Category Visionaries

Ishita Arora, CEO and Founder Dayslice: $6 Million Raised to Help Services Businesses Build Modern Digital Storefronts

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ishita Arora, CEO and Founder Dayslice, a no-code storefront for services businesses that's raised $6 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Ishita’s education background in mathematics, but why she opted to join Dropbox instead of pursuing a PhD
The benefits of Bay Area networking, but why you don’t have to be in silicon valley to build powerful connections
Why service-centered businesses have specific needs in scheduling, marketing, and customer management insights
The real-world pain points that prompted Ishita to launch DaySlice, from firms working with google sheets right up to 2020
Comparing yourself with competitors, and how DaySlice’s bold statement strategy helps them build consumer confidence
 
Favorite book: 
Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge

Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream: $370 Million Raised to Provide Financial Wellbeing for Every Frontline Employee

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream, a financial well-being platform that's raised $370 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Peter’s background in business, joining the early days of the dot-com era and scaling multiple high growth companies
The importance of persistence and self-belief in pushing through the inevitable challenges that come with entrepreneurship
Why Wagestream opted to partner with enterprise-scale businesses to provide financial services integrated within existing management systems
Wagestream’s 3 main missions, and why they matter for the next generation of workers
How Wagestream’s services help solve the issue of costly payday loans and overdraft fees while providing better financial independence
 
Favorite book: 
Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (Collins Business Essentials)

Yevgeny Pats, CEO and Founder of CloudQuery: $18.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Integration

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Yevgeny Pats, CEO and Founder of CloudQuery, which has raised $18.5 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Yevgeny’s background in cybersecurity intelligence and his misguided debut as an startup founder 
What kind of person inspires Yevgenny as an entrepreneur and the real but limited inspiration he had from books 
How the idea for CloudQuery originated and developed and how Yevgeny got his first paying customer
What you must do to make your startup rise above the noise of competition 
Limitations that Yevgeny sees in giving advice to others, and what advice he would give to himself
Favorite book: 
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Gaurav Oberoi, CEO and Co-Founder of Lexion: $35 Million Raised to Build the Future of Contract Management

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Gaurav Oberoi, CEO and Co-Founder of Lexion, a company that has raised $35 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Gaurav’s background in computer sciences and engineering
Why contract management is usually a chaotic area
The main tools Lexion provides to simplify contract management
How Gaurav first had the idea of helping people who are bogged-down with contracts
The reasons behind Lexion’s success, and Gaurav’s vision for the near future
Favorite book:
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (3rd Edition) (Voices That Matter)

Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Staffing

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow, a digital staffing platform that's raised $15 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Sammy’s ethnic, geographical and educational background 
How WurkNow gives power to hourly workers, helps staffing agencies recruit, match and place individuals, and makes it easier for those agencies to follow compliance
Sammy’s experiences being an angel investor
What Blockchain has to do with Sammy’s work
Why Sammy prefers to learn from everyone rather than have one major inspirational figure
Favorite book:
The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime

Paul Monasterio, CEO and Co-Founder of Kalepa: $16 Million Raised to Power the Future of Insurance Underwriting

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Paul Monasterio, CEO and Co-Founder of Kalepa, an insurance underwriting platform that's raised $16 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Paul’s background growing up in Venezuela, coming to the US for college, being a nuclear physicist and working in big data analytics
How Kalepa's AI-powered Copilot software enables underwriters to focus their time on the highest ROI opportunities and to quickly evaluate and optimally select risk
Why one of this Paul’s two favorite books is a Norwegian novel
The size of the commercial insurance industry in the world and what percentage of that is using Copilot
Why Paul recommends getting a co-founder when founding a startup
 
Favorite book: 
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Ty Allen, CEO of SocialClimb: $12 Million Raised to Power the Future of Healthcare Marketing

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ty Allen, CEO of SocialClimb, a healthcare marketing platform that's raised $12 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Ty’s background as an entrepreneur, and why starting SocialClimb was less about a lucrative market than a personal passion
The personal experience of healthcare shortcomings that led Ty to the healthcare marketing space
Broader challenges and issues in the healthcare space, and how a lack of information causes problems for all the parties involved
SocialClimb’s offering of marketing ROI for healthcare providers, combined with automated analytics for targeted patient acquisition
The importance of building a diverse team, and bringing people on board with a wide variety of different skills sets
 
Favorite book: 
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Jack Oslan, CEO and Co-Founder of Diamond Age: $58 Million Raised to Build the Future of 3D Printed Homes

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Jack Oslan, Founder & Executive Chairman of Diamond Age, a construction robotics platform that has raised $58 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Robotics for Affordable Housing: Diamond Age uses robotics to build affordable, energy-efficient single-family homes with significantly reduced labor.
Speed and Efficiency: Their technology can build homes four times faster than traditional methods, offering substantial cost savings and efficiency improvements.
Target Market: Diamond Age works with large production home builders like Century Communities to address the housing shortage, focusing on high-volume tract housing.
Labor Market Impact: The goal is to replace physically demanding construction jobs with more technology-focused roles, making the industry more appealing to younger workers.
Solving a Personal Problem: Jack was motivated to start Diamond Age after realizing the housing affordability crisis affected even high-earning professionals like his son and daughter-in-law.
Regulatory and Market Adoption: The company's approach aligns with existing building codes, facilitating easier adoption by builders and regulatory agencies.
 

Zach Lloyd, CEO and Founder of Warp: $70 Million Raised to Build a Better Terminal

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Zach Lloyd, CEO and Founder of Warp, a Rust-based terminal that's raised $70 Million in funding, about why writing code in your terminal shouldn’t feel like 1978, and the need for an up-to-date solution for people working at the cutting edge of software innovation.
Topics Discussed:
Zach’s background in software engineering, including stints at some of the biggest names in the tech ecosystem
The real-world pain points which led Zach to address the limitations and usability issues present in existing developer tools
Modernizing the terminal user experience, making it smarter with integrated AI and promoting collaboration between developers
Building a community-oriented business, and the importance of feedback to driving continuous innovation
How Warp rises above the background noise to capture developers’ attention in such a crowded market space
 
Favorite book: 
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Bantam Classics)

Paul Stovell, CEO and Founder of Octopus Deploy: Over $170 Million Raised to Build the Future of Deployment Automation

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Paul Stovell, CEO and Founder of Octopus Deploy, a deployment automation tool for DevOps that's raised over $170 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Paul's background as a software engineer and the influence of other entrepreneurs on his business mindset
Octopus Deploy’s mission to automate software deployments and make the process stress-free for software teams.
How Octopus Deploy differentiates itself from competitors by providing value in one specific area of contemporary business
How Octopus Deploy was able to secure a profitable business model at a very early stage, confounding the startup economy standard
Building a new category around a real-world pain point for contemporary businesses, and where Paul sees the business heading in the future
 
Favorite book: 
Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software