BUILDERS

Dylan Etkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Sleuth: $25 Million Raised to Make Engineering Teams More Efficient

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Dylan Etkin, CEO and Co-Founder of Sleuth, an engineering efficiency platform that's raised $25 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Dylan’s career background as an engineer and engineering manager, and contributions to important products like Jira and Bitbucket
Transitioning from engineer to CEO, new responsibilities and the importance of product-market fit
Why so many engineering teams struggle with bottlenecks, and how automated tools can enhance their processes
How DORA metrics established themselves as the gold-standard for efficiency monitoring, and integrating them into Sleuth’s solution
Building a unique marketing approach based on sponsoring industry reports and thought leaders in the space
 
Favorite book: 
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

Chris Hare, CEO of PRTI: Over $25 Million Raised to Transform America’s Billions of Waste Tires into Valuable Commodities

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Chris Hare, CEO of PRTI, a waste-to-energy company that's raised over $25 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Chris’ experience in various industries and leadership roles, and his long-term passion for innovation and building teams
PRTI’s automated thermal-processing technology, breaking down tires into a gas stream, liquid oil, solid fuel, and steel
Why the magnitude of the tire waste problem attracted the interest of large-scale, institutional investors
Overcoming significant challenges related to automating a manual process, unexpected performance issues and adapting approaches
Strong storytelling and open communication as crucial elements for effectively engaging investors
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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
 

Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace: $44 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Development

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace, a skill mastery platform that has raised $44 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Omer’s background in Behavioural Economics, his first (failed) startup and the lessons he learned about B2B and B2C
What creating a “culture of excellence” in an enterprise means in practical terms
How GrowthSpace contributes to human-to-human development within companies by using data to understand pain points
What sets GrowthSpace apart from competitors
The advice Omer would give his past self about fundraising
 
Favorite book: 
Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow

Ankit Ratan, Co-Founder and CEO of Signzy: Over $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Digital Onboarding Infrastructure

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ankit Ratan, Co-Founder and CEO of Signzy, a digital onboarding infrastructure platform that's raised over $38 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Ankit’s financial services background, and the personal experiences which led him to found Signzy
The challenges modern banks face in transitioning to digital processes and collaborating with external ecosystems.
How the conversation around digital transformations for banks shifted from uncertainty to necessity
The appeal of digital onboarding for customers and how Signzy intends to create a ‘Netflix’ experience for the banking sector
Fundraising insights focused on how founders need to focus on demonstrating real-world customer problem solving 

Matthew O’Riordan, CEO of Ably Realtime: Over $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of Realtime Experience Infrastructure

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Matthew O’Riordan, CEO of Ably Realtime, a real time experience infrastructure platform that's raised over $82 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Matthew’s background growing up in South Africa, before eventually moving to the UK to found his first tech startup
Holding various roles across a career, including CTO and CEO, and having a lifelong passion for coding
Admiration for the Collison Brothers, founders of Stripe, for their focus on an excellent experience and empowering developers
How GoogleDocs inspired the idea for Ably Realtime, and how they intend to standout by creating more interactive applications
The challenges faced by companies across numerous sectors in ensuring sub-100 millisecond latency for a true real-time feel
 
Favorite book: 
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

DeVaris Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of Meroxa: Over $19 Million Raised to Empower Engineering Teams with Better Stream Processing

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with DeVaris Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of Meroxa, a stream processing data application platform that's raised over $19 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
DeVaris’ background before launching Meroxa at some of technology’s biggest names, including Twitter, Microsoft and Zendesk
Growing up inspired by his grandparents' entrepreneurial endeavors, and the dot-com, to one day become an tech entrepreneur
How Meroxa helps developers move data around with ease, removing the need for specialized knowledge across different data systems
Working with Government Agencies including the Air Force, Space Force, and NASA, handling complex real-time data challenges.
Deciding to work with government agencies while aiming to ensure any contributions align with their standards.
 
Favorite book: 
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer: $15 Million Raised to Protect Private Cellular Networks

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer, a cyber security platform dedicated to private cellular networks that's raised $15 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Dave’s background, which includes serving in the Israeli Defense Force for 15 years, specializing in cybersecurity and technology innovation
How the Israeli tech sector gained a fearless reputation for a mindset of tackling security challenges fearlessly, even against giants.
the challenge of connectivity in enterprise IoT and industrial settings, and why so many firms opt for private 5G network solutions
OneLayer’s impressive growth trajectory, and how they handle deploying security solutions across a range of different geographies
Why seamless integration is central to the OneLayer security offering, and how it has helped them scale along with their growth

Daniel Turner, CEO of TRAXyL: Over $5 Million Raised to Make Connectivity Happen From Here to Anywhere

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Daniel Turner, CEO of TRAXyL, an optical fiber installation company that's raised over $5 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Daniel’s early background, his education in computer science, and his time working in the intelligence community
How living in DC and witnessing 9/11 shifted Daniel’s professional focus from game development to the intelligence sector
How his father’s challenges with high-speed internet installation drew attention to a need for innovation in the installation industry
Why a ‘minimally disruptive installation’ method means TRAXyL brings connection to people and places typically too challenging for fiber installation
Making the transition from bootstrapping funding to finding success in a capital seed round, raising millions for further development

Vinoth Chandar, CEO and Founder of Onehouse: $33 Million Raised to Bring Order to Data Lakehouses

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from the tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Vinoth Chandar, founder of Onehouse, a cloud-native data Lakehouse solution that has raised $33 Million in funding.
 
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Vinoth's Rich Background: Vinoth has a deep technical background in database and distributed systems engineering, with significant stints at Oracle, LinkedIn, Uber, and Confluent before founding Onehouse.
Innovating at Uber: Vinoth was part of the team at Uber that built the world's first Data Lakehouse in 2016, a precursor to the modern data Lakehouse concept, showcasing his pioneering work in data management.
Lessons from Uber's Turbulent Times: Vinoth's time at Uber during its most tumultuous periods taught him resilience and the importance of a positive product impact, underscoring the critical role of culture and team dynamics in navigating challenges.
Admiration for Linus Torvalds: Vinoth admires Linus Torvalds for demonstrating how open-source software can create immense value over time, reflecting on the transformative power of collaborative software development.
Influential Reads: Books like "The Journey is the Reward," a biography of Steve Jobs, and "Crossing the Chasm" have profoundly impacted Vinoth, offering insights into market innovation and the importance of category creation.
Onehouse's Mission: Onehouse aims to revolutionize data management with its faster, better, and cheaper cloud data infrastructure, leveraging Apache Hoodie to enable efficient data processing and management.
Navigating Product Market Fit: Identifying and refining Onehouse's customer profile and value proposition in a crowded and noisy market has been a significant challenge, with open-source community engagement playing a crucial role in building credibility and trust.
Future Vision: Vinoth envisions Onehouse completing its product story to bring an interoperable cloud data plane to life, focusing on managing and transforming data effectively for businesses.

Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Virtual Offices

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace, a virtual office platform that's raised $25 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Brett’s roles in addition to President of Kumospace, Co-Founder of Charge Ventures, and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School
The different ways in which companies deploy Kumospace, either as a replacement for, or supplement to, other platforms
How focusing on seamless conversation switching set Kumospace on the path to revolutionize the online meeting space
The strategic approach Kumospace deployed to secure some big name clients like Harvard, LinkedIn and NASA
The future of remote work and what it means for all of us in a digital-first future