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Relevant Founders

Relevant Founders

By Relevant Software

Listen to our podcast for startup founders, in which tech founders reflect on their journey of building a successful startup and reveal their secrets to success. We will be bringing you some exciting conversations with founders of leading tech companies from around the world. They share their stories of success, challenges they’ve faced, and forecasts for the future in this fast-paced industry. So, if you are looking for some valuable insights on product development, leadership, scaling, fundraising, and much more - this is the podcast for you.
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"Just working 40 hours a week will not work. So it’s something that you have to take on consciously. Other areas of your life will suffer if you want to make a business successful."

Relevant FoundersOct 26, 2022

00:00
19:27
"Just working 40 hours a week will not work. So it’s something that you have to take on consciously. Other areas of your life will suffer if you want to make a business successful."
Oct 26, 202219:27
"You have to be able to grin, bear it, push through to the other side, and know that you’re working towards something that makes sense."
Oct 21, 202222:57
"How about a $100 000? A million? What about 10 million?"

"How about a $100 000? A million? What about 10 million?"

In the 2nd episode of Relevant Founders we talk with entrepreneur and technology expert, Co-Founder President/CEO of KoreConX - Oscar Jofre Jr.  More about: Why we need to rattle the cage and disrupt the system Exploring a new frontier of online investing??? A startup without pivots? Hm, really, Oscar? How COVID transformed the way we invest A new paradigm of investing - why democratization can make you rich  KoreConX - A crowdfunding platform that helps companies navigate the process of raising equity capital.

Oct 18, 202222:54
"The floor fell out, suddenly the business didn't make sense anymore"

"The floor fell out, suddenly the business didn't make sense anymore"

It's no accident that the startups that thrive have CEOs that are ready to give everything they have and more.

Ryan Smith, CEO and founder of Recyclops, is exemplary of what it takes to build a startup. This is the most open and honest guest we've ever had on the show.

Do you need some inspiration? - This is the startup story you need to hear.

Recyclops is primarily concerned with logistics and accessibility, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Mission: To make recycling and other environmental measures more accessible.

Watch to find out:

  • How your startup's success may be gone in an instant. Your business model turned upside down.
  • Go all or go home - The choice between going bankrupt and giving it one more shot.
  • What to do when your business overshoots?
  • Why does creativity need constraints?
  • Why you don’t need to find the perfect market straight away
  • How to provide legitimacy to your startup - a pitching tool for investors
Oct 07, 202220:33
"Phishing works a charm: Some old hacking tactics remain unchanged - Humans are the weakest links"

"Phishing works a charm: Some old hacking tactics remain unchanged - Humans are the weakest links"

CTO of CUJO AI, Santeri Kangas - talks to Relevant founders about the modern-day arms race against hackers, the evolution of IoT for your household, and the future of cybersecurity in this ever-changing industry.Santeri is responsible for all CUJO AI affiliates and operations and wants to create a future where digital experiences are private, secure, and personalized. So, let's dive into his journey with CUJO.

Watch here to find out:
How CUJO is utilizing AI governance
The arms race against hackers - Modern day espionage in your home.
Why humans are the weakest link when it comes to cyber security
Will CUJO AI and other IoT cybersecurity companies ever get ahead of the cybercriminals?
How many IoT devices can you have in your house?

Oct 05, 202225:03
"In a few years, quantum advantage could change the world as we know it"

"In a few years, quantum advantage could change the world as we know it"

Quantum computing...sounds interesting, but what is it? Do you have the skill to explain it to someone in simple terms for a whole audience to understand?Our next guest on Relevant Founder's, professor Mikko Möttönen does exactly that. No longer must you nod along when people begin discussing the intricacies of this industry, which, in Mikko's words, could change the world.Mikko - Chief Scientist and сo-founder of IQM - the leading European startup that builds superconducting quantum computers. His highly ambitious team of world-leading scientists has built several quantum labs and research centres globally during the past two decades.In this episode of relevant founders:

  • Quantum Computing explained
  • How small challenges accumulate and become big, watch out for this
  • Why outsourcing can give you the head start you need
  • Why you should stay optimistic but honesty is key; with yourself and investors
Sep 29, 202237:54
"In the weeds, roll up your sleeves, and get dirty"
Sep 29, 202236:33
How a Fintech startup revolutionizes the lives of American students

How a Fintech startup revolutionizes the lives of American students

Ken Ruggiero has over 25 years of expertise in management, finance, and business development as an integral part of management teams, growing in fast-changing environments.  

