Podcasts about acceleprise

Maia Benson and Joe Lynch discuss A SaaS Gal in VC Land. Maia is a SaaS gal in VC land and a Managing Director at Forum Ventures where she works with SaaS founders from inception to scale.  About Maia Benson Maia Benson is a Managing Director at Forum where she works with SaaS founders from inception to scale.  She has spent over 20 years founding, building and scaling award-winning SaaS products for Entrepreneurs and SMBs at places like LexisNexis, Pitney Bowes and most recently at Shopify, where she helped found, launch and scale their Shipping and Fulfillment products from inception to 60%+ merchant adoption and $Bs of transportation spend. About Forum Ventures Forum Ventures is the leading early-stage fund, program and community for B2B SaaS startups. Founded in 2014 as Acceleprise, we're on a mission to make the B2B SaaS journey easier, more accessible and successful for early-stage founders, through pre-seed and seed-stage funding, high touch programming, corporate perks and introductions, and an active SaaS community. Forum For Founders, our pre-seed program, provides founders with $100k in funding and 15 intense weeks of talks, events, mentorship and 1:1 guidance focused on go to market and fundraising. Forum Seed, our seed fund, backs exceptional SaaS startups at the seed-stage both from within and outside of our pre-seed program. With over 250 portfolio companies, Forum founders have gone on to raise from NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncork Capital, 8VC, Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, Canaan, Bowery Capital, Susa Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures and many more. Our private peer community for Innovation executives -- The Innovation Forum -- brings together like-minded intrapreneurs from all backgrounds to share best practices, insights, and advice, and support one another. In addition to our incredible peer community, members get access to industry trend reports, collaborative events, emerging technology, and startup introductions. Key Takeaways: A SaaS Gal in VC Land Forum Ventures is the top choice for early-stage B2B SaaS companies looking for funding. Forum Ventures is different and better for the following reasons: Founder-focused: Their team consists of former SaaS founders, offering deep understanding of the early-stage journey and expertise in GTM, sales, and fundraising. Pre-seed and seed investments: They empower early-stage B2B SaaS companies with pre-seed and seed funding, ranging from $100k to $2 million. High-touch programs: Beyond funding, they provide high-touch programs like "Forum For Founders" (15 weeks of talks, mentorship, and guidance) and a dedicated fundraising track. Thriving community: They foster an active SaaS community with over 450 founders, mentors, and experts, offering connections, support, and valuable insights. Accessibility champions: Committed to diversity and inclusion, they strive to make the B2B SaaS ecosystem more accessible to underrepresented founders. Proven success: With over 250 successful pre-seed and seed investments, their track record speaks for itself. Fractional co-founder approach: They act as a "fractional co-founder" with world-class expertise, helping startups navigate crucial steps like product development, go-to-market strategy, and fundraising. Mission-driven: Driven by a genuine passion for aiding founders, they prioritize their success and strive to make the B2B SaaS journey easier and more impactful. Learn More About A SaaS Gal in VC Maia Benson | LinkedIn Forum Ventures | LinkedIn Forum Ventures | Homepage The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Michael Cardamone, CEO and General Partner at Forum Ventures. Located in New York, NY, USA, Forum Ventures is the leading early-stage fund, program, and community for B2B SaaS startups. Founded in 2014 as Acceleprise, they are on a mission to make the B2B SaaS journey easier, more accessible, and successful for early-stage founders, through pre-seed and seed-stage funding, high-touch programming, corporate perks and introductions, and an active SaaS community.  With over 250 portfolio companies, Forum founders have gone on to raise from NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncork Capital, 8VC, Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, Canaan, Bowery Capital, Susa Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures and many more. Michael Cardamone focuses on developing our investment strategy with the mission to make the B2B SaaS journey easier, more accessible, and more successful for early-stage founders. As one of the first 30 employees at Box, as well as leading partnerships at AcedemixDirect, Michael has had direct experience growing SaaS companies from small startups to large-scale enterprises. He is also an angel investor in a dozen companies including a seed investment in Flexport. Michael shares insights about his background in tech, the evolution of Foreign Ventures, and their unique approach to investing in startups. He discusses the challenges of raising pre-seed capital in the current market and outlines the criteria they look for in founders and startups. Michael also explains the differences between Foreign Ventures and other venture funds, emphasizing their hands-on approach and extensive resources.  Visit Forum Ventures at , and on . Reach out to Michael at , and on . _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at:    Check out our other podcasts here:   For Investors check out:   For Startups check out:   For eGuides check out:   For upcoming Events, check out    For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group    Please , share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of .

Welcome to the "Private Placement Perspective," a new pod storm series hosted by Matt Brown. In this first series of 2023, Matt dives deep into the world of venture capital and investing, speaking with investors and CEOs who have successfully helped scale start-ups. Join Matt as he dives into the world of Private Placements. Series: Private Placement Perspective Scott has been making angel investments for nearly two decades and has direct investments in 50 portfolio companies. He is an LP and mentor at three accelerators: Acceleprise, gener8tor, and Iconyc and is a deal flow partner for Right Side Capital Management.Get an interview on the Matt Brown Show: www.mattbrownshow.comSupport the show

Michael Cardamone, CEO and managing partner at Forum Ventures (formerly Acceleprise), demystifies the effects of public market volatility on startups. Michael gives his perspectives on the recent market downturn, and his advice for founders building B2B SaaS companies on how to manage market volatility. He also gives more details about how he looks at opportunities when he invests in startups.In this episode, you'll learn:4:15 What benefits does a founder gain from working with a sector-dedicated accelerator over a generalist accelerator?11:50 Key things for startup founders to do to weather market downturn21:48 How can innovative startups harness the power of community?Non-profit organization that Michael is passionate about: Big Brothers Big SistersAbout Guest SpeakerMichael Cardamone is the CEO and managing partner at Forum Ventures (formerly Acceleprise). In addition, he is an angel investor in the pre-seed or seed rounds of Flexport, Naturebox, and Station; among others. Michael hustles hard for his portfolio companies, providing hands-on support and mentorship every day in person or on Slack while making key connections to dozens of customers, investors, and key partners.About Forum VenturesForum Ventures (formerly Acceleprise) is a B2B SaaS-focused seed fund, pre-seed accelerator program, and community with offices in San Francisco, NYC and Toronto. Forum for Founders, the accelerator program, is a flagship 15-week pre-seed program designed to give founders personalized guidance, support from a growing SaaS community, plus the capital to get their companies to the next level. Companies in Forum's portfolio include: FirstBase, Fireflies.ai, Indio, Oncue, Courier, People Data Labs, Roots Automation, Inscribe, Sote, Silq, VendorPM and CoProcure.Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode that will drop next Tuesday. Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

