On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Adriana Carrig, Founder & CEO at Little Words Project, a bracelet sharing company that invites female entrepreneurs into a collaborative and uplifting digital community. Frank and Adriana disc…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber), is joined by Allyson Kapin. Allyson Kapin, the Founder of Women Who Tech, Co-Founder of Rad Campaign, and a General Partner and Co-Founder at W Fund, leads grassroots movements to bolster diversity in the…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber), is joined by Aubrie Pagano. Aubrie Pagano is a General Partner at Alpaca VC, a venture capital firm investing in the people, products, and platforms reimagining the real world. Before joining Alpaca VC, A…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Natalia Talkowska and Rohit Bhargava. Natalia Talkowska is the Founder of Natalka Design, a high-stake visual consultancy that provides communication tools to enable leaders to communicate and…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Ali Sabti, CEO of automated lawn servicing company OtO (https://otolawn.com). We invite you all to join our community today to access the support, expert advice, and resources you need to elev…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Aron Kansal of SimpleTix (www.simpletix.com/) and Vikram Bodas from Occom Ventures (www.occomventures.com/). Aron Kansal is the founder of SimpleTix, an online ticketing product for attractions, festi…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Ann Shoket, Founder of New Power Media and CEO of TheLi.st, a private community of innovators and entrepreneurs devoted to helping each other network, succeed, and thrive in a competitive envi…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Becky Center, CEO of crowdfunding behemoth Indiegogo. In this interview, we discuss the growth and development of Indiegogo, the expansion of crowdfunding, and how to handle partnerships, succ…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, our host, entrepreneur, and investor, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) is joined by Gary Kusin, Co-Founder of GameStop and Laura Mercier Cosmetics, former President and CEO of Kinkos, and author of his new book “Always Learning: Lessons on Leveling up from Gamestop to Laura M…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) introduces a panel of entrepreneurial experts as they discuss the emergence of AI and how to utilize this new tool in support of entrepreneurial endeavors. This panel, which took place at the Established House at SXSW 2024, and features insigh…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Frank Gruber (http://linkedin.com/in/frankgruber) interviews serial entrepreneur and unicorn investor, speaker, and author, Paulo Andrez as we’ll talk about his new book, Zero Risk Startup which comes out in May 2024. Get your copy of the book here: https://amzn.to/4aoRJgZ We invite you all to joi…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Arlan Hamilton that took place at the Established house at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Arlan is the Founder and Managing Partner at Backstage Capital and the author of her new book “Your First Million.” What’s amazing is she launched a $20M+ fund from scratch while she was hom…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Corten Singer from Augmental, the winner of the CTA Foundation Pitch competition at CES 2024. Corten is the cofounder of Augmental, which just recently launched the MouthPad, a bluetooth-enabled intraoral interface for hands-free control of your computer, smartphone, and …

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview from Rich Belsky, who recently founded Crevo - www.crevo.com. Crevo is an entrepreneurial wellness consultancy focused primarily on early-stage startup founders and CEOs, solopreneurs, and corporate leaders. Crevo combines tactical, strategic guidance with mindset and energy m…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an investor discussion was led by our own Established Co-CEO Jen Consalvo at a pitch event we hosted online a few months ago. The panel included Dahna Goldstein, who is the Chief Investment Officer of Halcyon and Co-Managing Director of the Halcyon Fund. Phoebe Van Duinen was also on the p…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Dr. Richard Munassi that took place at SXSW. Dr. Munassi is a serial entrepreneur, the co-founder of Blackfin Technology Partners, and co-founder of Medzoomer. Discussing his latest venture as the Director of the Tampa Bay Wave Accelerator program, Munassi highlights his …

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Mike Evans that took place at SXSW. Mike is the Co-Founder of GrubHub, as well as the founder of Fixer, a Chicago-based company building the "right now" handyman service. Mike’s latest book venture, "Hangry: A Startup Journey", is an exciting memoir about his co-founding …

