For Starters

Levitate's Jes Lipson: When Finding Product Market Fit is Harder After a $93M Exit

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:00:17 +0000

In the final episode of season two, Anil chats with Jes Lipson, who is well known for having one of the most successful bootstrapped software exits in the region with his company ShareFile. It was sold to Citrix for $93 million. Not only does he talk about ShareFile, but Jes also shared finding product market fit the second time around for his current venture, Levitate. He talked about crucial lessons and how to manage the transition from bootstrapped to raising money.

Quinsite's Jenny Maze: From Stay-at-Home Mom to Capturing 40% of a Market

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 10:00:19 +0000

In episode nine, Anil sits down with Jenny Maze, the co-founder and COO of Quinsite, a comprehensive healthcare analytics platform based out of Chapel Hill, NC. Jenny began her career in nursing with a passion for caretaking, then later became a stay-at-home mom (calling herself the “CEO of the Maze household). She tells us she is not your typical career-driven business woman. One of her dreams was to have a family.

However, she found herself helping her husband build and launch an analytics platform for a billing company from scratch. This soon would become what we know today as Quinsite. Jenny shares their unique journey and her insights into creating a product that meets the needs of your target market.

Validic’s Drew Schiller: Pivoting from One of the Worst Ideas into Serving 18M Users

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 11:00:33 +0000

In this episode, host Anil Chawla sat down with Drew Schiller, the co-founder and CEO of Validic, a leading healthcare data platform that enables seamless access and integration of health data from various sources. Drew shares his journey from ideation to the creation and growth of Validic, providing valuable insights into the challenges and successes that come with building a startup. Anil explored the inspiration behind the company, how Drew and his co-founder identified a gap in the healthcare industry and the steps he took to bring his idea to market.

Myxx’s Monica Wood: How to Turn an App Idea into Partnerships with Coke and Walmart

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 11:00:10 +0000

In episode seven, Anil chatted with Monica Wood, the co-founder & former CEO of Myxx. It’s a platform that simplified the home cooking process by automatically turning recipes into the exact ingredients ready to be picked up at your local grocery store. Wood talks creating a unique and valuable opportunity for major brands to market to consumers. Wood also discusses about the common struggles of launching a startup and refining product market fit.

Written Word Media's Ricci Wolman: From Helping Out Mom to Serving 35,000 Clients

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 11:00:12 +0000

In episode six, Anil chatted with South African native Ricci Wolman, the co-founder and CEO of Written Word Media. It's an online platform that helps more than 35,000 self-published authors market their books.

Remember the story of how JK Rolling in the 1990s almost couldn't find a publisher to release her first Harry Potter novel? Fast forward to today, (thanks to the internet and the latest tech) it is now easier than ever to create content and Wolman's company helps authors capture their audience. Find out how Wolman built her success as an entrepreneur starting with her family, launching a few side hustles, and refining her product market fit for Written Word Media.

JupiterOne’s Erkang Zheng: Reaching a $1B Valuation in Under Two Years

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 11:00:17 +0000

In episode five, Anil chats with Erkang Zheng, the founder and CEO of JupiterOne. It’s a Morrisville-based software startup launched in 2020 which is now valued at over one billion dollars. The platform provides a more comprehensive view of how systems, employees, cloud-based apps and databases are interconnected within today’s organization. It helps security practitioners better understand that digital footprint. Tune in to hear career lessons from Zheng, who is a seasoned entrepreneur, and how he gained “unicorn” status in just two years.

Little Otter Health's Rebecca Egger: When a Personal Struggle Becomes a Massive Opportunity

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 11:00:16 +0000

In episode four, Anil talks with Rebecca Egger, the co-founder & CEO of Little Otter Health. You'll be able to hear what it's like to be right at the brink of achieving product-market fit and to be able to scale big with Little Otter having already raised $26 million. Rebecca launched the digital platform—which is focused on mental healthcare for children 14 years old and under—at the beginning of the pandemic.

Rebecca knows firsthand how one child's mental illness is a family ordeal, so Little Otter's holistic approach involves the entire family rather than just working with a child alone. Hear her interesting story from being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age to launching the company alongside her mother to turning her vision for the platform into reality.

Rigor's Craig Hyde: From $50 A Month to Eight Figure ARR

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 11:00:13 +0000

In episode three, Anil chats with Atlanta-based entrepreneur Craig Hyde, who is the founder and former CEO of Rigor. There are quite a few technical challenges behind keeping a large prominent website performing well. Rigor helps customers, such as CNN, Home Depot and Best Buy, monitor what's happening behind the scenes and ensure that they're providing a reliable and responsive online experience. Find out about Craig's fascinating entrepreneurial story and how he found product market fit.

