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The Established Podcast

The Established Podcast

149 episodes — Page 2 of 3

#0099 - Kurt Wilkin Talks About Building The Right Team As A Company Achieves Success

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Kurt Wilkin, who is the CEO at HireBetter (HireBetter.com), which is a national recruiting firm working directly with leaders of high-growth companies to build game-changing teams. He is also the Founder and a Partner at Bee Cave Capital, a Texas-based early-stage venture group that invests in Texas companies who are making a difference in a variety of industries. Kurt is also the author of "Who's Your Mike?: A No-Bullshit Guide to the People You'll Meet on Your Entrepreneurial Journey." Grab yourself a copy today at: whosyourmike.com We also again talk about our virtual event we are hosting on December 13th, which concludes our "Grow Your Startup" series. This virtual event will feature five companies from our community, who will be pitching their ideas to investor judges and a global audience. The event timeline, the application, and the event registration can be found at: soty.link/growpitch2022 We also again shine a spotlight on one of the startups from our community and that company is ClearCOGS, which builds a proprietary "crystal ball" to empower restaurant operators with specific tools and information, including demand predictions, that they need to make proactive decisions and reduce management stress, labor inefficiencies, and food waste. Learn more about them by visiting: clearcogs.com Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Nov 4, 202232 min

#0098 - Nate Andorsky Decoding Your Why And Finding Product Market Fit

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Nate Andorsky, who is the founder of Effectual Ventures, a company that helps startups find and accelerate product market fit. Prior to that, he spent the last decade building an Inc. 5000 company and he was working with everyone from early stage startups to Fortune 500 companies such as Johnson and Johnson, CVS Health, Quicken Loans, while ideating and bringing new products to market. Nate is also the author of "Decoding the Why" which dives into how Behavioral Science is Driving the Next Generation of Product Design. We have a special offer for our listeners, who can grab their own free e-book version of the book today at: soty.link/Decoding by entering the code: SOTY We also share an event we're hosting for the Startup of the Year community coming up on December 13th, which concludes our "Grow Your Startup" series. This virtual event will feature five companies from our community, and we will be putting them on a virtual stage in front of investor judges and a global audience. It should be a lot of fun and pretty interesting to see some of these early startups. The event timeline, the application, and the event registration can be found at: soty.link/growpitch2022 We also again highlight one of the startups from our community and that company is Spontivly, which is a Community Management System that connects an organization's suite of community tools. They handle the full lifecycle of community management…from workflow management to community insights. Learn more about them at spontivly.com Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Oct 26, 202231 min

#0097 - Steve Case Talks About His New Book "The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from a very special guest, Steve Case, who is currently the Chairman and CEO of Revolution and the Chairman of The Case Foundation. Most notably, he was also the Co-Founder of America Online or AOL. In 2014, Steve also launched Revolution's Rise of the Rest, an initiative to accelerate the growth of tech startups across the country. Steve is also the author of the book The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future which came out in 2017. Steve is also the author of a new book "The Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream." In the book he dives into the startup communities that are transforming cities nationwide that he learned about while on the Rise of the Rest's signature road trips. The book will be available on September 27, 2022, and you can pick up your own copy at the following link: https://soty.link/SteveCase On another note, we share a new event we're hosting for the startup community coming up on October 4th at 3:30 PM ET as part of our new "Grow Your Startup" Series, titled "What's In A Pitch Deck?" hosted by Frank Gruber. Details on this free event can be found at the following link: https://soty.link/PitchDeckWebinar We also again highlight one of the startups from our community and that company is AlohaBoomBoxes, which finally allows you to play your favorite songs without having to connect to your smartphone. Now you can take your music with you anywhere with 4G/5G LTE and Solar charging capabilities. Learn more about them at: alohaboomboxes.com Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Sep 21, 202236 min

#0096 - Touraj Parang Talks About His New Book "Exit Path: How to Win the Startup End Game"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Touraj Parang, the President and COO at Serve Robotics and an Operating Advisor at Pear VC. Previously, he built and sold his own company Jaxtr, and helped with the acquisition of webs.com to Vistaprint. He also spent time as an acquirer at GoDaddy where he acquired dozens of businesses. Touraj is also the author of the book "Exit Path: How to Win the Startup End Game," which provides a lot of lessons that he has learned about startup acquisitions from his experience working in Silicon Valley since the late 90's. The book was just released this August and you can pick up your copy today at: exitpath.net We also have a quick request…please vote for panels on the SXSW PanelPicker! This year, we've introduced a panel that we believe attendees will find valuable and informative during their entrepreneurial journeys at SXSW 2023. Voting is currently open and ends on Aug 21st! You can find more info about that panel and vote today at: bit.ly/estsx23 We also again highlight one of the startups from our community and that company is RootLo, which is a mobile application helping companies and employees to successfully navigate the structural shift in where work is done. Today, RootLo App is a virtual water cooler for 15 companies across 30 cities - creating a space for remote employees to collaborate and build culture. Learn more about them at https://rootlo.com/ Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Aug 17, 202234 min

#0095 - Venture Capitalist Mike Asem From M25 Discusses Investing In Early-Stage Startups

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Mike Asem, who is the founding partner at M25 (https://m25vc.com), which is a venture capital investment firm targeting early-stage, tech-enabled startups in the Midwest. Mike also created a new board game called, "Unicorns To The Moon" and you can find out more about that game at: www.unicornstothemoon.com. Our listeners can get a 20% discount by using the code: SOTY20 We also again highlight one of the startups from our community and that company is ecoSPEARS, which is an environmental technology company ushering in the carbonless future of environmental cleanup. ecoSPEARS eliminates toxins like PCBs, dioxins, and other persistent organic pollutants from the environment utilizing non-thermal and non-combusting remediation technology developed by NASA. Learn more about them at www.ecospears.com Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Aug 2, 202232 min

#0094 - Author Susan McPherson Talks About The Lost Art of Connecting

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Susan McPherson, who is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. Susan is also the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, and the author of "The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships." Find more about the book at: https://www.thelostartofconnecting.com/ Lastly, Susan invests in and advises women-led technology start-ups and she is a member of the MIT Solve Women and Technology Leadership Group and serves as an adviser to several nonprofits. We are again continuing our segment where we highlight a startup from our community and during this episode, that company is MyndVR, which fights isolation and improves the lives of older adults using virtual reality. MyndVR provides Virtual Reality subscription bundles to senior living communities, veterans homes, other healthcare providers, and directly to older adults aging in their own homes. Visit https://www.myndvr.com/ to learn more! Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Jul 25, 202227 min

