Unicorn Founders & Funders Episodes
Feb. 29, 2024
Behind the IPO: ACV Auctions & ASV w/ Somak Chattopadhyay & Vikas Mehta
This week we had not one but two esteemed guests - a funder and his founder of choice to talk through everything from building trust and partnership to getting to that IPO. Featuring Somak Chattopadhyay , founder of Armory Sq...
Feb. 15, 2024
Bite: Investing in Diversity with Erin Harkless Moore, Pivotal Ventures
Investing in women is the smartest thing you could do right now. Erin Harkless Moore, Senior Director of Investments at Pivotal Ventures, a company founded by Melinda French Gates to promote social equity in the realm of inve...
Feb. 8, 2024
Surfacing Unicorns in Emerging Markets w/ Allen Taylor, Endeavor Catalyst
This week's episode features Allen Taylor, managing partner at Endeavor Catalyst, one of the earliest supporters at the Billion Dollar Fund for Women (now Beyong The Billion). Allen also sits on the global leadership team at ...
Feb. 1, 2024
Rise with Resilience: Becoming a Rare Unicorn Iman Abuzeid, Incredible Health
"It's probably not a good idea to overlook female CEOs or Black CEOs. Because they're driving an enormous amount of value in business. And you overlook it at your own expense." - Iman Abuzeid, Co-founder & CEO of Incredible H...
Nov. 30, 2023
From Bankruptcy to Building the Finnish Startup Ecosystem with Taneli Tikka, Serial Entrepreneur & Investor
In keeping with the theme of my material from Helsinki, Finland just as one of the biggest events in Finland happens: Slush, today’s episode is with my friend, Taneli Tikka, truly one of the OGs of the Finnish startup ecosystem, who also actually started the Foundation that owns Slush!
Nov. 16, 2023
LP view: The Art & Science of Building in Venture with Lisa Edgar, Top Tier Capital
Lisa Edgar has been a trailblazer in the venture industry, a veteran with over two decades in the business backing many of the brand name venture firms we know today from Accel to Benchmark.
Nov. 12, 2023
Melinda French Gates $1Bn for Women with Erin Harkless Moore, Pivotal Ventures
With nearly 20 years of investment experience, building customized portfolios for endowed institutions and family offices, we chat with Erin Harkless Moore, Senior Director of Investments at Pivotal Ventures about everything from challenging the status quo to her investment strategy.
Oct. 19, 2023
Building Founder & Funder Alignment with Elodie Dupuy, Founding Partner, Full In Partners
This week, we cover these crucial questions in a Billion Dollar Bite with Elodie Dupuy, Founding Partner of $200M growth equity firm, Full In Partners. What are some key factors that contribute to a successful exit for a comp...
Aug. 23, 2023
Receptionist to $200M AUM: Elodie Dupuy, Full In Partners on SAAS Investing & 'Pushing Through Pain'
I’m so excited about this week’s guest! If you’ve been following our work at Beyond The Billion; there’s no better snapshot of why we do the work we do than this episode; where Elodie Dupuy represents the kind of fund manager we are so bullish on. Starting as a receptionist at Insight Venture Partn…
June 22, 2023
Leaving a $250 Million Fund: Ollen Douglass Speaks Out about being a Black Man in Venture Capital, the Power of Diversity to Drive Returns
Ollen Douglass‘ abrupt departure from a $250 million fund he helped start left industry insiders hungry for answers, including me.
For the first time, he reveals in his own words what happened and why; and importantly, his mission to challenge the status quo as a Black man in venture on #BillionDo…
May 26, 2023
Scaling to $2 Billion, backed by Oprah, Katy Perry to solve the Global Food Waste Issue: a Conversation with James Rogers, Founder & CEO, Apeel Sciences
Our next guest is tackling the food waste problem by applying what he and his team have learned from nature. They created a plant-based protective coating that can make fruits and vegetables last longer. When the average hous...
April 27, 2023
What Makes A Billion Dollar Founder? According to Cathy Gao, Sapphire Ventures & Jack Smith, sold Vungle for $780M
Between the SVB collapse (and now First Republic Bank on the edge, with stock now down 95% for the year to date!), ChatGPT taking over and the "SAAS-cre", where valuations of Software-As-A-Service companies have taken a dive, for some, as high as 60%; it’s been a lot.
A question that I get asked…
April 20, 2023
Leveraging Community to Invest in the Future with VC Jenny Fielding, Everywhere Ventures
Founder turned Funder, from Head of Digital Ventures of the BBC to Managing Director of Techstars, to now Managing Partner of Everywhere Ventures with 250 portfolio companies and counting, Jenny Fielding is the ultimate community builder and investor. Together with Scott Hartley, Jenny is today pur…
April 6, 2023
Inside a Billionaire's Mind: Nirvana Chaudhary—Making Your Mark, The Teacher Appears When The Student Is Ready, Selling 3 Billion Noodle Packets Yearly
We’re bringing our next billionaire on Billion Dollar Moves; this time from Nepal, my friend Nirvana Chaudhary who is at the helm of Nepal’s first and only company listed on the Forbes list of Billionaires since 2015, valued in excess of $2.5 Billion.
What started in 1935 has today become a cong…
March 15, 2023
"Let's Take Our Chips Off The Table"—Riding the Venture Downcycle: Investing in Southeast Asia with Dmitry Levit, Cento Ventures (Part 2)
In today's Billion Dollar Moves, we bust some myths about Southeast Asia's VC activity and the narratives driving the expansion seen in the region.
The key question: will the momentum survive this downcycle? I chat with Dmitry Levit, Founding Partner of Cento Ventures, a venture capital firm spe…