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The Bearhug Experience

by Kraig Ward

Welcome to The Bearhug Experience, where we cozy up to the fire in our digital den and immerse ourselves in the inspiration born from exploring the hidden narratives and inevitable plot twists that shape every compelling startup journey. Join us as we showcase inspirational guests, from bold investors with the Midas touch to pioneering entrepreneurs at the helm of today's most thrilling startups. We'll also hear from courageous go-to-market leaders navigating the frontier of emerging tech and the unsung heroes bringing all the people and parts together to form unstoppable dream teams!

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Episodes

  1. (Funding Recap #37) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 12/23/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap ($290.5 million raised across 10 featured companies): 1. Slip Robotics, led by Chris Smith, has raised $28 million in a Series B funding round. Slip Robotics provides automated truck-loading robots-as-a-service, enabling users to auto-load and unload any...

  2. (Funding Recap #36) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 12/16/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap ($264 million raised across 10 featured companies): 1. Terradot, led by James Kanoff, has raised $58.2 million funding, including $4.2 million in Seed funding and a $54 million Series A funding round. Terradot is a climate company that transforms rock...

  3. (Funding Recap #35) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 12/9/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap ($478.42 million raised across 11 featured companies): 1. AMP, led by Matanya Horowitz, has raised $91 million in a Series D funding round. AMP provides AI-powered sortation systems for the waste and recycling industry, using deep learning to identify...

  4. (Funding Recap #34) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 12/2/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap ($135.2 million raised across 7 featured companies): 1. Teleo, led by Vinay Shet, has raised $16.2 million in a Series A funding round. Teleo develops autonomous technology for heavy equipment, turning traditional machinery such as dump trucks, wheel...

  5. (Funding Recap #33) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 11/25/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap ($545.5 million raised across 18 featured companies): 1. OceanWell, led by Robert Bergstrom, has raised an $11 million Series A funding round. OceanWell develops modular deep-sea water farms designed for reverse osmosis desalination, harnessing natural...

  6. (Funding Recap #32) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 11/18/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. General Galactic, led by Halen Mattison, has raised an $8 million Seed funding round. General Galactic develops fossil-free fuel generation technology, transforming industrial CO2 waste streams into carbon-neutral natural gas. 2. Outbuild, led by…

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  7. (Funding Recap #31) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 11/11/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Advex, led by Pedro Pachuca, has raised a $3.5 million Seed funding round. Advex provides AI Vision solutions for industrial manufacturing, specializing in self-healing AI Vision models that leverage diffusion-based synthetic data. 2. Transaera, led by...

  8. (Funding Recap #30) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 11/4/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. LuxWall, led by Scott Thomsen, has raised a $51 million Series B funding round. LuxWall is a leader in glass-based transparent insulation solutions, focused on reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions from buildings. 2. Third Wave, led by…

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  9. (Funding Recap #29) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 10/28/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Pantheon AI, led by David Mace, has raised a $25 million Series A funding round. Pantheon provides artificial intelligence-enabled architectural services that streamline processes for developers, owners, and tenants. 2. BiltOn, led by Omer Slavin, has...

  10. (Funding Recap #28) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 10/21/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Beacon AI, led by Matt Cox, has raised $15 million in Series A funding. Beacon AI is an aviation software technology company specializing in advanced AI systems that augment commercial and defense pilots. 2. Solubag, led by Cristian Olivares, has…

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  11. (Funding Recap #27) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 10/14/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Lithios, led by Mo Alkhadra, has raised a $12 million Seed funding round. Lithios develops electrochemical lithium extraction technology designed to efficiently extract lithium from untapped brine deposits. 2. Airloom, led by Neal Rickner, has raised a...

  12. (Funding Recap #26) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 10/7/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Neeve, led by Nitesh Trikha, has raised a $15 million Series A funding round. Neeve offers a cloud platform for managing smart buildings and spaces, deployed in over 650 buildings globally. 2. 3Laws Robotics, led by Andrew Singletary, has raised a $4.1...

  13. (Funding Recap #25) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 9/30/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. David Energy, led by James McGinniss, has raised a $23 million Series A funding round. David Energy is a retail energy provider focused on decarbonizing the energy sector through real-time energy management, aiming to reduce the environmental impact...

  14. (Funding Recap #24) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 9/23/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Slingshot Aerospace, led by Tim Solms, has raised a $30 million Growth Capital funding round. Slingshot Aerospace develops AI-powered solutions for satellite tracking and space traffic coordination, enhancing operational safety. The funds will scale...

