(Un)Founded: Season One
Short takes on hot topics in biz-building & startup culture
Three questions: One peers into the past. One speaks to the present. One looks toward the future. That’s how we do it on (Un)Founded, where RevUp Capital's Melissa Withers talks biz building and start-up culture, exploring each topic through short-form Q&A with some (very) special guests.
In each segment, Melissa and a guest tackle a topic by asking each other only THREE questions. These personal vignettes offer a dash of insight and inspiration, delivered on the fly. Made by, for, and with people who believe in the power of entrepreneurship, (Un)Founded is available as both a podcast and as a video series.
The podcast version can be found on apple podcasts; on spotify; and on stitcher. Video episodes are below!
S1E1: Women Investing in Women
w/Sylvia Kwan, Chief Investment Officer, Ellevest
Sylvia is Chief Investment Officer at Ellevest, a technology-enabled financial company built by women, for women. As an innovator in wealth management for women, Sylvia has a powerful take on what's kept women out of investing, how things are changing and what the future holds for us all. Yes, I am a super fan of her work.
S1E2: Being Human When Building a Company
w/ Felix Brandon Lloyd, CEO and Co-Founder, Zoobean
In all the talk about what it means to be a "great founder" we often lose sight of what all founders have in common: Being a Human.Felix is co-founder and Chief Dad of Zoobean, which provides software to help communities, libraries and schools better engage families and facilitate reading programs for their community. He’s the kind of founder you feel lucky to work with and his take on this topic is spot on.
S1E3: Business Model Innovation
w/ Saul Kaplan, Chief Catalyst, Business Innovation Factory
Saul Kaplan is the founder and Chief Catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory and author of The Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant when the World Is Changing. Saul was into Biz Model Innovation before it was cool and he remains one of the people in the world I most admire as a business builder.
S1E4: Race and Gender Bias in Startup Culture
w/ Harry Alford, Founder, humble ventures
Harry is Co-Founder of venture development firm, humble ventures, where he accelerates the growth of startups in partnership with large enterprises and investors. A 4x founder he has SEEN THINGS. Whether in venture capital, education, or sports, Harry's career has always centered around inclusion...and if you don't follow him, you are missing out.
S1E5: Building Capacity as You Grow
Matt Marra, VP of Growth, Knox Financial
Before becoming VP of Growth at Know Financial, Matt was employee #33 at Uber. There, he was the first Operations and Logistics Manager for Boston, where he launched and scaled Uber Black, TAXI, SUV, and uberX before leading the Operations & Logistics Analytics and Process sub-teams from 2011 through 2013. When it comes to building capacity as you grow, Matt...knows some things.
S1E6: When Deals Go Wrong: Investor/Founder Conflict
w/ Zoë Barry, Founder, Zingerroo
Zoë Barry is a serial entrepreneur, mentor and angel investor. Zoë and I are neighboring links on an evolutionary chain, one that shows how the experience of women entrepreneurs is changing (or not changing) over time. I've learned a lot from her...and have waited a long time for this new generation of amazing women to take startup culture by storm!
w/ Clement Cazalot, Managing Director, Tech Stars Boston
Clement Cazalot is a startup triple threat: Founder, Mentor, Investor, and equally amazing at all. His ability to hear a pitch, unpack it, and then make it better is unparalleled. His cybersecurity startup, docTrackr was acquired by Intralinks in 2014. That he has a great sense of humor and a warm heart is just icing on this very French Cake.
w/ Ilana Diamond, Managing Partner, 412 Venture Fund
In her career as a founder, investor and mentor, Ilana Diamond has (literally) launched hundreds of companies. She’s also a pioneer among an important community of women: female fund managers that are changing the world of investing forever.
Season Opener: Melissa Withers
Managing Partner, RevUp Capital
More about Melissa Withers
Melissa Withers is an experienced business builder and fund manager with 130+ investments under management. After working as a seed stage equity investor, Melissa co-founded RevUp Capital in 2016, an early pioneer in applying revenue-based investing to early stage companies. Her mentorship and advisory work focuses on capital strategy, C-Suite development, customer experience, company storytelling and go-to-market strategy. In addition to her role at RevUp Capital, Melissa is entrepreneur-in-residence at Tech Stars Boston and a strong advocate for expanding investment in women, people of color, and those living outside top-tier markets.
Special thanks to our Producer, Rebecca Lawrence. You Rock!