Category Visionaries
Welcome to Category Visionaries — the show dedicated to exploring exciting visions for the future from the founders who are on the front lines building it. In each episode, we’ll speak with a visionary founder who’s building a new category or reimagining an existing one. We’ll learn about the problem they solve, how their technology works, and unpack their vision for the future.
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Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with David Berry, CEO and Founder of Valo, an AI for drug discovery and development company that's raised over $500 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
David’s background in the healthcare space, and how getting bitten by the entrepreneurial bug led him away from a career in medicine
Valo’s mission and their unique approach to developing new generations of drugs
The immense cost and poor efficiency associated with the traditional approach to developing and discovering new medicine
How data integration and AI technologies have supercharged the drug development process, and the prospects for innovation in the year to come
Regulatory considerations and building a working relationship with the FDA
Starting a unicorn company, and the challenges and responsibilities that come with it
Favorite book:
My Years with General Motors
Leaders Eat Last
2 days ago
2 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Sivan Tehila, Founder and CEO of Onyxia, a cybersecurity performance management platform that's raised $5 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Sivan’s background, including her time as Head of Information Security in the Israeli military and in the civilian defense industry
Why cybersecurity professionals are often seen as blocking the business, and how this pushed Sivan to start Onyxia
The reasons why companies have a hard time managing security programs, and how Onyxia makes this easier for them
Building a new category, and the need to educate the market
How important it is to build relationships with investors
2 days ago
2 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Thomas Millay, CEO of DemandJump, a marketing strategy platform that's raised over $25 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Thomas’ background, with highlights from his 40-year career in software
The tech and startup scene in the American Midwest, and major changes in the tech industry in the last 40 years
Why Thomas would rather start a tech startup from scratch today than in the 2000s, despite the increased competition
Why local founder Brian Powers is the founder Thomas most admires
The origin story of DemandJump, and how it now helps people understand what they need to publish to rank higher in organic search engine results
Favorite book:
The Bible
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with David Johnson, CEO of Dexai, a kitchen robotics platform that's raised over $12 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
David’s background, including his PhD in physics, and how growing up on mother-cooked meals inspired his hobby as a chef
The man who invented the helicopter, and why he’s an inspiration for David
What David was like as a teenager, and why the idea of starting a company never scared him
How Dexai uses robots to allow chefs in commercial kitchens to avoid the boring, repetitive tasks of large-scale cooking
The challenges of working in kitchen automation, and what advice David would give to his earlier self starting out
Favorite book:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Kaycee Lai, CEO and Founder of Promethium, a data fabric platform that's raised $34.5 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Kaycee’s background, including his time as a Federal Reserve analyst
Why Martha Stewart is the CEO Kaycee admires the most, and why his favorite book is a classic 19th-century French novel
The difficulties companies have in leveraging data, what data fabric is, and how Promethium uses data fabric to help companies overcome those obstacles
The data industry: its current state and trends, and its future
Why marketing is less important than educating prospects and being transparent about your product, and why fundraising is not really a numbers’ game
Favorite book:
The Count of Monte Cristo
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Michael Guirguis, Co-Founder and CEO of SESO, a workforce management platform for the agriculture industry that has raised nearly $30 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Michael’s background in labor policy, his internship in the White House, and why he switched from the public to the private sector
What Michael admires in Ryan Peterson, and why Michael likes a massive book about Gengis Khan
Why the biggest problem in agriculture is access to labor, and how SESO streamlines the process of hiring and managing agricultural employees
What an H-2A visa is, why it’s crucial for the US agricultural sector, and how SESO helps farmers take advantage of it
Disrupting a market, and the importance of focus and speed
Favorite book:
Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Luke Hansen, CEO and Founder of CompanyCam, a visual communication platform for contractors that's raised $38 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Luke’s background in roofing, the branding power of his mustache, and why being different is a good thing
The advantages of running a tech company out of Nebraska instead of Silicon Valley
Why organizing worksite photos is difficult but important for contractors, and how CompanyCam uses GPS to do that in the most practical way
The challenges of fundraising in Luke’s niche, and the importance of telling a compelling story – and believing it
How Luke built confidence in his own idea for the company, despite being skeptical about it
Favorite book:
What You Do Is Who You Are
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today’s episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Shariq Siddiqui, Co-founder and CEO of Veeve, a shopper engagement platform that's raised over $10 Million in funding.
Topics discussed:
Shariq’s humble background in Pakistan, getting a full scholarship to study in the US, and creating his first app so he could stay in the US
The valuable skill Shariq learned during his time as a server in an NYC restaurant
Why Satya Nadella is a CEO Shariq admires
What pushed Shariq to create a smart shopping cart, and the details of how the cart works to make life easier for both shopper and shop-owner
Creating an ecosystem for his product and getting big companies to give it a chance
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando, an employee career progression platform that's raised $7 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Barbra’s background in B2B tech entrepreneurship, and getting into the space at a very early stage
The challenges of transitioning from a marketing leadership role to assuming full control of a company as a lone founder
Pando’s value proposition, and why it's time for a transition towards a new kind of career-progression system
How Pando created a new category and successfully positioned themselves in an emerging marketplace
The importance of market research and customer feedback in successfully finding space for a new category
4 days ago
4 days ago
In today's episode of Category Visionaries we speak with Dan Rosen, Founder and GP at Commerce Ventures, an early-stage venture firm.
Topics Discussed:
Dan’s background in venture capital and market changes in the sector since the 2000s
Successful startups Dan has invested in and his criteria for choosing which companies to put money into
Current venture capital activity in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area
The three most important traits that successful startup founders have in common
Innovations, market challenges and outlook for the venture capital landscape
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