Startup Life Show With Ande Lyons

Whether you're a tech founder or a non-tech founder, you need help to successfully scale a startup.Our guest, Software Engineer turned “The Mary Poppins of Startups”, Naily Makangu, is passionate about bringing her multi-faceted toolkit to lead complex software projects and launch products. With over ten years of experience, she has a proven track record of turning around struggling technical projects and organizations, from seed startups to large corporations such as Siemens Industry Software.Naily has a gift for bridging the gap between tech teams and the rest of the business to ensure successful project delivery. As a Startup Advisor and Tech Consultant, she’s helped several startups and scaleups improve the maturity of their teams while continuing to deliver what customers expect. Investors count on her to help keep their startups teams on track, reducing the need to breathe down their necks. Naily is committed to fostering innovation and growth in the startup community via Athena Leaders' "

Fostering connection among employees and company leaders is hard enough to do within brick and mortar walls.Building company culture and forging employee relationships without the four walls is a challenge many companies are failing at today.Our guest, Dave Wilkin, is an award-winning serial LGBTQ+ entrepreneur who grew up in a small, rural town, and experienced firsthand that mentors and meaningful connections were critical to accessing career-progressing and skills development opportunities. He solved this problem by launching Ten Thousand Coffees (10KC) and building the only all-in-one talent experience platform for inclusive mentoring, employee connectivity, and skills development. Dave also helps equity-seeking groups leverage 10KC’s platform to access critical mentoring and career progressing networks through some of the largest social impact organizations in the world including ALPFA, Ascend, Black Professionals in Tech Network and more.Stay tuned for an inspirational fireside chat with an extraordinar

You are not built to do life alone.But how do you get the real support you need to navigate the real life events you’re sailing through?This delicious conversation on the Startup Life Show is with Tamar Blue - the fab female co-founder of MentalHappy – an online health platform that provides access to peer support and group therapy, especially for people of low-income, underrepresented populations, and people living in rural areas.What I especially loved about this conversation was how Tamar’s life beautifully prepared her to be the ideal co-founder of MentalHappy!From her hugely successful volunteer program in high school called Safety Ambassadors to her dual degree in econonmics and sociology, to her 10 years in corporate environments teaching her how to drive revenue and manage gross profits, to addressing her own challenges with anxiety and panic attacks and being bullied as a first-generation Haitian American. Tamar’s lived experiences uniquely prepared her to be the ideal co-founder of her startup!I kno

Less than 2% of Venture Capital funds go to Women and Minority Owned Businesses.Our guest, Professor Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, is the Founder and Director of the Venture Capital Inclusion Lab at the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at Brown University.With $260,000 in funding from the Kauffman Foundation, Banu launched the lab to investigate WHY this abysmal under 2% number exists and find ways to solve it.During our delicious conversation we dove deep into the data pool to learn what Banu and her team have uncovered and how this data may help improve the funding of under resourced founders .The Venture Capital Inclusion Lab was started in 2018 with funds from Professor Bah-nu’s Kauffman Foundation grant to examine the decision-making and network behaviors of VCs.Today, the Lab focuses efforts on understanding and solving funding inequities in the VC industry through data-driven research, education and advocacy.Banu is also a Professor of Practice at the School of Engineering and Academic Director of the IE Brown

Our guest, Tonia Jahshan, was recovering from a difficult time in her life when she had her first cup of tea… and it was love at first sip.You will be inspired by her startup story and will love hearing how she built her direct sales wellness drink empire to extraordinary heights, by building a thriving, committed community, one sip at a time.Tonia is the founder of Sipology, a multi-million dollar direct sales company selling wellness drinks and accessories.Tonya founded Sipology after suffering a miscarriage and traveling to Nova Scotia for a pause. While there, she had her first cup of Earl Grey de la Crème tea, and for the first time in weeks, things felt better.She launched Sipology in 2007 to share the healing power of tea with the world.In 2012, Tonia pitched the business on Dragons’ Den (Canadian Shark Tank) and accepted an offer from Dragons Jim Treliving and David Chilton, skyrocketing the business to new heights.BTW: Tonia's pitch is the all time best pitch at Dragons' Den and is used as

