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Startup Boston Podcast: Entrepreneurs | Investors | Influencers | Founders
Startup Boston Podcast: Entrepreneurs | Investors | Influencers | FoundersSubscribed: 14Played: 111
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The Startup Boston Podcast takes you inside the world of Boston startups, featuring interviews with Boston-based entrepreneurs, investors, and influencers. During each episode, someone involved with Boston startups will share their experience, advice, thoughts, predictions, and challenges with listeners. No industry or topic is off-limits as guests share their first-hand experience. Guests range from Kickstarter successes, to angel investors and venture capitalists, to SaaS founders, to product team experts and beyond. I believe that each person has a story to tell and we each can learn something from the experiences of others. Whether you are a founder, work at a startup, are an investor, interested in joining a startup, or are just curious about startups, you will find something here for you. This podcast is an attempt to help share those stories.
42 Episodes
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Brittany DiCapua started The Boston Food Journal a year and a half ago by sharing food on Instagram and it has morphed into much more than a side project for her. She describes The Boston Food Journal as highlighting the food and dining industry through social marketing, blog and video content, and photography. The Boston food journal is a strong social influencer of local restaurants, small businesses, and technology applications throughout Massachusetts. In this episode, Brittany talks about: How she juggles her full time job and the Boston Food Journal How to get over self-doubt and the doubt from others What’s most important when growing a brand Starting and pursuing side projects Links from today’s episode: The Boston Food Journal Brittany DiCapua Brown Paper Bag (Holly Fox) Baked Ideas The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon If you liked today’s episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Beck Bamberger is founder and CEO of BAM Communications, a PR firm for startups. Beck graduated UCLA in two years and was then, the youngest MBA graduate from the University of Pittsburgh at age 21. She started BAM Communications while working as a news anchor in San Diego and won an Emmy in 2011. Shortly after, she also founded BITE, San Diego’s top-rated and largest food tour company in the country and sold it in 2016. In this episode, Beck talks about: How founders can know if they’re ready or not to have a PR firm Common misconceptions about public relations How to decide which PR firm to work with Expanding her own comfort zone by doing what’s uncomfortable Links from today’s episode: Beck Bamberger BAM BITE Upload CourseKey Postmates Scanner Pro The Dictator’s Handbook The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Kevin Kinsella is a venture capitalist in San Diego. Kevin has been a part of the formation, financing, and development of more than 125 companies, including several public companies. In the past, Kevin has led international joined ventures for Solar Turbines International, he was an advisor to the Peruvian government in national nutrition planning, he ran a technology exchange program between the United States and Latin America, and he taught algebra at the American high school in Beirut, Lebanon. Kevin was also a guest for The Boston Herald American, he’s a member of the Circumnavigators Club, won a Tony Award for producing Jersey Boys, and partnered with Rhino Records in producing the Grammy Award-winning Jersey Boys original cast recording, which has gone double platinum. He owns Kinsella Estates Winery, which produces the highest rated premium Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and has a large selection of art, sculptures, and memorabilia in the Kinsella Library in La Jolla. In this episode, Kevin talks about: The transition from employee, to founder, to investor How valuations of companies have changed over time Trends in venture capital that worry him How he became the largest investor in Jersey Boys His winery, Kinsella Estates Links from today’s episodes: Kevin Kinsella Avalon Ventures Jersey Boys Kinsella Estates Winery Empire Kingfish The Last Lecture August 1914 If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Sumner Lee is founder of Fuse Integration. Before founding the company, Sumner was in the Navy, and then spent time in SPAWAR and design consultancy. Fuse is a design and engineering firm that brings warfighter focused design to commercial and defense applications. In this episode, Sumner talks about: Their unique office space in downtown San Diego, where their walls are covered with murals What he’s learned from his time in the military and how he applies it to Fuse Integration The importance of focusing on users when designing products Links from today’s episode: Fuse Integration The Honor Foundation FAB LAB Inc. Magazine Communication Arts Killing Patton Rising Sun If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Brian Oneill has