-powered mobile messaging platform. Rob and Drew discuss everything from Drew’s journey to starting AdmitHub, to how AdmitHub has been able to increase one university's revenue by $3 million, to fundraising in ed tech, to starting a company at a time when chatbots were getting a bad rap.

Uncovered in this episode:

• The reality of Summermelt and how it initiated the idea of AdmitHub
• Drew’s take on the biggest problem in Higher Ed
• Designing behavioral nudge strategies and how to deploy them at scale
• Drew’s experience on raising money within the Ed Tech space in Boston
• What has helped Drew be relentless with prioritization and discipline
• Drew’s thoughts on Rob’s AI theses

List of resources mentioned in episode & suggested reading:

• Summermelt Book
• Rob May’s blog post on Services as AI
• AdmitHub Website URL: https://www.admithub.com/

About Drew:Andrew Magliozzi has dedicated his career to developing technology to help students learn and succeed. Before founding AdmitHub in 2014, he founded Signet Education (2005) and KarmaNotes.org (2010). Andrew has an undergraduate degree from Harvard College '05 in History and Literature and also graduated from Hack Reactor, a coding bootcamp, in 2013. When he's not raising two children with his wife, Andrew practices the ancient art of Italian Yoga.

About AdmitHub:At AdmitHub, we believe every student can – and will – succeed in college with the right support. To help all schools provide the 1:1 conversational support proven to strengthen student outcomes, AdmitHub developed the first mobile messaging platform powered by artificial intelligence specifically designed for higher education. Today, AdmitHub has partnered with colleges and universities across the country to reach more than one million students – and in the process, helped schools boost enrollment, strengthen retention, and slash summer melt. Learn more about AdmitHub’s cutting-edge technology and research-backed strategies for student success at AdmitHub.com.

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Episode Summary:In our final episode we bring together Jana Eggers, CEO of Nara Logics, Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe columnist and CEO of Innovation Leader, and Dave Balter, CEO of Flipside Crypto, to discuss the question on every Boston entrepreneur’s mind: to build in Boston or Silicon Valley? This episode is a fun and enjoyable listen where you’ll get to hear each guest’s opinions and theories.

Uncovered in this episode:

• The biggest differences between the two coasts when it comes to starting a business
• Scott’s take on why so many people who start to build in Boston end up leaving to go out West
• Strategies for how to keep talented entrepreneurs in Boston
• The misconception that big companies aren’t made in Boston
• Why we should stop overthinking things in Boston and “just dance”

List of resources mentioned in episode:

• Articles written by Scott Kirsner: https://muckrack.com/scottkirsner/articles
• Nara Logics website: https://naralogics.com/
• Flipside Crypto website: https://flipsidecrypto.com/

About Jana Eggers:Jana brings over 25 years of technology and leadership experience to Nara Logics from Intuit, Lycos, American Airlines, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and startups that you’ve never heard of. Jana is a frequent speaker, writer, and mentor on AI and startups. She is also a marathoner (most recently completing Boston) and an Ironman.

About Scott Kirsner:Scott Kirsner has written a weekly column for the Boston Globe since 2000, and before that helped the Globe launch its digital publishing division with Scott Cohen and Frank Hertz, his co-founders at Innovation Leader.

Scott has also been a contributing writer for Wired Magazine, Fast Company, Variety, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and other publications. He is the author of several books on innovation and technology, including “Inventing the Movies,” which explores the challenge of bringing new ideas to a century-old, change-resistant industry: Hollywood.

Scott has presented leadership strategies to corporate leaders, technologists and entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, the MIT R&D Conference, South by Southwest, the Consumer Electronics Show, HubSpot Inbound, Tijuana Inovadora, the Connected Health Symposium, and the NAB Futures Summit. Scott has also appeared on NBC's Today Show, NPR's Science Friday, the Discovery Channel, and WBUR's Radio Boston.

About Dave Balter:Dave has been active in the cryptocurrency space for years, and has learned invaluable lessons from not buying during crypto winters and at least one wallet loss.

Previously, Dave was the CEO and co-founder of Smarterer, a machine-learning skills assessment company acquired by Pluralsight in 2014. Post-acquisition, Dave was the Head of Transactions at Pluralsight, while also serving as a Board Observer.

