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PODCAST

Skin in the Game VC Podcast

Florida Funders

Florida Funders Managing Partner and "Skin in the Game VC" podcast host Tom Wallace believes that entrepreneurs are game changers and that the companies they envision, create and build make the world a better place.Florida Funders is a venture capital firm and angel network that invests in early stage technology companies. Traditionally, angel investors have not had equal access to the amount of proprietary, vetted deal flow and investment opportunities like a professional venture investor.This

technology investing

All Episodes

49:50

Joe Bayen: Journey From Success to Failure and Back

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2023/10/26

Joe Bayen, who was Born in Cameroon, shares his journey of moving to the United States as a three-year-old and being raised in Paris, France. Joe shares his experience in the credit industry, starting with his realization of the impact of late payments on his credit score. This led him to found a company aimed at helping students manage their credit. Joe worked on the development of the Bootstrap app, which garnered millions of installs and revenue through a successful business model of offering

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1:00:51

Matthew & Michael Vega-Sanz: Finding Passion in the...

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2023/08/03

Founders of Lula, Michael and Matthew Vega-Sanz joins the episode of Skin In The Game VC Podcast with Tom Wallace and new co-host Saxon Baum.Matthew and Michael discuss their journey of creating a car sharing app called Lula. They talk about how they came up with the idea while in college and built an app that initially had many flaws. However, over time, the app gained traction and went viral, becoming one of the top car sharing apps in the country. They also faced challenges in securing insurance

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40:02

Laura DiBella: Florida's Tech Bloom

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2023/06/01

Laura DiBella, the Secretary of Commerce for the State of Florida as well as the president of CEO of Enterprise Florida, joins us for this episode of Skin in the Game.Laura explores the robust evolution of Florida's tech industry and the state's response to COVID-19. Florida's open strategy during the pandemic made the state a magnet for tech talents, thereby catalyzing innovation. She acknowledges the pivotal role of a diverse talent pool and universities in creating a vibrant business

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48:54

Investing in Startups with Brad Feld

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2023/02/01

Brad Feld, an avid ecosystem-builder, tech entrepreneur, and early-stage investor for over 35 years shares his insights on the venture capital, startup, and tech community in this episode of Skin in the Game VC Podcast. Brad began his journey in tech and venture capital in the ‘80s and has since become a respected and influential figure in the industry. He has written several books on entrepreneurship and venture capital and started blogging in 2004 before VC Twitter existed.Join Tom Wallace as he

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47:57

Building a Betr Company with Joe Levy

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2022/08/12

On this episode, Tom interviews Joey Levy. You may have seen him recently all over the news and social media alongside his business partner and top sports influencer Jake Paul. They have recently launched Betr (initially known as Instabet), the world’s first micro-betting focused app and new media venture for the next generation of sports fans.If you want to learn more about investing in early-stage tech like a venture capitalist, be sure to visit the Florida Funders website at floridafunders.com

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49:47

Building a Tech Community with Lakshmi Shenoy of...

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2022/07/13

Lakshmi Shenoy is the CEO of Embarc Collective in Tampa, Florida. Tom Wallace discusses her story and how she ended up helping to build and lead the fastest-growing startup hub in Florida. If you like what you hear, please rate us 5 stars and check out other episodes here: https://www.floridafunders.com/category/podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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39:38

Lessons Learned in Early Stage Tech Investing During...

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2022/07/13

Florida Funders partners Tom Wallace and Marc Blumenthal discuss the ups and downs of markets and the lessons learned from the past. Learn more about early-stage tech investing during these times. If you like what you hear, please rate us 5 stars and check out our site: https://www.floridafunders.com/category/podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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42:56

Tony DiBenedetto: Thinking Big

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2022/04/28

Hello, my name's Tom Wallace, and I'm the Managing Partner of Florida Funders. Welcome to Florida Funders podcast. Our podcast is all about how to make all of us better angel investors, or better founders or entrepreneurs. We really address two audiences here. One thing that I love about angel investing and entrepreneurship is, it's so dynamic, so fluid, and there's always something new to learn, and somebody new to learn from.Our guest this week is Tony Dibenedetto. Hosted on Acast. See

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47:36

Elias Torres: Elevating Minority Founders

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/12/14

When you paint a picture in your head of the American Dream, what do you see? For many of us, it involves the vision of being ‘self-made’ and designing our own destiny, no matter where we came from.For Elias Torres, the choice his mother made when she immigrated from Nicaragua to Tampa would prove to be a fortuitous one in helping him realize that dream. After his early start at IBM, Torres became committed to the vision of entrepreneurship. With Drift, his current company, he has proven time and

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36:18

David Blumberg: From the Bay to the Magic City

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/11/30

It's been more than 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic started and we experienced weeks of lockdowns, quarantines, and a total reconfiguration of the way we work.For venture capitalist David Blumberg, the pandemic took him from his ancestral home of California across the country to Florida. Realizing that he was no longer chained to his fixed, physical office in San Francisco, he took the plunge and moved over 3,000 miles in order to take advantage of the up-and-coming vibe of Miami, as well as

