Welcome to Innovation with Mark Peter Davis, a podcast dedicated to innovation, truth, and education.
Next Gen Sports Media with Dan Porter of Overtime
Dan Porter is the Co-Founder and CEO of Overtime, the leading brand for the next generation of sports fans. Dan and his team at Overtime identified that the traditional sports media players were (and still are) heavily invested in the old infrastructure like cable deals. That left an opportunity to create an agile sports media brand that would cater to the younger generation utilizing new technology such as social platforms.
Making Crypto Accessible to the Masses with Michael Sonnenshein of Grayscale Investments
Grayscale is one of the biggest heavyweights in the world of crypto investing. They offer investors direct access to crypto. Michael Sonnenshein their CEO and shares his thoughts on the current state of crypto.
Democratizing Machine Learning to Predict the Future with Richard Harris of Black Crow AI
Richard Harris is the Founder & CEO of Black Crow AI, a no-code, real-time machine-learning based predictive software that helps companies understand likely customer behavior. Richard’s a veteran entrepreneur and has been involved in tech since the 90s. During our chat we discussed how the world is turning into a browser and what that means for data, the machine learning industry, and key lessons he learned from past economic down cycles.
How to Sell Your Startup with Andrew Gazdecki of MicroAcquire
Andrew Gazdecki is the Founder & CEO of MicroAcquire, a marketplace that helps software companies match with interested buyers. He’s on a mission to help founders sell their companies more easily and is making a ton of progress. A significant number of companies are being sold through MicroAcquire every month. During the chat we discussed the ins and outs of MicroAcquire, Andrews’s tips for being a solo founder and dove deep into how to sell a company - where we covered important strategies to consider, the M&A process and market dynamics.
Solving The Admin Nightmare For Private Markets with Ryan Eisenman of Arch
Ryan Eisenman is the Co-Founder & CEO of Arch, a tech-enabled service that helps private investors organize all of the paperwork associated with their investments. During the convo we discuss the Arch solution, startup lessons and the fairness of investor accreditation laws in the US.
20% of Children Have Learning Differences, This Startup Is Here to Help | Diana Heldfond of Parallel
Diana Heldfond is the Founder & CEO of Parallel, an edtech platform empowering students with learning and thinking differences by providing them with a lower cost, faster solution for getting the support they need. Parallel is tackling a big problem. According to Diana 1 in 5 students has a learning and thinking difference that her platform can help address.
The Contrarian VC with Jeremy Levine of Bessemer Venture Partners
Jeremy Levine is a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. He’s been at the firm for 21 years and has quite the track record, which includes investments in the likes of Yelp, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Shopify. If you’re interested in how the VC industry works this is a great conversation for you.
The Inside Scoop on the US Healthcare System with Chas Sanders of MARGIN
Chas is a veteran of the healthcare industry and now the Founder & CEO of MARGIN, a tech-enabled procurement solution that helps Ambulatory Medical Centers purchase the equipment they need to operate. In addition to hearing about his company and lessons learned as a founder, what’s great about this conversation is hearing a sophisticated business person provide insights into why the healthcare industry is dysfunctional.
The Secret to Raising Capital for Your Company or VC Fund with Jason Kirby of Thunder.vc
Jason Kirby is the Co-Founder and CEO of Thunder, a platform that connects founders and VCs by utilizing a double opt-in, AI-based matching protocol that not only creates relevant deal flow for all parties, but also helps everyone save time and avoid spam. Thunder is a company that’s come out of the Interplay Foundry, the part of Interplay that builds companies from scratch. We started this with the mission of helping founders that lacked a strong network raise capital.
NFT 2.0: Creating Real Value with Sterling Campbell of Minotaur
Sterling Campbell is the CEO of Minotaur, a web3 platform that helps people and brands launch NFT projects. During our chat we talk all about what it takes to launch an NFT project, the current state of NFTs and what’s wrong with the space, what the future of NFTs will look like and much more.
