Podcast appearances and mentions of jason mendelson

¿Buscas inversión para tu negocio? Cuidado: no todo el dinero es bueno.En el mundo de las startups, conseguir inversión parece el gran objetivo, pero muchos emprendedores firman acuerdos sin entender sus implicaciones. La realidad es que un mal trato con inversionistas puede costarte el control de tu propia empresa.En este episodio analizo Emprender con Capital Riesgo (Venture Deals, 2011) de Brad Feld y Jason Mendelson, un libro esencial para cualquier emprendedor que quiera entender cómo funcionan los inversionistas de riesgo, qué debes negociar en una Hoja de Términos y cómo evitar perder el control de tu negocio.Aprenderás:✔ Cómo piensan los inversionistas de capital de riesgo.✔ Qué es realmente una Hoja de Términos y por qué puede definir el futuro de tu startup.✔ Qué estrategias existen para financiar tu empresa sin perder el control.✔ Cuáles son las mejores formas de planear una salida exitosa (venta, IPO, etc.).

¿Buscas inversión para tu negocio? Cuidado: no todo el dinero es bueno.En el mundo de las startups, conseguir inversión parece el gran objetivo, pero muchos emprendedores firman acuerdos sin entender sus implicaciones. La realidad es que un mal trato con inversionistas puede costarte el control de tu propia empresa.En este episodio analizo Emprender con Capital Riesgo (Venture Deals, 2011) de Brad Feld y Jason Mendelson, un libro esencial para cualquier emprendedor que quiera entender cómo funcionan los inversionistas de riesgo, qué debes negociar en una Hoja de Términos y cómo evitar perder el control de tu negocio.Aprenderás:✔ Cómo piensan los inversionistas de capital de riesgo.✔ Qué es realmente una Hoja de Términos y por qué puede definir el futuro de tu startup.✔ Qué estrategias existen para financiar tu empresa sin perder el control.✔ Cuáles son las mejores formas de planear una salida exitosa (venta, IPO, etc.).

What's one simple thing that changes the game for ALL entrepreneurs? Mentorship! Today, I'm joined by the CEO & Founder of The Mentor Method (and my new bestie!), Janice Omadeke! She shares her expert advice on fully unlocking the power of mentorship + building meaningful professional relationships that last. She'll go step by step on how to find the right mentor for you and your goals when you're just starting out. As one of the first 100 Black women to raise 1 million in seed funding, she'll also reveal key strategies for successfully raising capital and getting the “Yes”s that you need. If you want to step up your game and keep the needle moving forward, you need a mentor! HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 How do you reflect back on your accomplishments? 04:05 How to manage grief and business at the same time. 09:05 Where did your passion for mentorship begin? 13:55 The best ways to connect with your mentors. 19:00 How to find the right mentor for you + your goals. 26:50 Tips for setting healthy boundaries as a mentor. 30:20 How did your tech background help you build your business? 36:15 The biggest lessons from the early years of building a business. 40:40 What is the key to raising funds successfully? 47:20 How to get more of the “yes”s that you need. 51:30 Celebrating Janice's Powerhouse moment of embracing fun and joy.   RESOURCES + LINKS Get your copy of Mentorship Unlocked by Janice Omadeke on Amazon!   Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin on Amazon Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson on Amazon   Click HERE to text the word MENTOR to (602) 536-7829 for weekly business + mindset tips delivered straight to your phone!   Powerhouse Women is a COMMUNITY and YOU are part of it! Take a screenshot of this episode and tag us on Instagram so we can keep the conversation going and create more of the episodes you need!      FOLLOW Janice: @janiceomadeke Visit The Mentor Method website: https://www.thementormethod.com/   Powerhouse Women: @powerhouse_women Lindsey: @llindseyschwartz   Visit the Powerhouse Women website: powerhousewomen.co Join the PW Community Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/powerhousewomencommunity  

Change is hard. But what if embracing change led to your greatest growth? My guest is Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Brad shares how we can cultivate “rugged flexibility” to gracefully navigate cycles of order, disorder and reorder. Imagine harnessing the storms of change to help you grow into your best self. Brad upends conventional wisdom, showing how accepting impermanence allows us to become our best selves. Having weathered major life changes himself, Brad did extensive research on how we can thrive amidst instability. This eye-opening discussion will challenge your assumptions and show you how to make peace with change.You can find Brad at: Website | Instagram | Farewell Podcast | Episode TranscriptIf you LOVED this episode you'll also love the conversations we had with Jason Mendelson about how he intentionally disrupted and kept changing his life over seasons and years.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED. Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Folks, this may be the closest to a "Smartless" vibe that Michael and I ever get. Wide ranging witty banter, curious tales from the practice of law, insider intel from the fast-moving big-dealing VC world, and practical points to ponder for life and how to live it. Join us for a delightful 4 way conversation with these two lawyers/authors/entrepreneurs/venture capitalists, with a fresh take on on the Power of Perspective, the powerful life lessons of failing and trying again, the key ingredients of meaningful mentoring, and the importance of how we show up in every role, relationship, or project. Their new book is called How to Be a Lawyer: The Path From Law School to Success, and it's available... well, you know where (and they don't pay us to say their behemoth corporate name.)

In this episode, Jeffrey sits down with Jason Mendelson, a recovering Venture Capitalist, attorney, CJR advocate, musician, producer, and all-around badass changemaker and entrepreneur. They discuss his upbringing, the injury that led him away from music for a time, becoming a venture capitalist, and more. He's written and recorded his own album, played in various bands, and produced for stars like Aloe Blacc, Payge Turner, and many more and also founded CJR organization Breakthrough.  Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zrppDxI_5T0 Learn more: Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker Producer: Kait Grey Editor: Nick Case Recording date: 7/24/23 Breakthrough: https://timetobreakthrough.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/timetobreakthrough/ Books: Venture Deals - https://a.co/d/38pCzmM How to Be a Lawyer - https://a.co/d/cCAQ2TQ Jace Allen music: https://jaceallen.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PbQjHVCUrghNLctvGturu https://jaceallen.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@jaceallen https://www.instagram.com/jaceallen_music/ https://www.facebook.com/jaceallenmusic https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jace-allen/1365882791 https://soundcloud.com/user-949081121 Gen3 Music: https://gen3band.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/1TPAYfqlShQs2XeMXHOil3?si=OolkMYJISuy14EUj2k0vJw https://music.apple.com/us/artist/gen3/1561047640 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClhSEHtaWhSwVG3-MlenEIg Bio: Jason: I am a musician and work in the criminal justice reform ecosystem. I've written a best-selling book (Venture Deals) and will release my second book "How To Be a Lawyer" in Q2 2022. In my past, I have been a venture capitalist, startup co-founder, adjunct professor and part-time author in Boulder, CO. Previously, I was an attorney at a large tech Law firm and prior to that, a software engineer. I won't answer LinkedIn requests for anything pertaining to my tech-world background. If you want to chat about something in the criminal justice reform space or musical (and not music tech / startup), I'm all ears! Jace Allen Music Bio⁠ 0:00 - Intro 8:59 - Importance of Giving Back 11:01 - Education 12:56 - Early Music Career 15:29 - Injury 18:31 - Corporate Life 24:40 - Venture Capital 26:37 - Venture Deals, How to Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist 30:47 - Breakthrough 40:29 - Law Professor 41:14 - How to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Law School to Success 44:04 - SRS Aquium 47:20 - AI 53:11 - Jace Allen 55:08 - Good Noise Studios 1:00:47 - Gen3 1:02:42 - Art Creating Impact 1:08:15 - Stand Together Foundation 1:16:40 - When Work Affected Change 1:21:20 - Ask Jeff a Question 1:23:05 - Most Proud of 1:24:44 - Snap Your Fingers 1:25:54 - How to Support

Discover the power of a multi-passionate career in our latest podcast episode featuring Jason Mendelson, a creative dynamo who's seamlessly integrated a spectrum of pursuits into an inspiring, joy-filled journey.Key highlights include:Debunking the myth that success equals singular focus, and exploring how a diversified "portfolio of pursuits" can enhance career satisfaction.Jason's incredible journey from passionate musician to tech engineer, law practitioner, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, writer, and back to music again, a testament to the magic of diversified career-building.Insight into his latest book, How to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Law School to Success, a must-read that bridges the gap between academia and real-world legal practice.The remarkable comeback to music after a life-altering injury, illustrating that passion transcends obstacles, and even opens doors to other interests.Join us as we unpack Jason's 'yes, and' approach to career progression, and learn how intertwining multiple passions can lead to a fulfilling, joyful, and successful career. Tune in, get inspired, and rethink the way you perceive success.You can find Jason at: Website | Spotify | Episode TranscriptIf you LOVED this episode you'll also love the conversations we had with Adam Grant on rethinking beliefs and the power of motivation and creativity at work.Check out our offerings & partners: My New Book SparkedMy New Podcast SPARKED. To submit your “moment & question” for consideration to be on the show go to sparketype.com/submit. Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're often told, the only way to succeed in work - and, in no small part - in life, is to pick one or two things, focus intensively, go all in, and say no to anything that distracts you from that path.  But, is it true? Is that really the only way to be both happy and successful? Or, is there a place for a multi-passionate, diversified “portfolio of pursuits” approach to career-building that can lead not just to never having FOMO, but also to joy, meaning, and success? Turns out, the answer to that last question is yes. But, the question is how? And, the choices made and actions taken by my guest on today's SPARKED podcast, Jason Mendelson, show just how the pieces can sometimes come together to create a near-magical puzzle of paths that let you pursue multiple passions, while still building an incredible career, and living a truly joyful and connected life. Jason is a multi-faceted creative force, true inspiration and just someone who radiates life. With an early passion for music, he thought recording, performing and composing would be his career. But an injury to his hand put an abrupt end to not just his vision and passion, but his very identity as a musician.  Jason mourned the loss, but soon also realized, the space created when music took a back seat let other passions and interests bubble up, leading him first into the world of tech as an engineer, then the practice of law, then entrepreneurship, venture capital, and philanthropy with a healthy dose of overlap in all. Writing also entered the picture, and has woven in and out of nearly every stage. In fact, Jason's latest book ‘How to Be a Lawyer, bridges the gap between law school and practice, by explaining what professors won't tell their students in law school and what employers and clients will actually expect from them.  For him, when it come to his career path, it's never been about “one and only,” but rather “yes, and,” trusting that his passion for any given endeavor will infuse the others with the energy, joy, and even insights needed to allow all pursuits to rise, and Jason to travel a career path filled with variety, joy, and yes, success. SPARKED GUEST BRAINTRUST ADVISOR: Jason Mendelson | Website YOUR HOST: Jonathan Fields Jonathan is a dad, husband, award-winning author, multi-time founder, executive producer and host of the Good Life Project podcast, and co-host of SPARKED, too! He's also the creator of an unusual tool that's helped more than 650,000 people discover what kind of work makes them come alive - the Sparketype® Assessment, and author of the bestselling book, SPARKED. So what is your Sparketype? Turns out, we all have a unique imprint for work that makes us come alive, this is your Sparketype. When you discover yours, everything, your entire work-life- and even parts of your personal life and relationships - begins to make sense. Until you know yours, you're kind of fumbling in the dark.  How to submit your question for the SPARKED Braintrust: Wisdom-seeker submissions More on Sparketypes at: Discover You Sparketype | The Book | The Website Read more on the Sparked Newsletter on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathan Fields on LinkedIn. Presented by LinkedIn.

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://linkedin.com/in/wclittle) compare ChatGPT, Bard, HuggingChat, and BingChat regarding their recommendations for startup books and front-end code for a standard startup landing page. I compare the user experience of each LLM, the limitations of each for these use cases, and show how ChatGPT and Bard seem to be current leaders in these examples.Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-149 for more information. You can watch this episode via video here. 0:03 - Tee-up for the episode, talking about the 4 LLMs I'll be comparing, and where to find the audio/video of this episode. 1:14 - Talking about startup books, starting with ChatGPT's list: "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries"Zero to One" by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters"The Startup Owner's Manual" by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf"Founders at Work" by Jessica Livingston"The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz"Venture Deals" by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson"Disciplined Entrepreneurship" by Bill Aule"Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey A. Moore2:47 - Talking about Google Bard's list: The Lean Startup by Eric RiesZero to One by Peter ThielThe Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzThe Mom Test by Rob FitzpatrickThe Startup Owner's Manual by Steve BlankThe $100 Startup by Chris GuillebeauFounders at Work by Jessica LivingstonLost and Founder by Rand FishkinThe Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton ChristensenThe Art of Startup Fundraising by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf3:25 - HuggingChat's “list” - which was just The Lean Startup4:12 - Bing Chat's list: Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin, The Startup Checklist by David S. Rose, and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries1. Other books recommended for startup founders include The Founder's Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman, Secrets of Sand Hill Road by Scott Kupor, and Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters1. According to Benzinga, the best startup books for beginners are “Zero to One,” “Creativity Inc.” and “The Lean Startup”1. “The Startup Owner's Manual” by Steve Blank is also recommended as one of the best startup books2. Other books that are recommended for business startup include “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield, “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferris, and “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin1.6:06 - Diving into front-end code with the 4 LLMs, including asking it for the CSS for the recommended HTML code that Bard and ChatGPT put out (HuggingChat and Bing weren't able to generate code for me). 