been a product designer for more than twenty years and in the last ten years has been an independent consultant and started his company Designing For Analytics last year. Brian has helped designed products for companies ranging from startups to enterprises including NetApp, TripAdvisor, Infinio, Fidelity, and DataXu. In this episode, Brian talks about: The differences between UI and UX and what the role of the product designer is How to measure the user experience and go about discovering UX issues Common mistakes he sees people make How being a musician influences the way he approaches product design Links from today’s episode: Designing For Analytics How to Self-Assess the UI/UX Design of Products Using Analytics Contact Brian Brian on Twitter Harvest Waze Kyruus Dispatch Jonathan Stark Brennan Dunn Jared M. Spool Sketch and Invision Sketching User Experiences Beautiful Evidence If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Mr Ho’s Orchestrotica
David Smith is CEO of LiquiGlide. LiquiGlide’s technology was developed at a research lab at MIT and its function is to provide permanently wet surfaces that can be used in a wide variety of applications including manufacturing, consumer packaging, and oil and gas. In this episode, David talks about: The amount of waste we produce every year from product that is left sticking to surfaces Who some of his mentors are and what he learned from them How the coatings differ depending on the product The potential for massive impact with Liquiglide Links from today’s episode: LiquiGlide David Smith DropWise Zero to One Originals 7 Habits of Highly Effective People How to Measure Anything If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Andy Ory sold his last company, Acme Packet, to Oracle for $2.1 billion and soon after co-founded 128 Technology. 128 Technology is on a mission to fix the broken internet. The internet isn’t used for what it was originally designed for and that is putting a major strain on the networking infrastructure. 128 Technology provides greater network security delivered with a much simpler experience for a fraction of the usual cost. In this episode, Andy talks about: Why the Internet is broken and how it got that way What he was able to take away from Acme Packet and apply to 128 Technology How their secure vector routing and zero-trust security is disrupting the market How he sees the Internet continuing to evolve Links from today’s episode: 128 Technology Oracle Buys Acme Packet Fuze The Big Short Liar’s Poker 11/22/63: A Novel If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Liz Powers is co-founder and “Chief Happiness Spreader” at ArtLifting. Liz co-founded ArtLifting with her brother after creating art groups in homeless shelters only to see amazing pieces of art end up in basements and closets of shelters. ArtLifting empowers artists dealing with homelessness and disabilities through the sale of their artwork. In this episode, Liz talks about: The differences between handouts and opportunities Why she didn’t want ArtLifting to be a non-profit How she was able to bootstrap in the first few years The biggest lessons she’s learned running her own business Links from today’s episode: ArtLifting Harvard Innovation Lab MassChallenge TiE ScaleUp Spoiler Alert Scandal The Good Wife Google Calendar The Wright Brothers The Lean Startup If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
David Delmar is the founder and executive director at Resilient Coders and formerly was a design lead at PayPal. Resilient Coders’ mission is simple: they take students from traditionally under-served communities and teach them the skills needed to be web developers during an eight-week boot camp. Upon completing the boot camp, Resilient Coders helps connect them to job opportunites. In this episode, David talks about: When he first recognized the need for a program like Resilient Coders at a conference How they designed the curriculum for the boot camp Lessons he took away from MassChallenge Attributes and characteristics found in great coders Links from today’s episode: David Delmar Resilient Coders Resilient Bootcamp Resilient Lab Adobe Illustrator ArtLifting Redbooth Trello HubSpot Between the World and Me Strangers in Their Own Land The Lean Startup If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Annie Wang is co-founder, Chief Product Officer, and Creative Director at Her Campus. Annie co-founded Her Campus at Harvard University after she and her co-founders saw the potential of bringing a women’s college-focused lifestyle and fashion magazine online. Today, Her Campus has over 10,000 contributors and over 320 campus chapters. Annie has been named to Inc.’s 30 Under 30, BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Under 25, and Forbes’ All-Star Student Entrepreneurs. She has served as a National Women’s Health Week Ambassador, McDonald’s Education Workshop tour speaker, and MassChallenge alumna in residence. In this episode, Annie talks about: How the way people are consuming content affects design choices and content being published How they have been able to run HerCampus profitably since day one Biggest lessons taken