Michael Cardamone, CEO of Forum Ventures, talks about what he considers in potential SaaS investments and his lessons from the industry. Get more insights from the podcast. Form Ventures is a leading B2B SaaS focus accelerator that helps early-stage businesses grow and scale. They have invested 50 million USD in over 250 companies, with their portfolio hitting an approximate valuation of 3 billion USD. Join the podcast and listen to Michael as he tells Geordie about his journey.  What You'll Learn How the Forum Ventures seed fund works How to know a great founder What companies need to succeed during the accelerator program The framework that Forum Ventures use to help companies track KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) Why do companies join accelerator programs Which is the ideal place to source a SaaS company? In this Episode: Forum Ventures was recently rebranded from Acceleprise, an accelerator B2B SaaS which has been in existence for close to seven years. Michael says they come in at the early stage of a business and run a four-month associate-based program acting as a continuation of the founding team. Forum Ventures helps companies devise the right market strategy to identify their ideal customers and edge closer to getting funding. Forum also has a seed fund where they invest in institutional seed rounds. Listen to the podcast to understand how the seed fund works. The core part of the business is to invest $100,000 to each company that joins the accelerator program. While they may not have enough capital to invest in every company that sets up a seed round from the accelerator program, they strive to invest in companies outside the accelerator. Michael and his team consider various factors when deciding who to recruit in the accelerator program. First, they look for companies that are in the earliest stages of their operations. To understand a company's product and vision, Forum works closely with the founders whose product may be in the early stages but not fully developed. Some of them may have customers while others may not. Michael defines that stage in detail, and you can learn all about it from the podcast. Much of what Forum Ventures does is focus on the team and the market opportunity. When looking for a team, Forum considers their founder market fit and tries to understand what they know about the problem they are solving or their target market. They also seek to determine how great the founders are; a term Michael says he detests. Find out his reasons from the podcast. According to Michael, you do not know a good founder. Instead, he says they determine the characteristics that a great founder and leader would have. Listen to Michael as he gives an in-depth explanation of these traits. How big or small should a team be to qualify for the Forum Ventures accelerator program? Michael says they do not have complicated rules regarding the team's size as long as they have an excellent market fit and understand their products extensively. Michael mentions some common traits that make companies successful during the accelerator program in this podcast. Forum Ventures has a structure that helps companies track their KPIs, which Michael says is different for each company. Get details of how the structure works from the podcast. To acquire the $100,000 funding, companies give up 7.5% equity to Forum Ventures. This arrangement may not make much sense to all companies, but it works for a significant number of companies, according to Michael. Forum has carved a niche in the industry as a reliable provider capable of acquiring more funding for the companies after the accelerator program. Michael gives some practical examples in the podcast. Michael says the $100,000 capital that companies joining the accelerator program get should last for the entire four-month program. He also mentions what a company should achieve at the end of the program in terms of performance. Get all the details from the podcast. The SaaS industry is fast becoming overly competitive. What criteria does Forum Ventures use to determine a company's potential for success? Michael says they focus on five things: vertical SaaS, the future of work, supply chain logistics, and FinTech, insurance, and tech-based stuff. Michael explains these concepts in detail, complete with illustrations. He concludes the podcast by mentioning that while angel investing can be great, it's one industry where being connected to the ecosystem is critical. Investors should also know that some of the companies may not work. If you are new to angel investing, consider doing it in angel groups where you can learn and gain experience before risking your money, he says. Resources   Forum Ventures Michael Cardamone LinkedIn Michael Cardamone Twitter  

Big data entrepreneur, founder of TrackMaven, which in 2018 merged with Skyword to form the #1 content marketing platform, co-founder of Acceleprise, the leading SaaS startup accelerator, and author of the book "The Creative Curve," published by Currency, a division of Penguin Random House and featured on CNBC, Forbes, numerous top podcasts, Allen Gannett, takes the hot seat today on the Radically Transparent Podcast, presented by Oktopost. In this episode, you will find your jaw dropping to the floor as Gannett reveals the science and secrets behind achieving breakout commercial success. It's not as complicated as you may think! He dives into how many of us have been spoon-fed the idea that genius is born only through nature and otherwise cannot be taught or made. Quickly de-bunking that myth on the show, Gannett reassures us all that if you are not born a creative genius it does not mean you can never become one. By breaking down “the creative curve” -- the point of optimal tension between the novel and the familiar – Gannett leaves you with the mindset, skillset and toolset to better engineer mainstream success in any field!

Think you have something to learn from the leaders of a B2B SaaS Accelerator and Fund that has worked and invested with over 200+ early stage SaaS companies that have gone on to raise $300M+ in follow on funding and counting?Come to the B2B Community Builder Podcast's special fireside chat with Michael Cardamone and Jeff Becker.Host of the show, Pablo Gonzalez, will ask Michael and Jeff about: - the most effective Go To Market motions Michael & Jeff see in B2B SaaS today- the why and how Acceleprise is betting big on the value of community- what opportunities they see in B2B that are currently underserved- and much more (including whatever questions YOU may have)!Come and let their perspective on the 200+ data points of successes and failures inform YOUR playbook for the rest of the year!ABOUT OUR GUESTS:Michael CardamoneMichael was one of the first 30 employees at Box in a BD role and then led partnerships at AcademixDirect. After 6 years in operating roles, he launched Acceleprise (https://acceleprise.vc/) in San Francisco, a B2B SaaS focused accelerator and fund with locations in San Francisco, NYC & Toronto. In addition to Acceleprise, he's an angel investor in 12 companies, including Flexport, Curated.com, Vemo and more. He graduated with an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Columbia Business School, and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University.Specialties: Developing and managing partnerships, strategy, SaaS, business development, digital marketing, early stage investing, early go to market, salesJeff BeckerJeff is an experienced leader, entrepreneur, and sales executive with a Proven track record of building world-class teams, and delivering exceptional results. He's creative, focused, and a believer in the impossible that is always looking to help incredible people set incredible ideas in motion.Prior to joining Acceleprise, he spent 9 years in sales and sales leadership roles at Linkedin, is an experienced GTM advisor to startups, and an angel investor.Support the show (https://connectwithpablo.com)

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch's venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.Danny, Natasha, and Alex were on-deck this week, with Grace on the recording and edit. But, if you want to hear more about Robinhood, this is not the episode for you. If you want to learn more about the consumer fintech company's IPO filing this is the episode you want. Basically, Robinhood filed after we had wrapped taping, so we had to do a special pod for the news.So, this is the everything-but-Robinhood episode. And here's what's inside of it:Startup and investor tensions at Bessemer and Hinge Health. Natasha has the latest.Didi's IPO, and what's going on with Chinese IPOs more generally. Also SentinelOne's expensive and notable debut.And then all things Duolingo, including TechCrunch's overview and more in-depth look.From the venture capital side of things, Zipline raised $250 million, Daylight raised $5 million, Articulate raised $1.5 billion, Acceleprise rebranded to Forum Ventures, and Peanut put together a micro-fund.We closed with Neeva, Brave, and other alternative search tools. Alex has a piece coming on the subject, once he gets around to finishing it.A four-episode week! With only Grace handling production! She's amazing.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch's venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.Danny, Natasha, and Alex were on-deck this week, with Grace on the recording and edit. But, if you want to hear more about Robinhood, this is not the episode for you. If you want to learn more about the consumer fintech company's IPO filing this is the episode you want. Basically, Robinhood filed after we had wrapped taping, so we had to do a special pod for the news.So, this is the everything-but-Robinhood episode. And here's what's inside of it:Startup and investor tensions at Bessemer and Hinge Health. Natasha has the latest.Didi's IPO, and what's going on with Chinese IPOs more generally. Also SentinelOne's expensive and notable debut.And then all things Duolingo, including TechCrunch's overview and more in-depth look.From the venture capital side of things, Zipline raised $250 million, Daylight raised $5 million, Articulate raised $1.5 billion, Acceleprise rebranded to Forum Ventures, and Peanut put together a micro-fund.We closed with Neeva, Brave, and other alternative search tools. Alex has a piece coming on the subject, once he gets around to finishing it.A four-episode week! With only Grace handling production! She's amazing.

