Technori Podcast With Scott Kitun

Anders Jones, co-founder and CEO of Facet Wealth, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Facet Wealth is a fintech company offering personalized financial advice and wealth management services. Today, Facet announced a $100 million  Series C round led by Durable Capital Partners LP  to fuel its growth with users, team and tech suite. Through a combination of proprietary tech and access to CFP (Certified Financial Planner) professionals, Facet wants to serve an underserved market of 40 million American households with an affordable subscription model (as opposed to AUM-based fees). Anders talks to Scott about securing the Series C and how he and his cofounders came up with the idea helping their mothers he likes to call "The Tale of the Three Mothers". Scott and Anders talk about changing the standards of financial literacy in the US, changing public perceptions around debt (it CAN be a tool) and offering more sophisticated financial advice than retail investors are privy to through apps like Acorns. They also touch

Matt Massucci, co-founder and CEO of Hirewell, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Hirewell is a recruiting platform that connects employers with prospective talent nationwide.  The company just received a $21 million strategic investment from  global investment firm Pyrtek. Matt shares some of the details and how Hirewell is focusing on tech, growth, and acquiring an Israeli software startup ICV. Scott and Matt talk about the state of recruiting two years into the pandemic, the hot, Hot HOT job market (for tech professionals especially) and how companies can find a better way to stand out to prospects in a candidate's market. Matt also talks about about the  20-year journey he's been on since founding Hirewell, how tech went from a small niche in recruiting to the mainstream, and why he feels the company is in the spot he always envisioned. 

Joe Reinke, founder and CEO of FitBUX, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Joe gives the the pitch on FitBUX, an automated software solution to financial planning. From student loans to stocks, FitBUX measures your financial data and provides easy-to -understand analysis for you to make money decisions. Scott and Joe talk about the future of investing, the growth of retail investing and why financial planning is due for sizable disruption. Joe shares how FitBUX combines automation with a human connection, providing coaching to users to best use the software and harness results from the data. FitBUX is currently raising a round in the crowd on Republic. 

Gabby Cazeau, Principal at Harlem Capital, joins the show with Scott Kitun.  Harlem Capital is a venture capital firm with a core mission to invest in a  thousand diverse founders (including Chicago's very own CASHDROP) over 20 years and  change the faces of entrepreneurship. Gabby shares her journey from intern to Principal at Harlem Capital and how she's been supported to follow her interests finding solutions to inequalities and strengthening communities. Scott and Gabby dig into the state of venture capital today, helping founders pass by bad investors, and creating a broader understanding for what a diverse tech ecosystem looks like. Gabby is currently interested in companies dealing in ecommerce, fintech and software.

Leore Avidar, founder and CEO of Alt, joins the show with Scott Kitun.  As cryptocurrencies have exploded in popularity so has the rise of other forms of alternative assets like NFTs, wine and sports cards. Alt is one of the platforms leading the charge in making trading cards an investable commodity, with the idea of making everything investable a liquid asset. Leore talks about the origin story for Alt when he tried to get a bank loan against his cards (spoiler: the bank didn't accept) and set him on a course to legitimize cards as currency for longtime fans and retail investors alike. Scott and Leore get into the future of cards, liquid auctions, how to make banks fun and thinking through the customer experience from beginning to end. 

Pek Pongpaet, founder of impekable and longtime Technori alum, joins the show with Scott Kitun. impekable provides UX design services to tech companies, including work with  Adobe and Twilio  among many others. Pek talks about his journey from Chicago to the Bay Area (and back again), how design has been mainstreamed into tech, comparing the talent landscapes between Chicago and Silicon Valley and how much the vibe in Chicago is changing. 

Will Glaser, founder and CEO of Grabango, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Prior to founding Grabango, a check-out free technology for grocery stores and convenience stores, was the co-founder of Pandora, one of the pioneers in digital music streaming. As the son of a college professor and a psychoanalyst, Will has had a lifelong tug of war between the left and right side of his brain. He attributes this tug of war to his main interest starting companies at the intersection of technology, consumer impact and business. Will talks about how focusing on this trifecta gives him a business model blueprint for developing startups, how it links Pandora and Grabango and solving consumer pain points. Scott and Will share their thoughts on best hiring practices and why founders should be prepared to step aside (eventually) from their companies in order to sustain its development. Will also dives into Grabango's shopping experience, how it compares to Amazon Go and why checkout-free technology is poised to take over mai

Pete Wilkins, Managing Director at Hyde Park Angels and author of Purpose + First Entrepreneur, joins the show with Scott Kitun.  Over the course of his career, Pete has worked with all kinds of business leaders, young founders and everyone in between. One of the main drivers of success (and failures) he's observed in his own life and others is working each day with the idea of purpose. The goal for Pete is simple: help more people love who they are and what they do. With the framework of purpose laid out in the book (and accompanying workbook), Pete creates a path for others to find clarity in their work objectives, personal wellness and unlock your highest performance. On the show, Scott and Pete talk about their their own trials and tribulations, how to take care of yourself and how Pete put together the Purpose First structure over the last decade. You can find the Purpose First book here. 