  15. (Funding Recap #23) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 9/16/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. StackGen, led by Sachin Aggarwal, has raised a $12.3 million Seed funding round. StackGen generates infrastructure from code, automating development processes for platform engineers and DevOps teams. The funds will accelerate product development and...

  16. (Funding Recap #22) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 9/9/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Oxylus Energy, led by Perry Bakas, has raised a $4.5 million Seed funding round. Oxylus Energy converts CO2 into green methanol through low-temperature processes, targeting sectors like shipping and aviation. The funds will support development and…

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  17. (Funding Recap #21) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 9/2/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Butlr, led by Honghao Deng, has raised $38 million in Series B funding. Butlr offers an AI-driven platform to monitor movements and occupancy in spaces, optimizing real estate, health, and energy efficiency without capturing personal data. 2. Planera,...

  18. (Funding Recap #20) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 8/26/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Trunk Tools, led by Sarah Buchner, has raised a $20 million Series A funding round. Trunk Tools offers an AI platform that automates construction workflows, using AI agents to manage tasks and prevent delays or budget overruns. 2. Allstacks, led by…

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  19. (Funding Recap #19) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 8/19/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. UptimeAI, led by Jagadish Gattu, has raised a $14 million Series A funding round. UptimeAI provides AI-based plant monitoring software to help industrial firms optimize asset performance and detect anomalies in sectors like oil, gas, and utilities. 2....

  20. (Funding Recap #18) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 8/12/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Contextual AI, led by Douwe Kiela, has raised an $80 million Series A funding round. Contextual AI offers a platform that enables enterprises to build custom language models for enhancing AI applications, with secure deployment options. 2. Energy…

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  21. (Funding Recap #17) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 8/5/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Leaf, led by G. Bailey Stockdale, has raised a $11.3 million Series A funding round. Leaf provides a unified farm data API and platform to streamline farm data processing for agriculture and food companies. 2. Applied Carbon, led by Jason Aramburu, has...

  22. (Funding Recap #16) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 7/29/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Cowboy Clean Fuels, led by Ryan Waddington, has raised approximately $13 million in Series B funding. Cowboy Clean Fuels utilizes depleted coal bed methane wells to generate carbon-negative renewable natural gas using agricultural byproducts. 2. Star...

  23. (Funding Recap #15) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 7/22/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Jacobi Robotics, led by Max Cao, has raised a $5 million Seed funding round. Jacobi Robotics is commercializing AI-powered motion planning technology to improve robot programming and performance. 2. Alvys, led by Nick Darman, has raised a $20.5 million...

  24. (Funding Recap #14) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 7/15/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Niva, led by Abhinav Rai, has raised a $3.3 million Seed funding round. Niva provides a global business identity platform that helps businesses build trust, reduce onboarding times, and simplify compliance with AI-driven fraud detection. 2. nodaFi, led...

  25. (Funding Recap #13) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 7/8/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Uncaged Innovations, led by Stephanie Downs, has raised a $5.6 million Seed funding round. Uncaged Innovations creates sustainable, animal-free leather from grains using its BioFuze technology, emitting less greenhouse gas and conserving water and...

  26. (Funding Recap #12) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 7/1/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Kinetic, led by Nikhil Naikal, raised $21 million in Series B funding. Kinetic provides digital maintenance for modern vehicles, including EVs, using AI and robotics through its network of service centers. 2. M2X Energy, led by Josh Browne, raised $40...

  27. (Funding Recap #11) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 6/24/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Hona, led by Manny Griffiths, has raised a $9.5 million Series A funding round. Hona specializes in client engagement software for law firms, automating updates, data collection, and communication processes. 2. Hark, led by Fran Brzyski, has raised a...

  28. (Funding Recap #10) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 6/17/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Viaduct, led by David Hallac, has raised a $10 million Series B funding round. Viaduct provides AI-driven solutions for connected vehicles to predict, identify, and solve product failures. 2. Anterior, led by Abdel Mahmoud, has raised a $20 million...

  29. (Funding Recap #9) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 6/10/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Caju AI, led by Otavio Freire, has raised a $3 million Seed funding round. Caju AI provides a platform, renowned for its Generative AI capabilities, that captures and analyzes customer communications across all messaging channels as well as customer...

  30. (Funding Recap #8) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 6/3/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. TraceAir, led by Dmitry Korolev and Maria Khokhlova, has raised a $25 million Series B funding round. TraceAir is a provider of construction site analysis and management solutions for land development and homebuilding. 2. Sagetap, led by Sahil Khanna,...