In this episode of the ⁠⁠⁠Scaling Japan Podcast⁠⁠⁠, we are joined by Schyler Alexandra Cole, an associate at Incubate Fund and a founder of Startup Co-Creation Community. This will be part one of a two part series covering venture capital in Japan. Today's focus will be on how to understand venture capitalists so that you can make a meaningful first impression. Be sure to stay tuned for part two when we delve into how to raise money. Links from Guest Appearance LinkedIn Incubate Fund KK Links to Additional Resource Co-Creation Community Venture Deals by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, and Dick Costolo Pitch Deck post Show Notes (1:20) Schyler's self introduction (5:02) What qualifies as early stage (5:52) Difference between the seed stages (6:39) Types of companies that VCs invest in (8:48) Types of companies that VCs avoid (10:03) How many companies reach out to Incubate Fund (12:12) Reaching out to VCs (15:09) Who to reach out to in the VC team (18:54) Schyler's experience as a VC (21:35) Overview of positions in a VC firm (23:27) Qualities of a good VC candidate (27:54) How to better engage with VC (29:10) Advice for foreign entrepreneurs (30:02) Startup Co-Creation Community (33:01) Making connections in Japan as a foreign founder Coaching with Tyson Looking to take your business to the next level? Let our host Tyson Batino help you scale your business from $100,000 to $10,000,000 dollars with his coaching and advisory services. ⁠⁠⁠Visit here to learn how he can help⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scalingjapanpodcast/message

0:00 -- Intro.1:23 -- Start of interview.3:32 -- Adam's "origin story". He grew up in southern California where he attended UCSD and graduated from UCLA. In college he became an activist focusing on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, and developed a "targeted divestment" model. After college he became a social entrepreneur based in Washington, DC.4:06 -- His decision to pursue a JD/MBA from UC Berkeley. While in grad school "he fell in love with the startup tech scene" and during business school he tried to start his own startup but that's where he learned that "it doesn't matter how good your idea is when you don't have a good team and good execution." He then joined Gunderson Dettmer as a corporate associate supporting tech founders.7:14 -- Adam's new role as Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley's School of Law. How his initial work with 500 Startups with the BCLB sparked more executive education programs. 9:24 -- On the origin and mission of The Independent Director Initiative.12:20  -- What makes corporate governance in private venture-backed companies different to public companies. Explaining VC University (a partnership between Berkeley Law, NVCA and Venture Forward).15:42 -- The Academic Partners of the Independent Director Initiative: Berkeley Law Executive Education; Berkeley Law Center for Law and Business; Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School; UC Davis School of Law; UC Hastings Law Center for Business Law; Institute for Law & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania; Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University; Rowling Center at SMU Dedman School of Law; Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University; Stanford Center for Racial Justice at Stanford Law School; and Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law.University of Washington School of LawThe Organizational Partners of the Independent Director Initiative: Ascend; BLCK VC; BoardList;Bolster;Corporate Directors Forum;The Fourth Floor;HBCUvc; Him for Her; LCDA;National Black MBA Association; National Venture Capital Association; NxtWorkVenture Forward.18:07 -- On the interest and number of applicants to the program (~500 applications, 80 got selected in first cohort).19:21 -- On fiduciary duties of directors in venture-backed companies (including dual-fiduciary conflicts). Role of independent directors, and boardroom diversity in private venture-backed companies. The Trados case (2013).38:43 -- The evolution of private markets and how its regulation may impact corporate governance.40:06 -- Take-aways from the program: 1) more education is needed for directors of venture-backed companies generally (beyond just independent directors), and 2) it was refreshing to see such a diverse and qualified group of executives that could serve on corporate boards.41:56 -- Where can people learn more and/or apply for the next cohort of the Independent Director Initiative: independent.venturecapitaluniversity.com42:57 -- Benefits for participants beyond just the two days of the program. Placements. 45:27 - Some of the books that have greatly influenced his venture career: Venture Deals, by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (2011)Secrets of Sand HIll Road, by Scott Kupor (2019)45:51 - Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them (regarding this program)Evan Epstein (!)Afra Afsharipour, UC Davis Law School46:26 - Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by? "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr.46:26 - An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: walking 40min for his commute. "Owning your downtime."48:55 - The living person he most admires: his wife.Adam Sterling is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley's School of Law and the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. __ You can follow Adam on social media at:Twitter: @adambsterlingLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambsterling/__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

How to prepare for a VC funding round? How to choose the right investor and catch their attention? How to close the deal? This episode is Sharetribe's CEO Juho's complete guide to raising venture capital for your marketplace.Article available at:  Marketplace funding: How to bootstrap your marketplace. Juho Makkonen, Marketplace Academy Sources and further reading: A Guide to Marketplaces: Third Edition. Angela Tran, Max Webster, and Bors Wertz, Version One Ventures All Markets Are Not Created Equal: 10 Factors To Consider When Evaluating Digital Marketplaces. Bill Gurly, Above the Crowd The Marketplace Funding Napkin 2018

Are you building a marketplace to make a lucrative exit? Get rich? Change the world? Listen to Sharetribe CEO Juho's advice on if and when to bring VCs onboard.Article available at:  Marketplace funding: Why raise venture capital – and why not. Juho Makkonen, Marketplace Academy Sources and further reading: Pre-Money Valuation. Will Kenton, Investopedia VC Math. Homan Yuen, Hackernoon "Network effects are key to successful marketplaces," says James Currier. Juho Makkonen, Marketplace Academy Shooting for an IPO? Take These Steps Now Before It's Too Late. The First Round Review Pro Rata. Will Kenton, Investopedia Airbnb and the Unintended Consequences of 'Disruption'. Derek Thompson, The Atlantic Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities. Steve Leblanc, National Post Venture Deals. Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, Whiley Toyota partners with Getaround on car-sharing, Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch Electrolux and Karma introduce a smart fridge to reduce food waste. Electrolux Group The Marketplace Academy Podcast is hosted and narrated by Katri Antikainen.You can learn more about building a marketplace at www.sharetribe.com/academy/.Looking to build a marketplace of your own? Visit www.sharetribe.com to learn more about our marketplace software products!

Today's guest is musician, songwriter, author and criminal justice reformer Jason Mendelson. Jason currently releases music under the artist name Jace Allen, with all proceeds of his musical career going to benefit various organizations in the criminal justice reform ecosystem. Jason has co-founded two different organizations that help people transition from prison to home with the goal of drastically reducing recidivism rates. Prior to this latest season of his life, Jason has had careers as a start up founder, venture capitalist, lawyer, and professor. We chat about the changes needed in the criminal justice system, how music builds confidence, and why the entrepreneurial mindset applies to much more than just business. In this episode we'll dig in on... Recognizing and taking advantage of "luck" Life as an improve The best model to increase successful returns to home for formerly incarcerated individuals The United States is the most incarcerated country in the world Being an underdog guy Working in criminal justice reform since 2015 Flipping the hierarchy The importance of resiliency Leaning on the visible success of others to inspire change in people Entrepreneurs vs Musicians Training people in the prison system and how that transforms you Being thankful for adversity and learning from your failures Learn More About Jason Mendelson... Website: https://jaceallenmusic.com/ (https://jaceallenmusic.com/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaceallen_music (https://www.instagram.com/jaceallen_music) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaceallenmusic/ (https://www.facebook.com/jaceallenmusic/) Jace Allen on https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PbQjHVCUrghNLctvGturu (Spotify) Our Sponsors: Sign Up for Complete Producer Network https://www.completeproducer.net/share/z_LJhc8M_GtKZ1OX?utm_source=manual (HERE)! Get on the Waitlist for The Beats Accelerator Process https://knowledge.completeproducer.pro/bapwaitlist (HERE)! Get on the Waitlist for The Mix Accelerator Process http://mixaccelerator.com/ (HERE)! Other Links: https://www.travisference.com/coffeecup (Give Me a Coffee Cup!) Support Progressions on https://www.patreon.com/progressionspod (Patreon)! Sign up for the https://mailchi.mp/87a95bbfe666/progressionspod (Progressions Mailing List) https://kit.co/travisference (Gear and Recommended Reading List) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/progressionspod/ (https://www.instagram.com/progressionspod/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProgressionsPod/ (https://www.facebook.com/ProgressionsPod/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/progressionspod (https://twitter.com/progressionspod) Learn more about Travis: https://www.travisference.com/ (https://www.travisference.com/) Credits: Guest: Jason Mendelson Host: Travis Ference Editor: Travis Ference Audio Restoration: https://linktr.ee/djempirical (Stephen Boyd) Theme Music: inter.ference

This week, Jamie  is joined by Rebecca Flowers from the CCMF cohort and Andrew Hinkly, Meryem Cherif and Charlie Clark of AP Ventures - a hydrogen focussed venture capital fund. They discuss the supply and demand of blue and green hydrogen, and delve into AP Venture's investment process.     Books mentioned in the episode:  Skin in the Game by Nassim Teleb -   https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Skin-in-the-Game-by-Nassim-Nicholas-Taleb-author/9780141982656     Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson -   https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Venture-Deals-by-Brad-Feld-Jason-Mendelson/9781119594826     Factfulness by Hans Rosling -   https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Factfulness-by-Hans-Rosling-author-Ola-Rosling-author-Anna-Rosling-Rnnlund-author/9781473637467 

Ryan reads today's daily meditation and talks to Venture Capitalist and Author Brad Feld about his new book The Entrepreneur's Weekly Nietzsche: A Book for Disruptors, the common misinterpretation of Nietzsche's philosophy and life, why entrepreneurs have to focus attention inward toward self-improvement, and more. Brad Feld is an American entrepreneur, author, blogger, and venture capitalist at Foundry Group in Boulder, Colorado, a firm he started with partners Seth Levine, Ryan McIntyre, and Jason Mendelson. Feld began financing technology startups in the early 1990s, first as an angel and later an institutional investor. Feld was an early investor in Harmonix, Zynga, MakerBot, and Fitbit. He is also the author of several books including Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist and The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Athletic Greens is a custom formulation of 75 vitamins, minerals, and other whole-food sourced ingredients that make it easier for you to maintain nutrition in just a single scoop. Visit athleticgreens.com/stoic to get a FREE year supply of Liquid Vitamin D + 5 FREE Travel Packs with subscription. Talkspace is an online and mobile therapy company. Talkspace lets you send and receive unlimited messages with your dedicated therapist in the Talkspace platform 24/7. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com or download the app. Make sure to use the code STOIC to get $100 off of your first month and show your support for the show.DECKED truck bed tool boxes and cargo van storage systems revolutionize organization with a heavy-duty in-vehicle storage system featuring slide out toolboxes. DECKED makes organizing, accessing, protecting, and securing everything you need so much easier. Get your DECKED Drawer System at Decked.com/STOIC and get free shipping.LinkedIn Jobs is the best platform for finding the right candidate to join your business this fall. It's the largest marketplace for job seekers in the world, and it has great search features so that you can find candidates with any hard or soft skills that you need. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit linkedin.com/STOIC to post a job for free. Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, FacebookFollow Brad Feld: Homepage, TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris is welcomed on the podcast as a seasoned frontier markets impact investor. He has worked across the frontier market investment space for over a decade now in Africa and Asia. Chris arrived in Cambodia in 2018 working with one of the leading early-stage impact investors in the country, Insitor Partners. Chris is passionate about spurring investment in essential ESG sectors such as energy, environment, fintech, and healthcare. Subscribe for free today to our Rising Giants Newsletter: https://risinggiants.substack.com/ Rising Giants Website: www.risinggiants.fm Episode Time Stamps: 1:00 – Chris's background and how he got to Cambodia 4:30 – What inspired Chris to pursue a career in impact investing 8:00 – Chris's current role at Insitor and the fund's investment sector focus 11:00 – What specific sectors are of interest to Insitor in Cambodia 14:30 – Chris's approach to deal sourcing in Cambodia 18:30 – Chris's perspective on what makes Cambodia an attractive market for investors 20:30 – How the impact investment space has evolved over recent years in Cambodia 24:30 – What developments could continue making Cambodia an attractive investment 28:00 – The importance of an active angel system in Cambodia 30:30 – What early-stage startups can do to become more attractive investments 32:30 – Question's Chris likes to ask founders 37:00 – The shift of the overall culture of entrepreneurship in Cambodia 43:00 – What are the untapped sectors and business models in Cambodia 49:00 – Chris's habits he has to stay motivated and self-accountable 51:30 – Chris's perspective on work-life balance 54:00 – Most formative book Chris's has read (Venture Deals by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson) 55:45 – Most important advice ever given

Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Ever thought about getting investments for your startup? Ever thought about investing in a startup? Whether you are an entrepreneur, an investor, a lawyer or just a stakeholder in the venture capital market, this book is for you! In it, renowned investor Brad Feld addresses some topics within the Venture Capital ecosystem, explaining in a practical and didactic way how things work. You'll understand a bit more about raising money, how to get away from some legal issues, who are the top players in VC deals, and how to deal with investors. The entire book is laid out into chapters that can be read independent of each other. The Players How to Raise Money Overview of the Term Sheet Economic Terms of the Term Sheet Control Terms of the Term Sheet Other Terms of the Term Sheet The Cap Table How Venture Capital Funds Work Negotiation Tactics Raising Money the Right Way Issues at Different Financing Stages Letters of Intent- The other Term Sheet Legal Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know Takeaways Don't get intoxicated by fundraising Don't make the mistake of thinking investment is success Remember that revenue is the goal of your business and it's the best form of capital. The book is filled with lots of other amazing advice. Go pick up a copy (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1119594820/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=venture+deals&qid=1620851655&sr=8-1). About the author Brad Feld and Jason Mendelsom are venture capitalists BRAD FELD has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over thirty years. Prior to cofounding Foundry Group, he cofounded Mobius Venture Capital and Intensity Ventures. He is also a cofounder of Techstars. JASON MENDELSON has over twenty years experience in the venture capital and technology industries in a multitude of investing, legal, and operational roles. Prior to cofounding Foundry Group, Jason was a Managing Director and General Counsel for Mobius Venture Capital. He is also a cofounder of SRS/Acquiom. Host rating for 'Hooked' Nico Rating: 3/10 Sam Rating: 9/10 Jack Rating: 9/10 Subscribe! If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Special Guest: Jack Hughes.