Communications platform Zoom has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire real-time machine translations (MT) solutions developer Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – Kites. The terms of the transactions remain undisclosed.Cloud-based multi-channel commerce platform Shopify has brought down app store commission rates to zero for developers making their first $1M in revenue. Commission rates are cut for other developers (earning over $1M/year) as well, from 20 to 15 percent. This new revenue share model is extended to Theme Store developers as well.Sequoia Capital India has welcomed 23 startups for the fifth cohort of Surge, its scale-up accelerator program for Indian and Southeast Asian startups. Surge 05, as the VC firm calls it, comprises 40 percent of SaaS and DevTools companies that have been building products for global markets ever since their inception.Visier, a cloud-based analytics platform, has secured $125 million in a Series E investment round, valuing the company at $1 billion and has turned unicorn. Visier is a Canadian company that has created a big-data engine that can consume and analyze data from various HR and related apps. It offers a big-data engine it developed that can connect to any of those apps, absorb the data they contain, and match it up to provide current-state representations and increasingly predictive insights.Peak, a venture capital firm located in Amsterdam, has joined the German market. It has announced the launch of its fourth €66 million fund (approx. USD 78.5M). Peak's initial investments vary from €250K (about USD 0.2 million) to €4 million (approx. USD 4.7 million ). A large portion of the VC's new fund has been set aside for follow-on rounds, which will assist portfolio entrepreneurs from pre-seed to Series B and beyond.Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform, has raised $12M in Series A funding from a16z. The company was launched in 2020 and has shared details of its revenue figures, team size alongside the announcement. The proceeds from this funding would be used to build its data platform, enhance user experience, among others.JFrog, a DevOps platform, paid $300 million for Vdoo. The purchase will be made using a mix of cash and stock. Vdoo will remain a distinct SaaS offering for the time being, according to JFrog. New updates will aid in support of the JFrog platform, and by 2022, the two businesses will have a completely integrated solution.Forum Brands, a platform for growing and acquiring consumer brands, has announced its raise of $27 million equity funding in a round led by Norwest Venture Partners. Existing investors NFX and Concrete Rose participated in the financing round. ShipBob, a global logistics company, has raised $200 million in a Series E funding round, making it a unicorn. The company then provides its clients with a merchant application that allows them to keep track of inventory and connect with warehouses to choose which goods to pick and ship to fulfill orders. It works with several shipping companies to deliver products to customers. It claims to work with over 40 firms, including Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, Square, and Squarespace.The assets of edX have been acquired by 2U, Inc., a global leader in education technology. Through one of the most comprehensive free-to-degree online education systems, 2U and edX will reach over 50 million learners worldwide. Combining 2U's industry-leading marketing capabilities and edX.org's burgeoning marketplace, which saw over 120 million visitors in 2020, is expected to provide a scalable and sustainable marketing advantage. Virti, an interactive and immersive training platform, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by IQ Capital with participation from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Descenture Capital, reports indicate. Virti, founded in 2018, provides a platform to help companies train their employees via virtual training modules and simulations. With Virti, companies could build their own training modules and simulations without the need for coding and use AI, natural language processing to analyze a user's performance and provide feedback. In 2020, it was included on TIME magazine's annual best innovation list.GitHub and Open AI have collaborated to launch GitHub Copilot, which leverages artificial intelligence to help one write code efficiently, reports state. The product is currently available for limited technical preview, available on its website.San Francisco-based co-op, announced its close of seed funding round, where it raised $5.8 million led by Sugar Capital. Shopify, Bessemer Venture Partners, Indicator Ventures and RiverPark Ventures participated in the round.Gympass, the $2.2 billion corporate health unicorn, has received $220 million in a Series E investment. Gympass exclusively works with companies who pay a one-time charge for a platform (app) that lets their employees pick from a choice of wellness programs.  10club, an Indian startup similar to Thrasio, has raised $40 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Fireside Ventures and an unnamed investor. In India, 10club is one of a few dozen companies aiming to duplicate what is known as the Thrasio-model. Several companies, like Thrasio, are attempting to buy brands that offer midrange to high-end items in markets with little competition.In a seed round, Jetstream, an African supply chain network, received $3M. Jetstream was founded by Miishe Addy and Solomon Torgbor to monitor and regulate their own cross-border supply chains. Jetstream's business model is straightforward. It charges for all of its services, including freight, clearing, and banking. Customs clearance is charged at a set rate that changes depending on the tax type and location of the shipment.Acceleprise has officially rebranded itself as Forum Ventures, a name more fitting to its aspirations and activities, it states. Simultaneously, it has announced the launch of its $13.2M seed and $17.2M fourth fund for pre-seed B2B SaaS startups respectively.Ramco Systems' software would be used by Aden Ports Development Company. Its ERP software for APDC's container terminal aims to reduce the manual tasks involved in its HR and finance operations via digitization. The software comes with a set of new, upgraded features and technologies.Wonderflow, an AI-based customer feedback data startup, has announced that it has raised €16.5 million (approx. USD 19.6 million) in a Series B funding round led by Klass Capital. Other participants include P101, ITALIA 500, and Dutch top manager Jan Bennink. Los Angeles-based Arrows, a software provider helping companies onboard customers, has announced its raise of $2.75 million seed funding from Google's AI-focused venture fund, Gradient Ventures, and 47 other angel investors. The company has listed the investors on its website.Boundless, a remote employment platform, has raised €2.5 million (USD 2.9 million) in a seed funding round led by Ada Ventures and FYRFLY. This platform enables businesses to compliantly hire people globally while providing their employees with perks and opportunities in the nation where they work.

Chris Hicken is the Co-Founder and CEO at 'nuffsaid. ‘nuffsaid is a company that builds software that centralizes work apps and prioritizes the messages and tasks that help people focus on the job that matters and be proactive. He sees it as a modern solution to information and communication overload at work as the number of apps and productivity tools onboarded increases. With the help of dozens of Customer Success thought leaders, Chris has extensively researched the low-touch engagement model for product-led and sales-led companies. In this episode, Chris will share the interesting outcomes of that research.  Show Notes [01:15] About Chris and what got him interested in the topic [04:08] About customer support and customer success and the human-led and digital-led models [06:03] The research he has done on the low touch model and its impact [07:37] On deciding on the best approach in implementing the low touch model [10:12] Why companies have to move towards the low or tech touch model for him [13:06] On not considering a free trial or proof of concept product-led growth [14:44] The three levels of maturity he has seen in companies in moving towards low touch [21:56] On getting on top of resolving product issues at the second maturity level [25:05] Where he thinks the proactive component fit in at level two  [29:15] On getting into the third level  [32:21] His thoughts about the effectivity of proactivity in level two and three [34:41] His approach in building his low touch CSM team for success [38:52] His view on the strategic role of support in low touch model in product-led companies [42:56] Final words from Chris  [4437:307] Where to get in touch with Chris About Chris Hicken Chris Hicken describes himself as an artist. He has worked as a business leader at various companies for 17 years and is currently a board member at The/Studio and an advisor at Peer Collective, TestRigor AI, and Acceleprise. Previously, Chris was an advisor at GitPrime and Study.com, a partner at Inspiration Ventures, the former President and COO of UserTesting, and a General Manager and Head of Marketing at Headsets.com. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in 2003 with a degree in BS Computer Science   Links Mentioned User Testing  Salesforce  Salesforce Lightning RD Station Survey Monkey  Amazon  Low-Touch Engagement Model article   Profile ‘nuffsaid ‘nuffsaid Blog LinkedIn  Twitter The 'nuffsaid podcast

Sales are like oxygen for early-stage startups. They can't succeed without it. Whitney has 10+ years of startup experience and founded the sales method.  She joins us to breakdown the sales method, what mindset to have when selling, and her career journey from graduating UC San Diego to having a rockstar career in sales. We also talk about how Acceleprise is accelerating women founders and leading the charge in bringing diversity into the venture-backed ecosystem.  Check out https://acceleprise.vc Follow us on Instagram and join our email list! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/startupmindsets/support

Episode 2: Host: GDG Spain, Andreu Ibanez, Victor Sanchez #TheGDEShow​​ with special guest Jeremy Glassenberg , GDE Workspace and Pay. This week's show Victor and Andreu comment about Google's I/O developer conference, that's gonna come in a virtual way this 2021. We also put our grain of sand there with our @ioweekproject - https://www.ioweekproject.com/​ where we share memories of past I/O events. And of course Jeremy shares with us nice memories about both his start in technology and hi long 13 years experience as Product leader, with a specialty in managing developer platforms and APIs at companies like Box and Tradeshift. He managed and expanded developer platforms to communities of tens of thousands of developers, and led high-profile integrations promoted by Salesforce and Google. To support the community, Jeremy mentors startup accelerators such as Alchemist, Acceleprise, and Techstars in Platform and API strategy. He has also given talks at API and Product Management conferences, and interviews for Product and Platform blogs. He is also the Lead Instructor at Product School and the author of Product School's latest core curriculum. https://twitter.com/jglassenberg​ Originally livestreamed february Sat 27th 19:00​​CET - 09:00​​PST at Victor's channel: https://www.twitch.tv/victorsbtech

Before you take off...Want to see future episode highlights? You can add me on Linkedin hereThere is no book, e-book, MBA that would replace practical experience. I did my degree in entrepreneurship and after graduation launched my first e-commerce startup.  I've learned more in those three years than I did in my whole education life. The only way to be better at your craft is by living through it.Talking points: - How Aram almost lost his company 8 years into the journey- On agencies, micro-management, industry bad rep and hard clients- What drives Aram, his view on the role of the CEO, salaries and shitty daysAbout Aram Aram is a tech serial entrepreneur. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Crowdinker, a Toronto-based product design and software consultancy that produces world-class design, development, and strategy for mobile, web and other emerging technologies.He's been in the tech space for 12 years, co-founded 3 companies, raised capital, scaled teams to 30+ people, and isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves to help businesses grow. Outside of his day-to-day role, Aram is an avid investor in the technology space as well as an advisor and mentor to dozens of startups through his participation with Acceleprise and Loyal VC.He recently relocated with his family (wife and 3 kids) to Barcelona in Spain to expand Crowdlinker into Europe. He's an avid tennis player, movie buff, and loves travelling. 

