Startup Success: A Podcast for Founders & Investors

What makes a startup board really effective? How do you build one that will truly benefit your startup? How do you conduct board meetings that are helpful and not just a quarterly scramble to put together a deck? 

In this episode of Startup Success, we dive deep into a topic we’ve never explored before: the real role and power of a startup board. Your board can be a game-changer for your startup—if done the right way.

Joining us are Matt Blumberg, CEO of Acrolinx, and Mahendra Ramsinghani, the Managing Director of Secure Octane Investments —two of the co-authors of Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors. Together, sharing the operator and investor perspectives, they give practical advice for startup boards and board meetings that you can use today. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The purpose of a startup board and its role in your startup’s success
• How to put together your board - selecting and recruiting the right directors, and how to change that mix as you scale
• Effective board meetings - practical advice - ranging from the agenda to slides to seating arrangements -  that will improve your meetings 

Whether you’re building your first board, wanting to optimize the one you have, or are looking to greatly improve your board meetings, this episode is a masterclass in getting it right.🛠️

Grab your copy of Startup Boards for even more insights.

----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

In this episode of Startup Success, we welcome Arielle Lechner, Executive Coach and Founder of NewPo, to discuss the crucial role of decision-making and leadership in early-stage startups. Arielle, a mentor for TechStars and former startup operator, shares insights on how founders can move faster, avoid burnout, and create a thriving company culture.

We dive into how founders can distinguish between upstream and downstream problems, the power of thinking like a scientist when iterating, and Arielle’s Lift and Thrust model for balancing team motivation and momentum.

Tune in to learn how to:

• Stop wasting time on the wrong issues and focus on the upstream problems
• Create a culture that propels your team forward even in difficult times
• Move away from the mindset and assumptions that limit your startup’s potential to scale

Don’t miss this episode packed with actionable takeaways on how to successfully navigate the hard decisions and complex challenges that come with leading a startup.


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 


To learn more about NewPo visit https://www.newpo.io/

Finding startup success outside of Silicon Valley is possible – it just requires some ingenuity.
We couldn’t think of anyone who knows more about this topic than Rick Turoczy.

With three decades of experience supporting founders, Rick Turoczy, GM and Co-founder of PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment), is the ultimate connector and an expert at helping startups turn ideas into reality. In this episode, we sit down with Rick to explore how startups outside of the Bay Area can find support in their community and he gives us an inside look at the fundraising landscape beyond the Valley.

We discuss:

• Creative fundraising strategies outside of Silicon Valley
• Tactics for leveraging local resources to help scale your startup
• How to pick the right accelerator for your startup
• Why the lack of easily accessible capital combined with the proliferation of AI could be a perfect storm for innovation

If you're a founder looking to find startup success in your own community, this episode is a must-listen!

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Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

To learn more about PIE visit https://www.piepdx.com/

Join us for a Q1 update! Kicking off 2025, many anticipated a return to the "good old days" of economic optimism, but the reality has been more complex. In this episode of Startup Success, we sit down with Steven Lord, Burkland’s COO, to get a pulse on the startup ecosystem and the broader economic landscape as Q1 comes to a close.

We discuss:

• What’s going on with interest rates?
• Trends in startup valuations and venture capital
• The latest on inflation and the declining consumer confidence index
• Steps founders can take now to be prepared for what’s next 

AI continues to dominate investment conversations, but we’re seeing a shift toward niche AI applications and industry-specific use cases. Meanwhile, economic uncertainty has created a turbulent environment for startups reliant on government grants and regulatory stability, leaving many clean energy, healthcare, and fintech founders in limbo.

Tune in for a deep dive into the forces shaping startup success in 2025, and what founders, investors, and business leaders should watch for in the months ahead -- plus a quick PSA moment on protecting your startup against hackers!


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

In this episode of Startup Success, we explore the data privacy considerations that all founders need to address, not ignore, with Katharine Tomko, Partner at First Ascent Ventures. Katharine fully understands all the priorities and stresses founders face, so she lays out a clear roadmap for them with small, actionable steps they can take now that will help them down the road with privacy.

With an intriguing background that spans from her first job as a parole officer to the early days of data protection programs at Facebook and now her work in venture capital, Katharine is a true authority on data privacy. She “gets” the mindset of founders and knows what they need to do today around privacy and data collection.

Katharine offers perspective on:

• The big dangers of not prioritizing privacy in the AI era
• Why more is not better when it comes to collecting customer data
• Does data mapping solve privacy?
• What VCs can learn about a founder by how they manage privacy

Founders and VCs – don’t miss this deep dive into a topic that’s becoming non-negotiable in the startup world!

----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

Pricing and packaging can make or break a startup, yet many founders struggle to get it right. In this episode of Startup Success, we sit down with Fynn Glover, Co-Founder and CEO of Schematic, to explore his journey from startup founder to pricing and packaging expert. Fynn shares lessons from his first startup—how a pivot led to an acquisition, the challenges of scaling, and what sparked his fascination with pricing.

And we dive into:

• How to get a deep understanding of your market's willingness to pay
• The big upside of having pricing and packaging that can evolve as fast as your product roadmap
• Why decoupling pricing from the engineering function allows for more creativity around monetization 

Whether you're starting a new venture or scaling a business, this episode offers valuable insights on monetization, customer pricing dynamics, and conquering common pricing challenges!

[01:42] Fynn’s First Startup, Pivot, and Acquisition
[05:29] Founding Schematic
[08:00] Challenges and Insights in Pricing and Packaging
[10:00] Schematic's Approach and Early Success
[17:17] Advice for Startup Founders


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn!

In this episode of Startup Success, we are joined by Daniel Loreto, founder of Jetify, who dives into his journey from working at tech giants like Google, Twitter, and Airbnb to launching his own startup. Daniel shares how his passion for accelerating software development led to the creation of Jetify and how AI is transforming the way developers bring ideas to life.

Highlights:

• Daniel’s candid advice on raising a successful seed round
• His careful approach towards scaling and spending money
• Strategies for creating the right company culture and building a high-performing team
• How AI agents like Jetify’s Test Pilot are revolutionizing the software development lifecycle

This episode is packed with valuable insights on navigating the startup ecosystem, leveraging AI, turning your passion into a business, and more! Tune in now to hear Daniel’s journey and his vision for the future of software development!


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn! 

There is no getting around the power of customer feedback in building a successful startup.

In this episode of Startup Success, we sit down with Luke Kim, founder and CEO of Liner, an AI-powered search tool revolutionizing the way researchers, students, and knowledge workers find reliable information. As a child during the dot-com boom, Luke dreamed of one day starting his own company. Right out of college, he turned his dream into reality by founding Liner, which is now one of the top AI search tools in the world.

Luke shares his incredible journey and highlights his team’s successful strategy for harnessing the power of customer feedback to build a highly engaged and passionate user base that drives growth organically.

We discuss:

• How his team maintains a close connection to customer pain points and heavily relies on user feedback to drive product development
• Liner’s recent $22M Series B funding and their strategy for scaling globally
• Their quick pivot to AI search within a week of ChatGPT’s API original release

Luke’s insights into building a 100% customer-centric team provide invaluable lessons for startup founders at any stage.

----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn!

In this episode of Startup Success, we're joined by Manish Patel, founding partner at Nava Ventures and self-described accidental venture capitalist. Manish shares his fascinating journey into venture capital, including the challenges and rewards of running a Series A-focused fund and his firm’s thesis-driven approach to investing.We discuss:

• What Manish looks for when investing in Series A startups and founders
• Advice on preparing for and raising a Series A round
• The current state of the startup ecosystem and why Manish is excited about 2025
• Important areas a startup founder should focus on besides the usual benchmark metrics 

This not-to-be-missed episode is packed with actionable advice for startup founders and thought-provoking perspectives on the art and science of venture capital.


Key Moments:
🔹[00:06:05-00:07:42]  Nava Ventures’ Investment Philosophy
🔹[00:07:42-00:09:40]  Their Pain Points Driven Thesis
🔹[00:09:38-00:11:12]  Challenges of Fundraising
🔹[00:11:12-00:12:33]  Evaluating Series A Companies
🔹[00:13:33-00:14:55]  Venture Capital Misconceptions
🔹[00:14:25-00:15:30]  Founder-Investor Relationships
🔹[00:15:30-00:18:24]  Building In-House Capabilities
🔹[00:18:32-00:18:50]  All Revenue is Not Equal 


----Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn!