Why is Now the Time to Start a Company with David Booth

The Deep End by ODF

#Tech #Entrepreneur #Business #Podcasting Education #Deck #Venture Capital #Startup #Angel Investing #Founders

51:57

On the Season 2 debut of Lost Cultures: Living Legacies , we travel to Bermuda, an Atlantic island whose history spans centuries and continents. Once uninhabited, Bermuda became a vital stop in transatlantic trade, a maritime stronghold, and a cultural crossroads shaped by African, European, Caribbean, and Native American influences. Guests Dr. Kristy Warren and Dr. Edward Harris trace its transformation from an uninhabited island to a strategic outpost shaped by shipwrecks, colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and the rise and fall of empires. Plus, former Director of Tourism Gary Phillips shares the story of the Gombey tradition, a vibrant performance art rooted in resistance, migration, and cultural fusion. Together, they reveal how Bermuda’s layered past continues to shape its people, culture, and identity today. You can also find us online at ⁠travelandleisure.com/lostcultures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

2 years ago 53:27

MP3•Episode home

On the latest episode of The Deep End podcast by On Deck, we interview our very own David Booth, CEO of On Deck.

Recently, David has announced one of the biggest updates to On Deck since the program went virtual in 2020, with the return of in-person programming and community space in San Francisco.

In this conversation, we discuss why On Deck is doubling down on IRL programming, why he believes venture-backed founders need to be deeply connected to the Bay Area, why now is the best time to start a company and how startups help combat stagnation.

The episode is for anyone interested in better what is needed for early-stage start-ups to succeed in the current economic climate, the Bay Area as a tech hub, and how startups are the best mechanism we have to solve complex societal problems.

129 episodes

Why is Now the Time to Start a Company with David Booth

The Deep End by ODF

40 subscribers

published 2 years ago

MP3•Episode home

On the latest episode of The Deep End podcast by On Deck, we interview our very own David Booth, CEO of On Deck.

Recently, David has announced one of the biggest updates to On Deck since the program went virtual in 2020, with the return of in-person programming and community space in San Francisco.

129 episodes

#Tech #Entrepreneur #Business #Podcasting Education #Deck #Venture Capital #Startup #Angel Investing #Founders

All episodes

The Deep End by ODF

1
CEO of Cal.com Bailey Pumfleet: building an open source rocketship ("Stripe for Time") | ODF alum 1:09:25

24 weeks ago1:09:25

1:09:25

Cal.com CEO Bailey Pumfleet turned a side project into one of the most ambitious infrastructure companies ever. His mission: powering a billion connections by 2031 Rather than just another Calendly alternative, they're building the "Stripe for Time" - scheduling infrastructure that powers everything from doctor's appointments to refugee services. We get into: [3:56] How startups get open source wrong [10:46] Launching the v0 of Cal (called Calendso) [24:32] Why open source is crucial for infrastructure companies [36:30] The journey from MVP to enterprise-grade platform [39:29] Building trust through radical transparency [46:46] How their "longevity guarantee" wins enterprise deals [47:15] Running a fully remote global team [53:00] Handling compliance and security at scale This is a must-watch for anyone building infrastructure, open source, or startups in general.. Enjoy! Links mentioned: ODF: explore starting a startup in SF and figure out co-founders, customers, and more at https://joinodf.com StampList: browse breakout companies with a track record of sponsoring visas for exceptional talent at https://landing.club/stamplist https://cal.com https://x.com/BaileyPumfleet https://x.com/peer_rich (Bailey's co-founder) https://x.com/julianweisser The Deep End is available on YouTube and other podcasting platforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2Pripb427E Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-end-by-odf/id1568752165 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TWOlf80GM1Pml8fGUO8KK…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Eoghan McCabe: moving to America to build Intercom into a unicorn + the benefits of naivety, hard work, and rejection. 1:18:38