Today, I'm joined by Jason Mendelson, retired partner of world renowned venture capital firm, Foundry Group, and current Executive-in-Residence with the Colorado Attorney General's Office. In addition to his many successes as a VC over 20 years, Jason is a startup founder, attorney, professor, author, and musician. He's also a lifelong learner, teacher, and incredible human being who spends so much time giving back to society. Jason is also known by his musical alter ego Jace Allen on Spotify - be sure to check him out via the links below!In this episode, we discuss Jason's journey from a tough childhood growing up in Detroit with music as his outlet to becoming an attorney, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and all around creator. He shares his experiences from personal and professional challenging moments, the lessons learned, and the wisdom acquired. We talked about how it is to deal with the constant reminder of frustration and the role of education in the investment business. He spoke openly about his victories and defeats, the epiphany that would change his life at age 40, and his first love, music. To learn more about Jason's journey of discoveries, awakenings, and relentlessly seeking fulfillment, tune in to Episode 22 of What Didn't Kill You.Some Questions I Ask:Over 300 companies funded many billions of dollars raised by Foundry Group. You are recently retired, but I would love to understand the backstory on how you guys got started? (1:14)Do you recall any notable failures or missteps? And how that shaped the foundry group mentality or investing ethos? (11:17)When you think about betting on people, I imagine it's a complex mental model to develop. What do you think about that? How do you evaluate initially? (15:40)How would you encourage your students to appreciate the difference between learning something in a textbook versus going out in the world and starting to apply it? (27:04)What does music do for you that your previous professional pursuits have not? (36:10)In This Episode, You Will Learn:From an investor perspective, if you believe in the CEO, there are still things to do even if a company is not working (11:59)When time passes, we learn to trust all of our senses when it comes to choosing the right people to invest in (16:14)There is more data available about how to run a company than on how to be a good investor (27:17)The only way to deal with egos in the VC business (30:56)The benefits of taking more risks in life (54:37)Resources:Jace Allen MusicPissed off At You (Official Video) by Jace AllenBook: Jason Mendelson, Brad Feld - Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture CapitalistBook: David Epstein - Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized WorldSpotify - Jace AllenConnect with Jason:LinkedInTwitterFacebookSpotifyLet's connect:What Didn't Kill You - InstagramWhat Didn't Kill You - LinkedInWhat Didn't Kill You - WebsiteWhat Didn't Kill You - E-mail©️ 2021 Michael Silverman. All rights reserved. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are thrilled to feature Nate Schmidt on Building Birmingham Together today! Nate is the Managing Director of Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator and they just finished their first cohort! Nate is a serial entrepreneur and software developer and has participated in multiple startup ventures, including Cloverly, Preptix, Deal Co-op and co-founded Instagift with his wife. Nate is extremely passionate about startups and that led him to start and be the first managing director of The Velocity Accelerator program at The Innovation Depot. Through his entrepreneurial journey, Nate has also become very passionate about the importance of mental health for startup founders. As you listen today I hope that you take away from Nate's story that taking care of yourself and your mental health is one of the most foundational building blocks to you successfully starting and growing your business. Follow Techstars: Website Facebook: @techstars LinkedIn: @techstars YouTube: @techstars Twitter: @techstars Instagram: @techstars Other Mentions: Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator Demo Day 2020 Velocity Accelerator at Innovation Depot Instagift Nate's Recommendations: The Bill Simmons Podcast What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson

Listen now (46 min) | We’re excited to release our newest episode with another great guest, Jaclyn Freeman Hester, Partner at the Foundry Group. Founded in 2007 by Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Ryan McIntyre, and Seth Levine The Foundry Group has $2.4B under management and has invested in startups such as FitBit, SendGrid, Beeswax, and Notion. Several years ago the firm, led by Jaclyn and Lindel Eakman, started investing in interesting emerging manager firms, and have acted as LP’s in firms such as Forerunner, K9 Ventures, Founder Collective, IA Ventures, Homebrew, and Ludlow. Get on the email list at ventureunlocked.substack.com

Dans cette grande discussion pour entrepreneurs, Anthony St-Cyr reçoit le fondateur et directeur général de l'agence J7 Media, M. Antoine Gagné, pour discuter de la période du Black Friday.En plus d'avoir fondé et d'opérer actuellement son agence, Antoine Gagné anime deux Podcasts intitulés Hypercroissance et Social Selling. Décortiquer le Black Friday Le Black Friday est un événement qui s'étend sur plus d'un mois et qui comprend 6 étapes : 1. Réchauffement d'audience Cette période est la plus importante. Elle permet d'informer vos clients potentiels que vous ferez une offre spéciale pour le Black Friday. Le coût pour rejoindre les auditoires est environ deux fois moins cher que pendant la Black Friday Week. 2. Black Friday Week Environ 50 % des achats du Black Friday se font au cours de cette période. Le CPM (Coût par mille impressions) est moins élevé que pendant le Black Friday Weekend. 3. Black Friday Cette journée parle d'elle-même! Mais nous arrivons à toujours être aussi excités à chaque année. 4. Black Friday Weekend Ce weekend est une suite logique au Black Friday. Certaines compagnies préservent la même vente que celle qu'elles ont offertes pour le Black Friday alors que d'autres en créent une autre. Comme le Cyber Monday arrive, vous devez réchauffer votre audience pour ce Lundi spécial. 5. Cyber Monday Il s'agit encore une fois d'une suite logique. Encore une fois, vous pouvez garder votre offre du Black Friday ou en créer une autre. Dans cette période, jouez sur le “sentiment d'urgence”. 6. Cyber Monday Week Cette période facultative permet souvent aux entreprises d'écouler leurs inventaires. Livres et Podcasts recommandés par l'entrepreneur Antoine Gagné recommande l'écoute du Podcast Business Launch de Roland Freiser, un homme d'affaires qui a plus de 36 entreprises.Il nous suggère également la lecture des livres Venture Deals, de Brad Feld et Jason Mendelson qui est une bible décrivant tous les éléments importants pour comprendre les levées de fonds ainsi que le livre Profit First, de Mike Michaelowicz qui présente une façon de prioriser le profit au sein de son entreprise.

