businessroundups.org Live had some great shows over the past few months. I know it’s hard to keep up. Every Wednesday at 12:00 PM PDT, the live event features top founders and investors talking about the issues facing their industry right now. The interviews are led by top businessroundups.org Editors (and me). If you can’t make the live shows, they are available on YouTube to watch and the podcasts embedded here.
I would like you to watch the events live. You can register for this week’s show here.
Table of Contents
Identity and identifying a good deal
Today’s interview was led by businessroundups.org Global Managing Editor, Ingrid Lunden. Ingrid has spoken Rick Songone of the co-founders of Persona, which has built and offers a wide range of identity verification solutions to address the ever-growing problem of identity fraud. Joining Rick is Mark Goldberg by Index companiesa company that made a foresighted move to recognize and support Persona early on.
Mark and Rick talked to us about:
- How Persona keeps pace with AI verification and online trust
- How Index Ventures is riding the wave of startup growth
- And the unique and complex issues facing the public with AI
How Cambrian BioPharma is reinventing drug development and pharmaceutical companies
Matt Burns spoke to James Peyerthe co-founder of Cambrian BioPharmaAnd Maryanna Saenkoco-founder and partner at Future ventures. Cambrian BioPharma is a new pharmaceutical start-up with a revolutionary approach to developing and managing age-related diseases.
However, what we’re most interested in is how Cambrian’s management team attracts and retains top talent. (Spoiler: They give them too much equity compared to traditional drug companies.)
James and Maryanna talked to us about:
- To develop anti-aging therapies in a way that works with the existing regulatory framework
- How James and Maryanna Solve the Venture Capital Math Problem
- But first, we talked about moving research from academia to the real world and combating misconceptions and buzzwords around longevity biotech
Who plays the long game in edtech?
Today’s interview was led by businessroundups.org Senior Reporter and edtech expert, Natasha Mascarenhas. Natasha spoke Sam Chaudharythe founder of ClassDojo, which spent eight years building the edtech consumer app targeting student classrooms before introducing a formal monetization model. Joining Sam is his investor Chris Farmerthe founder and CEO of SignalFirea venture start-up company that recently raised $900 million in four new funds.
Sam and Chris talked to us about:
- How Sam played the long game in edtech and what he would do differently if he had to do it all over again
- Why SignalFire chose to navigate the edtech space, especially the connection between children and consumers
- How Chris sees investing in companies that are in no rush to make money
- The “outside advantage” and the insider tension
Dealing with uncertainty with Habi and Inspired Capital
Matt Burns spoke to Brynne McNulty Rojas, who is the co-founder and CEO of Habi, the hot real estate startup from Colombia that reached unicorn status last year. Brynne founded Habi to provide modern home buying tools to low and middle class homebuyers in her home country of Colombia. Now, with a valuation of over $1 billion USD, Habi is a serious player in the Latin American home buying market, where the majority of homes for sale are not listed online. Joining Brynne in this conversation is Mark Batsiyana co-founder and partner at Inspired Capital.
Brynne and Mark talked to us about:
- Habi’s growth and what it was like working with US based investors
- How Brynne built her team’s confidence in a period of uncertainty
- The value of transparency and vulnerability sharing
- And advice to founders growing up in today’s market
AI innovation for in vitro fertilization with Root Ventures and Oma Fertility
Today’s interview was led by Neesha Tambe, businessroundups.org’s Startup Battlefield editor who is also largely responsible for the hundreds of startups pitching and exhibiting at businessroundups.org Disrupt. But she’s here today because of her personal experience with IVF. Neesha spoke with Grandma Robotics o founder Kiran Joshi And Carrot companies Partner Chrissy Mayer. Unlike many other fertility providers, Oma focuses on male infertility, and today we’re going to hear a few things:
- Grandma Fertility’s experience building a healthcare business during a global pandemic
- How Root made the leap to virtual-first investing, which is now the new normal
- And how founders can write their story and stand out in a busy market
