Join The Bandwagon With Harold Hughes
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
Release Date: 02/21/2020
How I Raised My Seed, Series A, & Series B
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
This episode of Ambition Today is supported by: In October 2024, Finta hosted a panel for LA Tech Week called “How I Raised - Seed, Series A, Series B.” Featuring founders exploringthe unique challenges and insights of securing capital at different stages of their company. Our incredible panel for this event consists of: David Kervin Proteus Space ($8M Raised) - Revolutionizing satellite design with AI-driven platforms, aiming to reduce the time and cost of deploying satellites through automation and cutting-edge technology. Gaurav Bhattacharya Jeeva ($16M Raised) -...
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Fundraising Perspectives From 3 Sides Of The Table: An Investor, a Founder, and a Lawyer
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
During NY Tech Week 2024 we hosted a live panel discussion in midtown Manhattan on the state of fundraising in 2024. Delving deep into the nuances of fundraising from three different perspectives: an investor, a founder, and a lawyer. Hear from 3 different sides of the table when we gather an investor, founder, and a lawyer to discuss what fundraising venture capital in 2024. Our incredible panel for this event consists of: The Founder David Silverstein, is the CEO of Ned, a white label lending platform that makes it easy for lenders to effortlessly deploy capital. The Investor Rachel...
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How Lorenzo Thione Is Scaling Support For Diverse Founders With Gaingels
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
We sat down with one of the most influential people in tech, Lorenzo Thione, who shares his very inspiring journey and how that led him to be where he is today. Lorenzo grew up in Milan, Italy and had a technical background at an early age. He completed his studies at the University of Texas at Austin, from which he holds a M.S. in Computer Engineering. He is now the Managing Director of Gaingels, a leading LGBTQIA+/Allies investment syndicate and one of the largest and most active private investors in North America. He is also the co-founding Chairman of StartOut, Chairman of the Board at...
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How Jordan Levy Left His Mark On The Venture Capital Industry
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
In the fall we sat down with one of the godfathers of Venture Capital, Jordan Levy, who shares his very inspiring founder story and how that led to his career as an investor. Jordan co-founded Software Distribution Services which was acquired by Ingram Micro, before going on to be a Partner on the early-stage investing team at SoftBank Capital (SBNY) for 16 years. Jordan has served on the boards of BuzzFeed, TalkSpace, , ACV Auctions, and many others. Using his upbringing and religion to pay it forward (Tzedakah) to the community that he grew up in, in Buffalo, New York. Jordy also...
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Scott Wayman's Plan for Kangarootime to Support the $648 Billion Care Economy
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
Scott Wayman's shares his epically inspiring founder story. His passion for Kangarootime is next level and the company is currently focused on winning the childcare management software space for daycares and preschools. With plans to expand to the larger “care economy” which includes not only early education & childcare but also elder & senior care. A $648B TAM in the U.S. Alone according to . The Kangarootime team brilliantly positioned themselves throughout COVID19 as leaders in the space, by taking time to host educational sessions about how their customers can best adapt...
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Creating Data-Driven Sales Leaders With Peter Kazanjy
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
Pete Kazanjy is Ambition Today’s new guest from Southern California. He is sitting in San Francisco, CA right now as we speak, enjoying Alamo Square. He is a serial founder and seasoned early stage Saas executive, advisor, and investor. Pete has cofounded many companies including TalentBin, Modern Sales, and Atrium. He is also an author of “Founding Sales”. He went to Stanford where he learned English and Philosophy. Pete is still going strong and has a lot to offer his clients, be sure to read his book “Founding Sales”, a Startup Sales Handbook. Topics Discussed: Branding and...
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Jack Greco Builds A Unicorn Company In Buffalo
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
From growing up on a dairy farm, to a successful entrepreneur with hundreds of employees, meet our next guest, Jack Greco. Greco co-founded ACV Auctions, an online auction dealer platform, which was last valued at $1.5B. He never thought that he would be the person to co-found Buffalo’s first unicorn startup in 2014. The great part is the story behind his success. He later reveals to Kevin that he has been fired from every job before he became a founder, and what kicked him in gear, was learning that he had a baby on the way. Every success story is different, and I think...
