Claim OwnershipIU Ventures
Subscribed: 0Played: 5
Subscribe
© 2026 IU Ventures
Description
Inside the 750,000-strong Indiana University alumni community is the IU Founders and Funders Network, a world-class startup community with IU "DNA." Each month, hear Hoosier founders and funders share the problems they're solving, advice for aspiring IU innovators, and most importantly, hard-hitting questions like Mother Bear's or Pizza Express? Little 500 or Homecoming? Sample Gates or Showalter Foundation? Hosted by Jon Barada, VP - Engagement at IU Ventures, and presented by nationally ranked Kelley Direct Programs. Go Hoosiers!
33 Episodes
Reverse
Jennifer Holmes is CEO of PrecisionCare AI, a Boomerang Ventures portfolio company. She brings 30 years of senior executive experience in the medical device and MedTech sector. Hear her experience at the Peach Bowl, her career in figure skating, how PrecisionCare AI is differentiating in the MedTech industry, their top use cases, and why you need a Plan B & Plan C. Learn more about Jennifer at PrecisionCare-AI.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Programs. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Richard DiMarchi is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at Indiana University. He's a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and is a former Group Vice President at Eli Lilly and later at Novo Nordisk. He's co-inventor on more than 100 U.S. patents, co-author to more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications, was identified as a top 5 translation researcher by Nature Biotechnology, and has co-founded 8 successful biotech companies since 2003. Hear what he loves about Bloomington, how to transition from the lab to the boardroom, what's next for GLP-1s, the thing that motivates him the most, and the most incredible healthcare innovations we've seen in the last 25 years. Learn more about Richard at Indiana.edu and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Programs. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Paul Caine is the President of premium experiential hospitality leader On Location, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO). In this role, Paul oversees a diverse and global portfolio of consumer experiences, hospitality, and brand partnerships. He previously served as Global Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Bloomberg Media, as Chief Executive Officer of Westwood One, and in numerous roles at Time Inc. over a span of 23 years, including Publisher of People, Entertainment Weekly, Executive Vice President, CRO, and Group President. Hear how Breaking Away inspired him to attend Indiana University, how On Location provides the most incredible live experiences possible, why experiences have become more valuable than physical things, how to rebound from failure, and the open practice he got to watch with Coach Bob Knight and the 1984 Olympic Team. Learn more about Paul at OnLocationExp.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Benton Miller is the Founder & CEO of RetrievAir, an innovative public charter operator focused on improving the pet travel experience. His vision is to create air travel that prioritizes pets, offering safe, comfortable, and convenient flights for both pets and their owners. Hear how his Kelley Direct Online MBA experience shaped the trajectory of his company, how he navigates the complicated worlds of airports & pets, how to differentiate your offering, the behind-the-scenes of his appearance on Shark Tank, and the number of flights he's taken to ensure RetrievAir is a pleasant experience for humans & pets. Learn more about Benton at RetrievAir.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Indiana Women's Volleyball Head Coach Steve Aird is in his 8th year in Bloomington. Aird signed a contract extension through the 2029 season on January 1, 2024 after guiding the Hoosiers to one of the best years in program history. A 2-time NCAA Champion as an assistant coach at Penn State, Aird is an elite recruiter and has brought new energy into the Indiana Women's Volleyball program. Hear how he's built an incredible home-court advantage, how he takes a business approach to coaching, how to differentiate your business or program, how to best allocate resources, and how to be both the coach AND the GM. Learn more about Coach Aird at IUHoosiers.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Darius Willis is the Founder & CEO of ScoutSync, a sports-tech company transforming global athletic scouting & recruitment. A former Indiana University football standout and Under Armour High School All-American from Indianapolis, he attended NFL camp with the New York Jets before playing and coaching internationally for over a decade. Hear his favorite on-field & off-the-field memories from IU, how the ScoutSync platform works, the top lessons he's learned as a founder, the growing presence of Indianapolis as a sports-tech hub, and his experience starting a business in Switzerland. Learn more about Darius at ScoutSync.