BUILDERS

Alan Shreve, CEO and Founder of Ngrok: $50 Million Raised to Help Devs Deploy SItes, Services, and Apps

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Alan Shreve, CEO and Founder of Ngrok, a unified ingress platform that has served over 6 million developers worldwide and raised $50 Million in funding. 
Topics Discussed:
Alan’s background and lessons from his first job
What a unified ingress platform is, and why it’s crucial for developers
The secrets for attracting 6 million users
Whether bootstrapping or venture capital is the better way to go for a startup
The future of Ngrok and how it aims at helping developers even more
 
Favorite book: 
The Little Prince

Max Bruner, CEO and Founder of Anzen Insurance: $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Executive Risk Insurance

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Max Bruner, CEO and Founder of Anzen Insurance, a platform that is saving insurance brokers and companies thousands of hours and tons of stress, that has raised $10 Million in funding. 
Topics Discussed:
Max’s early background — which was unrelated to tech — and his experience in the insurance industry
The surprising place of the insurance industry in the world
A little-known historical fact about the importance of insurance
What factors are making people-related risks increase for companies, and why 40% of startups and small businesses get sued by employees
Why buying directors and officers insurance is such a painful process for most companies, and how Anzen is changing that

Arik Shtilman, Rapyd: $15 Billion Valuation (Unicorn Builders)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Arik Shtilman, CEO and Co-Founder of Rapyd, a Fintech as a service platform that's raised over $800 Million in funding, about why today’s global economy needs a new generation of payment solutions. Offering powerful fintech solutions to collect, hold and send funds across countries and between currencies with ease, Rapyd makes sure their customers have the time and resources available to focus on what matters most - building and growing their businesses.
We also speak about Arik’s CEO superpowers of staying hungry and getting deep into the details, advice for early founders to focus on building a brand and boosting awareness, Rapyd’s marketing strategies, and creating a new category with ‘fintech as a service.’
Topics Discussed:
Lessons learned from the Israeli military 
The mindset Arik and his co-founders had when they founded the company
How to deal with negative press
The ROI of David Guetta
How one meeting saved the company from being closed 
Why the spray and  pray approach to fundraising doesn't work 
How Arik keeps him team and himself hungry and motivated 
Why brand awareness is everything 

Ravi Parikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Airplane: Over $40 Million Raised to Build Better Developer Infrastructure For Internal Tooling

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Ravi Parikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Airplane, a developer platform for internal tooling that's raised over $40 Million in funding, about why an increasingly differentiated digital economy needs a more agile toolkit for developing solutions to specific tasks. Enabling their clients to develop internal UIs with just a few lines of code, coordinate tasks and introduce custom tools across a whole range of third-party platforms, Airplane transforms basic scripts into production grade apps.
We speak to the CEO and Co-Founder about his background as a software engineer and the companies he founded before Airplane, the real world experience that inspired him to focus on internal developer tools, staying competitive in a crowded marketplace, and why Airplane decided against going ‘no-code.’
Topics Discussed:
Ravi’s background in software engineering and analytics, and his record of founding tech-centered companies
The personal experience with a real-world pain point that led Ravi to develop the Airplane platform
The challenge of developing a complex platform prior to establishing product market fit
The importance of clear competitive advantage to convince engineers that there’s a better solution than writing code themselves
Why Airplane rejected the ‘no code’ buzzword to provide a unique offering in a crowded marketplace
 
Favorite book: 
High Output Management

Funding the Future: Zamir Shukho, CEO and General Partner of Vibranium VC

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Zamir Shukho, CEO and General Partner of Vibranium VC.
Topics Discussed:
Zamir's background working with startups and building acceleration programs, and what he learned about what business leaders need
Vibranium VC’s focus on Silicon Valley software companies, with a particular interest in B2B SaaS, sales, marketing, fintech and media solutions
Common pitching mistakes, being prepared to address tough questions and be open to feedback from investors
The challenges of category creation including the need to convince potential markets and new customers to adopt new concepts
Excitement about opportunities in the SaaS market, particularly B2B startups utilizing AI to enhance their software products

Craig Unger, CEO and Founder of Hyperproof: Over $22 Million Raised to Pioneer the Compliance Operations category

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Craig Unger, CEO and Founder of Hyperproof, a security assurance and compliance operations platform that's raised over $22 Million in funding, about the central role of security in developing critical cloud services, and how a trust deficit can derail even the most promising plans for the future. Hyperproof is fully committed to helping companies keep the promises they make to their clients, creating an entirely new business application that makes it easy to gather and re-use evidence, set reminders to complete compliance tasks, and automate tedious manual tasks, all with a level of transparency previously unheard of.
We also speak about Craig’s background in the tech Industry for 31 years, his time working for microsoft and what it taught him about trust in the sector, bridging the gap between security and compliance, and Hyperproof’s vision for the future of enhancing trust and transparency across the board.
Topics Discussed:
Craig’s decades-long career in the tech space, from some of the industry’s biggest names to experiences in the startup economy
Lessons learned about trust and transparency as the foundation of critical business decisions and their impact on long-term development
The Hyperproof value proposition and how they position themselves in a crowded marketplace
The challenge of educating a market about the importance of compliance operations, and how Hyperproof makes it happen
Finding a product-market fit after more than a year in operation, and what made Hyperproof feel they’d finally got things right 
 
Favorite book: 
The Scarlet Letter

Dan DeMers, CEO of Cinchy: Over $24 Million Raised to Build a Data Collaboration Platform That Makes Data Integration Obsolete

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Dan DeMers, CEO of Cinchy, a data collaboration platform that's raised over $24 Million in funding, about why the time has come for an alternative to rigid data contracts and the integration-heavy approach to business unit collaboration. By evolving isolated data silos into meshed products where data is well-governed white being freely available to all who need it, Cinchy gives business teams the power to execute and oversee their own desired outcomes and implement real change.
We also speak about Dan’s background between technology and big finance, what it was like transitioning from programming to management, creating a brand new category for his business, and Cinchy’s aim to make data integration all but obsolete.
Topics Discussed:
Dan’s background in technology and big finance, transitioning from a programmer to manager, and the insights it gave him into the complexities of big enterprise.
Cinchy’s value proposition of eliminating silos, streamlining data governance, and ultimately making data integration obsolete
Establishing the Data Collaboration Alliance non profit to advocate for better data and collaborate with those who share the vision.
How bold messaging helps Cinchy make an impact in a marketplace saturated with vaporware
The importance of peer-review sites to for building credibility in a skeptical marketplace
 
Favorite book: 
Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets

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