School for Startups Radio

April 3, 2023 – Fair Winner to Company Vasya Tremsin and Many Profit Centers Caleb O’Dowd

Vasya Tremsin - Co-founder and COO of Torch Sensors    
Vasya Tremsin is Chief Operating Officer of Torch Sensors. He developed this groundbreaking concept of using multiple sensors to detect fires early, while still in high school. This concept won the Intel ISEF Best of Category Award in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania. Vasily holds degrees in computer science and economics and has worked at some of the world’s largest tech companies, including Microsoft and Visa.

March 31, 2023 – Whatever Decision Making Richard A. Moran and Letting Apps Talk Linden Tibbets

Richard A. Moran - Venture Capitalist, Evangelist for Organization Effectiveness and Author of Never Say Whatever: How Small Decisions Make a Big Difference          
Richard A. Moran is a noted San Francisco based author, business leader, venture capitalist, and evangelist for organization effectiveness. He is best known for his series of humorous business books beginning with bestselling, Never Confuse a Memo with Reality that started the genre of “Business Bullet Books.”​ His body of work includes ten books about using common sense in business. He is the host of the CBS syndicated radio program, "In the Workplace". He has served as a CEO, college president, global consultant and board member. He has appeared on CNN, NPR and most major media outlets. He continues to work with organizations to help them make better decisions. Rich Moran’s unique background allows him to provide a perspective about business and life that few others can share. He shares those unique observations in his latest book, Never Say Whatever, How Small Decisions Make a Big Difference. He has worked for or with some of the world’s leading organizations including Accenture, Apple, News Corp, American Airlines, PG&E and many others. He prides himself on his matter-of-fact manner of consulting and believes that many parts of the business world are needlessly complicated. He brings that perspective to bear as it relates to decision-making in Never Say Whatever. Moran holds a Ph.D. in organization behavior but his work is not academic. Research is important but he believes what is just as critical are the observations one can make by being in the “trenches” of business. His observations are candid, humorous and true. He has been an investor in successful companies as well as those who failed. He has served on corporate boards such as Glu Mobile and not-for-profit boards including the CraigsList Foundation. He still serves as an investor/advisor and is current on what is happening in the business world from Elon Musk to the “Great Resignation” and the “Great Layoff”.
 
Linden Tibbets - Co-Founder and CEO of IFTTT    
Linden Tibbets is the Co-Founder and CEO of IFTTT, an online platform that empowers you to do more with your favorite apps and smart devices by helping them automate and integrate so they can work together seamlessly. 700+ apps, services, and devices, including the world's biggest brands like Google, Discord, Slack, Dropbox, Alexa and Fitbit, as well as millions of their users rely on IFTTT for their most important integrations. From reminders (such as putting on sunscreen when the UV index is high) to notifications (letting your spouse know you’ve left work and are heading home, automatically), to tapping into the Internet of Things (turning on your lights when you unlock the front door) — IFTTT makes it easy to control and customize your world. To date, they've raised $62.5M from investors, including Salesforce and IBM, and their users perform 1B+ automations and integrations monthly. Linden launched IFTTT in 2010. Before that he worked at IDEO, the renowned product design firm, as a communications designer.

