Venture Pill-logo

Venture Pill

Entrepreneurship

Your weekly dose of startups and venture capital. Brandon Osian and Sam Gordon prescribe all you'll need to get into the wonderful world of venture. From fundraising news to startup deep dives, you can expect to stay up to date with the most innovative, exciting companies out there.

Location:

United States

Description:

Your weekly dose of startups and venture capital. Brandon Osian and Sam Gordon prescribe all you'll need to get into the wonderful world of venture. From fundraising news to startup deep dives, you can expect to stay up to date with the most innovative, exciting companies out there.

Language:

English


Episodes
Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E117: On-Water Interview with Austin Lim and Grant Perkins, Founders of Floaties Floatin’ Saloon

5/2/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we have the founders of Floaties Floatin’ Saloon, Grant Perkins and Austin Lim. This was a special interview out on Lake Austin on their beautiful boat where we got to hear the story behind the business. Tune in to hear more about how they built the boat and the brand, how it has been going in the first couple of years, some of the challenges they have faced and much more. Stick with us for a glimpse into the Floaties guys’ future aspirations and what they’re excited about this upcoming season. Finally, you will hear some great advice from Austin and Grant for anyone looking to start a business like they did. Sources: https://floatiesaustin.com/ https://www.instagram.com/floatiesaustin/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:36:56

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E116: Cobots, Dude Perfect, and Solar Innovation

4/25/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:45) we start off with a breakdown on Collaborative Robotics, a startup that makes robots that work alongside humans in all kinds of facilities, hot off a $100M Series B. Next, (6:44) we discuss Dude Perfect, the popular sports content brand that’s been making YouTube videos for 15 years, and their $100M+ fundraise. Lastly (18:25), we wrap up this week’s dose with Arcadia, a startup that makes it easy for companies and consumers to tap into community solar farms to save money and help the environment, fresh off a $50M growth round. Sources: https://www.co.bot/news/robots-come-to-life https://venturebeat.com/automation/cobot-announces-100m-series-b-and-reveals-exclusive-details-about-its-non-humanoid-robots/ https://dudeperfect.com/ https://www.axios.com/2024/04/09/dude-perfect-investment-highmount-capital https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianshepherd/2024/04/11/how-dude-perfects-100m-investment-will-turn-them-from-youtube-channel-to-global-media-brand/?sh=7d45692d7e05 https://www.wsj.com/articles/dude-perfect-conquored-youtube-now-they-want-the-world-613adad8 https://www.arcadia.com/press/arcadia-raises-50m Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:27:27

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E115: AI Lawyer, High Tech Heating, and STR Management Software

4/18/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:43) we kick things off with Lawhive, an AI-based legal tech platform that's targeted towards small law firms, and their recent $12M seed round. From there, (8:46) we cover Quilt’s $33M Series A. The startup has built the most efficient and intuitive climate solution for homes. Lastly (14:47), we close out this week’s dose with a breakdown on Guesty, a startup that lets property managers efficiently manage their properties online, fresh off a $130M Series F. Sources: https://lawhive.co.uk/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/15/lawhive-raises-12m-to-expand-its-legaltech-ai-platform-for-small-firms/ https://www.quilt.com/launch/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/16/quilt-heat-pump-series-a/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALhF6BSj0lyZwC64cw-YB1qSaFwsl5fQBx9Q15snKLTn2J02SNzvontN6PVuSKRJiBNRZTx61UXxAzv1BC5UVLOBujaKES08ovmk859Z28za0j9HZNYL4GwEwzB-7hXaKMgjPJG1-M8ms6wXR2XcVdi1v32hX_3OaFoJBQ5VQlv0 https://www.guesty.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/10/guesty-snaps-up-130m-at-900m-valuation-to-help-property-managers-list-on-airbnb-and-beyond/ https://wttc.org/news-article/travel-and-tourism-set-to-break-all-records-in-2024-reveals-wttc https://www.guesty.com/blog/guesty-raises-130-million-funding-round/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:25:48

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E114: TJ Maxx for Kids, Food Delivery Pillfolio Update, and Authentic Social Shopping