#0093 - Investing In The Midwest With Chris Deutsch Of Lofty Ventures And teaBOT

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Chris Deutsch, who is the Founder of Lofty Ventures (loftyventures.com) and the Re-Founder at teaBOT (teabot.com). Chris has spent over 20 years starting up, investing in and working with early-stage, venture-backed startups in ecommerce, web and mobile applications, enterprise software, and consumer products. Chris is the Founder of Lofty Ventures, which builds long-term relationships with Chicago's next generation of passionate and brilliant founders. He is also currently the Re-founder and Board Director at Y Combinator-backed teaBOT. Organizations around the world such as Google, HubSpot, McKinsey and 1871 leverage teaBOT's Amenity-as-a-Service model to provide tea-making robots to their employees, as well as a means to recruit and retain top talent. We are again continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community. In this episode that company is Rex Academy, which offers a concise, turnkey computer science curriculum and learning platform designed to prepare students with 21st-century skills. Rex Academy's project-based curriculum prioritizes student success through individualized experiences. Features such as automatically graded assessments and courses designed to be taught by non-experts make it easy to bring world class computer science instruction to any workforce development organization or school. Visit https://rex.academy/ to learn more! Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Jul 12, 202238 min

#0092 - Erica Duignan Minnihan Returns To Talk About Investing And The We-Economy

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Erica Duignan Minnihan Returns! Erica is a long-time community member and the Founder and General Partner at Reign Ventures. She was at our 9th Annual Summit and talked with Matt Hunckler from Powderkeg about investment strategies and her interest in the new "We-Economy." We are again continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community. In this episode that company is Supliful, which is an all-in-one platform for Creators to launch and operate their own food or food supplement brand effortlessly. Their approach unifies the entire business cycle – from product selection all the way through e-commerce enablement and order fulfillment – into a single digital platform with no upfront costs. Creators can do what they do best and create great content and engage with their audience, while Supliful takes care of the rest. Go to https://supliful.com to learn more! Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Jun 21, 202217 min

#0091 - NFTs With Nick O'Neill From The Nifty

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, I talk with my long-time friend, Nick O'Neill, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Nifty (www.thenifty.com). The Nifty is a Web3 metaverse company with an audience of aspiring and existing NFT collectors and creators. They host daily shows, provide NFT market monitoring software, and are building an NFT ecosystem. We are again continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community. In this episode that company is Maka Social, which is an app that breaks down the cultural and psychological barriers which prevent us from meeting the people who are around us every day and form lasting bonds with those people more quickly. Whether you are trying to meet business contacts, new friends, a romantic partner, or just have a momentary conversation, Maka Social makes it easy. Visit maka.social to learn more! Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Jun 14, 202243 min

#0090 - Navigating A Startup During A Pandemic With Courtney Caldwell and Dr. Tye Caldwell from ShearShare

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from our last Summit with Courtney Caldwell and Dr. Tye Caldwell from ShearShare, who both talk about navigating a startup during a pandemic, and more. ShearShare (shearshare.com) is an Established Ventures portfolio company and they are the #1 salon and barbershop booth rental app that creates customized, all-inclusive co-working spaces to boost revenue for all industry pros and owners. We are again continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community. On this episode, the company is Viva Equity Fund, based out of Austin, Texas. Viva is a housing network that allows tenants the flexibility of renting at market rates, while earning up to 8% cash back, which converts into interest-bearing equity at the end of their lease. Learn more by visiting their website: viva.fund. We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our YouTube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

May 31, 202218 min

#0089 - Accelerating Startups with Travis Holoway, Rodney Williams, and Lesa Mitchell

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from our last Summit called "Startup Lessons from Accelerating Startups" with Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams of the Established Ventures portfolio company, SoLo Funds (solofunds.com), and Lesa Mitchell, formerly of Techstars and now with HighAlpha Innovation. The crew talk about helping people and their "fastest growing fintech" startup and other startup tips and lessons learned. Also, we are continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community during every episode. In this episode the company is BlueRecruit, which is a direct-hire marketplace for skilled-trade workers who want to build their career and the companies desperate for their talent. They have removed the inefficiencies of resumes and job posts and focus on the skills and experiences that matter. Go to bluerecruit.us to learn more! We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our YouTube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

May 19, 202218 min

#0088 - Jenn Lim Returns To Talk About Leadership And Building A Company Culture

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between our long-time friend Jenn Lim from Delivering Happiness and the author of Beyond Happiness and our Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo, when the two talk about leadership and building a company culture, amongst interesting topics. Also, we are continuing our segment where we highlight one startup from our community during every episode. In this episode the company is Home Lending Pal, which is a unique marketplace that focuses on mortgage equality by using artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology to de-identify Home Mortgage Decision Act data early in the process. Home Lending Pal's primary focus is borrower education while protecting them from predatory lending and/or lending discrimination. Go to homelendingpal.com to learn more! We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our YouTube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

May 15, 202232 min

#0087 - NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks Discusses Grit, Passion, Leadership, And Legacy

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks and Lakshmi Shenoy, the CEO of Embarc Collective, the two will chat about grit, passion, leadership, and legacy at the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. Derrick played 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He is also now the EVP of Corporate and Community Business Development for the Vinik Sports Group. Also, we are continuing our new segment where we highlight one startup from our community during every episode, and in this episode the company is interviewIA, a company that is committed to systematically building an Inclusive Future of Work in a world where organizations can be objective and inclusive in hiring to create thriving, diverse, engaged cultures of high-performing employees. interviewIA is redefining the actual practice of interviewing by creating the first solution to bring human calibration, structure, and data-driven interview outcomes into one, fully integrated, easy-to-use cloud application. interviewIA uses deep learning Intelligence Amplification technology and human-centered design to redefine the method of interviewing. Go to: www.interviewia.com to learn more! We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our YouTube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

May 6, 202218 min

#0086 - Lawyer Nick Outman Talks About Setting Up A Startup For Success From A Legal Perspective