35 weeks ago1:18:38

1:18:38

Eoghan McCabe is the CEO and co-founder of Intercom This was an incredible talk recorded live during the ODF22 cohort. Thanks again to Intercom for hosting. 10 important ideas (and timestamps) from this conversation: 1/ Innocence and Naivety Can Be a Superpower 7:58 - “There was a phenomenal amount of naivety that allowed people to do things that were kind of like conventionally the wrong thing to do.” 2/ Be Contrarian, but Not Recklessly So 10:05 - “If you talk to 100 funds right now and you can’t raise money, change the damn idea.” 3/ In-Person Work is Better 11:55 - “In person is better. And I think that the people who promote remote working are lazy and antisocial.” 4/ Find Your True Passion—or You'll Fail 17:55 - “Please follow your passion. Please do the thing that you love.” 5/ Great Companies Ride Multiple Waves 21:23 - “Great companies are built on successive waves… secular movements. They either create them themselves or they jump on ones that have started already.” 6/ Hard Work is Under Attack—But It's Essential 23:37 - “Most likely you’re going to want to need to work seven days a week and 12 hours a day to get your thing off the ground.” 7/ Extreme Homogeneity Early On Beats Diversity 25:03 - “In early-stage startups, you want extreme homogeneity. You want people who believe what you believe.” 8/ Customer Intimacy Over Everything 26:29 - “They’ll obsess about talking to customers… getting inside not just their heads but their hearts.” 9/ Early Failure and Rejection Strengthens You 29:08 - “The things that bruise our egos the most tend to eviscerate the parts of our ego that were making us so fragile in the first place.” 10/ Hiring Brilliant People is More Important than the Idea 41:51 - “The people who put that team together had an eye for that X factor.” -- If you're exploring starting a company apply for ODF - our 23rd cohort kicks off November 8th in San Francisco…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Deep Dive: Find the right co-founder and idea with Mo El Mahallawy, CTO and co-founder of Shepherd 53:38

1 year ago53:38

53:38

Today we’re chatting with Mo El Mahallawy, CTO and co-founder of Shepherd. Shepherd is all in one commercial insurance platform focused on high hazard industries. The company is on an absolute tear and this month they announced a $13.5M series A. Mo and I decided to sit down and record a conversation because the journey of Shepherd will resonate with many potential founders who are try to find those two key missing pieces: who might I start a company with and what might we build together? Right as the world was shutting down due to COVID, Mo joined ODF3 where he met one of his co-founders at Shepherd — Justin Levine. Mo and Justin soon embarked on a journey to determine what they could build together that had potential to solve a real customer problem. After pivoting through several ideas across a variety of sectors, they honed in on an area where one of them had a unique insight — construction insurance. This is an instructive story about how to find co-founders and how to build a great business together. Enjoy! Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that! ODF has helped 1k companies like Shepherd (ODF3) find their co-founders, get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our IRL cohorts in San Francisco are now open. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com Mo on X/Twitter and his company Shepherd . beondeck.com On Deck on X/Twitter Julian on X/Twitter and blog Podcast episode archive and show notes…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Deep Dive: Shutting down a startup, doing right by your team, and founder identity with Stevie Cline (VC at Vol. 1 Ventures) 55:16

1 year ago55:16

55:16

Today’s conversation is rare but vital — we spend much of our time talking about the challenges around shutting down companies. While I spend most of my time writing about how to build towards success, the stark reality is that most companies fail. Shutting down your company is incredibly painful but it’s particularly lonely — you often feel like you have limited support and guidance. That’s why Stevie and I felt it was so important to record this episode. We hope this episode is a resource to every founder in the years ahead that makes the decision that it’s time to move on. It’s packed with personal stories from Stevie, tested tactics, and best practices. We also spend some time talking about startups, identity, and the long arc of ambition. Contrary to what you might expect, I found this to be an inspiring and entertaining conversation — I think you will as well. Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that! ODF has helped 1k companies get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our IRL cohorts in San Francisco are now open. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com Stevie on X/Twitter and her newsletter Highly Regulated beondeck.com On Deck on X/Twitter Julian on X/Twitter and blog Podcast episode archive and show notes…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Control Your Financial Destiny: Runway, Metrics, and more with Puzzle's CEO Sasha Orloff 50:02