4/11/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:30) we start with Kidsy, an e-commerce startup that aims to give consumers access to discounted baby and kid products, and their $1m pre-seed round. (9:27) Then, we have a Pillfolio Update as we cover Marc Lore’s Wonder, an innovative food delivery company operating in the northeast, fresh off a $700M funding round. (19:38) Lastly, we wrap up this week’s dose with a breakdown on Flip, a shopping social network that reached unicorn status following their $144M Series C. Sources: https://kidsy.co/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/28/kidsy-is-a-startup-selling-liquidated-childrens-clothing-and-gear-like-a-tj-maxx-for-kids/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1332420/kids-and-baby-item-resale-market-in-the-us/ https://www.wonder.com/ https://www.inc.com/rebecca-deczynski/wonder-marc-lores-fast-fine-food-business-announces-a-700m-funding-round.html https://flip.shop/ https://www.finsmes.com/2024/04/flip-raises-144m-in-series-c-funding.html Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:29:37

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E113: Tech for Antiquated Outfitters, Virtual Team-Building, and The Compassionate Economy

4/4/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:50) we start with Mallard Bay, an easy-to-use marketplace that connects people looking to go on fishing and hunting trips with outfitters, and their $4.6M Series A. Then (6:54), we break down Confetti, a startup that facilitates virtual team-building activities for some of the biggest corporations in the world, and their $16M Series A. Lastly (15:29), we wrap up this week’s dose with Empathy, a startup that’s coupling human care with AI technology to offer bereaved families a support system for the administrative, emotional, legal, and financial challenges they face after a loved one passes away, and their $47M Series B. Sources: https://mallardbay.com/ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mallard-bay-secures-4-6-130000007.html https://www.withconfetti.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/confetti-a-team-building-platform-used-by-apple-google-and-microsoft-raises-16m/ https://www.empathy.com/blog/forging-our-path-toward-a-compassionate-economy https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/12/empathy-berevement-death-ai/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:28:23

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E112: Designer Fruit, Intelligent Safety, and Liquid Death Pillfolio Update

3/28/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:52) we start with Oishii, the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm, and their $134M Series B. Then (10:40), we break down RapidSOS, a startup that harnesses artificial and human intelligence to fuse life-saving data from over 540M devices in our nation's homes, schools, trains, cars, buildings and personal devices, and their $150M Series C. Lastly (17:24), we close out this week’s dose with a Pillfolio Update as we cover Liquid Death’s $67M funding round as the killer canned water company continues to murder the competition. Sources: https://oishii.com/ https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/vertical-farms-startup-oishii-134m-agtech-round https://bnnbreaking.com/finance-nav/oishii-secures-134m-in-funding-boosting-japan-style-indoor-strawberry-farms-in-us https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2024/02/28/oishii-raises-134m-in-turbulent-time-for-vertical-farms-to-expand-production-distribution-its-portfolio# https://rapidsos.com/ https://rapidsos.com/our-latest/150m-funding-round-led-by-blackrock/ https://www.govtech.com/biz/blackrock-investment-closes-rapidsos-150m-funding-round https://liquiddeath.com/ https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2024/03/12/liquid-death-water-valued-above-1b https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240310837019/en/Liquid-Death-closes-67-million-in-strategic-financing-including-top-distributors-at-1.4-billion-valuation Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:28:32

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E111: Interview with Recurring Guest, Max Albert, Founder of AppStop

3/21/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we welcome back Max Albert, founder and CEO of Appstop, one of the leading mobile game studios focused on advergames. We kicked off the interview with an update on SXSW and a breakdown on all the networking events Max attended within the advertising and broader tech and startup scene here in Austin. From there, you’ll hear about Max’s thoughts on AI this year at SXSW and more broadly, as well as the latest with AppStop and the state of advergames as he sees it today. Lots of laughs and cool stories shared in our first ever recurring guest interview. It was a pleasure having Max join us once again, we hope this is the start of a yearly tradition. Without further ado, here’s our conversation with Max. Sources: https://appstop.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-albert-4b0b02a9/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:45:42

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E110: Mushroom Beverage, a Betr Valuation (Pillfolio Update), and Mapping the Underground