Whitney Sales, the creator of The Sales Method and General Partner at Acceleprise, broke into the world of venture capital by chance. After working in sales for companies over the years, Sales discovered her true passion lay in working with founders.Before long, her engagement led her to Acceleprise, where Sales became an early partner. Early-stage sales engagement within new companies is Sales’ specialty.“The process of selling really is a science at this point,” Sales said. “And there are playbooks you can apply. So, a lot of what you’re doing as a founder is applying the knowledge that you have gained in developing the product in your customer discovery with your beta users and your customer development, etc. and utilizing that knowledge to figure out the path forward to close a deal.”

How can big corporations innovate today while planning for tomorrow? After all, given their employers' legacies, rules and processes, corporate innovators are never able to start from scratch. In an episode that takes us from the SAAS rush of the mid-2000's to a post-COVID future, Matt relates the story of a (fictional) corporate innovator, Martha Witherspoon, and sits down to interview another (very real) innovator, Olivia O'Sullivan, Director of Corporate Innovation and Partnerships at Acceleprise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allen Gannett founded TrackMaven, which in October 2018 merged with Skyword to form the #1 content marketing platform. Previously, co-founded Acceleprise, the leading SaaS startup accelerator. He is the author of The Creative Curve, a book about developing the right idea at the right time. The Creative Curve is available in eight languages and has been featured on CNBC, Inc, Business Insider, and more. Get the book "The Creative Curve": Buy Here

"Startups have to move fast for survival, but larger corporations have to move fast for survival as well these days." Whitney Sales, sales mentor and GP at SaaS accelerator Acceleprise, joins to explain how the spring sales freeze thawed in late summer, and what startups can do now to get ready for the new year. Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.

Faye Almeshaan is the Program Manager and Venture Associate of Acceleprise. Acceleprise is a B2B software accelerator program and investment firm based in San Francisco and Toronto. She talks about how companies pivoted and grew out of COVID and what the investment scene is like. If you're a B2B startup looking to join an accelerator, you can follow along with the current cohort's journey and apply for their upcoming cohort in January 2021!Support the show (https://www.floatorfounder.com/partners)

The TechCrunch crew has worked to keep tabs on this year's startup accelerator classes. Conventional wisdom in startup land states that great companies are founded during more trying economic times. Well, a recession was declared yesterday by the National Bureau of Economic Research. We should, therefore, see some breakout startups in the next few years. […]

Join Atento Capital in the second episode of our podcast, the Be Atento Podcast. In this episode we talk with Michael Cardamone, CEO and Managing Partner of Acceleprise about how he evaluates early stage deals and what he looks for in founding teams. Acceleprise invests in early stage SaaS companies and provides a 4 month, hands on program focused on sales and go to market; and includes introductions to customers, investors and mentors to help accelerate their business and get to their next round of funding. Michael was formerly an operator at Box and AcademixDirect and is an active angel investor in numerous high growth technology companies such as Flexport. Tune in to hear Michael's insights from his experience as both an investor and operator. To learn more about Atento Capital, check out our website: https://www.atentocapital.com/Subscribe to the Be Atento Podcast anywhere podcasts can be found, if you need help, check us out on Podfollow: https://podfollow.com/1499376646 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Akul Penugonda is an investing Principal at San Francisco-based tech accelerator: Acceleprise.We discuss how Acceleprise seeks to bring tech knowledge and expertise out of the tech sector into other markets.Halfway through the episode, we touch on the three key indicators that Akul looks for to determine potential in a startup and the common mistakes that founders make in a pitch to investors.In the final third of this episode, we talk about three startups from the recent Acceleprise cohort that are creating a more efficient immigration process, an automated solution system for business disputes, and better lines of communication between elder care facilities and patient’s families.

This week’s episode features an interview with Michael Cardamone, CEO and Managing Partner of Acceleprise, which is a top B2B SaaS-focused accelerator (finishing 2019 with $1B+ total enterprise value across its portfolio). In this episode, Mike sheds some light on how startup accelerators work - from sourcing companies, the initial screening and due diligence, to the actual accelerator program, including finding mentors, etc. He also talks about important considerations for founders thinking about going through an accelerator program. Lastly, he provides some tangible advice that female founders can take to their next pitch! Here’s how you can get in touch with Mike and learn more about Acceleprise:Email: mike@acceleprise.vcTwitter: @MGCardamoneWebsite: AccelepriseQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates!

As one of Inside Outside's most listened to podcasts of 2019, enjoy our interview with Olivia O'Sullivan of Acceleprise. It was originally published on June 18, 2019. Olivia O'Sullivan is the Head of Corporate Engagement at Acceleprise, a B2B SaaS accelerator. Accelerprise invests in early-tech companies building enterprise technology. Olivia's focus is on mid-market and enterprise companies interested in collaborations with startups. Her background includes work in advertising and on product and innovation teams for McDonald's and Dow Jones. Olivia spoke with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate/startup matchmaking, trends and Acceleprise's future. Read the transcript at insideoutside.io

As one of Inside Outside's most listened to podcasts of 2019, enjoy our interview with Olivia O'Sullivan of Acceleprise. It was originally published on June 18, 2019. Olivia O'Sullivan is the Head of Corporate Engagement at Acceleprise, a B2B SaaS accelerator. Accelerprise invests in early-tech companies building enterprise technology. Olivia's focus is on mid-market and enterprise companies interested in collaborations with startups. Her background includes work in advertising and on product and innovation teams for McDonald's and Dow Jones. Olivia spoke with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate/startup matchmaking, trends and Acceleprise's future. Read a transcript this episode at insideoutside.io.

Scott Lenet, President of Touchdown Ventures, takes a different approach to investing. With a tagline of VC as a Service, Scott helps companies set up and run their funds. Scott talks with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate venture. Corporates can be some of the best investors on the Cap table and achieve multiple objectives, from financial to strategic.They can also help themselves while helping the startup. How have corporates changed their startup investing? - There's a correlation between corporate venture success and longevity/experience of managers. Touchdown works hand-in-hand with corporations. - Companies should set themselves up for learning, but not as a tire kicker.  - Touchdown is seeing demand from every industry. It's not only from large corporations, but also from mid-market and startups in SF.   - How do we stay innovative? All companies can see disruption. Can I do learning without investing? No. Startups won't share info.   How do you help companies think beyond their existing industries?   - Corporate venture capital helps you do this - Companies should be investing, differently = Core, adjacent, or disruption. Where do we want to focus our investments? - VC investing in 1% of what you see.   - Intel capital or M12 ventures - Commitment to the program and helping startups. Good financial fiduciaries. Provide strategic value for startup and corporation. Relevant to businesses. Intel backs disruptive innovators.  What should startups think about for corporate venture? What should corporate venture think about for startups? - Need to recognize corporations are large — many decision-makers. VCs can help you work with corporates.   - Can deliver strategic benefits for startups. Engage in market. How do we maintain dominant positions and partners? - Need a change of mindset to reap benefits in this space.  For more information For more information, on Scott Lenet or Touchdown Ventures check out touchdownvc.com For similar podcasts, check out: Ep. 152 – Acceleprise’s Olivia O’Sullivan on Investing in Corporate/Startup Collaboration Ep. 133 – Drive Capital’s Chris Olsen on Investment Innovation in the Midwest Ep. 42 – John Bungert with MetLife on Working with VCs and Internal Innovation Campaigns Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play.   FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Scott Lenet, President of Touchdown Ventures, takes a different approach to investing. With a tagline of VC as a Service, Scott helps companies set up and run their funds. Scott talks with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate venture. Corporates can be some of the best investors on the Cap table and achieve multiple objectives, from financial to strategic.They can also help themselves while helping the startup. How have corporates changed their startup investing? - There's a correlation between corporate venture success and longevity/experience of managers. Touchdown works hand-in-hand with corporations. - Companies should set themselves up for learning, but not as a tire kicker.  - Touchdown is seeing demand from every industry. It's not only from large corporations, but also from mid-market and startups in SF.   - How do we stay innovative? All companies can see disruption. Can I do learning without investing? No. Startups won't share info.   How do you help companies think beyond their existing industries?   - Corporate venture capital helps you do this - Companies should be investing, differently = Core, adjacent, or disruption. Where do we want to focus our investments? - VC investing in 1% of what you see.   - Intel capital or M12 ventures - Commitment to the program and helping startups. Good financial fiduciaries. Provide strategic value for startup and corporation. Relevant to businesses. Intel backs disruptive innovators.  What should startups think about for corporate venture? What should corporate venture think about for startups? - Need to recognize corporations are large — many decision-makers. VCs can help you work with corporates.   - Can deliver strategic benefits for startups. Engage in market. How do we maintain dominant positions and partners? - Need a change of mindset to reap benefits in this space.  For more information For more information, on Scott Lenet or Touchdown Ventures check out touchdownvc.com For similar podcasts, check out: Ep. 152 – Acceleprise’s Olivia O’Sullivan on Investing in Corporate/Startup Collaboration Ep. 133 – Drive Capital’s Chris Olsen on Investment Innovation in the Midwest Ep. 42 – John Bungert with MetLife on Working with VCs and Internal Innovation Campaigns Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play.   FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Michael Cardamone of Acceleprise joins Nick to discuss SaaS Acceleration, Sales Savvy Founders & the Rise of Tech-Enabled Services. In this episode, we cover: What is Aaron Levie like to work for? Backstory and path to Acceleprise When you started Acceleprise a lot of folks told you not to -- the world doesn't need another accelerator. Why did you proceed? Why an Accelerator and not a traditional VC fund? Check size then and now? The biggest criticism of accelerators that I'm hearing from investors is that accelerators admit companies that need a lot of help and can't figure things out on their own -- and those are not the companies that one wants to invest in. What's your response to these folks? You've mentioned your interest in working w/ founders that have a "willingness to sell." How specifically do you develop the sell-skills of founders that are willing but green w/regards to sales. What are some the best demand-gen techniques that you use? Talk to us about how you think through pricing models and strategies at early-stage SaaS businesses. ACV initial vs. expansion rev opportunity Lemkin.. TAM... initial traction in SOM/Beachhead niche market is most important. Any company that gets traction here can find a $1B market. Agree, disagree? We talk a lot, on this show, about either why SF is the best place to build a company or why any place but SF is the best place to build a company. You've done both -- Objectively, can you break down the biggest advantages to building in the valley vs. the advantages to building outside? Let's talk a bit about pedigree -- most investors have simple heuristics here. If the founder didn't study at a Stanford/Ivy level institution... pass. If the founder didn't work for a FAANG tech company or fast-growing private tech company... pass. At New Stack, we like to say we're in the business of exceptions (deals that have all the right ingredients for success -- except these optics of provenance). Michael, where do you stand on pedigree and how do you define it? What percentage of the companies in the cohort to you invest in at completion? In terms of measuring success -- what key metric do you measure that you're most proud of? Over the past few years, what trends or major changes have you seen with regards to SaaS that founders and investors should be aware of? Tech-enabled services - a real trend or not? Venture fundable? There has been some recent issues in the Tech space with employee options -- what have you witnessed and what would you like to see change?   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Acceleprise was one of the first SaaS focused accelerators in the United States. Originally founded in Washington DC in 2012, we moved to San Francisco in 2014. We provide entrepreneurs an opportunity to tap into the extensive network of great enterprise companies, mentors and investors the Bay Area has to offer. With the consumerization of the enterprise and continued adoption of the Saas model across every industry, Acceleprise will focus on investing in very early stage companies that are solving very targeted vertical or horizontally specific pain points with an easy to use application and have a team in place with the relevant operating experience to make it happen. With offices in San Francisco, New York City, and Melbourne, Australia, founders have the opportunity to grow their companies closer to home. The accelerator is a 4 month program focused on getting the companies access to mentors and educational programming to accelerate execution of best practices, introductions to early adopters of technology with the goal of closing their first few paying clients and opportunities to have meaningful conversations with early stage investors. https://acceleprise.vc https://twitter.com/acceleprise https://www.facebook.com/acceleprise

The Battle between your Need to fill a role vs. hiring for cultural alignment.  More thought needs to go into “Who” you are going to hire than “What” you are going to hire. Meaning proven performers with transferable skills, not shiny objects. Today’s Quote: “Acquiring the right talent is the most important key to growth. Hiring was - and still is - the most important thing we do.” - Marc Bennioff, Founder, Chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce Guest Bio:  Ben Mones is the co-founder and CEO of Fama, an AI-based solution that identifies problematic behavior among potential hires and current employees by analyzing publicly available online information. He founded Fama in 2015 to address the needs of organizations everywhere that are grappling with the challenges of protecting their workplace culture and preventing harassment. Prior to Fama, Ben held a number of executive roles at a variety of startups in the Bay Area, including Acceleprise, an independent accelerator focused on enterprise technology, where he served as Entreprenuer  in Residence as well as Lanetix, a leading provider of cloud-based customer relationship management platforms as director, revenue operations. He also spent two years at content analytics and insights company Chartbeat. Ben has been tapped as a guest lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC Marshall School of Business, and has also been featured in CNBC, Fast Company, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch and the Wall Street Journal. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and is based in Venice, California.  Show Highlights:  Why & How culture shapes your business Ego over common sense- Hiring rock stars Lessons learned and a structure to follow Problem: Why is it important to invest in culture? Shaping the culture of your business. Human behavior drives business outcomes. The virtue of power, ability to destroy or drive excellence  When you need a function desperately filled, how do you balance your need to fill with the cultural value People want to align with products and services that they are passionate about Why does Ego make decisions over common sense? Anybody with a legitimate amount of responsibility makes a difference.  Rockstar engineers, leaders, need to fit into the organization, not the other way around *** first-time founders Story:  They decided to bring in some rockstars. Someone to groom.  Didn't really fit the culture, demographics, hustle & grit. They went for the big dog name! Knew almost immediately and he took a position of superiority Hostile, no empathy… what they thought was not the reality Lesson Learned Hired but got rid of that person quickly. Rick’s Input: Cultural alignment/values alignment increase productivity One wrong egg  Hire Performers, not “Rockstars” Rockstars  Solutions: What road map should leaders follow? Get to know yourselves first. What is important to your business to ensure your success, mission & values to drive success. Team-based decision Structured interview process. Strong candidate experience, all voices/perspectives are heard in the decision process… treat each person like a new hire from the very moment they get in contact with you If you think you have talked to enough people, talk to a few more.  Confirmation bias Be swift. Hire slow, intervene quickly! A closer look on the first 60 days. Course correct early on!  With more transparency Driving synergy is more important than putting a rockstar in a seat Rick’s Framework Treat each Person as if they are your only person mindset eliminates bias Key Takeaways: Human behavior drives business outcomes Before identifying the talent that can help drive your business forward, critical to dig-in and understand the values and culture drivers within your business. Intervening and course correcting is an easier option than you might think...terminating a person is a last resort.