Adam Sachs is the COO of Team Coco and a veteran podcast and digital media executive. Adam works with some of the biggest names in Hollywood like Conan O'Brien, and even Barack and Michelle Obama. We discuss his time as CEO of Midroll Media and its sale to E.W. Scripps, founding a group dating website that he sold to IAC, and the power of being foolishly confident. Full episode transcript is below.Subscribe to our newsletter. We explore the intersection of media, technology, and commerce: sign-up linkLearn more about our market research and executive advisory: RockWater websiteFollow The Come Up on Twitter: @TCUpodEmail us: tcupod@wearerockwater.com--EPISODE TRANSCRIPTChris Erwin:Hi, I'm Chris Erwin. Welcome to The Come Up. A podcast that interviews entrepreneurs and leaders. Adam Sachs:I think we were foolishly so confident. We just thought, "Oh, we have a great idea, so it's going to be successful. Let's just quit our jobs and start this business." And didn't really understand that so much has to go right in order for it to be successful. And not only does so much have to go right, but it takes so long. Chris Erwin:This week's episode features Adam Sachs. Adam is a true digital media OG. And today he works with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, like Conan O'Brien and even the Obamas. So we got a lot to talk about. We'll get into how he started a group dating website and then moved his family to India for it and sold that to Barry Diller. Then we'll talk about how Adam joined as the CEO of Midroll Media, and then orchestrated its sale to E.W. Scripps, one of the biggest deals in podcasting at the time. Chris Erwin:There's many other stories in between. Adam's a fantastic guy. This interview is a lot of fun. Let's get into it. Quick heads up that my interview with Adam was recorded back in January and prior to COVID. Where do you think your entertainment and comedy origins really starts? Adam Sachs:I don't know. I've always been obsessed with comedy from a very young age. I was obsessed with Adam Sandler and then Jerry Seinfeld, and Seinfeld the show was a really important part of my life. At one point, I think I could recite every word of every episode of Seinfeld. I would just watch the tapes over and over and over again. And the same for Adam Sandler movies before that. Yeah. I don't know. Adam Sachs:I just always loved it. And the idea of having a career in comedy, I didn't really know what that would be, but I always wanted to have a career in comedy. And at points I thought, "Well, maybe I'll be a comedian." I never really was I think, talented enough to do that. Chris Erwin:I always remember you as being kind of like a class clown and very funny and very witty and always, like you said, sightings really funny, like Seinfeld references and jokes for everything that we did. But it seemed like you started to take it more seriously when you're like, "Okay, I'm going to join the improv jam in Red Bank." When you started doing that, did that further solidify your like, "Yeah, there's going to be a future for me here." Or you're like, "Oh actually, maybe this is not for me. This is harder than I thought." Adam Sachs:I really enjoyed it. But I was also never one of those people who was super comfortable on stage. I think what I realized after I started doing these improv classes at the local internet cafe, but I did love it. And I thought that the people around me were really talented and I really enjoyed that. And so yeah, even going into college, I thought, "Oh, maybe being on stage isn't really for me, but maybe I'll be a comedy writer. Maybe I'll write TV shows like funny TV shows." Adam Sachs:And I did pursue that. I had a regular college education, and at one point thought maybe I'll end up going to law school and even studied for the LSAT. That was sort of like a hedge, I think, because in parallel I had like a writing partner who I went to college with, Ally Hord who still a good friend of mine and we would write comedy scripts together. And she was the more talented one. She went on to be successful. Chris Erwin:I think you guys are both incredibly talented with great success. Adam Sachs:No. She is really, really funny. And now she's a writer at Seth Meyers. Chris Erwin:I remember Ally Hord. I think I was working because Adam and I both share a Northwestern Wildcat blood. And I was working on a startup idea when I was in grad school there. And I think I had asked Ally who was at Funny Or Die at the time. I was like, "Oh, can you be a beta tester of my product?" And she was always very supportive, and she was like, "Oh yeah, we're using it. We're using it on set. It's super helpful." Chris Erwin:And I don't think they actually really did anything with it, but she was a great sport. All right. So you're at Northwestern, you decide that you're not going to go to law school. And so instead of doing that, you decide to teach English abroad as your first move right out of undergrad. And what was the reason for that? Adam Sachs:I had a friend Howie who's a year above me who he is now a lawyer, but he was also like not sure if he wanted to be a lawyer or what do you want it to do. And he went to Madrid and he and I were really close. We stayed in touch and it sounded really cool. And I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had taken the LSAT. I didn't know if I wanted to go to law school. In my gut felt like I didn't really want to go to law school, but I wasn't sure. And so I was just decided I'll just take a year and like go abroad and maybe I'll figure it out. Chris Erwin:It's almost like in a way a lot of kids now are taking a gap year before they go to school. But getting some free mental space to be like, what do I really want to do to reflect, be exposed to new experiences? And I think a lot of people should do that more often in their careers and more often in their life. And don't. And I remember that you were telling our group about that. I'm like, "Well, Adam has always such an ambitious focus person. Is he already falling off the wagon?" Adam Sachs:I felt like that, to be honest. First of all, going abroad is like, it was a huge privilege. I made a little money teaching English, but not everyone can do it. I don't think, but it was like, I look back on it and yeah, halfway through it, I was like, "My friends are already ... they already have jobs. I'm really falling behind. What's happening here? My college friends are like getting jobs at like JP Morgan or they're in law school or whatever it is." Adam Sachs:And I'm like, "What am I doing? I'm going to be so far behind all of my peers when I get back after this year." And that now looking back, like in retrospect, that was dumb. I shouldn't have been worrying about that because it was an enormously formative experience in my life because it was like I was able to see a lot of the world and meet a lot of people and just gain perspective that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. And I still have really close friends from that period that live in Madrid or live in Prague. Chris Erwin:No. And that's interesting to hear that you had doubts during that period. But at the end of your year of teaching English as a second language, were you starting to feel comfortable like, "No, this was actually the right decision. I've learned a lot." Adam Sachs:Maybe. Now I feel like it was a right decision. At the end of that year, I don't know. I still felt like I got to get back. I have to get home and like start doing something so that I'm not the bum. Chris Erwin:Yeah. And that's a theme throughout your career narrative is that you've made decisions where I've looked at them early on, was like, "Oh, Adam's going and teaching abroad. That's kind of a weird move right out of undergrad." And then, "Adams he's starting a tech company and is applying to Techstars. What is that? Startups aren't cool yet." And it was always kind of like this contrarian approach where there was probably like doubt within you, but doubt within the peer group. But it's clear that all of these buts have really paid off. Kudos to that. Adam Sachs:Maybe. You're giving me a lot of credit. We'll see where all this goes. Chris Erwin:Okay. So after abroad, you decided to go to Sony. How did that come to be? Adam Sachs:I knew people at Sony from my internship, so I reached out to them and I got a very kind of entry level job in Sony Pictures Television in New York. Chris Erwin:And did you feel that when you were doing that because your career took a big turn when you started your first company soon after, or maybe concurrently while you were at Sony. Did you look at Sony as, "Hey, this is something I want to invest material time into," or is this, "This is just a stepping stone. And I want to get maybe that traditional validation of working at a big company." Adam Sachs:To be honest, I think at first I thought I'll get my foot in the door of this like really great company. Everyone that was a radio TV, film major at Northwestern, if they didn't go into being a writer or director or pursuing that path, if they went into TV, the hot thing was like to go into development. And I was like, "I think I want to go into development." I didn't even know what it meant really. Adam Sachs:I was just like, "But it sounds cool to be a development executive." And I think I applied for those jobs and I didn't get them or whatever. So I got like a different job in the ad sales department at Sony. But I think my thinking was, I'll get in the door there and then I'll figure out how to have a development career. And hopefully along the way, I'll figure out what development means. So, that was my thinking. Chris Erwin:I think I want a development career. I don't know what it is, but it's sound has cache. Adam Sachs:But it sounds cool. And people who do it think it's cool. So I honestly think that was my thinking at the time. And there was also always a New York, LA kind of conflict in my mind. This was in New York, but I did feel like LA was an inevitability at some point if I wanted to pursue that sort of career. But at the same time, my good college friend and I, Dan Osit, we started to talk about this startup idea that we got, that we've got really obsessed with. Adam Sachs:And it was the idea of, we were in our early mid 20s living in New York City and going out with our group of friends and going out and meeting other friends. And we started to think, "Man, isn't it crazy that there's no dating site that were like, you go out with your friends and meet other people. And wouldn't it more fun and less awkward and even safer to have an experience where you went out with your friends and met another group of friends." Adam Sachs:And the more we talked about that idea, he was also in his first or second year of working in a finance job out of college. The more we talked about that idea, the more we thought like, this is a really good idea. And we talked to friends who thought it was a good idea. And I think I was planning to move to LA and move in with Matt and Rob and some of our buddies and just figure out like how to get a development job basically. Adam Sachs:But then I became obsessed with this business idea and this idea of starting a startup. And the more we talked to our friends, the more we got excited about it. And then we quit our jobs and we started pursuing it. Chris Erwin:So how'd you guys think about how to start actually building the company? Today feels like there's millions of guides for like how to build a business. But 15 years ago, there was a lot less resources out there. So what did you guys turn to? Adam Sachs:Here's how different the landscape was then. We sent an email, Dan and I sent an email to like all of our friends, like a blast email being like, "Does anyone know anyone who has ever started a company because we don't know where to start?" Chris Erwin:I may have been on that email. Adam Sachs:I'm sure you were. And we got like one response or two responses, and we ended up meeting the guys who started meetup.com, which was a really good connection for us. But today, if you ask that question, everyone knows someone who has started a startup. Chris Erwin:The Lean Startup, Four Steps to the Epiphany, like all of these books. Adam Sachs:Exactly. And that stuff didn't really exist. Or if it did, we were unaware of it. It was like, there was a less of established path at that point because we didn't know what to do. We said, "Okay, we want to start this thing." But what if we had literally just had to try to start taking people out to coffee to understand how do you do this? Chris Erwin:Yeah. So what was the point where you guys made that decision, we're leaving our jobs, we're getting off this path to become development execs, whatever that is, or financiers? That is a big decision to make at an early age. Also considering like what your peers are doing, your parents probably not understanding the opportunities within the startup space. What was that catalyst point? Adam Sachs:I think we were, and to be honest, like foolishly so confident that we had a great idea. And I think because we knew so little about starting a business, didn't realize how important execution is. And we just thought, "Oh, we have a great idea. So it's going to be successful of course, because our idea is great. And we've asked our friends and they think it's great too. So let's just quit our jobs and start this business." Adam Sachs:And didn't really understand that so much has to go right in order for it to be successful. And not only do so much have to go right, but it takes so long and it's going to take a lot of endurance. But it was not easy. Like my friends all continued on in their jobs in New York City. I had to move home. I didn't really have a paying job for a long time. So I had to move in back in with my parents in New Jersey. Chris Erwin:Yeah. I really like how you described that you had to be foolishly confident. I think when you do the math, the odds are totally stacked against you in starting a company. So you have to be delusional in a way and saying like, "I can do this." And so whether that's just like in your blood or in your nature, or at your point, you just didn't even know any better. Adam Sachs:No, I just didn't know any better. Chris Erwin:That's an asset. Adam Sachs:Exactly. I think it was truly in my ignorance helped in that way, because I just didn't know any better. Chris Erwin:I think I remember. So you used to host at your father's house in Little Silver, used to host a lot of basketball games. You play a lot of like three on three or five on five, what have you. I think we were over there one day and I think I had heard rumors that you're like, "Adam's starting this company and now he's applied to Techstars and he's getting into this program." Chris Erwin:And I was like, "Adam, I don't understand what you're doing. I'm confused. What is this?" Startups we're in cool yet. But you had a mission, you had a plan. And so then you applied to Techstars. What was that application process like? Adam Sachs:We realized that we had to raise money in order to build this thing. And so we ended up meeting through friends of friends some early stage VCs. They were rightfully for the most part, like, "You guys are not really investible at this point. You don't really know what you're doing." And we hadn't really built much at that point. But one of the VCs who really, I think believed in us was this guy, Jason Mendelson, and his partner, Seth Levine at the Foundry Group in Boulder. Adam Sachs:And we got connected with them and they were also like, "You guys are onto something here, but you're in New York, we're in Boulder." But I think they really liked us and believed in us. And so they encouraged us to apply to Techstars. And we had never heard of Techstars before, but they're intimately involved in starting Techstars and supporting Techstars. Adam Sachs:It was not an obvious thing for us to do because I had never heard of it. I didn't know what a incubator or accelerator was at that point. Again, this is a different time where now there's a million accelerators. Chris Erwin:That's great. And this was literally 12 years ago. So it's not we're talking about 35 years ago. This was like within generally past decade. Adam Sachs:Not that long ago, but it was a different world. And so yeah, we applied and I think through the help of those guys, we ended up getting in. But even then I think, again, points to our kind of foolish ignorance, we were like, maybe we're a little too far along for this Techstars thing is what we thought. We were like, we have some users on in our Facebook app. That's how we started. Chris Erwin:Okay. It's just also funny to hear, like this speaks to the delusional part of actually we're pretty advanced, like we have users, so we actually really needed to be a part of this program. Maybe we should just skip this. That's what you guys wanted. Adam Sachs:Again, pretty dumb, but it was really, really valuable experience. It's a mentorship driven experience. We needed mentorship. I studied history and film in college. Dan, I think studied communication or something. We didn't really know what we know. And also there's really not a great curriculum probably even to this day for starting a company. In my opinion, you have to talk to people who have done it. Learn from people who have done it. Adam Sachs:I think it's not something that you graduate, even if you, I know very few schools have an entrepreneurship program, but I think even if you graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship, you still don't really know what you're doing until you get in there and start doing it. Chris Erwin:Yeah. So you're at Techstars, clearly it was a positive experience. You graduate. Adam Sachs:Yes. Chris Erwin:And then did you raise money immediately upon graduation at demo day? Adam Sachs:Yeah, immediately. We had a really good presentation actually. We were working with our mentors and again, these guys, Jason and Seth at Foundry Group became our mentors. And the second half really of Techstars is like for preparing, at least at this point. It might've changed. Again, this is 2008, so this is a long time ago. But at that point, the first half is a lot of mentorship. The second half is really like preparing for demo day. Adam Sachs:And I remember we put together a presentation, a draft representation. We brought it over to Jason in his office and sat down with him and walked him through it. And he was just like, "Yeah, it's pretty good. I don't know. It's fine. But it's missing you guys," is what he said. And I think he'd gotten to know us and know our personalities or whatever. And we went back and I remember we locked ourselves in a room with our small team of four of us for like a weekend and came back to him on Monday. And it was a funny presentation. It was like a comedy driven presentation and he was just like, "This is it, this is it." Chris Erwin:Actually I never thought about that. But thinking about your roots in comedy, entertainment, improv, and then writing with Ally at Northwestern, pitching to investor is about telling an incredible story of excitement, why we are the best team to do this, really peaking their interests. And I was like, you have like the formula for that. And I guess that's what this guy wanted. And then he didn't know what you had in you. And you're like, "No, let us show you." Adam Sachs:Yeah. So the presentation went great. And I think for a lot of people, did a lot of the VC side of it. There's 300 VCs in the audience or something like that. I think for a lot of them, it was the first time they saw like an actual funny VC pitch or whatever, like startup pitch. And I don't think it was necessarily like the humor that attracted ... Any smart VC is not going to be like, "I'm going to invest in the funniest entrepreneur." Adam Sachs:On the surface, it was funny. But when you got beneath it, it was like, "These guys actually know, they have a good handle on what their vision for the business is." So yeah, we did raise money immediately. Chris Erwin:An interesting highlight from that point though, is I think when investors see for an early stage company is okay, do they have a product? Have they built something? Are they solving a real problem? But it's so early. Even if they have a little bit of users is likely pre-revenue. So there's just an incredible amount of risk. So they're really betting on the founders, on the ability of the founders to attract future capital, tell a good story, recruit a team, and build a team and motivate people. Chris Erwin:And so what they could have seen in you is like, "Okay, there's this magnetism of this team that's going to be able to attract people to their team and get them excited about this ridiculous mission that they're on." So it seems like you have this asset of your storytelling, was actually like checking a major box for these investors. If you think about it that way. Adam Sachs:Yeah. Maybe. We also rushed the fundraising because this was like August, September of 2008, and the financial world was starting to just collapse around us. And so, once we saw that happening, we were pushing our investors to like, get your checks and get your checks. Because that we knew that very shortly after that, we could feel like the economy was collapsing. Chris Erwin:Got it. So money comes in the bank. And how much did you raised initially? Adam Sachs:So funny. Again, only 12 years ago, but we raised a series A and it was like a $1.2 million, which today is like a pre seed amount of money. But at that point, that was our series A. Chris Erwin:Okay. And that was on top of a little bit of family and friends money that you raised. Adam Sachs:Yeah. Chris Erwin:Got it. So you have the money, your team is feeling excited. You move to New York City. I remember that you had offices in Union Square. I don't know if you moved immediately there. Adam Sachs:Yeah, we did. Chris Erwin:I was part of a beta test for a group date in the lower Eastside. Adam Sachs:I think like a Max Fish or something. Chris Erwin:Yeah. There's like six or seven guys. Six or seven girls. We're all competing and say who's getting them like the most amount of face time with the other side. It was a really funny experience. There was also a launch party that was associated with it. Adam Sachs:Yeah. At Barna, which no longer is on Park Avenue South. Chris Erwin:So I remember I was like, okay, I don't know what Adam's doing, but if I get invited to cool parties and get to go on like group dates and maybe meet women, I'll be supportive. All right. So tangent. You're in New York City, you have the company, and now you're there for the next six years. What do you remember as a major inflection point after raising that money and saying, "Okay, now we're scaling this company." What were some of those key milestones? Adam Sachs:One of them, the biggest one for sure is we were out there hustling having parties. We would literally like throw a party at a bar in the East Village, bring our digital cameras because that's how you took pictures then and computers and buy people drinks to like sign them up in exchange for having them have a profile on our site. So we'd be like, "Hey, do you want to try our site? We'll buy you a drink." Adam Sachs:And so, we would then take their picture at the bar and make a profile for them. Because it was a grind to get people to sign up. Chris Erwin:Were most people amenable to that? Or were some people turned off? Adam Sachs:Half and half I think. We had like maybe dozens of people signing up every day in New York, but we'd go home at night and look at our Google analytics and be like, "Hundreds of people signed up today in India." Or like thousands of people signed up today in India at one point. And so that was sort of the inflection point, which is like, we're pushing too hard for something that maybe there's not as much of a demand for here as there is for other places. Adam Sachs:And so at that point it was like, let's understand this, what is going on here? We didn't understand India or some of the other markets where we were seeing this natural, organic demand, and India was one of them, for sure. Also like Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia and other Asian countries. And at that point, it was like, that was a huge inflection point. And it was let's understand what's going on here so that we can decide, is this worth pursuing. Chris Erwin:We're back from a quick break and maybe unbeknownst to Adam, but I just actually we have a bunch of our high school friends on group text, and I just sent a crowdsource message of any questions that we should ask Adam on the podcast. So I might check this at the end when we get to the rapid fire, that has been seated within the group. Adam Sachs:Awesome. Chris Erwin:So we'll see what happens. Adam Sachs:Our friends are deviance. I don't want to see what their questions are. Chris Erwin:So we were just talking about you're now in New York City with funding, you're scaling Ignighter. You're hustling, you're grinding, you're going out to the bars, you're signing up people like on location. So then what you're just touching on, which is interesting is this theme of the unexpected. So you're building this business, you're looking at your metrics, and all of a sudden you're seeing user growth in India and in Singapore and these Asian countries, that's not what you're necessarily intending for, but it's happening. Chris Erwin:So as you start seeing this information, there's certain types of leaders and people that would say, "That's that's interesting, but we're not going to do something about it." What was the point where you're like, "This is meaningful. And now we're actually going to pursue this. This is opportunity." What was that decision making process? Adam Sachs:At first, it was like, this is interesting, but it's not our mission. So we ignored it. For I don't know how long, for maybe a few months. And then eventually it was like the discrepancy between how hard we were hustling and grinding to sign up users one at a time in New York versus literally I think at our peak, there were like 5,000 people a day signing up in India. And it was like, "What are we doing here? Let's figure this out. What is it that's making it click there?" Adam Sachs:And that's when we started to talk to people who knew the market way better than we did, talk to people who knew the culture better than we did. Chris Erwin:How do you do that? Who do you talk to? The same thing, like figuring out who do you talk to about Techstars? Did you call up your investors, did call friends? Adam Sachs:It was a little bit of both. Yeah. And we were able I think through our investors and through the Techstars network to meet people who are either entrepreneurs who were maybe of Indian descent and had family in India or who had family that were building companies in India. We actually shared an office with a company, coincidentally enough called exclusively.in. I don't know if they exist anymore, but they were a company that was building like fashion products in India. Adam Sachs:And they were really closely connected to the market. And so they started to like help us and connect us to angel investors in India and VCs in India. And those people help. Once we started to understand this, we went out and we raised more money from investors who were interested in that path in pursuing that in India story. Chris Erwin:Growth in Indian market. Adam Sachs:Yeah. Chris Erwin:Okay. And how much money did you raise at that point? Adam Sachs:I think maybe three or three and a half million, something like that. Chris Erwin:Okay. And at this point, are you feeling excited? Adam Sachs:Excited but scared too. We'd never even been there at that point. We still hadn't even been to India. It was hard enough I think building a company like in a market that we knew inside and out. And so the idea of building a company somewhere else felt like how's that going to work? Chris Erwin:I can understand the mix of emotions because maybe there was some frustration with the challenge in getting traction in the United States where you were focused. So this is in a way maybe a bit of a lifeline. Adam Sachs:It felt like a lifeline, but it also felt like we were riding blind a little bit too. Our first move was like, now that we know we have all the traction in India, let's put up a landing page so that only people in India see that shows people that look like they're in India and not people that look like they're in New York so that and you can kind of geo target in that way. But we didn't know the market well. Adam Sachs:So I remember our first landing page in India we're like, here, these are two beautiful looking Indian people. Let's put them on the landing page. And it turned out, we put a picture of like a bride, like a woman wearing a bride's outfit. And we were trying to be like the antithesis of like one of those like serious like marriage dating sites. And it was like literally a woman in bride garb. Adam Sachs:And then one of our investors who I guess knew the market was like, "What are you doing? That's not what you guys are." Chris Erwin:Not your brand. Adam Sachs:Yeah. That's so off brand. So it took us a while to figure it out. Chris Erwin:This all leads to a point where you end up moving to India. Adam Sachs:Yeah. Chris Erwin:And you moved there with your wife, Molly. Adam Sachs:Sort of. We had an apartment in New York where we lived and then I got a place in India and mostly it was me going over there. Molly did go. But it was mostly me going by myself. Chris Erwin:Is there one memorable moment of like you're in India and you're just in shock being like, "Wow, this is just feels so different." Adam Sachs:I think just in general, just the business norms were really hard. Like when we wanted to start processing payments, for example, I remember we had to get some kind of certification from like the Royal Bank of India or something like that. And then that took forever and we had to be compliant in a certain way that I didn't really understand. And at one point I was really an expert in all this stuff. Adam Sachs:And I've fortunately since forgotten, I think most of it. But it was like very hard. And then also people didn't really have credit cards or a lot of people didn't have credit cards. And so you have to figure out other ways to pay. And there were people that were paying with their mobile phone credits and it was very, very different and in that way, challenging. Chris Erwin:Got it. So then you eventually sale to Barry Diller's IAC. How did that come to be? Adam Sachs:Well, to be honest, and this is something that they don't really tell you when you start a dating site is that there's not that many buyers out there for dating sites. There's one universal behemoth in the dating world that wants to be the globally dominant business and that's IAC. So a typical sales process would have competitive nature attached to it where there's like a bunch of different companies bidding for your business. Adam Sachs:It was hard for us to drum up a competitive process when there's like really just one buyer out there. Chris Erwin:So you sell to IAC. And then at that point, I think that was a big milestone because you started a company, you ran it, build and scale the team, transitioned to an international market, and then you exited it. And I don't believe this was like a major liquidity event for you, but it was a sale. And that is a big stamp of approval. And so now it's kind of like you have this big entrepreneur stamp on your back. Chris Erwin:And so next, I think that you ended up going to Midroll Media, and this is another major inflection point in your career where you kind of lay the foundation for becoming this early and seasoned audio executive. And this now like fast growing industry. And what sold you on going into podcasts and audio and then moving to LA? Adam Sachs:First of all, all my time spent on planes going back and forth from New York to Mumbai and then being in Mumbai by myself, I had become obsessed with podcasts. I was listening to them all the time. They were my companion in India, basically. And as we have already established, always wanted a career in media. I've joked, like I've studied radio, TV, film. I never thought I would be doing something in the radio piece of it, or the RTVS, because that wasn't even really part of the curriculum. Adam Sachs:But I became obsessed with podcasts. I met a guy named Jeff Alrich who started Earwolf. And in fact, Ally Hord introduced us. And I met him when I was still at Ignighter or step out. And we just met us to like CEOs kind of commiserating as startup CEOs often do about like the various challenges. But I really loved his business. Even though it was still small at that point, it was bootstrapped. Adam Sachs:So he didn't have investors and it was profitable and it was growing and it was in an area of media that I loved and that I felt like was just kind of getting started. So yeah, we got to know each other. And then the timing worked out that after we sold to IAC, he reached out saying like, "I'm looking for someone to help me build this business, like a COO type. Do you have anyone in mind?" Adam Sachs:And I throw my hat in the ring. And then also the other piece of it was that we, at this point, had like a baby in New York City and we were feeling kind of done with New York. It was hard to have a kid in New York. I think the suburbs didn't really appeal to us. As I mentioned, LA always had some certain draw. We didn't necessarily know that we wanted to leave New York and go to LA, but this just felt like the right opportunity to try it. Chris Erwin:It's interesting. It feels like it's checking a few boxes for you. Because I know in talking to you at that time, I think you had a really great experience at Ignighter. You learned a lot, you've built a great investor network, but it was challenging. You had with investors, a lot of different stakeholders in your business, different points of view, weren't profitable and sustainable and a lot of the stage of the company. Chris Erwin:So Adam, you have a really exciting run at Midroll before you exit a couple of years later. You joined as COO and then in just nine months, you're promoted to CEO. So tell us about that journey. And what did you first focus on when you joined the team? Adam Sachs:It was a lot, we were building this new network called Midroll. The business started as Earwolf and that was continuing to grow, but the new- Chris Erwin:Earwolf was a network of comedy podcasts. Adam Sachs:Correct. Yeah. But the new thing that we were building, which we saw as our real growth opportunity was Midroll and Midroll is what connects podcasters to advertisers. They really hadn't been professionalized at that point in the industry. But as the industry was growing, it was like more and more podcasters wanted to make money, obviously. Adam Sachs:And advertisers were starting to realize that podcast listeners are passionate and they develop this intimate relationship with the podcaster. And so podcast ads could be very powerful in that way. And so that's where we saw a really big opportunity and started to invest a lot. It grew very quickly. Chris Erwin:It's interesting to hear the timing of that because it reminds me when I was at Big Frame, which was, we were creating short form, social content online and managing digitally native creators, people that were on ... YouTubers, people that were on Facebook, on Instagram, et cetera. And a big part of our growing business was connecting marketers and advertisers with our talent. Chris Erwin:And so that's a very similar dynamic to what was happening with you. Okay. So you're leaning into that. And then did you know that within like nine months that the CEO is in my orbit or it's going to happen or it was kind of just bestored upon you? Adam Sachs:No. That wasn't the case. We were growing quickly trying to add people quickly. The business started in a very ... it's credits Jeff, but in a very scrappy way adding more people and elevating the early people who had really done a great job. And I honestly think that the business got to a point where it was ready to go to a different level. There was a scrappy level. Adam Sachs:And I think once it was ready to go to that growth level, Jeff kind of felt like it was better handled if I were in the day to day of it all, and we didn't have a board, which was great. And another thing that really appealed to me and so like Jeff and I were the board, basically. Chris Erwin:Make fast decisions. Adam Sachs:We were able to make really fast decisions. And so, he was still involved in the business, but not really in the day to day. Chris Erwin:I just want to quickly pause here. I think there's a good takeaway for our listeners that explains your rapid rise at Midroll. So I've worked with you and known you for many years, and you've also developed an industry reputation with many others that you're very clear thinker and strategist, and that you have a point of view on market opportunity. You do a quick pros cons analysis, and then you make a swift decision to move forward. Chris Erwin:And then on top of that, you also have this great magnetism that allows you to build teams and rally smart people around you. I believe that this has caused success throughout your career and is really powering your growth now at Team Coco, which we'll get into in a little bit. So I just wanted to call that out quickly. Adam Sachs:I appreciate it. Chris Erwin:So now you're CEO and as we've talked about, because I was a COO at my last company and we used to joke that COO is like, you have a lot of responsibility. You're essentially running the company, running the team, but the buck doesn't stop with you. Like if there's a really tough decision to make like, that's the CEO or that's the founder. Like that's not me, that's them. So you get to be like everyone's best friend. Adam Sachs:Yeah. COO is secretly like the best job in the world. Chris Erwin:100%. So now that changes for you, now you're the CEO, the big decisions really fall on you. How did that transition feel? Adam Sachs:A little bit scary. And honestly, one of the reasons it was scary and I had experienced being a CEO because I was CEO of Ignighter. So I knew what it entailed, but one of the things that was a little bit scary about it was actually that we had so much momentum. We didn't make this transition because things weren't working and we needed to try something new, that wasn't really the impetus at all. It was really about growth and that almost put more pressure on me. Adam Sachs:It was like, don't fuck this up because we have a good thing going and we're growing quickly. So, that part felt scary. It was also challenging to be a part of the management team. If you think there's like the CEO and then below the CEO, there's like three or four C level executives. It was a little bit challenging at first or scary at first to be one of those three or four people on the management team who then became the CEO and had to manage the people who were my peers or on that same level as me. Adam Sachs:So that part is always intimidating at first. I think it certainly didn't come without any growing pains that would never happen, but it worked, it worked. Chris Erwin:That's a very interesting call out. When you started Ignighter and essentially it's nothing, so there's like nothing to lose. It's like you're at zero and there's all this upside potential and you're like, "All right, let's see where we can take it." But now, you go to this company that was founded by someone else that has some real momentum and traction and the rains are given over to you. Chris Erwin:That's a totally different responsibility set or feeling. Clearly great experience. So now you're the CEO and it's funny at this time, this is also people were calling this is Peak Podcast. This I think is around 2014. And so I think there's a chance for a liquidity event. There's a chance to sell the company. What was the impetus for that sale? Adam Sachs:It was a couple of things. It was the first thing that you said, which is like podcasting was having a moment. Serial came out and Gimlet launched and suddenly a bunch of media companies were saying like, "We have to figure out what's our podcast strategy?" And so we started to get a lot of inbound interest from both investors and potential acquirers and having, like you said, we've been so excited about not having investors and we were profitable and growing quickly. Adam Sachs:Personally, I didn't want to bring on investors. And I think that the team agreed. We didn't need it. So why bring in other people to just start having their own kind of agendas? But we did feel like if there was the right buyer, it should be something worth pursuing, at least having the conversations. It was like, because we were bootstrapped was owned by a few of us, the business. Adam Sachs:So, we could have a meaningful outcome potentially without the number having to be astronomical. And so, we thought who knows, maybe this is just the first wave and it goes away forever. And so, we didn't want to miss out on podcastings moment if something new came along. And then the other piece of it is that there was money flowing into the space competitively. Adam Sachs:And so it was like if we were determined to stay bootstrapped and we didn't want to raise money while people around us were raising money and what does that mean from a competitive landscape? So, that was like all the things we were thinking about at that time. Chris Erwin:It was a beautiful moment to sell. And I think the timing was great. And I remember when I was at Big Frame, this is just after we had sold the Awesomeness TV and I was in the offices at our offices at Burundian Olympic. I remember you calling me like late night, like six or 6:30 PM. And we spoke for like an hour, hour and a half of like the pros and cons of a sale. And how do you manage a sale process? Chris Erwin:Because there was a lot that you were thinking through and I could tell that this was a big decision you were taking very seriously and that you are excited, but also scared at the same time. Adam Sachs:That's totally true. I guess as they're six month process of going around and pitching the company. Chris Erwin:Yeah. Which can be brutal because the moments are, this is great. We're headed in a great direction, but this could also fall apart at any moment. There's an investor that's excited, but then in the middle of doing diligence, maybe it all goes away and we miss our moments. Adam Sachs:Yeah. Exactly. Chris Erwin:[crosstalk 00:37:11] on edge the whole time. Adam Sachs:For sure. And I think we were worried that if that were to happen, we did have such great business momentum, if that were to happen, would that kill our business momentum, would that kill everything? It felt a little risky at the time. Chris Erwin:Unique moment that happened where I think as you are talking to different prospective buyers, you had a conversation with Andy Redmond who was the president of Tornante and who we also knew who went through our high school year above us. And that there was a unique moment that happened at Spargo. Tell us that quick story. Adam Sachs:So Andy Redmond is the president of Tornante. Tornante is Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, it's Michael Eisner's vehicle for investing and acquiring companies. And when I came out to LA, I reached out to Andy and we hadn't stayed in touch really. Our families kind of know each other. We knew each other a little bit growing up, but we hadn't really stayed in touch. But I just reached out to him because I thought he had such a cool job. Adam Sachs:Tornante acquires media companies and invest in media companies. They make content. They make really great stuff. They make BoJack Horseman, for example. They do that. And then they also like just bought a English premier league soccer team. So they do all this and, it all kind of rolls up to Andy. So I thought Andy had such a cool job. And so we met or we had lunch early on when I was out here and he immediately, I think, got interested in what we were doing, and we stayed in touch. Adam Sachs:And then during the sell process, we communicated and he started to get excited and brought us in for several meetings. And then one of them was a lunch at Spargo with Michael Eisner. I told you the story because it was one of my very just surreal, most surreal, I guess- Chris Erwin:LA, Hollywood. Adam Sachs:Exactly, where I was like at a table with Michael Eisner who by the way is from Red Bank. I don't know if you know that. His whole family's from there. So we had this whole conversation with Andy about we all grew up in the same area and- Chris Erwin:Improv jam. Adam Sachs:He was one of the funniest at improv jam. His guessing was incredible. And so we had this whole conversation and he was really excited about what we were doing. And at one point during the meal, Wolfgang puck came over and sat down with us at the table and started giving Michael Eisner a hard time in a playful way about building a house too big that it was obscuring his view and- Chris Erwin:You're just like, what is happening? Adam Sachs:Yeah. And then literally Sidney Poitier's at the next table. And that was all like catalyzed by Andy. It was a very funny thing because we grew up in this very small town that seemingly very disconnected from all things Hollywood and literally geographically, like on the other side of the country. Chris Erwin:There must be something in the water in Monmouth County. That's a really funny story. So you end up selling the company to E.W. Scripps. You end up going over there and helping the company transition for a bit over a year. At that point you had, we were talking about like you had the entrepreneurial stamp on your back from Ignighter, and now you have in the sale of Midroll to E.W. Scripps. Chris Erwin:You have a stamp on your back as you are a legitimate audio executive. Podcasting an audio, digital audio is a fast growing industry. And Adam is a leader that has incredible relationships, has built an incredible portfolio of audio content. While at Earwolf, you also were able to help build out the ad sales arm and build out this scalable profitable business with a successful sale and exit. Chris Erwin:So you have this brand as you're an audio executive. And I think that's really exciting. It's really great. I'm also curious to ask, I don't know if anyone has asked you this, is that the brain that you wanted one, and then two, do you feel that that could also pigeon hole you a bit where it's like, okay, I'm on this path, but maybe my career ambitions are a bit broader in entrepreneurship or in other areas of entertainment? What do you think about that? Adam Sachs:It's a good questions. I am sure I'm pigeonholed in some ways. I'm sure people look at me for better or worse as an audio guy. I think a couple of things. One is, I do think there are a lot of things I've learned in building companies. And certainly, probably more specifically in building Midroll Stitcher that are applicable outside of just audio here at Team Coco, we're building a digital media business. Audio is a really important part of it. Adam Sachs:But there are things I learned through that process that I think are applicable. But I still believe in audio in a way that I think if I were pigeonholed into something that I thought that I wasn't super bullish on or that I thought was kind of lame, then it might be more of a bummer. But I think audio is cool. It sounds dumb. But I don't mind that that's like my brand, if it is my brand. Adam Sachs:And I think it's allowed me to meet a lot of cool entrepreneurs and work with a lot of cool companies. And I still think that the industry is in its early days. And so, I don't mind that being like part of or all of my brand. Chris Erwin:When people look at your career story, just even if just listening to this podcast, that it's very multifaceted. And then in entertainment, I agree, audio is not pigeonholing you because audio is a medium to express yourself and to create story, to share ideas, and to create IP. And that can manifest in a variety of ways, whether it's a TV, film, or a theme park, or short form social content, and you look at all the others in the same. Chris Erwin:And so I think it's actually a really fun, medium to play in right now because it allows you to experiment in a very low cost and rapid yet efficient way. And then if you want to go premium as well, like Conan Needs a Friend, one of the best performing comedy podcasts on the planet right now, there's so much that you can do, but just one aspect of a business. Adam Sachs:Yeah. I agree. I love audio. So, I don't mind it. Chris Erwin:Adam Sachs tagline, I love audio. Awesome. You sell Midroll to E.W. Scripps and I believe the price point was somewhere in the range of if there was like an earn out maybe 55 to 65 million-ish in that range. Adam is nodding. So I think I'm in the right ballpark. So after the sale, Adam has a lot of options. It's after Midroll, you then go do a stint as an entrepreneur residence at Chernin, the Chernin Group. Chris Erwin:You work with some brilliant minds like Jason Bergman and Mike Hearns and the rest of the Austin team over there. Steve [Cosnio 00:43:18] and I'm going to blank on a bunch of other names. You even start advising higher ground audio, the production arm of Barack and Michelle Obama. There's a lot of different things that you can do. And I think some of the options include, you could start your own company, start another company. Chris Erwin:Or you could go work for a team, and you actually end up working for Conan and Team Coco and overseeing his entire digital business. In that moment, how do you decide what you're going to do? Adam Sachs:The way you describe it makes it sound like I had a lot of opportunity, and I did. It's true, but it wasn't obvious to me what to do which is part of the reason I went to Chernin and I was just like, I don't have a ton of conviction around a business that I want to start. I know what it takes to build a business from the ground up. And there's nothing that I'm obsessed over right now that I just know I have to go do this. Adam Sachs:The idea of joining something that was early and interesting appealed to me. So my thinking was like, let me just go where there's really, really, really smart people. And to your point, the Chernin Group, especially as it relates to media, has some of the smartest. And so spending a year with them, first of all, learning how to be an investor, which I had zero experience doing, really appealed to me because I wanted to just understand that world a little more. Adam Sachs:Meeting really smart both investors and entrepreneurs on the media side or in the media world was really appealing because I felt like it would help me just figure out what to do next. And with the Conan thing, and maybe it goes back to this theme of not overthinking it, but it was this opportunity of you can work with arguably the funniest person on the planet who has a reputation for also being a good guy and a team that really is filled with good people and that like each other, and that have been around here for many, many, many years as he explores. Adam Sachs:And they all explore launching something new, but with the added benefit of brand and this talent and this reach that's all here, it was kind of like, let me just see what happens. And as we've already established here, comedy's very important to me. And there was talk of maybe starting a podcast network and that was appealing to me for obvious reasons. So yeah, it literally just checked a lot of boxes. Chris Erwin:How were you first introduced to Conan and Team Coco? Adam Sachs:Through Chernin. It was like, there was a connection between some of the people that turned in and some of the people at Team Coco. And that's how I got to know them. And I did a little bit of consulting work to help think through this business plan, because what it is is Team Coco has existed since 2010, Will keep me honest, 2010. Yes. But it wasn't until a year and a half ago that there was this pivot into building it into a full on media business. Adam Sachs:It existed as a really successful marketing arm that marketed digitally the TV show, the linear show. And that became its own business in a way. The marketing of that, the distribution of those digital clips from the TV show and monetizing them across YouTube and social channels became a business. And then that ultimately became the foundation for what Team Coco is today. Chris Erwin:Just to be clear for the audience, the tent pole format that Conan has is his talk show with TBS. Adam Sachs:Correct. Chris Erwin:Got it. So you're like, okay, this is an amazing marketing arm, but you also had a point of view of like there's a lot more to do with this. Adam Sachs:Yeah. And a lot of that came from my experience at Midroll center, but the year I spent at Chernin, meeting a lot of what I thought were some of the best and most forward thinking media companies. Chris Erwin:And onboarding into Team Coco, it seems that one of your first early projects was getting Conan podcast network off the ground. Is that accurate? Adam Sachs:Yeah, that's true. They had tried a couple, maybe like pilots of a podcast. There was talk of doing a podcast. Conan was half interested, but pretty skeptical. Chris Erwin:On his podcast, Conan Needs a Friend sometimes he'll make references to you as the executive producer. He's like, "Yeah. I don't know what this podcast thing is. Is this even real? Supposedly we have downloads. I still don't know if there's money coming from it. I don't see it." Adam Sachs:Yeah. I think now he finally gets it, but yeah, for a while even after it launched and was successful, he was still like, is this thing real? I don't know. Am I sitting alone in this room talking into a microphone and no one's hearing it? But what's happened is now he gets stopped everywhere he goes, and people tell him, "I love the podcast." So he knows it's real. Or it's like some massive Truman Show scam where everyone is just faking it and coming up to him. But yeah, no, he knows it's real at this point, which is good. Chris Erwin:He has one of the best performing shows. That's probably important. I want to just jump back for a quick sec. Was it hard to get the teams buying or when you were getting recruited, was it like, "Look, this is what I want to do here. I want to build out a podcast network." And so when they brought you on, it was like, "All right, we know what Adam's plan is. So if we actually bring him on a COO, we're going to get things done." Or was it like an uphill battle? Adam Sachs:We put together a business plan that included a variety of verticals, audio being one of them. It was like the digital distribution business, which is the core business. It was live events, it was podcasts. It was stand up specials. And that was part of the whole business plan that I helped put together. And there was buying on the business plan holistically for sure. Adam Sachs:I think what we've seen over the past year is that audio has become a major investment area for us. And it helps that Conan's podcast has done so well. Chris Erwin:Yeah. Maybe you can also reference this like, look, if Obama is leaning into this, there's something. Adam Sachs:Exactly. Now that Conan is one of many A-listers or a plus listers, like the Obamas who are understanding this is a huge opportunity. Chris Erwin:So now you launched Conan Needs a Friend and there's a few other formats as well that you guys have launched. Remind me. Adam Sachs:Yeah, we have several podcasts. We have Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. We have the three questions with Andy Richter, Inside Conan, and Important Hollywood Podcast are all unscripted podcasts that we've launched. We've launched two scripted series so far as well, one called Frontier Tween and one called Smarter. And those are scripted narrative, audio podcasts. Chris Erwin:And are those exclusively on the Luminary platforms? Adam Sachs:Those are exclusively on Luminary. Exactly. Chris Erwin:Got it. Thinking about 2020, how do you want to build out the audio initiative for Team Coco? Where do you guys see as more opportunity? Adam Sachs:We want to continue doing both scripted and non-scripted. So far, all of our unscripted podcasts have been hosted by people literally within this building, Conan and Andy Richter and Mike Sweeney and Jessie Gaskell who are both writers on the Conan Show. And so for us, and this is like a broader theme just for us to be successful as a business, we have to expand our talent network, both in podcasts and in the digital video that we develop and in the live shows. Adam Sachs:Everything, it can't rely as much as you have a huge competitive advantage when you have Conan being the center of a podcast. Because not only is he so famous, but he's so talented, but there's only so much scale you can get out of that. There's only so much you can squeeze out before he just like collapses or revolts. Chris Erwin:If he's listening to this, just like, "Adam's going to like squeeze more energy and time." Adam Sachs:He and I talk about it a lot. He talks about it a lot. He knows that we push him really far and it has an incredible amount of endurance more than most people. He does more than most people at that level, but there's only so far he can go. And so in order to be successful, we have to do more with other people. That's a big theme for us. Chris Erwin:Well, it's interesting to hear about the endurance. Because I think I was listening to a podcast with him and Jimmy Kimmel, where he was just talking about how hard they work. They're taping a show every day, their talk show. And then just all the other content that they're creating a short form format for socials, for marketing, for their podcast. It's just a lot of work. Chris Erwin:So it's not like nine to five, Monday through Friday. It's like they're on all weekend working and prepping and writing and all of that. Adam Sachs:Yeah. He works really hard. Chris Erwin:Along with a great team behind him that works really hard too. Okay. Last question on Team Coco before we get into the rapid fire round and then also maybe do some crowdsource questions from our high school friends, TBD. Does any other things about Team Coco that you're excited about in 2020? Adam Sachs:I think building upon the things we've already started is important for us, like doing more live events, building on our podcast network, doing specials. We're making comedy specials for HBO Max, and hopefully we'll be making more content for other platforms. All that is I think exciting. We also are doing a podcast exclusively on Stitcher premium podcast called The Best of Conan Standup. Adam Sachs:Where we're taking five standup sets from every year dating back to the first year that Conan was on TV each year and highlighting those. So you can listen to ... it's hosted by Laurie Kilmartin also here within our walls. She's a writer on Conan and a great standup herself. That show is every episode is a different season of stand ups from Conan. Think there's like opportunity for us in gaming potentially. I don't know. We're trying to expand. Chris Erwin:Awesome. I think you guys have an incredible path forward. We are massive supporters of your business as you know. Adam Sachs:You guys are really helpful. Chris Erwin:To close out the Team Coco narrative. I think one of the things that Adam brought up in the first part of the conversation was just what attracted him to Conan was his sensibility that he's some amazing talented comedy writer who's silly and funny and smart. But it also like Conan is a good person. He's got good values and he's built out a team that he really looks out for, that he really respects. Chris Erwin:And he's really set the tone at the organization. And I can say, I was fortunate enough to get invited to the Team Coco and Conan holiday party at Yamashiro in Hollywood. And it's funny as I spoke to Adam and then as I spoke to some of his peers, like Willy Nevara, I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. Steve Breslow and some of your other business affairs executives, they all said, "Conan sets us really special tone from the top." Adam Sachs:He does. Chris Erwin:I was there with a friend of mine, Maya, and we felt that in the room, it just like we've gone to a lot of Hollywood parties and I don't get excited by most of them, but this one was like, it felt different. Everyone was so open and it was a really good vibe. And I think that really leads to a really compelling and special creative environment working environment. Chris Erwin:And what I also heard from talking to one of the final executives there was that Adam is also a big part of setting that tone with the leadership. She made it very clear that that tone comes down from Conan, but it is also very much embodied in Adam and how he runs the Team Coco organization. Adam Sachs:That's nice. It's Conan and Jeff Ross, for sure. They really take care of their people. Chris Erwin:All right. Before we get into the rapid fire, I'm just going to check the text thread. Joe Venti asks, is this the rebirth of Ask Adam? Ask him to rewrite what dreams may come? Adam Sachs:The Ask Adam was my column in the Tower Tribune in the high school. Chris Erwin:Got it. Okay. I think that's the one that we'll take away from this. We need to go into the other ones. All right. So rapid fire, Adam, these are questions that you could answer very quickly in a few amount of words, one or two sentences or less. Here we go. Proudest moment slash accomplishment of your career. Adam Sachs:Conan's Podcast. I'm really proud of it's reached so many people, it's brought joy to a lot of people. It's brought a lot of joy to Conan who says that he feels really fulfilled by it and it's become, I think, an important part of his, I don't want to speak for him, but I think he said stuff like this. When he looks back on what he's accomplished in his career, I know that this will be one of the more important, special things that he's done. Adam Sachs:And I think it's really good quality. I think it's a really great show and it's because of Conan and Sona and Matt and I'm proud of it. Chris Erwin:Awesome. What do you want to do less and more of in 2020? Adam Sachs:I am always pushing myself to think bigger and to do more bigger thinking and to do less in the weeds of micromanaging. I think I just have like a tendency to do that a little bit and it's not a great quality. And so, I think getting more balanced in that sense I think is something that's important. Chris Erwin:Entrepreneurial advice. What one to two personal characteristics primarily drive your success? Adam Sachs:I think getting shit done. I think a lot of entrepreneurs sit around saying that they want to do something or that they should do something. And I think that the ones who see success are determined to just get something done and also stick around. I think it takes a long time for a company to find success. And it's not always fun, but I think hanging in there is important. Chris Erwin:And a quick side anecdote, we talked about this yesterday, but also you are not petty. You're not political. And even you were telling a story about your wife, who's like, "Adam, I hear that you're taking a meeting with this man or woman. Don't you remember a few months ago that you had like a really bad encounter?" You're like, "I don't remember that." Adam Sachs:I think I have a bad memory. I think maybe it benefits me sometimes, but I'm not good at holding grudges because I literally forget if somebody wronged me. And Molly who was my biggest defender is always does like stick up for me and look out for me. And she's like, "What are you doing? We hate that person. Remember?" And I'm like, "Oh yeah. Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot. We hate that person." Chris Erwin:Last three, advice for media professionals going into 2020. Quick words of wisdom. Adam Sachs:Follow the money is one of them. I think a lot of media companies in the digital space have come and gone because deficit financing, digital video in a way that isn't really sustainable anymore today. I think there's a lot of paywalls popping up, which I think is like in some ways a good thing, but in some ways a bad thing. Really understand what you're asking people to pay for, because I think media consumers are willing to pay, but only for certain things. If you're going to build a company in media, try to latch on to the best talent or the best content. Chris Erwin:Smart advice. All right. Last couple. Any future startup ambitions? See yourself starting another company in the near future? Adam Sachs:Probably not. I don't know. Maybe. A lot of it comes back to convicti