Anthony Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Vinovest, a wine investing platform, joins the show with Scott Kitun. The age of retail investing and collecting is upon us and never before have so many people been able to invest in everything from baseball cards to NFTs. Why not fine wines? Anthony answers resoundingly how a long-time collector's item - wine - is a natural  fit as an alternate asset in anyone's portfolio. In a thoughtful conversation, Anthony and Scott walk through the  appeal for wine as an asset class and how Vinovest acts as your marketplace, portfolio, education center and wine cellar. Anthony also shares his journey as a repeat founder and how he googled "what do rich people invest in" when he first started to personally invest and eventually that started spurred the idea for Vinovest. Anthony and Scott also talk about the similarities to buying/storing cards  like Alt. Anthony recommends what wines anyone should start with and how to on the platform based on when you want the best ROI. You can fol

David Cheng, Principal at DCM Ventures, joins the pod with Scott Kitun. The role of VC isn't the same as your father's, or even your grandfather's VC anymore. No longer is venture capital only about getting a check once and being hands off otherwise. As we've started to see with a16z and rolling funds, DCM's methodology is to play a hands on role with founders in clear, specific niches to grow an idea into a full grown business. David and Scott talk about the changes in VC and why there is an increased expectation on a firm and its associates to earn a board seat by playing an active role in the company, providing resources, strategy almost like a fellow co-founder. David shares his experiences working with companies (primarily in fintech and health tech), how the future of investing is starting to turn into full incubation, "pre-idea" stage by essentially recruiting entrepreneurs to start companies and build businesses from the ground up. Scott and David also dive into emerging tech, role of crypto, where to

Tony Sheffler known for his trading expertise and founder of employee happiness and retention company HappyWork, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Tony and Scott kick off the pod with an all-encompassing conversation on #thehobby, what the differences are between PSA, SGC and why SGC is in such a good position to really shine in the market. They talk about Fanatics entry into the world of trading cards, why they aren't going anywhere and seeing what they have to do to get Alt or Fanatics to sponsor the show. In the second half, Tony dives into employee retention and how he and his cofounder evolved the idea of the company over time to reach workers better with a messaging program. Scott and Tony go back and forth on why survey-based assessments of employee happiness only shows you what's happened in the past and usually doesn't show what employees are concerned about in real-time before they leave the company. HappyWork is a tool that can be used to increase employee reach and engagement, awareness of work ben

Sahil Lavingia, founder and CEO of Gumroad and author of the new book "The Minimalist Entrepreneur" joins the show with Scott Kitun. Scott and Sahil share their passion for the changes coming to investing such as equity crowdfunding and retail investor movement. Sahil earlier this year raised $5 million in one of the fastest filled rounds ever on Republic, and plans to open up future crowdfunding rounds when needed. Gumroad is a digital marketplace where users can sell memberships, courses, books and other services and is built on the idea that creators can control their own business infrastructure by building an audience and using an internet connection. Sahil talks about the long journey for Gumroad, why investing is increasingly liquid, and how crowdfunding as a tool will need continued support and development from the private sector (entrepreneurs, platforms) and incremental modifications in policy from the government. Scott and Sahil also talk about his book (released Oct 26th) and how his experiences, b

Brian Morrissey, former President/EIC of Digiday and current writer of the media business Substack The Rebooting, joins the show with Scott Kitun.  They get into it all things  media and the business of media, and how this period of upheaval with the pandemic is a chance to get things right and inspired The Rebooting name. Brian talks about changes that should happen - both in media companies and companies in general - and much of it has to do with accepting less control over employees (i.e. work from home and other benefits). They talk about how being so much more online helps people learn to identify scams, how different generations view work and how we can fix problems in the US that have broad agreement without falling into tribal arguments. Scott and Brian chat about how crypto could play an important role in addressing media business models and a litany of life topics: running, bachelor parties, looking back at the last three decades, serial killers in the 80s and more!