  31. (Funding Recap #7) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 5/27/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Subeca, led by Patrick Keaney, has raised a $6 million Series A funding round. Subeca has built a smart water meter register that retrofits onto a majority of existing water meters in under one minute, essentially making dumb meters smart. 2. Ketos…

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  32. (Funding Recap #6) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 5/20/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Pepper, led by Bowie Cheung, has raised a $30 million Series B funding round. Pepper is an eCommerce platform for food services, convenience stores, and other marketplaces, which features a suite of AI powered tools for the distributor sales rep and...

  33. (Funding Recap #5) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 5/13/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. ChangeEngine, led by Andrew Higashi, has raised a $10 million Series A funding round. ChangeEngine syncs with employee data, creates persona segments for targeted communication, aligns visual content with brand identity, and offers a suite of AI…

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  34. (Funding Recap #4) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 5/6/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Backflip, led by Josh Ernst, has raised a $15 million Series A funding round. Backflip is a real estate financial technology company that supports entrepreneurs to acquire and renovate single family homes, thereby reinvigorating the housing supply and...

  35. (Funding Recap #3) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 4/29/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Exowatt, led by Hannan Parvizian, has raised a $20 million Seed funding round. Exowatt provides a modular energy platform designed to power energy-intensive data centers. 2. Nominal, led by Cameron McCord, has raised both a $7.5M Seed + a $20M Series A...

  36. (Funding Recap #2) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 4/22/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Ecotrak, led by Matt Singer, has raised a $30 million Venture round. Ecotrak is an Enterprise Asset Management software platform that simplifies facilities management through modern web and mobile applications for multi-site owners and operators of...

  37. (Funding Recap #1) Bearhug Recruiting's Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap! 4/15/24

    Here’s this week’s startup funding recap: 1. Archetype AI, led by Ivan Poupyrev, has raised $13m in Seed funding. Archetype AI has emerged from stealth with the launch of Newton™, the first foundation AI model that can understand the physical world. 2. Cyera, led by Yotam Segev, has secured a…

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  38. (#14) Rohit Gupta: Auditoria, Transforming Corporate Finance Using AI, Entrepreneurship, Early Stage Ventures, M&A, Adaptability, Resilience, Curiosity & Getting Comfortable Getting Out Comfort Zones

    Kraig Ward speaks with Rohit Gupta. The Co-Founder & CEO of Auditoria.AI – the leading cognitive automation provider for ERP and Corporate Finance teams, backed by top investors such as Venrock, Neotribe Ventures, Engineering Capital, KPMG and Workday Ventures. Rohit is a serial entrepreneur,...

  39. (#13) David Connors: The Swarm, Go-To-Network is the new Go-To-Market, Carving out Signal from the Noise, Growth, Evolution, Power of Warm Introductions & Relationship-Driven Sales in the Age of AI.

    Kraig Ward speaks with David Connors, Co-Founder & CEO of The Swarm. David is a 3x startup founder, including an exit to Sequoia Capital who acquired his outbound recruiting automation startup Automately. After the acquisition, David joined the Sequoia team as their Director of Recruiting...

  40. (#12) Maria Khokhlova: TraceAir, Construction Acceleration, Laser Physics to Moving Dirt on Construction Sites, Resilience, Flexibility, Merging Cultures, Joy Projects & The Power of Deep Empathy.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Maria Khokhlova, the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at TraceAir, a sitework intelligence platform for Land Developers and Homebuilders. TraceAir is the #1 provider of construction site analysis and management solutions for sitework. TraceAir’s cutting-edge technology...

  41. (#11) Aaron Rubens: Kudoboard, Celebrating Moments That Matter At Work, Building Products that Deliver Joy, Gratitude & Appreciation At Scale, Staying Capital Efficient & Riding Viral Waves.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Aaron Rubens, the Co-Founder & CEO of Kudoboard, an online workplace appreciation software that’s helping tens of millions of people every day at top companies globally, work harder, and stick around longer, thanks to feeling more appreciated at work. Aaron graduated from...

  42. (#10) Phil Dur: PeakSpan Capital, GTM Mechanization, Capital Efficiency, Responsible Value Creation, Pragmatic Optimism, Optionality, Alignment, and The Power of Infectious Charisma.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Phil Dur, the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm with over $1.5B in AUM (Assets Under Management) based in New York City and San Mateo, CA. In addition to being a graduate of Princeton University and the Stanford University Graduate…

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  43. (#9) Jake Braly: Krisp.Ai, Digital Voice Productivity, Identifying & Scaling Revenue Growth, Perseverance, Solution Orientation, Being A “Sorting Hat”, And Unbounded Growth.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Jake Braly, the Chief Revenue Officer of Krisp.Ai – the world’s first AI-powered Call & Meeting Assistant software that enhances voice communication through audio cleansing, noise cancellation, accent localization, call transcription, and summarization. Krisp processes over...

