Startup Boston Podcast: Entrepreneurs | Investors | Influencers | Founders

Brittany DiCapua started The Boston Food Journal a year and a half ago by sharing food on Instagram and it has morphed into much more than a side project for her. She describes The Boston Food Journal as highlighting the food and dining industry through social marketing, blog and video content, and photography. The Boston food journal is a strong social influencer of local restaurants, small businesses, and technology applications throughout Massachusetts.   In this episode, Brittany talks about:   How she juggles her full time job and the Boston Food Journal   How to get over self-doubt and the doubt from others   What’s most important when growing a brand   Starting and pursuing side projects   Links from today’s episode:   The Boston Food Journal   Brittany DiCapua   Brown Paper Bag (Holly Fox)   Baked Ideas   The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon   If you liked today’s episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Beck Bamberger is founder and CEO of BAM Communications, a PR firm for startups. Beck graduated UCLA in two years and was then, the youngest MBA graduate from the University of Pittsburgh at age 21. She started BAM Communications while working as a news anchor in San Diego and won an Emmy in 2011. Shortly after, she also founded BITE, San Diego’s top-rated and largest food tour company in the country and sold it in 2016.   In this episode, Beck talks about:   How founders can know if they’re ready or not to have a PR firm   Common misconceptions about public relations   How to decide which PR firm to work with   Expanding her own comfort zone by doing what’s uncomfortable   Links from today’s episode:   Beck Bamberger   BAM   BITE   Upload   CourseKey   Postmates   Scanner Pro   The Dictator’s Handbook   The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Kevin Kinsella is a venture capitalist in San Diego. Kevin has been a part of the formation, financing, and development of more than 125 companies, including several public companies. In the past, Kevin has led international joined ventures for Solar Turbines International, he was an advisor to the Peruvian government in national nutrition planning, he ran a technology exchange program between the United States and Latin America, and he taught algebra at the American high school in Beirut, Lebanon. Kevin was also a guest for The Boston Herald American, he’s a member of the Circumnavigators Club, won a Tony Award for producing Jersey Boys, and partnered with Rhino Records in producing the Grammy Award-winning Jersey Boys original cast recording, which has gone double platinum. He owns Kinsella Estates Winery, which produces the highest rated premium Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and has a large selection of art, sculptures, and memorabilia in the Kinsella Library in La Jolla.   In this episode, Kevin talks about:   The transition from employee, to founder, to investor   How valuations of companies have changed over time   Trends in venture capital that worry him   How he became the largest investor in Jersey Boys   His winery, Kinsella Estates   Links from today’s episodes:   Kevin Kinsella   Avalon Ventures   Jersey Boys   Kinsella Estates Winery   Empire   Kingfish   The Last Lecture   August 1914   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free        

Sumner Lee is founder of Fuse Integration. Before founding the company, Sumner was in the Navy, and then spent time in SPAWAR and design consultancy. Fuse is a design and engineering firm that brings warfighter focused design to commercial and defense applications.   In this episode, Sumner talks about:   Their unique office space in downtown San Diego, where their walls are covered with murals   What he’s learned from his time in the military and how he applies it to Fuse Integration   The importance of focusing on users when designing products   Links from today’s episode:   Fuse Integration   The Honor Foundation   FAB LAB   Inc. Magazine   Communication Arts   Killing Patton   Rising Sun   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Brian Oneill has been a product designer for more than twenty years and in the last ten years has been an independent consultant and started his company Designing For Analytics last year. Brian has helped designed products for companies ranging from startups to enterprises including NetApp, TripAdvisor, Infinio, Fidelity, and DataXu.   In this episode, Brian talks about:   The differences between UI and UX and what the role of the product designer is   How to measure the user experience and go about discovering UX issues   Common mistakes he sees people make   How being a musician influences the way he approaches product design   Links from today’s episode:   Designing For Analytics   How to Self-Assess the UI/UX Design of Products Using Analytics   Contact Brian   Brian on Twitter   Harvest   Waze   Kyruus   Dispatch   Jonathan Stark   Brennan Dunn   Jared M. Spool   Sketch and Invision   Sketching User Experiences   Beautiful Evidence   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Mr Ho’s Orchestrotica  

David Smith is CEO of LiquiGlide. LiquiGlide’s technology was developed at a research lab at MIT and its function is to provide permanently wet surfaces that can be used in a wide variety of applications including manufacturing, consumer packaging, and oil and gas.   In this episode, David talks about:   The amount of waste we produce every year from product that is left sticking to surfaces   Who some of his mentors are and what he learned from them   How the coatings differ depending on the product   The potential for massive impact with Liquiglide   Links from today’s episode:   LiquiGlide   David Smith   DropWise   Zero to One   Originals   7 Habits of Highly Effective People   How to Measure Anything   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free  

