Sassie Duggleby is leading the team at Venus Aerospace to develop a spaceplane that could go from LA to Tokyo in an hour. As CEO, Sassie sets the tone that her team doesn’t have to adhere to the typical startup-up grind to solve some serious deeptech issues. She talks with Darrell and Jordan about honoring the company’s namesake–Venus, the goddess of love–and loving her customers and her employees well, all while working to bring the world closer together with greener, more efficient travel.

Thor Fridriksson is, as Jordan calls him, the King of Mobile Gaming. With mega-viral games like Trivia Royale and QuizUp, he knows the secret sauce to make a popular game, but he hasn’t quite cracked how to make an equally lucrative one. Thor joined us on Found Live to talk about the pitfalls of ads on mobile games, why the experience of playing will always be his number one priority, and what he has cooking with his next company Rocky Road Inc.

ChowNow started as a way for founder and CEO, Chris Webb and his friends to easily order from smaller local restaurants but 8 years later when COVID hit ChowNow became known as a restaurant-friendly alternative to some of the larger players in the space. They began ranking in the app store organically and getting a boost in users and customers. Chris talks with Darrell and Jordan about the” fast and steady” approach to building a lasting company and how to seize a moment when growth occurs.

Found has been nominated for a Webby for best Technology Podcast! Tomorrow is the last day to vote, so help us win by going to bit.ly/vote4found.

Help us Win a Webby by voting for us here: bit.ly/vote4found Today on Found we talk to Anthony DiMare, the co-founder and CEO of Bedrock, a company which has developed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to survey and map the seafloor in a much more efficient and affordable way than the traditional “big ship with a big sonar” method .Darrell, Jordan, and Anthony get into why seafloor exploration could be the answer to many problems on land like finding space to build offshore wind farms and how there is an untapped blue-centered economy. Plus Anthony talks about his on-the-ground leadership style and how he's learned to love the salesmanship part of his job.

Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, started the company when he was 20 years old when he had no idea if anyone would see the value in making design a multiplayer game let alone that his company become the Google Docs of design. He chats with Darrell and Jordan about how his leadership style has evolved, how he handles the changing company culture as Figma grows, and how the nature of design has rapidly changed into the collaborative work it is now.

Everly Health founder and CEO Julia Cheek is taking steps to revolutionize healthcare by helping patients gain access to all kinds of medical testing and in doing so allowing providers to have the data they need to give the best care possible. Darrell and Jordan first met Julia at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2016 when she was a self-proclaimed “fish out of water”. On today’s episode, she talks about how she went from being a fresh first-time founder to a CEO and competent leader who has strategically acquired companies to create a holistic and vertically integrated home-testing company. Don’t miss this week’s TechCrunch Live City Spotlight on Austin, Texas. RSVP: https://hopin.com/events/city-spotlight-austin

 Space enterprise founder, Laura Crabtree, talks with Darrell and Jordan about starting Epsilon 3 and how they are helping companies across the space industry (and beyond) plan, track, and record their large projects and mission. They discuss their growing market fit, building relationships with your investors, and the benefits of having three founders.

Found Live is back again with Shivani Siroya, CEO and founder of Tala, a fintech company that works with underestimated communities to build a financial system that works for everyone. While working at the UN, Siroya was working to understand progress out of poverty and discovered you need to understand where the money is being used. In this episode, she talks with Jordan and Darrell about how she took that information to start Tala, raise a $145 million series E, adjust and excel during the pandemic, lead with honesty and empathy, and continues to create a more equitable financial system.

Most people don’t spend much time thinking about where their poultry comes from, much less what it was eating when it was alive but the feeding practices on large farms are harmful to the environment and have led to bland, unhealthy chickens. Today’s guest, Matthew Wadiak is a chef and founder and CEO of Cooks Venture which is on a mission to create a new breed of broiler chicken that is more active, able to eat a varied diet, and tastier. Through restorative agriculture and selective breeding, the Cooks Venture farm in Arkansas has bred chickens that are more heat resistant and can eat a variety of grains. As a chef and former co-founder of Blue Apron, Wadiak views it as his duty to try to change the food system for the better. Don’t miss the next live episode with Shivani Siroya from Tala on 3/17 at 10pm PT/ 1pm ET.  RSVP: https://hopin.com/events/found-live-mar17 Watch the Cooks Venture video about planting 20,000 Hazelnut trees in partnership with RAD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ0WRUtfn4c