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Anthony Leal, a former Indiana University basketball player and MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business, co-founded Motion. Motion is a tech platform designed to streamline communication, scheduling, and management for coaches, athletes, and athletic departments in college athletics. Hear his biggest pinch me moment playing basketball for the Hoosiers, the Entrepreneurship course that inspired Motion, how to keep the voice of the customer in mind, lessons from basketball that apply to entrepreneurship, and what the future of college sports will look like. Learn more about Anthony at MotionSports.io and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Rachel Zhao is Principal at PayPal Ventures, where she's tapping into her passion for helping tech companies & founders. Previously, she had been focusing on growth-stage Enterprise and Fintech investment. She's interested in infrastructure, cyber, privacy, SMB & Vertical SaaS, and ecommerce enablement. Hear her love for the jazz concerts at IU, how she pivoted her career to more closely align with her interests, the fascinating world of cybersecurity, how PayPal Ventures surrounds founders with support, and the Kelley class it's most important to pay attention in. Learn more about Rachel at PayPal.VC and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Neil Powell has almost 35 years of corporate finance experience in the banking and high-tech industries. He is currently the Director of Finance, Cloud and AI Supply Chain at Microsoft and has served as the VP of Finance and Corporate Controller at Lattice Semiconductor, as well as numerous roles at Intel, including Senior Director at Intel Capital's venture capital fund and as the CFO of Intel Japan. Neil spent 5 years teaching finance at Indiana University, where he also earned his MBA. Hear what business & life lessons you can learn from running marathons, what the future of supply chain will look like, the unbelievable scale of data centers, why hard work is always the answer, and his most memorable experience running the Boston Marathon. Learn more about Neil at Microsoft.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Kenzie Weston Mucci is a member of the investment team at Takeda Digital Ventures, focused on virtual-first care and PharmaTech investments. Previously, she worked in strategy on the Digital Health Sciences team within Takeda's Data Sciences Institute. Prior to her time at Takeda, she managed the Beiwe digital health platform at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and worked in the Health and Public Service Operating Group at Accenture. Hear how she got engaged at IU, the top trends in digital health, how AI will change healthcare, what to look for in a founder as an investor, and how The Princeton Review book impacted Kenzie's decision to go to IU. Learn more about Kenzie at Takeda.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Drushya Musham is a senior at Indiana University, triple majoring in Management, Entrepreneurship, and International Business, and serves as a client manager for IU Innovates' Sparklab Incubator program. She is the Founder & CEO of Taptic, an app enhancing accessibility for Deaf individuals by transforming audio alerts into tactile and visual notifications, and NiCE: Name on Rice, a micro-art jewelry business specializing in personalized designs. Hear her thoughts as graduation nears, how to develop your startup & entrepreneurship mindset, how to find a problem & solution to build a business around, how to build your confidence as an entrepreneur, and one of the most entertaining This or That: Best of B-Town segments you'll ever hear. Learn more about Drushya at TapticApp.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Amy Brown is the Founder & CEO of Authenticx, the conversational intelligence platform that analyzes and activates customers' voices at scale to reveal transformational opportunities in healthcare. She built her career as a rising executive in the healthcare industry, during which time she advocated for underserved populations, led and mobilized teams to expand healthcare coverage to thousands of Indiana residents, and learned the nuance of corporate operations. Hear why IU is in her blood, how to launch your own startup, how to develop your leadership style, the proprietary AI (Artificial Intelligence) that drives Authenticx, and the band her brother was the lead singer of. Learn more about Amy at Authenticx.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