If the science behind creativity piques your interest, then you've probably heard of Allen Gannett. Allen who's colloquially known as a corgi father is debunking the myths of the creative genius and how we can start cultivating our creative side today in his hit-selling book 'The Creative Curve'. He's known for co-founding Acceleprise, an international B2B startup accelerator to being the CEO of TrackMaven, an enterprise big-data analytics platform which recently merged with Skyword, one of America's industry-leading content marketing services. Here, Allen is our next chapter of NXT GEN MVMNT, where we'll deep-dive on his insights and get under the hood on his journey. *** Follow Allen's journey: Buy his book - thecreativecurve.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/allengannett/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/allen/

Taylor Ryan, CMO of Valuer.ai, talks with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation founder, about Startup-Corporate Matchmaking. Valuer.ai matches startups with corporates, accelerators, and investors based on AI and crowdsourcing. Key points - Valuer.ai - HQ in Denmark. Taylor Ryan, from the US, is a six time co-founder, writer, growth hacker, and startup junkie. - Corporate/Startup matchmaking new to Europe. - Customized searches on Valuer.AI combines Crowdsource and data collection to find the right startups both locally and internationally.  - Uses qualitative data of founders to determine if startups are investible.  - Finding different skill sets of founders - data, block chain and finance are skills corporates are looking for.  - Internal corporate innovators can use to find new ideas.  - Need more education on looking to startups as long-term solutions for problems within corporations. - Trends in startup world - Different European hubs have different flavor. - Drift in European Tech to go after 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Corporate Social Responsibility. For More Information For more information or to connect with Taylor, check out Valuer.ai  For similar podcasts, check out: Ep. 131 - Sean Moffitt of WikiBrands & Author of WikiBrands: How to Reinvent Your Business in a Customer Connected Marketplace Ep. 142 - Neil Soni, Author of The Startup Gold Mine and Estee Lauder Innovator Ep. 152 - Acceleprise’s Olivia O’Sullivan on Investing in Corporate/Startup Collaboration Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play. FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Taylor Ryan, CMO of Valuer.ai, talks with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation founder, about Startup-Corporate Matchmaking. Valuer.ai matches startups with corporates, accelerators, and investors based on AI and crowdsourcing. Key points - Valuer.ai - HQ in Denmark. Taylor Ryan, from the US, is a six time co-founder, writer, growth hacker, and startup junkie. - Corporate/Startup matchmaking new to Europe. - Customized searches on Valuer.AI combines Crowdsource and data collection to find the right startups both locally and internationally.  - Uses qualitative data of founders to determine if startups are investible.  - Finding different skill sets of founders - data, block chain and finance are skills corporates are looking for.  - Internal corporate innovators can use to find new ideas.  - Need more education on looking to startups as long-term solutions for problems within corporations. - Trends in startup world - Different European hubs have different flavor. - Drift in European Tech to go after 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Corporate Social Responsibility. For More Information For more information or to connect with Taylor, check out Valuer.ai  For similar podcasts, check out: Ep. 131 - Sean Moffitt of WikiBrands & Author of WikiBrands: How to Reinvent Your Business in a Customer Connected Marketplace Ep. 142 - Neil Soni, Author of The Startup Gold Mine and Estee Lauder Innovator Ep. 152 - Acceleprise’s Olivia O’Sullivan on Investing in Corporate/Startup Collaboration Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play. FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Olivia O'Sullivan is the Head of Corporate Engagement at Acceleprise, a B2B SaaS accelerator. Accelerprise invests in early-tech companies building enterprise technology. Olivia's focus is on mid-market and enterprise companies interested in collaborations with startups. Her background includes work in advertising and on product and innovation teams for McDonald's and Dow Jones.  Olivia spoke with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate/startup matchmaking, trends and Acceleprise's future. Key factors in selecting startups include: - Understanding the founding team. Can they solve the challenge?  - Traction and product market fit. Want to accelerate growth.  - Thresholds and levels of expectations.  - Collaboration on the product.  Emphasis on the initial period where you make introductions. The missing piece is how to transition into providing impact.  - Make sure two groups of people are set up to participate with each other and engage in a partnership.  - Provide long-term strategic support.  - Innovation doesn’t happen in a silo. Need a long-term strategy. Participate in the ecosystem before you see change.  Corporations are in different places in innovation - Companies wanting roundtables and market intelligence. - Companies with established processes and venture teams.  New Trends  - Ten years ago, there were lots of corporate accelerators. Now a lot of established independent accelerators doing great work.  - Now more meaningful partnership doing co-collaboration with startups. - Financial services companies are partnering with startups.  - Health tech - Unlocking the power of data in the health world.  What are the core skills for entrepreneurs? - Long-term vision and steps to get there.  - Someone who will get the work done to get over hurdles.  - People who are connectors on the corporate innovation side.  What’s next for Acceleprise - Kick off upcoming programs in SF and NY - Investing in another 20 companies. Already invested in over 100. - Opening office in Toronto.  For More Information For more information on Acceleprise or to connect with Olivia check out https://acceleprise.vc If you enjoyed this podcast, you might also enjoy: Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play.   FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Olivia O'Sullivan is the Head of Corporate Engagement at Acceleprise, a B2B SaaS accelerator. Accelerprise invests in early-tech companies building enterprise technology. Olivia's focus is on mid-market and enterprise companies interested in collaborations with startups. Her background includes work in advertising and on product and innovation teams for McDonald's and Dow Jones.  Olivia spoke with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation Founder, about corporate/startup matchmaking, trends and Acceleprise's future. Key factors in selecting startups include: - Understanding the founding team. Can they solve the challenge?  - Traction and product market fit. Want to accelerate growth.  - Thresholds and levels of expectations.  - Collaboration on the product.  Emphasis on the initial period where you make introductions. The missing piece is how to transition into providing impact.  - Make sure two groups of people are set up to participate with each other and engage in a partnership.  - Provide long-term strategic support.  - Innovation doesn’t happen in a silo. Need a long-term strategy. Participate in the ecosystem before you see change.  Corporations are in different places in innovation - Companies wanting roundtables and market intelligence. - Companies with established processes and venture teams.  New Trends  - Ten years ago, there were lots of corporate accelerators. Now a lot of established independent accelerators doing great work.  - Now more meaningful partnership doing co-collaboration with startups. - Financial services companies are partnering with startups.  - Health tech - Unlocking the power of data in the health world.  What are the core skills for entrepreneurs? - Long-term vision and steps to get there.  - Someone who will get the work done to get over hurdles.  - People who are connectors on the corporate innovation side.  What’s next for Acceleprise - Kick off upcoming programs in SF and NY - Investing in another 20 companies. Already invested in over 100. - Opening office in Toronto.  For More Information For more information on Acceleprise or to connect with Olivia check out https://acceleprise.vc If you enjoyed this podcast, you might also enjoy: Ep. 139 – Northwestern Mutual’s Vivek Bedi on Digital Transformation in the Financial Industry Ep. 137 – Deloitte’s Michael Frankel on Growth, Hybrid Talent & Corporate/Startup Collaboration Ep. 127 – Vanguard & CEC’s John Buhl on Lean Startup at Scale Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play.   FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

This week's edition of The Operators features Whitney Sales, a general partner at Acceleprise, the leading enterprise SaaS accelerator, and Russ Heddleston, founder and CEO of DocSend, a fast rising document management and sharing product. Whitney brings sales experience from Loopnet, Meltwater, SpringAhead/Tallie, and People Data Labs, before starting her own sales consultancy aptly named “The Sales Method.” Russ brings experience from founding and selling his first company to Facebook, before becoming the first sales person of the second company he founded, DocSend. If you've ever had to convince anyone of anything, or are interested in a career in sales or starting a company where you will have to hire or manage sales people, you can't miss this episode. More at www.operators.co

“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers” - Robert Half If you were about to put a LOT of money and time on the line to invest in a fledgling startup, what would you want to ask? Well, that’s what today’s guest, Whitney Sales (Twitter: @thesalesmethod) has to talk about. She is the General Partner and Executive Director of Programming, based in San Francisco, for the top B2B accelerator Acceleprise. Whitney has 10+ years of startup sales experience and is the founder of The Sales Method, a consultancy that helps startups identify target markets, build successful sales teams and quickly get products to market.  She led four companies to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list including LoopNet, Joby, Meltwater and SpringAhead. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Akul Penugonda is the Head of Sourcing at Acceleprise, a startup accelerator focusing on the most promising early-stage B2B companies. Acceleprise has backed over 100 companies and has programs in both San Francisco and New York City. An east coast native who joined Acceleprise from Yext, a large SaaS company in New York, he previously spent time in various positions in both software engineering and product management and enjoys volunteering in his free time. Akul graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. In this episode, Akul talks about his love for computers, the parallels between leadership and gardening, and the desire to make a difference in Asian entrepreneurial community. Consider becoming a Listener Supporter. Be a part of the Afflatus community and enjoy exclusive membership rewards. Full details here: https://bit.ly/2PFDUS8 Subscribe here: https://anchor.fm/theafflatus/support Follow The Afflatus: www.facebook.com/aalok.rathod www.facebook.com/unciafilms www.instagram.com/al_rathod Follow Akul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akulvp/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theafflatus/support

Welcome to Episode 38 of The VentureFizz Podcast, the flagship podcast of your most-trusted source for startup and tech jobs, news, and insights! For the latest episode of our podcast, I interviewed Michael Cardamone, Managing Director & General Partner at Acceleprise, a SaaS-focused accelerator with programs in New York City, San Francisco, and Melbourne, Australia. Michael was an early employee on the business development team at Box and more recently led business development and partner marketing at AcademixDirect. In addition to his current role at Acceleprise, Michael is an active angel investor and personally advises a number of startups. In this episode, we cover: -Michael's background and his experience with the family business -What it was like working as an early member of the Box team -The details on Acceleprise -Lots of great advice for founders, like how they should approach sales and their pricing strategy -Plus, a lot more Lastly, if you like the show, please remember to subscribe to and review us on iTunes, or your podcast player of choice!

