The Scott Barstow Show

My guests for this show are Monica Wood and DeDe Houston, co-founders of Myxx Recipes. One of the biggest struggles for busy families is finding and making healthy meals at home. Myxx Recipes lets users shop for new, healthy recipes, create a shopping list from those recipes (including prices from the store where you shop), and then submit the shopping list to your grocery store for pickup. Myxx is sitting in the middle of the massive trend of buying groceries from in-person to online. Monica and DeDe have a long history together and a truly great story about why they chose this idea to build a company around. We also talk a good bit about the early days of starting a company as two single moms, how they prioritized their lives both then and now, their role models, how they resolve conflict in their partnership and make key decisions, the importance of family meals, how the market is moving in their favor, what they look for in team members, how they create and manage their company culture, and much much more. Listening to the two of them talk to and about each other made me jealous. They have a kinship that is remarkably rare, and the energy it creates oozes out of them. Please enjoy my conversation with Monica Wood and DeDe Houston of Myxx Recipes. Show Notes: Myxx on Twitter Monica on LinkedIn DeDe on LinkedIn Monica on Twitter

My guest for this show is Kristine Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Equine Exchange, a marketplace for buying and selling sport horses. If you're like me, you know nothing about buying or selling a horse, but it's actually a massive market with extremely high dollar transactions and fraught with fraud and bad actors. Equine Exchange brings like-minded buyers and sellers together and provides questionnaires, agreements, and processes to facilitate transparency in the transaction. Kristine does a great job of explaining all that they do in the first 20 minutes of the show. I've known Kristine for a couple years now and have always admired her tenacity and candor. You'll hear plenty of both in our conversation. We also talk about her relationship with her co-founder and why that's a huge advantage for her, how she deals with adversity, people she admires (and why), and much more.  I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kristine Kelly of Equine Exchange. Thank you for listening.

My guest for this episode is Ursula Mead, CEO and co-founder of In Her Sight. In Her Sight is an engagement platform for women to rate the companies they work for on issues specifically important to women. In Her Sight also provides tools for job seekers to match the issues most important to them with companies who excel in those areas in order to create a more productive, healthy working environment for women. Ursula and I have been trying to get together for this interview for at least three months and I’m thrilled that we finally made it happen. In this interview, Ursula talks about her early days at Motley Fool and how she came to realize that the culture she was a part of was not available to all women, and how she decided to do something about it. We also talk about how fundraising is uniquely difficult for women, the mommy trap, having productive relationships with male investors and partners, and some of the new technology in addition to what In Her Sight is building that is helping to put women on equal footing in the workplace. Of all the shows I’ve done, I don’t know that I’ve had a more important, timely guest. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ursula Mead of In Her Sight, and I hope you hear something in here that challenges you to take action. Thank you for listening.

My guest for this episode is Andrew Bagrin, CEO and founder of My Digital Shield. My Digital Shield is revolutionizing how small and medium businesses protect themselves from cyber threats. By deploying minimal infrastructure at the customer's location and utilizing the best of cloud technologies, My Digital Shield is bringing cyber security usually reserved for the Fortune 500 to businesses up and down the street for a low monthly subscription. In this interview Andrew talks about how he got the idea to start the company, how he made the decision to leave a nice, cushy corporate job to start his own thing (alcohol was involved!), how he feels about investor money, mistakes he made getting distracted early in the company's history and much much more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Andrew Bagrin of My Digital Shield, and as always, thank you for listening.

"I would rather fail at greatness than succeed at mediocrity" - Tim Sinclair My guest for this episode is Tim Sinclair,  CEO and founder of RINGR. RINGR is an audio recording application used by thousands of podcasters and journalists to record high quality audio interviews. RINGR has developed some unique, patented intellectual property that makes recording great interviews possible over a normal voice call.   Tim has been in radio broadcasting for years, and is the in-arena voice of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, as well as the Chicago Fire soccer club. RINGR was started, as many great companies are, because Tim was trying to solve a problem he had every day in his work.   In this interview, Tim talks about all of the hard lessons he’s learned building his first tech company, where he says radio and podcasting headed in the future, why he decided to make the jump from radio to tech entrepreneur, the difference between being entrepreneurial and being and entrepreneur and much much more.   I recorded this interview using the RINGR app, and as you’ll hear the sound is amazing. They’re on to something big, and I can’t wait to see where it all goes. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and listen in on my conversation with Tim Sinclair of RINGR.

