Seed to Harvest

Today, I am joined by Ben Lerer, the Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau, an early stage venture firm based in New York that invests in iconic companies that rattle the status quo. Ben shares insights into his journey from founding digital media company Group Nine Media, including the creation of Thrillist, to transitioning into full-time investing after selling his business. Ben hig

In today's episode, Missy Oei, winner of the BGV winter break college essay contest and senior at the University of Dayton studying entrepreneurship & marketing, shares her journey from realizing the significant impact of fast fashion on her generation to aspiring to break into venture capital with a focus on impact investing. Missy’s winning essay dives into the environ

In today's episode, we discuss the transformative world of Multimodal AI, an advanced form of artificial intelligence that integrates and processes multiple data types—text, images, audio, and video—to emulate human-like perception. Unlike text-based AI models such as ChatGPT, which specialize in generating text-based responses, Multimodal AI offers a more comprehensive un

In today's podcast, I'm thrilled to share insights from the Behind Genius Ventures winter break college essay contest, which I launched in December. We received 20 diverse essays from schools like Cornell, Georgia Tech, UNC, SDSU and more. The prompt asked students to explore impactful problems in 1800 words or fewer, engaging the audience with expert quotes and a clear e

Today, I am joined by Cam Doody, the Co-founder & General Partner at Brickyard, a first-round venture capital firm and residency. In this episode, we explore Cam's transition to the venture side, raising ~ 115 million dollars, his principles on investing, and insights into founder residencies. Cam emphasizes the grind of entrepreneurship and the absence of overnight succes

Today, I am joined by Jasper Stephens, a leadership coach specializing in working with CEOs and executive teams of Seed Series A and Series B companies. In this episode, the focus is on the role of executive and leadership coaches in the growth journey of founders and CEOs of early-stage startups. Jasper and I explore common questions founders may have about executive coaching, tou

In today's podcast, I am thrilled to announce the Behind Genius Ventures winter break college essay contest for college students. Drawing from my own experience of funding education through essay scholarships, I recognize the need for a platform that allows students to explore their passions. As the founder of a venture capital fund, I'm eager to hear from the next genera

Today, I am joined by Lloyed Lobo, Co-Founder of Boast.AI & Traction, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of "From Grassroots to Greatness." In this episode, Lloyed shares the 4 things he did to make his book a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. The podcast also explores the technical aspects of community-led growth, touching on Lloyed's journey, frugality in

Today, I am joined by Rishi Taparia, Managing Partner of Garuda Ventures, who enthusiastically discusses the accomplishment of securing a $31 million fund. Rishi sheds light on the challenges of fundraising, providing insights into Garuda's journey from a nights-and-weekends passion project in 2018 to a full-time firm that successfully fundraised in 2021. He emphasizes the fir

In today’s podcast, I talk about the “Spotify Playlist” method, discussing how the approach of naming playlists and creating the right mix extends beyond music curation to impact various aspects of business and content creation. I also explore using my playlisting methods to build an investment portfolio in the context of investment, highlighting how strong language and namin