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Rohit Bhargava that took place at SXSW. Rohit is the Founder and Chief trend curator of the Non-Obvious Company, where he is a forward thinking storyteller, author and keynote speaker. Most recently, Rohit Co-authored "The Future Normal: How We Will Live, Work and Thrive …

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Hope Shimabuku that took place at SXSW. Hope is the Regional Director of the Texas Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where she carries out the strategic direction of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the US…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview with Kathryn Finney that took place at SXSW. Kathryn is a longtime community contributor and she is the Founder and Managing General Partner of Genius Guild, a Chicago-based venture fund that invests in scalable businesses led by Black founders using innovation to build and pr…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion that took place at the Established Lounge during SXSW with members from our partner for the event, Launch Tennessee. Specifically, the panel included Charles Layne, who currently serves as the Innovation Manager at Launch Tennessee where he works to facilitate the develo…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from SXSW with Jennifer Shieh and Michele Schimpp both from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Jennifer Shieh is the Director of Ecosystem Development at the SBA, and Michele Schimpp is the Deputy Associate Administrator at the SBA. During the conversation, we discu…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview from SXSW with Josh Williams, the Founder and CEO of Gowalla. In 2009, Josh and a small team of designers and technologists introduced Gowalla to the world at SXSW, helping inspire millions to “check in” on social media. Gowalla was then purchased by Facebook (now Meta) in 201…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a VC panel discussion from the Established Lounge at SXSW 2023 in Austin, which took place just after the announcement of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. The panelists included Erica Duignan Minnihan, who is the Founder and General Partner at Reign Ventures, Maria Pope, who is the Head o…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Jen Batchelor, the Co-Founder & CEO at Kin Euphorics (https://www.kineuphorics.com/). For those unfamiliar, Kin introduced a new category of adult beverage to the world with their collection of non-alcoholic, nootropic, botanic, and adaptogenic formulas that offer uplifting effects an…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Deepen Parikh, who is one of the founding partners at Courtside Ventures (www.courtsidevc.com). Courtside Ventures is an early-stage VC fund, investing across sports, collectibles, wellness/fitness and gaming, and they just announced their new $100M Fund. We also again shine a spotlig…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Robbie Cabral, who is the CEO and Founder at BenjiLock (www.benjilock.com), which has redefined the personal security experience through fingerprint hybrid technology with the consumer in mind. BenjiLock is a Startup of the Year alumni and they were also featured on Shark Tank. We als…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we’ve got an investor conversation that my Co-Founder, Jen Consalvo, and I had a discussion during our “Grow your startup” pitch competition. During the event, five companies had a chance to showcase their companies in front of our esteemed investor panel, which included our long-time friend and f…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Roy Schwartz, the co-founder and CEO of Axios HQ. Roy led Axios through multiple fundraising rounds, oversaw all company strategy and business operations and launched Axios HQ, an internal communications software platform to help teams communicate more effectively. Schwartz also serve…