Before co-founding Smarterer in 2010, Dave founded and was CEO of BzzAgent, a social media marketing company, which was acquired by dunnhumby, a division of Tesco(PLC) in 2011. From 2011 - 2014 Dave sat on the Global Executive Team at dunnhumby, where he led all venture investments and M&A activity.

Dave sits on the Board of AdHawk, is an investor and/or advisor to more than 50 startups and is Vice Chairman of Boch Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit steward of iconic venues, providing arts, entertainment, cultural, and educational experiences to the greater Boston community.

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Episode Summary:Second-time founder Amrita Saigal joins us on Uncovered to talk about the motivation behind her newest venture, Kudos. Tune in to learn more about Amrita’s passion for building sustainable products, how she applied the lessons learned from her first-startup the second time around, and why her unique experiences at MIT, P&G, Google, and her brother’s startup, Thunkable (also PJC-backed!), have all led her to where she is today.

Uncovered in this episode:

• The story behind Saathi and Kudos and how Amrita’s personal passion for sustainability and reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels motivated her to start these two ventures
• How Amrita approached her second-time-around fundraising and the lessons learned from her experiences fundraising and hiring for Saathi
• The one condition that Amrita’s father had for her and her brother while at college
• Advice for hiring outside your field of expertise
• Why it’s so important to talk about your idea to anyone and everyone who will listen

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Saathi website: https://saathipads.com/
• Kudos website: https://mykudos.com/

About Amrita:Amrita is the founder of Kudos, a cutting-edge and high-performing sustainable baby diaper brand set to launch in the fall of 2020. Prior to Kudos, in 2015 Amrita co-founded Saathi, now one of India’s leading manufacturers of sanitary pads made from waste banana tree fiber. Her work experience spans manufacturing for Procter & Gamble’s Always pads and Gillette brands, business development for Google Glass, and all-around-all-hats-wearer as one of the earliest employees at Thunkable. Amrita graduated with an S.B. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

About Kudos:At Kudos we’re making disposable diapers that are better for your baby’s world and the big wide world, too. Proven to perform against leaks and blowouts, Kudos are made from renewable, sustainable plant-based resources that are softer to skin. In fact they’re the only diapers you can find with a 100% clean cotton liner to hug chubby thighs all day. Not plastic. Never toxins. We hope these diapers are a feel-good change (or roll or wiggle or crawl) toward a more comfortable, functional, and sustainable world. For baby. For all of us out here.

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Episode Summary:Frustrated by the management training she was receiving as a manager and leader at fast-growing companies in the Bay Area, Sarah Milby decided she wanted to do something about it. Drawing on her experiences as an athlete, and the 1:1 performance coaching she was used to receiving in that setting, Sarah founded Valor Performance in 2017 to provide companies with a better way to train, develop, and retain their employees. During this episode of Uncovered we sit down with Sarah to learn more about the core competencies that Valor is built off of, and dive deeper into how she scaled Valor Performance into the company it is today.

Uncovered in this episode:

• Where companies are falling behind when it comes to leadership and management training
• How Sarah has applied Valor’s principles to her own management style
• Why Boston is a great place for new startups
• Why surrounding yourself with the right people matters so much
• What to look for in an investor

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Valor Website: https://www.valorperform.com/

About Sarah:Sarah Milby is the Founder and CEO of Valor Performance, Inc. an enterprise software company that supports some of the highest performing global organizations in strategically igniting the best in every leader, manager and team. Delivered through its high-tech, high-touch digital platform, Valor provides the skills, analytics and coaching for professionals to stay on top of their game, even under pressure.

Prior to starting Valor, Sarah was an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at F-Prime Capital Partners. She also launched Grokker's enterprise division as VP of Business Development and Partnerships, and lead health plan relationships for Castlight Health from start-up through its IPO in 2014. Sarah has a Yale University B.A., a Harvard Kennedy School of Government MPA, and a Stanford University Graduate School of Business MBA.

While not an Olympian herself, Sarah did play varsity soccer at Yale for 4 years, and became a competitive runner, running for Greater Boston Track Club and Strava (formerly, New Balance Silicon Valley).

Sarah’s experiences as a business leader and athlete gave her the inspiration and conviction to start Valor, dedicated to supporting and igniting the best in every leader, team and organization.