3/14/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (2:00) we start with Odyssey, a mushroom-based functional energy beverage that boosts energy, focus, and mood, and their recent $6M round of funding. Then (9:02), we have a Pillfolio Update as we cover Betr, a leading sports gaming and media company focused on enhancing the consumption of sports through entertainment, hot off their fresh $15M round of funding. Lastly (15:21), we close out this week’s dose with Exodigo, a startup that has developed groundbreaking technology to map the underground, and their earth-shattering $105M Series A. Sources: https://odysseyelixir.com/ https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5740764/functional-beverages-global-market-opportunities?utm_source=CI&utm_medium=PressRelease&utm_code=tb2p99&utm_campaign=1563149+-+Global+%24173.23+Billion+Functional+Beverages+Markets%2c+2015-2020%2c+2020-2025F%2c+2030F%3a+Energy+Drinks%2c+Sports+Drinks%2c+Nutraceutical+Drinks%2c+Dairy-based+Beverages%2c+Juices%2c+Enhanced+Water&utm_exec=chdo54prd https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/09/functional-beverage-odyssey-6m-energy-drink-food/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/01/camilla-cabello-mindy-kaling-gwyneth-paltrow-olipop-soda/ https://www.betr.app/ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/betr-adds-15-million-strategic-140000108.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKxhr_LftL4qkwNamGwNsO7793k4VKobKLiQ--8CTFzx7lAg_PlLxS4K04Gojc9cngY0hZpUWic1URNrF_hC_4brdkZLY_WLNy7k7MZ6YoJ3rpM7fIAlT4IPoUvIWKZtLZL7UFDQSq-iLlcaCrmXPLpkun2awieFgVSQymkOj70Q https://www.exodigo.com/ https://www.exodigo.com/press/exodigo-closes-105-million-series-a-to-lead-underground-mapping-revolution Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.instagram.com/colebauer/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:26:25

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E109: Interview with Larsen Jensen, Founder and GP at Harpoon Ventures

3/7/2024
Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we have Larsen Jensen, former Olympic swimmer, Navy Seal, and current founder and General Partner at Harpoon Ventures. Larsen has always surrounded himself with some of the highest performers and most successful people, whether in the water next to the likes of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, or out in the battlefield serving our country. It was only after a friend mentioned vc as a potentially exciting career path that Larsen realized he could leverage his experiences, especially regarding the government’s growing partnership with the private sector in investing in new technology. In the interview, you will hear more about how he started Harpoon Ventures, some notable portfolio companies, as well as his outlook on the next few years in venture capital. We close out this week’s dose with a short discussion on the future of AI, some awesome advice to the Pillgrims, and some great perspective from Larsen reflecting on his experience getting an MBA at Stanford. It was a pleasure hosting Larsen on this week’s dose, and we’re excited to share our conversation with you all. Sources: https://harpoon.vc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/larsen-jensen/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:36:02

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E108: Interview with Anouck Gotlib, CEO and Chief Belgian Girl of Belgian Boys

2/29/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we have Anouck Gotlib, CEO and Chief Belgian Girl of Belgian Boys, the company on a mission to turn up the happy, one sweet moment at a time. Anouck had an awesome journey to becoming CEO of Belgian Boys. Her background is actually in fashion and design, and her entrepreneurial journey all started when she flew to NYC for a fashion internship. On the flight, she struck up a conversation with a guy named Greg. Fast forward to now, and Anouck and Greg are co founders and husband and wife. In the interview, you will hear more about Belgian Boys’ mission to spread joy, as well as Anouck’s favorite product, which also happens to be their best seller. From there, we dive more into the business and what it’s been like bootstrapping in the CPG space and navigating the unforgiving world of retail. We also hear about their efforts to create a new category in the refrigerated aisle for breakfast foods. We wrap up this week’s dose with a short discussion on the company’s investors, and specifically Daniel Lubetsky, the founder of KIND, as well as what she looks for in an investor, and then a little bit of advice for the pilgrims looking to start a business someday. It was a pleasure hosting Anouck on this week’s dose, and we hope this conversation sweetens up everyone’s day as much as it did for us. Sources: https://www.belgianboys.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anouck-gotlib/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:29:23

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E107: AI Roofing, Next-Gen College, and the Simplest Podcasting Platform

