Execution is King

It’s not what you know. It’s not who you know. It’s knowing how to put it all together. Execution is King. Founders-turned-investors Ryan and Rob Weber go in search of success to investors, founders, and builders, seeking insights and lessons from where the rubber meets the road in the innovation industry. Hosted by Josef Siebert, each episode features a Weber brother and a guest who can offer best practices to startup founders building the next great global startups from wherever they may be. As former founders, successful operators, and disciplined investors, we think execution is the key to success. Learning to identify it, and to do it, can help founders and investors scale and profit. Great North Ventures is an early-stage venture fund founded by the Webers that invests in startups using technology to innovate industries dominated by analog processes, with partners in the Midwest and Silicon Valley. Learn more at https://greatnorthventures.com/

Interview with Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures (Part 2) 08/19/2022

Interview with Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures (Part 2) This is the second of a two-part deep dive where we cover the most common concerns startup founders run into, with Great North Ventures’s in-house legal expert. Mike Schulte is Principal at Great North Ventures, and holds a JD/MBA from St. Thomas University. In this episode, we talk about fundraising, liquidation preferences, SAFE notes, and board structure. Who does Mike see executing? , Attorney and Shareholder at Moss & Barnett, P.A.; and , Shareholder at Koley Jessen P.C., L.L.O.; and , General Partner at Unbridled Ventures. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/23758781

Interview with Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures (Part 1) 07/20/2022

Interview with Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures (Part 1) This is the first of a two-part deep dive where we cover the most common concerns startup founders run into, with Great North Ventures’s in-house legal expert. Mike Schulte is Principal at Great North Ventures, and holds a JD/MBA from St. Thomas University. In this episode, we talk about picking a name, choosing between an LLC and a C-corp for incorporating your company, and the benefits of 1202 Qualified Small Business Stock. Listen to the next episode where we dive into fundraising! /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/23758535

Interview with Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda 06/22/2022

Interview with Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda In this episode, we talk about management styles and goal setting, and uncover some gems about granting equity and hiring from our guest, Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda. Orazio has taken the startup ride from early on through exit twice already, before founding Fooda. Fooda is a food technology platform that connects restaurants to people while at work, has received $45M in funding, and currently has 250 employees in 20 cities. He has a great take on goal setting that keeps people accountable, brings transparency to the entire organization, and keeps the team moving in the same direction. Orazio's milestone approach to managing growth (vs. a calendar-based approach), makes sure that expenses don't outpace revenue as Fooda scales to new locations. Who does Orazio see executing? , at Darwin AI. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/23502626

Interview with Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce 05/20/2022

Interview with Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce In this episode, we talk about early-stage scaling. What it looks like, how to think about it, and what it takes to generate growth. We are joined by , Founder of Pear Commerce. Eric is a former founder of EatStreet, and a former Managing Director and Venture Partner at gener8tor. With a background as a founder and as an investor and startup mentor, Eric has a lot of perspective on early-stage growth. He talks about what it takes to succeed: being obsessed with solving a problem (not with the solution), getting traction by creative means, and good old-fashioned hustle. He also shares how to land VC money: by demonstrating the aforementioned traction, hustle, and creativity; being willing to swing for the fences by taking risks; and understanding that the math that drives VCs means your business needs to be capable of reaching a tremendous valuation. Who does Eric see executing? , a former Managing Director at Gener8tor, current VC, and professor at University of St. Thomas. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/23172014

Interview with Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund 04/20/2022

Interview with Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund In this episode, Josef and Rob talk about the Metaverse, and how important it is for founders and investors to learn about it. They are joined by , General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund. Tipatat is a former founder, creative innovator, and VR/AR developer. His background in Metaverse runs deep, including the gaming industry, the first VR/AR-focused incubator, and his six-year old venture fund. He talks about the developing Metaverse, the idea of "the third place", and the economic opportunity presented. Tipatat paints a picture of what the future will bring, and explains where the opportunity will lie for founders (and investors). Who does Tipatat see executing? , a company that creates and sells utilitarian NFTs- virtual items that can be used in the Metaverse. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/22846898

