Fast Frontiers

Today on Fast Frontiers host Tim Schigel speaks with James Norman, a general partner at Black Operator Ventures, a venture fund that specifically empowers the entrepreneurship of people of color. James takes listeners on a deep dive of his growth and trajectory from Hollywood to venture capital, lessons learned in leadership, and how important networking and nurturing relationships are to customer acquisition. Key Takeaways: [00:09 - 00:58] Intro to James Norman and his venture projects[01:00 - 02:57] James' early life in Michigan and entrepreneurship inklings as a child[02:58 - 04:25] Building speaker systems for car audio[04:25 - 05:18] Transitioning from speaker systems to whole cars[05:18 - 07:58] Lessons learned doing private planning at Mitsubishi in LA[08:03 - 10:12] James' first tech company, Ubi, and lessons in leading[10:12 - 11:42] Growing his network and how NewME helped make connections[11:44 - 12:52] Heavy on product, heavy on execution[12:52 - 13:58] The stories we tell[14:04 - 15:42] How James realized his strength in building video platforms[15:44 - 18:09] Why diverse development teams are necessary, and navigating abrasive cultures as a person of color[18:10 - 20:55] The path to capital and realizations about next steps[20:55 - 23:12] Acquiring data and monetizing it with GroupFix and Pilotly[23:12 - 24:32] Working with Joe to build GroupFix and Pilotly[24:32 - 26:36] How Black Ops Ventures came about[26:36 - 28:13] Communicating better, and learning from icons like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk[28:14 - 28:57] Bias from investors and developing empathy[28:58 - 30:23] A golden opportunity to build a better resource for black founders[30:24 - 32:01] The Four Challenges for Venture Capital to Invest in Black Founders[32:01 - 34:01] Starting right now, and getting involved[34:04 - 35:06] Builders and leaders[35:06 - 36:42] Building relationships and holding yourself accountable to your identity as a leader[36:44 - 38:57] Customer acquisition and nurturing the relationship, and confidence in outcomes

On today's show, Tim Kight, CEO of Focus 3, stops by Fast Frontiers to talk to host Tim Schigel about growth mindsets, characteristics of people with fortitude, and all about his framework, E+R=O.Key takeaways:[01:51 - 04:23] Mistakes are feedback, and a sign of innovating[04:28 - 06:23] Silicon Valley and failing fast, an opportunity to try again with greater insight[06:23 - 08:19] Defining leadership, understanding cause and effect, and coaching for success[08:53 - 13:50] The role of deep practice and Tim's E + R = O framework[13:51 - 16:20] Developing clarity and seeing better by asking 5 questions[16:41 - 18:08] Blame, Complain, Defend[18:10 - 21:47] Growth mindsets and commitment[21:50 - 23:14] Characteristics of the compelled[23:16 - 25:42] Teaching E + R = O to employees and producing better outcomes[25:45 - 26:16] ERO is not just about work[26:18 - 30:58] Understanding how finding the compelled and those with a similar ERO mindset relates to HR and recruiting[31:03 - 34:00] Recognizing the journey you're on and navigating uncharted territories

Bernadette Butler of Storytap sits down with Fast Frontiers host Tim Schigel to discuss the power of storytelling and connection. Bernadette is the CEO and Co-Founder of Storytap, and in this conversation discusses her path to creating the company, it's goals working with clients to help them gather stories from customers, and what her experience of bootstrapping the company has been like.Key takeaways: [00:56 - 05:49] Benadette's background[05:50 - 07:09] The origin of StoryTap[07:11 - 09:04] Where Bernadette met her co-founder Sean Braacx[09:08 - 11:56] What StoryTap is, and the trends it is capturing[11:56 - 13:51] Text, video, and influencers impact on brands[13:53 - 15:48] Ownership of the brand and assets, repurposing content to amplify message[15:52 - 18:17] A renewed emphasis on text, and navigating fake BS[18:19 - 19:35] Exemplifying work through your own content and clients[19:36 - 20:37] Discussing working with KY and Durex, sex education[20:40 - 21:30] Stories and connection[21:32 - 22:21] Text reviews and getting what you get[22:24 - 23:09] Some of Bernadette's customers[23:12 - 23:53] An incredible melting pot society[24:02 - 25:00] What it is like running a startup in Vancouver[25:01 - 26:28] What is next for StoryTap[26:44 - 27:26] Next week's episode with Joseph Hanna

