Strong Suit Podcast

Scaling a company from $5M revenues to $50M to $250M isn’t just about a great product. In fact, that’s the easy part. Scaling a great team, which enables the business to scale, is far more difficult. So I sought out an expert to find out how it’s done. Carter Griffin is General Partner of Updata Partners, the growth equity firm with $1 Billion in committed capital. He & team have invested in over 60 B2B software growth-stage companies. In short, he knows how to pour fuel on the fire when a company has $5M to 50M revenues. You know his investments. They include Built In, DataCore Software, Interactions LLC, Jellyvision, LendKey Technologies, Inc., Piano, Ruby. Scaling often comes down to the CEO (Carter likes to back “tenacious storytelling leaders”) Carter serves on the Board of Directors of Mindshare, a leading forum for 900 tech CEOs. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association In this 20-minute conversation, Carter reveals how he helps his portfolio companies put a

Obesity is America’s #1 underlying health issue. Because it causes or increases the likelihood of over 100 other health conditions. Now, Isabelle Kenyon is out to change the way the world treats weight. She’s Founder & CEO of Calibrate, the VC-backed medical metabolic health company. It’s creating a new category by improving metabolic health to drive long-term, sustainable weight loss with a program designed by world leaders in obesity & nutrition science. This is the first direct-to-consumer telemedicine business aligning incentives for doctors, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and consumers. Calibrate combines FDA-approved metabolic medication with a holistic curriculum and 1:1 virtual coaching sessions that drive lasting behavior change. Prior to Calibrate, Isabelle led the business operations, growth, and strategic partnerships & communications teams at Capsule, a technology business that is rebuilding the pharmacy from the inside out. Clearly, she’s onto something big. She recently closed

Food. Activity. Sleep. If you’re not doing all 3 properly, you’re far less likely to scale your business successfully. In fact, we’re getting less sleep than ever. And, with today’s understandable stressors, the quality of our sleep has suffered. But I tracked down a Venture-backed CEO who sleeps like a baby. Nine hours a night. He’s Matteo Franceschetti, Co-Founder & CEO of Eight Sleep Based in NY, Eight Sleep developed a proprietary technology called the Pod that enhances sleep performance, and is currently used by pro athletes and top performers across multiple industries to fall asleep faster and get more restful sleep. The end goal of the Pod is to compress sleep and scan your body while asleep to monitor your health. It’s the “Peloton of Sleep” Eight Sleep was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in 2018, recognized as one of TIME’s “Best Inventions” in 2019. Matteo & team are backed by some of top VC’s around: Azure Capital Partners, Comcast Ventures, Craft Ventures, Founders

8 years ago, Casey Berman worked in real estate when he had an “A-Ha” moment. He began searching for tech companies to help automate the real estate workflow. There weren’t many. So Casey formed Camber Creek, a venture capital firm providing strategic value & capital to technology companies focused on the real estate market. Camber Creek eats its own cooking. The firm uses PropTech and Real Estate Tech products before making the investment decision. Fast forward to today. .. The firm has $250 million under management and has nearly 30 portfolio companies. They include: Turbo Appeal, TaskEasy, whyhotel, Notarize, and Curbio. In this 20-minute conversation, Casey reveals how he helps his portfolio companies scale by putting a Rockstar in every seat.    

Shawn Boom, CEO of Vanco, is crystal clear about the companies’s “Why” - Serve those who enrich communities Based near Minneapolis, Vanco delivers online payment processing solutions & software that enables churches, schools, and nonprofit to operate more efficiently. In short, they can accept electronic payments from students, parents, patrons, and churchgoers. More than 40,000 churches, nonprofits, and schools now trust Vanco to simplify administrative processes, organize events, and securely complete transactions every day. Vanco’s 300 people came together from the 9 companies that Shawn has rolled up. (As you’d expect, when he’s not working, he’s running ultra-marathons.) Vanco is backed by legendary Private Equity firm Great Hill Partners, with $8B under management and over 80 portfolio companies. In this 20-minute conversation, Shawn reveals how to find your company’s “Why” & how to hire only people who live it. Everyday.  

Based in Silicon Valley, Rashmi Gopinath is General Partner at B Capital Group, the global VC firm that specializes in equity investing in growth-stage companies that have achieved traction with customers. With a focus in horizontal enterprise software (cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, devops, database SaaS for F500), she’s invested in and/or served on the Boards of: Synack, Yalo, Labelbox, Clari, Phenom People. Prior, Rashmi served at Intel Capital and M12, Microsoft’s venture fund. And now she invests in the growth stage (Series B thru D), writing checks between $30-60M. After more than a decade of VC investing, Rashmi says “The team is the #1 factor” In this 20-minute conversation, she reveals why & how to build a Rockstar team every time.

How can you beat Silicon Valley in the war for talent? (…or if you’re in Silicon Valley, how can you compete for talent with Apple, Tesla, Google, and Facebook?) A few years back, a group of Silicon Valley venture capitalists upped & moved to Columbus Ohio to invest in (under-invested) Midwest companies. They named the firm Drive Capital. And Robert Hatta is its Partner responsible for talent across their 50+ portfolio companies. You know the companies they’ve funded… Root Insurance, Duolingo, Greenlight, and Olive Robert shows the companies how to compete for talent, how to get the most out of that talent, and how to adapt to 2021’s new way of working. In this 20-minute conversation, he reveals the keys to mastering the people part of your business.