On this very special 100th episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Mike Evans, the Co-Founder of GrubHub and the Founder of his new company, Fixer, which is a Chicago company building the "right now" handyman service. Mike talks about his journey as an entrepreneur and his new book “"Hangry: A Startup Journey" which is his memoir a…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Kurt Wilkin, who is the CEO at HireBetter (HireBetter.com), which is a national recruiting firm working directly with leaders of high-growth companies to build game-changing teams. He is also the Founder and a Partner at Bee Cave Capital, a Texas-based early-stage venture group that i…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Nate Andorsky, who is the founder of Effectual Ventures, a company that helps startups find and accelerate product market fit. Prior to that, he spent the last decade building an Inc. 5000 company and he was working with everyone from early stage startups to Fortune 500 companies such…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from a very special guest, Steve Case, who is currently the Chairman and CEO of Revolution and the Chairman of The Case Foundation. Most notably, he was also the Co-Founder of America Online or AOL. In 2014, Steve also launched Revolution’s Rise of the Rest, an initiative to accelerate the…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Touraj Parang, the President and COO at Serve Robotics and an Operating Advisor at Pear VC. Previously, he built and sold his own company Jaxtr, and helped with the acquisition of webs.com to Vistaprint. He also spent time as an acquirer at GoDaddy where he acquired dozens of business…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Mike Asem, who is the founding partner at M25 (https://m25vc.com), which is a venture capital investment firm targeting early-stage, tech-enabled startups in the Midwest. Mike also created a new board game called, “Unicorns To The Moon” and you can find out more about that game at: ww…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Susan McPherson, who is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. Susan is also the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, and the author of “The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships.” Find more about…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear from Chris Deutsch, who is the Founder of Lofty Ventures (loftyventures.com) and the Re-Founder at teaBOT (teabot.com). Chris has spent over 20 years starting up, investing in and working with early-stage, venture-backed startups in ecommerce, web and mobile applications, enterprise softwa…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, Erica Duignan Minnihan Returns! Erica is a long-time community member and the Founder and General Partner at Reign Ventures. She was at our 9th Annual Summit and talked with Matt Hunckler from Powderkeg about investment strategies and her interest in the new “We-Economy.” We are again continuing o…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, I talk with my long-time friend, Nick O’Neill, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Nifty (www.thenifty.com). The Nifty is a Web3 metaverse company with an audience of aspiring and existing NFT collectors and creators. They host daily shows, provide NFT market monitoring software, and are building an NFT…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from our last Summit with Courtney Caldwell and Dr. Tye Caldwell from ShearShare, who both talk about navigating a startup during a pandemic, and more. ShearShare (shearshare.com) is an Established Ventures portfolio company and they are the #1 salon and barbershop booth…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion from our last Summit called “Startup Lessons from Accelerating Startups” with Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams of the Established Ventures portfolio company, SoLo Funds (solofunds.com), and Lesa Mitchell, formerly of Techstars and now with HighAlpha Innovation. The cre…

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between our long-time friend Jenn Lim from Delivering Happiness and the author of Beyond Happiness and our Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo, when the two talk about leadership and building a company culture, amongst interesting topics. Also, we are continuing our segment where we highli…

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks and Lakshmi Shenoy, the CEO of Embarc Collective, the two will chat about grit, passion, leadership, and legacy at the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. Derrick played 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was inducted to …

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Nick Outman of the law firm Hill Ward Henderson (www.hwhlaw.com) and Lauren Coffey from Tampa Bay Inno and Tampa Bay Business Journal. The two talk about funding and setting up a startup for success from a legal perspective at the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summi…

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Andrew Nguyen from BARK and Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg, when they talked about product strategy and the “product mindset” at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. Andrew is a customer obsessed product leader who builds and grows consumer products. He’s a human c…

In this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a conversation between Jesse Middleton, who is the General Partner at Flybridge and Co-Founder at The Community Fund and Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg, which is a long time partner of Established and Startup of the Year. Flybridge is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on supporting amb…

In this episode you’re going to hear a Funding Panel discussion that took place as part of our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. The panel consisted of Julia Taxin from Grotech, Sherman Williams from AIN Ventures and Scout Ventures, and Heather Buffo from Republic along with Saxon Baum from Florida Funders. We live streamed our Summit, so if y…

In this episode you’re going to hear an interview with Jenny Fielding from our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit. who is a General Manager at The Fund. During the interview, Jenny talks about building one of the first corporate accelerators and her career as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. We live streamed our Summit, so if you were not…

In this episode you’re going to hear a conversation that I had with Anna Mason from the Rise of the Rest Fund and Revolution about investing between the coasts and investment themes. The conversation took place during our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit presented by ReliaQuest, hosted by Embarc Collective, and powered by Established. We also …

On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear an interview that our Team did with author-extraordinaire, Mert Iseri, at our 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit, which we hosted with Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Mert is from MATH Venture Partners and he talks about how a startup can “Exit Right,” which is also the name of his…