  44. (#8) Spencer Dusebout: Aidium, PropTech, Radical Self-Awareness & Objectivity In Business, Strong Convictions, Running Into Brick Walls, And The Relentless Pursuit Of Solving Hard Problems.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Spencer Dusebout, a serial entrepreneur, and the Founder, and CEO of Aidium, a software platform that helps mortgage professionals automate their lead conversion, transaction management, and client retention workflows and has become one of the fastest growing software...

  45. (#7) Aashish Dhamdhere: Relevvo, The Scientific Revolution In B2B Sales & Marketing, Engagement Readiness & Tripling Pipeline Through Empathy, Deep Analysis & Intentional Energy.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Aashish Dhamdhere, the Co-founder and CEO of Relevvo, an AI-powered B2B Sales & Marketing platform that helps B2B companies identify and target the 5-10% of accounts in a company's addressable market that are engagement-ready at a given point of time. Before founding…

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  46. (#6) Samantha Burns: 3D Imaging In Land Development & Residential Construction, Challenging The Status Quo, Battling Imposter Syndrome, Scrappiness, And The Superpower Of Translation.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Samantha Burns, a distinguished marketing leader with over 15 years of experience in the construction industry, and the Head of Marketing at TraceAir. TraceAir is a leading Construction Technology platform that specializes in providing rapid and precise 3D data to home...

  47. (#5) Steve Dell’Orto: ConCntric, Transforming Pre-Construction Workflows, Seamlessly Integrating People, Data, And Processes, Leadership Superpowers, & The Accelerating Impact Of Domain Expertise.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Steve Dell'Orto, the founder and CEO of ConCntric. As a seasoned Construction Executive with 28 years of industry expertise, frustrated by the disjointed and inefficient preconstruction planning process, Steve embarked on a mission to revolutionize the construction…

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  48. (#4) Nev Hyman: NoMor, Solving Our Plastic Waste Problem, Building A Surfboard Empire, Setting 4 Guinness Book Of World Records, Keeping Your Radar On, And The Power Of Silver Linings.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Nev Hyman. A serial entrepreneur who’s a legendary pioneer in the world of surfboard manufacturing, and went on to build a global surfboard empire under the NEV Futureshapes brand. He set 4 Guinness World Records, and more recently won Pitch@Palace, becoming the worldwide...

  49. (#3) Nick Ezzo: Moving Corporate Finance Forward With Advanced Automation, Category Creation, Early-Stage GTM Strategy, And The Power Of Unconstrained Creativity.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Nick Ezzo, VP of Strategic Accounts and Market Development at Auditoria.ai. While Nick boasts an illustrious career as a sales and marketing trailblazer, his true passion lies in being a data-driven demand generation marketer who’s committed to enhancing the efficiency of...

  50. (#2) Jennifer Gill Roberts: Grit Ventures, Deep Tech Investing, Insatiable Curiosity, Labs To Launch, Physical Infrastructure, And The Power Of Diverse Teams.

    Kraig Ward speaks with Jennifer Gill Roberts, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Grit Ventures. Jennifer, a technologist, repeat entrepreneur, and dedicated advocate for diversity, is also an early-stage venture capitalist. She specializes in sourcing and investing in groundbreaking sustainable...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Welcome to The Bearhug Experience, where we cozy up to the fire in our digital den and immerse ourselves in the inspiration born from exploring the hidden narratives and inevitable plot twists that shape every compelling startup journey. Join us as we showcase inspirational guests, from bold investors with the Midas touch to pioneering entrepreneurs at the helm of today's most thrilling startups. We'll also hear from courageous go-to-market leaders navigating the frontier of emerging tech and the unsung heroes bringing all the people and parts together to form unstoppable dream teams!

HOSTED BY

Kraig Ward

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The Bearhug Experience have?

The Bearhug Experience currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is The Bearhug Experience about?

Welcome to The Bearhug Experience, where we cozy up to the fire in our digital den and immerse ourselves in the inspiration born from exploring the hidden narratives and inevitable plot twists that shape every compelling startup journey. Join us as we showcase inspirational guests, from bold...

How often does The Bearhug Experience release new episodes?

The Bearhug Experience has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to The Bearhug Experience?

You can listen to The Bearhug Experience 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 The Bearhug Experience?

The Bearhug Experience is created and hosted by Kraig Ward.
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