Andy Ory sold his last company, Acme Packet, to Oracle for $2.1 billion and soon after co-founded 128 Technology. 128 Technology is on a mission to fix the broken internet. The internet isn’t used for what it was originally designed for and that is putting a major strain on the networking infrastructure. 128 Technology provides greater network security delivered with a much simpler experience for a fraction of the usual cost.   In this episode, Andy talks about:   Why the Internet is broken and how it got that way   What he was able to take away from Acme Packet and apply to 128 Technology   How their secure vector routing and zero-trust security is disrupting the market   How he sees the Internet continuing to evolve   Links from today’s episode:   128 Technology   Oracle Buys Acme Packet   Fuze   The Big Short   Liar’s Poker   11/22/63: A Novel   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free  

Liz Powers is co-founder and “Chief Happiness Spreader” at ArtLifting. Liz co-founded ArtLifting with her brother after creating art groups in homeless shelters only to see amazing pieces of art end up in basements and closets of shelters. ArtLifting empowers artists dealing with homelessness and disabilities through the sale of their artwork.   In this episode, Liz talks about:   The differences between handouts and opportunities   Why she didn’t want ArtLifting to be a non-profit   How she was able to bootstrap in the first few years   The biggest lessons she’s learned running her own business   Links from today’s episode:   ArtLifting   Harvard Innovation Lab   MassChallenge   TiE ScaleUp   Spoiler Alert   Scandal   The Good Wife   Google Calendar   The Wright Brothers   The Lean Startup   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

David Delmar is the founder and executive director at Resilient Coders and formerly was a design lead at PayPal. Resilient Coders’ mission is simple:  they take students from traditionally under-served communities and teach them the skills needed to be web developers during an eight-week boot camp. Upon completing the boot camp, Resilient Coders helps connect them to job opportunites.   In this episode, David talks about:   When he first recognized the need for a program like Resilient Coders at a conference   How they designed the curriculum for the boot camp   Lessons he took away from MassChallenge   Attributes and characteristics found in great coders   Links from today’s episode:   David Delmar   Resilient Coders   Resilient Bootcamp   Resilient Lab   Adobe Illustrator   ArtLifting   Redbooth   Trello   HubSpot   Between the World and Me   Strangers in Their Own Land   The Lean Startup   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Annie Wang is co-founder, Chief Product Officer, and Creative Director at Her Campus. Annie co-founded Her Campus at Harvard University after she and her co-founders saw the potential of bringing a women’s college-focused lifestyle and fashion magazine online. Today, Her Campus has over 10,000 contributors and over 320 campus chapters. Annie has been named to Inc.’s 30 Under 30, BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Under 25, and Forbes’ All-Star Student Entrepreneurs. She has served as a National Women’s Health Week Ambassador, McDonald’s Education Workshop tour speaker, and MassChallenge alumna in residence.   In this episode, Annie talks about:   How the way people are consuming content affects design choices and content being published   How they have been able to run HerCampus profitably since day one   Biggest lessons taken away from MassChallenge   Links from today’s episode:   Annie Wang on Instagram   Annie Wang on Twiter   Her Campus   Her Conference   College Fashion Week   Drupal   VentureApp   Meldium   YouCanBook.Me   LevelUp   Smashing Magazine   The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up   Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t stop Talking   Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free  

Rachel Spekman is currently the Director of Programming at MassChallenge, which describes itself to be the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. MassChallenge awards over two million dollars in equity-free prizes every year to help high-impact startups succeed.   In this episode, Rachel talks about:   What sets MassChallenge apart from other accelerators   What the curriculum looks like and which mentors are available   Traits she has noticed in the most successful founders   Advice for founders applying in MassChallenge   Links from today’s episode:   Rachel Spekman on LinkedIn   Rachel Spekman on Twitter   MassChallenge   PULSE@MassChallenge   Resilient Coders   A Truck Full of Money   Zero to One   Steve Jobs Biography   Americanah   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Semyon Dukach is currently the Program Director at Techstars Boston and is an angel investor with roughly over 100 investments. He is also the chairman of SharpSpring, which he took over in 2002 and then took public in 2011. He lead one of the MIT blackjack teams in the early nineties, has started a few companies, and in 2012 Semyon created “The Troublemaker Award”.   In this episode, Semyon talks about:   His time leading one of the MIT blackjack teams in the nineties   Why he loves investing in startups and what he looks for   Why he took a company public in 2011, despite not needing to raise money   Advice he would give to someone applying to Techstars   Why he created “The Troublemaker Award”   Links from today’s episode:   Semyon Dukach   SharpSpring   AccuRev   Techstars Boston   Troublemaker Award   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Rob MacLeod is founder of Neoscape, a one-stop shop for clients including real estate developers, architects, designers, and corporations for everything from 3-D renderings, imaging, filmmaking, animation, interactive development, branding, and strategy. Rob was a full-time carpenter and went to school for architecture before founding Neoscape twenty-one years ago.   In this episode, Rob talks about:   Virtual reality, including where Rob sees the field going and how Neoscape’s clients use the technology   What Rob’s hiring process looks like and what characteristics he looks for   Failures, specifically a quote by Rob where he says, “Failure is necessary for a company and for personal or employee growth.” (Article linked below)   How Rob stays excited by the industry for being in it for over twenty years and how he stays hungry to pursue new technology and techniques   Links from today’s episode:   Neoscape   “If I Knew Then…” –Rob MacLeod   Magic Leap   Mavenlink   Soldier Design   Gary Vaynerchuk Blog   Wired   Good to Great   The One Minute Manager   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free  