Ascent Funding runs an award-winning lender program, committed to revolutionizing how students pay for higher education at colleges and coding boot camps. It is designed to keep the student at the center of the conversation about which school, which major, and how to invest wisely in education.

Sep 08, 202231:21
The Next Generation Of Genomics In One Platform

The Next Generation Of Genomics In One Platform

Jiang He received his B.S. from University of Science and Technology of China in 2009, and Ph.D. degree from Harvard in 2015. Also, he was recognized in Forbes Magazine’s “30 under 30 in Healthcare” (Top 30 game-changers in the field under the age of 30). 

Vizgen pioneers single-cell spatial genomics. Their MERSCOPE platform accelerates drug discovery and development in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious disease, developmental biology, cell and gene therapy.

Sep 02, 202240:30
The Platform Conquering The Digital Assets World

The Platform Conquering The Digital Assets World

Meetami was created in 2019 by Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder Sarah Morton. Together with her colleagues, she has created a suite of investment products and services for digital assets that are designed to provide wealth management advisors more autonomy.  Meetami is the sixth startup on Sarah's list, and it reflects her dedication to the "Art of the Start." A forward-thinking individual who dove headfirst into the world of cryptocurrencies, and tokenization, and has since enjoyed every minute of this adventure, with so much more to come.

Aug 29, 202238:57
Pain Points and Pivots: A Journey to a Great Fintech MVP

Pain Points and Pivots: A Journey to a Great Fintech MVP

A first for the Relevant Founders Podcast: an episode featuring two guest speakers and friends of Relevant Software, Jessica and Nicole of 55th Degree, creators of the upcoming app FISK.

Jessica Dawson, CEO of 55th Degree, and Nicole Powers, COO of 55th Degree, shared with us: - the challenges of breaking into the fintech world - the transition from friends to business partners - what it's like to work with Ukrainians.

Aug 22, 202249:46
The Story of a Unique IoT Platform Taking the Industry By Storm with Eric Simone, CEO of ClearBlade

The Story of a Unique IoT Platform Taking the Industry By Storm with Eric Simone, CEO of ClearBlade

Our next guest is Eric Simone, CEO, and co-founder of enterprise IoT software company ClearBlade, and he has all the details. We had a great conversation with Eric on the Relevant Founders Podcast about his winding path to success and why ClearBlade is at the top of what they do.



Aug 16, 202249:00
Investment App Development - Journey Behind The Lightyear with Martin Sokk

Investment App Development - Journey Behind The Lightyear with Martin Sokk

This time we spoke with Martin Sokk, Co-Founder and CEO of Lightyear, about why the company is truly taking off.  Lightyear combines multi-currency accounts with unlimited access to global markets, allowing customers to invest freely and without hidden fees.  

We discuss: 

The MVP of Lightyear The difficulties of expanding at an impressively exponential rate 

The technical challenges of expanding into Europe for an investing platform, as well as how each country presents its own set of challenges and opportunities 

And Lightyear's funding success formula.

Aug 10, 202244:20
Building a leading alternative investments platform - Eric Satz, Founder at Alto

Building a leading alternative investments platform - Eric Satz, Founder at Alto

On Relevant founders, Eric Satz, Founder and CEO of Alto Solutions, joins us to discuss Alto's mission to unlock alternative assets for all. We speak about the importance of hiring and how each stage of the process comes with its own set of challenges you must be prepared for, the largest tech issue Alto has encountered due to those crafty hackers, and why they say no to outsourcing—topped off with Eric's greatest advice for other founders out there.

