Category Visionaries

Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze: Over $48 Million Raised to Build the Leading Global Mobility Platform for Companies and Employees

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze, an HR platform for talent mobility that's raised over $48 Million in funding, about why today’s global economy needs a new way of connecting and hiring staff from all over the world. By taking care of every aspect of the administrative process for bringing in international staff, from up-to-date information about visa requirements, fully transparent tracking of the process, and the potential to scale up successful hires, Localyze is making the international hiring headache fade into memory.
We also speak about Hannah’s background in engineering and consultancy, why she’s much happier in her role as CEO, competing with traditional immigration law firms  both in the marketplace and through the courts, and the personal experiences which inspired her to found Localyze.
Topics Discussed:
Hannah’s career background as both a consultant and engineer, but why she’s now most comfortable in her role as CEO
How the complex nature of different legal systems across the world creates a real headache for employers in the hiring process
Digitizing the immigration law industry, and how Localyze’s disruption attracted competition from established market actors
How Localyze leveraged chance encounters and existing networks to secure their first paying customers
Hannah’s personal experiences of moving across borders which inspired her to co-found Localyze to improve the process
 
Favorite book: 
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

Axel Bichara, Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst: $100 Million Raised for Venture-Driven Growth at the Intersection of Technology and Social Change

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Axel Bichara, Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a VC fund that backs creative technologies, about the key criteria they look for in prospective partners before making that ever-important early stage investment. From identifying extraordinary individuals to making sure there’s a market to be exploited, Baukunst focuses on the spaces in which technological innovation and social changes can precipitate new ways of living and almost endless opportunities.
We also speak about Axel’s background in investment and how it brought him to found Baukunst, changes in the VC space as it emerged from a fledgling funding opportunity to a major source of market capital, and how running a VC firm can end up consuming your entire life.
 
Topics Discussed:
Axel’s background in the investment space, from the early days of venture capital and his days as a student to founding Baukunst
Changes in the VC sector, from fringe finance to some of the world’s largest capital funds
Why generalization in an investment space focusing on innovation is unlikely to be a winning strategy in the long term
Why efficiency and low burn rates are key for new investments until you can be sure of product market fit
The potential pitches Axel and Baukunst are looking for in the future, and how to prepare yourself for investment

Mark DeSantis, CEO of Bloomfield: $8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Agriculture Robotics

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Mark DeSantis, CEO of Bloomfield, a Pittsburgh based AgTech startup that's raised $8.5 Million in funding, about why visual plant-level health and performance assessments are fundamental to specialty crop farming. No matter how well trained and highly motivated, visual crop assessment is subjective, but Bloomfield’s automated analysis provides objective, precise and comprehensive data about every plant, continuously.
We also speak about Mark’s background as an entrepreneur and his journey into the ag-tech space, the power of AI and innovative imaging technology in the assessment and management of speciality crops, how data-driven innovation can address the challenges of feeding a growing population, and the future of AI in the agricultural economy more generally.
 
Topics Discussed:
Mark DeSantis’ entrepreneurial background and what brought him to the ag-tech business
The wide application of AI technology and automation across critical components of the agriculture sector
Individual monitoring and assessment of speciality crops as a game-changer for the industry
The looming challenge of feeding a growing global population, and the role of automated technologies in future food security
The future of Ai in the agriculture sector more generally, and how Bloomfields is preparing to position themselves as leaders in the space

Jon Carter, CEO and Founder of Prado: $5.7 Million Raised to Improve Fresh Food Accessibility Nationwide