Enrico Palmerino founded botkeeper to focus on the software solution for bookkeeping by using artificial intelligence. Enrico started his first company ThinkLite while attending college at Babson. ThinkLite is a lighting designer, manufacturer, and installer that allows customers to pay for lighting solutions as a percentage of their savings with no upfront costs. After ThinkLite, Enrico was co-owner and managing director at SmartBooks and eventually founded botkeeper. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek named him second in the Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 and he has also had both of his previous companies named to The Inc. 5000 and The Inc. 500, respectively.   In this episode, Enrico talks about:   Artificial intelligence: what scares him the most for its future, what excites him the most for its future, and resources for people who are new to artificial intelligence and machine learning.   Lessons he learned at his previous companies that he’s applied at botkeeper   What drives him and what he believes makes an entrepreneur successful   Why you shouldn’t be nervous to have a bot handle your company’s books   Links from today’s episode:   Enrico Palmerino   Email Enrico   ThinkLite   SmartBooks   botkeeper   MarketMuse   Talla   Bill.com   Trello   Expensify   QuickBooks   The Checklist Manifesto The Fish That Ate the Whale   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Maya Rafie is founder of Bistara, the first freelance marketplace to hire college students for creative gigs. Maya, a freelance photographer, founded Bistara while attending Emerson College. Bistara encourages students to “be your own boss” in order to build up a portfolio of work prior to graduation. Today, there are over 700 freelancers and over 300 clients on the platform.   In the episode, Maya talks about:   How they originally started building out the marketplace for Bistara   The experience of starting a company in college   Why students have a hard time valuing their talents and how they can overcome it   Tips for clients and freelancers to be more successful on the platform   Links from today’s episode:   Bistara   Maya’s Photography   Trill   Elliott Erwitt   Lightroom   Google Calendar   Asana   WhatsApp   Les eaux troubles du mojito : Et autres belles raisons d'habiter sur terre (Book)   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Doug Morgan is the Director of Engineering at Lola Travel. Doug joined the company when Lola acquired HopOn, the company he co-founded. Lola connects travelers with in-house personal travel consultants who help customers plan, book, and manage their travel in an effort to make trips more personal and rewarding.   In this episode, Doug talks about:   The process of being acquired   The transition from founder to employee   The key to building a successful engineering team   Lessons from SurveyMonkey and HopOn that he applies at Lola   Links from today’s episode:   Doug Morgan   SurveyMonkey   HopOn   Lola Travel   Lola Travel (App)   Trillium Brewing   Harpoon Brewery   Jack’s Abby   Drafted   Drizly   Fitbit   Slack   First Round Review   Both Sides of the Table   The Atlantis Gene (Book 1) If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Win Smith’s father was a founding member of Merrill Lynch and he worked there for twenty-eight years as the executive vice president. However, when new management was brought in and disagreed with the values that the firm had been founded on, he left. Win moved from New York City to Warren, Vermont to run Sugarbush ski resort full-time, which he had purchased a few years prior. At the time, Sugarbush was nearing bankruptcy, but thanks to investments made by Win and others they were able to turn Sugarbush around to the thriving ski resort that it is today.   In this episode, Win talks about:   The importance of the governments EB-5 program in reviving Sugarbush and bringing it to profitability   How they are shifting their approach as their clientele shifts from baby boomers to millennials   What it was like to completely shift careers at age fifty-five   Links from today’s episode:   Sugarbush   Win Smith   Catching Lightning in a Bottle   Alpine Zone   Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison For a Murder He Didn’t Commit   Maverick Mountain   Telluride Ski Resort   Steamboat Mountain   Aspen Highlands   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