Reece Chowdhry Founder and CEO of the multi award-winning RLC Ventures, a venture capital firm that specialises in investing in technology-based seed stage businesses. Reece was awarded “Top 5 Asian Tech Investors” in 2018 (KPMG & Diversity UK) and is the youngest-ever investor to profiled by The Sunday Times. Since launching three years ago, Reece has invested in 30 start-ups and sits on the board of six portfolio companies. Currently, 70% of founders in the RLC Ventures portfolio are from diverse backgrounds. Passionate about giving back, Reece has created the RLC Ventures Pledge where a percentage of the exit profits are donated to a social cause of the founder’s choice. His work has seen him become one of the youngest ever investors to be profiled in The Sunday Times, and he has appeared on Channel 4 News. Reece Connect with Reece on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/reecec/) RLC Website (https://www.rlc.ventures/) ABOUT THE HOST My name is Sam Harris. I am a British entrepreneur, investor and explorer. From hitchhiking across Kazakstan to programming AI doctors I am always pushing myself in the spirit of curiosity and Growth. My background is in Biology and Psychology with a passion for improving the world and human behaviour. I have built and sold companies from an early age and love coming up with unique ways to make life more enjoyable and meaningful. Sam: Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samjamsnaps/) Quora (https://www.quora.com/profile/Sam-Harris-58) Twitter (https://twitter.com/samharristweets) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharris48/) Sam's blog - SamWebsterHarris.com (https://samwebsterharris.com/) Support the Show - Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/growthmindset) Top Tips Have an open-mind Open-mindedness helps you to learn and grow, strengthening your belief in yourself. It all starts with you. Being open-minded is important because it creates opportunities for you to learn from others. Learning about the way others live or why they believe what they do. Learning does not mean you will change your lifestyle or beliefs, but simply grow in knowledge. Having an open-mind allows you to become aware. It allows you live in a way that's more approachable. The power of surrounding yourself with the right people The people you surround yourself with can either drag you down or lift you up. Take the time to create a circle of people that are the most positive, supportive people you can find. This also means letting go of the people who are pulling you down. If you want to make a positive change in your life, remember, the people around you have a critical influence on your energy, growth and probability of success. Positive people bring out the best in you and make you feel motivated and happy. They help you when you’re in need, encourage you to go after your dreams and are there to celebrate your successes or support you as you move past your challenges. If you want to become your best self I challenge you to review, rethink, and cull through your social media and real life "friends" and find the right people and media content that will actually help you get there. Books Try a free Audible trial of any book here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00OPA2XFG?tag=samharris48%E2%80%9321) Zero to One - Peter Thiel (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zero-to-One/dp/B00XLSKG5W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QNP7FZAX0FJ2&dchild=1&keywords=zero+to+one&qid=1602017591&s=audible&sprefix=zer%2Caudible%2C369&sr=1-1) If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. Entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Venture Deals - Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/B005VSSUN0/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=venture+deals&qid=1602017622&s=audible&sr=1-3) A must-read for any entrepreneur contemplating or currently leading a venture-backed company. The book is filled with lots of other amazing advice. Syncify An app that lets you be social at a distance. Listen to your favourite podcasts and books together with friends and groups. Chat about the audio experiences as you share and learn from other users' perspectives. Commit to taking actions by sharing your ideas. To learn more, visit (www.syncifyapp.com) Subscribe! If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Special Guest: Reece Chowdhry.

