We are joined this week by Andrew Savage, Founder & CEO of Suma Brands, a commerce platform focused on developing marketplace brands, specifically on Amazon. Andrew is using his experience from helping establish early E-Commerce for Target and Amazon to guide other growing retailers to high-level success. Andrew and Suma Brands will “find, acquire, and help brands realize their potential.” In this episode, we chat about what is an “aggregator” in the sense of online retail and Andrew’s quintessential blend of focuses that most companies must adhere to; retail, tech, and content. Plus, Andrew shares his thoughts on the evolution of E-Commerce from its origin to now, and even some of his future predictions. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - Where did Andrew grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?6:24 - Did Andrew always think he was going to be a founder?7:28 - What was Andrew’s early career path like while focusing on E-Commerce?10:52 - What were some “aha” moments while establishing early E-Commerce for Amazon and Target?13:06 - How has Andrew's experience been, being a part of the Amazon ecosystem?14:48 - What is Suma Brands and when did Andrew realize he wanted to found the company?18:31 - What inspired the name of Suma Brands?18:38 - What does it mean to be an aggregator, and does the term apply to Andrew’s business model for Suma?20:43 - What separates Suma from its competition?23:59 - Who was the first investor of Suma Brands and what was that experience like?26:03 - What things are Suma Brands looking for when considering acquiring a retailer?28:41 - Is Suma Brands focused on retail, tech, or something else?30:46 - What trends is Andrew seeing in the E-Commerce ecosystem that will continue to gain traction over the next few years?32:01 - What’s next for Andrew personally?32:51 - Who is a woman in Andrew’s life that impacted him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