 Rory Crawford is co-founder and CEO of BevSpot. BevSpot is a hospitality management software that allows restaurants and bars to monitor and order inventory three times faster and provides visualizations to help identify trends in usage, inventory, profitability, sales, and variance.   In this episode, Rory talks about:   Why building out a prototype allowed him to stand out and attract co-founders   Biggest trends happening in the bar and restaurant industry   Why they wanted to make BevSpot a SaaS (Software as a service) product   What has been keeping the hospitality industry from adopting data-driven, decision-making tools   Rory Crawford   BevSpot   Catalant   SaaStr   Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.   Biography of Winston Churchill   Biography of Albert Einstein   Biography of Benjamin Franklin   No.9 Park   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Cort Davies is founder of StartupCMO, an aid to small companies with limited budgets for marketing. Cort first got into online marketing after realizing that the Internet was the next big platform after real estate. After helping friends generate leads for their companies, Cort founded StartupCMO to help more companies with marketing budgets too low to hire someone full-time, but adequate enough to still achieve great results. Along with his primary passions, Cort is also a mentor at MassChallenge and has helped over fifty startups.   In this episode, Cort talks about:   Where marketers should focus their attention   What people who are new to marketing waste their time doing   How founders can find product/market fit faster   Trends he sees happening now in digital marketing and how to take advantage of them   How to build trust with a potential customer   Links from today’s episode:   Cort Davies   MassChallenge   TakeLessons   Oath Pizza   Habit List   gTasks   RPM   Calm   Tim Ferriss   Tony Robbins   HelpSpot Jay Abraham   The 4-Hour Workweek   Awaken the Giant Within   You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter   The Power of Habit   Brian Tracy   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Karin Brandt is founder and CEO of CoUrbanize. CoUrbanize allows residents to participate in the development process of their neighborhood. Ideas can be exchanged and considered without having to physically go to meetings and sort through piles of paper.   In this episode, Karin talks about:   What the Techstars experience was like for her   The benefits of CoUrbanize for real estate developers and municipalities   How planners and developers can go about getting engagement from the community   How they are using sentiment analysis to better understand the communities’ feelings   Links from today’s episode:   CoUrbanize   TechStars   ArtLifting   Evernote   Junot Diaz   AVC   Joanne Wilson   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Rob Biederman’s co-founded Catalant (formerly HourlyNerd) while getting his MBA at HBS as a requirement to for his Field III Course. They started by going to small businesses surrounding the campus and asking what problems they were facing and how they could help. MBA students from surrounding schools would then carry out the work needed for the small businesses. Today, Catalant has over 28,000 experts on their platform and has completed projects for small companies and enterprises such as GE. Companies turn to Catalant when they have a project they need completed but don’t have experts in-house capable of completing the work. Catalant experts cost a fraction of hiring a top tier consulting firm because they remove resources who aren’t necessary in solving the problems the company is facing and only include resources that are necessary for your need.   In this episode, Rob talks about:   How freelancers on the platform are vetted   How freelancers on the platform can stand out   What drove the decision to rebrand from HourlyNerd to Catalant   The difficulties with building a two-sided marketplace   Why he decided to continue working on the company after graduating from HBS   How he sees the gig economy affecting the overall job marketplace in years to come   How they were able to get Mark Cuban as an investor   Links from today’s episode:   Bain   BCG   Behance   Uber   Lyft   Postmates   UpWork   GoDaddy   InsightSquared   Kuvee   Slack   Sonos   Zero to One   The Hard Thing About Hard Things   Sales Acceleration Formula   The Challenger Sale   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Ken Cowan has made his way from a consultant, to CEO of an automotive services company to an investor. Currently, Ken is an associate at OpenView Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on expansion-stage software companies. Ken quit his first job at age 13, caddying at a local golf course, because he found it too boring and quickly found a new job working at a startup organizing and running tests on laptops. Since graduating from BC, Ken has mostly been involved with startups in some form and joined OpenView in 2016.   In this episode, Ken talks about:   The issues expansion stage software companies run into   The pros and cons of being solely focused on software companies   The mistakes first-time founders make in the fundraising process   The metrics OpenView looks for when screening companies   The difference between features and products   What makes a great founder   Links from today’s episode:   Datadog   VTS   NetSuite   Salesforce   Expensify   How Google thinks about hiring, management, and culture   Tomasz Tunguz   Fred Wilson’s Blog   The Hard Thing About Hard Things   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Rory Cuddyer was named the City of Boston’s Startup Manager by the Mayor in March of 2015. But what does that mean and what does he do? I sat down with Rory to find out. Previously, Rory was an advisor the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and was named the Startup Manager because the Mayor wants to ensure the city is doing as much for startups as it’s doing for more well established companies.   In this episode, Rory talks about:   What the Startup Manager does on a day to day basis   What companies and founders can reach out to him for help on   The efforts by the city to keep graduating students in the region after graduation   Why founders should start their companies in Boston   The number one initiative he is working on over the next year   Links from today’s episode:   StartHub   MassChallenge   WeWork   New England Venture Capital Association   Venture Café   IBM   Hatch Fenway   Pulse at MassChallenge   Roxbury Innovation Center   Spark Boston   WEBOS   BostInno   Boston Business Journal   Xconomy   The Power Broker   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Ellen Chisa started her career in Program Management at Microsoft then moved to Kickstarter as a Product Manager where she was the fiftieth employee. In 2015 she joined Lola Travel as the first employee as the VP of Product. Lola is Paul English’s second travel company, and connects travelers with in-house personal travel consultants who help you plan, book, and manage your travel, allowing you to have a more personalized and rewarding trip.      In this episode, Ellen talks about:   The differences between designing product for web and mobile   How to break into a product position   Why Lola uses real travel consultants instead of bots   Misconceptions about the PM role   What to think about before getting your MBA   Links from today’s episode:   Perry Chen   Blade   Angel (Formerly GoButler)   Fin   Barney Harford   GetHuman   Stripe   Wistia   The Jar to Quantify Creativity   Rainbow Pencils   Want to be a PM? Do a project   I’m angry because I’m afraid   Day One   Trello   Github Issues   Zenhub   The Skimm   The Sun in Your Eyes   Drafted   Ellen’s blog   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Ben Rubin started his first company, Zeo, while attending Brown University, to help people learn how to measure and manage their sleep. Following Zeo, Ben co-founded the Change Collective, focusing on helping people drive change through courses and coaches. After partnering with Dan Harris, Ben and his co-founders decided to focus solely on meditation and changed the name to 10% Happier, the name of Dan Harris’s book. Ben’s initial focus on improving sleep helped him realize how small changes in his lifestyle could positively impact the rest of his day in such a dramatic way and wanted to continue to explore self-improvement and development.     In this episode, Ben talks about:   The benefits of meditation and how they help people get over what he calls the ‘woo woo’ aspect   Why those involved with startups can particularly benefit from meditation   The three qualities he looks for when hiring   Links from today’s episode:   10% Happier by Dan Harris   Joseph Goldstein   The Advantage   Sapiens   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