1 year ago50:02

50:02

ODF is thrilled to announce its partnership with Puzzle — all ODF participants and alumni now save hundreds of dollars, To learn more go here . -- Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that! ODF has helped 1k companies—like Puzzle which was ODF8—get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our IRL cohorts in San Francisco are now open. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com puzzle.io Sasha on X/Twitter beondeck.com On Deck on X/Twitter Podcast episode archive and show notes For this episode of the Deep End, Sasha dropped by On Deck co-founder Julian Weisser 's house in SF to talk about why he decided to decade his next decade to building better accounting software for startups. Sasha realized that building Puzzle was essential for startups to have the best chance at thriving in an increasingly complex world. Puzzle puts accounting on autopilot and enables founders to be able to zoom in on any area of their business, model out scenarios, and plan for the future. It also makes the diligence process during finance and acquisitions go smoother.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Augmenting people with AI and building the future featuring Matt Rastovac of Respell 1:04:39

1 year ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that! ODF has helped 1k companies—like Respell which was ODF17—get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our 20th cohort in San Francisco are now . Learn more and apply at beondeck.com respell.ai Matt on X/Twitter beondeck.com On Deck on X/Twitter Podcast episode archive and show notes For this episode of the Deep End, Matt Rastovac dropped by On Deck co-founder Julian Weisser 's house in SF to talk all things AI and his experience as a second-time founder. With his new company Respell , Matt is building AI-powered workflows and agents to assist on tasks enabling individuals and teams can be more effective than ever before. During our conversation Matt shares how he thought through building the first version of Respell, how to educate potential customers about breakthrough technology, and what he’s learned about sales. Prior to Respell, Matt was the co-founder and CTO of Atmos a vertically integrated solution for building a custom home. Matt shares what he learned at his first company, how he’s transitioned into the CEO role at his second one, his unique and compelling method of hiring and evaluating talent, and much more.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
"The most important milestone in the history of longevity biotech" — Archival Interview with Celine Halioua (Founder/CEO of Loyal) 1:08:00

1 year ago1:08:00

1:08:00

Earlier this week Celine Halioua (ODF2), founder and CEO of Loyal — a dog longevity biotech startup — announced something truly groundbreaking. Loyal (ODF2) has earned what they believe to be the FDA’s first-ever formal acceptance that a drug can be developed and approved for lifespan extension. As Celine says in her announcement; “I started Loyal 4 years ago with the explicit goal to get the first drug FDA approved for lifespan extension itself - no disease, just healthy, longer"..."We can't start selling the drug yet - we need to complete the safety and manufacturing technical sections - but this represents the lions share of the 'existential risk' of both the drug program, and of Loyal AKA - we are doing it!!!” Laura Deming is a longevity biotech investor with an incredible batting average. 5 of 18 startups she’s backed so far have gone public. She was the first investor in Loyal and had this to say: "This just dropped - the most important milestone in the history of longevity biotech. put simply, this is the FDA’s first-ever formal acceptance that a drug can be developed and approved to extend lifespan. the longevity field is evolving quickly. No one I know in the field would have said this was possible 5 years ago. Celine got it done in 4. It’s a massive win for both biotech founders and regulators, in establishing a pathway by which drugs (initially for dogs) can get approved for lifespan" You’re about to listen to an archival interview with Celine just one and a half years into starting Loyal which is now 4 years old. It’s an incredible conversation with interviewer Marshall Kosloff and shows just how much can be accomplished in a few short years. Congrats to Celine and the entire Loyal team on what is truly an unparalleled milestone. Are you exploring starting a company we’ve got a program for that? ODF has helped 1k companies like Loyal which was ODF2 get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our 20th cohort in San Francisco are now . Learn more and apply at beondeck.com loyalfordogs.com Celine's personal website Celine on X/Twitter beondeck.com On Deck on X/Twitter podcast episode archive and show notes…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Defense Tech: Opportunities to support America and our allies with veteran Mike Slagh (founder/CEO of Shift) 55:03