2/22/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:47) we start with Roofer, a startup that uses AI and drone technology to scan and repair roofs, and their recent $7.5M seed round. Then (8:09), we cover Campus, a startup that’s transforming higher education by making community college accessible across the country, hot off their $29M Series A. Lastly (17:44), we close out this week’s dose with Podcastle, a web-based platform that enables creators to record, edit, enhance, transcribe and publish podcasts with unmatched simplicity, and their $13.5M Series A. Sources: https://www.roofer.com/about https://www.roofingcontractor.com/articles/99128-roofercom-raises-75m-in-seed-round https://campus.edu/blog/education-startup-campus-opens-enrollment-with-29-million-in-funding https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredcouncil/2023/05/01/exclusive-sam-altmans-backing-helps-community-college-startup-raise-29-million/?sh=95ec5542d18a https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/02/as-podcastle-raises-13-5m-its-founder-credits-ai-driven-growth-in-armenias-mini-silicon-valley/ https://podcastle.ai/about Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:26:31

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E106: Enhanced Games, HubSpot for Restaurants, and Sports XR

2/15/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:37) we start with a breakdown on the Enhanced Games, the modern reinvention of the Olympic Games that allows athletes to use performance enhancing drugs, and their multi-million dollar seed round that included funding from Peter Thiel, Balaji Srinivasan, and Christian Angermayer. Then (12:02), we cover Owner, the top rated, all-in-one platform that’s empowering restaurant owners to succeed online, and their recent $33M Series B. Lastly (18:18), we wrap up this week’s dose with StatusPro, a sports technology and gaming company that uses real-time player data to create authentic extended reality experiences, and their $20 million Series A. Sources: https://enhanced.org/2024/01/29/seedfundingannouncement/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/01/31/billionaire-peter-thiel-backs-doping-friendly-olympics-rival---what-to-know-about-the-enhanced-games/?sh=537ea62b501f https://www.owner.com/b https://www.owner.com/ https://www.status.pro/ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statuspro-announces-20m-series-a-round-led-by-gv-google-ventures-to-continue-to-disrupt-and-revolutionize-sports-through-xr-302052952.html Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:25:06

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E105: Interview with Ron Levin, MP at Alumni Ventures

2/8/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we have Ron Levin, author of Higher Purpose Venture Capital, and Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures. Ron had an unconventional path into the world of venture capital, having worked in the travel and aviation industry which eventually led him to start a business in that area as well. He later got connected with Alumni Ventures, specifically Yard Ventures, a fund for the Harvard community, and he has been with the AV team for nearly 5 years since then. In the interview, you will hear more about Ron’s winding journey, as well as his passion around impact investing. From there, he tells us more about his blog (The Higher Purpose SmörgåsBlog), which ultimately led to his book that highlights how both profit and impact can be achieved in venture capital. Listen through to hear Ron’s take on the current state of the venture capital landscape, as well as his valuable advice to our listeners looking to get into investing and entrepreneurship. It was a pleasure hosting Ron on this week’s dose and we’re thrilled to share the conversation with you all. Without further ado, here's our discussion with Ron. Sources: https://higherpurposevc.com/ https://ronlevin.substack.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/levinron/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:40:53

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E104: Alpha Burgers, What’s UpSmith, and Bilt Different

2/1/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:54) we start with a breakdown on Aniai, hot off a $12m funding round, led by InterVest, as the startup looks to continue scaling their burger cooking robot, Alpha Grill. Then (10:09), we cover UpSmith, a startup aiming to address the massive skilled labor shortage by addressing employee productivity through a unique incentive platform, and their recent $5M funding round led by Hannah Grey VC. Lastly (18:08), we close out this week’s dose with a Pillfolio update! Bilt Rewards, a startup that lets users earn points and build credit by paying for rent with their credit card, secured a $200M funding round led by General Catalyst. Sources: https://www.aniai.ai/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/23/aniai-bringing-burger-cooking-robot-to-restaurants-with-12m/ https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-technology-is-helping-restaurants-overcome-labor-shortage-challenges https://aaronallen.com/blog/restaurant-robotics https://www.bccresearch.com/market-research/instrumentation-and-sensors/kitchen-robotics-and-automation-market.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kitchen-robotics-automation-market-grow-112700668.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90ZWNoY3J1bmNoLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGf0KB6EB6Ek-1VNoWXuCpFNXkOJP2mfuO_TGsTcOKkle5PqeYBgp1Z-jWIOYB4nhsy0IkUnQdP1QIrB5IAOlIgCv5RW_9vnrqLencF-soaHnxBirbjwKrs25e_Wq-3F6x6xe3uqK2zGsI4-KA_0_IlTzsmBu9ev-0KIQkNXzV7y https://upsmith.com/ https://dallasinnovates.com/upsmith-powers-its-new-skilled-workforce-tool-boost-with-5m-raise/ https://www.biltrewards.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/24/bilt-rewards-brings-in-200m-led-by-general-catalyst-doubles-valuation-to-3-1b/ https://newsroom.biltrewards.com/bilt-rewards-announces-200-million-raise-valuing-company-at-3-1-billion Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:28:02

