Join us in our digital den and immerse yourself in the inspiration born from exploring the hidden narratives and inevitable plot twists that shape every compelling startup journey.
The Bearhug Experience Podcast
(#14) Rohit Gupta: Auditoria, Transforming Corporate Finance Using AI, Entrepreneurship, Early Stages, M&A, Adaptability, Resilience, Curiosity & Getting Comfortable Getting Out Comfort Zones.
Rohit Gupta is the Co-Founder & CEO of Auditoria.AI – the leading cognitive automation provider for ERP and Corporate Finance teams, backed by top investors such as Venrock, NeoTribe Ventures, Engineering Capital, KPMG and Workday Ventures. His vision is to transform how work gets done in the back office with zero-touch, self-driving, autonomous solutions that leverage AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and cloud computing. Rohit is a serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and software executive with over 25+ years of experience in building, scaling, and successfully acquiring and selling multiple companies. He is also a Forbes Finance Council Member, a Robotic Process Automation Certified Professional, and a well-known speaker and thought leader in the industry.
(#13) David Connors: The Swarm, Go-To-Network is the new Go-To-Market, Carving Signal from the Noise, Growth, Evolution, Power of Warm Introductions & Relationship-Driven Sales in the Age of AI.
David Connors is the Co-Founder & CEO of The Swarm. The Swarm is the first “Go-To-Network” platform giving companies and investors the keys to their networks and the relationship data they need to accelerate sales, recruiting, and fundraising. David is a 3x startup founder, including an exit to Sequoia Capital who acquired his outbound recruiting automation startup Automately. After the acquisition, David joined the Sequoia team as their Director of Recruiting Operations, where he went on to build custom tools for Sequoia's recruiters, investors, and founders. After a 2 year earn-out period, David went on to Co-Found The Swarm, with backing by the founders of Superhuman, Thumbtack, Lookout, Bearhug Recruiting, and many more successful operators, in addition to prominent VCs like 500 Global, Contrary Capital, and Sequoia Capital.
(#12) Maria Khokhlova: TraceAir, Construction Acceleration, Laser Physics to Moving Dirt on Construction Sites, Resilience, Flexibility, Merging Cultures, Joy Projects & The Power of Deep Empathy.
Maria Khokhlova is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at TraceAir, a sitework intelligence platform for Land Developers and Homebuilders. TraceAir is the #1 provider of construction site analysis and management solutions for sitework. TraceAir’s cutting-edge technology helps builders save time and money by improving efficiency, and introduces radical transparency into the process while reducing the risk of errors or delays. Before devoting her work to TraceAir, Maria did a Ph.D. in laser physics, while also running a custom development software studio. She’s now on a mission that goes far beyond empowering land development and construction teams; it’s about positively impacting society at large by providing developers with tools and data to build better infrastructure and communities faster.
(#11) Aaron Rubens: Kudoboard, Celebrating Moments That Matter At Work, Building Products that Deliver Joy, Gratitude & Appreciation At Scale, Staying Capital Efficient & Riding Viral Waves.
Aaron Rubens is the Co-Founder & CEO of Kudoboard. An online workplace appreciation software that’s helping tens of millions of people every day at top companies globally, work harder, and stick around longer, thanks to feeling more appreciated at work. Aaron graduated from Tulane University, after becoming a high school math teacher through Teach for America. After teaching, he led the creation of Khan Academy’s White House-sponsored 4-year college admissions technology resource, for low-income, high potential students. From there, he got his MBA from Harvard Business School, and went on to build Kudoboard, growing it into the incredible cash-efficient enterprise it's become today.
(#10) Phil Dur: PeakSpan Capital, GTM Mechanization, Capital Efficiency, Responsible Value Creation, Pragmatic Optimism, Optionality, Alignment & The Power of Infectious Charisma.
Phil Dur is the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm with over $1.5B in AUM (Assets Under Management) based in New York City and San Mateo, CA. In addition to being a graduate of Princeton University and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Phil has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and has been a software investor for 25 years, serving on the board of over forty growth stage companies. Prior to PeakSpan, Phil worked at Investor Growth Capital and Morgan Stanley Venture Partners on the technology and software investment teams. He’s also a graduate of two culinary arts schools, an avid tennis player, runner, husband, father, dog lover, and an infectiously charismatic leader.
(#9) Jake Braly: Krisp.ai, Digital Voice Productivity, Identifying & Scaling Revenue Growth, Perseverance, Solution Orientation, Being a “Sorting Hat” & Unbounded Growth.
Jake Braly, the Chief Revenue Officer of Krisp.Ai – the world’s first AI-powered Call & Meeting Assistant software that enhances voice communication through audio cleansing, noise cancellation, accent localization, call transcription, and summarization. Krisp processes over 75 billion minutes of voice conversations each month helping thousands of businesses deliver better business outcomes. Jake has a proven track record of driving new venture creation, market development, and revenue growth for technology businesses. Prior to Krisp, Jake served as the Head of Global Marketing and Strategic Alliances for Highspot, playing a vital role in guiding the company's valuation of $50 million to over $3.6 billion, in addition to notable roles at companies such as Apptio, K2 Software, Microsoft, and IBM.
(#8) Spencer Dusebout: Aidium, PropTech, Radical Self-Awareness & Objectivity in Business, Strong Convictions, Running Into Brick Walls & The Relentless Pursuit of Solving Hard Problems.