Today on Fast Frontiers, Upal Basu of ngp capital stops by to talk to host Tim Schigel about what Upal has learned as an investor, and about current events in SaaS, software, and edge computing. Upal is the a general partner at ngp capital, and in this role manages more than a billion and a half dollars in assets. He'll also talk today about lessons learned throughout his career as an investor. Key Takeaways[01:34 - 03:36] About NGP Capital[03:36 - 05:06] Upal's background[05:24 - 07:20] What Upal brings to investing that he learned as an operator[07:28 - 11:37] Investments NGP looks for[11:38 - 15:52] SaaS and Edge Computing[15:52 - 19:40] AI Transformation and improving human performance[20:00 - 23:58] Trends in innovation outside Silicon Valley[24:07 - 27:49] Best advice for entrepreneurs and investors on how to navigate the coming year[27:50 - 29:44] Have market conditions changed Upal's investing pace in any way?

Dave Mawhinney joins host Tim Schigel to talk about a history of entrepreneurship and what the transition was like entering into academia at Carnegie Mellon. Dave is the Executive Director of the The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, and in his role he connects with brilliant minds about developing their innovative and creative solutions. In today's conversation, Dave and Tim offer advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, and discuss the technology output and scene around Carnegie Mellon.Key Takeaways: [00:14 - 01:26] About Dave Mawhinney[01:54 - 04:28] A serial entrepreneur walks into academia[04:30 - 06:41] How Dave's background as an entrepreneur enables him to communicate to entrepreneurs coming out of academia[06:55 - 10:49] The Swartz Center, Jim Swartz, and his support[10:49 - 18:22] Carnegie Mellon and what separates it from other technology-centric institutions[18:23 - 20:44] Carnegie Mellon's ranking as a top destination for tech talent, it's student population[20:45 - 24:36] The Carnegie Mellon startup scene and it's successes[24:37 - 28:05] Comparing the startup scene between last decade, today, and ten years into the future[28:06 - 29:38] How people can become more involved with activities and events at CMU tech scene[29:41 - 30:48] Network, network, network

On today's episode of Fast Frontiers, host Tim Schigel sits down to speak with Mike Kadin, the CEO of RedCircle. The two discuss strategies for managing high-growth companies, lessons learned in hiring and how Mike met his co-founder Jeremy Lermitte.Key Takeaways: [01:55] Meet Mike Kadin of RedCircle[05:56] Experiences unique to RedCircle's growth and lessons in high-growth[09:55] How far out was RedCircle planning their growth strategy[11:10] Hiring takeaways and lessons[16:38] When and how Mike and Jeremy met[18:56] Mike and Jeremy finding common ground and learning from past workplaces[23:01] Be Real and Be Respectful[25:31] Continuously learning and different stages of growth[29:02] What's attracted Mike to podcasting[32:25] The integration of technology in cars and the listening experience[33:15] How Mike is helping podcasters, and how the medium has changed[37:02] What Mike wants podcasters to know about RedCircle[38:28] What the future of podcasts looks like according to Mike

Welcome back to Fast Frontiers! In the Season 6 premiere, Gokul Rajaram talks with host Tim Schigel about working as an investor and "company helper." Gokul does a deep dive into his SPADE decision-making framework, about creating compelling products that solve real-world issues, and the rise in product analytics as a function of business.Key Takeaways: [01:20] Introduction to Gokul[02:33] Being exposed to high-caliber people[03:47] Keep learning and stay humble[04:54] Investing and having fun building businesses, making connections[07:44] Cold-calling and indulging curiosity as a great "party trick"[09:15] The SPADE decision-making framework[11:07] Transparency in business operations and decision-making[12:58] Diving into SPADE[16:18] This framework should not be used for day-to-day reversible decisions[19:15] How Gokul sees organizations do a good job of staying focused on the problem and not the product[23:05] Evaluating the company mission and making a compelling product that solves problems[26:41] The rise of product analytics as a function[29:05] Feature launch is not a goal, feature launch is not an outcome. It is an experiment[29:47] Technologies Gokul is interested in investing in[29:47] Words of wisdom on solving problems and setting goals

Rediscover the best podcast around for learning about Refinery Ventures' portfolio of companies and the work those organizations are doing. Host and Managing Partner at Refinery Ventures, Tim Knight, speaks with CEOs, founders, and experts about startups, technology, the future, and more.

Pete Blackshaw joins host Tim Schigel to talk about his efforts at Cintrifuse to create a startup economy in Cincinnati. Pete talks about how his career working with companies like Nielsen BuzzMetrics and Nestle influenced his work with startups, and how programming helps to grow culture and community. The two discuss the impact of transforming Cincinnati's airport into a startup and technology platform, as well as initiatives that excite Pete like sustainability, electrification, and zero waste.