The post E833: Crushing Customer Acquisition: Andy Artz, Social Capital explains how to think about your funnel like an investor (“If Warren Buffet Were a Marketer”) & Whitney Sales, Acceleprise walks through the optimal sales process @ LAUNCH Festival Sydney appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E833: Crushing Customer Acquisition: Andy Artz, Social Capital explains how to think about your funnel like an investor (“If Warren Buffet Were a Marketer”) & Whitney Sales, Acceleprise walks through the optimal sales process @ LAUNCH Festival Sydney appeared first on This Week In Startups.

My guest for Episode 88 of The Startup Playbook Podcast, is Whitney Sales, the General Partner and Head of Global Programming at Acceleprise. As I mentioned in my last episode, one of the initiatives I am involved with is bringing Acceleprise to Australia. Acceleprise is a 4 month accelerator program that invests $75,000 for 7.5% equity into the most promising B2B or Enterprise SaaS companies. The core focus of the program is helping startups close sales, drive revenue and build a platform for scalability through providing direct introductions to potential customers, workshops to help you generate and close leads and providing access to world-class mentors who have built successful SaaS businesses or are key decision makers in large scale enterprises. As part of the our partnership with Acceleprise in the US, our teams will spend the last month of the program in San Francisco where they will get to work alongside the US cohort, get introduced to potential customers in the American market and pitch at the San Francisco demo day. Applications for cohort 1 are open till the 27th of June with our first intake starting in July 2018. If you are interested in applying head over to the Acceleprise website or if you want to find out more about the program, send me an email at rohit@acceleprise.vc One of the people heavily involved with the Acceleprise program in the US is Whitney Sales, the General Partner and Head of Global Programming at Acceleprise US. Whitney has over 10 years of startup sales experience and is the founder of The Sales Method, a consultancy that helps startups identify target markets, build successful sales teams and quickly get products to market. Prior to Acceleprise, Whitney led four companies to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list including LoopNet, Joby, Meltwater and SpringAhead. This interview was a complete masterclass in B2B sales and we covered topics such as: The differences between selling software vs physical products How to get referrals and introductions When and how to hire the right sales team How to gauge interest in a potential enterprise sale WATCH ON YOUTUBE PLAYBOOK MEDIA – Growth through Data-Driven Storytelling THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK ACCELEPRISE AUSTRALIA STARTUP PLAYBOOK HUSTLE APPLICATION    Show notes:  - LoopNet - Joby - The Sales Method - Cisco - Salesforce - Quora - Gainsight - Box - Acceleprise.vc - LAUNCH festival - Whitney@acceleprise.vc Feedback/ connect/ say hello:  Rohit@startupplaybook.co @playbookstartup (Twitter) @rohitbhargava7 (Twitter – Rohit) Rohit Bhargava (LinkedIn) Credits: Intro music credit to Bensound Other channels: Watch the video on Youtube here. Don't have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Stitcher & Soundcloud The post Ep088 – Whitney Sales (GP – Acceleprise) on building effective sales teams appeared first on Startup Playbook.

Marketers use TrackMaven to measure and improve performance across every channel — so they can tie the details to the big picture. Used by the NBA, Microsoft, Saks Fifth Avenue, and many more Graduated from George Washington University with a degree in Political Science. Graduated summa cum laude - Board of Trustees Scholar - Luther Rice Fellow - Co-authored research on public corruption that was published in the journal Public Integrity Prior employment included Co-founder and Partner of Acceleprise; Splash Networks; and CMO, EmployInsight

My guest for Episode 87 of The Startup Playbook Podcast is Michael Cardamone, the Managing Director of Acceleprise As some of you may have heard and or seen, one of the initiatives I am involved with is bringing Acceleprise to Australia. Acceleprise is a 4 month accelerator program that invests $75,000 for 7.5% equity into the most promising B2B or Enterprise SaaS companies. The core focus of the program is helping startups close sales, drive revenue and build a platform for scalability through providing direct introductions to potential customers, workshops to help you generate and close leads and providing access to world-class mentors who have built successful SaaS businesses or are key decision makers in large scale enterprises. As part of the our partnership with Acceleprise in the US, our teams will spend the last month of the program in San Francisco where they will get to work alongside the US cohort, get introduced to potential customers in the American market and pitch at the San Francisco demo day. Applications for cohort 1 are open till the 27th of June with our first intake starting in July 2018. If you are interested in applying head over to the Acceleprise website or if you want to find out more about the program, send me an email at rohit@acceleprise.vc. To provide more context on Acceleprise and what it takes to build successful SaaS businesses, my guest for this podcast episode is Michael Cardamone - the Managing Director of Acceleprise. Prior to Acceleprise, Mike was one of the first 30 employees at Box as one of their Business Development Managers, before becoming the VP of partnerships at AcademixDirect. He then went on to spend some time as a Venture Partner as SaaStr's $70M VC fund. Mike has been running the Acceleprise program since June 2014 and to date has invested in over 70 companies, a large proportion of which have gone on to raise subsequent rounds of capital and scale and several of which have gone on to be acquired such as AdHusky, Bridgecrest Medical, Encore Alert and MetaLayer just to name a few! In this brief interview recorded just before Acceleprise's recent demo day in San Francisco, we covered a range of topics including: How culture affects growth trajectory The ingredients of a strong team Why the best founders have conviction of the market and market opportunity Strategy to find effective pricing What founders should look for in accelerator programs Using partnerships as a growth strategy   WATCH ON YOUTUBE PLAYBOOK MEDIA – Growth through Data-Driven Storytelling THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK ACCELEPRISE AUSTRALIA STARTUP PLAYBOOK HUSTLE APPLICATION    Show notes: Box Acceleprise Tien Tzuo Zuora GainSight Adir Shiffman AngelList Mike (Twitter) Mike@acceleprise.vc   Feedback/ connect/ say hello:  Rohit@startupplaybook.co @playbookstartup (Twitter) @rohitbhargava7 (Twitter – Rohit) Rohit Bhargava (LinkedIn) Credits: Intro music credit to Bensound Other channels: Watch the video on Youtube here. Don't have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Stitcher & Soundcloud The post Ep087 – Michael Cardamone (Managing Director – Acceleprise) on teams and vision appeared first on Startup Playbook.