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Jon Carter, CEO and Founder of Prado, an e-commerce operating platform that's raised $5.7 Million in funding, about the challenges of chasing efficiency in the meal-plan industry, and how data can help transform the space. With a one-stop software solution covering everything from web hosting and customer fulfilment to automation for kitchen operations, Prado powers-up the entire backend of a meal delivery business.
We also speak about Jon’s career background between contemporary health issues and the online catering sector, Prado’s initial focus on meal-prep firms and expanding across the industry, the importance of customer pain points and the intersection of meal plans and meaningful health outcomes.
Topics Discussed:
Prado’s origin story and the challenges confronting contemporary food service firms dealing with perishable products and complex logistics
The personal experience which led Jon to focus on the intersection of health, food-prep and technology
Jon’s vision of outsourcing nutrition to a trusted third partner, and Prado claiming their ‘share of stomach’
How an initial focus specifically on meal-prep firms expanded into  sector-wide support for firms across the catering sector
Why Prado keeps their focus on real-world pain points rather than creating categories for their clients
 
Favorite book:
The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds--Not Crushes--Your Soul

Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Build Their Own Metaverse

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia, a metaverse platform that's raised $6 Million in funding, about why digital worlds are the future of everything from webinars, branded content and corporate meetings tools, and how Topia is positioning themselves at the center of the next big thing. Built on allowing people to access tools and relevant information whenever they need them, and a slew of customizable application options, Topia increases real retention through real-time connections in digital space.
We also speak about Daniel's background as a software engineer and his passion for building things, what a ‘metaverse platform’ actually is, the power of customizable metaverse spaces for contemporary businesses, and navigating the hype surrounding the metaverse concept to establish something built to last
Topics Discussed:
Daniel's background in software engineering and his lifelong passion for building better solutions to intractable challenges
Topia’s origins at Digital Burning Man back in 2020, and how it expanded through into other events and sourced new partners
The concept of a metaverse platform itself, combining the real-time, interactive, and experiential aspects of the internet
Topia's approach of giving companies more control over their ecosystems and the ability to customize their metaverse experiences
The challenges of finding valuable use cases for metaverse technology, and navigating the hype surrounding the industry’s biggest buzzword
 
Favorite book: 
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Chris Golec, CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of B2B Marketing

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 Chris Golec, CEO & Founder of Channel99, a B2B marketing platform that has raised $5 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Early Career Shifts: Chris transitioned from chemical engineering to tech entrepreneurship, starting with his first company in 1996, Supplybase, focusing on B2B supply chain software.
Birth of Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Chris was instrumental in coining and pioneering the ABM category with his company Demandbase, addressing the frustration of B2B marketers lacking targeted marketing technologies.
Challenges of ABM: Chris discusses the initial struggles of gaining traction for ABM and how it eventually grew into a significant category in B2B marketing.
Founding Channel99: After leaving Demandbase, Chris founded Channel99 to help B2B marketers measure the efficiency of their marketing spend and business outcomes.
Remote Work Challenges: Chris expresses concerns about building a strong company culture remotely and the benefits of in-office collaboration for innovation and team bonding.
Silicon Valley's Future: Despite some narratives about the decline of Silicon Valley, Chris believes the region's ecosystem of innovation and venture capital will remain strong.
 
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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.
www.FrontLines.io
The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.
www.GlobalTalent.co

Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit: Over $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Communities

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit, a community growth platform that's raised over $22 Million in funding, about why, in an economy where software is ‘adopted’ more than ‘sold,’ a sense of community can be a genuine driver of growth. Providing in-depth knowledge and powerful insights about sentiment, company size and almost everyone involved in your business, Orbit allows their clients to leverage an entire audience in pursuit of growth.
We also talk about Patrick’s background in marketing, brand strategy and customer success, why he eventually settled on a community-first approach to driving growth with Orbit, and why modern companies need to learn how to scale human-centric relationships.
Topics Discussed:
Patrick’s background in marketing, brand strategy and customer success leadership, and the insights it gave him into how leading brands are built
Ending up in San Francisco and how it felt to enter the startup economy for the first time
Why modern businesses should allocate more focus to building communities, and the long-term benefits it can bring
The radical change in how customers relate to their software, and the difference between being ‘bought’ and ‘adopted’
Moving from business jargon to a more holistic understanding of how humans engage in their commercial journeys
Favorite book: 
The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business
Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Finnur Pind, Co-Founder and CEO of Treble: $10 Million Raised to Build Next Generation Sound Simulation and Spatial Audio Technology

