PODCAST · technology
52 Founders
by Crissy Costa
A weekly podcast series with tech entrepreneurs that aims to uncover the founder's DNA.
Episodes
-
*FINALE* Episode 52: Mickey Costa, Atlas
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Atlas operates on the ground, and how Mickey, who’s from New York, discovered this opportunity halfway across the globe -The challenges to building a company in West Africa, and why it was critical that the team lived there when they first were getting...
-
Episode 51: Christina Sass, Andela
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Andela’s cofounders, Christina and Jeremy Johnson, came together over shared values and vision about the opportunity in Africa -What it was like pitching to early stage investors, and why it was critical that they accompanied them to Africa to see the…
more -
Episode 50: Ryan Denehy, Electric
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Electric was born from Ryan’s own frustrations with IT in his previous company, and why he was on the look out for hardships during that time -Why Ryan decided to start his next company in NYC vs SF, where his former company Swarm was headquartered, and…
more -
Episode 49: Ro Gupta, Carmera
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The autonomous vehicle stack, and why companies aren’t building everything in house -Why Carmera decided to build its headquarters in New York versus the Bay, and the benefits of doing so -The entrepreneurial genes that run in Ro’s family, and why his parents...
-
Episode 48: Yifan Zhang, Loftium
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Loftium was inspired by Yifan’s own experience when she and her husband moved to Seattle and started renting out a spare bedroom -The new market Loftium has created for home buyers, and the company’s initial traction since its recent launch -The pros and...
-
Episode 47: May Habib, Qordoba
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How May’s travels to Asia while living in Abu Dhabi inspired the creation of Qordoba, in addition to growing up as a non-native English speaker -Why the company is named after the historic Spanish city Cordoba during the time of the Enlightenment, and examples...
-
Episode 46: Rebecca Sholiton, Wise Apple
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Rebecca’s time spent living in Lima, Peru working with female entrepreneurs, and why she left to go to Kellogg School of Management -How Rebecca’s friends’ experiences with “mom guilt” inspired the idea for Wise Apple -Why Wise Apple chose to go after the...
-
Episode 45: Pete Janes, ShieldPay
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The story behind ShieldPay’s origin, and why the company isn’t targeting the friends and family transaction space -How many UK startups use the country as a testing ground for ideas before scaling out into alternative markets such as the U.S. -Why Pete decided...
-
Episode 44: Ben Gilbert, Pioneer Square Labs
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How the Pioneer Square Labs model works, and why the team views the people that eventually run the company as the true founders -What qualities PSL looks for in these founders, and why domain knowledge is key -The startup ecosystem in Seattle, and why the big...
-
Episode 43: David Rabie, Tovala
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Tovala controls the entire end-to-end experience of each meal, from sourcing the ingredients to creating unique recipes with its in-house chefs -David’s background in the food industry, and how he found himself creating Tovala shortly after arriving at...
-
Episode 42: Carolyn Witte, Tia
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The opportunity Tia sees in the market for women’s health, and why the company is focused on millennial women -Carolyn’s perspective on raising funding as a female founder of a women’s healthcare company -How Tia is a hybrid of both her parents, particularly…
more -
Episode 41: Jonathan Baker, Simudyne
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why simulations have advanced in recent years, and why enterprises should utilize them for more scenarios than ever before -How Simudyne plans to first go after the financial services market while other sectors’ technology catches up -Why London has the best...
-
Episode 40 - Jack Altman, Lattice
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Lattice sprung from the growing pains Jack and his cofounder felt while working together at Teespring, and how Lattice has evolved from their original vision -Growing up in St. Louis, and why Jack is grateful that his formative years took place in a...
-
Episode 39: Mantas Gribulis, Accelerated Dynamics
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Mantas uncovered this opportunity and the initial applications Accelerated Dynamics is focusing on -Mantas’ response to people who might have concerns about unmanned drones that are programmed with artificial intelligence applications -Why Accelerated...
-
Episode 38: Mostafa ElSayed, Automata Technologies
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Automata’s product progression and the early surprises Mostafa and his cofounder uncovered when Eva was first introduced -The most common use cases Automata sees and how companies evaluate whether a robot could be useful for its business -Why London is the…
more -
Episode 37: Fred Stevens-Smith, Rainforest QA
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why Fred and his cofounder Russell decided to leave Europe and come to San Francisco to create their company -Fred’s family tradition that inspired him to think creatively about problems, even when he was a child -How Rainforest tries to incorporate diversity…
more -
Episode 36: Kim Marsh & Ale Breuer, Ezza
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Ezza stores plan to operate, and the thought process that went into the details behind the customer experience -The benefits of starting a business while obtaining an MBA, and how Chicago Booth’s New Venture Challenge helped make things happen -What it’s...