About: Valor:Valor Performance, Inc. is an enterprise software company that supports some of the highest performing global organizations in strategically igniting the best in every leader, manager and team. Delivered through its high-tech, high-touch digital platform, Valor provides the skills, analytics and coaching for professionals to stay on top of their game, even under pressure.

Valor is designed to close the professional training and coaching gap through a dynamic, measurable and scalable software platform. Valor’s innovative digital learning and virtual coaching platform combines the latest research on human performance, leadership and mindset with the best practices of Olympic and elite athletes to support leaders in sustaining peak performance while navigating a competitive and constantly changing business environment.

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Episode Summary:During this episode, Ty Harris sits down with our hosts to share the story behind his startup, Openly, and why, with his first kid on the way and after 12 years of success at Liberty Mutual, he decided to embark on this new adventure.

Heads up: Throughout this episode you may hear Rob refer to the podcast as undercovered, instead of uncovered. Rob did not have his coffee on this day and we apologize for any confusion, but we hope you enjoy this blooper. :)

What is Uncovered:

• How Openly is bringing more transparency into the insurance industry
• The highs and lows of starting a new business
• Ty’s TechStars experience and why it was so great for Openly
• The challenges of starting a business in a heavily regulated industry
• Why Boston is a great place for insurance start-ups
• How Openly has embraced a remote working culture
• How to manage employee satisfaction as your startup grows
• The surprising skills Ty has learned over the years in the spirit of always challenging himself
• The hidden power of pacing yourself and coming to terms with the fact that things are always going to take longer than you think

List of resources mentioned and suggested reading in episode:

• Openly Website: https://openly.inc/

About Ty:Before founding Openly in 2017, Ty spent 12 years at Liberty Mutual, a top 5 global insurer, where he was most recently EVP and Chief Product Officer. In this role, Ty led an organization responsible for product, pricing, underwriting, and innovation across all personal lines of business. Prior to Liberty Mutual, Ty did research at the Brookings Institution and taught economics and statistics at MIT and Northeastern. A Duke and MIT alum, Ty is also a fully credentialed actuary (FCAS). Ty lives in Boston’s Back Bay with his wife and two kids. He’s an enthusiastic runner, snowboarder, windsurfer, and dad!

About Openly:Openly is proud to offer innovative, comprehensive homeowners insurance, wrapped in modern convenience. We arm agents with the tools necessary to serve up a world class customer experience.

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Episode Summary:

Matt and Rob visit Kevin O’Brien, CEO and Co-Founder of GreatHorn, to discuss Kevin’s 20 year history as part of early teams within the cloud security space - most notably with CloudLock (Cisco), Conjur (CyberArk), and @stake (Symantec). Be sure to tune in to learn more about Kevin's journey, how he's drawn on his past experiences in his current role, and what they don't tell you about being a CEO.

Uncovered in this episode:

• What previous job roles helped prepare Kevin the most for being a CEO
• What patterns to look out for when starting a company in a new space and the signals that point to potential success as well as warning signs that point to potential failure
• Kevin's thoughts on hiring and building teams at every stage of growth
• The realities (and sometimes the not-so-glamorous side) of startup life

List of resources mentioned and suggested reading in episode

• GreatHorn website: https://www.greathorn.com/

About Kevin:Currently CEO and co-founder of email security company GreatHorn, Kevin O’Brien is a frequent speaker, commentator, and author that advises customers and the public on data security and privacy issues. With 20 years of deep cybersecurity expertise, most notably with CloudLock (Cisco), Conjur (CyberArk), and @stake (Symantec), Kevin also serves as co-chair for the Mass Technology Leadership Council’s cybersecurity group.

Outside of security, Kevin is a lifelong martial artist, avid skier, and amateur sailor.

About GreatHorn:Global 2000 companies use GreatHorn to reduce the inherent and pervasive risk associated with the everyday use of email. GreatHorn’s multi-staged approach to email security automatically combines data science, machine learning techniques, and technical analysis with human context to protect organizations before, during, and after a phishing attack.

By treating email security as a risk management function, customers can not only detect and remove more attacks but also warn users in real-time of potential threats and provide response teams with the tools to limit exposure and minimize risk. As a result, GreatHorn Email Security safeguards cloud email from advanced threats such as business email compromise, impersonations, credential theft, account takeover, and other phishing attacks.

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Episode Summary:In this episode, Rob and Matt sit down with Vishal Sunak, one of Rob’s earliest employees at Backupify, to learn more about LinkSquares. Started by Vishal and his co-founder in 2015, LinkSquares was created in response to a pain point that Vishal experienced first-hand at Backupify: the messiness of contract management. Tune in to learn more about why Vishal has loved his new roles as startup founder and CEO and to hear his tips on hiring and navigating the world of fundraising.

Uncovered in this episode:

• Vishal’s unique journey into entrepreneurship -- and the mentors he met along the way
• How to be undeniable: The power in letting your numbers speak for themselves when it comes to fundraising
• How LinkSquares builds team culture and customer centricity through weekly “Customer Stories” All Hands
• Why getting it right is not as important as recognizing when you’ve got it wrong

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Website: https://linksquares.com/

About LinkSquares:At LinkSquares, we think your internal legal and finance teams have better things to do than spending thousands of hours a year reviewing contracts one by one. So we built software that automatically reads and retrieves key data from your entire library of agreements, making review and diligence projects lightning fast and super simple. You'll be up and running on our AI-powered Contract Analytics cloud in a snap too - our white-glove onboarding will have you launched, trained, and fully integrated into your workflows in 30 days. So go focus on raising money, getting acquired, or just plain growing as fast as you can. With LinkSquares, your contracts will become a source of knowledge the entire company can depend on.

About Vishal:Vishal Sunak is the CEO and Co-Founder of LinkSquares, an AI-powered contract management and analytics company. LinkSquares gives legal teams the ability to accurately understand what’s in their contracts without having to do time-consuming and costly manual contract review.

In his role, Vishal drives overall business strategy and vision for the company. Prior to founding LinkSquares, he ran operations and product management teams at high-growth SaaS companies including Backupify (acquired by Datto) and InsightSquared.

Vishal has a BS in Engineering from Northeastern University and an MS from WPI.

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Episode Summary:Join us as we sit down with Melissa James, CEO and founder of Tech Connection, a recruitment platform that supports the professional development of untapped technical talent from diverse backgrounds. In this episode Melissa covers all things diversity in tech and shares actionable tips on how companies can take their diversity goals from all talk to real action.

What is Uncovered:

• Melissa's experience working at Google and what inspired her to start Tech Connection
• How the Tech Connection platform works
• What GPA stands for when it comes to hiring and diversity

List of resources mentioned and suggested reading in episode:

• Tech Connection Website: https://www.thetechconnectioninc.com/#!/

About Melissa:Melissa James​ is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and author. In 2014, Melissa founded ​The Tech Connection​ whose mission is to help companies make meaningful connections that empower and engage diverse talent by promoting inclusive hiring best practices. The Tech Connection has a strong track record of building high-performing diverse teams for elite companies such as​ Google​,​ Teradata​, the New England Venture Capitalist Association, HubSpot, Wayfair, Carbonite, DataXu, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and more.

Melissa is also the author of ​When Are You Going To Get A Real Career: A Guide to Designing a Career You Would Be Proud Of!”​, a roadmap for millennials starting out in their career and for the experienced executive crafting their next move. Shared stories and experiences provide insightful knowledge and steps for anyone navigating different aspects of their career.

She is the recipient of the U.S. Presidential Service Award, the UMass Distinguished Young Alumni Award, BostonInno’s 50 on Fire Award, the Mosaic Award from the MA Technology Leadership Council, the 2015 Pursuer Award from the African Youth Excellence organization for her relentless commitment to the community. Melissa was born and raised in Boston, MA and graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

About Tech Connection:The Tech Connection is a recruitment platform that supports the professional development of untapped technical talent from diverse backgrounds. We strive to deliver the best talent from underserved communities to high performing and innovative teams. We offer individualized career planning and job placement to candidates that come from non-traditional backgrounds. We believe that introspective leadership coupled with proper planning is the key to career success.

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Episode Summary:In this episode we sit down with Peter Mahoney, CEO of Plannuh, to learn more about his journey from marketing executive with 30 years experience to early stage startup founder. Designed specifically to address the pain points that Peter experienced throughout his career, Plannuh helps marketers simplify their lives with an all-in-one platform that can be used to build and manage marketing budgets, create plans, and track campaign performance. Listen in to learn more about Peter’s journey, how he prioritized hiring (hint: hiring a full stack inside sales rep was key!), his tips for avoiding common start-up mis-steps, and why he thinks talking to your customers on the regular is key.