S6E5: Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder of Studs, is Bringing the Ear-Piercing Industry into the Modern Era with Integrated Piercing and Shopping Experiences Our season continues with Lisa Bubbers, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Studs, the modern platform for ear-piercing and earrings. Studs is all about safe and accessible ear-piercing for all people. Plus they have an easy-to-use, refreshingly branded e-commerce website with every earring fashion choice available. In this episode, Lisa talks to us about what “Earscaping” means to them, as well as what it’s like building a business with a complementary co-founder and the future of the modern shopping mall. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:47 - Where did Lisa grow up and how did that shape her view of the world? 5:43 - Did Lisa always think she was going to become a founder? 6:51 - How did Lisa’s degree in Visual Studies from UPenn translate into her early work experience? 8:52 - What lessons did Lisa learn around the intersection of the digital and physical while working at Jonathan Adler and home Polish?11:11 - What does the term “Earscape” mean to Lisa and Studs?14:00 - How did Lisa meet her partner, Anna, and what got them started on the founding journey together?15:27 - What advice would Lisa have for new founders looking for co-founders?16:53 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Lisa and Studs?17:48 - What was Lisa’s first piercing experience like?19:07 - How is Studs thinking about the future of omnichannel retail?20:18 - How did the pandemic affect Studs business?21:46 - What is the feeling that a customer gets when walking into a Studs store?23:10 - What does Lisa think the modern mall will look like in five years?25:05 - What are some of the tools in Studs’ D to C tech stack?26:29 - Has Studs considered a subscription model? Why or why not?27:27 - What’s next for Studs?29:09 - What’s next for Lisa?30:18 - Who is a woman in Lisa’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are returning this week with another incredible guest, Sarah LaFleur. Sarah came up with the idea to create comfortable and fashionable, professional attire for women because she herself found that whenever she was searching for work outfits, it seemed that fashion would always be sacrificed for comfort. In this episode, we discuss the current state of the apparel market and how things have changed so rapidly due to the evolution of the internet and e-commerce, the future of DTC from the brand and consumer perspectives, and how previous work experiences influence a persons fashion choices. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:05 - What did Sarah take away from her college career, especially at Harvard?8:17 - What was the fashion industry like at that time of Sarah’s early career? 12:24 - What was the aha moment when Sarah knew that she wanted to become a founder?17:52 - What were some of the early supply chain processes of iterating and designing some of the first garments that were built for the “modern American woman?”23:07 - What advice would Sarah give to founders who are looking to raise today in retail and e-commerce spaces?23:34 - What advice would Sarah have to any founder today who might be thinking they’re going to disrupt retail?27:04 - What does Sarah think the future of selling directly to the consumer is?29:00 - Should women seeking to be mothers be freezing their eggs?33:33 - Who is a woman in Sarah’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 continues with Sandra Abrevaya, CEO and co-founder alongside her husband, of Synapticure. Synapticure's mission is to make sure no one living with ALS is ever told, “I'm sorry, I can’t help you” because Brian and Sandra know firsthand how difficult it can be to receive ALS treatment. We chat with Sandra about balancing a romantic relationship and a business relationship with your significant other, what the current treatment options are for ALS patients, and how the COVID pandemic affected business in the medical field. Check out Synapticure here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:48 - What convinced Sandra to go to Law School?5:21 - What are Sandra's top three takeaways from her career in politics that she uses as an entrepreneur? 9:37 - Did Sandra ever think she was going to become a founder? 10:57 - What has Brian's journey with ALS been like and how did it lead him and Sandra to found Synapticure?16:32 - Are there many options for treating ALS currently?22:17 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Synapticure?26:20 - What advice would Sandra give to a founder who is looking to build a mission-driven startup? 25:33 - What are some of those unique challenges in building a product and getting it into the hands of customers?26:07 - How does Sandra interface with patients during this need-finding process?31:14 - How did the COVID pandemic accelerate part of Synapticure’s roadmap? 33:37 - How does Sandra balance her romantic relationship and her business relationship with her husband?36:16 - What’s next for Sandra and Brian?37:49 - What’s next for Sandra personally? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 6 of The Room returns with Julie Bornstein, Founder and CEO of THE YES, a personalized web-based fashion retailer that works with hundreds of brands, large and small. Julie describes what she learned from her time at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Stitch Fix and how she was able to use those experiences to create THE YES. Julie gives advice to new founders and the best first steps to take to raise capital from investors. Julie also walks us through THE YES’s algorithm and how they continue to provide an accurate and personalized selection for each user, as well as future goals for the company. Plus, she shares her insight on the future of online retail and Web3/ e-commerce 3 in general. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:58 - What was investment banking like when Julie was in college?6:31 - What were some of the innovations that Julie brought to Sephora to make them the cutting edge brand they are today? 13:10 - How did Julie end up working with Stitch Fix?16:35 - What was it like taking a company public after building it for over five years?18:29 - What led to Julie founding THE YES?22:30 - What does THE YES do?24:00 - Who were the early partners that said yes to working with THE YES?29:52 - What advice does Julie have for new founders?29:47 - What goals did Julie set for THE YES early on, and how did she carry out her vision?32:21 - How far are consumers from a fully personalized shopping experience?26:48 - How does THE YES’s algorithm learn from picky users and continue to provide an accurate personalized selection?36:25 - Who was the first brand to say yes to joining THE YES’s collection?38:18 - What was a time when things didn’t go to plan while starting THE YES?41:59 - What does Julie believe is the future of e-commerce? 43:44 - What’s next for Julie?44:47 - Who is a woman in Julie’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Thank you for joining us for Season 6 of The Room Podcast! We are starting strong with our first guest, Shuo Wang. Her company Deel was evaluated at over $5 billion last year from their revolutionary work in remote work and international payrolling. Shuo joins us to talk about her experience at the Y Combinator and the impact it had on her work with Deel. Subjects continue with how the pandemic was a catalyst for the growth of Deel and what metrics Deel uses to track that success. Plus, we ask Shuo about her strategies for competitively innovating and expanding Deel. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:12 - Where did Shuo grow up and how has that shaped her worldview?7:01 - How did a Mechanical Engineering degree translate into founding?8:21 - What encouraged Shuo and her co-founder to start thinking about global hiring? 10:40 - How was Shuo’s experience at the Y Combinator and what was the MMVP of the Deel product?12:07 - What country first started using Deel’s services?12:45 - What is the core product of Deel?15:35 - Who was the first to say yes and invest in Deel?16:20 - How would Shuo define her role as co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer?17:15 - What was Shou’s strategy for competitively innovating Deel?18:52 - What tips does Shuo have for founders who think they over perfectionists?20:24 - What metric does Deel mainly use to track revenue?21:25 - How did the pandemic affect the growth of Deel?22:32 - When was a moment things didn’t go as planned in the Deel story?24:45 - How does Deel plan for expansion?24:53 - What does Shuo think the future of hiring looks like?26:57 - What can look forward to for Deel?27:59 - What is coming up for Shuo personally?30:06 - Who is a woman in Shuo’s life that impacted her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of Movers & Shakers ends with another incredible guest, Founder and CEO of Meet Cute, Naomi Shah. Meet Cute is a “rom-com incubator.” Audio, written video, short-form video, long-form video, etc. Meet Cute produces them all. Naomi tells us what inspired the idea for Meet Cute and what it was like for her to raise funding at the start of her founding journey. Naomi also speaks on balancing inspiring other underrepresented founders while not being stuck in the box of a “female founder.” Other themes discussed in this episode include turning an investment thesis into a company, the “girl boss” trope and what it means for founders, and the future of the romance genre. Let’s open the door. Watch Extracurricular Here! For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:05 - Where did Naomi grow up and how did that impact her view of the world? 2:34 - Did Naomi always think she was going to be a founder?4:10 - How did a mechanical engineering degree specifically translate into Naomi’s work?7:50 - What was the initial aha moment for Meet Cute?11:37 - In a few words, what is Meet Cute?12:47 - What is Naomi’s favorite Meet Cute series that they’ve made?14:43 - How was the process of getting the first funding for Meet Cute, and what did Naomi learn?17:49 - What advice does Naomi have for new founders?22:00 - How does Naomi balance paving a wave for underrepresented entrepreneurs, while also removing the stigma of being a “female founder?”27:09 - How do we appropriately help make things more equal for underrepresented founders?29:49 - What is Naomi’s favorite rom-com moment? 32:46 - How has a data-driven approach to storytelling helped unlock unexpected insights on consumers?37:09 - What does the Netflix stock drop say about the volatility of the entertainment market?40:19 - What's next for Naomi and her team at Meet Cute? 42:31 - Who is a woman in Naomi’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Our mini-series, Movers & Shakers, continues with Rachel Goddard, a partner at Cooley LLP for over 22 years. Rachel walks us through her path to becoming a lawyer before becoming a partner at Cooley. She explains why she loves her job and what she and Cooley do to assist emerging managers to start their funds. Rachel also shares some best practices on things new managers might now know, like management fees and GP commitments. We also get Rachel’s perspective on the next five years for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market and non-accredited investors investing in venture funds. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:14 - Where did Rachel grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?0:58 - Did Rachel always want to be a Lawyer?1:41 - What was the pivot that led Rachel into law?3:34 - How is Cooley focused on supporting venture capital?6:04 - What comes up in early conversations with emerging managers?8:43 - Rachel clarifies some of the terminology used to describe different stakeholders. 10:42 - What are the four documents that Rachel always starts with?12:15 - What are some best practices on things like management fees and GP commitments?16:31 - What is the definition of a smaller fund to Cooley?17:21 - What are Rachel’s thoughts on non-accredited investors investing in venture funds?20:25 - What do you think the next five years hold for venture funds in light of the past few years being a very hot market?22:00 - What advice does Rachel have for first-time fund managers and underrepresented fund managers?25:41 - What is coming up for Rachel, personally?27:35 - Who is a woman in Rachel’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Season 2 of “Movers and Shakers” continues with a legend in the digital marketing ad space, Zach Coelius, Co-Founder of Triggit and Managing Partner at Coelius Capital. Zach and his sister, Susan, played an instrumental role in modernizing the way advertisers use targeted digital ads. Zach deep dives into “retargeting,” a form of online advertising where the ads are targeted to consumers based on their previous internet behavior. The conversation progresses with the constantly changing legislation on privacy from large companies like Google and Apple. Plus, we further discuss Zach’s take on cryptocurrency, which is very different from the mainstream opinion. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:03 - Where did Zach grow up and how did this shape his view of the world?4:37 - Did Zach always think he was going to be an entrepreneur? 5:37 - Why did Zach attend five Olympic Games?8:52 - What is Triggit and how did Zach get started founding it?11:34 - What is the core product of Triggit and what was the competitive landscape like in the ad tech space?14:44 - How does Zach feel about the new privacy changes that Google and Apple are implementing?16:35 - Now in 2022, would Zach recommend entering the digital marketing ad space?18:05 - What are Zach’s thoughts on working within digital marketing on the paying side?19:41 - How is Coelius Capital structured? 22:31 - How would Zach describe his fund? 26:14 - Why is Zach not bullish on Crypto? Has his opinion changed in the last six months? See his mentioned User Manual here. 30:28 - What are some sectors that Zach is bullish on?31:36 - What advice does Zach have for founders looking for funding?36:12 - What’s next for Zach?37:25 - Who is a woman in Zach’s life that has had a profound impact on him and his career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