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E103: Revolutionizing Home-Building, AI Search Disruptor, and Autonomous Drones

1/25/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (2:00) we start with a breakdown on Agorus, a startup that’s looking to automate the homebuilding process to significantly reduce the time it takes to build high quality homes, hot off a $20M Series A. Then (9:57), we cover Perplexity, an AI search platform that is poised to disrupt the search engine space, hot off a $73.6M funding round. Lastly (16:16), we wrap up this week’s dose with a discussion on Shield AI, a startup that makes hardware and software to transform aircraft and drones into autonomous systems capable of executing complex missions in contested environments, and their massive $500M Series F. Sources: https://agorus.com/our-story/ https://www.perplexity.ai/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/04/ai-powered-search-engine-perplexity-ai-now-valued-at-520m-raises-70m/ https://shield.ai/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/29/shield-ai-expands-massive-series-f-with-another-300m-in-equity-debt-scaling-valuation-to-2-8b/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:23:43

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E102: Artist-Centric Music Platform, HUGE European EV Charging, and Don’t Sleep on Sleep Tech

1/18/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:52) we start things off with a breakdown on Medallion, a dedicated digital hub that allows artists to promote album releases, tour dates and merch drops, as well as sell digital collectibles and share exclusive content to foster deeper connections with their fans, and their $13.7M Series A. Then (5:44), we cover Electra, a startup that’s building a network of high-speed EV charging stations throughout France and other European countries, charged up from their massive $330M Series B. Lastly (12:08), we wrap up this week’s dose with a discussion on Onera Health, a startup that’s providing sleep diagnostic and monitoring technology to help clinicians conduct studies at home, fresh off their $32M Series C. Sources: https://www.medallion.fm/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/medallion-a-platform-for-artists-to-connect-directly-with-fans-raises-13-7m/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALhF6BSj0lyZwC64cw-YB1qSaFwsl5fQBx9Q15snKLTn2J02SNzvontN6PVuSKRJiBNRZTx61UXxAzv1BC5UVLOBujaKES08ovmk859Z28za0j9HZNYL4GwEwzB-7hXaKMgjPJG1-M8ms6wXR2XcVdi1v32hX_3OaFoJBQ5VQlv0 https://www.go-electra.com/en/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/16/ev-charging-startup-electra-secures-330-million/ https://www.onerahealth.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/16/polysomnography-onera-sleep-studies/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5627640/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:19:16

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E101: Early Childhood Reading, AI for Affordable Housing, and Elon’s Neuralink Growing

1/11/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:55) we start things off with a breakdown on Sharpen, an early childhood education company with a mission to help parents affordably get their children on the right reading path early in development, fresh off an $11M funding round. Then (7:00), we cover Simply Homes, a company that’s leveraging AI to address the affordable housing crisis, hot off a $22M funding round. Lastly (14:04), we close out this week’s dose with a discussion on Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which just raised an additional $43m in funding as they continue to push new limits in the brain-computer interface space. Sources: https://www.sharpen.com/about https://www.finsmes.com/2023/12/sharpen-raises-11m-in-funding.html https://www.simplyhomes.com/en/about-us https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/07/simply-homes-nabs-22m-leverages-ai-to-tackle-affordable-housing-crisis/ https://neuralink.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/25/neuralink-elon-musks-brain-implant-startup-quietly-raises-an-additional-43m/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:24:45