The King of Marketplaces with Fabrice Grinda of FJ Labs
Fabrice Grinda is the Founding Partner at FJ Labs, a VC that specializes in marketplaces and invests in every geography in every category at any stage. As Fabrice puts it they do angel investing at venture scale. Last year they made almost 200 investments. This episode is titled “The King of Marketplaces” because - as you’ll hear during the chat - Fabrice is an expert when it comes to that type of business due to his experience starting what was essentially the ebay for Europe and then OLX, the Craigslist for the rest of the world.
Using Tech to Cure the Opioid Epidemic with Zack Gray of Ophelia
Zack Gray is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ophelia, a platform helping to combat the opioid crisis by revamping the drug rehab model. As they put it, their mission is to “replace folklore with science, drug dealers with doctors, and stigma with privacy, convenience, and choice.” We chat all about the company and the general opioid epidemic, including its history and the failed government response. Zack breaks it all down for us.
How To Get A Job In VC with John Gannon of The VC Careers Blog and GoingVC
John Gannon is Founder of The VC Careers Blog and Co-Founder of GoingVC. Between these two endeavors, John has become one of the goto channels for getting a job in venture capital. He started The VC Careers blog shortly after we graduated business school together in the late 2000s. Since then, it’s scaled and become one of the sources of transparency in the VC industry, listing available jobs, compensation and much more.
From ConnectU to SumZero, The Journey of Divya Narendra
Divya Narendra is the Founder & CEO of SumZero, an investment community where peer-reviewed professional investment research is shared amongst its members. Before his professional career, Divya attended Harvard where he became friends with the Winklevoss twins. If you’ve seen the movie The Social Network, Divya is the 3rd founder of ConnectU. Divya shares some fun stories about that chapter of his life and we chat all about his journey from ConnectU to SumZero.
Tovala: Building a Subscription Unicorn with David Rabie, Co-Founder & CEO of Tovala
Tovala invented a smart oven that perfectly cooks the chef-crafted meals that they offer, which makes them an interesting part hardware / part subscription hybrid. During the chat we discussed the ins and outs of Tovala - including the in-depth shipping process that’s required to efficiently and safely deliver ready to cook food, how David came to start Tovala and much more. Enjoy.
Blitzscale or Die: A How to Guide For Startups & Founders with Chris Yeh of Blitzscaling Ventures
Chris Yeh is the General Partner of Blitzscaling ventures and author of the book Blitzscaling, which is about the concept of blitzscaling. Blitzscaling is a startup strategy to scale rapidly in order to beat the competition in a winner-take-all market. During our chat we talk all about it and how founders & startups can execute the strategy.
Helping Homeowners Access Trapped Home Equity with Jarred Kessler of EasyKnock
Jarred Kessler is the Founder & CEO of EasyKnock. EasyKnock is a PropTech platform that offers a way for people to access the capital that’s locked in the value of their homes. During our chat we discussed how EasyKnock works and the various products they offer, Jarred’s path from Wall Street to entrepreneurship, the challenges in the overall housing market in America and much more.
The Ultimate Personalized Journey For Customers with Vivek Sharma of Movable Ink
Vivek Sharma is the Co-Founder & CEO of Movable Ink. They help businesses use data to create personalized content for customers at every stage of the marketing funnel. Vivek Sharma is the Co-Founder & CEO of Movable Ink, a marketing software that helps companies use data to create personalized content for customers at every stage of the marketing funnel. During the chat Mark and Vivek discussed the ins and outs of Moveable Ink, some important lessons Vivek’s learned while growing the company and adding so many employees, his perspective on capitalizing a startup and much more.
Winter Break Announcement
This is just a quick update for all the listeners out there. First, thank you for joining me on this journey. Second, we're taking a break for the next month. New episodes will come in mid-January. See you in '22!