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Nick Outman of the law firm Hill Ward Henderson (www.hwhlaw.com) and Lauren Coffey from Tampa Bay Inno and Tampa Bay Business Journal. The two talk about funding and setting up a startup for success from a legal perspective at the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. Also, we are continuing our new segment where we highlight one startup from our community during every episode, and in this episode that company is "Integrate School," which is a company that allows teachers to reduce the number of platforms needed to run their classrooms and efficiently create and manage lesson plans. Integrate's platform enables K-12 schools to streamline their classroom workflow by offering a suite of cohesive and automatic learning management tools. Learn more at: www.integrateschool.com We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our YouTube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Apr 27, 202219 min

#0085 - Andrew Nguyen From BARK Chats About Product Strategy And The Product Mindset

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Andrew Nguyen from BARK and Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg, when they talked about product strategy and the "product mindset" at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. Andrew is a customer obsessed product leader who builds and grows consumer products. He's a human centered problem solver with over a decade of experience leading digital product teams across BARK, Zappos, Capital One, and AOL (e-commerce, finance, media, and advertising). He has shipped several award winning, highly rated mobile app and web experiences for millions of happy customers. BARK was founded in 2012, and loyally serves dogs nationwide with monthly subscription services, BarkBox and Super Chewer; a curated e-commerce experience on www.BarkShop.com. We are also starting a new segment where we highlight one startup from our community during every episode. Our first company to be featured is PlaneAhead, which is the first organization of its kind that takes full advantage of the termination of airline change fees. The way it works is they track your purchased itinerary from the day you buy until take off. When the price of your ticket goes down, they automatically exchange the ticket and send you the airline credit from the change. Go to www.planeahead.co to learn more! We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: www.est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us

Apr 21, 202219 min

#0084 - Jesse Middleton From The Community Fund and Flybridge Talks About Building a Brand and Community

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Jesse Middleton, who is the General Partner at Flybridge and Co-Founder at The Community Fund and Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg, which is a long time partner of Established and Startup of the Year. Flybridge is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on supporting ambitious founders leveraging the power of community. They have over $700M under management across five funds and five pre-seed funds…so Jesse definitely knows a thing or two about investing and supporting their portfolio companies. The Community Fund is a $5 million early-stage fund that invests in community-driven companies through an investment partner team. They believe that companies with community at the center of all that they do will become unicorns and produce outsized returns. We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Apr 12, 202235 min

#0083 - Funding Panel With Julia Taxin, Sherman Williams, Heather Buffo, and Saxon Baum

In this episode you're going to hear a Funding Panel discussion that took place as part of our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. The panel consisted of Julia Taxin from Grotech, Sherman Williams from AIN Ventures and Scout Ventures, and Heather Buffo from Republic along with Saxon Baum from Florida Funders. We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube We are also excited to announce that we are teaming up with the founder of TaxTaker, Ari Salafia, for a special online event where Ari will discuss how you can Unlock Free Money for Your Startup. She will uncover some often overlooked accounting tricks that will help you unlock thousands (even hundreds of thousands) for your startup. The TaxTaker team will also be giving away $1,000 to one lucky attendee. Details will be announced during the event so you don't want to miss it! Join us on April 7th at 12:00 PM CT for this exclusive Startup of the Year event. You can register today at: soty.link/Webinar Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Apr 5, 202230 min

#0082 - Jenny Fielding From The Fund Chats About Venture Capital and Building One of the First Corporate Accelerators

In this episode you're going to hear an interview with Jenny Fielding from our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. who is a General Manager at The Fund. During the interview, Jenny talks about building one of the first corporate accelerators and her career as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Mar 24, 202219 min

#0081 - Anna Mason from the Rise of the Rest Fund Is Passionate About Investing Between the Coasts

In this episode you're going to hear a conversation that I had with Anna Mason from the Rise of the Rest Fund and Revolution about investing between the coasts and investment themes. The conversation took place during our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit presented by ReliaQuest, hosted by Embarc Collective, and powered by Established. We also want to again mention that we live streamed the event, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Mar 18, 202220 min

#0080 - Author and Investor, Mert Iseri, Discusses His New Book "Exit Right"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview that our Team did with author-extraordinaire, Mert Iseri, at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which we hosted with Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Mert is from MATH Venture Partners and he talks about how a startup can "Exit Right," which is also the name of his new book that came out on February 15, 2022. The book helps founders learn the aspects that go into selling their startups and "delivers the hard-earned lessons that lead to successful exits." You can buy it today at: www.exitrightbook.com. Some of our Team is also headed back to Austin Texas this year for the 13th time for SXSW Interactive! We wanted to highlight one session that will take place on Saturday, March 12th, geared toward startups and investors titled "Startups and Government: Unlocking $4B in Funding." It is a great group talking about America's Seed Fund and how it can be an important part of a startups overall funding strategy. Find more info at the following link: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2022/events/PP116465 We also want to again mention that we live streamed the event, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Mar 11, 202226 min

#0079 - Blake Hall Talks About the Path that ID.me Took to Become a Startup Unicorn

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview that Frank Gruber did with Blake Hall, the Founder and CEO of ID.me, at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which we hosted with Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Over the last decade, Blake and his team turned their startup into a unicorn business, while developing a way to simplify and share your identity online securely. We also want to again mention that we live streamed the event, so if you were not able to attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Feb 23, 202237 min

#0078 - Tampa Bay Lightning Owner, Jeff Vinik, Chats About Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a fireside chat that Frank Gruber did with Jeff Vinik at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which we hosted with Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Aside from standing up Embarc Collective, Jeff is the owner of the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion, Tampa Bay Lightning. He is also an incredibly accomplished entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. His efforts are transforming the Tampa Bay region as it was recently listed by Forbes as a top emerging tech city. Read the article: www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/08/24/emerging-tech-cities-in-the-us/?sh=6533935fa917 We also want to mention that we will be livestreaming the event, so if you cannot attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Feb 18, 202232 min

#0077 - Eric Ingram and SCOUT Bring Home the 2021 Startup of the Year Award

On this special episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Eric Ingram, the founder and CEO of SCOUT, which was the big winner of the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which just took place in Tampa Florida. Scout is an amazing company that is developing orbital products and services to enable a new era of space safety and transparency – adding eyes to space and spacecraft. During the Summit, we had our top startups all pitching for the chance to take home the championship trophy and to be named as the Startup of the Year. The Top 5 finalists that competed on stage live at the finals were: - Heroshe - Houston, Texas - Home Lending Pal - Orlando, Florida - Relavo - Baltimore, Maryland - SCOUT - Alexandria, Virginia - Target Arm Inc. - Ridgefield, Connecticut We also had the 9th Annual Startup of the Year People's Choice Award Winners presented by ReliaQuest (voted on by the world via internet voting). The overall People's Choice Winner was Cope Notes (https://copenotes.com) from Tampa, Florida. We also want to mention that we will be livestreaming the event, so if you cannot attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Feb 9, 202236 min

#0076 - 2021 Startup of the Year Summit Preview

On this special episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our team provides a preview of what will be going on during our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which will take place in-person down in warm Tampa, Florida, from January 25th - 27th with our local host and partner Embrac Collective and our title sponsor, ReliaQuest, who is also sponsoring the People's Choice Award. Listeners can find more information about the Summit at: https://summit.startupofyear.com We also thank all of our Sponsors for their help with the event, including: - Title Sponsor - ReliaQuest - Pendo - Strategic Property Partners + Water Street Tampa - UBS Financial Services - The Florida High Tech Corridor and the University of South Florida - Chase - Cherry Bekaert, LLP - Enterprise Florida - Drift - Florida Funders - Hillsborough County EDi2 - Hill Ward Henderson - Holmes & Brakel - Hutchison, PLLC - Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, Sykes College of Business, University of Tampa - Metro Development Group / Metro Places - Omni Public - Ballard Partners - Accenture - Visit Tampa Bay Additionally, we thank our Table Host Sponsors: - Catapult Lakeland - St. Petersburg EDC - Synapse - Tampa Bay Tech - Tampa Bay Wave - TampaBay.Ventures Lastly, we are grateful for our Prize Sponsors: Carta, CDW, Cherry Bekaert, LLP, Hutchison PLLC, Pilea, Republic, and StickerGiant Attendees can expect to spend some time with some of the most amazing notable characters in the startup world, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Jeff Vinink of owner of the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Mac Conwell of RareBreed VC, Blake Hall, ID.me, Jenn Lim, Delivering Happiness, Erica Duignan Minnihan from Reign Ventures, Jesse Middleton from The Community Fund / Flybridge, Paul Sohl from the Florida High Tech Corridor, Anna Mason of Rise of the Rest Fund, and many more. During the Summit, 100 startups that are changing their industries will be pitching to a group of investors and mentors, and expanding their global recognition. The startups will compete for up to $50K in potential investment, the championship title, the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest, and more. We also want to mention that we will be livestreaming the event, so if you cannot attend in-person, make sure to watch it on our Youtube channel at: soty.link/ESTYouTube Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jan 21, 202214 min

#0075 - ReliaQuest Founder and CEO, Brian Murphy, Talks About Building a Unicorn

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Brian Murphy, who is the Founder and CEO of ReliaQuest. ReliaQuest is the leader in Open XDR-as-a-Service and they are known for being the force multiplier for security operations teams. Frank also again talks about the upcoming Startup of the Year Summit, which will take place in-person down in warm Tampa Florida from January 25th - 27, 2022 with our partner Embarc Collective and title sponsor, ReliaQuest. Find more information at: https://summit.startupofyear.com Attendees can expect to spend some time with some of the most amazing notable characters in the startup world. We just announced our first group of keynote speakers which include Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Jeff Vinink of owner of the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Mac Conwell of RareBreed VC, Blake Hall, ID.me, Jenn Lim, Delivering Happiness, Erica Duignan Minnihan from Reign Ventures, Jesse Middleton from The Community Fund / Flybridge, Shila Nieves Burney from Zane Venture Fund, Paul Sohl from the Florida High Tech Corridor, Anna Mason of Rise of the Rest Fund, Howard Tullman from G2T3V, many more. During the Summit, 100 startups that are changing their industries, pitching a group of investors and mentors, and expanding their global recognition. The startups will compete for up to $50K in potential investment, the championship title, the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest, and more. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jan 7, 202226 min

#0074 - Rohit Bhargava Talks About His New Book "Beyond Diversity"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Rohit Bhargava about his new book "Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World." Rohit is an innovation and marketing expert and the founder of the Non-Obvious Company. He is also a Wall Street Journal best selling author of six business books and also teaches marketing and innovation at Georgetown University. We are excited to announce to all of our listeners that the book is now available for $.99 on Kindle for a limited time, which is a pretty amazing deal, so please make sure to head to Amazon and grab a copy and leave a review. Here is the link: Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Diversity-Experts-Actually-Inclusive/dp/1646870514/ Frank also again talks about the upcoming Startup of the Year Summit, which will take place in-person down in warm Tampa Florida from January 25th - 27, 2022 with our partner Embarc Collective and title sponsor, ReliaQuest. Find more information at: https://summit.startupofyear.com Attendees can expect to spend some time with some of the most amazing notable characters in the startup world. We just announced our first group of keynote speakers which include Jeff Vinink of owner of the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Mac Conwell of RareBreed VC, Blake Hall, ID.me, Jenn Lim, Delivering Happiness, Amy Beckley, of MDF Fertility which makes a product for Proov. During the Summit, 100 startups that are changing their industries, pitching a group of investors and mentors, and expanding their global recognition. The startups will compete for up to $50K in potential investment, the championship title, the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest, and more. We also want to thank UBS Financial Services for supporting the Summit as a ScaleUp Level, Lunch, and Session sponsorship. UBS is a global wealth management group with operations in Tampa, where they are well-known in the Florida family office community and working with early-stage startups on family office investor strategies. We value their participation. Thank you UBS Financial Services. We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Dec 10, 202134 min

#0073 - Beyond Happypalooza with Jenn Lim

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Jenn Lim during the Beyond Happypalooza event, which featured tons of amazing and inspirational speakers including Adam Grant, Dr. Peter Diamandis, and many others. Jenn is the co-founder and CEO of Delivering Happiness and wrote the new book "Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact." Grab a copy today on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Happiness-Authentic-Leaders-Prioritize/dp/1538736888/ Frank also talks about the upcoming Startup of the Year Summit, which will take place in-person down in warm Tampa Florida from January 25th - 27, 2022 with our partner Embarc Collective and title sponsor, ReliaQuest. Attendees can expect to spend some time with some of the most amazing notable characters in the startup world. We just announced our first group of keynote speakers which include Sarah Kunst, of Cleo Capital, Jeff Vinink of owner of the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Mac Conwell of RareBreed VC, Blake Hall, ID.me, Jenn Lim, Delivering Happiness, Amy Beckley, of MDF Fertility which makes a product for Proov. During the Summit, 100 startups that are changing their industries, pitching a group of investors and mentors, and expanding their global recognition. The startups will compete for up to $50K in potential investment, the championship title, the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest, and more. We also once again talk about OpenGrants, which is a platform with a search engine and expert marketplace that unlocks non-dilutive U.S. funding for organizations around the world. They empower startups, nonprofits, grant writers, foundations, and government agencies to participate in a new paradigm of funding. Sign up for today for free and search grants at www.opengrants.io/established/ Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Dec 2, 202121 min

