logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2020
25m 55s

#97 Secret Sauce or Snake Oil?

Josh Muccio
About this episode
Today's founder had everything going for him: a huge market, loads of experience, and $70k in monthly revenue. But then, everything went wrong. Christopher Hussain's startup, RealKey, is supposed to make the complicated mortgage lending process simpler, but his pitch left our investors scratching their heads. Today's investors are Sarah Downey, Michael Hyatt ... Show More
Up next
Sep 9
#186 Supercool Earth: Making It Rain, Literally
Dacia Leon wants to make it rain on demand. Cloud seeding technology isn't new – people have been making it rain with silver iodide since the '50s – but Supercool Earth pioneered a way to seed clouds with a natural protein. Can Dacia close her $3 million round before the weather ... Show More
50m 5s
Sep 2
#185 it’s electric: Beating Tesla Was the Easy Part
Tiya Gordon beat out Tesla for Boston's curbside charging contract. Instead of having to dig six feet down to tap into high voltage, it's electric EV chargers draw spare power from buildings. But after four years and 9 million dollars raised, they're only just now switching on re ... Show More
48m 37s
Aug 26
#184 Ventrix: The Gas Plant of the Future
Beer, dry ice, and concrete all have one thing in common... they require CO2. Between demand for CO2 rising, and new gas plants taking a billion dollars to build, shortages are becoming more common. So Sonny built a modular plant the size of a fridge, making it cheaper and easier ... Show More
47m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
You'll Wish You Dreamed Up These Ideas
Negotiations can be tricky, with investors typically digging into the weeds of every tiny facet of a business, from sales traction to overhead costs to team member qualifications. But this week, our board asked some unexpected questions that rattled contestants down to their core ... Show More
24m 59s
Oct 2016
Confessions of a Tech Entrepreneur Who Lied to Investors
When Antonio Garcia Martinez was trying to raise money for his fledgling tech company, he worried that an honest pitch wouldn't get him the funds he needed. So he lied. This week, Brad and Bloomberg Technology's Ellen Huet explore the murky world of early-stage startups -- not ju ... Show More
15m 47s
Aug 2025
A $150M Ride: Private Equity, Planes, & a $1M Butt Tattoo
Thinking about selling your company? 24 founders told us what really happens after the wire hits. — joinhampton.com/exit-reportChuck Yates rode the wildest wealth rollercoaster: $150M up, $82K down, now back at $20M. In oil & gas private equity, he made (and lost) fortunes and ne ... Show More
40m 19s
Jan 2020
Inside Angel Funding: Fundamental Science, and Finding the Right Investor for You
The 2019 Angel of the Year in the U.K., Sunil Shah from o2h Ventures, joins Richard Howard to discuss the realities of running and growing a business from scratch (it’s not what they teach you in business school); why first-time entrepreneurs in the biotech and therapeutics space ... Show More
22m 36s
Apr 2023
Advice to a Young(er) Investor
What do you wish you knew when you were just starting out investing? (00:21) Jason Moser discusses: - Roblox sharing its last batch of monthly metrics - Why the company still has a "glass half-full valuation" - Thoughts for a relatively new investor with decades of investing ahe ... Show More
27m 3s
Nov 2023
Simple Agreement For Future Equity
<p>On today’s show we are talking about deal structure. Some of the financing vehicles that are increasingly common in real estate had their roots on Wall Street. Others had their roots in the tech environment of Silicon Valley. </p> <p>When investors want to participate in a sta ... Show More
6m 14s
Oct 2022
Why Investors (including YC) Can’t Fix Your Company
<p>Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel on common pitfalls in the advice from different types of investors and why you, the founder, are ultimately responsible for the success of your company.<br> <br> <strong>Apply to Y Combinator: </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirec ... Show More
24m 13s
May 2024
Honeycomb Insurance grabs $36M Series B from solo VC-led Zeev Ventures
When Itai Ben-Zaken’s first startup failed in 2018, the former BCG consultant and Wharton MBA spent months trying to understand what he could have done differently during the five years he ran the company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
4m 36s