Emotional Learning Products for Kids… and Their Parents with the Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Slumberkins
Callie Christensen and Kelly Oriard are the Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Slumberkins, a pre-school brand aiming to support families in the emotional wellness development of their children with educational products. During our chat we discussed the story behind Slumberkins, why teaching kids about emotions is important, the history of parentings and how strategies have changed over time, what they’ve learned about entrepreneurship, and much more.
Reimagining The Furniture Industry with Stephen Kuhl of Burrow
Stephen Kuhl is the Co-Founder and CEO of Burrow, a furniture company for the modern age that delivers the most convenient customer experience in the industry. During the interview Stephen shared a ton of great insights into the world of manufacturing. If you’re building a DTC business or a company that relies on manufacturing this is worth a listen.
Helping Renters Get Into Homes with Michael Rudoy of Jetty
Mike Rudoy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jetty, a financial services platform that helps make renting a home more affordable and flexible. In addition to helping renters get into homes, Jetty's services helps landlords and real estate managers manage their properties. During our chat we discussed the business model behind Jetty, Mike's entrepreneurial journey, the general state of housing in America and much more.
Debt Financing & Venture Capital: An Unlikely Synergy | Ali Hamed of CoVenture
CoVenture’s has found an interesting synergy between debt financing and venture capital. In addition to making venture investments, they provide balance sheet capital to innovative companies that are financing new asset classes.
How Do We Teach 2B Children? Democratizing Access to Tutors With AI | Nhon Ma of Numerade
Numerade is creating the TikTok for STEM education by using short form videos and artificial intelligence tutors. During the chat, Nhon shared his extremely inspiring personal journey and if you follow the thread of his story it seems as though he was destined to start this company. We discussed the intricacies of Numerade, how learning varies by states and countries, how education is evolving in the US and so much more.
Killing Debt With Tech To Save Americans with Jason Saltzman of Relief
Jason Saltzman is the Co-Founder, an app that helps people navigate the craziness when dealing with debt. During this chat we discussed the intricacies regarding debt in America, what it takes to build a strong community and strategies to make winning content on TikTok.
Operator Turned VC: How Eniac Ventures Acts Like A Startup Player-Coach w/ Nihal Mehta
Nihal Mehta is the Co-Founder of Eniac Ventures, a successful seed venture firm that has invested in unicorns like AirBnb and Boxed. Before becoming a VC, Nihal was a serial operator which has helped him become the successful startup player-coach he is today.
What WeWork Taught Us & The PR Playbook w/ Maureen Farrell of The New York Times and The Cult of We
Maureen Farrell is a reporter at the New York Times and the co-author of The Cult of We, a book all about the WeWork saga. During our chat we discuss WeWork and extract business lessons from its story + how founders can build and maintain media relationships.
The Next VC Frontier & Inside Silicon Valley w/ Sam Lessin, GP at Slow Ventures & Co-Founder of Fin
Sam is, in the truest sense, a Silicon Valley insider. He’s a part of the Harvard tech mafia, friends with Zuckerberg and has built a few different tech startups. During our chat we discussed how he sees the VC model changing (he has some strong opinions on this which are great), the evolution of media and its business models, the differences between US and China government strategies towards tech and a whole lot more.
US-China: Tech, Politics and Avoiding War w/ Zheng Huang of Committee of 100
Zheng Huang is the President of the Committee of 100, a US based non-profit leadership organization of about 100+ prominent Chinese Americans in a plethora of industries with a mission to help Chinese Americans thrive in the U.S. and to develop stronger relationships with China.
VC Lessons From A VC Founder and Professor at Columbia Business School | Angela Lee of 37 Angels
Angela Lee is the Founder of 37 Angels, an investment network that activates female investors through an educational bootcamp. She is also a professor at the Columbia Business School where she focuses on teaching about venture capital.
New Orleans: A Blossoming Tech & Innovation Hub with Hal Callais of Callais Capital
Hal Callais is a pivotal member of the startup and innovation scene in New Orleans and its surrounding area. We talk about everything from tech and innovation in New Orleans to the evolution of this ecosystem post Hurricane Katrina.