Aug 04, 202237:08
The Secret To Providing Investment Solutions Across a Broad Range of Markets with Leroy Lawrence

The Secret To Providing Investment Solutions Across a Broad Range of Markets with Leroy Lawrence

Leroy Lawrence, CEO at Quadron Capital & founder of Pigee - a Revolutionary app for traveling shopaholics. Listen to this episode to find out:  - Behind the story of Pigee, and how you should never imagine you're the only one doing what you're doing;  

- Competitors can enter the market at any time, what you should do;  

- Advice on investing, how you often need 30% more money than you originally realize, and the power of self-study.

Jul 29, 202237:24
Solving global money transfer problems - Cecilia Tamez, CSO for Euronet, Xe, Dandelion and Ria

Solving global money transfer problems - Cecilia Tamez, CSO for Euronet, Xe, Dandelion and Ria

Cecilia Tamez, Chief Strategy Officer at Euronet's Money Segment, is our next guest on Relevant Founders In this episode of Relevant Founders, we discuss Dandelion, which Cecilia describes as the world's most extensive real-time course payment money system. We touch on how COVID has forced incredible amounts of innovation, how startups will fail if they are creating, not solving problems.   And how competition is giving way to 'co-opetition' with companies realizing they don't have to build everything themselves. Learn from Cecilia and take a listen to her Fintech journey.

Jul 25, 202236:55
How To Develop & Market A Podcasting Platform That Drives Growth

How To Develop & Market A Podcasting Platform That Drives Growth

In this episode of Relevant Founders, Fatima Zaidi discusses all things Quill & CoHost, how podcasting is a recession-proof industry, how hiring for technical skill sets has been the most difficult challenge in her founder's journey, work-life balance, and the unconscious biases against men in the tech world, and much more.

Jul 19, 202242:26
Hopscotching Over The Old and Into The New Ways Of Mobile Banking with Eric Solis, CEO at Movocash

Hopscotching Over The Old and Into The New Ways Of Mobile Banking with Eric Solis, CEO at Movocash

Eric Solis, CEO and Full Stack Entrepreneur of MOVOcash, a financial services company specializing in P2P Payments, Mobile Banking, Fintech, and Finserv, is the latest guest to join us on Relevant Founders. After many twists and turns, Eric believes MOVOcash is on the right track, on the 'lean, mean good stuff' building a product that is changing the lives of millions, but there is still much to be done.

Jul 14, 202251:20
Building a Crypto Company Capable of Changing the Financial System

Building a Crypto Company Capable of Changing the Financial System

Brian Spector, CTO, and Co-founder of Qredo have been involved in what he calls a 'little dark art of mathematics' known as cryptography since his high school day, which led him to help establish Qredo, a cybersecurity company that provides a platform for decentralized custody of digital assets.

Jul 06, 202242:03
How To Beat The Market On Automation Of Trading Process, LaKeisha Turner

How To Beat The Market On Automation Of Trading Process, LaKeisha Turner

Today we sit down with LaKeisha Turner. Co-founder & CTO/VP of Engineering at AlgoPear. AlgoPear is a marketplace that connects everyday financial investors to AI technology. Its mission is to empower retail investors and help them beat the market on automation.

Jun 29, 202226:32
The Secrets to Managing a No-code Commerce Platform, with Matteo Grassi

The Secrets to Managing a No-code Commerce Platform, with Matteo Grassi

In this episode of Relevant Founders, we sat down with a familiar face, Matteo Grassi, CEO, and Founder of Pop-up. The last time we had Matteo on the show, we discussed Russia's war on Ukraine and how Matteo is rooting for Ukraine's victory, and the Ukrainian Tech industry's future. This time, we're talking about all things Popup under a more cheerful pretext. The first no-code commerce platform that allows organizations to visually control the customer journey.