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E100: Venture Pill’s 100th Episode Awards Show

1/4/2024
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we celebrated Venture Pill’s 100th episode (!) with an awards show. Tune into this special episode to hear us reflect on our first 100 episodes and hand out well-deserved awards, starting with (4:56) the biggest round covered on the Pill. From there (8:20), we crown our favorite investor in Pill history. Then we transition into categorical best startup awards, kicking off with the food and drink category (11:53), then the best AI startup (16:53), followed by best sports startup (19:58), best space startup (24:39), best environmental startup (28:25), and lastly the best international startup (32:27). After the categorical awards (36:24), we picked a winner for the coolest startup in Pill history, which was a highly contested award. Next, we get into a pack of fun awards including best dose of the show (42:21), best phrase in show history (44:29), our favorite buzzword award (49:59), and last but not least, our favorite pun in show history (53:00). We had a blast recording our first ever Venture Pill awards show, and loved reflecting on all we’ve learned and laughed about over the past 100 weeks. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:59:59

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E99: The Etsy of Food, Strength Training App, and Optimizing the Gig Economy

12/28/2023
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, (1:49) we start things off with a breakdown on HomeCooks, a startup that allows chefs to cook affordable and delicious frozen meals for anyone to order, fresh off their $3.1M seed round. Then (8:40), we cover Ladder, a subscription strength training app that makes it easier to maintain a consistent strength training routine, hot off their $12M Series A. Lastly (14:53), we close out this week’s dose with a discussion on Jitjatjo, a gig economy marketplace that’s making flexible hiring easier for workers and enterprises, following their $30M Series B. Sources: https://home-cooks.co.uk/pages/our-manifesto https://tech.eu/2023/12/05/homecooks-from-facebook-group-to-seed-investment/ https://www.joinladder.com/ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231206299897/en/Ladder-Raises-12-Million-Series-A-to-Demystify-Strength-Training-and-Accelerate-Growth https://www.jitjatjo.com/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/12/gig-marketplace-jitjatjo-raises-30m-to-grow-into-new-markets/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:22:50

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

E98: Interview with Joshua Rahn, Co-Founder and General Partner at Oceans

12/21/2023
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community! Join our Entre Community Instagram Twitter YouTube TikTok LinkedIn And now for this week’s prescription: On this week’s dose, we have Josh Rahn, Co-Founder and General Partner at Oceans, an early stage venture fund focused on the New York entrepreneurial ecosystem and other emerging tech markets like Austin. Josh embarked on a captivating and winding journey into the world of venture capital. His trajectory began with the acquisition of a company from his fraternity brothers at Wash U, propelling him into the trucking and logistics industry post-college, where he truly caught the entrepreneurial bug. His ventures extended even into the music industry, including a stint as the assistant tour manager for Hall 'n Oates. Subsequently, he founded a company that he later sold to Sony. Taking a leap of faith, Josh followed a trusted boss and mentor to a fledgling startup called Facebook. Nine years later, having played a significant role in establishing Facebook's NYC office, Josh garnered invaluable experience and forged connections with influential figures in the tech industry. After a hiatus prompted by his son "firing him from the house" post-Facebook, Josh rekindled his passion for entrepreneurship. He began advising founders in New York, eventually realizing that this was his true calling. Teaming up with like-minded friends, Josh co-founded Oceans. Each member brought specific expertise to the table, enabling them to support founders in a hands-on manner that went beyond the financial aspect. This approach earned them a stellar reputation among their founders. In the interview, Josh shares captivating stories, hearty laughs, and valuable lessons from his illustrious career. We're thrilled to present this engaging conversation with Josh to our audience. Without further ado, here's our discussion with Josh. Sources: https://oceans.ventures/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahnjoshua/ Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton https://www.colebauer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en Disclosure: The views, statements, and opinions, expressed herein by the hosts and guests are their own, and their appearance on the podcast should not be construed as reflecting the views or implied endorsement of Independent Brokerage Solutions LLC or any of its officers, employees, or agents. The statements made herein should not be considered an investment opinion, advice, or a recommendation regarding securities of any company. This podcast is produced solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security.

Duration:00:48:59