Execution is King

This is the second of a two-part deep dive where we cover the most common concerns startup founders run into, with Great North Ventures's in-house legal expert. Mike Schulte is Principal at Great North Ventures, and holds a JD/MBA from St. Thomas University. In this episode, we talk about fundraising, liquidation preferences, SAFE notes, and board structure.  Who does Mike see executing? Brian Schoenborn, Attorney and Shareholder at Moss & Barnett, P.A.; and Dave Winkler, Shareholder at Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O.; and Darren King, General Partner at Unbridled Ventures.

This is the first of a two-part deep dive where we cover the most common concerns startup founders run into, with Great North Ventures's in-house legal expert. Mike Schulte is Principal at Great North Ventures, and holds a JD/MBA from St. Thomas University. In this episode, we talk about picking a name, choosing between an LLC and a C-corp for incorporating your company, and the benefits of 1202 Qualified Small Business Stock.  Listen to the next episode where we dive into fundraising!

In this episode, we talk about management styles and goal setting, and uncover some gems about granting equity and hiring from our guest, Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda. Orazio has taken the startup ride from early on through exit twice already, before founding Fooda. Fooda is a food technology platform that connects restaurants to people while at work, has received $45M in funding, and currently has 250 employees in 20 cities.  He has a great take on goal setting that keeps people accountable, brings transparency to the entire organization, and keeps the team moving in the same direction.  Orazio's milestone approach to managing growth (vs. a calendar-based approach), makes sure that expenses don't outpace revenue as Fooda scales to new locations.  Who does Orazio see executing? John Bauschard, at Darwin AI.

In this episode, we talk about early-stage scaling. What it looks like, how to think about it, and what it takes to generate growth. We are joined by Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce. Eric is a former founder of EatStreet, and a former Managing Director and Venture Partner at gener8tor.  With a background as a founder and as an investor and startup mentor, Eric has a lot of perspective on early-stage growth. He talks about what it takes to succeed: being obsessed with solving a problem (not with the solution), getting traction by creative means, and good old-fashioned hustle. He also shares how to land VC money: by demonstrating the aforementioned traction, hustle, and creativity; being willing to swing for the fences by taking risks; and understanding that the math that drives VCs means your business needs to be capable of reaching a tremendous valuation. Who does Eric see executing? Adam Choe, a former Managing Director at Gener8tor, current VC, and professor at University of St. Thomas.

In this episode, Josef and Rob talk about the Metaverse, and how important it is for founders and investors to learn about it.  They are joined by Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund. Tipatat is a former founder, creative innovator, and VR/AR developer. His background in Metaverse runs deep, including the gaming industry, the first VR/AR-focused incubator, and his six-year old venture fund. He talks about the developing Metaverse, the idea of "the third place", and the economic opportunity presented. Tipatat paints a picture of what the future will bring, and explains where the opportunity will lie for founders (and investors). Who does Tipatat see executing? Jadu, a company that creates and sells utilitarian NFTs- virtual items that can be used in the Metaverse. 

In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about the newly launched venture studio project that's a social app for trading card collectors.  They are joined by Atif Siddiqi, Founder and CEO of Branch. Atif is a former EIR of Idealab, a venture studio that has generated multiple unicorns. Branch came out of Atif's time at Idealab, and has grown substantially after relocating to Minneapolis. Branch helps businesses modernize their payment methods to empower working Americans. Atif shares the insight that led to Branch's successful pivot, and gives operating and fundraising advice. Who does Atif see executing? Marc Lore.

In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about bootstrapping. Rob shares his experience bootstrapping to $70M in revenue by age 32 with his startup, NativeX.  They are joined by Michael Martocci, who is the Founder and CEO of SwagUp. SwagUp is a company that sells curated swag packages to startups. Michael has bootstrapped his company to $50M in revenue by age 27. He gives advice on bootstrapping and when to hire devs. He also outlines how to build an e-commerce site with free software, which he did himself, reaching $3M in sales after 18 months of operating without a developer.  Who does Michael see executing? Ramp.

In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about a new book out about network effects, "The Cold Start Problem" by Andrew Chen. They speak with Una Fox, who works as a Chief Global Data & Analytics Officer. Una was previously a VP at Disney and a Director at Yahoo, and is a truly data-driven leader. Una has known Rob for over a decade, and talks about personal network effects and startup communities, and gives advice to founders for getting value from their organization's data.  Who does Una see executing? Tripp.

In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about the impending paradigm shift represented by the metaverse, and relate it to past shifts. They speak with Joe Sriver, the first UX/UI hire at Google, founder of the cellphone flashlight function, and CEO of 4giving. Joe talks about the importance of being data-driven as an early employee at Google, and as a founder at one of the first app store developers, DoApp.  Who does Joe Sriver see executing? Pipe. 

In this compilation episode, Josef features the best advice for founders that we picked up at our 2021 Annual Event.    Every year, Great North gathers investors, founders, and ecosystem builders together for networking and progress updates. Hear advice from our stakeholders- people who have proven they can execute- on hiring and firing, leadership, go to market, and more. 

Rob and Josef talk about some Twitter controversy over founder extravagances, and the difference between, say, personal chefs at work used for recruiting, vs. buying a used fishing boat with your profits. Jonathan Treble joins and talks about his path from Wharton grad to startup employee to Founder/CEO of PrintWithMe. He also talks about building his company, and the practical milestones he set. His advice for founders who are fundraising?  1. Optimize for control over valuation when negotiating at early stages. 2. Validate with the smallest team that you can, because, really, more money means more problems.    He also talks about team building, which is something Jonathan excels at. They use the “Culture Index” to guarantee culture fit, which is incredibly important. He talks mistakes, onboarding, and recommends two books that created his own foundation for recruiting:  “Who” by Geoff Smart and “Recruit Rockstars” by Jeff Hyman  Who does Jonathan see executing? Orazio Buzza of Fooda, Inc.  “No one ever hits their startup projections, but he actually does. He is the best executor that I've ever met.”

Rob Weber talks with Anna Mason, Managing Partner of Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund about her journey to venture. She also provides key insight for founders and discusses the nuance of high volume, early stage investment. 

Ryan and Josef talk about the Weber brothers' long history, with Ryan tracking Mynul since they took classes together in college. He talks about his journey as a first-generation immigrant who came from Bangladesh to St. Cloud, MN. His biggest lesson for founders? "Never run out of cash." He shares how his "hobby" turned from Plan B into the only plan, and the importance of going all-in.   Mynul is heads-down, and shares some great advice about maintaining and creating capability while discussing people, systems, and processes with Ryan. 

Rob and Josef talk podcasts, and comes clean about his awkward intro to Nick Moran. Nick talks about his path to becoming a General Partner of New Stack Ventures and the host of The Full Ratchet podcast. We talk decision-making as investors, and advice for founders, including the most common mistake: building a product then trying to find a market for it. Then dive in to address the problem of matching opportunities to investors, whether it's founders pitching VCs, or VCs pitching institutional investors.  Rob and Nick connect as founders-turned investors, while Josef jokes about the Insane Clown Posse in a truly additive and valuable fashion. Not really.    Who does Nick see executing? He calls out two companies that have pushed through the pandemic, Flamingo and Tripscout.

Ryan and Josef talk about the importance of startup communities and the importance of innovation in rural communities, including St. Cloud, MN. Molly shares her experience working with incubators, builders, and startups with Singularity University and how that led to her position as the Entrepreneur Ecosystem Development Lead at CORI, where she works with communities to build the infrastructure necessary to help entrepreneurs succeed. Molly paints a picture of a rural America in decline, and explains the transformative value generated by tech startups and productive tech startup ecosystems.    She explains that the key to any ecosystem is putting the entrepreneur at the center, and calls out Red Wing as a startup community that is really executing- as well as every rural community they work with. "That's the stories that need to be told. Those are the underdogs that we need to be uplifting. Those are the people flying under the radar that I could talk about all day." "We have so much more to go as a country in terms of entrepreneurship, in terms of innovation than just what we see in these five major metro areas."

Rob and Josef kick around bucket list ideas and shattered Vikings dreams, then dive into the interview with the former Co-Founder and CEO of SportsEngine. Justin Kaufenberg shares his path to venture from childhood brainstorming sessions trying to make his dad rich, to the realization and creation of the "atomic unit" central to SportsEngine's success. He talks M&A, and how he hit the road running as Managing Partner at Rally Ventures. Rob shares what he misses about creating startups, and relates to Justin's experience.    Who does Justin see executing? Tom O'Neill at Parallax, and Jazz Hampton at TurnSignl.

The best way to learn about how to build is to learn from other builders. Coming soon: "Execution is King", hosted by Rob Weber, Ryan Weber, and Josef Siebert of Great North Ventures.