Customer Stories

On episode 7 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Kristian Andersen. Kristian is a founder and partner at High Alpha, a venture studio located in Indianapolis. About Kristian Before launching High Alpha, Kristian founded the prolific design agency, Studio Science. During his time at Studio Science, Kristian primarily served software companies which ultimately led to him being a founding partner at High Alpha. Between Kristian’s experience at Studio Science and his time at High Alpha helping launch 30+ companies, it is safe to say he knows a thing or 2 about design and storytelling. Kristian joins us to break down how design can be a competitive advantage, the importance of storytelling in business, the High Alpha Studio model, and much more. Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Kristian. You can give the full episode a listen below: What You Can Expect to Learn from Kristian: How the High Alpha Studio models work What kind of co-founders they look for at High Alpha How design can be a competitive advantage Why storytelling is important in business and fundraising Why Coco Chanel, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ralph Lauren are great storytellers What he likes to see in a cold email from a founder Related Resources: Kristian’s Twitter Kristian’s website Apply to become a High Alpha Co-founder High Alpha’s Visible Connect Profile

On episode 4, season 2 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Tyler Tringas. Tyler is the founder and General Partner at Calm Company Fund (formerly Earnest Capital). The Calm Company Fund invests in exactly what it sounds like — “profitable, sustainable, calm businesses.” About Tyler and Calm Company Fund Tyler offers a unique perspective as someone who invests in companies that may not be the huge companies that a traditional venture capitalist eyes. He joins us to break down what exactly a “calm” business is, the current market dynamics that are creating more need for funders like Calm Company Fund, and much more. Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Tyler. You can give the full episode a listen below: What You Can Expect to Learn from Tyler How companies in smaller markets can still be winners What a SEAL is and how Calm Fund uses them The market dynamics creating a need for more funding options like Calm Fund Why and how they raised crowdfunding How Calm Fund and Venture Capital can co-exist for startups How to best cold email investors Related Resources Tyler’s Twitter Calm Capital — What We Invest In Shared Earnings Agreement Our Original Sit Down with Tyler The Calm Fund Visible Connect Profile Bootstrapping 101: Pros & Cons of Bootstrapping Your Startup

On episode 2, season 2 of the Founders Forward Podcast, we welcome Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures. Brett is the Managing Director of Bread & Butter Ventures as well as the Managing Director of the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator. About Brett As a past founder and current investor, Brett has a wealth of knowledge on how founders can best create momentum during a fundraise. Give Brett a listen as he walks us through best practices to build out a fundraising process. Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Brett. You can give the full episode a listen below (or in any of your favorite podcast apps). What You Can Expect to Learn from Brett How to determine if VC is right for your business How much time you should allocate for a raise How to model financials for a fundraise How to leverage investor Updates to speed up a fundraise Why you should send a 4 slide pitch deck before a meeting How you should think about moving investors through your funnel Related Resources Brett’s Twitter Brett’s Fundraise Faster Video Series Troy Henikoff Financial Modeling Series The Bread & Butter Investor Update Template Bread & Butter’s Profile on Visible Connect, our investor database

On episode 4 of the Founders Forward Podcast we welcome Aishetu Dozie, CEO and Founder of Bossy. Bossy is a cosmetics brand with an intense focus on community and empowering women. Aishetu has years of experience in banking (at just about every major firm) and was looking for a new direction. She enrolled in a Stanford program and the rest is history. About Aishetu As Aishetu continues her founder journey she is learning and growing along the way. From her struggles to raising venture capital to supply chain issues amid COVID Aishetu has tackled every problem thrown at her. The conversation does not stop at bootstrapping Bossy — Aishetu shares all sorts of amazing stories on own personal life and journey as a founder. Plus, she was recently featured on How I Built This so we were particularly thrilled to hear about her experience. Mike Preuss, CEO of Visible, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Aishetu. You can give the full episode a listen below (or in any of your favorite podcast apps). What You Can Expect to Learn From Aishetu How she transitioned from banking to beauty How Aishetu has faced the struggles of 2020 How Bossy has built a community How Aishetu has bootstrapped Bossy How being a guest on How I Built This impacted her business Related Resources Bossy Beauty Aishetu’s Twitter Aishetu’s How I Built This Episode Bootstrapping 101: Pros & Cons of Bootstrapping Your Startup We created the Founders Forward Podcast to learn from people like Aishetu. For founders looking to learn from a newly minted founder that is figuring it out, Aishetu has you covered. As you scale your business, having the right guides at your side can make all of the difference. Each episode we’ll talk to fellow founders, investors and experts. We’ll dive into their zone of genius as well as hear about their past mistakes to give you a better chance of success.