We are kicking off our second entitlement of “Movers and Shakers” with a bang! In The Room with Mary D’Onofrio, partner and co-founder of the growth investment practice at Bessemer Venture Partners. Topics this week include the very active investing climate of 2022 and how to be proactive when searching for businesses to partner with, how to find, obtain, and retain skilled, specialized new hires, and the difference between growth-stage and early-stage investing. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:34 - Where did Mary grow up and how did this shape her view of the world?5:05 - Did Mary always think her career would be in Venture?7:28 - What lessons in “deal-making” did Mary learn during her time at Morgan Stanley?8:15 - What initially brought Mary to Bessemer in 2018?10:10 - What are some of the key characteristics you look for when searching for “the next big thing?”11:52 - How did Mary level up in that way to be able to really effectively evaluate these technical businesses?13:41 - How do you weigh valuing a company and its team versus the growth of the customer and the metric data?15:58 - What will continue to evolve within the cloud ecosystem for enterprise SaaS and software companies?17:34 - What is one company that is changing the way cloud is used or changing the technical ecosystem? 19:02 - How does Mary work with businesses she invests in? 21:10 - Is there a common stumbling block or something that is particularly tricky for new businesses? 24:10 - What advice does Mary have for post-B-level businesses who are struggling to retain talent and hire?25:50 - How is Mary thinking about 2022 and this current very accelerated pace of investing?28:53 - What does the future hold for Mary?29:32 - Who is a woman in Mary’s life that has had a profound impact on her career? The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Co-Founder of Gilt Groupe, GLAMSQUAD, and Clerisy. In our final episode of the season, and 50th episode of The Room Podcast, Alexandra shares her experience breaking into the online retail fashion world with her smash hit, Gilt Groupe, alongside her partner, Alexis Maybank. Alexandra explains how she had limited merchandising experience but took advantage of the consumer ‘FOMO’ by creating the early forms of fashion brand “drops.” In this conversation, we cover themes such as the original “drop” model, what’s happening in Miami’s ‘Silicon Valley Beach’, and the adoption of Omni-channel 3.0. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:23 - Where did Alexandra grow up and how did that experience shape her view of the World?5:55 - Did Alexandra always think she would become a founder?7:35 - When Alexandra was at Harvard, were many people looking to become founders?10:03 - What was the retail climate like in 2007 when Alexandra started Gilt Groupe?13:05 - Did Alexandra realize she was creating the early stages of fashion brand “drops”?14:24 - What inspired Alexandra to structure Gilt Groupe in the way that it was?15:13 - Was it difficult pursuing larger purchase orders without having much retail fashion experience?18:32 - Who's the first person to say yes to Alexandra and Gilt Groupe?20:39 - What challenges did Alexandra face when building the robust catalog of items on Gilt?25:31 - Is Alexandra more or less bullish on the gig economy than she was when she founded Glamsquad in 2014?26:56 - What is the investment strategy of Clerisy? 29:44 - How is the technology ecosystem evolving in Alexandra’s new home city of Miami?32:07 - What do the next five years hold for commerce?33:54 - How is Alexandra thinking about the evolving tech world, especially in regard to Web3?36:38 - Who is a woman in Alexandra’s life that had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Rathna Sharad, Founder, and CEO of FlavorCloud. With the constant growth of social media and the impacts of the pandemic, more businesses and brands are looking to export or import internationally. And since consumer expectations are only increasing, there is immense pressure on independent companies to unlock access faster. Enter, FlavorCloud, who takes care of the whole cross-border shipping process, including all customs requirements, wherever you’re shipping to. In this episode, CEO and co-founder, Rathna covers topics such as unlocking “anywhere to anywhere” shipping, the increasingly higher expectations of online consumers, and theories on how the supply chain issues will shape up this year. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:34 - Where did Rathna grow up and how did that shape her view of the world?5:24 - When Rathna was growing up did she want to be a founder?7:04 - What did the logistics ecosystem look like in the early 2000s?9:31 - What challenges did Rathna face when switching from B2B to B2C?13:02 - How did Rathna’s first company, Runway to Street, inform what is now FlavorCloud?18:45 - Who was the first person to say yes to investing in FlavorCloud?19:41 - Who is the target customer of FlavorCloud?20:57 - Which international markets are growing the fastest and where would Rathna recommend retailers expand?25:25 - How will the supply chain shape up next year?29:09 - What advice does FlavorCloud have for businesses that manufacture and distribute in multiple countries?32:06 - How has consumer expectation shifted the need for logistics to become faster and faster? And how have the supply chain constraints stunted e-commerce growth?34:40 - What’s next for Rathna?35:00 - Who is a woman in Rathna’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Mac Conwell, the Managing Partner and founder of RareBreed Ventures. After founding a few of his own startups, Mac’s life changed when he learned about the world of VCs and funders. This inspired him to start RareBreed Ventures, a pre-seed fund that invests in founders outside of large tech ecosystems. Mac and RareBreed provide resources, capital, and financial education to new and underrepresented founders. This episode discusses; strategies for bridging the gap between funders and marginalized founders, the unique uses of TEDCO, a state-sponsored VC that provides resources to early stage companies in Maryland, and how Mac is utilizing Rule 506(c) to publicly fund new founders. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:17 - Where did Mac grow up and how did that shape his view of the world? 1:21 - How did Mac’s early career start put him on a path to entrepreneurship? 3:15 - At what point did Mac decide to quit his job and become an entrepreneur?5:06 - What resources are available now versus when Mac started his career?5:53 - Who did Mac start his first company with?8:59 - How did Mac’s experience as a founder lead him to venture?12:27 - What is it like to be primarily investing in your home state?16:19 - Is there a “top of the funnel” issue when it comes to who is receiving funding and financial education?18:13 - What is TEDCO and how is it tying venture to state funding?20:13 - Why did Mac start RareBreed Ventures?21:31 - How and why does Mac have a “become an LP” button on his website? 26:46 - Who are some of Mac’s favorite companies that he works with?30:46 - How will access to capital change for new founders in the future?33:32 - What’s next for Mac?34:30 - Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Mac and his career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Ash Rust, Managing Partner at Sterling Road. Since moving to Silicon Valley in 2008, Ash Rust has become an experienced mentor to startup founders and funders. Ash realized that he didn't like the traditional Silicon Valley approach of meeting someone for a small amount of time before making a decision on a large check, as fast as possible, because “that's the cool thing to do.” Instead, he chooses to spend a lot of time with founders early on to build an organic and more valuable relationship. This allows a better perspective on how Ash can properly assist the project. This episode includes insights on making an enterprise sale as an early or first-time founder, the right time to implement a sales team and who should be on it, and the current and future impacts of developing technologies on enterprise sales. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:57 - What interested Ash about becoming a founder and sales coach?7:48 - What is important when making your first enterprise sale?11:38 - When is the right time to bring a dedicated sales person to your team?13:41 - How do you balance asking for a sale while managing an overcritical internal mindset?17:00 - How has the landscape changed over time for making a sale?18:44 - As technology continues to develop, what will the future of optimizing the sales funnel look like?21:36 - What are some indicators or metrics of sales success?24:51 - Are there any overlooked tips in mastering enterprise sales?26:04 - Who is a woman in Ash’s life that had a profound impact on him and his career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, General Partners of F7. For this episode of The Room, we chat with the women who lead the investments and operations of F7. F7 is a seed investment fund, composed of seven senior female operators. With their combined 16 years at Facebook, Kelly and Joanna explain what they learned from their time there and how they want to use their experience, relationships, and capital to make a difference. Kelly and Joanna manage F7 because they see a huge issue with the number of women that have “a seat at the table” in the investment industry and they want to encourage more women to be founders. This conversation describes some of the barriers to entry as a woman in the investment world and the importance of giving everyone an equal starting place in the industry. Plus, Kelly and Joanna reveal some common mistakes that new founders make and explain how the women of F7 can be beneficial at any stage in the startup process. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:55 - Joanna left Facebook after 9 years to pursue F7, how did her time there shape her career?5:57 - How did Kelly get involved with VCs, and why did she see the need for F7?7:32 - How did Kelly first make the transition into Venture? What was the aha moment that venture was next for her career?12:02 - What is the initial mission and investment thesis of F7?13:55 - What stage in a startup is the right time to call F7?16:43 - What are the barriers to entry on founding a fund and what was the process like for Joanna, both tactically and emotionally?18:17 - What are some common mistakes that founders make?19:55 - What are some tips for a founder whose idea is not clicking and may need to start thinking outside the box?21:58 - What are some examples of a really good executor and what are things to look for when hiring executors into your business?22:52 - Who is a company in F7’s portfolio that has really knocked their socks off based on their execution?24:15 - Where does Kelly see the investment industry in 10 years? 26:19 - Who is a woman in Kelly’s life that has had a profound impact on her?25:58 - Who is a woman in Joanna’s life that has had a profound impact on her? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Faye Keegan, Co-Founder, and CEO of Dipsea. Consumers are leaning more and more into audio as their primary medium for receiving content. Faye describes how Dipsea is the first of its kind by using the new consumer love of personal audio to empower women. “Sexy audio stories and intimate wellness sessions to help you find joy and confidence in and out of the bedroom.” This episode covers concepts such as good practices when partnering on a startup with a friend, the current state of audio platforms creators, and advice for fundraising in a non-traditional space. Bonus in time for Valentine's Day, Faye explains why it’s so important to sexually empower women and create a safer environment for sexual education. USE CODE: “THEROOM” on Dipsea's Website to get a free 30-day subscription to Dipsea and have access to over 500 stories, hot & heavy content, dreamy bedtime stories, wellness sessions, and an ad-free experience. Plus, you can cancel at any time. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 0:08 - Where did Faye grow up and did she always want to be a founder? 1:06 - What did Faye think of her time at Bridgewater and how did it affect her leadership style?2:06 - What was a lesson that Faye learned at Bridgewater that she has taken with her into the Dipsea culture? 3:16 - What inspired Faye’s career shift from investing to software engineering?4:40 - What was the initial a-ha moment that sparked the creation of Dipsea?6:19 - How did Faye meet Gina?6:54 - What is Dipsea’s core product?7:41 - How was the fundraising journey for Faye? Who wrote the first check?9:08 - What advice would Faye give founders who are just starting to think through an idea with a friend?11:19 - What was the process like finding a product-market fit for this unconventional user experience? 13:09 - Has there been any issues marketing these sensitive subjects?15:25 - How does Dipsea utilize their ability to empower women? 18:00 - How does Dipsea feel about the future of audio platforms and audio creators? 19:10 - What is Faye’s take on social audio platforms?19:42 - What things can people get excited about for the future of Dipsea?20:20 - What’s next for Faye?20:52 - Who is a woman in Faye’s life that has had a profound impact on her and her career? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Graham Fortgang, Founder of MatchaBar. Season 5 continues with Graham Fortgang, co-founder, and CEO of MatchaBar. Graham runs MatchaBar alongside his brother, Max, whom he’s worked with for over 7 years. We asked Graham why he and Max fell in love with matcha and, to break down their mission of bringing matcha to the mainstream whether through grocery stores, online shipping, or wholesale offerings. From guerrilla marketing in the busiest grocery stores to flying to Japan to study the origins of matcha, Graham has dedicated his life to his cause of bringing more attention to the benefits of matcha over your regular caffeinated drink. This week’s episode explores insights and themes such as the thousand-year-old origins of matcha, the power of hustle in building a business, and tactical tips on being an omnichannel retailer in 2022. Let’s open the door. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 4:29 - What was Graham doing before MatchaBar?6:40 - What made Graham and his brother, Max, decide to take MatchaBar seriously?9:51 - What was it like owning and operating cafés?11:53 - How did guerrilla marketing become an integral part of the MatchaBar brand?13:08 - How did it benefit Graham to study the history of matcha?16:00 - Who were the early suppliers of matcha to MatchaBar?18:02 - How was the transition from real cafés to a CPG brand?20:37 - Who was the first retail partner that believed in MatchBar?22:30 -What brought the decision to capitalize MatchaBar?24:14 - What has been the added value of having household name celebrities as endorsers?25:14 - What is Graham’s favorite matcha drink?26:33 - Why direct to consumer has been successful for MatchaBar and how the company has incorporated E-Commerce?23:44 - What advice does Graham have for another founder planning to rebrand their business?30:10 - Graham discusses how customers are the most sensitive they’ve ever been.31:10 - Who is in Graham’s D2C tech stack?32:22 - What is the next tool or platform that will help brands connect with their customers?35:02 - Where does Graham think this current movement for brand and product transparency is going next?37:05 - What are other trends to look out for in the CPG category?38:19 - What is Graham looking forward to next in his life and career?39:35 - Who is a woman in Graham’s life that had a profound impact on him? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