Carl Grant joins Fast Frontiers and host Tim Schigel to chat about his career journey, and how experiencing a recession at an early-stage startup influences his insights and leadership in the VC world. Carl also talks about his initiative with Venture Raise, a platform for entrepreneurs to match with venture capital funding, shares tips for building connections as entrepreneurs, and how faith has helped him navigate life and business.

Steve Escaravage, Executive Vice President at Booz Allen, talks about what A.I. is and its uses at Booz Allen, as well as popular ideas surrounding artificial intelligence. Tim and Steve also discuss how entrepreneurs can approach opportunities to collaborate with venture capital firms, hurdles to A.I. development, and Steve's thoughts on where the technology is headed.

Host Tim Schigel is joined by Co-founder and Chairman of Arrive Mobility, Aashish Dalal, to talk about his journey taking ParkWhiz from inception to present day as Arrive Mobility. Aashish walks through growing the company's footprint, naïveté about investor capital, and ultimately the business lessons and relationships that helped ParkWhiz find success.

Chief Innovation Officer of CVG Airport, Brian Cobb, talks about his career in the aviation industry and seeking innovative solutions that have transformed the airport into a business hub. Along with host Tim Schigel, the two discuss CVG's acceptance of technology and data to solve customer perceptions, aligning with leadership towards business innovation, and the future of the airport with startup incubation and the next generation of technologies.

Today we're continuing with part two of the Man Behind the Mic conversation with our friend, Joe Kaiser. Joe is director at Mercato Partners, a private equity firm, where he leads their investment efforts in the Midwest, as well as their performance team. For part two, Joe asked my thoughts, advice, rules, principles, guidelines about how I approach venture capital.

Today we're doing something different. This is our Man Behind the Mic episode where I'll be interviewed by my friend Joe Kaiser. Joe's a Director at Mercato Partners, a private equity firm where he leads the firm's investment efforts in the Midwest, as well as its performance team. A huge thank you goes out to Joe for coming up with this idea and giving us his time and thoughtful questions. He was kind enough to switch seats and put me in the hot seat for this interview. For part one, we're going to dive into why we started Fast Frontiers, my experience and journey as a CEO, operator, fund to funds manger and VC investor. And we'll also discuss the origin and thesis for Refinery Ventures.

Today we're talking with Stephany Lapierre, founder and CEO of Tealbook headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and also a portfolio company of Refinery Ventures. In this episode, we're going to dive into how Stephany discovered the problem in supply chain procurement and it's all about the data. The biggest theme or so what, I hope you take away from this conversation is the importance of finding the right market positioning. It takes time to get everything moving in the right direction. And how do you articulate your position in a way that makes everyone's hand go up in the air, wanting your solution?

Today we're talking with Adam Sharkawy. Adam is the co-founder and managing partner at Material Impact a venture fund located in Boston, Massachusetts. Material Impact focuses on deep tech innovation, and we share an investment in Folio Photonics. We get a bit geeked out on chaos and complexity theory, and nonlinear systems, and discuss that some of the most interesting innovations come from the convergence of technology and business models. And that's where the cool stuff happens. The biggest theme or so what I hope you take away from this conversation is that whether you're pulling technology and intellectual property out of research universities, or corporate innovation processes or startups, they're all hard to do well, but when done correctly can be extremely disruptive and successful.

Today we're talking to Elaine Bryant. Elaine is a 20-year Air Force veteran and currently holds dual appointments as executive vice president for Aerospace and Defense at the Dayton Development Coalition and managing director for the Military and Federal Installation Sector at JobsOhio. In this episode, we're going to dive into how economic development activity relates to the military, as well as research and initiatives like the Air Force Research Lab, which are a treasure trove of uncommercialized technologies. The biggest theme or so what I hope you take away from this episode is that there is so much innovation available, you just need to know where to look. Our military has invested countless dollars in technology. There's so much to discover and cultivate in our own backyard, so let's go window shopping.

Today we're talking with Sarah Anderson, Founder and Partner of Vault Fund. We're going to dive into what makes a venture studio? Sarah will help us differentiate between a typical venture fund, venture studios, accelerators, and incubators. She dives deeper into the various venture studio models that we are seeing in the market and includes her thoughts on how a studio should be set up with fair and incentivized equity structures. The biggest theme or, so what? I hope you take away from this conversation is that venture studios are a unique and viable way to start companies by facilitating the zero to one stage company creation, backing experienced hyper-growth entrepreneurs with domain expertise.

In this episode, we're talking with Jeff Bloomfield, founder and CEO of Braintrust. Braintrust helps individuals and companies transform their sales and marketing systems by understanding the power of neuroscience on everyday communication. In this episode, we're going to dive into the reasons why Jeff started Braintrust. The biggest theme, or so what I hope you can take away from this conversation is that it's all about communications. The determining factor of success for a person or an organization is how successful they communicate. If you can't communicate effectively, you're sunk, in every area of your life.

Today we're talking with Alex Frommeyer, co-founder and CEO at Beam Dental in Columbus, Ohio. Beam Dental was founded in 2012 by three engineers at University of Louisville, who saw the opportunity to modernize the dental insurance industry by using technology. The first product was the Beam Brush, which was one of the earliest examples of the Internet of Things in healthcare. We had a great conversation about the power of OKRs, Objectives and Key Results. The important thing about OKRs is clearly stating your goals and intentions, and making sure it relates to every single person in your organization so that you can articulate and re-emphasize, and re-state, and reminding everyone, at all times, what they're doing and why they're doing it. If you want a high performance team, you need to master the art of OKRs.

Today we're talking with Kimberly Reed, the former chairman of the board of directors, president, and CEO of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. We're going to talk about Kimberly's roots and values that were formed while growing up in West Virginia, where she learned the importance of reaching out, taking a risk, picking up the phone. You just never know who may have an impact on your life. We also get a masterclass on understanding how the Export-Import Bank works, its purpose, and how small businesses and startups can utilize these resources.

In this episode, we're talking with Brian Hopcraft, Managing Director at Lewis & Clark ventures in St. Louis. An early stage venture firm managed by former founders and operators, investing in late seed through series B companies between the coasts. We're going to dive into the origin story of Lewis & Clark, and talk about the value of having venture investors with operating experience, that can help entrepreneurs understand the importance of raising the right amount of capital and from the right firms.

In this episode, we're talking with John Nottingham, Co-President of Nottingham Spirk, the longstanding design collaborative and innovation center located in Cleveland, Ohio. We're going to dive into the unique, vertical innovation approach that Nottingham Spirk uses to partner with companies to create new products. And we will talk about their new partnership with EY that will house their Global Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility.

In this episode, we're talking with Roy Bahat, head of Bloomberg Beta, an early stage venture firm backed by Bloomberg LP, focused broadly on the future of work. We're going to dive into how COVID has accelerated that future of work and how some of the trends that we're experimenting with today will continue.

In today's episode, we're talking with John Simon, Managing Director at Sigma Prime Ventures and Co-Founder of the GreenLight Fund. We're going to dive into John's venture career that he has used for good, and discuss the activities and impact we can make on our communities for a multidimensional and meaningful life experience.

In this episode, we're talking with Mitch Port, Vice President of Strategy and Analytics at BlockFi, which provides wealth management products for crypto investors, all powered by blockchain technology. We're going to dive into all things cryptocurrency, how exchanges are actually very similar to traditional financial services, and how crypto is plugging into open monetary networks worldwide. We also discuss that crypto is still in the very early stages, likely the first or second inning. While it still seems like everyone is talking about it, adoption and engagement is only around 1%. It'll be exciting to see how the next few innings evolve.

In today's episode, we're talking with Darcy Howe, founder and managing director of KCRise Fund, which launched in 2016 as an initiative of KC Rising, which has a long-term vision for the greater Kansas City region, building capacity and bringing existing businesses to scale. In 2019, KCRise Fund II was launched bringing total committed capital to over $60 million. We're going to dive into Darcy's background and her family inspiration, as well as her first career in private wealth management and investment banking, which led to her passion for early-stage entrepreneurs. Darcy's also going to share with us what she believes is the secret sauce of Midwest startups.

In today's episode, we're talking with two great recruiting leaders in the Midwest, Nick Cromydas and Kaleb Dumot. Nick is co-founder and CEO of Hunt Club in Chicago, Illinois. Kaleb is the founder and CEO of Integrity Power Search in Cleveland, Ohio, a boutique retained search firm for high-growth startups and technology companies across North America. We're going to dive into the effects of COVID on remote work, hiring, and recruiting, how it has eliminated friction in that first phone call interview, how the ability to work remotely opens up options for companies and potential hires, and how you would develop trust remotely. Taking a job is incredibly personal so feeling that trust is important.

