Sometimes the best ideas come from people beyond your everyday network or industry.
That's why we host a monthly Speaker Series, which provides a forum for industry leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and investors to share their unique perspectives with our network and the broader tech ecosystem.
Over the years, we’ve held 59 interviews and counting featuring guests from international recording artists to professional athletes and SaaS unicorn founders.
Since all of our interviews are packed with tactical advice that transcends time, we turned our archive of Speaker Series recordings into a podcast called Speaker Series Rewind. Instead of playing back the episodes in order, we’ve curated a handful of our favorite interviews together thematically, starting with Founders and CEOs.
In 2021, we released our first ten episodes with guests, including:
- Matt Blumberg, CEO, and Founder of Bolster
- Beth Paretta, Principal at Paretta Autosport
- Brad Rencher, CEO of BambooHR
- Julie Lyle, former Walmart CMO and Founder of Zytara
- Jason Jacobs, Founder of Runkeeper
- Gerry Dick, Founder of Inside INdiana Business
- Sahil Lavingia, Founder of Gumroad
- Clay Robinson and Dave Colt, Sun King Brewing Co-Founders
- Jeremy Swift, Founder & CEO of Cordial
- Angie Hicks, Founder of Angie’s List
If you're new to the podcast and you're not sure which episode to listen to first, below are ten lessons from our first ten episodes:
1. The CEO Needs To Be a Functional Supervisor
Many first-time founders and CEOs transition from managing one department, one domain, and one function, which they likely came from. All of a sudden, they have to get their arms around all the basics of each function. If you don’t know enough about each function and how it fits with all the other functions, you can wake up and be in terrible shape one day without seeing that it’s coming.
Matt Blumberg, CEO, and Founder of Bolster
Listen to the full episode here.
2. Pay It Forward by Sharing Opportunities
We all bear responsibility. If somebody took a chance on us, make sure that when you're in a position to take a chance on somebody else that you do it.
Beth Paretta, Principal at Paretta Autosport
Listen to the full episode here.
3. Buying The Leader Always Pays Off
If you get to the size where you're making acquisitions, the one thing I will tell you is it always pays to buy the leader - every time. You can pay whatever you need to pay for the leader, and then you can screw it up as an operator. You can make bad decisions, and you still win.
Brad Rencher, CEO of BambooHR
Listen to the full episode here.
4. Know The External Factors that Will Affect Your Business
Something happens externally from your business that affects your business at least four times a year. So, if you don't know something that is impacting your customer at least four times a year, then you're not in touch.
Julie Lyle, Former Walmart CMO & Founder of Zytara
Listen to the full episode here.
5. Strong Conviction Leads to Personal Fulfillment
I'm doing my best every day when I get out of bed to focus on this thing that is really important. And since I can't imagine a more important problem to work on, there's just a lot of personal fulfillment there. No matter whether the things I build their success or not.
Jason Jacobs, Founder of Runkeeper
Listen to the full episode here.
6. Focus on Making an Impact
At the end of the day, you look back on those great things that happen and make you better. The biggest joy that I've had in growing the company is that we're doing something that we think is important.
Gerry Dick, Founder of Inside INdiana Business
Listen to the full episode here.
7. Control Your Destiny
We might raise more money. We might do this. Who knows! But I want to be able to control my destiny. I want to be able to choose to do those things, not be forced to.
Sahil Lavingia, Founder of Gumroad
Listen to the full episode here.
8. Embracing The Chaos of Entrepreneurship
Change and chaos are the only constant that we have. So, you have to learn to embrace that from the get-go, and you'll be so much happier in life because of that.
Dave Colt, Sun King Brewing
Listen to the full episode here.
9. Don’t Forget to Take Care of Your Mental Health as an Entrepreneur
You need help on this journey. It doesn't just come together like a perfect puzzle. I see a therapist every two weeks now, and he's an important part of hopefully me being a better CEO, husband, and father.
Jeremy Swift, Founder & CEO of Cordial
Listen to the full episode here.
10. Raise Money When You Don’t Need It
I always encourage folks to always raise your money when you don't need it. A lot of times people go and raise their money when they desperately need it. You're definitely the loser in that scenario.
Angie Hicks, Founder of Angie’s List
Listen to the full episode here.
You can also stay up to date on the latest episodes of Speaker Series Rewind by subscribing to the podcast wherever else you like to listen. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.