2 years ago55:03

55:03

Joining me in the deep end is US Navy veteran Mike Slagh — founder of Shift — an organization that has built the most significant bridge between the Department of Defense and the startup ecosystem. Defense Tech is a big deal. We’re just now starting to see it be thought of as a more feasible sector to build startups. Mike might be one of the best people in the world to learn about opportunities to build tech and services that support America and our allies. Before co-founding Shift, Mike felt a calling to serve and joined the United States Naval Academy and was a bomb disposal officer for half a decade. Mike’s first experiences with business go all the way back to when he was a kid helping his grandma Betty run her toy store. As a teenager he became an eBay power seller to generate an additional income stream for their business. In just under 10 days Mike is hosting the Defense Venture Summit, convening founders, operators, over 100 VC funds, and members of the US Military. It’s likely sold out as of publication. But if you are interested feel free to DM Mike on Twitter to see if you can be included. In this episode, Mike and I discuss opportunities in defense tech, a history of the sector, what he’s learned building a premier talent org, hiring veterans, and much more. Are you exploring starting a company we’ve got a program for that. ODF has helped 1k companies get started and go on to raise over $2B. I’m actually recording this podcast intro at our partner Carta’s office as they are hosting us during the 19th cohort of ODF happening right now. The energy is incredible — I’m excited to see what this cohort builds. We’ve just started reviewing applications for our 20th cohort taking place in San Francisco in late January. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Mike Slagh…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Lessons from the Journey to Building a Product Customers Want with Max Greenwald of Warmly 21:46

2 years ago21:46

21:46

Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that. ODF has helped 1k companies get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our 19th cohort in San Francisco are due this week. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com -- Joining me in the deep end is Max Greenwald — co-founder of Warmly a startup that helps businesses turn warm leads into sales. The company recently announced their series A. I’ve known Max for years and watched the Warmly journey unfold — Max even met his co-founder Alan through ODF. Warmly’s path has not been a straight line. This conversation with Max is candid. He shares the mistakes and lessons learned on the journey towards building a product that customers love. This might be one of the most useful episodes we’ve recorded on the deep end in terms of giving actionable guidance for founders. In this episode, we discuss how to communicate changes in direction to investors and teammates, how to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, how to work with initial design partners, and much more.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Generative AI and deciding what to build first with Elaine Zelby of Tofu 39:28

2 years ago39:28

39:28

Joining me in the deep end is Elaine Zelby — co-founder of Tofu ( https://www.tofuhq.com/ ) — a powerful generative AI platform that enables marketing teams to repurpose their content and run more successful campaigns. Tofu recently announced their $5M seed round led by Index Ventures. We’ve known Elaine for years — first as a friend, then as a participant in ODF2, then as an investor in On Deck during her time as a VC at SignalFire. She’s the first person we refer founders to when it comes to marketing, growth or go-to-market. In this episode, Elaine and On Deck co-founder Julian Weisser discuss how to decide what your startup should build first, what to consider when evaluating potential co-founders, how to think about fundraising in 2023, and the current capabilities of generative AI. Are you exploring starting a company? We’ve got a program for that. ODF has helped 1k companies get started and go on to raise over $2B. Applications for our 19th cohort in San Francisco are due this week. Learn more and apply at beondeck.com…

The Deep End by ODF

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Explore Starting a Company in San Francisco 22:09

2 years ago22:09

22:09

On this episode of The Deep End, Julian Weisser – co-founder of On Deck – sits down with Marshall to discuss the latest from a program that has helped launch over 1,000 startups. Applications for the next cohort of On Deck Founders close on Tuesday, October 24th at 23:59 PST. If you’re exploring starting a company and want to figure out what to build and with whom, we’d love to chat. Apply today → beondeck.com…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Raising $40M to Build Health Insurance for India with Amrit Singh 30:11

2 years ago30:11

30:11

Joining us in The Deep End today is Amrit Singh. Amrit Singh is the co-founder of Loop Health, the fastest-growing health insurance startup in India. Loop Health has raised over $40M, led by General Catalyst and Elevation Capital. As we delve deeper into the meta-series of longevity, we engage in a captivating conversation with Amrit, exploring how Loop Health incentivizes health for its users. We'll also venture into the exciting frontiers of the longevity movement and the pivotal role health insurance plays in ensuring our well-being for the long term.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Combating the Autoimmune Epidemic with Wallace Torres 45:57

2 years ago45:57

45:57

Joining us today in The Deep End is Wallace Torres. Wallace is the Co-Founder of WellTheory. WellTheory is an early-stage startup with a pretty powerful mission: combating the autoimmune epidemic through the use of food as medicine, community care, and personalized insights based on health data. During our conversation, we delve into the story behind WellTheory and the positive impact the startup has had on its customers: helping them decrease fatigue, minimize pain interference in their daily lives, and achieve higher overall life satisfaction. We also explore the various models present in the digital health space, take a closer look at WellTheory's recent pivot towards partnerships, explore the importance of community in the digital health space, and reflect on the challenges of implementing and sustaining community spaces effectively.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Raising $175M to Translate Nature Into Medicine with Viswa Colluru 44:29

2 years ago44:29

44:29

Joining us today in The Deep End is Viswa Colluru, the CEO & Founder of Enveda Biosciences. Enveda has raised $175M in their quest to translate nature into medicine. Before founding Enveda, Viswa obtained a PhD in cellular and molecular biology, and started his career as a product manager at Recursion Pharmaceuticals. As our first guest in this series focusing on longevity and health, we speak to Viswa on why nature holds the great untapped potential for new drug discovery, why most drugs don’t work in human trials and what role artificial intelligence will play in unlocking biological and chemical data. We hope this conversation will give you a deep insight into nuances of the pharmaceutical industry, what the future holds for drug discovery and his advice for founders interested in this space.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Intro: How to Help People Live Longer and Healthier Lives 9:12

2 years ago9:12

9:12

Welcome to a new mini-series of The Deep End! In these mini-series we explore some of the most complex, societal problems facing us at the moment - helping listeners gain a nuanced understanding of a complex topic - and then be inspired and equipped to build, invest or support startups and founders that are aiming to solve these challenges. In the last mini-series, we looked at the meta-problem of access to housing. We looked at the main bottlenecks holding us back from achieving more accessible and affordable housing, and we spoke to the founders creating a new reality in this field. If you missed any of those episodes, head to wherever you find your podcasts and have a listen. For this mini-series, we are focusing on longevity: the pursuit of longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. The idea of living longer has captivated human imagination for centuries. While researching longevity, we identified eight bottlenecks holding us back from achieving longer and healthier lives, and we chatted with On Deck community members and founders to explore them.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
AI Companionship with Replika's Eugenia Kuyda 45:01

2 years ago45:01

45:01

Hey everyone, as we gear up for the launch of a new series on longevity next week, we wanted to re-publish this really timeley episode with Eugenia Kuyda, the founder and CEO of Replika, an AI companion company. Our conversation centers around the different use-cases of AI, from task-oriented chatbots to emotionally-supportive AI companionship. We delve into the current state of conversational tech, including how chatbots can become good listeners, and why Replika used a mixture of scripted retrievals and generative AI models for their product. We also discussed the past and future of AI and chatbots. Eugenia explains why task-oriented chatbots like a restaurant booking bot she had worked on previously didn’t catch on in the past, and the future she envisions where you can have an AI co-pilot of your life, like Jarvis from Iron Man, and how this can interact with her conception of the metaverse which she calls the “embodied internet”. This is a great episode for anyone who’s interested in possible futures of how AI can become a part of our lives, not only in helping us do things but in supporting our emotional and social lives. Let's dive in.…

The Deep End by ODF

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Fundraising and Venture Capital in 2023 with Julian Weisser 24:08

2 years ago24:08

24:08

Joining us today in the Deep End is Julian Weisser. Julian is the co-founder of On Deck, and a prolific angel investor with over a hundred angel investments including Loyal, Level, Atmos, and more. Every few months, we invite Julian to the podcast to get a sense of what's going on in the world of venture, and this conversation is not different. We look at the growing importance of profitability and revenue generation for investors, as well as the importance of founders aligning their trajectory with investor expectations. We also look at alternative funding models, with Julian discussing Zapier and Bubble’s model of prioritizing revenue and profitability over heavy venture funding. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the evolving venture capital landscape or thinking about fundraising.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
From Personal Health Transformation to Magic AI with Varun Bhanot 35:54

2 years ago35:54

35:54

Joining us today in the Deep End is Varun Bhanot. Varun is the co-founder and CEO of Magic AI, a home fitness system that uses AI to give you personalised training on a beautifully designed mirror. Prior to building Magic AI, Varun was the co-founder and CEO of Unhoused, a non-profit that leveraged technology to reduce homelessness. He also participated On Deck Founder’s third cohort. In this conversation, we discuss Varun’s approach to health & longevity. We cover his personal weight loss and gym journey, why European health tech startups have received less attention from the market and what the future holds for longevity companies.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Raising from Sam Altman to Build Land Valuation Models with Will Jarvis 41:24

2 years ago41:24

41:24

Joining us in The Deep End today is Will Jarvis, co-founder and CEO of Valuebase. Valuebase is building land-centric models to improve property valuations and mass appraisal modeling. Valuebase recently secured $1.6 million in funding, with Sam Altman's Hydrazine leading the round and On Deck participating. Prior to Valuebase, Will served as a Researcher in Residence at On Deck, making today's conversation particularly noteworthy. As we continue our series on housing, we'll discuss the importance of land, Georgism and taxation, navigating the intricate world of ideas, and much more. Let's get started.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Navigating the Idea Maze to Reinvent Children Education with Ryan Delk 38:57

2 years ago38:57

38:57

Joining us on The Deep End today is Ryan Delk. Ryan is the CEO & Co-Founder of Primer, a startup creating a new education system for children, centered around microschools. Last year, Primer announced that they’ve raised $15M in new capital. Ryan previously worked in Growth + Partnerships at Gumroad, and then joined another marketplace company, Omni, and became COO. In this conversation, we explore where the inspiration for Primer came from, how Primer is overcoming regulatory barriers in the space, and why Ryan believes the best education system is a world-class teacher in as small an environment as possible.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Raising $2.2M to Make Home Ownership Flexible with Lauren Self 35:56

2 years ago35:56

35:56

Joining us today in the Deep End is Lauren Self. Lauren is the founder of Roots Homes, a fractional home ownership company, that allows you to build equity in your home while paying rent, which recently raised a $2.2M seed round. In this conversation we explore how Roots is finding the missing middle between renting and buying, helping ensure home-ownership comes with flexibility and how Roots is increasing access to the American dream. ---- View the full series on Housing: https://www.beondeck.com/deep-end/housing…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Housing and Regulation with Kim-Mai Cutler from Initialized 40:50

2 years ago40:50

40:50

Joining us in The Deep End today for our housing series is Kim-Mai Cutler, a partner at Initialized who invests in proptech, real estate, and climate. Kim's background as a financial markets reporter and early-stage venture startup enthusiast, allowed her to broaden her reporting to include the intersection of the industry and public policy. In 2014, her essay on TechCrunch titled "How Burrowing Owls Lead To Vomiting Anarchists (Or SF’s Housing Crisis Explained)" sparked almost a decade of public advocacy that changed a number of state laws in California around housing and zoning. As our first guest for this housing series, it’s only fitting that we invited Kim to help us understand why housing is a key problem worth solving, what are the implications around the current state of things, and what different bottlenecks founders can work on. We hope this conversation will give you a nuanced understanding of a complex market and practical tactics for building in housing.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Intro: How to Increase Access to Housing 10:19