After attending Princeton, Sean Grundy worked in the environmental business before going to business school. It was after business school when he started Bevi, whose goal is to eliminate plastic bottles. Sean doesn’t consider himself to be a natural entrepreneur and in-fact, used to think business wasn’t interesting. He does however, enjoy the idea of being able to set your own rules and do things in a way that makes sense to him. Sean and his co-founders identified the bottled water business to be prime for disruption since it didn’t make economic sense the way the bottled water industry is setup. Bevi is a water machine that purifies tap water and then allows users create a variety of drinks from plain still water to sparkling water with a variety of fruit flavor options.     In this episode, Sean talks about:   Why he didn’t want to start his company as a non-profit   Why the bottled water industry doesn’t make economic sense   The benefits of making a drink at the point of use   Why Bevi shifted from focusing on gyms and vending locations to offices   Where he sees the future of the beverage industry headed – including from a centralized to distributed supply chain   The biggest lessons he took away from Techstars   Links from today’s episode:   Boston Organics   RISD   hint water   TechStars   Katie Rae   LeanBox   Litographs   Google Tasks   Uber   Amazon Prime   Dune   Crime and Punishment     If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Nathan Eagle’s background while at MIT involved doing data analytics for mobile operators trying to get an understanding of the underlying dynamics of their subscriber base and while there he started to work with operators in emerging markets. Soon after on a Fulbright scholarship, Nathan headed to Kenya to teach computer science students how to program for mobile phones. Nathan then started Jana in 2009.  Jana is the largest provider of free internet in emerging markets and is dedicated to bringing one billion people free, unrestricted internet access. Jana does this through advertisers sponsoring a user’s internet access and currently provides free internet to over thirty million people. Users use Jana’s app, mCent, to engage with advertisers and accrue free internet.   In this episode, Nathan talks about:   The technological leapfrogging taking place in Kenya he noticed upon moving there   Why mobile advertising is broken in most emerging markets   How Jana is different than Google and Facebook’s free internet programs   How the process in which users gain free internet access has changed since the company was started   Why the price of the Android chipset is enabling people to get on the internet in developing countries     Links from today’s episode:   Project Loon   Free Basics   Book Giveaway   This week in the book giveaway, I’m giving away The Innovator’s Dilemna by Clayton Christensen. To enter into the giveaway, make sure you subscribe and leave a review of the podcast on iTunes. If you’ve already done this then you’re already entered! Also, send me an email, nic@startupbostonpodcast.com, once you’ve entered.   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

In today’s episode, I sit down with Mo Plassnig, co-founder and CEO of Codeship. Originally from Austria, Mo moved to Boston to join Techstars in 2013. His first company focused on fostering entrepreneurship in Europe by hosting events and encouraging people to start their own company. Codeship started as a side project for him and his co-founder after noticing that companies were having a difficult time rolling out changes in their software fast enough. After picking up enough paying customers Mo and his co-founders transitioned to Codeship full time to provide customers with support. Codeship allows software developers to bring their products to market faster by rolling out changes to applications and checking for bugs automatically.   In this episode, Mo shares among other things:                 The importance of listening to customer feedback                 The difference between entrepreneurship in Europe and the US                 The challenges and advantages of having a remote team                 How selling to larger companies differs from selling to startups                 What he took away from Techstars   Links from this episode:                 PillPack                 HelpScout                 Amazon Echo                 The Sociopath Next Door                 Codeship blog                 Codeship on Twitter   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