Jun 22, 202254:01
IoT and Big Data for Railcars & Tanktainers with Dan MacGregor

IoT and Big Data for Railcars & Tanktainers with Dan MacGregor

Nexxiot is the independent enabler of the digitized supply chain and offers a complete IoT solution with sensors and software for data analysis.   We sat down with Co-founder Dan Macgregor to talk about the future of a digital supply chain in the wake of the IoT era.

Jun 16, 202242:00
Future predictions of the Ukrainian IT industry 100 days after Russia’s war in Ukraine

Future predictions of the Ukrainian IT industry 100 days after Russia’s war in Ukraine

Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of Everest Group, and Anna Dziuba, VP of Delivery at Relevant Software.
Peter's years of expertise tackling some of the biggest challenges disrupting the industry and Anna's intimate understanding of the Ukrainian IT landscape make for an information-packed discussion.

Jun 07, 202238:19
Scaling AI-powered Lending Platform - Sean Salas, CEO of Camino Financial

Scaling AI-powered Lending Platform - Sean Salas, CEO of Camino Financial

Sean Salas is a Fintech executive and visionary on a mission to empower overlooked entrepreneurs everywhere. He serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Camino Financial - an AI-powered community lending platform - offering affordable credit and wealth-building solutions.

Jun 03, 202248:55
Building Edge-as-a-Service Business, with Jeffery Ricker - CEO of Hivecell

Building Edge-as-a-Service Business, with Jeffery Ricker - CEO of Hivecell

Edge computing has grabbed the market by storm during the last several years. Fortune 500 companies have made it a top focus, and growth is projected to be explosive in the years ahead. Upon recognizing that not all applications will work in the cloud, Hivecell was formed to address an issue that would soon become ubiquitous among many companies. To address this trend and the need for a cloud alternative, Hivecell's CEO and Co-founder, Jeffery Ricker, and his team created Hivecell.

May 27, 202251:26
How To Build And Manage a Product Team Distributed Across 11 Countries

How To Build And Manage a Product Team Distributed Across 11 Countries

In this episode of Relevant Founders Podcast, we are joined by Jakub Knutzen, Co-founder and CEO of Butter, a tool designed to make hosting interesting and interactive sessions easy. Butter provides all the tools you need in one place, while engaging participants with intuitive features to combat that zoom-fatigue, to make it easier to hold exciting and participatory sessions.

May 19, 202239:46
How To Build a Fintech Product With 150 000 Customers - Damian Brychcy, COO of Capital On Tap

How To Build a Fintech Product With 150 000 Customers - Damian Brychcy, COO of Capital On Tap

Capital on Tap was formed with the express intention of making the lives of small company owners easier. They have developed technology that provides owners with greater control and benefits—solutions that enable small company owners to operate their businesses more swiftly, easily, and rewardingly. They have made it easier to run a company and its financial endeavors.

May 12, 202230:15
How To Build On-Demand Labor Marketplace and Engineering Team Behind It

How To Build On-Demand Labor Marketplace and Engineering Team Behind It

In this episode of Relevant Founders Podcast, we are joined by Noah Labhart, CTO and Co-founder of Veryable and Host at Code Story podcast, an on-demand marketplace for manufacturing labor that provides businesses with increased productivity and reduced administrative responsibilities. Noah sat down with us to share all things Veryable, CTO tips for hiring, advice for people management and talent retention, and ways for you to manage distributed teams. Take a listen, get informed, learn from the experts and get ahead of the game.

May 05, 202240:47
How To Create a Go-To-Market Strategy For Startups, Explained By Stephen Rumbelow

How To Create a Go-To-Market Strategy For Startups, Explained By Stephen Rumbelow

Stephen Rumbelow speaks to Relevant as a marketing and sales expert, bringing to the table everything you need to know if you are looking to build a successful go-to-market strategy for your startup.
Moreover, Stephen shares with us his journey, what type of people can make a startup work, and how to find and cultivate the perfect sales team.