March 29, 2023 – eComm Scams Chris Malta and Tusk Browser Jeff Bermant

Chris Malta - eCommerce Expert and Author of EBIZ SCAMS REVEALED Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Scams: for Work at Home eBiz Owners 
The only way that I have seen to make good money on the Internet is having your own website, selling your own retail products.
Chris Malta is an entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of e-commerce, having spent over 25 years building successful online businesses and teaching others to do the same. His education classes are available on his site. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and getting his start as a young teenager, Chris actually has more than 45 years of overall experience as a successful entrepreneur in the retail, wholesale, service and online industries. In 1999, Chris became the Founder and CEO of Worldwide Brands, Inc., a Better Business Bureau (BBB) A+ rated wholesale supplier directory for home-based business. He’s also presented more than 800 live e-commerce business Workshops online and recently released a comprehensive one-on-one e-commerce Education course that includes and adds to the accepted best practices he’s been teaching for several years. During his 25+ years as an entrepreneur and e-commerce educator, he’s offered students more than 7,000 hours of personal business mentoring. He’s been a featured speaker at national internet conventions and written several e-commerce books, including one he wrote at eBay’s request, which was published by McGraw-Hill. Chris has worked face-to-face with Amazon and eBay executives, built successful product sales sites and—before some scammers became the star players in the affiliate (referral) marketing world, Chris created an ethical 27,000-member affiliate-marketing program. He’s owned a wholesale distribution company, spent years hosting live business talk radio shows for Entrepreneur Magazine and was Product Sourcing Editor for eBay Radio. He’s also created hundreds of e-commerce articles as well as videos and podcasts. Chris says he can't stand working for other people, but was born with what he calls, “that ‘wild hair’ that just keeps tickling my brain and telling me I have to be my own person, in charge of my own destiny.” Chris recognizes that independent streak in others and says his passion is to help them learn to set up successful e-commerce businesses. Toward that end, he offers his internationally acclaimed, educational 11-part EBiz Insider Video Series, (rated 4.9 / 5 by Trustpilot), free of charge at www.ChrisMalta.com. Yes, really! In addition to the earlier mention of teaching students the best methods for starting and running an online e-commerce business, Chris spends much of his time educating the public about the good and the dangers of work-from-home e-commerce scams.
 
Jeff Bermant - CEO & Founder of TUSK Browser 
In April 2022, we launched a new browser with freedom of speech at the core. We allow all sides equally.
Jeff Bermant started my career in real estate, founding one of the largest development companies in the Santa Barbara, California area. He developed close to three-quarters of a billion dollars in real estate with institutional partners, including UBS, Rockwood Capital, and Copley Real Estate Advisors. Success in real estate development brought him opportunities to invest in software development. His initial investment has become Cocoon, a full-time passion project in the digital privacy and security sector. He has been an entrepreneur from the beginning of my career, and many of the ideas implemented by Virtual World Computing have come from his enthusiasm for finding ways to solve complex problems with real-world solutions. Check out our his browser Tusk, the Free Speech Browser.

March 28, 2023 – neo.tax Ibrahim and Digital Marketing AgencyBox Dylan Vanas

Ibrahim - Co-Founder at neo.tax 
Companies are spending millions of dollars lobbying to keep the tax code complex. Our team of software engineers will take a few days to abstract that complexity so that the customer sees something easy to understand.
Ibrahim is the CEO of Neo.Tax, a leader in automated tax solutions for startups and small businesses. Anticipating this tax change, he has already built a platform that helps businesses navigate this change and save money. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 officially went into effect this year, and is completely changing the way R&D expenses can be deducted. This change impacts all businesses and startups, who may ultimately end up with a tax bill, despite not yet being profitable. As an expert on business tax, he discusses what startups need to know about this new tax change and how it will impact them going forward, how automation is changing the industry and making taxes more manageable, and his entrepreneur journey.
 
Dylan Vanas - Founder and CEO of AgencyBox and MindfulAgency
I remind myself that I am never a victim. No matter how hard things get, I decided to go down this path in life and I decided to be an entrepreneur. I know I am always in control and I can never blame anyone else because everything I have done is my choice.
Dylan Vanas is founder of AgencyBox, one of the most successful digital marketing agencies around and co-founder of Mindful Agency. He went from being a "wantrepreneur" to a full-blown "entrepreneur"! This impressive achiever is only 28 years old and he has been featured on major outlets like Fox, ABC, Yahoo, Inc. He has his own column for Entrepreneur.com; with hundreds of thousands of followers across social media he has been able to build relationships with some of the world's most influential people. As a leader in the marketing industry, Dylan has serviced thousands of clients, and grown a sizable personal brand (AgencyBox), providing agencies with insourcing solutions to reach new clients, and help them service their current ones; in addition to that, AgencyBox also offers multiple digital services, such as social media management, facebook and google advertising, logo and graphic design, press services, SEO services, Website development, and much more! He is way more than just another marketing and digital world expert, he is a two time 8-figure successful businessman speaker and entrepreneur with the desire of sharing his unique perspective and experiences to help others see things in a new light and take action towards creating their own success. Dylan is passionate about a range of topics, including business, marketing, entrepreneurship, personal development, startups, leadership, personal branding, and building a SaaS company.

