Prota Monthly Newsletter :: September 2021
Welcome to the Prota Monthly Newsletter for September! 👋
Look for new issues of this newsletter on the 3rd Thursday of every month.
Click here to view this newsletter in your web browser
At Prota we believe in human flourishing; in the power of the human spirit to build companies and grow value for communities.
Our core values and beliefs can be summarized by G.E.E.K.:
- Generosity
- Empathy
- Excellence
- Kindness
Our purpose is to promote human flourishing by investing holistically in entrepreneurs.
Founder Stories
If you've spent any time around the Prota ecosystem you’ll begin to get familiar with the different stories of founders and how they came to be a part of Prota. One founder whose name will almost inevitably come up is Cheryl Kemp of IndiFIT. Cheryl has a mix of charm and enthusiasm that is hard to replicate. She’s driven to succeed but also has a refreshing willingness to learn and grow. While some people take many paths to achieve their goals, it feels like Cheryl’s life’s roadmap has always led to her becoming a Founder.
Read more on Prota Ventures’ Satchel site →
Spotlight
Kyle Buzzard
http://linkedin.com/in/kyle-buzzard/
Around here, you will hear us refer to him as “The Machine” or “The Hardware Guy” but Kyle Buzzard is so much more. Kyle is a Managing Director at Prota and hails from Vicksburg, Michigan. Since 2017, he has really enjoyed the people of Prota and the learning opportunities that have come with working with various teams. Kyle is the inspiring industrial design mastermind behind successful Prota products such as Stix Golf, Bird Buddy, Suplmt, BrewVide, and Butter Twist! His superpower is connecting with people and creating value through design. When not working on these game-changing products, Kyle likes to build things, play with kids and listen to the Avett Brothers! Thank you, Kyle, for your continued amazing work and leadership; you are appreciated and valued!
🎙️Check out our new podcast
Episode 6: We also share a conversation from one of our recent Tuesday meetings where Dr. Said (one of our Managing Directors) presented a “primer” on the problems with the practice of medicine in the USA. This episode kicks off our “Prota Primer'' series that we’ll be interweaving within this podcast as we go. You can contact Dr. Said at yasser.said@protaventures.com.
Episode 7: In this episode of The Prota Podcast, we share a conversation from one of our weekly Tuesday meetings in Summer 2021 where Will Little hosted a panel conversation with Troy Henikoff and Cheryl Kemp on all-things early stage investing.
Episode 8: In this episode of The Prota Podcast, we share a conversation from one of our weekly Tuesday meetings in Summer 2021 where Chip Sineni, Tyler Blust, and Joel Fariss discuss with us all-things Extended Reality (XR).
Episode 9: Get to know Managing Director April Oury
In the ninth episode of The Prota Podcast, we begin getting to know the Managing Directors of Prota. Our first guest, April Oury, talks about making the leap from being a Founder in the physical therapy space to a Prota Managing Director.
Episode 10: Get to Know Managing Director Ryan Buterbaugh
"You don't need permission to add value" - Ryan Buterbaugh // In the tenth episode of The Prota Podcast, we begin getting to know one of the original Managing Directors of Prota. Our guest, Ryan Buterbaugh, shares his journey to Prota. He also talks about finding autonomy within Prota's ecosystem and how Prota’s unique structure benefits Prota founders and talent.
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Search for “The Prota Podcast” in your favorite podcast app and it should show up (if not, let us know). We certainly welcome any reviews to help us get off the ground. Thanks!
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Prota Weekly Call Highlights
On September 14, 2021 we were joined by Sol Cates and Yasser Said to discuss the exciting projects and people in Prota Labs and the many opportunities for involvement. Prota Labs is the incubation and development sector of Prota. The CEO and COO of Prota Labs are Sol Cates and Yasser Said.
On September 7, 2021 we were joined by Jeff “Doc” Larsen from Quantum Star Technologies (QST). QST was founded on the premise that current cybersecurity practices and technologies are not keeping pace with the insidious threats rapidly being created and deployed by bad actors both foreign and domestic. With this in mind, QST created Starpoint, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based cybersecurity deep learning multidimensional malware detection technology that removes human bias from the detection of malicious threats. Not only does Starpoint identify current and historical threats, but because of QST’s patented technology, it can identify threats it has never seen before. This protects against zero-day threats and exponentially shrinks the time-to-detection in current systems from months to minutes. The Prota Touchpoint on this is Sol Cates.
On August 31, 2021 we were joined by mike@realize.design from Realize. Realize helps DIY home designers buy furniture by instantly creating 3D homes. Scan your room and design / shop for it seamlessly. They have built an immersive commerce marketplace for home design by democratizing the Chip & Joanna Gaines Experience. Realize is the fastest way to design a home - accurately scaled & fully editable with 15 retailers to choose from. They launched in June, grew their user base 50% in July, and you can download in the AppStore today! The Prota Touch Point on this is Ryan Buterbaugh
On August 24, 2021 we discussed the partnership with leAD Sports Co. We went over the 6 ventures (including one of our own, IndiFit) that we have the opportunity to engage with during the workshop we have planned with them this month. The Prota Touch Point on this is Yasser Said
Are you interested in helping with any of these projects? Please reach out to the contact mentioned for more information.
Prota Events
On September 9th, surrounded by friends, colleagues and industry leaders we held a celebration for Cheryl Kemp, Founder of indiFIT. Cherly was selected to attend a 3 month intensive founders training with leAD Sports in Orlando, Florida. Exciting things to come from one of our exciting founders!
Help Wanted
Prota is currently looking to hire a Director of Prota Studios. This person will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of our consulting and agency division, which works closely with our Labs and Ventures divisions as well. To learn more about the position, click here.
We have a strong need for Prota Studios Project Managers to come alongside a new wave of founders in this space. If you are a blockchain geek (and, of course, are G.E.E.K.) and have senior project management experience, click here to let us know!
Prota is currently looking to hire a Director of Operations to join our Managing Director team. This hire will essentially be COO over all of Prota. To learn more about the position, click here.
We have a strong need for Web 3.0 Product Managers to come alongside a new wave of founders in this space. If you are a blockchain geek (and, of course, are G.E.E.K.) and have product management experience, click here to let us know!
We are currently looking for a Social Media Producer and Social Media Manager with an emphasis on Youtube algorithms. Anyone interested please contact jameeleh.shelo@protastudios.com.
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Founders Corner
Cooking for one? Empty Nester? Your parents need a hassle free way to make a nutritious meal? Check out Bonbowl!
Does the messiness of butter get you down? Never able to cut the precise amount? Check out Butter Twist!!
Thinking about starting a new hobby? Need to upgrade your game? Have we got the brand for you! Premium quality at a fair price- Stix Golf!!
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We’d love to hear from you!
Looking to get more involved in Prota? Do you want to share a story of human flourishing? Do you have content you would like to contribute to future newsletters? Would you like to nominate a colleague who is walking the walk? Contact us below!
Managing Director, Office of Organizational Development
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