#0072 - Startup of the Year Alumni Spotlight with Aperiomics, Klickly, PopCom, and re:3D

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an Alumni Spotlight Panel discussion from our 2020 Summit, hosted by our very own COO, John Guidos. The alumni panel included the CEO and Co-Founder of Aperiomics, Crystal Icenhour. We also hear from Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene from Flat Out of Heels and PopCom. The panel also included Cooper Harris, the Founder and CEO of Klickly, which is also an Established Ventures portfolio company. And finally, we also hear from Samantha Snabes from re:3D, the 2019 winner. BIG NEWS!! Our good friend and the CEO of Embarc Collective, Lakshmi Shenoy, shares exciting info about this year's Summit! You can register today for tickets at: summit.startupofyear.com We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Nov 5, 20211h 4m

#0071 - Marc Nager of the Greater Colorado Venture Fund Talks About Building a Community

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an "Ask Me Anything" session that Rich Maloy from our team did with Marc Nager during our 2020 Summit. Marc is the Co-Founder Startup Weekend, former CEO of UP Global, CCO at Techstars, MD of Telluride Venture Accelerator, and currently Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. The 2021 Startup of the Year Summit is coming up in January 2022! We are going to be sharing some exciting news about the Summit in the very near future, so please make sure to keep an eye out for that news at: www.startupofyear.com/startup-of-the-year-summit We also talk about OpenGrants, which is a platform with a search engine and expert marketplace that unlocks non-dilutive U.S. funding for organizations around the world. They empower startups, nonprofits, grant writers, foundations, and government agencies to participate in a new paradigm of funding. Sign up for today for free and search grants at www.opengrants.io/established/ Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Oct 28, 202132 min

#0070 - Ben Hood of WattBuy Wants You To Save Money On Electricity To Help Save The Planet

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Ben Hood who is the Co-Founder & CTO at WattBuy (wattbuy.com). Wattbuy is a one-of-a-kind energy marketplace that helps you lower your annual electricity bill by up to 40%. They work with only PUC-licensed energy companies to provide you with options specifically tailored to your home - allowing you to have confidence that you are getting the right services at the best price. They just added an additional $10 million to their Series A, bringing the total funding to $13.25 million for this round (vcnewsdaily.com/wattbuy/venture-capital-funding/ptgcttqrzp). The guys also talk about their excitement about Elon Musk and Tesla's energy efforts. The 2021 Startup of the Year Summit is coming up in January 2022! We are going to be sharing some exciting news about the Summit in the very near future, so please make sure to keep an eye out for that news. We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Oct 20, 202140 min

#0069 - Alumni Spotlight with CoSchedule, Kamana Health, Proov, and Peanut Butter

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an Alumni Spotlight Panel discussion from our 2020 Summit. The alumni panel included Dave Dworschak, who is the co-founder of Kamana (https://www.kamanahealth.com/), which was a 2019 Top 100 finalist and was an Established Ventures Portfolio company until they were acquired in 2020. We also hear from Amy Beckley, who is the Founder and CEO of Proov (https://proovtest.com/), and was a Top 100 finalist. The panel also included our old friend, David Aronson, the CEO and Founder of Peanut Butter (https://www.getpeanutbutter.com/), who was a 2016 Top 5 Finalist. Finally, we also hear from Garrett Moon, the CEO and Founder of CoSchedule (https://coschedule.com/), a 2016 Top 5 Finalist. The 2021 Startup of the Year Application deadline has been extended to October 15, 2021! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also talk about OpenGrants, which is a platform with a search engine and expert marketplace that unlocks non-dilutive U.S. funding for organizations around the world. They empower startups, nonprofits, grant writers, foundations, and government agencies to participate in a new paradigm of funding. Sign up for today for free and search grants at www.opengrants.io/established/ Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Oct 7, 202151 min

#0068 - Lisa Besserman Of Expa Talks About Investing In Underrepresented Startup Founders

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Lisa Besserman who is an entrepreneur, investor, and the Managing Director at Expa (www.expa.com), a $350M venture fund investing in pre-seed to Series A startups. Lisa is also the founder of Startup Buenos Aires and has been named Business Insider's "Top 100 Most Influential Women in Tech" as well as the "Business Innovator of Latin America" by the Council of the Americas. Lisa has also been featured by NBC, Bloomberg TV, Reuters, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, and CNN. She has guest lectured on entrepreneurship and innovation to prominent universities such as NYU, MIT, Northwestern, Berkeley, and University of Pennsylvania. The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Sep 29, 202132 min

#0067 - Patrick Sherwin of GoSun Provides Insights About Growing a Consumer Product

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with the Founder and CEO of GoSun, Patrick Sherwin. Patrick is an entrepreneur and inventor who has committed his professional life to clean technology. GoSun (gosun.co) builds solar appliances to help consumers live with more independence and resilience. It was founded with the goal of making outdoor cooking easier, cleaner and more accessible for people in both developed and emerging markets. Frank and Patrick also briefly discuss the brand "One Day At A Time" (check it out at the following link: http://1dayatatime.co/). The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also talk about OpenGrants, which is a platform with a search engine and expert marketplace that unlocks non-dilutive U.S. funding for organizations around the world. They empower startups, nonprofits, grant writers, foundations, and government agencies to participate in a new paradigm of funding. Sign up for today for free and search grants at www.opengrants.io/established/ Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Sep 16, 202138 min

