Ep #18 - A masterclass in building and exiting a successful start-up

In this episode, Shashank interviews Michael LaFido, Founder and CEO of LUXE. Michael shares his insights on why sometimes marketing matters even more than expertise. He talks about his journey into selling Luxury real estate and creating a special designation for the same.

On this episode, Shashank interviews Shagun Malhotra, founder of SkyStem. In this wide-ranging conversation, they talk about judging start-ups in South America, maintaining a work-life balance, and making a boring product interesting. Shagun also talks about her entrepreneurial journey and how her company's product helps automate 40% of reconciliations in 30 days.

In this episode, Shashank interviews Rabi Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of Evabot. They talk about the hyper-personalization of gifting and sales and how AI plays a role in transforming cold outreach into multithreaded, warm human connections. Rabi talks about his entrepreneurial journey and tells an exciting story about how he secured seed funding for his company. 

In this episode, Shashank interviews Kirill Klokov, Co-Founder & CEO at Truv. Kirill immigrated to the U.S. and attended Stanford Business School before successfully leading product organizations at several start-ups and eventually starting Truv. He talks about how they aim to take market share from established brands by putting data back in the hands of the consumers and providing VOE/I solutions to their partners at a much lower cost.

In this episode, Shashank welcomes Josh Miller, the Co-founder and CEO of Epique Realty. Epique stands out as a pioneering AI-driven real estate firm with a core focus on the growth of its agents. It's the only woman and LGBTQ-owned national real estate company. Tune in to delve into Josh's design philosophy, his path to entrepreneurship, the inception of Epique, and his vision to revolutionize the concept of real estate brokerages.

In this episode, Shashank interviews Praveen Ghanta, CEO & Co-Founder of Fraction. As a serial entrepreneur, Praveen delves into his experience and learnings from founding and exiting multiple companies. He talks about the benefits of hiring elite developers part-time and how Fraction enables that. We discuss the pros and cons of such an approach and where it might fit in the future of work. He also gives his best book recommendations.

In this episode, Shashank interviews veteran Silicon Valley dealmaker and President of Serve Robotics, Touraj Parang. Touraj draws from his own experience as a founder of a fast-growing and well-funded startup. Having advised multiple companies on $100M+ exits, he discusses the why and how of developing an exit strategy. Touraj also delves into his best-selling book - Exit Path: How to Win the Startup End Game.

In this episode, Shashank interviews Nadim Homsany, Co-Founder & CEO at EarnUp. Nadim talks about his journey from Engineering to Harvard Law, working for consulting and private equity industries, and eventually starting EarnUp. He delves into how his company fits into the financial wellness space, helps minorities keep their homes, and empowers them to build wealth faster.

In this episode, Shashank is joined by Dustin Marx, Founder, and CEO at Stellar. Dustin talks about Stellar's journey and how they landed one of the ten largest REITs in the country as their first client. Stellar's story teaches us to find gaps in the current offerings and build a platform with a great product market fit.

In this episode, Shashank is joined by Gregory Shepard, Co-founder BOSS Capital Partners. Greg is a 20-year startup veteran and serial entrepreneur with 14 liquidity events under his belt. He gives invaluable tips on building a successful start-up and correctly planning for the exit.