During this episode, You, Me and Your Top Three host, Gregg Garrett, speaks with Ted Serbinski, managing director at Techstars, about the power of pivoting and how it is needed for startups as well as enterprises trying to innovate. He discusses a wide array of topics from becoming a mobility industry luminary to investing in nearly 100 companies to being a xennial and the importance of being a sponge. Ted of course shares his Top Three who include member of the Foundry Group to fellow alumnus who help him stretch his thesis to all the founders in whom he has invested to make mentoring a two-way street. And you have to hear what he has to say about how mobility may be more about what is not moving, rather than what is, especially in a post-COVID world. About Ted Serbinski Ted Serbinski is a venture capitalist and managing director of TechStars with 70 global startup investments across mobility, automotive, logistics, manufacturing, fintech and AI/ML. He focuses on helping entrepreneurs succeed through mentorship and investment and seeks to establish lifelong relationships with the founders he backs. Ted holds a degree in computer engineering from Cornell University and is a dad to four energetic kids. Show Highlights Segment 1: Overview 1:10      “Pivot! Pivot!”: The criticality of change and importance of being brave to achieve it 4:18      Ted Serbinski: His journey began as a coder and has led him across the country to becoming an investor 5:30      Ted’s Mission: “Changing people’s perception of what’s possible” 9:24      Being Brave: A cold email to Dan Gilbert brought him to Michigan and began his venture career 11:53   Success breeding success: “Spreadsheets don’t create, they measure.” Segment 2: The “Top Three” 15:10   Be a sponge: Soak up everything you hear and see around you 16:46   Ted’s “Top Three” starts with Jason Mendelson who challenged his perception of what’s possible being a VC 18:33   A pattern develops: Sending the cold email, making the cold call 22:57   Ted’s “Top Three” expands with Gretchen Knoell, a fellow Cornell alum, who has great experience and provides great wisdom 24:43   Investment Thesis Challenge: “It’s all about make and move” … and what else? 27:12   Ted’s “Top Three” concludes with the group of founders he has invested in due to the depth of knowledge they provide 30:03   Relationship Lens: “Investing in founders is a lifetime commitment” Segment 3: Transformation & Disruption 37:34   Disruption: It’s all about timing and people’s ability to change 40:04   Are innovators seeing the silver lining in this post-COVID market? 41:50   “Building a startup is a lot like a game of chess” 44:48   Pivoting: Where are auto and mobility going? 46:58   “What is mobility?” Ted’s blog on Detroit becoming the Mobility City 51:00   Futurists look at the consumption market and far outside the industry 52:48   Mobility Spectrum: “Not moving is moving too.” 55:54   Drawing Parallels: Being a Xennial and Mobility Segment 4: Wrapping Up 58:55   Ted’s Journey: “Being open to [almost] anything” 1:01:02             Copious Note Taker: What’s the process? 1:04:01             Meditate: “It is a way to defrag your brain” 1:06:36             How to stay in contact with Ted Additional Information Contact Ted Serbinski: Ted’s Email Ted’s LinkedIn Ted’s Twitter Ted’s Website Contact Gregg Garrett: Gregg’s LinkedIn Gregg’s Twitter Gregg’s Bio Contact CGS Advisors: Website LinkedIn Twitter