Today I sit down with Vanu Bose, Founder and CEO of Vanu. Vanu attended MIT and in-between his undergrad and graduate work, spent two years working at a non-profit which brought him to over thirty countries around the world. After MIT, Vanu started a company based off of his PhD work, which was around the idea of software upgrades instead of hardware upgrades to update cellular network standards (2G to 3G to 4G etc), potentially saving the wireless industry billions of dollars. Their technology is being used in places like Vermont, India, and Rwanda where they are currently working to provide coverage to one million people who previously had no wireless coverage. Currently, there is over one billion people in the world who don’t have voice coverage. Vanu is looking to change that.   In this episode, Vanu shares among other things:                 How they revamped the business after the economic crisis of 2008                 How they were able to infiltrate a market with four major incumbent suppliers                 How they’re able to profitably run a wireless base station in what was previously an unprofitable location                 Why they chose Rwanda to prove the feasibility of their technology                 The biggest lessons he learned from his father, the founder of Bose Corp.   Links from this episode:                 Clay Christianson                 The Innovator’s Dilemna                 Off-Grid Electric                 Securus Technologies                 Bose                 Dr. Amar Bose                 Transatomic Power                 Getting Things Done                 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up                 10-Day Detox Diet                 Sleep Smarter                 Vanu on Facebook                 Vanu on Twitter   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In today’s episode I sit down with Alice Rossiter, Founder and CEO of Alice’s Table. Alice’s Table brings women together to learn new skills, and live a social and creative lifestyle through the art of flower arranging. Events are hosted at top restaurants and bars offering a night out with a twist. Alice’s Table works to empower women to create a community that prioritizes living well and working hard. After working at multiple startups Alice realized that there needed to be a flexible career opportunity for women and set out to start the sustainable option she saw missing in the marketplace.   In this episode, Alice shares among other things:                 What is work-life balance?                 How growing up at the intersection of creativity and business affected her life                 What most people misunderstand about the term ‘lifestyle-business’                 The traits of successful event hosts                 Using metrics to drive decision making                 How she goes about the hiring process Links from this episode:                 Lean In                 Article in Brit + Co                 Fanzcall                 The Hard Thing About Hard Things                 Alice’s Table on Twitter                 Alice’s Table on Facebook                 Alice’s Table on Instagram                 Alice’s Table on Pinterest If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In today’s episode I sit down with Brett Maloley, Co-Founder and CEO of Ladder. Brett grew up in the fitness industry with his father being an owner of health clubs and an owner of an equipment distribution company. Brett uncovered his passion for the fitness industry when he realized he wasn’t going to become a professional athlete and spent time working for his father’s friend in the fitness industry selling flooring. From there Brett went on to start multiple companies in the fitness industry with Ladder being his third. Ladder connects individuals to health and wellness professionals through digital coaching. Ladder uses what it defines as the four ‘rungs’ ,fitness, nutrition, sleep quality, and stress management, to make up a happy and healthy lifestyle.   In this episode, Brett shares among other things:                 Why he wanted to start a platform based business                 How Ladder uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help identify the needs of the user                 Why the commercial fitness industry needs to change in order to survive                 What’s most important to him when hiring                 Why being an entrepreneur is something you’re called not something you call yourself   Links from this episode:                 Rise                 Fitocracy                 Slack                 Calendly                 Producteev                 Intercom                 Audible                 The Hard Thing About Hard Things                 The Icarus Deception                 Start with Why                 Disrupted                 The Buy Side                 The Third Wave                 Applico                 Modern Monopolies                 Ladder on Instagram                 Ladder on Twitter                 Ladder on Facebook   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In today’s episode I sit down with Rob Go, Co-Founder and Partner at NextView Ventures, a seed-stage VC firm focused on internet and software businesses, investing in both B2C and B2B companies. NextView has investments in companies such as Drift, InsightSqaured, Bridj, and TaskRabbit. Before founding NextView, Rob was at Spark Capital and focused on early stage consumer web and mobile companies. Prior to Spark Capital, Rob worked at eBay as the Business Product Lead overseeing the launch of products that enhanced the search, browse, and discovery experience for millions of users. NextView believes in being great at one thing: high-conviction, hands-on seed investing.   In this episode, Rob shares among other things:                 Why he decided to start his own VC firm The three problems with VC are                 What growing up abroad taught him about running a company                 What makes the Boston startup scene unique                 Deal killers                 How early stage startup valuations have changed over the last ten years                 Why a smaller seed round can be better than a larger seed round                 What he’s learned raising money for his first fund                 His advice to founders raising money Links from this episode:                 Boston Tech Guide                 Congrats to the Sunrise Team                 Lessons from my Dad Amazon Echo Nest Thermostat The Trend Back Towards Smaller Seed Rounds RentJuice Dia&Co Wait But Why The Martian Ready Player One High Failure Strategies 2U PillPack Traction Podcast Rog Go on Twitter Jay Acunzo on snapchat   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In today’s episode I sit down with Braden Golub, Founder and CEO of SPOT, essentially the Airbnb of private parking spots. If you’ve ever been driving around the city, not able to find a parking spot and wondering why you can’t just park in someone’s driveway or parking spot since they’re not using it, then this app is for you. SPOT allows people who have a parking spot they’re not using to list it for when it is available such as between nine to five or twenty four hours a day. People seeking a parking spot can then use the app to see what spots are available near their destination and the time frame they wish. Braden started SPOT after continually seeing parking spaces around his Back Bay apartment going unused. With his background in Real Estate, Braden saw the potential of these unused parking spaces.   In this episode, Braden shares amongst other things:                 Why he should have hired a lawyer to setup his company for him                 The difficulties with setting up a two-sided marketplace                 Managing the expectations of providers within the marketplace                 The importance of the first impression your app gives a user                 His advice to someone who wants to start an app-based business                 The importance of hiring for work ethic over skill   Links from this episode:                 Spot Hero                 Parking Panda                 Park Boston                 LeanBox                 DraftKings                 The Meadow at Peabody                 The Power of One                 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff                 TechCrunch                 BostInno                 SPOT on Twitter                 SPOT on Facebook     If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In today’s episode, I interview Bettina Hein, founder & CEO of Pixability, a software platform that helps brands and their agencies place video advertising on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Bettina’s first company, SVOX, which worked on text to speech, was sold to Nuance and that technology can be found on mobile phones and cars today. Bettina was born in Berlin, attended college in Switzerland, and moved to Cambridge to become a Sloan Fellow at MIT. It was then that Bettina started Pixability at the Cambridge Innovation Center after identifying the major shift underway in the video industry.   In this episode, Bettina shares amongst other things:                 Pixability’s shift from a B2C company to B2B                 The sea change happening in the consumption of media                 Why online advertising is still undervalued                 The three big mistakes that most advertisers make                 How Bettina sees video advertising changing over the next five to ten years                 The three things you need to be a successful entrepreneur                 How she manages a company with multiple offices around the world Links from this episode:                 Clayton Christensen                 Vimeo                 metacafé                 Dailymotion                 Snapchat                 Amazon Instant Video                 SNOW                 WeChat                 Pinterest                 WhatsApp                 Tinder                 Twitch                 DataXu                 nToggle                 Adelphic                 nanigans                 Hulu                 Netflix                 Slack                 Google Hangouts                 Trattoria Il Panino                 Mama Maria                 InsightSquared                 Buildium                 Localytics                 Happie                 Thinking Fast and Slow                 The Power of Habit                 Crime and Punishment                 The Green Brothers                 Casey Neistat                 CaseyNeistat.video                 Kid President                 SoulPancake                 Pixability on Twitter                 Pixability on Facebook                 Pixability on Youtube                 She-E-Os   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