How New York State Is Becoming the Cleantech Capital with John Lochner of NYSERDA
NYSERDA was established in 1975 to support clean energy and protect the environment. They're the government entity in the state of New York that is taking the lead to help drive innovation in the CleanTech ecosystem.
The Playbook for Starting A Food Company w/ Mike Tarullo of Banza
Mike Tarullo is the COO at Banza, a food company making comfort foods using chickpeas. During our chat we do a deep dive into the world of food startups.
Summer Break Announcement!
As you can tell from the title, this isn’t a normal episode. I just wanted to give a couple of quick updates.
Meet My Mentor: Lessons From Veteran Venture Capitalist & Entrepreneur Jed Katz of Javelin VP
Jed Katz is the Managing Director at Javelin Venture Partners. Javelin is a premier VC firm that has invested in a ton of successful companies including a bunch of unicorns like Master Class and Thumbtack.
How to Profit from NFTs & Redefining Professional Networking w/ Alex Taub, Co-Founder & CEO of Upstream
On this week’s episode I chat with Alex Taub. Alex is the Co-Founder & CEO of Upstream, a digital platform that is redefining professional networking.
What LPs Wish GPs Knew According To One Of The Best LPs In The Industry, Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners
On this week’s episode I chat with Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Partners. Sapphire Partners invests in early-stage venture capital funds and Beezer leads their investment team, focusing on both domestic and international funds.
Online Ordering Software for Restaurants w/ Noah Glass of Olo
On this week’s episode I sit down with Noah Glass, Founder and CEO of Olo. Olo isn’t a household name, but that’s by design.
Tech-Enabling Children's Healthcare w/ Darius Monsef, Founder & CEO of Brave Care
On this week’s episode I chat with Darius Monsef, Founder and CEO of Brave Care. Brave Care is creating a new, better healthcare system for kids by providing primary, urgent & remote care catered just for them, 365 days a year.
Digitizing the Lottery: How to Partner With The Government w/ Peter Sullivan, CEO of Jackpocket
On today’s episode I sit down with Peter Sullivan, the Founder and CEO of Jackpocket. Jackpocket is digitizing the lottery - allowing everyone to play the lottery from their phone.
VC School Is In Session! Valuable VC lessons from a Harvard Business School professor Jeff Bussgang
On today’s show I chat with Jeff Bussgang, Co-Founder and General Partner of Flybridge Capital Partners, a Boston based VC fund with 700M under management.
The Real Estate Tech Revolution with David S. Rose, Founder & CEO of US Real Estate Market
On this week’s episode I have a great conversation with David S. Rose, a serial entrepreneur who’s current venture is US Real Estate Market, also known as USREM.
Building A $30B AUM Unicorn with Jon Stein, Founder of Betterment
On today’s show I chat with Jon Stein, the Founder and Chairman of Betterment. Betterment is an investing platform that helps people manage their money.
The Midwest Startup Boom w/ Nick Moran of New Stack of Ventures
On today’s episode I catch up with Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures. New Stack is a VC firm based out of Chicago, IL that focuses on early seed stage investing.
You Should Start Your Company In Atlanta | A convo with David Cummings of the Atlanta Tech Village, one of the country's largest innovation hubs
David Cummings is an entrepreneur who's on a mission to put Atlanta on the map when it comes to tech and venture capital. His current focus and passion is the Atlanta Tech Village, an innovation hub located in the heart of Atlanta.
Techstars: Behind the Scenes of their Global Venture Capital Operation with Founder & Chairman David Cohen
David Cohen is the Founder of Techstars, one of the largest venture capital operations in the world. Since 2006 they’ve been on a mission to help entrepreneurs succeed and have invested in over 2,400 companies. David gives us a behind the scenes look of Techstars and their venture capital business model.