2 years ago10:19

10:19

Over the past two years, we've interviewed 100+ people for our podcast, The Deep End. Now we're relaunching The Deep End as a multi-media publication, focused on problems worth solving. In the first series, we are tackling an issue that affects us all: access to housing. Our house provides us with a sense of belonging and serves as a sanctuary where we can retreat from the chaos of the world. Once we accept the importance of housing, our focus needs to shift to how we can make it more accessible. We kick off the series with an introduction to housing as a problem. We look into why it's a problem worth solving and what are the bottlenecks to doing so – technology, culture, regulation, and more. Then, over the next few weeks, we talk to Lauren Lorraine Self from Roots Homes, Kim-Mai Cutler from Initialized, Will Jarvis from ValueBase, Peter Light from Lumen Energy and Riley Meik to understand the bottlenecks to housing, and explore possible solutions. Through this, we try to form a mental map of the problem: understanding its societal importance, the current bottlenecks to progress and setting out some of the most impactful solutions. In doing so, we hope to give the audience the tools and knowledge to build, invest or support some of the solutions to these challenges. Housing is not an easy problem to solve, but we believe it is a problem worth solving. So let’s get going. Episodes notes and more: https://beondeck.com/deep-end/housing…

The Deep End by ODF

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From Pivoting to Raising $180M to Build Stripe for Transportation with Vignan Velivela 50:04

2 years ago50:04

50:04

Joining us in The Deep End today is Vignan Velivela. Vignan is the co-founder and CEO of AtoB, a fintech payments platform modernizing the trucking industry’s financial system, which raised a $155M Series B last year. He was also a part of the On Deck Founders’ third cohort. We are taking a short break from our series on access to housing, to talk to Vignan about one of the biggest challenges facing us at the moment: transportation and logistics. In this episode, we cover the central and essential role of trucking in America’s economy, why the trucking industry’s financial systems were ripe for disruption, how far away we are from self-driving trucks, and what the future of transportation looks like in the coming years.…

The Deep End by ODF

1
Curiosity as an Ideation Mechanism with Tory Reiss 48:13

2 years ago48:13

48:13

Joining us in The Deep End today is Tory Reiss. Tory is the CEO and co-Founder of Equi, an alternative investment hedge fund. Tory previously co-founded Archblock, a decentralized alternatives marketplace, and Harvest Money, an AI-driven debt management platform. We’re taking a quick break from our series on starting companies, to take a quick dive into the world of fintech. Our conversation with Tory today centers around how you can take control of your financial destiny and Tory’s journey from a Google Docs to starting Equi.…

The Deep End by ODF

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How Finch Navigated the Idea Maze to a $40 Million Raise with Ansel Parikh 44:27

2 years ago44:27

44:27

Navigating the Idea Maze to The Unlikely Birth of Finch Finch, a platform providing a unified API for employment data, was born out of failure and uncertainty. Ansel Parikh and Jeremy Zhang, the co-founders, first met during On Deck's second cohort. Both were passionate about solving the plumbing behind big problems and gravitated towards challenging infrastructure issues. Finch was born out of failure. Initially, they attempted to launch an embedded lending platform, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their plans. Banks and customers began rejecting them as the future of lending became uncertain. Who was going to give a loan in such an uncertain environment? It wasn't until a small business lender they were potentially going to work with approached them with a request to help access employment data for the Payment Protection Program (PPP) that they discovered the opportunity that would eventually become Finch. Although the PPP was nearing its end when they built their solution, Ansel and Jeremy received enough positive feedback to continue pursuing the employment data problem. They embraced a "hard to get information made legible" business model, rather than following a thesis-driven approach. This allowed them to quickly pivot and adapt based on their unique founder-product fit: Ansel's background in fintech and infrastructure investments, combined with Jeremy's engineering and product experience, enabled them to quickly develop a product and secure their first customer. They emphasized the importance of failing quickly and focusing on the problem, rather than falling in love with a particular solution. Ansel also highlights that there is no “perfect moment” to get to conviction, you just need to make a decision. Finding the Right Co-Founder For Ansel and Jeremy, finding the right co-founder was critical to their success. On paper, they had a unique founder / product fit. Jeremy had a background on engineering and product, and had worked on API challenges before that transferred to employment data ecosystems and the work they were doing at Finch. Ansel had been a late-stage investor at Kleiner Perkins and had spent a considerable amount of time on fintech and infrastructure investments so he was deeply familiar with the space. That said, they had to test whether they actually worked well as a team. They recommend setting up a three-week sprint with a potential co-founder to work on a project together, setting daily goals, and discussing progress. On top of that, they found another co-founder team who were going through the same stage and became accountability buddies. In their case, On Deck played a crucial role in helping them meet and build a strong working relationship because it provided with the structure they needed throughout that period. Embracing Complexity and Turning Illegible Information into Legible Data Finch's business model revolves around transforming illegible, hard-to-find information into legible, connected, and programmable data. The challenge of building a single source of truth for employer-employee relationships lies in the uniqueness, obscurity, and hyper-dynamic nature of these connections. Employment relationships vary significantly across industries and sectors, with different structures and incentives. Blue collar vs. White collar is not the only distinction. As an example, startup employees value equity, other type of non-tech companies value benefits, and factory workers value overtime. Moreover, employment data is often hidden in obscure systems that don’t communicate with each other, making it difficult to access. Adding to the complexity, this information is continuously changing, and outdated data is often used for critical decision-making at various levels. The US tax system and the US employment rules are a nightmare. There are different tax brackets and regulations at a city, state and federal level, and they also vary across industries. By focusing on making illegible information legible and valuable, the company offers a playbook for others looking to build successful businesses in the face of adversity.…

The Deep End by ODF

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Starting Companies Outside the US with Gina Gotthilf 44:34

2 years ago44:34

44:34

Gina Gotthilf is the co-founder and COO at Latitud, a platform helping build the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America through products, a dedicated fellowship and fund. Gina met her co-founder, Brian Requart, through On Deck. Before Latitud, Gina was the VP of Marketing and Growth at Duoloingo, helping scale the company from 3 to 200 million users, and worked on the Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign. Continuing with our series on the meta-problem of helping people start companies, we talk to Gina about the bottlenecks to starting companies outside the United States.…

The Deep End by ODF

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Immigration as a Bottleneck to Starting Companies with Sophie Alcorn 40:31

2 years ago40:31

40:31

Joining us in The Deep End today is Sophie Alcorn. Sophie is the founder of Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration law firm that helps tech talent immigrate to the US. She is also the host of the podcast Immigration Law for Tech Startups and author the TechCrunch weekly immigration advice column “Dear Sophie.” Continuing with our series on the meta-problem of helping people start more companies, we talk to Sophie to understand why immigration is a bottleneck to company creation, and what founders, investors, and policy-makers can do about it.…

The Deep End by ODF

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Navigating Fundraising and Financial Diligence with Sasha Orloff 40:14

2 years ago40:14

40:14

On The Deep End today, we welcome Sasha Orloff, the Founder and CEO of Puzzle, a modern accounting software package for startups that recently raised $15 million in series A. Sasha joins us to discuss the use of accounting as a powerful decision-making tool and the creation of infrastructure to start and scale businesses, as part of our series on meta-problems to help founders start more companies. Despite advances in financial technology, Sasha believes that core accounting software remains outdated and does not take advantage of modern capabilities. He suggests that accounting could be a competitive advantage for businesses if it were reimagined as a tool for data-driven decision-making, empowering founders to build better businesses. During the episode, Sasha identifies three key areas that founders should focus on when fundraising: telling a compelling story, taking the process seriously, and planning for success: Founders must have a strong answer for what sets them apart from their competitors, and they should be intentional about raising venture capital. As the market returns to normal, Sasha advises founders to be aware of business compliance and financial diligence to avoid giving away a larger percentage of their company for less money. Throughout the episode, he emphasizes the importance of founders understanding their business numbers to make informed decisions and build successful companies. You can learn more about Puzzle at https://puzzle.io.…

The Deep End by ODF

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Minn Kim on Small Group Theory and the Gift of Global Talent 39:35

2 years ago39:35