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25:10

Brian Murphy: the Importance of Reinvention

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/11/16

What happens when a brand new tech startup finds itself in the middle of one of the worst financial crises the country has ever seen? With a little luck, some intuitiveness, and a lot of hard work, a pivot in the right direction can not only save a company, it can create major success, too.Brian Murphy founded ReliaQuest in 2007, just as the US was plunging into the Great Recession. While he didn’t know it yet, a DoD contract would come to be instrumental in the company’s pivotfrom IT to

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26:06

Hugh Campbell - Entrepreneurship as a Team Sport

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/11/02

Discipline, initiative, and responsibility are all skills you would expect a young person to learn in the military. But what about teamwork and learning to successfully collaborate with others as a whole greater than its parts? For Hugh Campbell, his time in the US Army taught him this invaluable lesson.When Campbell entered West Point fresh out of high school, he never dreamed of the opportunities that would soon be accessible to him. Through his work as a communications officer, Campbell learned

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32:48

Arnie Bellini - The Case for Being an Early Adopter

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/10/19

We’ve all had that lightbulb moment at least once in our lives, where we have a striking realization seemingly independent of everyone else around us. What we don’t all have the privilege of experiencing? Having that moment lead to an early adoption of and investment in what would quickly become the most important, groundbreaking technology on the planet.Arnie Bellini began his career at Price Waterhouse just as personal computers began their evolution from space-age technology to household

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27:18

Reuben Pressman - Your Passion Makes a Difference

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/10/05

Have you ever had a moment of recognition that an issue you were experiencing was readily solvable, and you might just be the one to figure out how?Reuben Pressman started on the journey that brought him to where he is today when he began coding as a 10-year-old. As a student at the University of South Florida, he realized that the majority of the learning he was doing was going on outside the classroom—and that student involvement was a huge blind spot at his and many other schools.After this a-ha

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31:43

Manny Medina - Master of Reinvention

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/09/14

Have you ever wondered what it takes for a young immigrant to truly achieve the American dream? Well, you might just be able to learn a thing or two from Manny Medina’s story. After emigrating to Miami as a young teen and—as he puts it—surviving high school, Medina was able to develop a unique and valuable perspective on the US-Latin American market. From his jetsetting early years as a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers, to his time in Kuwait helping rebuild after the liberation, to creating network

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30:24

Claudia Duran - Taking Start-Ups to the Next Level

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/09/01

The world of entrepreneurship is more harrowing, thrilling, and rewarding as ever, but the past year and a half has been especially exciting for Florida investors. With the influx of people from New York, California, and even from Latin America, the area has experienced an incredible boom that has benefited investors and entrepreneurs alike. One such industry growing exponentially from all of this? Organizations that are designed to incubate entrepreneurs like Endeavor, where Claudia Duran serves as

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40:06

Rennick Palley - Crypto Crash Course

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/06/16

To the traditional investor, the world of cryptocurrency can be intimidating. Luckily, my guest today is an expert in the field and helps us break it all down. If you’ve found yourself wondering about crypto, DeFi, and the blockchain economy, listen in—you may discover this brave new world of finance isn’t quite as complicated as you might think.Join me today as I welcome Rennick Palley, founder and CIO at Stratos Technologies. Rennick is an MIT graduate who started his career on Wall Street before

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29:48

Brian Butler - From Army Officer to CEO

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/03/16

Curious as to how military training prepares you for the world of entrepreneurship?If you’ve ever found yourself at a crossroads in your career and felt that you just aren’t being offered anything to your liking, have you ever thought of striking out on your own? Entrepreneurship is a complicated and humbling experience, but it also allows you to be your own boss and create the business you’ve always wanted to work for.What happens when a former Army officer and member of the White House Homeland

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32:20

Steve Raymund - The Keys to Longevity

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/03/02

Have you ever wondered what it takes to develop true staying power in an industry as quick and variable as tech?If you’re serious about making it in the tech world, there are certain attributes that will set you apart from the pack. Curiosity, humility, and the ability to see patterns are invaluable for anyone, but are absolute prerequisites for successful entrepreneurs. Couple these with a shrewd eye for team building and a knack for playing to your own strengths, and you may be well on your way to

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16:45

Tom Wallace - The 5 Ds of Angel Investing

Skin in the Game VC Podcast ·

2021/02/16

Being a successful angel investor requires a lot of work and commitment. At Florida Funders, our goal is to make it easier for people and increase their chances of finding the right opportunities for them. Being in this arena for over 25 years, we’ve learned valuable lessons on how to maximize the probability of great returns, and we’ve compiled these best practices into what we call “The 5 Ds of Angel Investing.”In this episode, Tom Wallace talks in detail about these five important elements that

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