Funders & Founders

Conversations with leading startups and investors on what it takes to build and scale from the earliest days.

8. Miguel Fernández, Capchase - Non-Dilutive Growth Financing

Today's guest is Miguel Fernández, Co-Founder & CEO of Capchase, non-dilutive financing to turn recurring revenue into flexible growth financing for SaaS startups. We discuss Capchase's unfair data advantage and how that underpins their underwriting success, why the company has focused exclusively on financing technology startups, and how thinking strategically about cost of capital is a secret weapon for successful startup founders. Please enjoy this conversation with Miguel Fernández.

7. Carmelle Cadet, EMTECH - Modern Central Banking

Today's guest is Carmelle Cadet, Founder and CEO of EMTECH, an award winning central bank technology platform. EMTECH is bringing modern technology including fully digital regulatory sandboxes powered by APIs to central banks around the world. With initial clients in the Caribbean and Africa, the company's delivering on a vision that's as thoughtful about expanding financial inclusion as it is about helping central banks innovate. Please enjoy this conversation with Carmelle Cadet.

6. Pat O'Meara, Inveniam - Operating System for Data

Today's guest is Pat O'Meara, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Inveniam, a startup that provides data integrity and price discovery for infrequently traded assets including commercial real estate. We discuss why bad data leads to mispriced assets in private markets, how the company's software is unlocking trapped capital for major firms like Kushman and Wakefield and CBRE, and how the company uses blockchain to create a verifiable audit trail for every data point. Please enjoy this conversation with Pat O'Meara.

5. Stephan Cizmar, Lorimer Ventures - Empathy

Stephan Cizmar is Co-Founder and General Partner at Lorimer Ventures, a thematically focused, pre-seed through Series A venture capital firm. Lorimer has a unique operating partner first, investor second approach that relies on a deeply empathetic understanding of the founder and what it takes to build and scale great companies. We discuss what it means to dream with the entrepreneur, the role empathy plays in investing and building, and explore focus themes including Industry 4.0 and Commerce. Please enjoy this conversation with Stephan Cizmar.

4. Matt Mullenax, Huron - Brand Building

Today's guest is Matt Mullenax, Co-Founder and CEO at Huron, a direct to consumer men's care startup. In a category that can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable to talk about, Matt's built a remarkable brand. By marrying award-winning products with a deeply personal brand that both invites in customers as a creative partners and wears some of the awkwardness for them, Matt's scaled Huron to over 5000 five-star reviews and many thousands more repeat customers. We cover a lot ground, from doing things that don't scale like sending bagels to customers to keeping the brand fresh despite 18 month product cycles. Matt shares a lot of knowledge on what it means to build a brand and to deeply know your customers.

3. Michael Dowling, Mode Eleven - Building Banks

My guest today is Michael Dowling, co-founder at Jewel, the first de novo Bermudian bank in 50 years, and CTO at Mode Eleven Bancorp here in the US. Michael has been at the forefront of designing bank technology for over a decade. He brings a unique perspective on how building a bank is different than building other types of startups, the role for banks with crypto and stablecoins, why banks and startups should partner rather than try to go it alone, and how banking can play a vital role in revitalizing local communities. Please enjoy this conversation with Michael Dowling.

2. Joe Hasselmann, Invicta Growth - Growth Stage B2B Startups

My guest today is Joe Hasselmann, Founding & Managing Partner at Invicta Growth, an expansion and growth stage venture capital firm. With investments in Ocrolus, Blockdaemon, and other unicorns, Invicta Growth is a rapidly building a strong reputation as an emerging fund manager. Joe discusses his untraditional path into venture capital, the grit and the grind of building a firm from the ground up, and what sets Invicta apart for both founders and investors. Please enjoy this conversation with Joe Hasselmann.

1. Roland Mansilla, Safely Finance - Financing for Moving

My guest today is Roland Mansilla, Co-Founder and COO of Safely Finance. Safely Finance works with renters and property managers to help finance the costs of moving and renting. We discuss how financing is a win-win for renters and property managers, why Safely Finance took the hard path of becoming a lender rather than pursuing a buy now pay later model, and what it means to be a renter-first company. Please enjoy this conversation with Roland Mansilla.