Veleké Brown is dedicated to addressing food insecurity through a program focused on ensuring access to fresh produce for those in underrepresented communities and creating systems of sustainable agriculture.It's called Operation No Food Gap, and it's changing lives through learning how to grow and harvest and eat fresh produce, while ending food insecurity in marginalized neighborhoods.Veleké dives deep into her decades experience as the non-profit founder of E-Roadmap, a 501c3 nonprofit that works with after-school programs, school systems and various organizations to empower and equip youth with life-altering unique skills to eradicate poverty of mind.You'll learn about building a non profit board, nurturing donor and sponsorship relationships, how to always be learning and growing, fundraising and networking advice for non profit leaders - and more! You will love meeting this awe*mazing educator, organizer, social innovator and a connector with a focus on youth development.You can find Vele

Bootstrapping is how many newly minted founders launch their startup. Using their own savings and borrowing capability to get their business off the ground.However, lack of funding can cause a founder to freeze, to get caught in a mindset chokehold that prevents them from moving forward... from seeing solutions.How do you get unstuck?Our guest, Tiana Sanchez, is the queen of dissolving mindset blocks that keep folks from achieving their dreams.AND… she shares outstanding advice and pathways to help you bootstrap your business to achieve traction and increase valuation ... because when you can increase valuation through bootstrapping, investors will be more interested in your deal… and you’ll keep a much higher percentage of the equity in your business.Tiana is the CEO and Founder of TSI LLC (Tiana Sanchez International), a leadership and development company helping organizations train and develop a more competent, confident, caring and collaborative workforce.Tiana is also a Number 1 bestselling author, execu

Everyone’s chatting about ChatGPT, but how does one successfully leverage this AI to grow a startup? Without increasing the work load, distracting your engineers, disrupting the work flow and causing headaches for founders?Our guest, Shanif Dhanani, is here to help! He’s the founder of Locusive, where he and his team help businesses understand and build systems that connect their internal and proprietary systems to ChatGPT, enabling internal employees, customers, and other stakeholders to reap the benefits of using large language models on their own data. Shanif has a strong background in software and data science. He built machine learning, analytics, and software systems at large companies like Twitter and Booz Allen, smaller startups like Apteo, where he was the founder, and TapCommerce, which was one of the world's first mobile advertising platforms.To learn how Locusive can help your startup integrate ChatGPT, please visit: https://www.locusive.com/Connect with Shanif and Locusive on LinkedIn:https:

It takes a considerable amount of courage, purpose, resilence and tenacity to bring a Micro Mobility (scooter-bike!) startup to life!With an entrepreneurial spirit that was evident from a young age, our guest – Emil Nnani - took the business world by storm when he launched his first venture at just 17 years old. His tenacity and vision led him to achieve his first million in sales by the age of 22.A serial and seasoned entrepreneur, Emil takes us on a wonderful journey through his earlier businesses - a mechanic business, a clothing line, a singing career (hip hop Christian music) and an errand driver business, where he honed his entrepreneurial skills, ideally preparing him for his current startup: Boaz Bikes.As the Founder and CEO of Boaz Bikes, Emil took a vision of a safer scooter, while supporting underserved communities, and created a groundbreaking electric scooter and E-Bike MaaS platform that has transformed the landscape of urban transportation by solving first and last-mile transportation problems

Leveraging LinkedIn as a Startup Founder is a different strategy than when you were an employee. You need to build your authority as the leader of your new business, while appealing to potential investors, business partners and talent.Our guest, Donna Serdula, is a leading authority on LinkedIn profile optimization. As the founder and president of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company, Donna helps individuals and companies tell their unique stories on LinkedIn and beyond. Via her website LinkedIn-Makeover.com, Donna and her team of over 20 writers and coaches help people collide with opportunity and transform their lives via future-forward career branding. Donna has authored two editions of LinkedIn Profile Optimization FOR DUMMIES, and she has been featured on many news outlooks, including Forbes, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, LA Times, and NBC.Learn more about Donna and how she helps folks with a Linked Makeover here:https://www.linkedin-makeover.com/Connect with Donna