In today's episode, we're talking with Ethan Batraski, Partner at Venrock, in Palo Alto, California. Ethan invests across sectors with a particular focus on hard engineering problems, such as development infrastructure, advanced computing, and space technologies. We're going to dive into our shared investment in Astronomer and why they invested as well as the Space Frontier and how communication will change and new cases will start to emerge that we're not even thinking about today.

In today's episode, we're talking to Dhani Jones. Dhani is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, host, and explorer, who began his career in the NFL as a linebacker playing with the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cincinnati Bengals. We're going to dive into how a professional athlete and entrepreneur are actually very similar, and Dhani's focus on the future of mobility.

Check out The Casted Podcast, hosted by Casted CEO, Lindsay Tjepkema. Their sixth season started last week, including an episode recorded with Fast Frontiers. Please enjoy listening to: Making the Leap Into Podcasting with Refinery Ventures' Abby Fittes and Tim Schigel.

Check out our friend, Mark Raffan's podcast, Negotiations Ninja. Episode #197 is from our very own host at Fast Frontiers. Please enjoy listening to: Inside the mind of venture capitalist Tim Schigel

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Steve Santamaria, CEO of Folio Photonics in Cleveland. We dive into Steve's story and background as a boomerang, someone who moved back to Cleveland after working on the West Coast. We're also going to talk about how Steve manages the relationships with his board of directors using a Japanese concept called nemawashi. The biggest takeaway is the value of boomerangs to startups in our region. The experience of working in the coastal, hyper-growth environment along with the connections that come with it can have a huge impact.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Niki Scevak, co-founder and partner of Blackbird Ventures in Melbourne, Australia. We're going to talk about the Australian tech ecosystem, which was virtually nonexistent in 2010 when Niki and his co-founder Rick Baker started raising Blackbird fund number one. And now today they have over $1.3 billion under management across four funds. Blackbird's investing thesis is that they value the relationship with the company first and often start by investing early before product and revenue and follow the company through every round of venture financing.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Bruce Vojak, researcher, author, and managing director of Breakthrough Innovation Advisors. We're going to dive into some of Bruce's learnings that came out of his writing, Serial Innovators. Bruce and his coauthors immerse themselves in the problems of a people view of innovation, rather than a process and structure or cultural view of innovation. We're also going to dive into the concept of VUCA, V-U-C-A, which stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, a term that came out of the military. It's a concept that is invaluable to help you navigate and excel, even in the middle of chaos.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Kevin Maney, advisor of Category Design and co-author of Play Bigger. In this episode, we're going to dive into the learnings that came out of writing Play Bigger, a book that I recommend to all of our startups. Kevin talks about how to define and own a category, as well as the timeline of successful companies that ultimately go public. So what is category design? While most companies start out with a product idea, Kevin tells us successful companies start out by designing the need and the category. So this involves asking a really simple question. What problems do you really want to solve? Spend the time defining the problem, finding that category and defining it, and aligning your team to help drive the process. If you set that North Star early, you have a better chance of attracting customers and convincing others that your journey is worth it. Ultimately you can become a category king.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Mackey Craven, partner at OpenView. In this episode, we'll dive into Mackey's exploration mindset and how his academic experience impacted his work in venture capital. And the biggest theme that I want you to take away from this today is the concept made famous by Jeff Bezos called disagree and commit. It's something that's used often among partners in venture firms. Not everybody agrees with an investment idea, but once the investment's made everybody is pulling in the same direction. This is a concept that is very useful and helpful in any organizational setting, so I hope you can find some things to take away from this discussion.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Michelle McBane, managing director of StandUp Ventures in Toronto, Canada. In this episode, we're going to dive into the origin of StandUp Ventures, which was formed to address the issue that, without many female founders around, there's a belief that you can't be what you can't see. We're also going to talk about what makes the Toronto and Canadian ecosystems different and unique in terms of the economic benefits with R&D tax credits, and the growing density of talent and engagement among corporations and universities.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Baiju Shah, Senior Fellow for Innovation at the Cleveland Foundation, where he focuses on catalyzing strategic initiatives for the region, including serving as the leader of the Cleveland Innovation Project. We're going to dive into what Baiju sees as the gaps in the Midwest and how he's working to combat these through his work with the Cleveland Innovation Project, which includes setting expectations and identifying opportunities to bring high growth and innovation to the region through three sectors of focus, next-generation healthcare, smart manufacturing, and water technologies.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Noor Sweid, Founder and General Partner at Global Ventures in Dubai. Noor has a very impressive background having founded, scaled, exited, and taken a company public in various ventures. Her passion is solving big problems and opening up opportunities to venture capital for entrepreneurs throughout the Middle East region. Her fund, Global Ventures, was founded in 2018 and focuses on enterprise B2B and digital health. They closed their first fund in April 2020 of $50 million to invest in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Today we're bringing you my conversation with Victor Gutwein, Founder and Managing Partner at M25 in Chicago, Illinois. In this episode, we're going to dive into three different areas. One is Victor's motivation for creating M25, which was really addressing a gap in the Midwest landscape regarding access to capital, particularly pre-seed, seed and later seed stages. Second, we'll look at their access and activity across the region, which includes investments in 24 cities and the snowball effect that happens once you make an investment in a city and a community and how that spreads. And finally, the many ways that M25 is fostering community with Midwest founders, with their summit conferences, their midweststartups.com for boomerang talent and Club 25.

