Welcome to The Vitalize Podcast by Vitalize Venture Capital

Episodes

Jan. 27, 2022

Startup Investing: Utilizing Storytelling, Building Resilience, and Leveraging Creativity, with Mac Conwell of RareBreed Ventures

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Mac Conwell (@MacConwell), Managing Partner at RareBreed Ventures, a pre-seed fund that invests in exceptional founders outside of large tech ecosystems, earlier than everyone else.
Jan. 25, 2022

Future of Work: Anoop Gupta of SeekOut, on Driving Enterprise Talent Optimization and the Transition from Big Tech to Startup Founder

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Anoop Gupta (@anoopxgupta), CEO and Co-Founder of SeekOut, the AI-powered Talent 360 platform. SeekOut provides companies with a comprehensive view of internal employees and extern…
Jan. 20, 2022

Startup Investing: Simplifying the Fundraising Process for Founders, with Jordi Hays of Party Round

Justin Gordon (justingordon212) talks with Jordi Hays (@jordihays), Co-Founder and CEO of investing platform Party Round. Party Round is building better tools for founders, starting with an automated fundraising tool.
Jan. 18, 2022

Startup Investing: The Journey from Operator to Investor with Katie Shea, Managing Partner at Divergent Capital

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Katie Shea (@katiesheasays), Managing Partner at Divergent Capital, a first check investor for startups commercializing unique technological & scientific innovations coupled with a…
Jan. 13, 2022

Future of Work: Transforming Customer Service with Human-Centered AI and Navigating a Rapidly Growing Distributed Team, with Deon Nicholas of Forethought

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Deon Nicholas (@dojiboy9), CEO and Co-Founder of Forethought, the 2018 TechCrunch Disrupt winner that is transforming the customer support experience through human-centered AI.
Jan. 11, 2022

Future of Work: Making Learning Culture Pervasive in the Workplace with Ted Blosser, CEO and Co-Founder of WorkRamp

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Ted Blosser (@TedBlosser), CEO and Co-Founder of WorkRamp, the leading end-to-end training platform for educating employees and customers at scale.
Jan. 6, 2022

Angel Investing: Romeen Sheth, on Growing and Connecting Authentically as an Operator, Investor, and Creator

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth), who runs $50M bootstrapped business Metasys Technologies, angel invests regularly, and hosts his own podcast, Square One.
Jan. 4, 2022

Startup Investing: Trace Cohen of New York Venture Partners on How to Manage Deal Flow, Evaluate Startups, and Partner with Great Founders

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Trace Cohen (@Trace_Cohen), Managing Director of New York Venture Partners where he manages over 50 direct early stage startup investments.
Dec. 30, 2021

Future of Work: Leveraging Technology to Provide a Better Employee Experience and Cultivate Healthy Company Culture, with Claire Schmidt of AllVoices

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Claire Schmidt (@clairecaveny), Founder and CEO of AllVoices, an employee feedback management platform that empowers employees to anonymously provide feedback, ask questions, share…
Dec. 28, 2021

Angel Investing: Sequoia Scout Ellen DaSilva on Deal Sourcing Via Twitter and Leveraging Your Value Add Beyond Capital as an Investor

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Ellen DaSilva (@ellenjdasilva), who is an active angel investor and scout with Sequoia Capital, focusing on Seed and Series A consumer tech companies.
Dec. 23, 2021

Startup Investing: Eva Ho, General Partner at Fika Ventures, on Building a Multi-Firm Franchise, the Shift from Operator to Investor, and Embracing Discomfort

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Eva Ho (@eva_ho), General Partner at Fika Ventures, an LA-based boutique seed fund that invests in founders solving meaningful, systemic problems through the use of data, related A…
Dec. 21, 2021

Angel Investing: Alexandra Zatarain, Co-Founder of Eight Sleep, on Brand Repositioning, Storytelling as a Growth Strategy, and Angel Investing as a Way of Giving Back