Knowing when to form and build a Board of Directors is a challenge for many startup founders.Once the Board is formed, how to manage and communicate with the Board presents an additional burden on founders.Our guest, Mahendra Ramsinghani, co-authored Startup Boards: Getting the Most of Your Board of Directors with Brad Feld, and has all the insights and advice you need to skillfully navigate this important segment of your startup’s structure.Currently, Mahendra is the Founder of Secure Octane - a cybersecurity seed fund based in the San Francisco Bay area.He’s invested in over fifty pre-seed and seedstage companies and, as the former Director of Venture Capital Initiatives for Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Mahendra led the legislation for two Fund-of-Fund programs in Michigan. Mahendra is also the author of two additional books - The Business of Venture Capital and The Resilient Founder.To purchase a copy of Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Direct

With 20+ years working for the post office, our guest had a dream to one day own her own postal store with the ability to individualize customer service and provide guidance.In the spring of 2019 that dream came true when Tiffany Townsend founded Ship Black, a logistics super center focused on serving black owned e-commerce businesses.Ship Black is a one-stop-shop for startup businesses. It provides fulfillment services, education, and guidance in the customer service realm to elevate its customers’ ecommerce business and the effectiveness of their supply chain. Tiffany is also an advocate for autism awareness, regularly volunteering her time and resources to support local organizations, and providing warehouse apprenticeship training and jobs, which helps individuals gain the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the logistics and warehousing industry.To learn more about SHIP BLACK, please visit: https://shipblack.comTo receive the education you need to succeed at shipping with your business, please v

Social media strategies often leave you feeling like you're working for the social media platforms. Our guest and his team built an AI solution that helps make social media actually work for you and your business.Rhys Ryan, is the Co-Founder, CEO and Chief Engineer of Ekkobar, an AI solution giving you control over social media and the narrative you want to tell.Ekkobar uses social listening to keep an eye on the conversation and lets you know if anything needs immediate attention. There’s also a web-based assessment platform letting you dig deep into the conversation to understand what is being said and how best to respond. Rhys began his career working for Fortune 500 tech companies such as Microsoft, HP, and Tandem. At these companies, he was able to utilize his degrees in computer science and math to create new computing techniques for cryptography, security, and early-day data science. Over his career Rhys has created award-winning patented technology that brought audio, video, telephony, natural la

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Our guest, Rajia Abdelaziz, is the Co-Founder and CEO of invisaWear, the best safety jewelry and fashion accessories technology on the market.From her own personal experience, Rajia understands how important it is to feel safe. She was walking to her car after an event at college, when a car full of guys pulled up next to her, yelling frightening comments at her, and when one of the guys started to get out to take action, Rajia was able to run and get in her car, unharmed. However, the feeling of being extremely helpless did not go away. Which is why, at just 21 years old, Rajia and her Co-Founder, Ray Hamilton, developed invisaWear, a life-saving technology for jewelry and fashion accessories. invisaWear’s smart jewelry and accessories allow users to instantly connect with friends, family and authorities in case of an emergency. They look like necklaces, bracelets, keychains, fitness bands, and even scrunchies… but they are actually safety devices!With

To be their best selves, both professionally and personally, women need time in a welcoming space and place.Our guest, Shubhi Rao, spent years as a senior executive at Fortune 100 companies and understands how important women-centric spaces are for professional and personal growth.That’s why she launched Uplevyl, a global digital platform designed to transform the lives of all professional women through shared experiences, peer connections, and highly curated, personalized content.A software engineer, finance and corporate executive, board member, global citizen, community leader, daughter, wife and mother, Shubhi is uniquely qualified to help women around the world to level up their skillsets and mindsets in a safe, female-centric online platform.Shubhi has served as a senior executive with Alphabet Inc./Google, Tesco (U.K.), PricewaterhouseCoopers (U.K.) and Ford Motor Company, among others. She also sits on the board of directors for organizations such as the Open Lending LLC, Center for Global Development