Instant Teams' Liza Rodewald: How Pushing on the Right Idea Can Land You on the Inc 500

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 11:00:11 +0000

In episode two, Anil is talking with Liza Rodewald, the founder and CEO of Instant Teams, a company that now has over 600 employees and counts some of the world's most prominent organizations, including Amazon and Walmart as customers.

Whether you're a startup or a Fortune 500, getting the right talent is never easy. Not only is it hard to recruit, but for certain types of roles like those in customer service and sales, it can be hard to keep them. Instant Teams is tackling this issue by providing access to a unique talent pool: spouses of members of our US military. Being a military spouse herself and a veteran entrepreneur, Liza tells us how hiring military spouses can help address a number of those issues and her journey in launching the company, which includes stepping back from her successful software consultancy.

Kevel's James Avery: When Stack Overflow is Your First Customer

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:00:08 +0000

In the season premiere, Anil is chatting with Kevel (formerly known as Adzerk) Founder & CEO James Avery. You may not have heard of Kevel, but if you've spent any time on the internet after 2010, you've probably experienced its technology through the magic of online ads. The platform allows companies to build an ad server in just a few weeks. With early customers like Stack Overflow, Reddit and Yelp, find out how James turned his experiences running an ad network into a thriving platform that powered some of the internet's most trafficked sites.

Season 2 Trailer

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 19:39:37 +0000

On this new season of For Starters, we introduce a new host Anil Chawla, a tech entrepreneur and executive in Triangle. He is best known for launching the no. 1 provider of social media archiving technology, ArchiveSocial.

Anil is taking a deep dive into how startups find product market fit, asking successful founders to rewind the clock and tell us how they each took what was just a vision into delighted customers and a scalable business.

For Starters Season 2 drops Tuesday, January 17th, 2023.

James Avery, Jessica Mitsch, Brian Handly, and Brendan Morrissey on Do This, Not That

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 10:00:10 +0000

In the final episode of For Starters Season One, host Robbie Allen asks four successful founders what they would—and wouldn't—do again if starting from scratch.

Anil Chawla (ArchiveSocial) and Jes Lipson (Levitate) on Go Big or Grow Slow

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 10:02:44 +0000

Host Robbie Allen chats with Anil Chawla (ArchiveSocial) and Jes Lipson (Levitate) about whether early stage businesses should grow through profit or raise money through angels and venture capitalists.

Eric Boggs (RevBoss) and Jeff Cooper (Saltbox Solutions) on Tricks for Acquiring Customers

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 10:00:25 +0000

Host Robbie Allen talks with CEO of RevBoss, Eric Boggs, and Founder & President of Saltbox Solutions, Jeff Cooper, about tips and tricks to acquire customers.

Tom Collopy on The Four Fatal Founder Flaws of Customer Discovery

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 10:01:47 +0000

Host Robbie Allen talks with startup advising guru, Tom Collopy, about the four fatal founder flaws of customer discovery, and how to fix them.

Glen Caplan (Robinson, Bradshaw, & Hinson) and Neil Bagchi (Bagchi Law) on when's the right time to Lawyer up?

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 10:03:08 +0000

Host Robbie Allen talks to two of the best-known startup attorneys in the Triangle: Glen Caplan (Robinson, Bradshaw, & Hinson) and Neil Bagchi (Bagchi Law). They dive into how entrepreneurs can make the most out of having an attorney.

Jason Caplain (Bull City Venture Partners) and Alex Krawchick (Klearly) on putting the "fun" in funding

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 11:22:46 +0000

Host Robbie Allen tackles the topic of raising funding with Jason Caplain (BCVP) and Alex Krawchick (Klearly).

Fred Stutzman (Freedom), James Kotecki (Infinia ML) and Scot Wingo (Spiffy) on telling your company’s story

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:01:34 +0000

Developing a compelling origin story about your company can help attract both customers and investors. Host Robbie Allen and his guests discuss how to do just that.

Adam Smith (Wrangle) and Kelly Pfrommer (Cloud Giants) on being the boss

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 10:00:19 +0000

Is it boss to be The Boss? Host Robbie Allen and his guests explore whether being your own boss—rather than an employee—is all it's cracked up to be.

Scot Wingo (Spiffy), Andrew Fisher (Startomatic) and Venus Liles (Liles Law) on what matters most in starting a business

Tue, 25 May 2021 10:00:45 +0000

What matters—and what really doesn’t—when starting a business? Host Robbie Allen and his guests dispel myths about what you should focus on most when getting your company off the ground.

Chris Heivly (Techstars), Robbie Hardy (xElle Ventures) and Geraud Staton (Helius Foundation) on what makes an entrepreneur

Tue, 11 May 2021 10:00:14 +0000

What makes an entrepreneur? Can anyone be an entrepreneur? Those are the big questions that host Robbie Allen dives into with the help of his three guests in the premiere episode of For Starters

Introducing "For Starters"

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 14:21:15 +0000

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