Welcome to The Vitalize Podcast by Vitalize Venture Capital

Startup Investing Episodes

Dec. 8, 2022

Deep Dive: How Gale Wilkinson Conducts Founder Calls

In this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks again with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC), Founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed-stage venture fund and angel community investing in The Work Revolution. In t…
Nov. 11, 2022

Growing Organically via Twitter, Building Remote-First Company Culture, and Taking on Legacy Brands, with Vowel’s CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Berman

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Andrew Berman (@berman66), Co-Founder and CEO of Vowel, the world's first complete meeting solution designed to make every meeting more inclusive and worthwhile – before, during, a…
Nov. 3, 2022

How to Build Resilient Companies, Supporting Mental Health to Prevent Founder Flight, and Running a Concentrated Portfolio, with Matt Cohen of Ripple Ventures

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Matt Cohen (@mattybcohen), Founder and Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures, an early-stage venture fund seeking investments in B2B SaaS Startups in various industries ripe for disr…
Oct. 13, 2022

Propelling Founders to Success, Gen Z’s Impact on the Future of Work, and Being a Lifelong Learner, with Anna Barber of M13

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Anna Barber (@annawbarber), partner at M13, a venture firm accelerating businesses in the future of consumer behavior with four pillars: Health, Money, Work and Commerce.
Sept. 29, 2022

Authentic and Engaging VC Marketing, Transitioning from Angel Investor to Fund Manager, and Avoiding Common Failure Patterns, with Dan Kimerling of Deciens Capital

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Dan Kimerling (@dkimerling), Founder and Managing Partner of Deciens Capital, a venture capital firm that supports early-stage founders building the next generation of enduring com…
Sept. 22, 2022

Democratizing and Diversifying the VC Industry and the Impact of VC Policymaking Trends on the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, with Bobby Franklin of NVCA

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Bobby Franklin, the President and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association (@nvca) and Board Chair of Venture Forward. Since 2013, Bobby Franklin has led the venture communi…
Sept. 15, 2022

Cold Outreach Done Right, Turning Accelerator Rejections into Offers, Defining North Star Metrics, and the Dark Art of Pricing, with Patrick Utz of Abstract

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Patrick Utz (@PatrickUtz), Co-Founder & CEO of Abstract, the premier platform and database for working with California state & local legislation that’s bringing lobbying and advoca…
Sept. 1, 2022

Doubling Fund I to Raise a $203M Fund II, What Makes a Stellar Founder, and Why a Market Downturn is a Great Time to Invest in Startups, with Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital

Justin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with Marlon Nichols (@MarlonCNichols), the founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building the future that…
Aug. 25, 2022

Evaluating Never-Ending Innovation in Enterprise Stacks and Raising Three Funds as a Solo Female GP, with Shruti Gandhi of Array Ventures

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Shruti Gandhi (@atShruti), founder and General Partner of Array Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on solving impactful problems in the world leveraging revolutionary te…
Aug. 11, 2022

Disrupting and Democratizing Venture Capital, an Inside Look at SEC Regulations, and How to Survive Fundraising, with Jesse Randall of Sweater Ventures

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jesse Randall (@SweaterCEO), CEO and Co-Founder of Sweater Ventures, a VC fund that pools money from millions of regular people and invests it into emerging technology and product …
Aug. 4, 2022

The FOODS Founder Evaluation Framework, Post-Investment Support, and Protecting Your Time, with Shayna Harris and Noramay Cadena of Supply Change Capital

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Shayna Harris (@mamashayna) and Noramay Cadena (@noramayc), co-founders and managing partners at Supply Change Capital, a VC firm that believes in a future of food that is sustaina…
July 29, 2022

Raising a $50M Fund to Elevate Diverse Founders, Impactful Fund Differentiation, and Co-Founder Value Alignment, with Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko of f7 Ventures

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Kelly Graziadei (@kkgraz) and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, the founders and General Partners of f7 Ventures (@F7Ventures), a seed investment fund comprised of seven senior female operato…
July 14, 2022

Amplifying Underrepresented Voices, Raising a $52M Fund, and Being a Solo Latina GP in the Midwest, with Samara Hernandez of Chingona Ventures

Justin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with (@SamaraMHernandz), the Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures, an institutionally-backed pre-seed stage fund investing in the next generation of badass founders building technology …
July 7, 2022

Raising a $25M Fund, Implementing a Narrow Investment Thesis, and Hawke Ventures’ Unique Portfolio Construction Strategy, with Drew Leahy

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Drew Leahy, Managing Partner at Hawke Ventures (@hawkeventures), an early stage consumer and B2B marketing technology fund. He is also the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Hawke Media.
June 30, 2022

Organic Growth Loops, Customer-Led Product Development, Raising a $13.5M Series A, and the No-Code Landscape, with Mariam Hakobyan of Softr

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Mariam Hakobyan (@mariam_hakobyan), Co-Founder and CEO of Softr, the easiest no-code platform for building custom apps and portals, in minutes. With Softr, you can build client por…