My guest for this episode is Stephen Kane, CEO and founder of ArbiClaims. ArbiClaims is a platform that brings parties together to resolve small disputes using trained arbitrators without having to go to court. Stephen is a start up and small business attorney by background, Stephen has over 10 years of sales and business development experience including with other legal tech companies. He also chairs GRID110, an economic development organization committed to growing the start up ecosystem in downtown LA. In this episode, Stephen shares: How his family background helped shape who he is and what he's doing today The genesis of the idea behind ArbiClaims Why he thinks now is a unique time in this particular market How he got bit by the entrepreneurial bug while at Stanford and much more I think you’ll really enjoy hearing Stephen’s story. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and listen in on my conversation with Stephen Kane of ArbiClaims.

My guest for this show is Jake Loosararian, CEO and co-founder of Gecko Robotics. Gecko Robotics make robots that do unassisted inspections of power plant boilers. These robots have sensors that measure things like temperature, wall thickness and other system failure indicators, as well as a mounted camera that records the entire trip around the boiler. Their technology saves lives and cuts the cost and time of inspection dramatically. Jake and Gecko are graduates of Y-Combinator (Winter 2016). In this episode, Jake talks about his personal back story, including living abroad in England and being home schooled, and then we dig into Gecko in detail: How he came up with the idea for Gecko while still in college How he knew on his first day at a "real job" out of college that he would never last How he dealt with having to part company with his first co-founder The importance of having a great founding team, and what makes a great founding team What it's like to be in a room with people who are affected directly by robots doing the work of humans The future of robotics and where Jake thinks the industry should be focusing, as well as his take on robots replacing the human workforce and a whole lot more You don't want to miss any of this interview. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and a notebook and listen in on my conversation with Jake Loosararian of Gecko Robotics.

My guest for this show is Brant Elliot. Brant is the CTO and Co-Founder of Stealz, a mobile app that rewards customers for being brand ambassadors for businesses they frequent. He has over 20 years’ experience building technology and tinkering with electronics. His early days in the tech space were spent hacking/exploring systems during the technology rush of the early 2000s.  Normally on this show we talk with CEOs, but I thought it would be good to have a conversation with a founding CTO about the view of things from the technical side of the fence. Brant and I covered a multitude of topics in this episode, including: Why he left corporate America to join a startup What makes a good early-stage developers, and how to hire them How they built their MVP using a contract shop and then moved it in-house How they started with a very high-touch, services-based approach to the problem and then built the product The importance of the tech team being involved in sales and support in the early going The importance of non-developer CEOs and founders understanding the product development process and much more (of course) Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, a notebook and listen in on my conversation with Brant Elliot of Stealz.

My guest for this show is Mark Easley. Mark is a startup advisor and angel investor in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. Previously Mark had a 20+ year technology career in engineering, marketing, sales, and executive management in the semiconductor industry in Silicon Valley. Mark has been on the executive board of a Raleigh/Durham area angel investor group and is a member of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. Mark provides mentoring to startups and potential entrepreneurs in the areas of investment crowdfunding, lean startup methods, marketing strategies, investor presentations, and management skills. Mark has previously held engineering, sales, marketing, and executive VP management positions in the semiconductor industry at PLX Technology, Adaptec, Intel, and HP. In this show, Mark and I talk about the early days of Silicon Valley and what it was like to work for giants such as HP and Intel. We talk about how the landscape of startup investing has evolved and where it's headed, particularly as it relates to angel investing and crowdfunding.  I also quiz Mark on what makes a business investable as an angel, and who he looks up to in the investing world. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, pull up a chair and listen to my conversation with Mark Easley.