In The Room with Jeremy Cai, Founder, and CEO of Italic. We start off season 5 of The Room with Jeremy Cai, the Founder and CEO of Italic. Jeremy and Italic are changing what it means to be a manufacturer by connecting directly to customers and consumers, breaking from the traditional path of utilizing a middle-man distributor. Jeremy details the evolution of Italic, expanding on the changes they’ve made to the business model. Plus, we ask him about the future of the E-Commerce space and any predictions he may have. For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter. 3:21 - Who is Jeremy Cai and how has his family background influenced his interests?4:42 - Jeremy compares what he learned from his time as a Theil Fellow to his time running his two subsequent startups.8:02 - What inspired the start of Italic? 12:37 - Who was the first manufacturer to sign up with Italic? 15:41 - What was the first product Italic sold and how did Italic get consumers to join?18:01 - What is the design process of Italic’s product offering?22:45 - Was getting a VC the first step in getting Italic off the ground? 23:18 - Who was the first Venture that said yes to supporting Italic? 24:48 - What led Italic to step away from their original mandatory membership model?27:11 - What does Jeremy think the next innovation in E-Commerce is?30:24 - Italic is not a brand but, they can create an experience.32:56 - What is Jeremy’s favorite product on Italic?33:51 - How has the current supply chain crisis affected Italic?35:14 - What advice would Jeremy give to a new E-Commerce startup founder?36:30 - What’s new for Jeremy in 2022?38:29 - Who is a woman that has impacted Jeremy? Be the first to know when new episodes drop - Receive Our Newsletter Season 5 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. WX Productions

Welcome to the last episode of our four-part mini-series Movers & Shakers! This week, Madison and Claudia sit down with Ryan Mundy, Founder & CEO of Alkeme Health. Any football fans? You may also recognize Ryan as the Super Bowl-winning safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After eight seasons in the NFL and playing across three teams, Ryan retired at age 31 and embarked on a self-discovery journey to find his identity outside of football. This led him to spend time both on the investing side at Techlete Ventures and starting his first company SWZLE, a sustainable CPG brand. That year, Ryan and his family faced an unfortunate number of personal health crises, ultimately shedding light on healthcare inequalities that millions of Black Americans must face. From this personal experience came Alkeme Health, a digital health platform that features content from black practitioners and respected experts in wellness, including psychology and mindfulness to tackle the issues that are historically unaddressed by health tech, such as intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, anxiety and microaggressions. The platform is set to launch in January 2022. This week’s episode of The Room Podcast explores insights and themes such as endurance on and off the field, building an ecosystem of culturally competent care, and healthcare's future in America. Let's open the door. Movers & Shakers is proudly sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

Welcome back to The Room- today’s conversation is another installment in our mini-series, Movers & Shakers where we sit down with early-stage entrepreneurs to hear about their stories. Today we sit down with Paige Finn Doherty, Founding Partner of Behind Genius Ventures. Behind Genius Ventures is an early-stage fund investing in product-led growth companies and play at the pre-seed/seed stage. They are backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Tribe Capital, Bonfire Ventures, and others. Behind Genius focuses on API-first products, wellness, creator economy, and dev tools. Paige is also the author of Seed to Harvest: A Simple Explanation of Venture Capital. Today we chat about her passions, how she got into venture, and her take on future tech trends. Let’s open the door.

In today’s episode, Claudia and Madison sit down with Gaby Goldberg, an investor at The Chernin Group. A self-proclaimed Gen Zer, Gaby natively understands the creator and gamer economies. Through a self-discovery semester off from Stanford, where she spent time working at a startup in Tel Aviv, Gaby fell in love with venture capital. Through Twitter, she landed her first job in VC at Chapter One. After this experience, she found herself at Bessemer before recently joining The Chernin Group to focus on the evolving space of crypto. Today's episode explores insights and themes including navigating early career milestones, the concept of modern friends, and the future of Web 3. Let’s open the door.

Before the launch of season 5 of The Room Podcast, we are so excited to introduce a four-part mini-series: Movers & Shakers, where Madison and Claudia sit down with early-stage entrepreneurs and influencers to hear their stories. In this week’s episode and series launch, we sit down with Madison Campbell, Co-Founder and CEO of Leda Health, a health and wellness startup turning the conversation around sexual assault into actionable change lead. A company created for survivors by survivors, Leda Health provides the care and resources needed for a full recovery and works towards bettering the many systemic shortcomings surrounding sexual assault services. We chat with Madison on her journey to founding Leda Health and her mission and vision for the future of healthcare and wellness. Let’s open the door.

As we recently wrapped on Season 4 of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia take a trip down memory lane to look back on our past two seasons. Over the past year, we’ve had the most amazing guests come to join us in The Room to share their inspiring stories. Take a look back on some of our key themes and insights from the past two seasons. Thank you so much for joining us for four seasons now! We have so much more in store, but for now, let’s take a look back and open the door.

In the Season 4 finale of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Andy Ruben, Founder and CEO of Trove, an end-to-end technology and supply chain platform, unlocking second-hand shopping for your favorite brands. Before founding Trove, Andy served on the senior leadership team at Walmart, including the role of Chief Sustainability Officer. A big congratulations to Trove who recently announced their $77.5M Series D funding. With the resale and e-commerce space expected to hit $64B in annual sales by 2028, Trove is at the forefront of enabling top-tier brands like Patagonia, REI, and Lululemon to capture this rapidly growing market. This week’s episode covers key themes such as how we empower sustainable consumption, the art of the reframe, and building a business in a supply-constrained market. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley. …

In The Room with Katie Warner Johnson This week on The Room Podcast, we are excited to share our conversation with Katie Warner Johnson, Founder and CEO of Carbon38. Carbon38 is one of the leading activewear e-commerce platforms, carrying brands like Beyond Yoga, Isabel Marant, Adidas by Stella McCartney and their own line. Katie's journey to disrupting the activewear industry started early on as a professional dancer from childhood and later, a Physique 57 fitness instructor. After years of being immersed in the health and fitness world, Katie realized that the sports bras and leggings that were being sold were just not meeting the needs of women. She decided to move to Los Angeles and build a business that provided fashion-forward activewear designed by women, for women. In this episode, Katie talks about the relationship between being a performer and an entrepreneur, serving the needs of her customer, The Boss, empowering women with women-led brands, and the future of activewear. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

In The Room with Sashee Chandran In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast with co-hosts Madison and Claudia, they are joined by Sashee Chandran, CEO, and Founder of Tea Drops. Founded in 2015, Tea Drops are organic, ground leaf teas pressed into fun shapes that dissolve in water. Think of a bath bomb, but tea! Using 15% less waste than traditional tea bags, Tea Drops provides an environmentally friendly, convenient, and high-quality tea experience. Tea Drops are now sold in nearly 2000 store retailers around the United States. This week’s key themes include what it's like to start and fund a venture-backed business in the CPG space, the importance of passion and grit, and the future for D2C. Let’s open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

In The Room with Vera Shokina In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia take a break from chatting with their typical founder or funder to cover a core need of every startup and fund: their bank. They are joined by Vera Shokina, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank where she covers U.S. banking and early stage international banking, helping VC funds and startups with all of their banking needs. From the founding moment of SVB, the bank has been focused on early stage technology companies and venture capital funds. Vera walks us through the top tips for founders looking to establish a banking relationship, the process of getting a debt line, and how a bank like SVB helps out with remote work. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. The episode is now live on all podcast streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Welcome to another episode of The Room Podcast! In this week’s episode, co-hosts Madison and Claudia chat with Danielle Cohen-Shohet, Co-Founder and CEO of GlossGenius. Danielle, a freelance hobbyist makeup artist, started GlossGenius when she knew that there had to be a better way to manage a business and engage with clients. From scheduling to booking and payments, GlossGenius meaningfully helps freelancers and small businesses in US salon and studio spaces. In this episode, Danielle talks about building for a specific need and passion, developing a tech platform for hyper-local businesses, and where the beauty industry is going next. Let's open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. This episode is now live on all podcast streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Katherine Salisbury, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Qapital, a mobile banking app designed to help incentivize people to save smarter. Qapital’s Chief Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely leverages science to propel people into better money habits. Since its inception in 2015, Qapital has helped millions of users collectively save over $2 billion. This week’s key themes include navigating raising venture capital with an untraditional background, co-founding your business with your significant other, and when to make your product a paid product in the world of free. Let’s open the door. Season 4 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. … Key Theme 1: Navigating raising venture capital with an untraditional background After graduating from Cornell Law, Katherine started her career as a lawyer in New York City before moving to Europe to found and run a sports management company focused on soccer. Without a background in FinTech, Katherine advises founders to just show up and put in the time and energy. It’s a learning curve to work out all the kinks, but you have to be willing to try, be embarrassed, and mess up. Key Theme 2: Co-founding your business with your significant other Co-founding Qapital with her significant other George Friedman, Katherine gives some tips on how to balance personal and work life. She says it’s sometimes easier to be on the same rollercoaster with a significant other as they share compassion for one another whether it be through the good or bad moments. Katherine also emphasises the importance of turning it off and knowing when to put work aside for the day. Key Theme 3: When to make your product a paid product in the world of free When deciding the pricing scheme for her product, Katherine and her team went to several pricing experts and ended up developing a lasting partnership with Simon Kucher. They tested different options out and were able to back up Katherine’s initial intuitions with detailed research. … Thank you so much for tuning into another week of The Room Podcast. Join us on Clubhouse on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 1:30PM PST to hear directly from Katherine! New episodes launch every Tuesday at 7AM PST.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Sydney Sykes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BLCK VC. Founded in 2018, BLCK VC empowers and advances black venture investors by providing a focus community built for and by black venture investors. Out of Harvard undergrad, Sydney joined New Enterprise Associates as an investment analyst before moving on to e-commerce planning with Dolls Kill. Today, Sydney is also studying at Stanford GSB for her MBA. This week’s key themes and insights include solving the problems you see in the world, the future of direct-to-consumer investing, and the integral role of a unique perspective and driving innovation. Let’s open the door. Season 4 of The Room Podcast is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. Learn more about SVB’s Access to Innovation initiative here. … Key Theme 1: Solving the problems you see in the world Blck VC is evidence that you have the ability to solve the problems you see in the world. Sydney took her lived experience and passion for building a better tomorrow into action. This passion to unlock more equity in who’s represented in venture led her to create her non-profit. Whether you’re thinking of starting a non-profit or a for-profit business that solves something you deeply believe should change; Sydney reminds us that you are empowered to build for that future. Key Theme 2: Direct-to-consumer Brands and their Evolution Having spent time in operations at Dolls Kill, a venture-backed DTC brand, Sydney has unique insights into the future of e-commerce. As an investor, Sydney is compelled by brands who are taking a more differentiated approach to finding and cultivating community with their customers. She specifically is interested if they’re providing a product or service that no one else is offering. Two driving questions Sydney shared when it comes to investing in DTC are What's different about what I'm building? Why is this going to take off in a way that works for venture capital? Key Theme 3: The integral role of a unique perspective and driving innovation Sydney believes the venture capital industry’s growth is dependent on unique perspectives and new ideas. “If a venture capital firm continues to have the same perspectives for long periods of time, or doesn't bring in new networks or doesn't bring in something that gives them a competitive advantage, that firm will fall behind.” She gives the example that lack of diversity in a firm leads to a massive ecosystem gap. Without any black investors, firms are missing 15% of consumers as well as the inability to relate to and fully understand some of their founders. … Thank you to Sydney for joining us in The Room! We will be back next week with a new episode on Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 7AM PST.

