The Silicon Valley Podcast

Ep 172 The Drop-Out Multi-Millionaire with Brian Will

Brian Will is a serial entrepreneur who has created or co-created six very successful companies in four different industries over the last thirty-five years. His first foray into owning his own business was a 10-year stint in the landscaping industry that he started when he was twenty years old. This was followed by three online internet companies during the dot.com boom of the late nineties and early 2000s.
 
The first was an online health insurance website and call center that was eventually sold to a venture capital company in Silicon Valley and today is one of the largest online Medicare insurance platforms in the US.
 
The second was an online “lead generation” company in the subprime credit space that was sold to a private equity firm out of Chicago.
 
]We talk about
 
Why people should not listen to Silicon Valley Billionaire experts?
What skill set would be best to learn early on when starting a business?
Why do so many businesses fail?
When is it time to leave a company and take a break or do something new?
 
And much more…
 
Connect with Brian Will
Brian Will – The Author of The Dropout: Multi-Millionaire (brianwillmedia.com)
(14) Brian Will | LinkedIn
brian@brianwillmedia.com

Ep 171 Raising Capital for Your Startup

Raising Capital for Your Startup
 
When is the right time to go out and raise capital?
What are some of the biggest mistakes founders make?
What tips and tricks are there to increase your chances?
 
Moderator
Wen Zhang
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wenzhangdukemba/
 
Panelist
Shawn Flynn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnpflynn/
Sam Wong
https://www.linkedin.com/in/startupsam/
Roger King
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogermking/

Ep 170 Know your Company with John Thrasher

John Thrasher
John Thrasher, Experience As A Service ™ EAAS ™, A seasoned senior management professional with over 25 years of executive management experience. Proven ability to tackle new challenges, critically assess situations, think strategically, implement tactically and execute consistently. A highly effective leader who can assemble, manage and nurture world class management teams. Proficient at: Sales enhancement, Profit and Process Improvement. Experienced at developing strategy, KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) managing cross functional teams to create, maintain and grow a Company's sustainable competitive advantage.
 
We talk about
How do you set KPI’s for the companies?
What normally takes a company from good to great?
When working with a client, how do you measure success?
What is strategic planning?
How does one go about preparing a company to sell?
And much more…
 
Connect with John Thrasher
 
(626)824-5219.
(3) John Thrasher | LinkedIn
jthrasher@sprintmail.com
Website https://www.johnthrasherconsulting.com/

Ep 169 A Silicon Valley Deep Dive with Mike Trigg

Mike Trigg
Experienced Silicon Valley executive and entrepreneur. Deep domain expertise in marketing, sales, customer service, business development and revenue-generating functions. Aspiring fiction author. UC-Berkeley MBA.
 
We talk about
What were some of the highs and lows of Silicon Valley?
How did the 1996 communication decency act section 230 change the world?
What is a venture fundable company?
How is everyone in a Venture Capital deal incentive?
Bit Flip the latest Novel by Mike Trigg,
And much more.
 
Connect with Mike Trigg
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/triggmike/
mtrigg254@gmail.com
Websites
miketrigg.com (Personal)
miketrigg.com/blog (Blog)

Ep 168 Assistive/Disability Tech with Moaz Hamid

Moaz Hamid
Mission-driven technologist, and strategist. Solving for the future of jobs, accessibility, and medicine, as well as the role of robotics and artificial intelligence. Previously a general manager and partner with Google, Microsoft, HTC, Dangaard (Nordic Capital) and Palm.
 
Currently mvmt ventures (accessible first venture studio & fund). Advisor, Simplifyber, and EnlitenAI. Mentor/ advisor for early stage founders, Yellow by Snap Inc. (accelerator), Fast Track by First Round Capital, leAD Sports & Health Tech, Founder Institute, and mentor/chair-advisory board, Startup Boost LA (pre-accelerator). Advisor, SoftBank (Robotics). And a member/robotics, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Healthcare Foundation (MLK-CHF) dream council.
 
Previously, served as an advisor and executive partner for Kasparov Chess Foundation, Samsung Mobile, Sony Ericsson Xperia, Brightpoint, Emirates, HP, as well as leading investment and strategy on Skype, BullGuard, Sonim, Neo, RemeAi, Sygic, and SouthWing, as well as advising numerous other leading consumer technology, telecom, startup, financial, software, and hardware companies.
 
Areas of expertise; business strategy, roadmap & product strategy, go-to-market & marketing strategy, product design & management, brand building & strategy, due diligence, and technical expertise in systems analysis & design. Speaking engagement; entrepreneurial journey, hiring and building a team, global market, technology, robotics, ai, culture and leadership...
 
 
We talk about
The venture studio model
What is Disability tech?
Organizing and Running a corporate accelerator program
Strategies in raising a fund
 
And much more
 
Connect with Moaz Hamid
 
https://twitter.com/moaz
https://angel.co/moaz

Ep 167 A One-Woman Army with Luba Lesiva

 
Shownotes for Luba Lesiva
 
Luba Lesiva
I lead palumni.vc - the Palantir alumni syndicate and fund. Come join us at https://palumni.vc.
I also help tech companies get out of the weeds of fundraising and investor management, and back to building great products, via my work at L4C.
 