Uncovered in this episode:

• The importance of understanding -- and then solving -- your target audience’s core problems
• The challenges of raising money as a sole, non-technical founder
• How to think about hiring and the value of hiring an full stack inside sales rep as early as possible
• Marketing tips for early-stage founders from a seasoned marketing executive
• Why scheduling meetings with yourself might just be the best way to keep things on track

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Follow Peter and Plannuh at @plannuh and @nerdCMO
• Plannuh Website: https://www.plannuh.com/

About Peter:Peter Mahoney is the founder and CEO of Plannuh. Peter has degrees in Physics and Computer Science and studied Latin for 7 years, and then showed up in the wrong room one day and ended up in marketing. In his 30+ year career, Peter has built products and led marketing for startups and for multi-billion dollar public companies. You can follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Plannuh:Marketers looking to align teams, optimize budgetary spend and exceed organizational goals, use Plannuh, the first cloud-based Marketing Leadership platform, to quickly and easily create winning plans, maximize budget impact, and improve ROI. Unlike disconnected, static spreadsheets and disparate tactical marketing systems, only Plannuh offers a unified, collaborative platform that delivers AI-driven recommendations, benchmarks, and process automation for achieving industry-leading marketing performance. Visit Plannuh to learn more.

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Episode Summary:

Join us for this episode to learn more about how Sandra Richter, Co-Founder and CEO of Soofa, was inspired by her experiences working on Smart Cities at the MIT Media Lab to start her own business focused on installing digital community news screens in local neighborhoods.

Hear about her tips on everything from fundraising to building your board, and get her take on the Boston investment scene and how best to take advantage of Boston’s student ecosystem.

Uncovered in this episode:

• Soofa’s unique vision for the future of cities
• What to look for in an investor
• Advice for investors when evaluating a start-up company
• How the East Coast VC scene compares to the West Coast VC scene
• Boston’s unique superpowers when it comes to start-ups

List of resources mentioned in episode & suggested reading:

• Soofa Website: http://www.soofatalk.com/

About Sandra:Sandra Y. Richter is Soofa's CEO and Co-Founder. While at MIT, she worked with municipalities in South Africa, Japan, China, and Europe on smart transportation systems in collaboration with companies like Volkswagen, Lockheed Martin, and Verizon to define smart city strategies and evaluate business models. She co-founded Soofa in 2014 to deploy smart, social, and sustainable city technology in neighborhoods all around the world. She is a city dweller in Cambridge, MA.

About Soofa:Soofa is a female founded company, launched out of MIT and Harvard in 2014. Soofa is for people with a shared stake in a special place. We create the neighborhood news feed that connects a community with screens everyone can see and anyone can use. Our Soofa Signs provide a platform for everyone in the community to have a voice with Soofa Talk.

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Episode Summary:What do sports and building a startup have in common? Find out more on this episode with Zack Smith, CEO of Jobble. Rob and Zack talk about their common love of basketball, how a sports mindset has helped shape the culture at Jobble, and why Zack saw Boston as the perfect place to start his venture.

Uncovered in this episode:

• How to manage a team through the highs and lows of building a startup
• Why failures and obstacles always present the best opportunities for success
• Why Zack decided to stay in Boston to grow Jobble instead of returning to the Bay area
• How Jobble went from 8 to 30 team members within two months post series A
• Zack’s thoughts on culture and diversity
• Zack’s unconventional approach to hiring a management team

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Michael Jordan “Failure” Commercial: https://youtu.be/JA7G7AV-LT8
• Jobble website: http://www.jobble.com

Learn more about Zack on his LinkedIn.

About Jobble:

Jobble is the marketplace for the gig-economy and hourly workforce. Its industry-leading platform brings together the 60 million gig economy workers and companies that offer flexible work opportunities. For more information visit www.jobble.com.

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Episode Summary:The gut microbiome is a hot topic these days but what about a city’s microbiome? That is what Mariana Matus and her co-founder, Newsha Ghaeli have started to uncover!

In this episode Rob and Matt chat with Mariana Matus, CEO and Co-Founder of Biobot. Originally from Mexico City, Mariana settled in Boston after receiving her PhD in Computational Biology from MIT. Inspired by their mutual interest in how technologies can improve cities and urban life, she and her co-founder, Newsha Ghaeli, started Biobot, which develops cutting-edge technology to transform sewers into public health observatories. They are 1 of 2 teams doing this research within the US and 1 of 20 worldwide! In this episode, learn more about their work, how it’s transforming the public health sector, and hear Mariana's advice for first time entrepreneurs who have a science-based background.