-
Episode 35: Charlie Osborn, Merlin Guides
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Charlie’s own experience trying to put in vacation time at Google inspired Merlin Guides -The value Charlie sees in the New York startup scene, and why the American market is extremely attractive to founders -How Charlie is really the perfect blend of both...
-
Episode 34: Alexandr Wang, Scale API
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The opportunity Alex saw for humans to amplify the results of machines, and how Scale API plans to act on it -Growing up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the birthplace of the Atomic bomb, and how its emphasis on science impacted Alex’s childhood -How working at...
-
Episode 33: Katherine Power, CMG
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -CMG’s evolution from its initial site, Who What Wear, to the conglomerate it’s become today -How Katherine ensures CMG remains close to the consumer, and why its critical to the company’s success in light of fashion’s globalization -Katherine’s early...
-
Episode 32: Sean Chou, Catalytic
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The state of innovation in Chicago, and how the startup ecosystem has changed since Sean built his first company -Sean’s transient childhood, and the hardships he saw his parents endure as Taiwanese immigrants who tried to be restauranteurs -Why hard work is…
more -
Episode 31: Jason Fried, Basecamp
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why constant work chatter is actually detrimental to progress, and how to avoid the FOMO that comes from not immediately responding to messages -How Basecamp’s maintained steady growth over the past 13 years, and why rapid growth is not necessarily synonymous...
-
Episode 30: Kevin Wang, Fossa
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Who the ideal Fossa customer is, and why enterprise companies are not the only ones who care about code quality and security -The evolution from TLDRLegal to Fossa, and the opportunity Kevin saw to create a sustainable business -How attending the Illinois...
-
Episode 29: Erica Brescia, Bitnami
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Bitnami evolved from a side project in 2008 to become a full fledged company in 2013 when the founders saw an opportunity surrounding the deployment experience -The pros and cons to raising outside funding, and why the Bitnami team choose to wait until the...
-
Episode 28: Scott Norton, Sir Kensington's
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Critical advice on how to bring new products to market, and how to find your ideal customer -Why business is fundamentally creative versus competitive -The strategy and decision making process as to why Sir Kensington’s is headquartered in New York City -How...
-
Episode 27: Luke Bonney, Redox
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -100 State, the largest coworking space in Wisconsin, and how it aims to be the center of gravity for the budding Madison entrepreneurial scene -How creating seven healthcare startups made the founders realize the need for Redox, and how the team solved the...
-
Episode 26: Max Lynch & Ben Sperry, Ionic
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The beginnings of Ionic, which originated from Codiqa, a drag-and-drop tool for jQuery mobile that stemmed from the desire (and frustration) to quickly build great apps -Why the pair feels so strongly about building Ionic from Madison, and the cabin (aka…
more -
Episode 25: Chieh Huang, Boxed
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why Boxed surprisingly has very little customer overlap with the traditional brick-and-mortar discount clubs -Why seasoned entrepreneurs go after different markets than first-timers, and how to look beyond just solving a problem -The culture behind Boxed that...
-
Episode 24: Vijen Patel, Pressbox
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How the idea for Pressbox started from Vijen’s aim to simply make life easier, and the other ideas he entertained before settling on dry cleaning -Vijen’s experience in high school reselling Cubs tickets at a lofty margin, and how that sparked his urge to be…
more -
Episode 23: Tracy DiNunzio, Tradesy
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Tradesy’s beginnings, and the little hacks Tracy did to build up both sides of the marketplace -Tracy’s transition from artist to entrepreneur and how she dealt with all of the responsibility that came with it -Why it’s important to pick activities that force...
-
Episode 22: Danielle Strachman, 1517 Fund
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why Danielle and Michael decided to focus solely on younger founders, regardless of whether or not they attended university -How starting a venture fund increased her empathy for entrepreneurs, particularly through fundraising efforts -Danielle’s experience...
-
Episode 21: Corbett Drummey, Popular Pays
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Popular Pays evolved its product since its inception based on the feedback it got from its initial customers -Why building a company on a mission is more important (and challenging) to Corbett that figuring out ways to simply make a profit -His father’s…
more -
Episode 20: Roy Pereira, Zoom.ai
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How one customer with over 5,000 employees saved $48M in savings in a year from offloading these everyday tasks to Zoom -Why Toronto is the ideal location for creating a machine learning / AI company, and how it’s become the 3rd largest technology hub in North...
-
Episode 19: Rachel Silver, Love Stories TV
In this episode you’ll hear about: -The struggles of content marketers today, and why media startups need to be especially scrappy and resourceful to succeed -The present opening Rachel sees in media companies and who the Love Stories TV’s typical user is (it may surprise you) -Rachel’s childhood...
-
Episode 18: Sinan Ozdemir, Kylie.ai
In this episode you’ll hear about: -The origins of Kylie.ai, and why it’s entrepreneurs should always listen to prospective customers when developing new products -How his mother’s blend of math and psychology, and his father’s 30+ year tenure working at GE, inspired him to be an entrepreneur...