Josh Manley, CEO and founder of Reply Buy. ReplyBuy is a real-time e-commerce platform that lets you buy tickets to major sporting events from the comfort of your smartphone’s text messaging app. ReplyBuy is addressing the ever-expanding market for last-minute purchases of unsold inventory, much like Hotels Tonight does for hotel rooms.   Josh started several companies in the e-commerce space prior to ReplyBuy, and was a catcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks system before hanging up his cleats to start his first company.   ReplyBuy is based in Phoenix, AZ, and has over 100 professional and major college sports teams on their platform as of this recording.

How do you build an audience, how is YouTube relevant for your startup, and how do you decide what projects are worth pursuing? I covered these questions and more with my guest for this episode, Josh Taylor. Josh is a video creator, podcaster, and entrepreneur from Nashville, TN. He is most well-known for the video series called Blimey Cow which he started with his siblings in 2005. In the last decade, the comedy videos have accrued over 400,000 subscribers and 70 million total video views on YouTube. Josh also hosts a weekly podcast called The Inner Tube, designed to help beginners take their first steps into the world of content creation. Josh and I also talk about the future of video, alternative education, and what it's like to work with your family in business.

My guest for this show is Anthony Pompliano, one of the founding partners of Full Tilt Capital. Full Tilt is a venture capital firm who specializes in moving quickly, with decisions on investments in as little as 48 hours.  Pomp, as everyone calls him, has also spent time at Facebook and SnapChat, has started and sold a couple of companies, and served in the US Army in Iraq.  Pomp and I cover a lot of ground in this show, including: Why he started Full Tilt Capital and the mission they're on to change venture capital to be more founder-friendly What he learned from his time in the military and being deployed in a war zone His time at Facebook and SnapChat and his learnings from each How he thinks about the current issues regarding race and the police (unique perspective that you should hear) How Full Tilt evaluates companies  and more   Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, a notebook, and listen in on my conversation with Anthony Pompliano of Full Tilt. If you like this show, please head on over to iTunes and give us a review. We'd really appreciate it!

If you like this show, please head on over to iTunes and give us a review. We'd really appreciate it! My guest for this show is Jon Spinney, CEO and founder of Malartu Funds. Malartu brings individual investors, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists on the same platform to help entrepreneurs tell their story better and to help investors find companies doing great things. It's a big idea and they're starting to see some really great traction. Jon's got a unique perspective on building a tech company as he wanted to be a chef for a long time, and then started building a company to support restaurant back office. When he and Sean Steigerwald, his co-founder, hatched the idea for Malartu it was largely out of the frustration of the struggle to raise money for prior ventures. Like Brian Dally and Groundfloor, Malartu is battling entrenched regulations that are outdated and in flux. You'll hear Jon talk about all of the struggles they've endured as they waited for legislation to pass in their favor, how they planned for different scenarios, how his food service background helps him to run the company today, and a whole lot more.

If you like this show, please head on over to iTunes and give us a review. It helps other people find the show and makes me feel warm and tingly. My guest for this show is Fred Stutzman, CEO and founder of Freedom. Freedom is a platform that gives you back your life by eliminating unnecessary interruptions when you're trying to get work done.  Fred's got a lot of great stuff to say about building a successful product company. The highlights include: Product pricing and how they tested to find the right price - 11:30 Going from early traction to mainstream, and growth channels - 21:00 Partnerships - 24:00 The real value of one-time marketing events or chasing celebrity endorsements - 29:00 Getting your users to sell your product for you - 32:00 Hiring - 46:00 Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy my conversation with Fred Stutzman

Eric Boggs is the CEO and founder of RevBoss, a sales pipeline automation company based in Durham, NC. My conversation with Eric was pretty wide-ranging as usual, but we also explored some things that I've not yet talked about with any other guest. Eric talks openly about his prior company, Argyle Social, and what it was like to go straight up and then go over the cliff. He also talks about the importance of delayed gratification as a founder, loving your people well, and how he deals with the "hindbrain." I hope you enjoy this conversation with Eric, and as always, thanks for listening! Find links to Eric at scottbarstow.com/podcast

Aaron Cleary is a world-class white-hat (mostly) hacker and cyber security expert. He works for a large multinational insurance company in Germany and gets paid fly around the world, break into systems, and then tell companies how to plug the holes. Not a bad gig, eh? Aaron and I go deep (as deep as you can go in an hour or so) into his background, how he got interested in this area, how you prevent and protect yourself from attack, how you handle a breach, and even get into some macro-level discussions on the moral dilemma of Wikileaks and Anonymous.  

This is an interview I've been wanting to do since I started this podcast. Jed Carlson is the CEO of Adwerx and co-founder of Reverb Nation.  Jed is one of the best thinkers and communicators about business I've ever met. He has the gift of being able to take complex principles, distill them down to their component parts and then implement them in a way that few other people can. You'll hear evidence of this over and over again in our conversation. Jed and I talk about: The value of an MBA (you might be surprised by his answer) How Jed sold junk mail in a briefcase door to door when he was 5 The start of Reverb Nation and Adwerx How he thinks about successful partnerships (so much great stuff here!) How he picks ideas and tests them before going all in The difference between positions and interests with your customers - Fantastic! The value of doing the early, hard work yourself as founders and much more Grab your notebook and listen in on my conversation with Jed Carlson.   

Justin Schneider is the CEO of an up and coming fashion tech company called Wolf & Shepherd.  Justin was a decathlete at Notre Dame and after getting out of school he realized that men's dress shoes suck. He set out to fix it by using the best materials and latest technology in footwear. The result is a product that his customers love, so much so that one of them ran a half-marathon in Atlanta recently. Justin and I talk about: The founding story The importance of brand How his first manufacturing run was ruined in customs and what he learned from it The importance of energy and hustle in starting your own company How he deals with adversity and stress and much much more Grab your notebook and listen in on my conversation with Justin Schneider of Wolf & Shepherd. Links to Justin can be found at scottbarstow.com/podcast

Tatiana Birgisson is the founder and CEO of MATI Energy, an all-natural energy drink that goes toe to toe with the likes of Red Bull. I wanted to have her on the show to talk about what it's like to go from starting a company in your dorm room to the Inc 30 Under 30 list a few years later. The truth is I had no idea how remarkable she is. You're going to hear from Tatiana about what it's like to start something that you care deeply about, something that matters. We talk about Her unique upbringing and flying around the world with her sister at the age of 5 What she learned from her parents about new beginnings How she learned entrepreneurship from her grandparents while driving tourists around on jetskis How she got up 700 days in a row and renewed her commitment to see MATI through How she hustled her way into her partnership with Whole Foods What she looked for in her early hires Starting her own factory and learning how to ask for help and much much more If you're not motivated to go do something amazing after listening to Tatiana, you need to check your pulse. Links to Tatiana and MATI Energy can be found at scottbarstow.com/podcast. Grab your notebook ans listen in on my conversation with Tatiana Birgisson of MATI Energy

Brian Dally is the CEO of Groundfloor, a crowdfunding real estate finance company based in Atlanta, GA. I first met Brian back when he was building Republic Wireless as an intrapraneur at Bandwidth and have watched him build Groundfloor for the past few years. Brian is a different breed. He doesn't do small ideas. As you'll hear in this interview, Groundfloor invented a new kind of security. Who does that? He only goes after ideas that are worth 7-10 years of his life. Groundfloor has raised over $7 million in capital and operates in nine states. I wanted to find out from Brian Why he takes on these kinds of challenges? How does he stay sane and healthy during periods of unbelievable stress? What kind of people he looks for in early employees, and how transparent he is with his employees? How he and his co-founder Nick got together, and what got him to "yes" on partnering with Nick? What he looks for in investors and much more Brian is incredibly insightful and motivating to listen to. There's nuggets of wisdom throughout this interview that you can use regardless of your company's stage. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and a notebook and listen in to my conversation with Brian Dally of Groundfloor.