Welcome to Season 4 of The Room Podcast! We start off this brand new season with Kara Goldin, Co-Founder and CEO of Hint. Hint is known for its healthy fruit-infused flavored water that brands itself as a better alternative to sugar-laden sodas and artificially sweetened drinks. Hint Water in a variety of fun and fruity flavors is found at any local supermarket. Today, Hint has also expanded its product line to sun and body items, including sunscreen and deodorant. Kara’s newest book Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters is also available now for purchase. In this week’s episode, Madison and Claudia chat with Kara on value-driven product development, building and growing a CPG brand, and accidental entrepreneurship by being undaunted. Let’s open the door.

In the Season 3 finale of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia sit down with Heidi Zak, CEO and Co-Founder of ThirdLove, a multi-generational women's lifestyle brand focused on elevated essentials across bras, underwear, loungewear, and much more. ThirdLove’s products are designed to support women feeling effortlessly comfortable and confident. ThirdLove is also the third largest underwear and bra retailer in the world, which is a true testament to how its unique model truly disrupted how consumers shop for bras and other essentials. This week’s key themes include what fundraising looks like for non-software businesses, finding product market fit and innovating on distribution, and the future of e-commerce. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia cover a relevant topic as the world begins to re-open and adapt to a life post-pandemic: the future of work. They are joined by two CEOs, Frank Weishaupt and Roy Hirshland, who are both innovating on the new normal as leaders of their companies. Frank is the CEO of Owl Labs, a video collaboration technology company that provides the inclusive meeting experience remote participants need and deserve. Roy is the CEO and Co-Founder of T3 Advisors, a global real estate firm that inspires companies to think more strategically about real estate and their workplace. We discuss key insights and tactical advice surrounding the future of work, including the hardware and software tools needed to empower a hybrid work culture, leadership’s vital role as reopening brings transition, and multi-generational perspectives on navigating a crisis while empowering employees to thrive at work. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley. The questions today were researched through SVB’s Future of Work Report.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia chat with Analisa Goodin, Founder and CEO of Catch&Release, a company making it easier to discover the best content for an open web and making it available for licensing to agencies and brands worldwide. As a classically trained artist and art historian, Analisa personally understood these pain points of creatives. This past April, Catch & Release announced its $15M Series A, led by Accel. We cover the key themes of the intersection between art, creatives, and technology, tips for fundraising and pitching for founders who don’t have traditional tech backgrounds, and how Analisa translated customer pain points into a scalable marketplace. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by SVB and Cooley. Find this newest episode of The Room Podcast on all streaming platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. Enjoy!

In this week’s episode, Madison and Claudia sit down with Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder, President and COO of Cloudflare. Public since 2019, Cloudflare is a web performance and security company keeping millions of businesses and, by association, consumers safe online through their cybersecurity infrastructure, stopping over 70 billion attacks a day. Michelle is one of few female founders to take a company public, and now Cloudflare is valued at over $24 billion as the world increasingly realizes the importance of keeping our internet safe. We discuss with Michelle themes including diversity of thought in co-founding teams, the power of changing your own framing of a problem, and only needing to get a few things right. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is sponsored by our friends at SVB and Cooley.

In this week’s episode of The Room Podcast, Madison and Claudia cover early stage startup legal needs, an essential part of the startup journey. Oftentimes, the first round of fundraising is the first time founders will interact with lawyers, and this relationship will continue for years beyond just the initial fundraise. They are also joined by Lauren Creel, Early-Stage Partner at Cooley, to help walk us through what the legal side of startup fundraising looks like. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Cooley is an international law firm with one of its specializations in startup and venture capital legal needs. We are proud to be sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank alongside Cooley LLP for Season 3 of The Room Podcast. This week’s key learnings include when to involve a lawyer when you are starting a startup, understanding the common components of a term sheet and what to look out for, and finally digging into the legal implications of company building decisions. Let’s open the door.

We are so excited to sit down with Maria Salamanca, Partner at Unshackled Ventures, in the newest episode of The Room Podcast. Unshackled Ventures is a pre-seed venture firm focused entirely on investing in immigrant founders. An immigrant herself, Maria came to the United States from Colombia when she was six years old. After attending UC Berkeley, Maria joined the FWD.us team, a political organization supporting immigration reform started by tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. In 2015, she joined Unshackled Ventures and was recently named Partner at the firm. Before Madison and Claudia chat with Maria, our two co-hosts walk us through the pre-seed round from both the founder and funder perspectives. This week’s episode explores the key themes of navigating the pre-seed round, the unique experiences of being an immigrant founder, and the value of time versus money in the early stages. Let’s open the door. This episode is brought to you by Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley LLP.

This week on the room, we are thrilled to be sitting down with SJ, Sacchetti, CEO of Cleo, a working parent family benefits platform for employers. SJ didn’t always think she was going to become a CEO and chats with us about her career path, her learnings along the way, and what it's like coming into a company as CEO just months before COVID and work from home. SJ started her career in politics and policy, cutting her teeth in the world of political fundraising, which “set her clock” for the startup world. SJ made her way into tech as a marketing consultant at Formspring, then as SVP of Marketing at Collective Health, and ultimately CMO- a pivotal step towards her career at Cleo. After nearly 5 years at Collective Health, SJ joined Cleo as CEO late 2019. This March, Cleo announced their $40 million dollar Series C round. Today we dig deeper into themes such as leadership during unfamiliar and unusual circumstances, overcoming imposter syndrome, and being a boss amidst uncertainty. Let’s open the door. This episode is brought to you by our partners at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley LLC.

In The Room Podcast’s very special Season 3 opener, Claudia and Madison sit down with the one and only, Ciara. We all know her as the Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter behind hit classics like “1, 2 Step,” “Goodies,” and “Level Up,” but she is also a businesswoman and entrepreneur behind multiple businesses. Ciara is the CEO and Founder of music label Beauty Marks Entertainment, through which she produced her latest album, as well as Co-Founder of The House of LR&C, a fashion house she started with husband Russell Wilson. This week’s special episode walks through the themes of digital media’s transformation of the music industry, having a level up mentality, and surrounding yourself with people aligned to your vision. Let’s open the door. Season 3 is brought to you by our partners at Silicon Valley Bank and Cooley.

