Bettina Hein, Exemplary Repeat Founder in "Fearless Founder" - Ep. 26

Bettina Hein is the founder of Pixability, one of the fastest-growing companies in Massachusetts. She was also co-founder of SVOX, a profitable Swiss startup sold to Nuance Communications for $125MM. This record may make her success seem easier to achieve than it was. Bettina Hein overcame numerous obstacles to justify the sobriquet "Fearless Founder". Learn from her as I did. She is an exemplar of resilience, grace under fire and plain common sense. She also has much to teach us about how a startup might best raise money. Whenever I ask angel investors about a remarkable pivot by a founder, there's a good chance Bettina's name will come up. Don't miss this charming and instructive conversation with a star founder. Here are topics and quotes from the interview: Bettina Hein Bio How Bettina Hein Found Her Entrepreneurial Path in Life Bettina Hein Used to Write Computer Programs in Fourth Grade but Did Not Learn to Code in College; Why? Professors Discouraged Bettina Hein from Pursuing a Career in the Sciences "If I had to go back, I would probably get an undergraduate degree in either electrical engineering or computer science." "I think I wanted to be an entrepreneur very early on. There's just that example that was set in my family. There's no one in my family that has had a nine to five job ever, except my brother…" Bettina Hein Founds an Entrepreneurship Initiative for Students at her University Called Start, that Leads her to Brains-to-Venture, Which Connects Her with Her co-founders in SVOX SVOX Has a $125 MM Exit to Nuance Communications Bettina Hein Starts Pixability – Looked for Co-founders But Could Not Find Any Willing Takers – How She made Being a Solo Founder Work Pixability's Storied Pivots "We help large brands and their agencies place their video advertising and optimize it on YouTube, and we've expanded to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter." How Pixability's Platform Impacts the Viewing Public "Consumers like it better, and brands get more out of it." Sal Daher Reads an iTunes Review from HealthTech617 – Asks You to Leave a Review on iTunes Bettina Hein's Advice on Fundraising for a Startup Bettina Hein on How Things Change Once a Startup Gets Venture Funding Bettina Hein Thinks Founders Are Scared of Having a Board So They Miss out on a Lot "Many beginning entrepreneurs are scared of having a board. They fear the meddling in their business. They fear that people will force decisions on them, on the board. I have not seen that ever happen." "For me, often times the exercise of preparing for a board meeting is almost more important than the board meeting itself because it allows me to really think through the narrative of the company." Bettina Hein's Way of Balancing Work & Family Bettina Hein on Fundraising While Pregnant Bettina Hein on Marketing Technology's Crowded Landscape