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News Roundtable: Future of American Cities and Working From Home
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler are at it again, discussing the current news in our world today. Each person brings one topic to the table and they talk about them both. Kevin’s Topic: The Future of American Cities. Kevin starts by discussing how he lived in NYC for a full decade and how he has seen the cost of living has increased significantly, but at the same time, the storefronts are leaving! This is due to the commercial investors also increasing their rent too much where small shops are no longer able to handle the cost. Kevin found a statistic: 50% of all restaurants in...
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Bringing Back Jeff Wald To Discuss The End Of Jobs
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
Our next guest is so amazing, we had to interview him a second time! He was on nearly 5 years ago on Episode 8! Jeff Wald is an entrepreneur who has started three technology companies, with his latest company, WorkMarket, being sold to ADP. Monday was officially his last day. He is a Board Member on the following boards: Steel Connect, Costar Technologies, TransfrVR, Peerless Systems, and Register.com. But the true reason we brought him on the podcast today was to talk about his book, “The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations”. Tune in to hear all about his book as well as...
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News Roundtable: R.I.P. to RBG and Facebook
Ambition Today, Startup Stories with Kevin Siskar
In this new episode, Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler discuss the current news in our world today. Each week, each person brings one topic to the table. This week Tim chose to talk about the sad passing of former Associate Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020. She passed away after complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. And brought Facebook to the table. There are real issues with Facebook. Everything from the false advertising that Facebook is not taking responsibility for, mental health issues stemming from addiction to Facebook, and now election interference! On...
info_outlineOur next guest on the show, is the amazing Harold Hughes. He is the founder of Bandwagon, which helps companies discover the identity of their fans in order to increase attendance, offer personalized services, and increase revenue.
Growing up, Harold made his first dollar selling AirHeads for cheaper than the school sold them at their cafeteria until he got caught! He went to Clemson University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics, before going back for his Masters's degree later. It was then, while he was taking his strategic management course that he realized it was a lot like being a fan at a sports event.
Harold loved playing sports when he grew up, and he loved that it didn’t matter your families financial status was or where you lived, you just loved to play the game. That is where Bandwagon all started. Now Harold has expanded Bandwagon from just preventing ticket fraud for fans, too also being a fan identity and data analytics company. Tune in to hear more about Harold’s story and experiences going through the ups and downs of being a CEO.
Quote of the Episode:
“Service to others is the rent for your time on earth”
Gauntlet:
Listen in for Harold’s amazing tips from his experience growing his business:
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Branding/Design
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Go-to-Market
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Product Development
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Hiring
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Revenue and Accounting
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Fundraising
The Greatest Piece of Advice:
Join the podcast’s backchannel, The A-List where members can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips and get the single greatest piece of advice our guests have ever learned!
Links & show notes from this episode:
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Proudly Independent & Supported By:
Finta- A secure online, cloud-based, operations center for your start-up. Quickly set up your company and you've got a blazing fast tool for raising capital and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency.
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The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned!
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About:
Ambition Today is a podcast about entrepreneurs, creators, investors, and builders who ambitiously changed the world. Each episode explores the hardships and heroism of everyday life to reveal the key moments which leave behind a lasting legacy. Creating value in the world is hard, but you are not alone.
No matter where you are in the world Ambition Today, hosted by Kevin Siskar, is here to keep you company you as you create your own incredible story.
Kevin Siskar brings you ambitious entrepreneurs inspired by Tim Ferriss Show, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Residual Income, Entrepreneur on Fire, NPR, HBR, TED Radio Hour, the StartUp podcast with Alex Blumberg by Gimlet Media, Pat Flynn, The Uncertain Hour, Bigger Pockets, Art of Charm, Dave Ramsey, Planet Money, Jocko Podcast, EntreLeadership, Zigler, APM Marketplace, This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis, Mixergy, Seth Godin, Joe Rogan Experience, GaryVee, James Altucher, Monocle 24, How to Start a Startup, Crooked Media, and The $100 MBA Show with Omar Zenhom, Casey Neistat, and Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman.