While just one in 10 VC investments achieves a successful exit or next stage funding, a small team of upstarts has quietly come up with a way to significantly increase the odds of identifying whether a startup has a decent shot at succeeding. After two years of internal work, the Microsoft Startup Predictor has proven … Continue reading #23 – THE NEW AI-POWERED TOOL PREDICTING STARTUP SUCCESS →

Series A - The Podcast

#23 – THE NEW AI-POWERED TOOL PREDICTING STARTUP SUCCESS

Can a company change the face of advertising while doing good at the same time?  The founders of Chicago-based Do Good Media are doing just that. In this edition of Series A – The Podcast, we visit with co-founders Jerome Shimizu and Michael Sheng during a visit to startup epicenter 1871. “We provide publishers with … Continue reading #22-DISRUPTING ADVERTISING WHILE DOING GOOD – DO GOOD MEDIA/CHICAGO →

#22-DISRUPTING ADVERTISING WHILE DOING GOOD – DO GOOD MEDIA/CHICAGO

What do you get when you combine a seasoned serial entrepreneur and technologist with a PhD and tenure track cancer researcher at the University of Chicago?  One of the most promising startups disrupting the health care industry. In the latest of edition of Series A – The Podcast, we return to Chicago for a visit … Continue reading #22 – A DATING APP FOR THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY – JASON SMITH/rMARK BIO →

#22 – A DATING APP FOR THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY – JASON SMITH/rMARK BIO

When Expedia founder Rich Barton was secretly building Zillow, it was Seattle tech news site Geekwire that first uncovered and broke the story.  Same with the first tests of Amazon foray into the grocery business and numerous other big tech stories.  That dogged reporting is why the Seattle-based enterprise has become the preeminent voice of … Continue reading #21 – INTERVIEWING THE INTERVIEWERS – GEEKWIRE/SEATTLE →

#21 – INTERVIEWING THE INTERVIEWERS – GEEKWIRE/SEATTLE

When it comes to representation and funding for minorities in the startup world, the numbers are sobering. Less than 3% of venture capital goes to female led startups, while just .02% (you read that right) goes to startups led by women of color. And there are so few Hispanics given the opportunity to lead a … Continue reading #21 – BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND BOOSTING DIVERSITY – QUEST MOFFAT/PROJECT UK →

#21 – BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND BOOSTING DIVERSITY – QUEST MOFFAT/PROJECT UK

How do you make watching sports and other events truly social, and build a successful business for major media companies at the same time?  For Game On co-founder and CEO Alex Beckman, it’s all about the bots. The problem to solve for the San Francisco-based startup is  figuring out how to get people to watch … Continue reading #20 – TRASH TALKING BOTS AND THE NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE – ALEX BECKMAN/GAME ON →

#20 – TRASH TALKING BOTS AND THE NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE – ALEX BECKMAN/GAME ON

For every deal, there’s a document.  Actually, potentially hundreds of thousands or even millions of them.  But thriving Chicago startup Heretik is leveraging AI to help the legal world search, sort through and analyze contracts, dramatically cutting the time and money spent in contract review. The work has always been done manually, with lawyers and … Continue reading #19 – AI, CONTRACTS AND A LEGAL DISRUPTION – ANDY ABBOTT/HERETIK →

#19 – AI, CONTRACTS AND A LEGAL DISRUPTION – ANDY ABBOTT/HERETIK

If knowledge is power, then Chicago-based startup Packback is rocket fuel for college students blasting off into the future (excuse the cheesy analogy, but it’s apropos in this case.) In the latest edition of Series A – The Podcast, hosted by Jim Brisimitzis from the Microsoft for Startups team, we profile the dynamic startup changing … Continue reading #18-CURIOSITY+COMMUNITY=STARTUP SUCCESS – JESSICA TENUTA/PACKBACK →

#18-CURIOSITY+COMMUNITY=STARTUP SUCCESS – JESSICA TENUTA/PACKBACK

Attending a conference, meetup or gathering and coming away without making valuable contacts is an all too common and frustrating occurrence for busy business people.  But Chicago-based Proxfinity is shining a literal light on the problem – with a unique wearable and software solution. In this edition of Series A – The Podcast, meet Lisa … Continue reading #17 – MAKING CONNECTING SMARTER & BETTER – LISA CARREL/PROXFINITY →

#17 – MAKING CONNECTING SMARTER & BETTER – LISA CARREL/PROXFINITY

From a smart city to smart apartments, Kansas City entrepreneur Blake Miller has been at the forefront of innovation on the Silicon Prairie. In the latest edition of Series A – The Podcast, we travel to Kansas City for an in-depth look at why America’s heartland is home to some of the nation’s top tech … Continue reading #16 – SMART APARTMENTS AND A SMARTER KC – BLAKE MILLER/HOMEBASE →

#16 – SMART APARTMENTS AND A SMARTER KC – BLAKE MILLER/HOMEBASE

Plenty of people are called industry leaders, tech titans, ground breakers and pioneers.  But few have earned the moniker like Chicago tech visionary Howard Tullman.  The serial entrepreneur has helmed a variety of successful companies, written numerous influential books, and helped spawn hundreds of other companies through his groundbreaking startup collective 1871, the epicenter of … Continue reading #15 – EXCLUSIVE & IN-DEPTH: CHICAGO TECH TITAN HOWARD TULLMAN →

#15 – EXCLUSIVE & IN-DEPTH: CHICAGO TECH TITAN HOWARD TULLMAN

Many business people will tell you there are few things worse than attending a crowded trade show like CES or NRF in hopes of connecting with a potential customer, only to find it nearly impossible to find the needle in a haystack. It’s a problem veteran founders and marketing and sales guys John Corrigan and … Continue reading #14-FINDING NEEDLES IN A TRADE SHOW HAYSTACK – SUMMITSYNC →

#14-FINDING NEEDLES IN A TRADE SHOW HAYSTACK – SUMMITSYNC

When you think of business in LA, artificial intelligence isn’t likely to come to mind. But it turns out a number of leading entrepreneurs and academics have made the City of Angels an epicenter of AI. Some of those leading minds came together recently for Applied AI, an event hosted by LA-based startup Deep Current. … Continue reading #13 – AI IN LA – CITY OF ANGELS AT THE EPICENTER →

#13 – AI IN LA – CITY OF ANGELS AT THE EPICENTER

A tragic fatality involving an autonomous Uber vehicle in Arizona recently again underscored the challenges facing the burgeoning industry.  But Atlanta-based startup Metrotech is at the forefront in developing solutions that could help make the future safer and help manage the ever increasing congestion throttling most of our major metropolitan areas. The lastest edition of … Continue reading #12 – SMARTER CITIES/AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES – PAUL VALCHEFF-METROTECH →

#12 – SMARTER CITIES/AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES – PAUL VALCHEFF-METROTECH

Why would anyone leave a highly successful sales career after a decade at Microsoft with all the benefits that come with it? “One day I just realized sometimes you have to step out of the picture to actually see the picture clearly,” says Piyush Saggi, the CEO and co-founder of Atlanta-based SalesTing. What Saggi repeatedly … Continue reading #11 – CONNECTING SALES AND MARKETING – PIYUSH SAGGI – SALESTING →

#11 – CONNECTING SALES AND MARKETING – PIYUSH SAGGI – SALESTING

Series A goes in-depth with the founders, investors and others changing the world with their startups. The show travels the US and Canada, going behind the scenes of some of the most successful startups