What do founders really get out of accelerators? What are the wins and the trade-offs? Our guest today is Nina Stepanov, Associate & Head of Platform at Acceleprise. You'll get familiar with the industry terms, learn how accelerators work, and how all parties can benefit from such collaboration. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Acceleprise — the global SaaS accelerator where Nina works Y Combinator, Techstars — other famous accelerators Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist — a book by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, and Dick Costolo Apply for Acceleprise on AngelList Follow Nina on Twitter: @ninarstepanov Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by The UI Audit. Want to design web applications that are actually useful to people? This book will help you adopt a smarter approach to UI/UX — from product strategy to each individual screen. To get you copy, head over to uibreakfast.com/audit and use your special promocode SUMMERTIME20 to get 20% off any book package. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Show Highlights Terri answers Jacqueline’s questions about pitch events and demo days Terri talks about the Ada program in Berlin to encourage more women to be founders and entrepreneurs where she will be a mentor in their first cohort. Terri talks about the SwissNex event last year where she met Anne Cocquyt of The Guild where she had to ask to be on the all-male panel and the facilitator said they would be declaring the king of the evening.  Terri had to shout out “or queen.” The winner ended up being a female founder.  Terri comments on how she dislikes pitch events where winners are declared but there’s no actual financial reward. Terri attends events to learn about what is going on, the latest technology, and potentially find new startups to invest in.  She also looks for founders/startups to help even if she doesn’t invest in the startups.  Terri clarifies her understanding of an evergreen fund for her own investing. How long does it take a company to exit?  Typically, 7-10 years.  But it depends on the business and the exit strategy (IPO, acquisition).  What is an accredited investor?  Terri talks about the discussions around investing in startups and the SEC requirements and that the net worth and income requirements limit who can invest regardless of knowledge and experience.  Terri shares what she is listening for at the various pitch events.  It depends on which hat she is wearing.  In addition to the standard pitch elements, she is looking for ability to communicate.  Is Terri looking for leadership style in the pitches?  Indirectly, yes.  The point of the pitch is to pique interest for follow up conversations.  In early stage startups, you are generally investing in the team.  Terri is excited about one of her investments, Zum, that just announced their $19M Series B raise. Zum is on demand and scheduled rides for kids ages 5-15.  They have a female co-founder/CEO.  At what point do big VCs invest in startups?  What are the various rounds?  Seed, Series A, Series B, etc.  Terri talks about the current landscape with more money coming into startups earlier and VCs investing earlier in the startups.  Geography impacts this as well.  Terri talks about when she invests in convertible notes versus priced rounds. Terri is excited about the first deal, Sendaride, she is syndicating on AngelList.  (This is not a solicitation for funds).  Terri is sharing out to folks in her network who she knows are accredited investors to get them onto the AngelList platform.  Terri found getting onto the platform a bit confusing without a specific deal to invest in.  Terri and Jacqueline were saved by the bell when Terri’s neighbor, Sean,  came over with a cocktail to discuss cryptocurrency, blockchain and ICO’s.    Call to Action Subscribe to one podcast or one newsletter about angel investing and get into the groove of listening and reading.  Feel free to reach out to Terri if you have any questions or comments or other suggestions for resources for new angel investors.  PilotingYourLife@gmail.com   References in the Podcast The Guild: https://theguilded.org/guild/home/index.html#/ Founder Institute: https://fi.co/ Sand Hill Angels: http://www.sandhillangels.com/ Terri’s Medium post on what she looks for in a pitch: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead/pitching-to-angel-investors-or-at-least-to-me-30696345ebe6 Y Combinator: http://www.ycombinator.com/ 500 Startups: https://500.co/ Acceleprise: http://acceleprise.vc/ Alchemist Accelerator: http://alchemistaccelerator.com/ Ada Accelerator (Ignore Gravity):  https://www.ada-accelerator.com/ SwissNex: https://www.swissnexsanfrancisco.org/ Terri’s Medium post on cryptocurrency, blockchain, ICOs: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead/cryptocurrency-and-ico-resources-55766cae29e GoBambino: http://www.gobambino.com/ Ben Narasin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennarasin/ NEA: http://www.nea.com/ Accredited investor requirements: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accreditedinvestor.asp SeedInvest: https://www.seedinvest.com/ Jason Calacanis: http://calacanis.com/ Launch Festival: https://www.launchfestival.com/ Jobs Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumpstart_Our_Business_Startups_Act Clara Brenner of Urban Venture Fund talks about the Series A crunch at a Founder University event: http://thisweekinstartups.com/founder-university-clara-brenner/ Sequoia Capital: https://www.sequoiacap.com/ AngelList: https://angel.co/ Sendaride: https://sendaride.com/   Contact You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Michael Cardamone was one of the first 30 employees at Box and went on to lead partnerships at AcademixDirect. After 6 years in operating roles, he started and is now the Managing Director of Accelerise in San Francisco (www.acceleprise.vc), an enterprise software focused accelerator backed by leading operators. In addition to Acceleprise, he is a... The post The Most Important Metrics and Milestones for SaaS Startups Raising Seed and Series A Funding with Mike Cardamone of Acceleprise appeared first on The Syndicate.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" is an interview series that goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have successfully raised capital. This episode is with Sergio Villasenor, CEO of Elliot (https://www.helloiamelliot.com/). Sergio raised capital from Susa Ventures, Bowery Capital, BAM Ventures, Flexport, SV Angel and Acceleprise. Recorded on January 18, 2018.

Zvi Band is a software developer and entrepreneur, the CEO and co-founder of Contactually which is a software service that gives people everything they need to easily organize and stay in touch with the most important people in their network. He built the company from an idea in his Evernote to 60 employees (and growing), millions in revenue, 12M+ in venture backing, numerous awards, and thousands of paying customers in SMB and mid-market. He previously led Workstreamer as CTO from its initial product development to acquisition. Prior to Contactually, Zvi ran a software consultancy firm, working for clients such as Ford, NYSE AND Volkswagen. He also serves as a mentor to two DC-Based incubators, 1776 and Acceleprise. He founded DC Tech Meetup and ProudlyMadeinDC to promote DC entrepreneurship. He has been named a DC “Tech Titan” 3 times. ……….. Book recommendation for entrepreneurs:  Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers – Geoffrey A. Moore (has been a key part of the business strategy behind Contactually) The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers – Ben Horowitz Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future – Peter Thiel >>> Legacy: To be remembered as someone who made a positive impact in the world and made a lasting effect in some way – Zvi. >>> Best way to connect: @skeevis – Zvi's Twitter Handle (His favourite way of communicating) http://www.contactually.com/ (www.contactually.com) – Zvi's business website  

Whitney Sales is the VP of Sales at TalentIQ, has been involved in bringing products to market and managing high growth sales teams for over a decade. She is the creator of the Sales Method, a strategic framework for launching products, which she used to help three companies earn a place on the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies list. Prior to joining TalentIQ, Whitney held executive positions at Wanelo and SpringAhead and currently serves as a mentor at StartX, Alchemist, and previous guest Acceleprise and a huge thanks to Michael Cardamone @ Acceleprise for the intro to Whitney today. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How did Whitney make her way into the world of SaaS and more specifically sales? What are the 5 key criteria that founders need to consider before embarking on the sales process? How specific and targeted should a customer profile be? How many profiles can they have? What are the best questions to determine the optimal customer segment? How can founders identify which buyers are innovators? What tools are best for this? Once discovered, how should founders approach these innovators? Founders learn about gaps in customer information from selling. So how close should the integration of content marketing and selling be in the early days? 60 Second SaaStr What are Whitney’s preferred tools for her tech stack? What does Whitney know now that she wishes she had known at the beginning? Does the proliferation of sales tools make it harder or easier? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Whitney Sales

Michael Cardamone is the Managing Director of Acceleprise, a SaaS focused accelerator based in San Francisco and backed by leading operators. He is also an advisor to and angel investor in early stage SaaS companies. Prior to Acceleprise, Michael was one of the first 30 employees at Box in a business development role and then led partnerships at an EdTech company called AcademixDirect.   In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How did Michael make his way into the world of SaaS and then start Acceleprise in SF? How can founders know when is the right time to ship product? Does Michael agree with Reid Hoffman, ‘if you are not embarrassed by your V1, it is too late’? How should startups look to establish a pricing mechanism at such an early stage? What are Mike’s thoughts on freemium? Before Mike has said founders can charge more than they think. Why does he think this and how can founders know when they have reached their price ceiling? Do founders need to sell their own product? How should founders approach the sales learning process? What questions should they be asking How important is it for a startup to have an ideal customer profile? Should founders be looking for influential customers early or just getting as many dollars in as possible? How impactful can big brands and companies be as customers to early stage companies? 60 Second SaaStr Scrappiness: good or not as it just simply isn’t scalable? Most common challenge for Mike’s companies? Fave SaaS reading material? Entrepreneur optimism: Let it run or be wary? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Michael Cardamone  

In this episode, Carl Ehrlich and Jeff Dunlap talk to Dhruva Rajendra, an entrepreneur in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Sandbox Network and a founder of Learn Shark, a company that graduated from Acceleprise in 2013. Edited and produced by Ben Gregson. Music by Clifton Gibbons.