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Alexandra Zatarain (@a_zatarain), co-founder and VP of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, the world's first sleep fitness company. Eight Sleep designs tech-enabled products, conte…
Dec. 19, 2021

Startup Investing: From VC-Backed Founder to Partner at Gradient Ventures with Wen-Wen Lam

In this episode of The Vitalize Podcast, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Wen-Wen Lam ((@wenwen)) Partner at Gradient Ventures. Former CEO and co-founder of NexTravel (YC15)- acquired by Travelperk in 2020. Adviso…
Dec. 14, 2021

Startup Investing: Hunter Walk of Homebrew on Launching a Venture Fund, Supporting Underrepresented Emerging Managers, and the Benefits of Writing as an Investor

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Hunter Walk (@hunterwalk) Partner at Homebrew - Providing early-stage investment, assistance & love to entrepreneurs building companies for the Bottom Up Economy. Investments inclu…
Dec. 9, 2021

Angel Investing: Insights from 70+ Investments with David Chang, Entrepreneur and Angel Investor

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with David Chang (@changds) in this episode. David is an entrepreneur and angel investor who has held operating roles at six startups and invested in 70+ companies. He was most recently…
Dec. 7, 2021

Future of Work: Providing Childcare as a Benefit with Jessica Chang of WeeCare, the Largest Childcare Network in the U.S.

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Jessica Chang (@jessicajchang) Co-founder and CEO at WeeCare, a childcare network that provides access to affordable, high-quality childcare while supporting childcare providers in…
Dec. 2, 2021

Startup Investing: Building a World-class Network to Support Founders with Anne Dwane of Village Global

Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Anne Dwane (@adwane) Co-founder and Partner at Village Global - an early-stage venture fund backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. From how they invest in sta…
Nov. 30, 2021

Startup Investing: Launching a Rolling Fund, How to Find Investments, and Playing the Early-Stage Game with Andrew Gluck of IrrvrntVC

In this episode of The Vitalize Podcast, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Andrew Gluck (@irrvrntVC) the GP of irrvrntVC, a firm focused on early-stage companies in the DTC, AdTech, and NextGen Commerce areas. He e…
Nov. 24, 2021

Angel Investing: Creating Your Thesis, Building Conviction, and Investing in the Future of Work with Stella Garber, Former Head of Marketing at Trello

In this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Stella Garber (@startupstella) former Head of Marketing at Trello and Angel Investor. Stella invests in the Future of Work and serves as an advisor for Origin Vent…
Nov. 22, 2021

Angel Investing: Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize on Building a Portfolio, Identifying Strong Opportunities, and Increasing the Number of Women Investors

In this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC) Founder and Managing Partner of Vitalize Venture Capital, a $16M seed-stage fund, and 300+ member angel investing community called Vi…
Nov. 16, 2021

Startup Investing: Leo Polovets of Susa Ventures on Getting Access to Deals, Moats for Startups, and Insights from 70 Angel Investments

In this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Leo Polovets (@lpolovets) a co-founder and General Partner at Susa Ventures. Leo invests across sectors but mostly focuses on b2b companies. A few specific sectors…
Sept. 23, 2021

Introducing Vitalize Angels: Angel Investing for Everyone | Episode #013

Vitalize Angels offers "angel investing for everyone" and in this episode, we take you behind the scenes to tell you how we did it. Learn more and join here: https://vitalize.vc/vitalizeangels/
Aug. 2, 2021

Kai Han | Co-Founder of Pallet | Episode #012

Kai Han is the Co-Founder of Pallet. Pallet is building an infrastructure for modern hiring through tools designed for communities and creators. Founded in 2020, Pallet has raised 7 million in funding over 2 rounds.
July 15, 2021

Wes Kao, Co-Founder of Maven | Episode #011

Wes Kao is the Co-Founder of Maven, a platform for cohort-based and community-driven courses. Maven partners with the world's best instructors to deliver a live and online student experience at scale. Prior to Maven, Wes …