#0066 - Heather Wilde Discusses Her Book "Birth of a Unicorn: Six Basic Steps to Success"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Heather Wilde. Heather is an author, CTO, Angel Investor, Coach, Speaker, etc. She was the eighth employee of Evernote, where she oversaw the company's growth from thousands to millions of customers. She has published popular games, worked with the United States DoD, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force, trained Fortune 500 brands, advised hundreds of startups, and managed major multinational nonprofit-programs. Additionally, she is a fractional CTO through her company ROCeteer, a company that does coaching, mentoring, training, and consulting for individuals, teams, and brands. Heather also talks about her book, "Birth of a Unicorn: Six Basic Steps to Success" which is available at the following link: https://bit.ly/BirthofaUnicorn The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Sep 10, 202136 min

#0065 - Alumni Spotlight with Blendoor, ShearShare, Unbound, and Wherewithal

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an Alumni Spotlight panel discussion from our 2020 Summit. The discussion was hosted by the Established Chief Operating Officer, John Guidos, and the alumni panel included Stephanie Lampkin, the Founder & CEO Blendoor. Courtney Caldwell and Dr. Tye Caldwell, the Co-Founders of ShearShare were also a part of the group. Additionally, the panel was rounded-out with Polly Rodriquez, the Co-Founder & CEO of Unbound, and Danielle Rushton, the CEO and Co-Founder of Wherewithal. We also hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who talks about "TAM." The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Sep 2, 202157 min

#0064 - Inspired Actions With Mindfulness Expert Ash Kumra

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an interview that our team did with Mindfulness Expert, Ash Kumra, during our 2020 Summit. Ash is a wellness entrepreneur, national radio host, and top ranked career coach building Peak Mindful to improve employee wellness. His radio show, podcast and livestream segments have featured 500 influencers with media credits including Forbes, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur magazine. Ash also helped launch the California Chapter for Startup America and he emceed the Wonder Women Diversity Tech Summit for several years. He was also listed as a top 100 impact entrepreneur by The Obama White House, focusing on diversity and inclusivity. We also hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who talks again about "rewards." The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Aug 20, 202136 min

#0063 - Digital Strategy With PR Expert Sarah Evans

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, introduces an interview that our team did with PR guru, Sarah Evans, during our 2020 Summit. Sarah is a digital strategist and brand correspondent, who works with global brands worldwide to create and improve their social and digital strategies, advising on branding, marketing, advertising, and public relations. Additionally, Sarah is a digital correspondent for several companies including Paypal, Cox Communications, MGM International, WalMart, the Shorty Awards, and more. We also hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who talks again about "risk." The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Aug 5, 202138 min

#0062 - Maxwell Briggs Explains The NASA iTech Program

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview that our team did with Maxwell Briggs during our 2020 Summit. Maxwell is the acting Program Executive for NASA's iTech Program, which focuses on companies with dual-use and spin-in technologies that are both viable in the commercial market and have potential NASA use cases. In the past, he managed NASA's SBIR portfolio for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate where he was responsible for reducing barriers to entry for entrepreneurial companies looking to engage the program. He is also a recovering engineer who used to work on power generation systems for human exploration and science missions. We also hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who talks about "risk versus uncertainty." The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jul 21, 202133 min

#0061 - John Guidos Reflects On Building TurboAppeal From Idea to Acquisition

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with John Guidos about TurboAppeal, a company that he co-founded in 2015 and grew until a successful acquisition in 2017. TurboAppeal was an evidence-based, data-driven technology that worked to present a more accurate property tax appeal on behalf of real estate property owners. TurboAppeal also participated in the Startup of the Year program in Las Vegas in 2015. We also hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who talks about planning a runway when raising capital. The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/

Jul 15, 202130 min

#0060 - John Fein Chats About His Seed Stage Venture Fund, Firebrand Ventures

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview that our team did with John Fein during our 2020 Summit. John is founder and Managing Partner at Firebrand Ventures, a seed stage venture fund. Prior to founding Firebrand, John served as Managing Director for Techstars, a leading startup accelerator with over 40 programs around the world. Before Techstars, he spent nine years at UnitedHealth Group, managing large scale projects including scaling a business from zero to $1.5 billion per year and 1,500 employees in four years. In addition to the interview, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks about our first event in Chicago 15 years ago, when the company was Tech Cocktail, which later became Tech.Co and then ultimately becoming Established. We hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who provides some more helpful advice for startups that are raising capital. The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jul 9, 202138 min

#0059 - Building a SportsBook Marketplace With Luke Pergande From PropSwap

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Luke Pergande about his company PropSwap (www.propswap.com). PropSwap is the first marketplace to buy and sell active American sportsbook tickets. They assist owners of tickets in finding interested buyers and their goal is to provide liquidity to a market which had none before it came along. PropSwap is also one of our distinguished alumni having participated in the Startup of the Year program in 2016. In addition to the interview, we hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who provides some more helpful advice for startups that are raising capital. The 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also continue to spread the word about companies and services that can really add value to startup founders. One of those companies is TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jul 2, 202145 min

#0058 - Ari (Palmer) Salafia Of TaxTaker Explains R&D Tax Credits For Startups

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Ari (Palmer) Salafia about her company TaxTaker, which is automating R&D tax credits for startup companies so they can get back 10% or more for every dollar they spend. It's 100% free to sign up and to see if you qualify you can find more info at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. In addition to the interview, we hear the "VC Minute" segment from Rich Maloy of Established Ventures who provides some tips about the VC capital raising process. We want all of our listeners to know that the 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also once again talk about Finmark, which is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jun 25, 202138 min

#0057 - Gerome Sapp of RARES Talks About "Finding The Perfect Fit"

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Established and Co-Founder of Established Ventures, talks with Gerome Sapp about his company RARES, which is a platform for investing in shares of particularly notable sneakers (www.rares.io). Gerome is a seasoned entrepreneur that also played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts with Payton Manning and with the Baltimore Ravens alongside Ray Lewis, amongst others. In addition to the interview, we want all of our listeners to know that the 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also want to let our listeners know about some of our partner events that are coming up: - ventureLAB's Hard Tech Conference on June 22-23 (www.eventbrite.ca/e/hardtech-conference-registration-151863029409) - Aerospace & Defense Week on June 22-24 (https://starburst.typeform.com/to/vRygT4AS) - Rise of the Rest Tech Talent Tour on June 22-24 (https://careerfair.revolution.com/) - Managing Social Media and Mental Health for Entrepreneurs on June 25 (https://www.venturecenter.co/event/socialmediastress/) We also continue to spread the word about companies and services that can really add value to startup founders. One of those companies is TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Finmark is another company that can help startups. Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jun 16, 202144 min

#0056 - Marlon Nichols Talks About The Best Way To Pitch Investors

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an "Ask Me Anything" session from our 2020 Summit, where the Established Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo, talked with Marlon Nichols, who is a founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital. Marlon is a former Kauffman Fellow and Investment Director at Intel Capital, with an extensive background in technology, private equity, media and entertainment. His unique eye for global trends and shifts in consumer behavior has helped him capture many high-potential investments, which include Gimlet Media, MongoDB and many other companies that reflect overlooked markets. Marlon was also recently featured in an LA Times full spread article on the front page of the business section (https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-06-05/black-latinx-and-female-entrepreneurs-are-still-ignored-by-most-venture-capitalists) and he is als an investor in SoLo funds, which is also one of our Established Ventures portfolio companies. We also want all of our listeners to know that the 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also want to let our listeners know about some of our partner deadlines that are coming up. The DoD SBIR/STTR 2021.2 deadline is June 17th and you can apply at the following link: https://rt.cto.mil/rtl-small-business-resources/sbir-sttr/ The Greater Colorado Pitch Series Application deadline is June 18th and you can find the info for the event at the following link: https://airtable.com/shrtwoOvOBMHrjiaV Lastly, the SBA Growth Accelerator and SBIR Catalyst Prizes deadline is July 2nd and you can apply at the following link: https://www.sbir.gov/accelerators We also continue to spread the word about companies and services that can really add value to startup founders. One of those companies is TaxTaker, which offers an easy to use tech solution that helps startups claim R&D tax credits and earn back tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. They're on a mission to help startups and founders fuel their growth efforts so they can continue doing what they do best - building awesome companies and changing the world. Get started now for free at TaxTaker.com/SOTY. Finmark is another company that can help startups. Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Jun 11, 202134 min

#0055 - Carolyn Rodz of Hello Alice Talks About Building Something Meaningful

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an "Ask Me Anything" session from our 2020 Summit, where our team talked with Carolyn Rodz from Hello Alice. Carolyn is the Founder and CEO of Hello Alice, a company that helps small businesses find funding, opportunities and experts. Check out their site at: helloalice.com. Carolyn is an investment banker turned three-time award winning Latina entrepreneur from Bolivia and is on the Fortune's Most Powerful Women list. We also want all of our listeners to know that the 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also hear about Finmark, which is one of our partners and portfolio companies. Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, we invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup by going to: est.us/join Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

May 27, 202131 min

#0054 - Jason Barsema Talks About Changing The Way We Invest With Halo Investing

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, I talk with Jason Barsema, the Co-founder and President of Halo Investing (haloinvesting.com). Halo is the first multi-issuer technology platform for protective investment solutions. Halo was founded in 2015 with a mission to provide access to impactful investment opportunities previously unavailable to most investors and is changing the world of investing by democratizing the protective investment marketplace through transparency and efficiency with the help of technology. We also hear from Rich Maloy, VP of Engagement at Established and part of Established Ventures, who has some tips on validation for startup founders with a segment called the "VC Minute." We also want all of our listeners to know that the 2021 Startup of the Year Application is open! The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. You can see if your startup fits our criteria and apply today at: soty.link/apply We also hear about Finmark, which is one of our partners and portfolio companies. Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark Lastly, if you're listening to this podcast we'd love for you to become a part of our community by going to: est.us/join and signing up. You will then have access to the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup. Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year.

May 21, 202146 min

#0053 - How Startup Founders Should Pitch a TechCrunch Reporter with Natasha Mascarenhas

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview from our 2020 Summit, when our Director of Strategic Operations, John Guidos, talked with Natasha Mascarenhas, a reporter at TechCrunch. Natasha covers seed and early stage founders, as well as the networks they take to get their first check. She also focuses on education amid COVID-19. Before TechCrunch, she was at the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Crunchbase News. We also hear segments from Rich Maloy, our VP of Engagement, and our co-CEO, Jen Consalvo, who both have advice for startup founders. We want to invite all startups to become part of an amazing community and make sure to apply today for our Startup of the Year program at: soty.link/apply. The top 100 startups will come together for additional opportunities to connect, showcase, and potentially take home the title of Startup of the Year at our annual Summit. We also want to let everyone know that we have been working with Powderkeg on their 2021 Unvalley event which will take place on May 19 - 20th. Gary Vee is a keynote and there will be a lot more amazing speakers from our community like Anna Mason, Mary Grove, Mac Conwell and more -- register today at: est.us/UVPK We also discuss Finmark, which is one of our partners and portfolio companies. Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. It is one of those few products that we truly believe in and I think that it will help a lot of our community members, so please go check out Finmark and signing up for 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark. Lastly, if you're listening to this podcast, you've somehow found us and we appreciate it and we'd like to invite you to be a part of our community around this very podcast by going to: est.us/join. Join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to to elevate your startup. Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Apr 28, 202138 min

#0052 - Dave Dworschak of Kamana Explains How to Build a Startup For Acquisition

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber talks with Dave Dworschak, the Co-founder and CEO of Kamana (www.kamanahealth.com), about their recent acquisition by Triage Staffing in 2020. Kamana is an alumni of the Startup of the Year program and was an Established Ventures portfolio company. More specifically, Kamana is is customer-centric, feedback-driven software for the healthcare staffing industry and it enables the healthcare workforce to manage their credentials and careers from a single place, and staffing agencies to hire and collaborate with the workforce far more efficiently. We also hear segments from some of our Established Team members. Our Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo, shares some words of advice for startup founders on how to tell their story. We also hear from Rich Maloy, our VP of Engagement with Established and part of Established Ventures, who has some tips for startup founders about how to communicate with investors in a segment called the "VC Minute." We've also recently been active on the Clubhouse app where we have created our new "Startup Community Club" for our community and we hope that you all will join or follow the "Startup Community Club." You can find it at est.us/clubhouse. We also invite all of our listeners to get involved with our program by visiting: established.us/programs. This is the best way to get notified of the various startup opportunities that we come across while working with various partner organizations and in a number of ecosystems across the country. When you are part of the community you can join our new Startup Slack channel, where you can mix and mingle with our team and other entrepreneurs about various different topics. For all of you startup founders out there, we want to let you all know that the Startup of the Year 2021 application is open. So if you are a startup looking for exposure and to become part of an amazing community make sure to apply at soty.link/apply21. We are also working with Powderkeg on their 2021 Unvalley event which will take place on May 19 - 20th. We are still in the planning stage, but you will be able to find more info in the near future at powderkeg.com/events. We think it is going to be a really good time with some pretty huge speakers and other activities. More info to come about the event in the future... We also give a shout out to Finmark (another one of our portfolio companies). Finmark is financial planning software for startups for revenue forecasting, cash projections, and runway. Check out Finmark and sign up for a 30-day free trial at est.us/finmark. Lastly, we want to continue to let our startup listeners know that the NASA iTech program is looking for for startups for their various pitch sessions and you can apply by visiting our link at: est.us/nit Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Apr 7, 202141 min