away from MassChallenge Links from today’s episode: Annie Wang on Instagram Annie Wang on Twiter Her Campus Her Conference College Fashion Week Drupal VentureApp Meldium YouCanBook.Me LevelUp Smashing Magazine The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t stop Talking Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Rachel Spekman is currently the Director of Programming at MassChallenge, which describes itself to be the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. MassChallenge awards over two million dollars in equity-free prizes every year to help high-impact startups succeed. In this episode, Rachel talks about: What sets MassChallenge apart from other accelerators What the curriculum looks like and which mentors are available Traits she has noticed in the most successful founders Advice for founders applying in MassChallenge Links from today’s episode: Rachel Spekman on LinkedIn Rachel Spekman on Twitter MassChallenge PULSE@MassChallenge Resilient Coders A Truck Full of Money Zero to One Steve Jobs Biography Americanah If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Semyon Dukach is currently the Program Director at Techstars Boston and is an angel investor with roughly over 100 investments. He is also the chairman of SharpSpring, which he took over in 2002 and then took public in 2011. He lead one of the MIT blackjack teams in the early nineties, has started a few companies, and in 2012 Semyon created “The Troublemaker Award”. In this episode, Semyon talks about: His time leading one of the MIT blackjack teams in the nineties Why he loves investing in startups and what he looks for Why he took a company public in 2011, despite not needing to raise money Advice he would give to someone applying to Techstars Why he created “The Troublemaker Award” Links from today’s episode: Semyon Dukach SharpSpring AccuRev Techstars Boston Troublemaker Award If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Rob MacLeod is founder of Neoscape, a one-stop shop for clients including real estate developers, architects, designers, and corporations for everything from 3-D renderings, imaging, filmmaking, animation, interactive development, branding, and strategy. Rob was a full-time carpenter and went to school for architecture before founding Neoscape twenty-one years ago. In this episode, Rob talks about: Virtual reality, including where Rob sees the field going and how Neoscape’s clients use the technology What Rob’s hiring process looks like and what characteristics he looks for Failures, specifically a quote by Rob where he says, “Failure is necessary for a company and for personal or employee growth.” (Article linked below) How Rob stays excited by the industry for being in it for over twenty years and how he stays hungry to pursue new technology and techniques Links from today’s episode: Neoscape “If I Knew Then…” –Rob MacLeod Magic Leap Mavenlink Soldier Design Gary Vaynerchuk Blog Wired Good to Great The One Minute Manager If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Enrico Palmerino founded botkeeper to focus on the software solution for bookkeeping by using artificial intelligence. Enrico started his first company ThinkLite while attending college at Babson. ThinkLite is a lighting designer, manufacturer, and installer that allows customers to pay for lighting solutions as a percentage of their savings with no upfront costs. After ThinkLite, Enrico was co-owner and managing director at SmartBooks and eventually founded botkeeper. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek named him second in the Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 and he has also had both of his previous companies named to The Inc. 5000 and The Inc. 500, respectively. In this episode, Enrico talks about: Artificial intelligence: what scares him the most for its future, what excites him the most for its future, and resources for people who are new to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Lessons he learned at his previous companies that he’s applied at botkeeper What drives him and what he believes makes an entrepreneur successful Why you shouldn’t be nervous to have a bot handle your company’s books Links from today’s episode: Enrico Palmerino Email Enrico ThinkLite SmartBooks botkeeper MarketMuse Talla Bill.com Trello Expensify QuickBooks The Checklist Manifesto The Fish That Ate the Whale If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Maya Rafie is founder of Bistara, the first freelance marketplace to hire college students for creative gigs. Maya, a freelance photographer, founded Bistara while attending Emerson College. Bistara encourages students to “be your own boss” in order to build up a portfolio of work prior to graduation. Today, there are over 700 freelancers and over 300 clients on the platform. In the episode, Maya talks about: How they originally started building out the marketplace for Bistara The experience of starting a company in college Why students have a hard time valuing their talents and how they can overcome it Tips for clients and freelancers to be more successful on the platform Links from today’s episode: Bistara Maya’s Photography