Today we’re bringing you my conversation with Steve Walchek, Chief Innovation Officer at FIS. In this episode, we dive into his experience with technology and entrepreneurship in various capacities from founder to product manager, to business development and everything in between. Then we discuss the commitment to Innovation by FIS and the team Steve is leading as they look to meet the customer's needs of today and tomorrow and service both of them well. Finally, we take a fun look ahead to 20 years in the future at what Steve sees regarding frictionless payments and commerce.

Today's conversation is with friend, Wendy Lee, digital innovation strategist, ecosystem development guru, and currently the CEO of Energize Colorado. Wendy has a lot of learnings to share with us and unique experiences. These were formed by her intention and direction in life to be independent, self-reliant, and self-directed. Wendy shares her great stories of lessons she's learned working for, as she calls them, "Big CO's" and small businesses that experienced big growth, which led her to ultimately become startup CEO and eventually successful angel investor.

15 - Scott Dorsey

14 - Jason Warner

In this episode we cover:Building Renaissance and the great programming with UnDemo Day and HotList as ways to expose top VCs to the startup talent in the midwestThe Fund of Funds model and how every MSA could benefit, including the impact they can have on a city/state/regionResources & People MentionedAdditional co-founders of ExactTarget: Chris Baggot and Peter McCormickExactTarget was acquired by Salesforce in 2013Additional co-founders of High Alpha: Kristian Andersen, Mike Fitzgerald and Eric TobiasBessemer baseball analogy of hypergrowthEarly investor and mentor at ExactTarget, Bob ComptonTechStars mantra of GiveFirstInsight Venture Partners in New YorkMark BenioffMentors to High Alpha: Greenspring Fund of Funds in Baltimore and Foundry in BoulderMary Kay Hughes of MandolinNext Level Fund in IndianaNextech focuses on K-12 computer science educationConnect with ScottConnect with Scott on LinkedInTwitter: @ScottDorseyHigh Alpha WebsiteConnect with TimFollow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVCConnect with Tim on LinkedInFollow Refinery Ventures on LinkedInSubscribe to Fast Frontiers

In this episode we cover:Building Renaissance and the great programming with UnDemo Day and HotList as ways to expose top VCs to the startup talent in the midwestThe Fund of Funds model and how every MSA could benefit, including the impact they can have on a city/state/region Resources & People MentionedHerokuNew Albany, OHOne of the original investors in GitHub, Jim Goetz from SequoiaAlex Timm at Root InsuranceGitHub acquired by Microsoft in ____AstronomerSlack, Microsoft Teams, HipChat, CampfireMark Kvamme and Chris Olsen at Drive Capital Connect with JasonConnect with Jason on LinkedInTwitter: @jasoncwarnerRenaissance Venture Capital Fund Website Connect with TimFollow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVCConnect with Tim on LinkedInFollow Refinery Ventures on LinkedInSubscribe to Fast Frontiers

In this episode we cover:Yuval’s interesting path to his technology careerStarting TOA Technologies in Cleveland, OH What he’s working on now. First Mezu and now, AlviereResources & People MentionedTOA Technologies acquired by Oracle in 2014Irad CarmiJonathan Murray and Mike Stubler at Draper Triangle in PittsburghMezuConnect with YuvalConnect with Yuval on LinkedInAlviere WebsiteConnect with Tim Follow Refinery Ventures on Twitter: @RefineryVCConnect with Tim on LinkedInFollow Refinery Ventures on LinkedInSubscribe to Fast Frontiers