The Future of Healthcare: In-Home Medicine w/ Zeel Founder & CEO Samer Hamadeh
Zeel started by providing in-home massage therapy, but looks a bit different these days. As you might suspect, the pandemic crushed their business and overnight their revenue went to zero. But in a time of crisis Zeel was able to leverage the logistics network they had built over the years to start offering in-home COVID testing. They’ve now expanded their services to include in-home medical services and have positioned themselves to be a pioneer in the nascent in-home-medicine market.
Innovation in Los Angeles & Using Social Media as a Business Professional w/ Upfront Ventures Managing Partner Mark Suster
As the Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures, Mark Suster has helped Los Angeles, where he and Upfront are based, reach the national stage when it comes to venture capital. The landscape was totally different 20 years ago and Mark/Upfront is a big reason why.
The Empathic VC: Supporting Founders & Giving Startups Time To Develop w/ Josh Stein of Threshold
As the Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures, Mark Suster has helped Los Angeles, where he and Upfront are based, reach the national stage when it comes to venture capital.
This is How to Win in Venture Capital with Greycroft Co-Founder & Partner Ian Sigalow
VCs invest in startups and founders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they always provide the support and patience that the founders need.
How VCs Get Money: The Capital Behind Venture Capital
Ian Sigalow is the Co-Founder and Partner of Greycroft, one of the biggest and most successful VCs out there
Saving Earth by Inventing New Materials with Andras Forgacs, Co-Founder & CEO of Modern Meadow
Modern Meadow is revolutionizing the materials industry by inventing brand new materials that can be used in our everyday lives.
Legal Cannabis in America with Ryan G. Smith, Co-Founder & CEO of LeafLink
The full legalization of cannabis is approaching FAST and with it a multi-billion dollar industry looms.
The Truth About Wine with Philip James, Founder & CEO Firstleaf
Philip James is the Founder and CEO of Penrose Hill / Firstleaf, a wine club for the modern age that uses data science to match the perfect wine for each customer based on their personal preferences.
Teaching the World How to Code with Codecademy Co-Founder & CEO Zach Sims
Zach Sims is the Co-Founder and CEO of Codecademy, an education company that empowers people to transform their personal and professional lives by helping them learn modern skills.
Why Israel Innovates Faster & the Role of Community with Yaron Samid, Serial Entrepreneur & Founder of TechAviv
What is Israel doing to produce the most startups per capita, VC dollars spent per capita, and unicorns per capita? This pod episode is about the startup, tech, and venture capital ecosystem in Israel that has helped it turn into an innovation hub.
Inside a Mega VC & University Entrepreneurship with Partner Peter Boyce II Partner at General Catalyst
Peter Boyce II is a Partner at General Catalyst, one of the preeminent venture capital firms out there. General Catalyst makes early-stage investments while backing exceptional entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies and market leading businesses.
Tech-Enabled Parenting, Marketing Wizardry and Activating Communities with Lisa Barnett Co-Founder, President, and CMO of Little Spoon
Lisa Barnett is the Co-Founder, President, and CMO of Little Spoon, a fresh, direct-to-consumer baby food and early childhood nutrition company reinventing the modern parent’s experience of keeping their child happy and healthy.
Winning in the Enterprise Space & the Future of Work with Jeff Wald Founder of WorkMarket
Jeff Wald is the Founder of WorkMarket, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to efficiently and compliantly organize, manage and pay freelancers.
The Truth About the Space Industry with Max Haot CEO of Launcher
Max is the CEO of Launcher, a company that's developing the world’s most efficient rocket to deliver small satellites to orbit.
Rebuilding the World Trade Center after 9/11, office space in a COVID shaped future, and the #1 investment to make in life with Tal Kerret of Silverstein Properties
Tal Kerret is the President of Silverstein Properties, a real estate development and management firm based in New York City.
Innovation with Mark Peter Davis
I believe innovation is hope. We live in a world full of challenges.