We cannot believe that we have concluded season 2, but are even more excited for season 3, airing next week! Thank you so much to all of our listeners for joining us on The Room! We have big plans for Season 3, launching Tuesday, May 4th, featuring international pop star & entrepreneur.... *drumroll please*.... Ciara Wilson! But before we enter the room where it happened with a whole new slew of entrepreneurs, we take a look back on Season 2, its guests, our biggest takeaways, and share some life updates.

Yesterday, Brex announced their Series D round, led by Tiger Global, which now valued them at $7.4 billion. Today, we share an episode of The Room Podcast that just couldn’t wait! Madison and Claudia sit down with Henrique Dubugras, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brex in late March. For those who don’t know, Brex is the unicorn fintech startup that provides the all-in-one money and banking solution for startups. Both Brazilian natives, Henrique and his co-founder Pedro Franceschi founded Pagar.me before both attending, then dropping out of Stanford to found Brex. We discuss the key themes of deciding what market you are built for, the multi-time co-founder experience, and Brex’s decision to remain fully remote in the future. Let’s open the door.

In the Season 2 finale of The Room, we sit down with Trae Vassallo, co-founder of early stage venture fund Defy.vc. Out of undergrad at Stanford, Trae worked for the iconic design and innovation firm IDEO, developing products for companies including the Palm Pilot and Dell. During her second year of business school at Stanford, Trae founded Good Technology, a mobile device company whose purpose was to connect islanded devices to the Internet. Good Technology sold to Motorola for $500 million. Through a relationship built with John Doerr and Kleiner Perkins backing Good Technology, she then spent 11 years at Kleiner Perkins. In 2016, Trae and fellow industry veteran Neil Sequeira founded Defy.vc where her paths intersected with our co-host Madison a few years back. On today’s episode we discuss the early days of the Internet, the pros and cons of venture funding, and how an opening of the venture ecosystem has fostered more equity and inclusion across the table. Let’s open the door.

In this week’s episode of The Room, we welcome Liz Meyerdirk, CEO of The Pill Club, a women’s telehealth platform that simplifies and personalizes the experience of prescribing and delivering birth control. Prior to joining The Pill Club Team, Liz was a founding member of the Uber Eats team, leading strategy and global business development for six years. As The Pill Club hit a $100 million run rate, Liz joined as chief executive officer, now leading the team into an exciting product line launch that we have the exclusive on! We talk knowing when to launch a new product line, transitioning CEOs in a growth-stage startup, and the future of women’s health care. Let’s open the door.

This week on The Room, we sat down with Zubin Koticha, co-founder and CEO of Opyn. Opyn is a decentralized finance platform for ethereum options, which recently raised their series A, lead by Paradigm only months after their seed. Zubin graduated from Berkley in 2018 after a Manu-year love and obsession with the crypto space. Post-graduation Zubin worked at Thunder researching blockchain but soon started open with his two co-founders Alexis and Aparna in 2019. Zubin has worked in the crypto space through highs and lows, but given today’s wildly hot crypto market, I think it's safe to say Zubin and the Opyn team are hitting product-market fit. Today we will learn more about fundraising during difficult times, navigating a pivot, and a lot about crypto, DeFi, and NFTs. Let's open the door.

In this week’s episode of The Room, we talk to Allison Barr Allen, Co-Founder and COO of Fast, a one-click, passwordless checkout platform. Allison started her career as tech consultant with PwC then joined Uber in its early days, eventually serving as Head of Global Product Operations on the Money Team. While launching Uber Money products including Instant Pay, Cash, and Wallets, Allison delved into the world of angel investing. In 2019, she met her Fast Co-Founder Domm Holland on Twitter, and within a few months had raised a Series A funding of $20 million. Less than a year later, the Fast team raised $102 million in Series B Funding led by Stripes this January. We discuss the early days of Uber, how Fast grew so fast, and why investing is for everyone. Let’s open the door.

Claudia and Madison welcome Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO and Co-Founder of Neeva, into The Room this week. Sridhar immigrated from India for his PhD in Data Science at Brown, back in 1989. Today, Sridhar is a Silicon Valley legend, first growing Google’s search ad program to a $115 million business as the Senior Vice President of Ads and Commerce. After 15 years with Google, he joined Greylock as a Partner, a position he still holds today. Now, he’s also onto his newest venture called Neeva, an ad-free private search engine that just announced its Series B funding of $40 million led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock. Through Neeva, Sridhar is rebuilding trust within the Internet, reimagining the ways we can use data for value. We discuss information and privacy in serving your customer, rethinking pre-existing mental models, and leadership principles. Let’s open the door.

In this week’s episode, we welcome Jesse Draper, Emmy-nominated television star turned venture capitalist who founded Halogen Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on investing in female entrepreneurs. You’ve seen her on TV in The Naked Brothers Band and as the host of The Valley Girl Show, interviewing tech and business entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. As a fourth-generation venture capitalist, Jesse moved away from entertainment to build her own venture firm, Halogen Ventures, which invests entirely in female founding teams. Having recently closed her second fund, Jesse is just getting started on changing the technology ecosystem for the better. Jesse shared with Madison and Claudia the value of building a brand for yourself, her experiences on being an angel and an institutional investor, and her thoughts on the future for female founders. Let’s open the door.

This week on The Room, we sit down with Jane Metcalfe. Jane was the co-founder of the legendary Wired magazine and media company, TCHO chocolates, and now NEO.LIFE. In the early 1990s, Jane and her life partner and co-founder Louis Rossetto came to the Bay Area with the idea and passion to build a magazine and media company devoted to cutting-edge technology. This magazine is what we now know as the iconic Wired, home to some of the most futuristic, but also technology-defining stories. Jane and Louis launched Wired with a big story to tell: the internet becoming mainstream. Today we chat with Jane to hear about her three-time founding stories, from media to chocolates, to biotech, Jane has seen it all and has some deep wisdom to share. Let's open the door.