We talk about
Syndicate vs. Fund what are the benefits and negative for each as an investor?
How can a syndicate be used for a VC fund to screen deals?
What are the steps to take a fund from zero to 1?
How does one tap into an existing network?
What’s the Cold start problem?
 
 
Connect with Luba Lesiva
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lubalesiva/
https://palumni.vc
luba@l4cadvisory.com

Ep 166 Industry Disruptor with Andrew Berman

 
Andrew Berman
My inspiration is to apply new technology to build new products that can touch millions of people in ways that were impossible before.
 
- Founder of Nanit, the first camera to track human behavior (the leading baby monitor)
- Experienced investor from seed to LBO stages, Silicon Valley, NY and other markets
- Active and experienced angel investor (SaaS, Security, Healthcare, Consumer and CV/AI)
 
***If you're pinging me cold and you want a meeting, you need to be a annual Vowel business plan customer***
 
 
We talk about
How different is the role of a CEO from a COO?
How important is timing to the success of a company?
Why is a hardware company so hard?
Why is it about taking a company from zero to one that you enjoy?
How does one know when it’s time to move on from one company to another?
 
Connect with Andrew Berman
(4) Andrew Berman | LinkedIn
Promo Code for three months free:  siliconvalley

Ep 165 Expanding into New Markets with Klaus Wehage and Aaron McDaniel

Shownotes for Aaron McDaniel and Klaus Wehage...Chief Executive Officer
Global Class is a #2 Walll Street Journal BestSeller
Global Class is a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm that works with companies expanding globally to implement best practices of the most successful global scale businesses. As we emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic, companies have the opportunity to revisit their operation models and look to international markets for both target customers and talent - once that decision is made, the question become HOW.
The Global Class team (the same team that founded 10X Innovation Lab, a global accelerator located in Silicon Valley) has worked with over 2,500 corporate executives and more than 1,700 entrepreneurs across 5 continents. We serve as trusted advisors for market-leading global corporations, fast-growing companies and multi-billion dollar government agencies through delivering virtual, home country-based, and Silicon Valley-based programs with the aim of helping these businesses grow globally.
Through previous partnerships, the Global Class team has been involved in several company expansion and soft-landing programs for government agencies in Asia and LATAM. In fact, it’s our core expertise and we have successfully developed frameworks that provide training, mentorship, and interconnectivity to client organizations.
 
We talk about
What is a “company-market fit”?
What research should be done before expanding into a new market?
How important is localizing processes when a company enters a new market?
When a company expands globally how does it values expand into markets with it?
 
Connect with for Aaron McDaniel and Klaus Wehage...
Aaron McDaniel
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrbiz/
https://www.globalclassbook.com/
Klaus Wehage
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mr10x/

Ep 164 Business and Emotions with Tony Quingtong

Shownotes for Tony Quingtong
Chief Executive Officer
Securieon Group is a hybrid of management and acquisition advisory for low mid-market privately held companies who need an outside looking in review of their company’s growth strategy. Founders and executives may be at a pivotal point of deciding how best to efficiently scale for additional revenue, capital, investors or M&A.
 
As the global internet economy evolves, market trends change as does consumer buying habits. Unrecognized, a domino effect occurs which can derail the best intentions of founders who built their organizations on gut reaction, hard work and timing.
 
Securieon provides extensive financial and market analysis to validate founder initiatives, identify systemic management and operational issues preventing the achievement of higher performance, while creating and implementing innovative strategies to mitigate risks for all stakeholders. Executed properly, a founder attains the leverage required to secure growth capital, improve profitability and eventually exit at a higher valuation.
.
We talk about
When is a company past the point of saving?
When should a company bring in outside consultants?
What are some of the first things one analyzes in a company to make an assessment?
When looking for a turnaround expert what questions should someone ask the person or team they are interviewing?
 
 
 
Connect with Tony Quingtong
(4) Tony Quintong Jr | LinkedIn
tony@securieon.com
securieongroup.com 
TonySecurieon

Ep 163 Investing in Syndicates and Deep Tech with Swati Chaturvedi

Swati Chaturvedi​
Co-Founder and CEO
Swati has been a management consultant, an investment professional and is now an entrepreneur. Prior to starting Propel(x), Swati was an investment professional at Exigen Capital, where she worked on IT Telecom, Travel, and BPO deals. Before that, she was a management consultant working across a variety of industries. Swati is the co-founder of the MIT Alumni Angel Investors group. She founded and led the group 2013 – 2015 and continues to be on the screening committee. She has an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, an M.S. from MIT, an M.S. from UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Outside of work, Swati loves to spend time with family, watch movies and read.
We talk about
 
What is a schedule K-1 for SPVs?
What are some terms or some vocabulary that people seem confused about when looking at early-stage and syndicates?
What about angel groups and Venture Capitalists? How do they use, and work with syndicates?
In general, have you seen any changes in the Silicon Valley Investment landscape that occurred over the pandemic?
How should a company line up milestones with their funding strategy?
 
 
Connect with Swati Chaturvedi
Linkedin (1) Swati Chaturvedi | LinkedIn
Twitter Swati_Propelx
Website https://www.propelx.com
Company Linkedin (1) Propel(x): About | LinkedIn