IU alum Emily Atkinson, PhD is an analytical thinker with deep technical expertise and a well-connected figure in the life sciences community and the startup ecosystem. She joined BioCrossroads as the Senior Director of Innovation in July of 2024, where she runs initiatives to advance innovations in Indiana's life sciences sector. Prior to joining BioCrossroads, she served as a venture analyst for IU Ventures, where she focused on strategic investments towards promising life sciences and B2B SaaS companies. Hear why her dream of being a physical therapist didn't come true, what she discovered working with mice, how to transition into the venture capital (VC) & startup space, how to push through adversity as a startup founder, and how to navigate the regulatory landscape in the life sciences industry. Learn more about Emily at BioCrossroads.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Mike Farah is a producer of film & television. A 3-time Emmy winner, select credits include Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, @fter Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, Billy on the Street, Drunk History, and American Vandal. Mike recently embarked on a new phase of his career as an independent producer after leaving Funny Or Die, where he started as its first producer in 2008, later rising to CEO. Hear what drew him from Ann Arbor to Bloomington, how he got his start producing, what Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis are like in person, how to bring joy as a leader, and the reason Mike missed out on Little 5. Learn more about Mike on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
David Krane is the CEO & Managing Partner at GV (Google Ventures - Google's venture capital fund) and balances his time between directing GV's global activities & leading investments. His portfolio includes Uber, StockX, Mill, NOTHING, Nest, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Blue Bottle Coffee. His Google career began nearly 25 years ago, where he helped grow the company from a small startup to a multi-billion dollar global enterprise. Hear the most important pitch of his life, what the early days of Google were like as employee 84, the moment he knew Google would be a massive success, how he decides what companies to invest in, and his memories from History of Rock and Roll Music with Professor Glenn Gass. Learn more about David at GV.com and on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Julie Heath serves as Executive Director of IU Innovates, a new initiative that advances entrepreneurship at Indiana University. She co-chairs the Ecosystem Building Leadership Network (EBLN), a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, catalyzed by a series of initiatives funded by the Kauffman Foundation. Hear about her upbringing in a family of public servants, her memories from working at the Smithsonian, the magic that comes from bringing entrepreneurs together, the story behind IU Innovates, and the role of the Von Lee in supporting IU entrepreneurs. Learn more about Julie on LinkedIn and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
IU alum Dan Hanrahan is the Founder of Neighbor Serve, which helps Indy neighbors care for their homes by finding vetted, local-owned contractors. An experienced entrepreneur in tech, marketing, and the trades, Dan also founded and co-owns Haulstr (home services), Sigstr (marketing tech acquired by Terminus), and iGoDigital (ecommerce tech acquired by ExactTarget/Salesforce). Hear how his showdown with Antwaan Randle El went at the HPER, his favorite part of launching startups, the most valuable skill set for a startup founder, how to keep going when times are tough, and the Bloomington restaurant he misses the most. Learn more about Dan on LinkedIn, NeighborServe.com, and the Neighbor Serve Facebook page, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
IU student Matt Gacek is a first-generation entrepreneur and a rising senior at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. As a sophomore, Matt created Theia, an AI-driven therapy and personal growth app designed to encourage more men and marginalized groups to seek mental health and self-care treatment. Hear the perks of being a digital nomad in Bali, his journey building and selling Theia, how to prepare for an exit, how to turn rejection inside out, and the best pizza and ice cream in Bloomington. Learn more about Matt on LinkedIn, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Vince Wong brings significant valuable multinational and startup company experience to BioCrossroads, a catalyst for Indiana's diverse and growing life sciences industry. Before becoming CEO, he was most recently Chief Commercial Officer at Geneoscopy, a venture-backed start-up company focused on developing gastrointestinal diagnostics. Hear his experience in Bloomington for law school, what he learned from his gap year in China, how to grow a startup in a highly-regulated environment, what the life sciences ecosystem looks like today and in the future, and how we can further support Indiana University as a leader in life sciences. Learn more about Vince on LinkedIn and BioCrossroads.com, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Megan Caldwell recently helped sell Elevate Security to Mimecast. Previous to the sale, Megan spent 5 years at Elevate Security, leading at different times the customer, sales, and operations teams. Hear her memories racing in the Little 500, stories of famous phishing scams, lessons from leading multiple exits, how to develop an exit strategy, and her secret spot to hang out on campus. Learn more about Megan on LinkedIn, ElevateSecurity.com, and Mimecast.com, and learn more about IU Ventures at IUVentures.com. This podcast is presented by Kelley Direct Online MBA. Learn more at Kelley.IU.edu
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States