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Finnur Pind, Co-Founder and CEO of Treble, a next generation simulation technology platform that's raised $10 Million in funding about how a new generation of sound-simulation technology is set to help build a better sounding world. Treble's Acoustic Simulation Software generates interactive, real-time, immersive auralizations of acoustic modeling projects with the click of a button, making it easy to compare design iterations and make more informed decisions to make the most of every sound.
We also talk about Finnur’s background of more than 15 years 'obsessing’ about sound, the potential customers looking to design more acoustically refined spaces, limitations in the toolkits available to designers, and why demo-first marketing helped to scale where hands-on engagement turned out to be a hurdle.
Topics Discussed:
Finnur’s long-standing obsession with sound, first as a musician and then as an engineer before moving into academia
The emerging focus on creating a ‘sound-comfortable environment’ for everything from classrooms to concert spaces
Personal experiences with the limitations of acoustic-design technology that prompted Finnur to found Treble
Sparking customer interest through content on LinkedIn and other platforms, driving up inbound sales
Why a hands-on customer engagement process was eventually replaced with a demo-first model to enable better business scaling
 
Favorite book: 
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Benjamin Wilms, CEO and Co-Founder of Steadybit: $7.8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Chaos Engineering

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Benjamin Wilms, CEO and Co-Founder of Steadybit, a chaos engineering platform that's raised $7.8 Million in funding, about why resilience is everything in the modern software economy, and why so many companies struggle to build it into their more complex systems. Working with a small team of dedicated engineers, Steadybit wants to move beyond chaos engineering to create holistic resilience engineering solutions and empower everybody who builds and runs software.
We also speak about Benjamin’s background as a software developer and what it was like transitioning to the role of CEO, the original inspiration for a resilience-focused tech platform like Steadybit, having a real passion for problem solving and sharing knowledge, and why chaos engineering is key to making sure everything runs the way it should in the real world.
Topics Discussed:
Benjamin’s background in software development, and his history of developing resilience-first software solutions
The transition from developer to CEO, and confronting the challenges of time management and decision making
The central role of chaos engineering in building long-term resilience for systems operating in an unpredictable digital space
Why the term ‘chaos engineering’ itself has great marketing potential, and how attracting initial interest is a big part of business growth
How learning from failure is such an important part of aspect of developing a business, but why that doesn’t mean it’s always easy

Yingjun Wu, CEO and Co-Founder of RisingWave Labs: $40 Million Raised to Make Stream Processing Simple, Affordable, and Accessible

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Yingjun Wu, CEO and Co-Founder of RisingWave Labs, a SQL stream processing platform that's raised $40 Million in funding, about why it’s time for a better way to leverage the potential of their data. Offering real-time insights, simplified with advanced SQL processing, RisingWave Labs helps their clients make actionable decisions based on the most up-to-date information available.
We also speak about Yingjun’s background as a software engineer working at big-name brands like Amazon and IBM, the significance of SQL as a tool for data analysis and a way to garner attention for their product, the challenges RisingWave Labs have experienced in their business growth journey, and why they prioritize education and user-friendly experiences.
Topics Discussed:
Yingjun’s background as a software engineer, and the lessons he brought from some of the sector’s biggest names as RisingWave Labs’ CEO
RisingWave Labs product offering of SQL stream processing for real-time data, and what it means for their clients
How using the ‘trendy’ programming language ‘Rust’ helped RisingWave Labs generate growth even before they deployed a real marketing campaign
The challenge of dealing with a wide variety of potential customer priorities, and how to allocate resources in response
Why RisingWave Labs maintains a focus on education and user-friendly experiences to drive sustained adoption
 
Favorite book: 
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies