Magic 8 Ball with Melissa and Micaela: Season 2
Melissa Withers and Micaela Kamp are back, digging into the messy reality of early stage investing and biz building when the rules change faster than the playbook. And, when they can't figure it out, the Magic 8 Ball has the final word.
Magic 8 Ball with Melissa and Micaela is available as both a podcast and a video series.
Scroll down for videos or jump to Apple Podcasts or Spotify for audio only.
S2E1: The Shrinking Half-Life of Everything
In this episode, M&M go down the rabbit hole on the shrinking half-life of everything. Change is nothing new. But never has the utility of a model or framework been so short lived. Business models, tech models, value delivery models, and buyer behaviors that work today can become obsolete tomorrow. If the half-life of everything is shrinking, what are founders and investors optimizing for? What do we believe will actually increase, rather than decrease, in value over time? What does it mean to “scale” when tactics and operating apparatus may only be useful for the blink of an eye. Maybe the magic 8 ball can help us figure it out.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E2: Curiosity as an Early-Stage Superpower
What separates founders who skillfully navigate uncertainty from those who get stuck? Micaela Kamp knows: curiosity. Not as just a personality trait, but as a discipline. In this episode, we break down how asking better questions unlocks smarter decisions, builds stronger teams, and clears the path forward, even when you don't have all the answers.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E3: More Bun than Beef: The Equity vs Non-Equity Debate
When we talk about early stage funding, the “Equity vs Non-Equity” debate comes fully loaded: choose once, choose wisely. This manufactured conflict is a false binary. Nearly all companies use multiple kinds of capital across time. Why then do we still depict capital strategy as a high noon duel, with choices bearing down on us from the barrel of a gun? Because investors benefit more from tension than from truth.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E4: Being Broke ≠ Capital Efficient
"Capital efficient" gets tossed around like word salad. What does it actually mean? In this episode, M&M break down why being broke and being capital efficient are not the same thing and how getting it wrong can kill a company.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E5: Capital Is a Tool, Not a Tribe
Most founders are taught to think about capital as a single decision — raise or don't raise. In this episode, we break down why that framing is a fallacy. We riff on what a real capital strategy looks like and how a poorly designed capital stack is one ghost you don’t want to be haunted by.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E6: Experimentation as a Strategic Weapon
Most founders think experimenting is what you do when something breaks or you don’t know which way to move. In this episode, we dive into why building an experimentation engine—one that hums with activity all the time— is one of the most important growth levers an early stage company has.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E7: Going Fast vs. Going Forward
When founders feel stuck, their first instinct is to crave speed. But moving faster in the wrong direction will only make matters worse. In this episode, we talk about what happens when founders confuse momentum with alignment, how misalignment can become a quiet crisis, and the questions we need to ask when things feel off but we may not be sure why.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E8: Skimpwrecked: How Cutting the Wrong Corners Can Sink a Company
Cutting the wrong corners to save cash kills companies. In this episode, we stare into the abyss of what happens when a company "skimpwrecks" itself into oblivion. When it comes to building authenticity in the age of AI, staying genuinely close to customers, and keeping a company’s experimental muscle strong, investing isn’t optional. It is necessary.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E9: The Job No One Wanted: Building Authenticity in the Age of AI
No one listens to a logo. Founders are under incredible pressure to build founder-forward visibility and content whether they like the spotlight or not. Thanks for nothing, AI. In this episode, M&M explore the authenticity problems that come with the advent of AI, break down why the need for trust keeps rising, and how building a founder-led brand has become a vital business function.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
S2E10: Profit with Purpose
Conventional wisdom holds that investors must choose between profit and purpose. Aim for impact or returns. We built RevUp to do both. In this episode, we riff on what impact means at RevUp and why pursuing purpose alongside profit just makes good business sense.
Listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify or watch below.
More about Melissa Withers
RevUp Capital Managing Partner Melissa Withers has 10+ years experience working as an investor, fund manager & biz builder. She’s a bullish advocate for innovating the toolkit for early stage investing, committed to unlocking new upside for founders and investors alike. With 100+ investments under her belt, she proudly supports operators who build with grit, grace…and humor. Amateur boxer. Good with a microphone, terrible on roller skates.
More about Micaela Kamp
RevUp Capital Director of Platform Micaela Kamp is a marketer and content architect who has spent 10+ years helping early-stage founders tell stories worth hearing. She builds scalable growth foundations by doing two things well: asking the questions no one else is asking and turning the answers into something that actually lands. Believes great marketing starts with great curiosity, and that a sharp story is a founder's most underrated asset. Probably already has a follow-up question for you.
Special shout out to our Editor - Rebecca Lawrence. You Rock!
More About RevUp Capital
RevUp Capital invests in B2B and B2C companies that are revenue-driven and ready to double down on growth. We deploy cash and capacity to help companies grow from $1-3M to $10-30M, quickly and efficiently, using a revenue-based model. Companies enter our portfolio with $500K-$3M in revenue, a strong growth rate, and a team that’s ready to scale. Our typical investment range is $300K-$500K.
More at www.revupfund.com