Interview with Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch 03/09/2022

Interview with Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about the newly launched venture studio project that's a social app for trading card collectors. They are joined by Atif Siddiqi, Founder and CEO of . Atif is a former EIR of Idealab, a venture studio that has generated multiple unicorns. Branch came out of Atif's time at Idealab, and has grown substantially after relocating to Minneapolis. Branch helps businesses modernize their payment methods to empower working Americans. Atif shares the insight that led to Branch's successful pivot, and gives operating and fundraising advice. Who does Atif see executing? . /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/22386098

Interview with Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp 02/22/2022

Interview with Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about bootstrapping. Rob shares his experience bootstrapping to $70M in revenue by age 32 with his startup, NativeX. They are joined by Michael Martocci, who is the Founder and CEO of . SwagUp is a company that sells curated swag packages to startups. Michael has bootstrapped his company to $50M in revenue by age 27. He gives advice on bootstrapping and when to hire devs. He also outlines how to build an e-commerce site with free software, which he did himself, reaching $3M in sales after 18 months of operating without a developer. Who does Michael see executing? /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/22209488

Una Fox 01/26/2022

Una Fox In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about a new book out about network effects, "The Cold Start Problem" by Andrew Chen. They speak with Una Fox, who works as a Chief Global Data & Analytics Officer. Una was previously a VP at Disney and a Director at Yahoo, and is a truly data-driven leader. Una has known Rob for over a decade, and talks about personal network effects and startup communities, and gives advice to founders for getting value from their organization's data. Who does Una see executing? . /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/21900143

Joe Sriver, 4giving 12/21/2021

Joe Sriver, 4giving In this episode, Rob and Josef talk about the impending paradigm shift represented by the metaverse, and relate it to past shifts. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/21526808

Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event 11/23/2021

Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event In this compilation episode, Josef features the best advice for founders that we picked up at our 2021 Annual Event. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/21253442

Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe 10/20/2021

Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe Rob and Josef talk about some Twitter controversy over founder extravagances. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20886050

Anna Mason, Revolution 09/20/2021

Anna Mason, Revolution Rob Weber talks with Anna Mason, Managing Partner of Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund about her journey to venture. She also provides key insight for founders and discusses the nuance of high volume, early stage investment. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20530136

Mynul Khan, FieldNation 08/12/2021

Mynul Khan, FieldNation Ryan and Josef talk about the Weber brothers' long history, with Ryan tracking Mynul since they took classes together in college. He talks about his journey as a first-generation immigrant who came from Bangladesh to St. Cloud, MN. His biggest lesson for founders? "Never run out of cash." He shares how his "hobby" turned from Plan B into the only plan, and the importance of going all-in. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20115452

Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures 08/12/2021

Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures Rob and Josef talk podcasts, and comes clean about his awkward intro to Nick Moran. Nick talks about his path to becoming a General Partner of New Stack Ventures and the host of The Full Ratchet podcast. We talk decision-making as investors, and advice for founders, including the most common mistake: building a product then trying to find a market for it. Then dive in to address the problem of matching opportunities to investors. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20115431

Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) 08/12/2021

Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) Ryan and Josef talk about the importance of startup communities and innovation in rural communities. Molly shares her experience working with incubators, builders, and startups with Singularity University and how that led to her position at CORI, where she works with communities to build the infrastructure necessary to help entrepreneurs succeed. Molly paints a picture of a rural America in decline, and explains the transformative value generated by tech startups and productive tech startup ecosystems. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20115416

Justin Kaufenberg, Rally Ventures 08/12/2021

Justin Kaufenberg, Rally Ventures Rob and Josef kick around bucket list ideas and shattered Vikings dreams, then dive into the interview with the former Co-Founder and CEO of SportsEngine. Justin Kaufenberg shares his path to venture from childhood brainstorming sessions trying to make his dad rich, to the realization and creation of the "atomic unit" central to SportsEngine's success. He talks M&A, and how he hit the road running as Managing Partner at Rally Ventures. Rob shares what he misses about creating startups. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/20115398

Introduction to the "Execution is King" podcast 07/31/2021

Introduction to the "Execution is King" podcast The best way to learn about how to build is to learn from other builders. Coming soon: "Execution is King", hosted by Rob Weber, Ryan Weber, and Josef Siebert of Great North Ventures. /episode/index/show/executionisking/id/19988972

Execution is King

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