Jason Mendelson tells about playing a gig at the White House. Kurt tells about accidentally finding himself in the front row at a biker wedding.

My guest for Ep116 of The Startup Playbook Podcast is Mina Radhakrishnan, the co-founder of :Different. Mina started here career at Goldman Sachs, before transitioning into the Associate Product Management (APM) Program at Google. From there she jumped into startups, initially joining ModCloth as it's first Product Manager, before moving to a small 20 person startup (at the time) Uber. She was the first product manager at Uber and later ran the company's product team for three years, leading initiatives such as new driver onboarding and the addition of other types of car services. She is also one of five inventors who jointly hold Uber's 2013 patent on surge pricing. After leaving Uber, she served as an entrepreneur in residence at startup investment firm Redpoint Ventures, and as special adviser to Cowboy Ventures. In 2017, Mina Co-founded :Different, a full-service property management platform, for just $100 a month. :Different is already managing over $1B worth of residential properties across Australia, has grown to over 50 staff and has recently closed a $7.1M series A funding round, backed by PieLAB, AirTree, Spring Capital and Warburton Group. We covered a range of topics in this interview including: Her experience as Ubers first Product ManagerFrameworks for decision makingHow to find and hire great Product ManagersHow to build relationships with investors& much more! Full interview below! Show notes: Google APM programModclothTravis Kalanick Redpoint VenturesCowboy VenturesMarissa MayerLarry PageSergey BrinInklingCraig BlairCraig Blair podcast interview (Episode 81)AirTreeVenture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (book)Elicia McDonald podcast interview (Ep 113) Join our next live podcast interview with Fred Schebesta, the Co-founder of Finder.comDate: 23rd June 2020Time: 8-9am (AEDT)Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/Ep117Finder Feedback/connect/say hello:Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits:Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels:Don't have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player and now also available on Spotify. https://youtu.be/zpXkguj0IsA The post Ep116 – Mina Radhakrishnan (Co-founder – Different) on frameworks for decision making appeared first on Startup Playbook.

My guest for Episode 113 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was Elicia McDonald, the Investment Principal at AirTree Ventures. Elicia started her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse, but her passion for the technology sector and drive to get more hands on operational experience made her take the plunge and immerse herself in sales and growth roles at a B2B SaaS startup in Sydney and in enterprise sales at LinkedIn. She then joined AirTree Ventures in 2016. AirTree is an early and growth stage venture capital fund managing over half a billion dollars of funds under management. AirTree backs technology entrepreneurs who are solving some of the world's most ambitious problems and their investments have clustered around sectors such as machine learning, energy, fintech, healthcare, and enterprise software. Elicia played a pivotal role in many of AirTree's early investments into successful startups including Huddle Insurance, :Different, Pet Circle, Expert360 and Drone Deploy. She also led investments into Flurosat and served on the board of TidyMe, seeing it through a successful exit in 2018. In 2019, Elicia was promoted to her current role as the Investment Principal at AirTree Ventures. We covered a range of topics in this interview including: How to do due diligence on potential investorsWhen and how to nail your first meeting with an investorCharacteristics of investible founding teamsA deep dive into AirTree's due diligence and investment processWhat metrics you should focus on& much more! Show notes: Diligencing your investor - a checklist for foundersOpen Source VCAirTree's Investor listAirTreeQwilrEp112: Mark Tanner (Co-founder of Qwilr) podcast interviewPoint Nine CapitalAndrew Donald (Head of Talent at AirTree)Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (book)Elicia McDonald (email) Join our next live podcast interview with the Former Prime Minister of Australia and Investor, Malcolm Turnbull!Date: 2nd June 2020Time: 8-9am (AEDT)Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/Ep114MalcolmTurnbull Feedback/connect/say hello:Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits:Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels:Don't have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player and now also available on Spotify. https://youtu.be/l5qrIhcyOy0 The post Ep113 – Elicia McDonald (Investment Principal – AirTree) on diligence, investment & speed appeared first on Startup Playbook.

Jason Mendelson, Co-founder of Foundry Group, has spent over 15 years explaining how venture deals really work. From blog posts to a book—Venture Deals is now in its 4th edition!—to a free online course, Jason and co-author Brad Feld are determined to Give First by demystifying VC.

We discover that there might be a method to the madness that is a DC traffic circle! We discuss healthy ways to deceive children, and why everyone should be keeping a decent wet/dry vac at home! And for God's sake, just pick up your own damn fast-food! Jason Mendelson is playing on Sunday, June 23rd at Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA. Look for his new EP "Scenes" in mid September and visit www.JasonMendelsonMusic.com for more music and future events.

Welcome to another episode of Antifragile. I am joined by Jason Mendelson – general partner and co-founder of Foundry Group. Jason is going to talk about the awesome story of Foundry Group and the interesting ecosystem of boards, investors and founders. The thing that a great functioning board can do is be the CEO's partner Tired of dysfunctional boards and overbearing investors? It is time to turn those “bored” meetings into productive board meetings. In this episode, Jason share powerful insights about the ideal board structure and agenda. We are also going into details about the ecosystem of boards and investors, and share solutions to the problems that exists within the team. Furthermore, Jason talks about emotional intelligence and why it is a critical factor in achieving success. Episode Quotes "When you think you’ve lost everything is actually when you’re the most powerful" "It is when there’s something still left to lose that we are constrained" "There is nothing better than having clients that trust you with their lives and support you" "It is not just about leverage. It is about selecting the people who can make you better" "The lack of humility is the #1 cancer that venture capitalists have" "The thing that a great functioning board can do is be the CEO's partner" "The main reason why startups fail is that the team doesn't execute correctly and doesn't work well together" "If you have tremendous emotional intelligence and can make teams work better, you have a much better chance to success" "I always keep an open mind for everybody. I make a quick decision, act on it, but I always keep my mind open." Listen to Learn 00:34 Getting to know Jason Mendelson - career journey 05:07 Jason's core building skill 06:11 Make-it-or-break-it moment - the Foundry Group story 09:11 Jason's turning point and realizations 15:02 Importance of partner selection 18:24 Why most boards are dysfunctional and how to make them functional 21:03 The #1 cancer that investors or venture capitalists have 22:44 What is an ideal board structure and agenda? 25:48 What does a great functioning board looks like? 27:40 Emotional Intelligence - a critical factor in achieving success 33:08 Non-Rapid Fire Questions 40:48 End notes, website and social media links

This latest podcast on The Doers Network includes an interview with Jason Mendelson, founder and partner in The Foundry Group, a venture capital company like no other.  A native Detroiter, Jason has an investor philosophy of being a partner with companies he invests in, not just an investor throwing money at them.  Listen and find out more about Jason and his fascinating life story, right here on The Doers Network!! Learn more about The Foundry Group:  https://foundrygroup.com/ Visit our website:  https://www.bamboodetroit.com/

Jason Mendelson, of Foundry Group, on venture capital for startups.                

Much like the metro theme, we find out that Jason Mendelson is not going away as he shares his track “Ready for the Crash” from his new album “Blue Streak”.  Also this week: One time, Jason put water wings on his ankles instead of his arms, One time, Jason put water wings on his ankles instead of his arms, And brain damage. Jason Mendelson is playing Epicure Cafe in Fairfax, VA on Saturday, June 16th as part of Jasonfest!  Find out more at http://metrosongs.org

Terri and Jaqueline sit down over a cup of coffee (not bubbly) to talk about Terri’s approach to due diligence, why she does it, when she does it, and what she looks for.  She also encourages founders to do their own due diligence on potential investors.    Show Highlights  Terri talks about how founders should pull together a deal room in advance of fundraising to make it easier to share information with investors during the due diligence process. It sends good signal and looks professional.   Founders can’t be prepared for everything but have an organized and complete deal room will set a solid foundation and leave time to deal with the additional requests for information.    Terri describes a deal room and the importance of keeping track of who gets access to it.  Create the structure and then add to it over time.    Terri’s level of due diligence depends the size of the deal, the size of her check, and if she is bringing other investors into the deal. She believes in right-sizing due diligence and has a checklist she works from.   Terri uses the due diligence process as an opportunity to build a relationship with the founding team.    Deal information:  terms, term sheet, use of funds, milestones, existing investors in the round, side letters/special treatment.  Terri cross checks this against what she has been told or what is in the pitch deck.   Financial:  financial statements, projections, assumptions, management team, references, key personnel, board members and advisors, contact information, capital and equity structure both current and projected cap table, financial obligations, agreements and restrictions.     Organizational:  entity formation and maintenance documents, founders, prior acquisitions or mergers, failed transactions, consulting agreements, compensation, advisors, contact information, facility agreements.    Intellectual Property/Technology:  patents, copyrights, trademarks, proprietary invention agreements, license agreements.  Product Marketing and Sales:  product list, marketing collateral, marketing plan, go-to-market strategy, anticipated customer acquisition cost, anticipated lifetime value of each customer, align to projections, major customers (to do reference customers), sales team, forecasts, backlog, pipeline, distribution channels and agreements, competition, production process and costs, suppliers, exclusivity, geography of suppliers or software developers, R&D projects.    Terri spends 4-6 hours to review all this information (with a glass  or two of wine) and she enjoys this but has to set aside the time to do it.  Her background as an auditor (financial and vendor) lends itself well to this work along with her experience negotiating agreements for herself and clients.   Terri prefers not to outsource this to someone else because she doesn’t do it very often and likes to get to know the company and the business through the process.  She also uses the Q&A process to build the relationship and get a sense of what it is like to worth with the founder.    Terri also asks around and talks to other founders, investors, and might do background checks.  What should founders do as part of their due diligence?  First of all, do it.  Ask other founders and investors about them.  Find out what happened when the startup didn’t go well as to how the investor reacted and either helped or didn’t.    Make sure they are going to be a good fit; it’s hard to get rid of them later.  Reputation of the investor is important because a bad investor on the cap table can be a bad signal to other investors.    As a founder, where does one start?  Create the deal room and start to populate it with the static documents or documents as they are requested.  For the dynamic documents, put in the most recent version.    Founders should not ask for a signed NDA from a potential investor; you have to assume good intent.  If you aren’t comfortable, don’t share.  Investors can’t keep track of all of the signed agreements and terms.    Final tips:  investors should look at due diligence as an investment in supporting the value of the deal and the founders can see it as something to build a relationship with the investors.  Founders should respond quickly to questions asked by potential investors and be transparent to build the relationship.      References in the Podcast  Women’s Startup Lab: https://womenstartuplab.com/  AngelList: https://angel.co/  Venture Deals (online class):  https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/online-course-venture-deals/  Brad Feld: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfeld/  Jason Mendelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmendelson/  Venture Deals (the book):  https://www.feld.com/archives/2016/10/venture-deals-third-edition.html  Angel (the book):  https://www.angelthebook.com/  Jason Calacanis: http://calacanis.com/  SendaRide: https://sendaride.com/  Laura Fleet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-brookins-fleet-49aa9a54/  Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/  Y Combinator Series A Due Diligence Checklist      Contact  You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter @andYoureaGirl or go to her website at https://www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com/.    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.   

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.

Jason Mendelson has some serious street cred. A 2-time graduate of the University of Michigan, he started out as a software engineer at Accenture, and after realizing he wanted to be a lawyer, got his law degree, became a lawyer in the Bay Area and now he's a venture capitalist (although he really hates that name). Currently, he serves as the Managing Director at Foundry Group, a Venture Capital firm in Boulder, Colorado, and let me tell you, they put out some hilarious music videos. Blog Post: http://bit.ly/2GRcYhY Video Version: http://bit.ly/2v45YsC Jason's song: http://bit.ly/2IJvLYO   ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

Show Highlights Terri introduces the new series on angel investing and provides a list of resources to start to get educated on the space Terri shares her experience at a Bay Angels Fashion Tech pitch event in San Francisco Terri shares her lofty goal of creating a mesh-network of like-minded investors to invest in the startups and founders that are not getting the attention and funding they so richly deserve.   Call to Action Subscribe to one podcast and one newsletter 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 Angel the book by Jason Calcanis:  http://bit.ly/AngeltheBook Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson:  http://bit.ly/VentureDealstheBook Masters of Corporate Venture by Andrew Romans : http://bit.ly/CorporateVentureBook The Twenty Minute VC:  http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/ SheInvests:  http://www.sheinvests.com/ Hera Labs:  https://www.heralabs.com/ AdAstra Ventures:  https://adastra.ventures/ The Pitch by Gimlet Media: https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-pitch The Full Ratchet with Nick Moran:  http://fullratchet.net/ Fred Wilson’s blog:  http://avc.com/ Brad Feld’s blog: https://www.feld.com/ CB Insights Newsletter:  https://www.cbinsights.com/newsletter PitchBook Newsletters:  https://pitchbook.com/subscribe Inside Venture Capital: https://inside.com/?ref=newsletter MobiHealthNews: http://www.mobihealthnews.com/ Fierce family of newsletters: http://bit.ly/FierceNewsletters Mercom Healthcare IT:  http://store.mercom.mercomcapital.com/healthcare-it-reports/ Digital Health Today podcast: https://digitalhealthtoday.com/podcasts/ Rock Health podcast: https://rockhealth.com/tag/podcast/ A16z podcast:  https://a16z.com/podcasts/ This Week in Tech (TWiT) podcast:  https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Bay Angels: http://bayangels.com/ns/ Quinn:  https://www.quinnstyle.com/ Fashion Incubator of San Francisco:  https://fashionincubatorsf.org/   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.

his episode features DC Singer-Songwriter Daniel Hill! Also featuring music by Billy Winn, Matt Tarka, A Shrewdness of Apes, Jason Mendelson and Alex Vans. Details and important links from this episode are all on the website at www.dcmusicrocks.com/past-episodes

Jason Mendelson is Co-Founder @ Foundry Group, one of the leading VC funds of the past decade with investments in the likes of Fitbit, SendGrid and Makerbot just to name a few. Prior to Foundry Jason co-founded SRS Acquiom, the largest merger and acquisition closing platform that completed over $200Bn in merger transactions. Prior to co-founding SRS, Jason was a Managing Director and General Counsel for Mobius Venture Capital, where he also acted as its chief administrative partner overseeing all operations of the firm. If this was not enough Jason is also the Co-Author, alongside Brad Feld, of the best-selling book, Venture Deals: How To Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer, a must read for all.   In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Jason made his way into the wonderful world of VC having been a lawyer? 2.) Why does Jason believe there is too much BS in VC? What does Jason think causes this opaqueness? How does he look to build a relationship of trust and clarity with his entrepreneurs? 3.) How has the rise of social media affected the transparency and BS element in VC and startups? How can entrepreneurs know when a VC is lying to them? What are the tells? 4.) Jason has previously said that some VC behaviour is 'rather narcissistic'. What does he mean by this? How would he like to see this change in the future? 5.) How does Jason look to optimise board meetings? What are the expectations of both founders and VCs prior to board meetings when it comes to preparation? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Jason’s Fave Book: Atlas Shrugged Jason’s Most Recent Investment: Borrowed and Blue As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Jason on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. Intercom is the first to bring messaging products for marketing and customer support together on one integrated platform. With Intercom, businesses can chat directly with prospective customers on their website, engage current users with targeted messages based on their behavior, and provide personal support at scale with an integrated help desk and knowledge base. This is perfect for Businesses that want to help people visiting their website become customers. Marketing and growth teams that want to onboard and retain users by sending the right messages at the right time and Support teams that want to move beyond email to provide personalized, scalable support so simply head over to Intercom.com/20MVC Cooley are the global law firm built around startups and venture capital.  Since forming the first venture fund in Silicon Valley, Cooley has formed more venture capital funds than any other law firm in the world, with 50+ years working with VCs. They help VCs form and manage funds, make investments and handle the myriad issues that arise through a fund’s lifetime. So to learn more about the #1 most active law firm representing VC-backed companies going public. Head over to cooley.com and also at cooleygo.com.

spurn productions presents... "20th century fops: episode 2" Written by Ross A. McIntyre Produced by Ross A. McIntyre & Neil Trivedi Starring Matt Klan & Ross A. McIntyre Directed by Jarett Bellucci Shot by Chris Walters Edited by Ross A. McIntyre Music performed and arranged by Ryan McIntyre & Jason Mendelson e-mail: podcast@spurn-nyc.com

spurn productions presents... "20th century fops, episode 1" Written by Ross A. McIntyre Produced by Ross A. McIntyre & Neil Trivedi Starring Matt Klan & Ross A. McIntyre Directed by Jarett Bellucci Shot by Chris Walters Edited by Ross A. McIntyre Music performed and arranged by Ryan McIntyre & Jason Mendelson e-mail: podcast@spurn-nyc.com

Someone recently said, “If law firms didn't know they were businesses in 2009, they certainly know it now.” The changing nature of the business of law can be daunting, even frightening for most small firms. But with the right knowledge and tools, lawyers in the know have an amazing opportunity to take their firms to… Read More »Law Firm 2.0: Understanding Alternative Fees and the Future of Law with Jason Mendelson The post Law Firm 2.0: Understanding Alternative Fees and the Future of Law with Jason Mendelson appeared first on Rocket Matter.

The post Webinar Recording: Law Firm 2.0: Understanding Alternative Fees and the Future of Law with Jason Mendelson – Air Date March 31, 2010 appeared first on Rocket Matter.

Admob purchased by Google. First spotting of Admob by Doyle was in the Wall Street Journal iPhone app. Dave is using Admob in his iPhone app. Google is doing right by acquiring for innovation. Microsoft built an empire on that practice, it works for a while. Writely is Google Docs. Writely from Colorado? Mobile is becoming more important in everything we do. It's critical to marketers.The DROID is a best of class device on Verizon. T-Mobile has the G2, and Sprint the Pre. The DROID is not an iPhone, but the iPhone needs the competition to be a better device. It sold over 100,000 units on the first weekend. It'll at least put pressure on AT&T. There are now options. Ari Newman switched to the DROID and has loved it so far. Competition creates a market. If you don't have competition then you don't have a market. Pressure begets innovation. Jason Mendelson says (at #BOCC ) that he doesn't want to invest in a new piece of fruit. He wants to see competitors in the space. Turn by turn is great on DROID, not available on the iPhone from Google. Competitors are $99 on the iPhone, though Google will release a free one if Apple will approve it. The interface isn't great on the DROID. Michael's son picked up the iPhone's interface at 3 with no help. Apple overtakes Nokia as the most profitable handset maker. David Pogue coins the phrase "App Phone." A phone that accepts apps via download. Dave thinks the consumer doesn't want to have to think about apps. Smart is fine. The handset market is mimicking the desktop space, except Apple is in the lead. Doyle claims the Mac is based on Linux (it's a based on BSD). Goldie Katsu says DROID is a geek's phone at Boulder Open Coffee. Studio audience laughs. Audience attendance is up 1000%.Michael geeks out on the amount of Javascript that's included in the major sites. There's only one namespace in Javascript, which means that every developer has access to everyone else's variables and functions. Possibilities include grabbing form values intended for another site. Namespace may not be the best term. You can't redefine a function name for example. Javascript is not a very secure language, but it's prevalent. It's relevant to us because of the Boulder tech community. HTML5 doesn't fix this problem, since they're two different entities. HTML5 replace some of the functionality of Javascript. HTML5 is more a threat to Adobe with the media tags, etc. Apple saw this coming? Apple has no social media presence, which is generally a worst-practice. Maybe they're not present because the fan base covers Apple enough. There are 6000ish blog posts on Apple every day. Maybe that's why they're successful. Apple's not selling Pepsi (or sugar water). John Scully wrote the preface to one of Dave's books. The Diesel (Michael Spindler) - where is he? Business week had an all black cover with the text "The death of an American icon" and Wired did a crown of thorns and the word "Pray."Black Friday is coming. Year by year more and more Black Friday sales are leaking. Ads just show up on people's blogs. Sales might not be as effective as they used to be. Michael says Black Friday sales should be in person sales only. It would take some business from online sales (though most have online presences anyway). Buying big things online make the reviews a goldmine. Is the review system a replacement for the people in the stores. Do you really trust the person at Best Buy (nothing personal)? Do they tell you what you want to hear or are they giving you what's on sale with the best spiff? Are we elite here? Or do most people get stiffed by sales people? Remember EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television)? nothing more than 480P. Yawn. But grandma bought it up.Retail is evolving to be simple showrooms. Buy now and it arrives in the mail soon. What's next? 3D showrooms? The rise and immediate fall of Cyber-monday was due to dialup and people waiting until Monday to shop on broadband. The battle is now between brick and mortar vs. online sales. Wake up Friday AM, get an email from Target, click, buy, done. So happy it's that easy. Shoppers are not purchasers. We all agree that we're purchasers and don't enjoy the shopping process. We all hang out at the Apple Store because it's fun. We see our peers, and it may have replaced the corner bar and are greeted by the employees. Cheers for the Apple Fanboy. Microsoft store? LOL. It's close... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. They did a great job! It's a WRAP.Thanks to the studio audience and The B Side Lounge in Boulder, Colorado.