March 27, 2023 – Helping Renters Lily Liu and AMAZING Mobile Homes Franco Perez

Lily Liu - CEO of Piñata
If you are a renter between 25 and 65, and you spend $1700 on rent, you will spend $1,000,000 on rent! Yet chances are it's not being reported to the credit bureaus, so you are not building or boosting your credit score.
Lily Liu is a successful entrepreneur with a big exit! In 2022, women-led companies secured only 2% of VC funding. As the fear of recession slows down VC investments—what does this mean for women led companies? Lily, who had founded not one, but two companies before the age of 40 and currently serves as the CEO of Piñata, a proptech company on a mission to harmonize the relationship between landlord and tenant through credit building and rewards for renters that has raised 20 million dollars thus far. She was previously named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs and is Taiwanese-American and an immigrant. Her entrepreneurial leadership allows Lily to address glaring systemic issues in the financial and real estate industries.  Franco Perez - Forbes Featured Mobile Home Expert, Affordable Housing Author, Video Marketer,  Manufactured Home Developer franco.tv 
I wanted to find a way to help the teachers, nurses and other people thatcan't afford real estate especially around Silicon Valley. They deserve tohave the same opportunities for housing as the very wealthy!
Franco Perez is THE mobile home and affordable housing expert, Franco built a wildly successful business in the manufactured homes industry. He had an amazing success journey that will surely inspire a lot of people. His company Franco Mobile Homes has helped hundreds of individuals and families change their lives for good by helping them own affordable homes. He has been featured on several prestigious media like Forbes and ABS-CBN News. Having grown up in a family with an unstable housing situation, Franco is on a mission to create affordable housing in Silicon Valley. He discovered that the Bay Area’s mobile home parks offer an abundance of underused land with great growth potential. After years of dedication to his vision, Franco has established a devoted team of like-minded individuals who believe that their positive impact equals success. Inspired to reimagine mobile homes and expand affordable housing opportunities across the Bay Area, Franco's talented team strives to unlock the pathway to homeownership and help families establish financial security where it might otherwise seem impossible especially in this time of pandemic. Beyond his drive to develop cost-effective housing, Franco also enjoys videography, showcasing some of his favorite local restaurants and local small businesses, and promoting San Jose’s unique culture to the world.

March 24, 2023 - Healthy IQBAR Will Nitze and Healing Your Brain Scott Warrick

Will Nitze - Founder and CEO of IQBAR
If you want to make a thing at scale, you needmoney. It is hard to bootstrap.
Will Nitze is the Founder and CEO of IQBAR, a startup that makes delicious vegan and plant-based protein bars and hydration mixes that nourish your brain and body. Their products sell in 8,000+ locations, including CVS and Kroger, and on all major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, where they have earned the Amazon Choice badge. In 2017, IQBAR had the highest-grossing food Kickstarter campaign, which brought in $70,000, and they've raised $10M+ to date. Will became fascinated by the human brain and how it works while studying psychology as an undergrad at Harvard. Then, in his mid-20s, when working in the software industry, he began to have chronic cognitive problems, including daily headaches and brain fog, that he linked to his high-carb diet. He staged an amazing cognitive recovery by cutting out staples like bread and pasta from his diet. In 2017, Will started experimenting in his apartment kitchen on a protein bar optimized for brain and body nutrition after failing to find ready-to-eat foods that matched his new diet. After countless iterations, he successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised over 700% of its goal to bring IQBARs to the world. He grew his business from zero to 1M+ a year in revenue in just 2.5 years.
 