Having a Mentor is an essential part of career growth, especially for the under-networked tech worker.Our guest, Kirk Fernandes, is the Co-Founder of Merit, a tech mentorship and recruiting platform for the under-networked. Merits mission is to democratize the professional network by giving every knowledge worker in the world a world class network. With 6,000 members, the majority of which are women and people of color, Merit is is self funded by its community and team.Kirk has a decade of product leadership at Microsoft, Hightower, and VTS. He has mentored and managed 100s of product managers, designers and engineers throughout his career, and he’s deeply passionate about building products, brands and teams.To learn more about Merit, please visit: https://www.get-merit.com/Thank you for carving out time to improve your Founder Game - when you do better, your startup will do better - cheers from Boston!Ande ♥https://andelyons.com#bestyoutubechannelforstartups #startupstories #hrtech #mentorshipmatters JOIN ST

Bootstrapping your startup without relying on raising capital and loans is an ideal strategy, especially given the current investor and banking landscape.Our guest, Melissa Widner, has the best advice to help you launch and build your startup, without raising capital.She’s the CEO of Lighter Capital, the pioneer and leader in revenue-based financing for tech startups, founders, and companies. Previously, Melissa was the Managing Director of NAB Ventures, the VC arm of the National Australia Bank, and a General Partner at Seattle based SeaPoint Ventures. A seasoned founder, Melissa has first-hand experience building a business from the ground up. She was the founder and CEO of 7Software, a Silicon Valley based enterprise software company acquired by Concur (Nasdaq: CNQR, acquired by SAP). Melissa is also the co-founder and Chairperson of Sydney-based Heads Over Heels, an organization that supports women entrepreneurs running companies with high growth potential.To learn more about Lighter Capital, please visit

40 million drivers can't transition to electric vehicles without an affordable and convenient EV charging infrastructure. Increasing access to affordable public charging not only encourages the adoption of EVs, but leads to cleaner air and healthier communities.Our guest, Tiya Gordon, is Co-Founder and COO of itselectric, a cleantech startup bringing EV charging to the millions of drivers who cannot charge at home as they park their cars on city streets.itselectric does this by overcoming city electrical grid limitations by using energy from buildings to power a publicly accessible curbside charger.In return, they share revenue with the property owners.It is a collaborative economic model and one that allows for EV chargers to be deployed within cities at speed and at scale.Tiya has spent over 20 years in design, leadership, and operations across a range of disciplines for some of the country’s top firms and institutions. Her work has received the industry’s top accolades, including The National Design A

When people are given the opportunity to take someone else’s point of view - walk a mile in someone else’s shoes - bias against stigmatized groups is reduced.Our guest, Aubrey Grant, MD, is the Co-Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Equity Commons, where he and the team are integrating a unique blend of cross-disciplinary research, cutting edge technology, and established discussion-based learning to bring organizations highly effective and engaging approaches to address the complexities of implicit bias. Dr. Grant is a clinical sports cardiologist at Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital with specialty training in advanced cardiac imaging. He is dedicated and passionate about investigating health disparities. As a cardiology fellow at Georgetown University, he began serving with the American Heart Association to raise awareness on inequities in medicine. Outside of clinical duties, Dr. Grant is passionate about implicit bias and leveraging technology and innovation to create thoughtful and engagi

He had zero experience in the liquor industry. He didn’t have a background as a food scientist. He knew no one, had no connections, and had never worked in a bar, restaurant, or distillery.What our guest, Jackie Summers, did have was an abundance of audacity, passion, and the ideal Mentor, who helped him quickly build the social capital and liquor industry knowledge he needed to launch a liqueur brand from Brooklyn, NY!After 623 failed attempts, Jackie was able to create the first-ever shelf stable version of a 500-year-old beverage he called Sorel: an Hibiscus flavored, Caribbean classic, handcrafted artisanal liqueur.In 2016 Jackie was unable to keep up with demand and had to close down Jack From Brooklyn. But he never lost sight of his dream, and relaunched the brand in 2021, partnering with America’s oldest distiller, Laird & Company, where he can produce thousands of bottles of Sorel.Jackie is a James Beard Finalist, a seasoned public speaker, and has many accolades to his credit, including being ran