You only turn 400 once. So for this special 400th episode of Recruit Rockstars Podcast, I knew you were counting on me to land a very special guest. I think I bagged the elephant. David Cohen is Co-Founder (and now Chief Instigator) of the legendary Techstars venture accelerator. It’s birthed over 2,300 startups. (You know their names: SendGrid, Outreach, SalesLoft…) And for 20-minutes, we discussed a very delicate, sensitive, personal subject: Stepping Aside. What if the Founder isn’t the right person with the right skills to scale the business? (Odds are, they’re not) How do we get the Founder into their “zone of genius”? When & how should a Founder be “promoted” to Chairman, and a new CEO appointed? If it doesn’t happen, when & how should a VC & Board member make this very difficult decision? How do you separate the Founder (and their identity) from the business, which needs to have its own life & legs. While Mark Zuckerberg Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk went from Founder

Treating 300,000 patients per month, NURX has rapidly become the leading Telehealth platform with a female focus. CEO Varsha Rao has led NURX to deliver remote treatment of specific conditions: Contraception, treatment for Acne & Migraine, testing for HPV & STI. To do it, she’s scaled of doctors who evaluate each patient & pharmacists who prescribe appropriate medication. Investors seem to like it too. NURX has partnered with Wittington Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Fifty Years, Trustbridge Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Alumni Ventures Group, Lowercase Capital, Y Combinator Varsha says she spends 50% of her time on the people part of NURX. Prior to Nurx, Varsha served as COO of Clover Health where she brought operational leadership to the health insurance startup. Plus she served as Airbnb’s Head of Global Operations, managing the company’s market expansion & host growth globally. She was also Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Eve.com, the online cosmetics company. In this 20-minute

You may not know Mark Suster, Managing Partner at LA-based Upfront venture capital firm. But you know the companies in which he’s invested (…early!) They include Bevy, thredUP, Bird, ChowNow, GOAT, and MakeSpace. VC’s come & go. Mark came & stayed. And he has the track record to prove it. Prior to co-founding Upfront in 2007, Mark was Founder & CEO of 2 successful enterprise software companies, the most recent of which was acquired by Salesforce.com where he became VP Products. In this 20-minute conversation, Mark reveals how a top VC thinks about hiring, and how he ensures that each portfolio company puts a Rockstar in every seat.  

I rarely meet a tech entrepreneur whose background is firmly grounded in science. Jacob Sattelmair is a public health scientist turned technologist. He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Wellframe, which works at the intersection of healthcare, technology, data analytics, and consumer engagement. Based in Boston, Wellframe has reimagined healthcare relationships through a new approach that uses high-tech to deliver the high-touch support that people need - when and where they need it. Its Digital Health Management platform offers solutions for care management & advocacy that help organizations forge more meaningful connections with their members. Jacob holds degrees in Neurobiology & Epidemiology from Harvard University and Physiology from University of Oxford. He’s partnered with high-profile investors including: Threshold, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, Formation 8, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Waterline Ventures, Azimuth Ventures, and Tim Draper. In this 20-m

Spring is here…. …Which means lawn care. (Blech!) Ken Davis set out to change that. He’s CEO of TaskEasy, based in Salt Lake City. TaskEasy simplifies life by connecting people & technology to provide hassle-free yard care. They bring convenience & relief to homeowners, renters, and businesses and empower local landscaping entrepreneurs with robust software. What’s super-cool is TaskEasy’s patent-pending formula to establish fair market pricing for yard care services in statistical metropolitan areas in all 50 U.S. states. So, no more haggling on price. Since its consumer launch in 2013, TaskEasy has performed over 1 million tasks in 12,000 US cities & established a network of 10,000 screened and rated contractors. Clearly, they’re onto something big. Investors include Camber Creek, Moderne Ventures, River Cities Capital, Grotech Ventures, Access Ventures. Ken was named the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst Young, so he knows a thing or two about scaling. In this 20-minute conversat

I’ve long been fascinated by unique business models. And here’s one. NYC-based Public Goods is a one stop shop for healthy, sustainable, everyday essentials you can trust. They sell products in personal care (shampoo), household goods (cleaners), grocery (cereal). Uniquely, Public Goods has a $59/year membership model which allows them to smooth revenue & offer high quality products at a great value. And everything they sell is branded Public Goods. Imagine: no more spending time choosing between a bevy of seemingly-identical brands. Morgan Hirsh is Founder & CEO. And he’s onto something big, because he recently closed an expansion capital round from L Catterton, the largest & most global consumer-focused private equity firm with $20B under management. Other investors include: Listen, Day One Ventures, Yes VC, Investo, and KF Ventures. In this 20-minute conversation, Morgan reveals how he’s built the team.

New consumer investment platforms are all the rage. As are women leaders in fintech. This episode puts it all together. Maria Selvaggio is VP People at M1 Finance, one of the nation’s fastest growing money management platforms. Over 500,000 now use M1’s Finance Super App to invest, borrow, and spend. With a total of $4 billion in client assets, clearly M1 is on to something big. Based in Chicago, Maria got her talent management chops at Grubhub, Tempus, Groupon, and Google. Now she’s building a Rockstar team at M1, where the mission is to empower people to improve their financial well-being. The company is backed by top-notch investors Coatue, Left Lane Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Chaifetz Group, Jump Capital, 50 South Capital and Chicago Ventures. In this 20-minute conversation, Maria reveals how M1 is building the team that builds financial independence.  

As businesses reopen, you should be thinking about your employees’ commutes. For their benefit, and yours. Not to mention your city’s. TransitScreen makes software that makes cities smarter and more sustainable. It provides live transportation information to real estate owners & employers internationally, helping people make more informed, more sustainable choices. I tracked down CEO & CO-Founder Matt Caywood to see how he built this impressive team. Matt is wicked smart. He spent years earning degrees in Neuroscience & working as a AI Engineer and Applied Neuroscientist before starting TransitScreen. Clearly, he’s on to something. Investors include TIMIA Capital, 1776 Ventures, Moderne Ventures, and Carbon Ventures In this 20-minute conversation, Matt shares how to get your employees safety & smartly to your office, and how to build a Rockstar team once they arrive.

The up & comers in Generation Z (Gen Z) are now aged 5 to 25. And you’ll soon be hiring them. But they’re unlike any people who came before them. In fact, they have little in common with Gen X, Millennials, or Baby Boomers. So it’s time to learn how to recruit them & what’s most important to them. To do that, I sought out an expert. I found two. Based in Austin, Denise Villa & Jason Dorsey are the authors of Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change The Future of Business - And What You Need To Do About It They co-lead The Center for Generational Kinetics, where they advise hundreds of Venture Capital firms, Private Equity Firms, startups, and other companies on how to tap into Gen Z. In this 20-minute conversation, Denise & Jason reveal what’s most important to Gen Z, how to recruit them, and most important - how to keep them.  

Frank Furman was destined to lead. First, as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps. Then as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company And now, he’s Chief Operating Officer of the VC-backed & fast-growing PadSplit. PadSplit is disrupting the affordable housing industry by creating safe, attractive, and respectable co-living environments. One room at a time, often for workforce housing. Unlike AirBnB, this is long-term rentals Based in Atlanta, PadSplit has 1,200 bedrooms listed & its average rental is 8.5 months Clearly, Frank & PadSplit are onto something. Because they’ve been backed by a who’s who of early-stage ventures. Including Impact Engine, Cox Enterprises, Kapor Capital, Techstars, 1984 Ventures, Base Ventures and Core Innovation Capital. But this episode isn’t about funding. It’s about leadership. And how Frank is scaling his team at PadSplit.

Nothing inspires me more than a brilliant young company founder with a huge vision. Such as Sam Walder. He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based Trala. And he intends to make world-class music education accessible to everyone. Eventually, Trala plans to expand its app to help people learn all instruments in the symphony orchestra. And they’re starting with violin. Why? It’s hard. Nail the violin, and you can use tech to teach virtually any instrument. Trala’s app features video tutorials with notable violinists along with “signal processing” technology that listens while you play the violin & gives instant feedback on rhythm and pitch mistakes. The app has been downloaded over 250,000 times and students spend an average of 5 hours per week on the app. Trala charges $20 per month or $120 for the entire year. Clearly, Sam is onto something. He recently raised venture capital from Next Play Ventures, the early-stage VC fund launched by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Other investors include Techstars Vent

In this overheated market, it’s become relatively easy to land a Venture Capital investor. But finding one who adds real value post-investment remains tricky. I found one. Constance Freedman is Managing Partner of Moderne Ventures, an early stage investment fund which invests in technology companies in real estate, mortgage, finance, insurance and home services. Based in Chicago, she’s invested in over 90 companies including Better, Bento for Business, Hippo, Homesnap, Porch, and TaskEasy. Equally notable is the network she’s built. She adds immense value to her portfolio companies by connecting them with the major players in their respective sectors. Think of her as the Venture Connector. No surprise, Constance has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including HousingWire’s Women of Influence, Crain’s Business 40 under 40, Crain’s Chicago Top Tech 50, 2019 Mavericks 50, and Inman’s Top 101 in Real Estate. Along the way, she’s learned how to spot talent, how to land it, and when to make a change

After spending time at Facebook and Dropbox, Russ Heddleston saw the need for a secure document sharing platform. So he created the SaaS platform DocSend, where he’s now CEO. Based in Silicon Valley, DocSend now has 15,000 customers & 60 employees. Plus, talented investors like DCM Ventures, August Capital, Cowboy Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Uncork Capital (You may never send an attachment again.) Russ says “A Rockstar at one place might not be a Rockstar someplace else” I couldn’t have said it better myself. In this 20-minute conversation, Russ reveals how he’s scaled a team of Rockstars.