 
Scott Warrick - Employment Law Attorney and Author of Healing the Human Brain: A First-Hand User’s Guide for Rewiring Your Mental Health
If you have an opinion on abortion or gun control, someone is goingto attack you. That is 40% worse than smoking. The number one threatto your health is working with bullies. 75% of all Americans say theyhate their job and that they are being bullied every day when they gointo work. This chronic distress is the problem.
Scott Warrick is a practicing Employment Law Attorney, Human Resource Professional and best-selling author with 40 years of hands-on experience. Scott uses his unique background to help organizations get where they want to go, which includes coaching and training managers and employees on site in his own unique, practical and entertaining style. Scott is also a three-time best-selling author. His first book, Solve Employee Problems Before They Start: Resolving Conflict in the Real World, is a #1 Best Seller for Business and Conflict Resolution. It was also named by EGLOBALIS as one of the best global Customer and Employee books for 2020-2021. Scott’s next book, Living The Five Skills of Tolerance: A User’s Manual For Today’s World, is also a #1 Best Seller in 13 categories on Amazon. His most recent book, Healing The Human Brain, is an International Best Seller in 14 categories with sales in over a dozen countries worldwide. Scott travels the country presenting seminars on such topics as Employment Law, Emotional Intelligence, Resolving Conflict, Bullying, Tolerance and Rewiring & Protecting the Human Brain. Scott has been named one of Business First’s 20 People To Know In HR, CEO Magazine’s 2008 Human Resources “Superstar,” a Nationally Certified Emotional Quotient Counsellor (CEQC) and a SHRM National Diversity Conference Presenter in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012. Scott has also received the Human Resource Association of Central Ohio’s Linda Kerns Award for Outstanding Creativity in the Field of HR Management and the Ohio State Human Resource Council’s David Prize for Creativity in HR Management. Scott’s academic background and awards include Capital University College of Law (Class Valedictorian (1st out of 233) and Summa Cum Laude), Master of Labor & Human Resources and B.A. in Organizational Communication from The Ohio State University.

March 22, 2023 - Billionaire Thoughts Sheles Wallace and Industrial Next Lukas Pankau

Sheles Wallace - Founder of Billionaire Thoughts
 
Sheles Wallace is the Founder of Billionaire Thoughts – a company that helps driven business leaders increase their profits and their operating efficiencies. She is also a sought-after speaker who has shared the stage with business titans such as John C. Maxwell, Jeffrey Gitomer, and Dr. Eric Thomas. Sheles has led strategic sales efforts, won multiple sales awards, trained other sales professionals, and secured multi-million-dollar contracts with multiple Fortune 500 companies from a variety of industries. She grew a commission-only technology sales team with over 5,000 team members in one year and increased revenues by $3 million per year. As an ActionCOACH, she belongs to a network of over 1,000 business coaches in 74 countries. To this network of brainpower, she adds her experience, an MBA and Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, and extensive real-life training as a Certified Business Coach. Sheles is skilled at breaking down complex issues into simple steps and has the tools to help her clients succeed.
 
Lukas Pankau - CEO of Industrial Next and Ex Tesla engineer
Over the past several years, the manufacturing industry has taken incremental steps toward embracing automation to keep pace with today’s evolving demands. Despite best efforts, it’s clear that the industry is not reaching its full potential and manufacturing processes fail to be truly intelligent. Lukas Pankau believes that smart manufacturing cannot be achieved through these incremental changes and requires radical redesign from the ground up. Lukas was a Tesla Model S/X/3/Y System Architect, Tesla Autopilot Electronics Architect and a Waymo Self-driving System Architect. 

March 20, 2023 – AfterShip Andrew Chan and HR Expert Cornelia Gamlem

Andrew Chan - Co-Founder & CMO at AfterShip  
Boring is the new sexy! Many so-called boring businesses are actually solving problems.
Andrew Chan is the Co-founder and CPO of AfterShip, the game-changing post-purchase platform for online retailers such as Etsy and eBay, and brands including TOMS and Kylie Cosmetics. He is an eCommerce, post-purchase, SaaS, and shipping and logistics expert with more than a decade of experience in the industry. Andrew has been quoted by outlets such as TechCrunch, Business Insider, TotalRetail, PYMNTS.com, and more. Most recently, he was named by Business Insider as a Top Player in Retail Technology.
 
Cornelia Gamlem - Award-winning author, Speaker, Consultant, HR, Management Expert and the  author of They Did What?: Unbelievable Tales from the Workplace
Employees want to learn and grow. They don't want to stay stagnant andstay in the same job. At the same time, companies needs are changing,especially in tech. Rather than go outside and try to find people that havesome of the newer skills, companies should re-skill and retrain somecurrent employees. It's to everyone's advantage.
Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem are authors, speakers, and consultants. They bring a wealth of business and human resources experience to their writing. Both worked for major corporations before starting their individual consulting practices where each worked with a variety of organizations. Together, they wrote The Big Book of HR, The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook, The Conflict Resolution Handbook, the award-winning The Manager’s Answer Book and They Did What?