-
Episode 17: Taylor Katzman, Tiz
In this episode you’ll hear about: -When Taylor first saw the opportunity for Tiz, and why he decided to work at -Drizly before striking out on his own -The benefits of launching a startup in Chicago over San Francisco, and why top universities are critical to the ecosystem -How Taylor broke the...
-
Episode 16: Vivian Chan, Sparrho
In this episode you’ll hear about: -Why innovation tends to happen at the cross-section of disciplines, and how Sparrho is helping foster that innovation -Vivian’s childhood growing up in Australia (with parents working in education and publishing) where she discovered a love for science -The...
-
Episode 15: Aneesh Varma, Aire
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The genesis of Aire, the vision Aneesh sees for the next 20+ years, and how to show value to investors along the way -His own transient childhood as the son of the diplomat (and a journalist), and how the “start, restart” mindset led way to entrepreneurship...
-
Episode 14: Aleksandra Wozniak, Cleo
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why it was important for Cleo to have a personality, and the opportunity Aleksandra sees in the space -Growing up in Poland and how her father helped foster her early interest with -technology -How, as a child, computer science felt like wizardry, where…
more -
Episode 13: Aksh Gupta, Occasion
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How the idea for Occasion was born out of frustration from being unable to reserve tennis court time in Chicago -Aksh’s view on how AI will transform his industry -The long lineage of entrepreneurship in Aksh’s family, and how it molded his childhood dreams…
more -
Episode 12: Abhinav Agrawal
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why being EIRs at Social Capital before officially starting Renzu helped the founders substantially add initial value when fleshing out ideas -How Renzu got potential customers to be angel investors before landing capital from venture firms like Redpoint -His...
-
Episode 11: James Schuler, Atlas
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why cryptocurrency is more easily adopted in the developing world -How James’ first foray intro entrepreneurship at age 12 led to a series of different ventures (and why the passion is still the same regardless) -James’ perspective on education and skipping...
-
Episode 10: Brian Coe, SlipChip
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why Brian’s thinks entrepreneurship is a means to an end, and why acquisitions that grow your business can be more gratifying than doing it on your own. -How his childhood independence was due to his “submarine” parents (i.e. the opposite of today’s helicopter...
-
Episode 9: Andy Sparks, Mattermark
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How Andy’s cofounder Danielle convinced him to stay in the Valley to build what would later become Mattermark -Why a company’s data tells more of a story than its press releases -The pivotal moment for Mattermark, where publishing an article on Zombie VCs…
more -
Episode 8: Marc Nager, Startup Weekend
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Why Marc prefers to build startup ecosystems outside the major cities in the U.S., and why entrepreneurship can thrive anywhere -The genesis of Startup Weekend, and when the lightbulb went off for Marc that these events were where great ideas begin -Marc’s...
-
Episode 7: Gowri Rao, CareerLark
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -The travels her family did each summer growing up, alternating between India -and new locations, and how this influenced her curiosity -How even as a child, Gowri aspired to be a doctor, rocket scientist, and professor rather than the typical “princess fairy”...
-
Episode 6: Sarah Ponn, Surfset Fitness
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -Surfset’s appearance on Good Morning America, and how Sarah’s scrappiness made it a success -The decision to get funding from Shark Tank versus a traditional venture route or entirely bootstrapping -How Surfset avoided being a trend-driven fitness activity to...
-
Episode 5: Dan Teran, Managed by Q
In this episode, you’ll hear about: -How the company originally focused on residences rather than offices before realizing there was a better opportunity in the latter -Why it’s all about the company’s narrative during a startups early phases -The sustainable infrastructure program Dan created...
-
Episode 4: Jesse Horwitz, Hubble Contacts
In this episode you’ll hear about: -How Hubble got its name from the Hubble Space Telescope, which actually needed a contact lens to correct its vision. -Jesse’s experiences starting a movie club and a mentoring group that showed him he could build something from nothing. -How his experience...
-
Episode 3: Danny Ellis, SkySpecs
In this episode you’ll hear about: -How SkySpecs was born out of the University of Michigan’s incubator after building a drone for a senior design project. -How his years running a landscaping business in high school with a friend built his foundation for entrepreneurship. -Why a strong network…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
A weekly podcast series with tech entrepreneurs that aims to uncover the founder's DNA.
HOSTED BY
Crissy Costa
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does 52 Founders have?
52 Founders currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is 52 Founders about?
A weekly podcast series with tech entrepreneurs that aims to uncover the founder's DNA.
How often does 52 Founders release new episodes?
52 Founders has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to 52 Founders?
You can listen to 52 Founders on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts 52 Founders?
52 Founders is created and hosted by Crissy Costa.
URL copied to clipboard!