In this episode, I interview Shea Coakley, founder and CEO of Leanbox, which provides businesses with a fresh food kiosk by blending technology and food service. Their target customer is the ~150 person office that wants to provide employees with a fresh and healthy food service without the need to build a cafeteria. Leanbox eliminates the need for customers to place orders when supply runs low since each Leanbox and its contents can be monitored by the Leanbox team. This means they’re able to provide preventative maintenance and restock the Leanbox before it runs out of food. Businesses are charged a monthly fee and the end customer purchases the food at cost, twenty to thirty percent below retail price.   In this episode, Shea shares amongst other things:                 Their pivot from a restaurant to a healthy food services business                 Designing a business so that you can excel                 The moment he realized Leanbox was onto something special                 How they are able to minimize food waste while providing fresh, never frozen food options                 How technology plays a major role in ensuring each Leanbox is always stocked                 The process for sourcing new food items   Links from this episode:                 Sweetgreen                 Dig inn                 New Grounds Food                 Suja                 Stumptown                 Taza                 LogMeIn                 Rue La La                 lovin’ spoonfuls                 Deuxave                 Grill 23                 Slack                 Bevi                 Drink                 Sportello                 Brewer’s Fork                 Catalant (formerly HourlyNerd)                 Drizly                 The Growth Show                 Freakonomics                 Adam Carolla                 Zero to One                 The Hard Thing About Hard Things If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

Today I sit down with Andy Levitt, the founder and CEO of The Purple Carrot. Founded in 2014, The Purple Carrott is a plant-based meal kit that Andy started after seeing the lack of a plant-based meal kit being offered by the current players in the national meal kit space(Plated, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh). Purple Carrot ships its subscribers all of the raw ingredients they need to cook two to three dinners every week with recipes developed by chefs with a focus on different flavors and ethnicities.    In this episode, Andy shares amongst other things:                 The process they go through for introducing new recipes                 How they went from a family meal plan focus to a two person meal plan focus                 The logistics issues with starting a subscription meal kit service                 How they’re able to manage their food inventory to minimize waste                 What is most important when starting a subscription based company                 The importance of getting comfortable being uncomfortable                     Links from this episode:                 Forks over Knives                 Seth Godin                 Washington Post: Meat is bad                 Vedge                 Crossroads Kitchen                 Alta Strada                 Hugh Macleod                 Purple Cow                 Linchpin                 Leanbox                 Purple Carrot on Twitter   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free

Jonathan Kim took an interesting path to becoming the founder of a tech company. A journalism major at BU, Jonathan taught himself how to code before becoming a software engineer at HubSpot. It was there that he identified the problem companies face with onboarding users to platforms. Instead of wanting to solve this problem with people, he wanted to solve it with product. To solve this he started Appcues, a user onboaring company for software companies.   In this episode, Jonathan shares amongst other things: What most companies get wrong about user onboarding When companies should start automating user onboarding What frustrates users the most How to use UX to gain the user’s trust Why he wouldn’t focus on finding a co-founder if starting over Why Appcues engineers also handle customer support Links from this episode: David Cancel Fasten Wistia Litmus Firebase Keen IO Price Intelligently Buffer’s transparency dashboard Hojoko The Advantage Lean In   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free