March 17, 2023 - BONUS Show on Silicon Valley Bank Crisis w Shark Tank Star Matt Higgins

Matt Higgins - CEO and Cofounder at RSE Ventures, Shark Tank Shark and Author of Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential
Matt Higgins, former Shark and regular guest on CNBC makes the surprising claim: “The Economic Consequences of Silicon Valley Bank are going to Make FTX look like child’s play”. (See 2-minute mark.) Matt teaches at Harvard Business School – Kim Kardashian made a news making appearance in his class—and has been the CEO whisperer to many iconic brands like Magnolia Bakery and Momofuku. Matt warns that even though the federal government has saved depositors, the tech and startup industry in the United States is going to experience massive disruption due to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Why? SVB extended tens of billions of dollars of lines of credit to startups, using illiquid - and in many cases, underwater - equity as collateral. SBV also handled the personal banking for thousands of entrepreneurs. Those credit lines dried up overnight and the big banks are going to deem that business too risky. That means the cash runway that many tech companies were counting on was just drastically shortened at a time when the fundraising market is closed. As a result, expect massive layoffs and closures in the coming months. In Matt's new book, Burn the Boats, he offers many case studies on how companies and individuals can manage through unexpected crisis. 

March 17, 2023 - 2500 Units Stas Grinberg and 4 Million Ad Budgets Hemant Varshney

Stas Grinberg - Co-Founder of Vision & Beyond
I anticipate a real estate crash in the next six months. I think that the market needs it, the market is hungry for it.
Stas Grinberg is the managing principle and Co-Founder of Vision & Beyond. He has over a decade of Real Estate knowledge and expertise. Stas served as an Investor Relations Manager (IR Manager) at 2 Israeli-based investment firms that targeted and financed new construction in Birmingham, AL, Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA. As IR Manager, he developed a passion and concept for the idea that became the thriving and innovative Vision & Beyond. Stas has been at the helm of Vision & Beyond with his childhood friend and business partner, Peter Gizunterman, since 2017.Armed with only their car, two 3-ring binders, laptops, mobile phones and a printer, Stas and Peter setup shop daily, operating from local Starbucks. Their business savvy, trust-worthy characters, positive attitudes and impervious approach allowed them to gain momentum quickly for their dream. Today, Vision & Beyond has expanded rapidly into 5 profitable companies with 3 corporate offices, located in Ohio, New York and Israel, close to 60 employees and many investors worldwide. Not only does Stas have proven, documented success in Real Estate Investment and Acquisition, but he also graduated Law School at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya with honors and on the Dean’s List. Stas is also a decorated military Veteran, working closely with the United States of America and received the prestigious Israeli President’s Outstanding Soldier badge, and proudly serves as an IDF officer in the Armored Corps in the Army Reserve. In addition, Stas and his wife are proud parents to 3 beautiful children and enjoy family time in their home, located in an upscale Cincinnati suburb. Stas’ personal business motto is to be bold and original. It is of most importance to always be purposeful, not passive in all areas of life.
 
Hemant Varshney- Founder & CEO of DigiCom
I gave my team members that were joining my business salaries before I had one. Once we were really at a stable point I was able to pay myself a salary.
Hemant Varshney is the Founder and Chief Executive of DigiCom and has played a pivotal role in all aspects of the rapidly changing digital marketing industry for over 15 years. Beginning his career as a media manager, consultant, he transitioned to positions including Head of Growth, Vice President at a hyper-growth agency where he managed a team of over 30, and COO at a growth consultancy. Over his career, Hemant has worked alongside clients like HelloFresh, BarkBox, Babbel, Nom Nom Now, FabFitFun, The Mayfair Group, Kindra, Made By Nacho, American Express, and more to help scale their digital acquisition programs. He now leads the team at DigiCom in their quest to position emerging brands for success and scale. Digicom started with an idea to build and scale internet businesses through a marketplace designed to connect manufacturers & buyers. DigiCom services focus on brand launch, growth acceleration, and direct to consumer digital marketing. Founded in New York, NY in 2015, DigiCom is a no bullshit marketing agency focused on building stories, customer bases, and revenue for emerging direct to consumer brands.