#0051 - Tim Draper Tells Stories From His Life As A Venture Capitalist

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we listen to Frank Gruber's interview with Tim Draper at the Startup of the Year Summit in the fall of 2020. Tim is a top global venture capitalist, founder of Draper Associates, DFJ and the Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. Tim's investments include Coinbase, Robinhood, TwitchTV, Skype, Tesla, Baidu, Focus Media, YeePay, Hotmail, SolarCity, Athenahealth, Box, SpaceX, Cruise Automation, Carta, Planet, PTC, Ledger and many others. Tim is also a leading spokesperson for Bitcoin, Blockchain, ICOs and cryptocurrencies. He has served on the California State Board of Education, and led a movement for Local Choice in schools culminating in becoming proponent for a statewide initiative for School Vouchers. Tim also led an initiative to create competitive governance with Six Californias, followed by Three Californias, which was approved for the ballot, but was rejected by the California Supreme Court before the vote. We also hear from Rich Maloy, our VP of Engagement with Established and part of Established Ventures, who has some tips about keeping top of mind in a competitive funding landscape in a segment called the "VC Minute." We also celebrate one of our alumni, Blake Hall, and his company ID.me (which is a digital identification platform that simplifies how individuals securely prove and share their identities online) recently raised Nine-Figure Round. There is also the upcoming CTA Foundation's 2021 Virtual Pitch Event (sponsored by AARP Innovation Labs) which will take place on March 31st. Join us as eight startups pitch their innovations and engage in Q&A with experts. This year there will also be an audience favorite award, where attendees vote LIVE as startups pitch! You can find out more info and register for the event at: est.us/331EB. We've also recently been active on the Clubhouse app where we have created our new "Startup Community Club" for our community and we hope that you all will join or follow the "Startup Community Club." You can find it at est.us/clubhouse. We also invite all of our listeners to get involved with our program by visiting: established.us/programs. This is the best way to get notified of the various startup opportunities that we come across while working with various partner organizations and in a number of ecosystems across the country. It is also that time of year again when the Startup of the Year 2021 Application is open. So if you are a startup looking for exposure and to become part of an amazing community make sure to apply at soty.link/apply21. Lastly, we want to continue to let our startup listeners know that the NASA iTech program is looking for for startups for their various pitch sessions and you can apply by visiting our link at: est.us/nit Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Mar 25, 20211h 1m

#0050 - Meredith Fineman Teaches Us How To Brag Better

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we listen to Frank Gruber's interview with Meredith Fineman at the Startup of the Year Summit in the fall of 2020. Meredith is an entrepreneur, writer, best-selling author, speaker, podcast host, and women's advocate. She is also the founder and CEO of FinePoint, a leadership and professional development company with a focus on visibility and voice. Meredith is also the author of Brag Better: Master the Art of Fearless Self-Promotion. It's an Amazon Bestseller and has been mentioned in outlets from The New York Times to FastCompany and more. You can purchase the book on Amazon at https://amzn.to/30VWA7o. We also hear from Rich Maloy, our VP of Engagement with Established and part of Established Ventures, who has some tips for startup founders with a segment called the "VC Minute" Frank also talks about our SXSW Serendipity & Innovation events, where we had two really interesting programming segments. One of the sessions was for Government Funding Opportunities for Startups, which featured some of our partners from NASA, SBA, NSF, NIH, and the DOE. The second segment was a Venture Capital Reverse Pitch, where investors actually pitched their funds to startups. Both sessions were fantastic and we will be posting recap videos of each in the near future on our Youtube channel at soty.link/ESTYouTube. We also utilized the Clubhouse app both days so that audience members could interact with some of the speakers in an additional Q&A session. The Clubhouse rooms were hosted in our new "Startup Community Club" and we hope that you all will join or follow the "Startup Community Club." You can find the club at est.us/clubhouse. We also invite all of our listeners to get involved with our program by visiting: established.us/programs. This is the best way to get notified of the various startup opportunities that we come across while working with various partner organizations and in a number of ecosystems across the country. It is also that time of year again when the Startup of the Year 2021 Application is open. So if you are a startup looking for exposure and to become part of an amazing community make sure to apply at soty.link/apply21. Lastly, we want to continue to let our startup listeners know that the NASA iTech program is looking for for startups for their various pitch sessions and you can apply by visiting our link at: est.us/nit Thank you for listening, and as always, please check out the Established website and subscribe to the newsletter at www.est.us Checkout Startup of the Year at www.startupofyear.com/ Subscribe to the Startup of the Year Daily Deal Flow: www.startupofyear.com/daily-dealflow Subscribe to the Startup of the Year podcast: www.podcast.startupofyear.com Subscribe to the Established YouTube Channel: soty.link/ESTYouTube *** Startup of the Year helps diverse, emerging startups, founding teams, and entrepreneurs push their company to the next level. We are a competition, a global community, and a resource. Startup of the Year is also a year-long program that searches the country for a geographically diverse set of startups from all backgrounds and pulls them together to compete for the title of Startup of the Year. The program includes a number of in-person and virtual events, including our annual South By Southwest startup pitch event and competition. All of which culminate at our annual Startup of the Year Summit, where the Startup of the Year winner is announced, along with an opportunity at a potential investment. Established is a consultancy focused on helping organizations with innovation, startup, and communication strategies. It is the power behind Startup of the Year. Created by the talent responsible for building the Tech.Co brand (acquired by an international publishing company), we are leveraging decades of experience to help our collaborators best further (or create) their brand & accomplish their most important goals. Connect with us on Twitter - @EstablishedUs and Facebook - facebook.com/established.us/.

Mar 19, 202138 min