John Pompliano, co-host of the The Best Business Show on YouTube with his brothers Anthony and Joe, joins the pod with Scott Kitun. They dive into the new media landscape, finding the right balance between newsletters, video and social posting. John and Scott riff on the  pros and cons of sponsorship, advertising and subscription models for digital media businesses, and how market appetites favor flexibility which smaller groups like the Pompliano brothers or individuals can muster better than bigger companies. John talks about his goals to advocate for personal finance and how to get the next generation deeper into philanthropy and helping people.  

Andrew Gluck, GP at irrvrntVC, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Andrew runs through his career from working with name brands, cofounding his own agency to getting into venture capital and how he fell in love with startups. Scott and Andrew trade stories and ideas about working with founders and other VCs, the pros/cons of rolling funds, why founders should know their numbers and be good at sales, how to come up with your investing thesis and more. irrvrntVC invests in startups from seed to seed+, providing hands on support including strategy, key hires, partnerships, office space, etc.

Phil Libin, founder of video communications app mmhmm,  joins the show with Scott Kitun. Previously the founder of Evernote, Phil shares his thoughts on how timing is everything in entrepreneurship - it certainly was the case with Evernote (the iPhone changed the game for digital note-taking) and has taken hold with mmhmm. After mmhmm's $5 million seed round led by Sequoia Capital early on in the pandemic, investors realized emphasis on video communications wasn't a short-term fad, but an evolution of the workplace, culminating in mmhmm's recent $100 million round led by Softbank Vision Fund. Phil and Scott talk about looking at remote work instead as "distributed work" and why we need to transform the idea of how we get work done. Finally, Phil shares his thoughts on being a "rigorous optimist" as an entrepreneur (focusing on progress you can make yourself) and how he landed on the mmhmm name instead of something more conventional and boring.  Featuring: Phil Libin (@plibin) founder at mmhmm Host: Scott Kitu

Alex Wilhelm, Senior Editor at TechCrunch and well-known as @alex on Twitter, joins the show with Scott Kitun. Scott and Alex share their feels being able to talk to so many founders and struggles keeping up on email. They run through Alex's Chicago roots and Technori nostalgia - Alex talks about how Technori events helped familiarize him with the tech scene during his college years and early professional years. Scott and Alex talk about the big changes in venture capital and the growing number of people joining the space, seeing niches like solopreneurs and equity crowdfunding shoot up in popularity. Scott finishes off the show with a little game of founder pantheon, who are some of the greatest founders of all time and why?

Matt Fairhurst, co-founder and CEO of Skedulo, joins the show with host Scott Kitun. Skedulo is a project management and productivity platform that is geared towards the majority of the workforce (up to 80% globally according to Skedulo) that doesn't work behind a desk. Matt talks about how they started with four clients in four different industries that needed better management on their core physical tasks, and how that bloomed into whole business offering productivity solutions for companies worldwide. Fresh off a $75 million Series C led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, Matt talks about their growth in Europe and the US, how they integrate with other platforms and what's next for Skedulo. They also banter about changes to the workforce since the start of the pandemic, the heightened appreciation for digital transformation across industries running on analog and how Skedulo played a role in scaling up COVID-19 testing.

Indiegogo CEO Andy Yang joins the show to talk crowdfunding shop with Scott. They kick off with some banter about all things Indiegogo (having just had former Indiegogo CEO David Mandelbrot on now at Reverb) and how much things have changed since it launched in 2008. Andy also shares how the platform has grown through the pandemic and general upward trends in the crowdfunding space as a result. Scott and Andy share the belief that crowdfunding is becoming increasingly the simplest way to raise capital for your project, company or idea. If you're interested in creating a campaign, email the team launch@indiegogo.com

Steven Salz, co-founder and CEO of Rivalry joins Scott to talk about the wide world of esports, video games and building the ability to bet on those games with the Rivalry platform (18:35). In the intro Scott talks about his experience at the National Sports Collector's Convention, how tech founders like Steven are finding ways to disrupt an old way of doing things in the collecting/betting business, how dealers look at cards and viewing cards and strategic bets is a trend that is here to stay. Steven digs into how Rivalry works, the rise of NFTs and how digital assets will become ubiquitous as Gen-Z ages up into the workforce. Scott and Steven share their passoin for games and how building a sportsbook for gamers (and attracting new demographics into the space) is some of the more exciting changes happening next to meme stocks and crypto, among other things.