Spencer Dusebout, a serial entrepreneur, and the Founder, and CEO of Aidium, a software platform that helps mortgage professionals automate their lead conversion, transaction management, and client retention workflows and has become one of the fastest growing software companies in the prop-tech sector. Prior to starting Aidum, Spencer co founded Hands4Others a youth based non-profit aspiring to solve the world's water crisis – an idea that started on the back of a napkin, and became an international movement that provided safe water to people in 17 countries around the world. As a technologist at heart, Spencer has spent the last decade building and selling software companies spanning predictive data, machine learning, and enterprise software. He’s also a sought after speaker having graced the stage of the TED conference twice.
(#7) Aashish Dhamdhere: Relevvo, The Scientific Revolution In B2B Sales & Marketing, Engagement Readiness & Tripling Pipeline Through Empathy, Deep Analysis & Intentional Energy.
Aashish Dhamdhere is the Co-founder and CEO of Relevvo, an AI-powered B2B Sales & Marketing platform that helps B2B companies identify and target the 5-10% of accounts in a company's addressable market that are engagement-ready at a given point of time. Before founding Relevvo, Aashish served in various product and program management roles at Microsoft on the Visio and Azure teams, and then as a marketing leader at several high-growth B2B software startups including Skilljar, Amperity, LiquidPlanner, and most notably Apptio, where he built the global demand generation function helping the company scale from $20m to hundreds of millions of dollars leading up to their IPO.
(#6) Samantha Burns: 3D Imaging in Land Development & Residential Construction, Challenging the Status Quo, Battling Imposter Syndrome, Scrappiness & The Superpower of Translation.
Samantha Burns, a distinguished marketing leader with over 15 years of experience in the construction industry, and the Head of Marketing at TraceAir. TraceAir is a leading Construction Technology platform that specializes in providing rapid and precise 3D data to home builders and land developers, aiming to revolutionize residential construction workflows and processes. Samantha’s current focus is on driving growth, educating the market, and enhancing engagement for TraceAir's core audience. In addition to shaping the narrative of construction marketing and empowering others to thrive in this ever-evolving landscape, she is dedicated to establishing the company as the foremost technology operating system for home builders, empowering them to operate with more speed, accuracy, and efficiency.
(#5) Steve Dell’Orto: ConCntric, Transforming Pre-Construction Workflows, Seamlessly Integrating People, Data, and Processes, Leadership Superpowers & The Accelerating Impact of Domain Expertise.
Steve Dell’Orto is the founder and CEO of ConCntric. As a seasoned Construction Executive with 28 years of industry expertise, frustrated by the disjointed and inefficient pre-construction planning process, Steve embarked on a mission to revolutionize the construction landscape. He envisioned and developed a groundbreaking software platform that seamlessly integrates people, data, and processes, offering a unified, collaborative environment and single source of truth for managing diverse projects. This innovative solution empowers modern builders to accelerate project timelines, enhance predictability, and proactively mitigate risks. By facilitating early-stage interventions and informed decision-making, Steve's platform aids in averting costly mistakes, delays, and budget overruns. The result? Potential savings amounting to tens of millions for construction companies, fostering smoother, more sustainable project execution.
(#4) Nev Hyman: NOMOR, Solving Our Plastic Waste Problem, Building a Surfboard Empire, Setting 4 Guinness Book of World Records, Keeping Your Radar On & The Power of Silver Linings.
Nev Hyman is a serial entrepreneur who’s a legendary pioneer in the world of surfboard manufacturing, and went on to build a global surfboard empire under the NEV Futureshapes brand. He set 4 Guinness World Records, and more recently won Pitch@Palace, becoming the worldwide Entrepreneur of the Year, thanks to his recent endeavor with NevHouse/NoMor where he’s helping to solve the world’s plastic waste problem at its source, by converting waste into safe, affordable eco-friendly building materials to be used for constructing homes, schools, medical clinics and more in both developed and developing nations around the world.
(#3) Nick Ezzo: Moving Corporate Finance Forward with Advanced Automation, Category Creation, Early-Stage GTM Strategy & The Power of Unconstrained Creativity.
Nick Ezzo is the VP of Strategic Accounts and Market Development at Auditoria.ai. While Nick boasts an illustrious career as a sales and marketing trailblazer, his true passion lies in being a data-driven demand generation marketer who’s committed to enhancing the efficiency of finance and accounting professionals through the power of Artificial Intelligence and Automation. Beyond pioneering a patented marketing technique, Nick excels in nurturing startups during their foundational and growth phases, and is an expert in building world-class go-to-market (GTM) teams.
(#2) Jennifer Gill Roberts: Grit Ventures, Deep Tech Investing, Insatiable Curiosity, Labs to Launch, Physical Infrastructure & The Power of Diverse Teams.
Jennifer Gill Roberts is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Grit Ventures. Jennifer, a technologist, repeat entrepreneur, and dedicated advocate for diversity, is also an early-stage venture capitalist. She specializes in sourcing and investing in groundbreaking sustainable technology innovations from the nation's top labs. These innovations tackle real-world challenges, from rebuilding our physical infrastructure to accelerating manufacturing and incorporating AI-powered robotic applications across industries like construction, agriculture, and logistics.
(#1) Jay Potter: ECOR Global, Environmental Technology, Circular Economy, Sustainable Building Products, Passionate Optimism & Breeching Into The Unknown.
Jay Potter is a brilliant entrepreneur who (so far) has personally raised more than 150 million dollars, taken 11 companies public (3 of his own creation), and has been a trailblazer in the environmental technology movement for decades. He and the teams he’s been central to are responsible for introducing numerous groundbreaking inventions to the world, such as developing the first high-volume electrolysis for hydrogen and non-toxic disinfectants, the world's first solar parking array, the first industrial pellet plant in the US, and today he serves as the CEO of ECOR Global, a company that is converting agricultural and urban waste into sustainable building materials providing a more sustainable and cleaner future for us all.