On Found Live Darrell and Jordan got to chat with Cityblock co-founder and president, Toyin Ajayi. CItyblock provides primary care, behavioral health, and social care to folks who have been historically marginalized in the healthcare system, primarily people who are receiving their health insurance through Medicaid with the goal of providing high-quality holistic care at a lower cost. They do this through a network of physicians, community outreach teams, and by working with insurance providers. While Dr. Ajayi was working in a hospital system she became frustrated by the systemic issues that were sending the same patients back to the hospital time and time again. So she began experimenting with ways to extend her care like giving out her cell phone number, making house calls, being available to explain medications. That idea grew into Cityblock where that level of personalized care is scaled. They talked about the healthcare system, how providers can improve care, Toyin’s spicy TechCrunch Disrupt panel, and answered a few audience questions. Don’t miss the next live episode with Shivani Siroya from Tala on 3/17 at 10pm PT/ 1pm ET. RSVP: https://hopin.com/events/found-live-mar17

Michelle You, co-founder and CEO of Supercritical, is on a mission to help companies get to net-zero but she refuses to sacrifice her personal life for the startup. Michelle talks with Darrell and Jordan about how motherhood has eased her imposter syndrome, the “scar tissue” she had from a tough exit of her first startup, why the planet needs more effective carbon removal methods now, and how she’s using those learnings as a second-time founder. Don't miss Found Live with Toyin Ajayi from CityBlock this Thursday (3/3) at 12pm PT/ 3pm ET. RSVP: https://hopin.com/events/found-live-mar3

Listen in to the first-ever episode of Found Live. We were joined by the mother-daughter duo Jordan Taylor and Edith Cooper who co-founded Medley—a group coaching platform focusing on personal and professional growth. They talked with Jordan and Darrell about what it’s like to start a business with a family member amidst a pandemic, what it takes to foster community in a virtual space, and the importance of vulnerable, honest communication. Those who joined us live were able to participate in the conversation in real time. If you missed this live episode, don’t worry, we’re going live on Hopin every other Thursday. On March 3, Toyin Ajayi from Cityblock will join the found crew at 10am Pt/ 1pm ET

Don't miss Found Live on 2/17 at 10am PT / 1pm ET with our first guest Thor Fridriksson. RSVP at ttps://tcrn.ch/3ox8iS1. When serial founder turned venture capitalist Sunil Paul decided to step back into startups, it was only after trying to give the idea behind his fintech company Spring Free EV away for over a decade. The idea is simple, bring down the initial cost of electric vehicles by charging owners a fee per mile. And after the wildfires in California lead to what he called the "orange sky day" he knew he had to figure out a way to do more to address the climate crisis by making EVs more accessible to the people who drive the most in the US. He joins Darrell and Jordan to talk about the end of the world, recruiting as a climate-focused fintech, fundraising, and of course Canada came up a few times too.

This week, Persefoni co-founder and CEO, Kentaro Kawamori is joining us this week not only to talk about his climate tech startup that aims at helping asset managers, banks and other financial institutions measure their financial emissions footprint and purchase offsets. But he is also sharing his spicey takes on the fundraising landscape and what he thinks stands the best chance of combatting the climate crisis. Darrell, Jordan and Kentaro get into the importance of building the team that’s a perfect fit for the industry you’re disrupting and the Web 3 company “Holy Smokes” they’re all launching together. RSVP for Found Live at https://tcrn.ch/3ox8iS1

We’re in the business of talking to very impressive people who are working to solve incredibly tough problems— but Elizabeth Ruzzo, founder and CEO of adyn, may be one of the most impressive yet. Not only did she develop the only test for women to ensure they are prescribed the birth control that will be the least likely to have detrimental side effects, she also founded the company and fundraised as the sole employee of the company. She talks to Darrell and Jordan about the challenges she faced as a solo founder/employee raising money for a solution for birth control, why she decided to leave academia, and the complicated regulatory maze she had to navigate to get adyn off the ground.

We’re talking to serial founder Julian Green whose most recent startup, Headroom is using AI to hack human conversation—starting with meetings. Julian’s goal is to make meetings and virtual communication feel closer to talking in the real world. Come to hear a very smart founder talk about his experience in startups and at Google, stay for Jordan pitching sound effects for every time Darrell mentions Canada.

This week Darrell and Jordan talk with Real CEO and Founder, Ariela Safira. Real is a therapy platform that aims to make mental healthcare more accessible by offering group sessions and curriculums a user can engage with any time. While in college, Ariela had her first encounter with the mental health care system and realized that people were only seeking help for their mental health when they were in crisis. She then spent years studying the ways people seek care and how therapy could be more accessible and effective. In this conversation as they dive into everything from the research that lead her to found Real to religion to the merits of Goop. CW: suicide and attempted suicide.

Liz Young remembers when her family became homeowners, even at six years old she understood it was a big deal. That sparked a fascination with real estate and the home-owning experience. While working at Bloomberg, she discovered the importance of data-driven decisions in the housing market. She wanted to give the power of data to the average homeowner so she founded Realm which helps homeowners prioritize renovation projects to increase the value of the home and use their time and money wisely. Darrell, Jordan, and Liz talk about the tricky housing market, how powerful localized data is for homeowners, and how Darrell can renovate his basement dungeon gym for the greeted ROI.

As COVID-19 cases spike many people enter 2022 in some kind of quarantine, a conversation about community and connecting across a digital space feels like just what the doctor ordered. Ashley Sumner's original concept for Quilt was all about meeting up in person — almost an Airbnb for conversations. But shortly after launch, the universe threw a wrench in the works, as a global pandemic shut down or severely limited in-person interaction almost everywhere, particularly among strangers connecting for the first time. Quilt made a pivot into the suddenly crowded social audio space, but Ashley explains how it kept its core focus and differentiation in the process.

While owning and operating studio gym spaces in New York, Alexandra Bonetti knew that it shouldn’t have to be this hard to establish processes for issues all gyms have like recruiting new members, hiring qualified talent, and getting substitutes for classes, to name a few. So she founded The Talent Hack which is a platform geared towards helping experts working in the fitness and wellness industry achieve tangible success. In this episode, she discusses her philosophy that everyone has superpowers and she is passionate about discovering those talents and making them work for the individual and how to be nimble as a new company in a complicated industry.

Yusuf Sherwani saw the value in remote mental healthcare long before COVID sent everyone into video therapy sessions. He is the CEO and one of three doctor/co-founders of Quit Genius, an app that uses CBT therapy and other proven methods to help patients tackle their addiction. He talks with Darrell and Jordan about starting a telehealth company before COVID and the regulatory hurdles they had to navigate and how they convinced investors that it was crucial to be research-led when it comes to building a patient-focused product.

This week we're re-releasing Jordan and Darrell's conversation with Aditi Shekar, the co-founder and CEO of Zeta. As the year comes to a close and we look toward 2022, we thought everyone could use inspiration to get new year, new financial habits in order. Plus Aditi's unstoppable tenacity and drive are undeniably inspiring. Aditi's childhood ambitions included literal world domination, but she ended up as an unstoppable entrepreneur instead. She's the co-founder and CEO of Zeta, a new kind of financial services company that's designed from the ground up for "multiplayer" banking — be it with a spouse, a trusted partner or anyone else. Aditi tells us all about how she's revolutionizing money management thanks to her drive and focus.

Co-founder of Dutchie, Ross Lipson talks to Jordan and Darrell about stepping into the cannabis space, taking the hits as they come, and growing a business in a highly-regulated and brand new industry. His positive outlook on business and life may be contagious so pessimists, nihilists, and fatalists beware.

Carolyn Mooney wants you to make your decision-making process code. She is the co-founder and CEO of Nextmv which helps companies make efficient decisions on a mass scale—think Amazon distributing packaging or Uber plotting a route for an uber pool. In this week’s episode, she talks with Darrell and Jordan about Nextmv’s software that doesn’t just optimize decision making and route planning but also enables engineers to work on many different types of teams. Plus she talks about how coaching high school volleyball has made her a better leader and forced her to prioritize a work-life balance.