Sam Saltis moved to Boston from Australia to start his second company, Core dna. Sam spent over ten years working for one of Australia’s largest banks before getting his MBA and deciding soon after, in 2000, that he was going to start his own business. It started off as a consulting business that then morphed into building websites for businesses. That company, bwired, continues in Australia as CoreDNA was started as a separate company in Boston after seeing the demand for the product getting larger than the services business, and the ability for the SaaS product to scale. Core dna allows you to manage all of your digital properties and applications from one dashboard that is production ready and without the need to re-platform in the future.     In this episode, Sam shares amongst other things:   Why he chose Boston to start Core dna   What he calls startup 1.0   How he got through those moments of self-doubt   The benefits of SaaS   The effects of dynamic content   The risks of over designing the UX   His advice to first-time founders   What makes the Boston startup scene unique   Links from this episode:   Botkeeper   SaaStr   Shopify   Snapchat   WeWork   If you liked this episode:   Follow the podcast on Twitter   Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review   Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com   Music by: Broke For Free

Vinayak Ranade started as a software engineer at Kayak.com and ended up running the Kayak mobile engineering team as well as technical recruiting. At the time, Kayak didn’t have an in-house recruiting team, instead the recruiting was being done by the engineering managers. It was during this time, running the recruiting process at Kayak, that Vinayak realized this was something he really enjoyed. When he left Kayak, Vinayak knew the next problem he needed to solve was hiring, and thus, Drafted was born. Drafted, whose goal is to make recruiting fast, fun and rewarding for all involved, uses mutual connections to connect potential candidates with hiring managers through referrals.   In this episode, Vinayak shares amongst other things: What he loves about the hiring process What most companies get wrong about recruiting The role of culture in recruiting Why he started Drafted as an app Why he thinks recruiting will become a marketing discipline Links from this episode: Lola Blue Ocean Strategy Lean Customer Development Influence Snapchat Bumpers Get Human Shantaram Drafted on Twitter If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free

Ty Danco is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and Program Director at Techstars Boston. Ty started his career on Wall St. then moved to Vermont where he founded, in 2000, and later sold, in 2006, eSecLending. A few years later he got involved with angel investing and made ‘every mistake in the book’. He has made ~75 direct investments into companies, including Crashlytics (sold to Twitter), Codeship, EverTrue, Appcues, and Drizly. Ty currently splits his time between Boston and Burlington, Vermont.   In this episode, Ty shares amongst other things: How he first got involved in Angel investing How his approach to angel investing has changed over time His decision making process The role he likes to take as an investor Why valuation is no longer a deciding factor for him Why you should underprice your funding round The types of entrepreneurs he looks for Tips for getting into Techstars   Links from this episode: AngelList Danny Moon Misfit wearables John Sculley Mark Suster Boston Tech Guide VentureFizz Botstinno Xconomy Starthub Boston.com MassChallenge Ty Danco’s blog post on Phil Beauregard Katie Rae Brent Grinna HubSpot Fred Wilson’s blog, AVC Brad Feld’s blog Alex Danco Social Capital Kensho Astreus Technologies If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

Ali Kothari is still a student at Northeastern University but that hasn’t stopped him and his co-founder, Johnny Fayad, from founding New Grounds Food. After getting tired of not having time to make breakfast or coffee in the morning before class, they had an idea to create a way to eat their coffee. Thus, their product, the CoffeeBar, was born. In this episode Ali shares amongst other things: His secrets to Kickstarter success When he realized they had a strong idea Northeastern’s IDEA Accelerator Getting to a shelf-ready product Mistakes made early on How they got their product on the shelves Why they partnered with the Chain Collaborative How starting a company was different from what he expected   Links from the Episode: Mosaic at Northeastern Kickstarter WeWork Jaho Ogawa Starry Unreal Candy New Grounds Food on Twitter   If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com

The Startup Boston Podcast takes you inside the world of Boston startups, featuring interviews with Boston-based entrepreneurs, investors, and influencers. During each episode, someone involved with Boston startups will share their experience, advice, thoughts, predictions, and challenges with listeners. No industry or topic is off-limits as guests share their first-hand experience. Guests range from Kickstarter successes, to angel investors and venture capitalists, to SaaS founders, to product team experts and beyond. I believe that each person has a story to tell and we each can learn something from the experiences of others. Whether you are a founder, work at a startup, are an investor, interested in joining a startup, or are just curious about startups, you will find something here for you. This podcast is an attempt to help share those stories. This is the first episode and it’s different than the rest of the podcast episodes. Normally, for each episode I interview someone. However, today is kinda like a teaser episode or a trailer, where I’ve taken about a minute of some of my favorite pieces from each of the first 15 episodes and put them together. Going forward for the next 8 weeks I’m going to release 2-3 episodes every week and each episode is roughly 30 minutes to an hour. After those 8 weeks I’ll be releasing one episode every week.  Before we get going I first need to say a huge thank you to all 23 people who have recorded an episode with me and everyone else who has agreed to an interview. It really means so much to me that you’ve allowed me, someone you didn’t know, and someone who had no previous podcast content for you to listen to, to interview you. It means a lot to me and this podcast wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for you. You can find all show notes for the podcast at startupbostonpodcast.com and if you have any feedback, ideas for guests or just want to say hi you can reach me at nic@startupbostonpodcast.com. Lastly, feel free to follow the podcast on twitter @startupBOScast.