Uncovered in this episode:

• How Biobot got started out of a MIT research project
• Biobot's success in reducing opioid overdoses within one city by 40% in six months
• What it was like to start a company in the US as two immigrant founders
• Challenges and opportunities inherent in selling to the government sector
• The benefits of having a co-founder and how important it has been in the process of building Biobot
• Biobot’s experience coming out of Y combinator and how they are approaching their next raise
• The future of Biobot and their goals for helping cities across the US get ahead of infectious disease and drug abuse epidemics

List of resources mentioned in episode and suggested reading:

• Website: https://www.biobot.io/

About Mariana:Dr. Matus leads technology development at Biobot Analytics. Through her PhD research, she specialized in the emerging field of wastewater-based epidemiology. Dr. Matus holds a PhD in Computational Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Masters in Biotechnology from Wageningen University and Bachelors in Genome Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

About Biobot:Biobot Analytics develops cutting-edge technology to transform sewers into public health observatories. Wastewater contains valuable information about the health of communities. We collect it. We analyze it. We tell you how to leverage it to make your city better.

Our first product is to measure opioids and other drug metabolites in sewage to estimate consumption in cities. With this data, those working on harm reduction can assess the scope of the epidemic, allocate resources, and gauge the effectiveness of programming over time.

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Episode Summary:

Our Boston founders series kicks off with guests Paul English, Cofounder and CTO of Lola.com and Mike Volpe, CEO of Lola.com. Hosts Rob May and Matt Hayes visit Lola’s headquarters in Boston to learn more about the founding of Lola (Paul’s 5th company to date), and how Mike and Paul's different work styles provide a well-balanced leadership approach.

Uncovered in this episode:

• Fun facts most people don't know about Paul and Mike
• Why Paul English transitioned from CEO to CTO and how they made it a smooth and successful transition for the Lola team
• Hiring at Lola.com; making it fun to come to work; and building a culture around collaboration and learning
• Why vulnerability is important to discuss and how implementing one simple practice has helped both Paul and Mike drive stronger managerial relationships

List of resources mentioned in episode:

• Hiring Religion by Paul English: http://paulenglish.com/hiring.html
• Learn more on Lola: http://www.lola.com

About Mike Volpe:Mike Volpe is the CEO at Lola.com, the corporate travel SaaS platform that helps companies stop wasting time and start saving money on their business travel program. He has been asked to speak at numerous conferences on sales, marketing and growth, as well as people operations, leadership, hiring and culture and is a strong advocate for building great teams with a wide range of talent.

Previously Mike was CMO at Cybereason, a cybersecurity SaaS company, where he helped the company increase its sales pipeline by 650% in a single year and grow revenue by five times during his tenure. He was also part of the founding team at HubSpot, where he spent eight years growing the company from five people to over 1,000 employees, $175m in revenue, and a successful IPO.

Mike is well-known and active in the Boston SaaS and startup communities as a member of the board of directors of Validity and Privy, and as an angel investor in more than 30 startups. He holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BA from Bowdoin College. Check him out on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About Paul English:Paul English is the CTO and co-founder of Lola.com, where he oversees product strategy, definition, design, and development, working closely with customers to make sure that Lola’s newest features are well received by users, and that they become “must haves” not “nice to have”. He also makes sure Lola’s products are innovative, fast, and beautiful with the objective of completely shattering the soul-sucking experience today’s business travelers must endure when planning travel.

Paul was previously the CTO and co-founder of Kayak (took public then sold to Priceline), and he also co-founded GetHuman (ongoing), Boston Light (sold to Intuit), and Intermute (sold to Trend Micro). Separately, Paul is an investor in dozens of startups, and he sits on six nonprofit boards. You can read more about Paul at PaulEnglish.com.

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On our intro episode and teaser for season one of The Uncovered Podcast, Rob May sits down with co-host Matt Hayes, Principal at PJC, and David Martirano, Managing Partner of PJC to chat about why the firm decided to launch the podcast, what you can expect listening to season one, lessons learned from our guest speakers, and plans for PJC and the podcast moving forward.