upside
Named a top 27 business podcast by Fortune, upside examines startup investing outside of Silicon Valley.
Every Wednesday, we speak with an early stage founder. We interview them as if we are angel investors considering the company as an investment opportunity.
Each show has three segments:
1.) Intro: independent research of the company
2.) Interview: interview with the founder
3.) Debrief: breaking down the opportunity
Sometimes, we share Coffee Chats interviewing venture capitalists, community builders, and later-stage founders.
Subscribe and see why Business Insider called our podcast "Almost as Good as Getting an MBA."
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 59 minutes
- Episodes
- 219
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2021
UP038: Clever // lowering real estate transaction costs by connecting sellers to agents (feat. Erik Berg of Rev1 Ventures)
Interview begins: 08:30
Insight begins: 54:18
VC debrief begins: 1:04:14
Host debrief begins: 1:13:06
Ben Mizes is the founder and CEO of Clever Real Estate.
Clever Real Estate is a nationwide referral se…
CC014: connecting the Air Force and innovation // a Coffee Chat with Vince Pecoraro and Luis Cordova (AFWERX)
Interview begins: 06:46
Debrief begins: 47:02
Vince Pecoraro is the Capability Lead of Agile Contracting for AFWERX.
Luis Cordova is the Liaison of Public Affairs and Marketing for AFWERX.
Established in…
UP037: Preteckt // real-time vehicle prognostics using machine learning
Interview begins: 06:44
Debrief begins: 1:06:15
Ken Sills is the co-founder and CEO of Preteckt.
Since developing the initial prototype of this hardware/software solution in 2015, Ken has been focused …
CC013: how Pittsburgh leverages state funding to spur innovation // a Coffee Chat with Terri Glueck and Leah Simoncelli (Innovation Works)
Interview begins: 06:32
Debrief begins: 51:53
Terri Glueck is the Director of Communications at Innovation Works. Leah Simoncelli is the Coordinator of the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup.
As Director of Com…
UP036: Periodic Edibles // getting into the weeds of building a cannabis brand
Interview begins: 05:52
Debrief begins: 56:32
Wayne Schwind is the founder and CEO of Periodic Edibles. Periodic Edibles creates cannabis-infused caramels with consistent and repeatable effects.
Wayne g…
JE007: why we created the update, issue one
Last Friday, March 1, we released issue one of the update. In this week's episode, we explain why and go behind the scenes of how it came together.
At upside, we focus on startups, startup communities…
UP035: Exaeris // pulling drinkable water out of thin air (live from CES 2019)
Interview begins: 06:52
Debrief begins: 53:28
John Galbraith (CEO) and Michael Joyce (COO) are the co-founders of Exaeris Water Innovations.
Exaeris developed a patent-pending atmospheric water generat…
CC012: how Cleveland is rallying their community around a new tech movement // a Coffee Chat with Bernie Moreno (Blockland)
Interview begins: 06:26
Debrief begins: 51:58
Bernie Moreno is the President of the Bernie Moreno Companies. He has 20+ years in the retail automotive business. In 2005, he purchased what has become th…
UP034: Testcard // at-home medical diagnostic using urinalysis and your smart phone (live from CES 2019)
Interview begins: 07:09
Debrief begins: 49:20
Luke Heron is the co-founder and CEO of Testcard.
TestCard is a medical diagnostic test contained within a traditional postcard. The unique, patent-pending …
CC011: making the startup ecosystem bigger in Texas // a Coffee Chat with Bryan Chambers (Capital Factory)
Interview begins: 07:03
Debrief begins: 48:43
Bryan serves as Capital Factory’s Vice President of Accelerator and Investment Fund.
Bryan is a business development and investment professional experienced…
UP033: SOMAVAC® Medical // improving outpatient recovery from major surgeries
Insight begins: 08:27
Interview begins: 15:00
Debrief begins: 1:14:32
Esra Roan is the co-founder of SOMAVAC® Medical Solutions. Prior to her role with SOMAVAC®, she was an Associate Professor in Biomed…
CC010: the pros and cons of angel funds // a Coffee Chat with Todd Federman (North Coast Angel Fund)
Interview begins: 06:10
Debrief begins: 1:00:45
Todd Federman is the Manging Director for the North Coast Angel Fund.
Todd has served as the Executive Director of North Coast Angel Fund since its foun…
UP032: Astral AR // drones that stop bullets and prevent tragedy (live from CES 2019)
Interview begins at 07:40
Deal Memo begins at 58:25
Leah La Salla is the co-founder and CEO of Astral AR.
Leah is a self-taught, polyglot software architect and inventor. She spent much of her free time…
CC009: building a collaborative startup ecosystem in Memphis // a Coffee Chat with Katie Milligan (Start Co.)
Katherine (Katie) Milligan brings the power of public policy to building entrepreneurial communities. She serves as Chief of Staff at Start Co. where she supports the development of corporate, govern…
UP031: Woobo // a fuzzy, interactive robot companion for child development (live from CES 2019)
Feng Tan is the co-founder and CEO of Woobo.
Feng is a graduate of Tsinghua University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Robotics. He also received a Ph.D. in Robotics from MIT.
Woobo was fo…
UP030: Sense Arena // professional hockey IQ training using VR technology (live from CES 2019 feat. Shane Darrow of Forecheck, Backcheck, Paycheck)
Bob Tetiva is the founder and CEO for Sense Arena.
Sense Arena is a unique, powerful, and innovative tool for developing hockey players, improving their cognitive skills and hockey sense.
Using virtua…
CC008: the first startup accelerator designed for bootstrappers // a Coffee Chat with Rob Walling (TinySeed)
UP029: CareAlert // helping seniors live independently with in-home sensor technology (live from CES 2019)
Anand Krishnan is the co-founder and head of platform engineering for CareAlert.
Anand is an entrepreneur and technologist with over 20 years of experience building and leading high-performing technol…
CC007: the rise of platform in venture capital // a Coffee Chat with Stephanie Manning (Lerer Hippeau)
Stephanie Manning is the Director of Platform for Lerer Hippeau.
Lerer Hipeau is an early-stage venture capital fund based in New York City. As founders and operators themselves, Lerer Hippeau see re…
UP028: Summersalt // a direct-to-consumer travelwear brand for women (feat. Karen Howland of CircleUp)
Lori Coulter is the Founder, CEO and President of Summersalt. Prior to Summersalt, Lori owned and operated Lori Coulter Swimwear for 11 years.
Summersalt is a direct-to-consumer, travelwear brand. Th…