Apr 22, 202240:11
Changing Lives Through Technology with David Franklin, Founder of KnowRX

Changing Lives Through Technology with David Franklin, Founder of KnowRX

knowRX is a tech startup, and app with a mission to change and save lives by providing the world with a tool that can track medication management through scheduling, accountability, and engagement. By using machine learning, David Franklin and his team have created a way that can efficiently secure the exchange of relevant information between those involved in clinical trials planning, execution, and participation as essential parts of developing and transitioning better data into better health care.

Apr 14, 202229:46
How The Unbanked Became The Banked By Using Spenn Technology Explained by CEO of Spenn, Jens Glaso

How The Unbanked Became The Banked By Using Spenn Technology Explained by CEO of Spenn, Jens Glaso

CEO of Spenn, Jens Glaso, discusses the benefits Spenn brings to the world and how, by doing what banks and others didn’t dare to do, has changed the lives of millions.  

Jens Glaso has clocked up quite a reputation over the years with an array of experience in the Fintech sphere. Jenі started his journey as a stockbroker and then moved through different challenging roles, to then find himself, in 2015, capitalizing on a gap in the market. Whilst doing so he simultaneously changed and continues to change many lives by his persistence to do what others didn’t dare.

Apr 05, 202247:32
Practical Tips On Fundraising For Startups Shared By Sondre Blaasmo

Practical Tips On Fundraising For Startups Shared By Sondre Blaasmo

Sondre Blassmo, CEO at Svenn - SaaS platform that helps construction companies with time tracking and project management, sat down with us at Relevant as an entrepreneur and business leader with expertise in emerging technologies, business development, and operations. Sondre working across industries and projects, but these days he focuses his efforts on the proptech/contech space.

Apr 05, 202218:52
How to Grow a Startup to an Established Company Explained by Svenn

How to Grow a Startup to an Established Company Explained by Svenn

Svenn is a SaaS platform that helps construction companies with time tracking and project management. They aim to minimize inefficient routines, billing delays, and unnecessary paperwork with a platform tailored for the construction industry. We’ve been building their product for more than 5 years.  

In the video we talk with: 

Sondre Blaasmo - CEO at Svenn 

Ole Jørgen Næss - VP of Product 

Christopher Krohn - VP of Customers

Apr 05, 202234:13
Federico Carrasco, Founder & Chairman at Graypes GmbH

Federico Carrasco, Founder & Chairman at Graypes GmbH

Federico Carrasco, Founder & Chairman at Graypes GmbH, had a great talk with Matthew Wickham about the war on Ukraine 🇺🇦, its current climate, and the future of software development outsourcing.

Mar 24, 202228:58
Arnout Lansberg, PR consultant at MCS PR

Arnout Lansberg, PR consultant at MCS PR

Arnout Lansberg, PR consultant at MCS PR in the Netherlands, sat down with us at Relevant to talk about the consequences the Russian invasion could have on businesses both in Ukraine and in the Netherlands, but also the opportunities it may open up for #Ukraine in the future.

Mar 24, 202228:47
Caryn Werner, CCO and Co-founder of KOYA Innovations Inc.

Caryn Werner, CCO and Co-founder of KOYA Innovations Inc.

Caryn Werner, CCO, and Co-Founder of KOYA Innovations Inc sit down with Matt, our podcast host, to talk about the founding of KOYA, the difficulties of being a female in #tech and how we can overcome gender inequality, why KOYA is a must-have for all in a world post covid and how a family dinner idea can turn into a successful start-up.

Mar 24, 202235:15
Matteo Grassi, Co-Founder of Popup

Matteo Grassi, Co-Founder of Popup

An interview with Matteo Grassi, Co-Founder of Popup & Matthew Wickham, podcast host at Relevant Software. About Working with Ukrainians and the Future of IT Industry.

Mar 24, 202236:50