Trill Elliott Erwitt Lightroom Google Calendar Asana WhatsApp Les eaux troubles du mojito : Et autres belles raisons d'habiter sur terre (Book) If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Doug Morgan is the Director of Engineering at Lola Travel. Doug joined the company when Lola acquired HopOn, the company he co-founded. Lola connects travelers with in-house personal travel consultants who help customers plan, book, and manage their travel in an effort to make trips more personal and rewarding. In this episode, Doug talks about: The process of being acquired The transition from founder to employee The key to building a successful engineering team Lessons from SurveyMonkey and HopOn that he applies at Lola Links from today’s episode: Doug Morgan SurveyMonkey HopOn Lola Travel Lola Travel (App) Trillium Brewing Harpoon Brewery Jack’s Abby Drafted Drizly Fitbit Slack First Round Review Both Sides of the Table The Atlantis Gene (Book 1) If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Win Smith’s father was a founding member of Merrill Lynch and he worked there for twenty-eight years as the executive vice president. However, when new management was brought in and disagreed with the values that the firm had been founded on, he left. Win moved from New York City to Warren, Vermont to run Sugarbush ski resort full-time, which he had purchased a few years prior. At the time, Sugarbush was nearing bankruptcy, but thanks to investments made by Win and others they were able to turn Sugarbush around to the thriving ski resort that it is today. In this episode, Win talks about: The importance of the governments EB-5 program in reviving Sugarbush and bringing it to profitability How they are shifting their approach as their clientele shifts from baby boomers to millennials What it was like to completely shift careers at age fifty-five Links from today’s episode: Sugarbush Win Smith Catching Lightning in a Bottle Alpine Zone Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison For a Murder He Didn’t Commit Maverick Mountain Telluride Ski Resort Steamboat Mountain Aspen Highlands If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Rory Crawford is co-founder and CEO of BevSpot. BevSpot is a hospitality management software that allows restaurants and bars to monitor and order inventory three times faster and provides visualizations to help identify trends in usage, inventory, profitability, sales, and variance. In this episode, Rory talks about: Why building out a prototype allowed him to stand out and attract co-founders Biggest trends happening in the bar and restaurant industry Why they wanted to make BevSpot a SaaS (Software as a service) product What has been keeping the hospitality industry from adopting data-driven, decision-making tools Rory Crawford BevSpot Catalant SaaStr Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Biography of Winston Churchill Biography of Albert Einstein Biography of Benjamin Franklin No.9 Park If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Cort Davies is founder of StartupCMO, an aid to small companies with limited budgets for marketing. Cort first got into online marketing after realizing that the Internet was the next big platform after real estate. After helping friends generate leads for their companies, Cort founded StartupCMO to help more companies with marketing budgets too low to hire someone full-time, but adequate enough to still achieve great results. Along with his primary passions, Cort is also a mentor at MassChallenge and has helped over fifty startups. In this episode, Cort talks about: Where marketers should focus their attention What people who are new to marketing waste their time doing How founders can find product/market fit faster Trends he sees happening now in digital marketing and how to take advantage of them How to build trust with a potential customer Links from today’s episode: Cort Davies MassChallenge TakeLessons Oath Pizza Habit List gTasks RPM Calm Tim Ferriss Tony Robbins HelpSpot Jay Abraham The 4-Hour Workweek Awaken the Giant Within You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter The Power of Habit Brian Tracy If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
Karin Brandt is founder and CEO of CoUrbanize. CoUrbanize allows residents to participate in the development process of their neighborhood. Ideas can be exchanged and considered without having to physically go to meetings and sort through piles of paper. In this episode, Karin talks about: What the Techstars experience was like for her The benefits of CoUrbanize for real estate developers and municipalities How planners and developers can go about getting engagement from the community How they are using sentiment analysis to better understand the communities’ feelings Links from today’s episode: CoUrbanize TechStars ArtLifting Evernote Junot Diaz AVC Joanne Wilson If you liked this episode: Follow the podcast on Twitter Subscribe on iTunes or your podcast app and write a review Get in touch with feedback, ideas, or to say hi: nic {AT} startupbostonpodcast [DOT] com Music by: Broke For Free
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