Will Little @wclittle Subscribe

Managing Director at Prota Ventures.
I'm a bioengineer-turned-software-developer and venture builder/investor. Learn more about me professionally on LinkedIn, personally here, and check out the podcast I host, Ventures.

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 Will Little

Oct 20, 2020
Sociology Will's General Newsletter

Are the algorithms going to lead us into war?

First, my guest on the podcast this week (John Biggs, https://twitter.com/johnbiggs, https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndbiggs/) is an entrepreneur, writer, and technologist. Second, I have a few thoughts on what algorithms - specifically social media algorithms - are doing to our brains and society at large.

Will Little

Oct 20, 2020
Blockchains Startups Startup Fundraising Ventures Podcast

Emerging technology, startup funding, and books for entrepreneurs :: with John Biggs

My guest this week (John Biggs, https://twitter.com/johnbiggs, https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndbiggs/) is an entrepreneur, writer, and technologist. He was the east coast editor at TechCrunch for fifteen years, was an editor at Coindesk, and is currently the Editor in Chief at Gizmodo. In this conversation we dive into a wide range of topics including 5G, the future of work, blockchains, recommended books, John’s entrepreneurial ventures, his new book (Get Funded), previous books (https://johnbiggsbooks.com/), and practical advice for entrepreneurs.

Will Little

Oct 13, 2020
Health Science Startups Will's General Newsletter

Wisdom for entrepreneurs, Bio Eats World, and remember to register for this Saturday’s A Night of REST

A new podcast with Troy Henikoff, a new (long) article on how to prepare for bio eating the world, and a reminder to register for A Night of REST.

Will Little

Oct 13, 2020
Health Science

How to prepare for (and participate in) biology eating the world

About a year ago, Vijay Pande over at A16z published Biology is Eating the World: A Manifesto, which echoes Marc Andreessen’s famous thesis that software is eating the world (i.e. that code is being relentlessly applied to all niches of business and industry to provide value). While the era of software is well underway, I agree with Vijay that we’re entering a new era where biology has “shifted from an empirical science to an engineering discipline” and that “we have finally begun using nature’s own machinery—through biological engineering—to design, scale, and transform biology.”
Will Little

Oct 13, 2020
Startups Startup Fundraising Venture Capital Ventures Podcast

Entrepreneurship, fundraising, and practical advice for startup founders :: with Troy Henikoff

This week I’m excited to share an in-depth conversation with Troy Henikoff (https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyhenikoff/, https://www.mathventurepartners.com/ ) about his entrepreneurial story and path into startup investing. Troy is one of the most amazing and inspiring people I know. I first met him when I moved to Chicago in the mid-2010s, and his generosity, enthusiasm, and support for founders has been consistently admirable and contagious. After an extended introduction where he shares his story, we walk through practical validation, execution, and funding advice for early stage founders.

Will Little

Oct 6, 2020
Startups Will's General Newsletter

Starting a side business, the future of the Satchel platform, and a request for good books for new founders

Lead Honestly is a web-based software platform designed to help managers have better one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. Satchel is growing. And what books would you recommend for new founders?

Will Little

Oct 6, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast Product Management

Starting a side business, validating a product idea, and managing people :: the Lead Honestly story with Shay Howe and Darby Frey

In this episode of Ventures we examine the origin story of Lead Honestly, a web-based software platform designed to help managers have better one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. My guests Shay Howe (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayhowe/) and Darby Frey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/darbyfrey/) have a frank and open conversation about starting a side business, balancing family life and their day jobs, transitioning from builder to manager, validating their startup idea, holding to values when setting pricing, and advice for entrepreneurs.
Will Little

Sep 29, 2020
Health Science Startups Keto Will's General Newsletter

From idea to exit in a few years, setting up a mac for web development, and followup from last week's episode on Lipidology

This week I’m honored to have two friends of mine share their story of building and growing a company, getting acquired, and merging in with a larger organization. I also share a screencast for Mac users setting up their computers for web development, and follow up from last's week's episode on lipidology.
Will Little

Sep 29, 2020
Startups Startup Fundraising Ventures Podcast

The VendorHawk story: Idea to successful acquisition within a few years, and the importance of founder worldview alignment :: with Patrick Lowndes and Brian Geihsler

In this episode of Ventures we cover the full spectrum of an amazing startup story: Patrick’s original idea, recruiting a team, landing his first customers, getting into an accelerator (Techstars), raising a $1.2 million seed round, and being acquired by ServiceNow.

Will Little

Sep 22, 2020
Health Science Keto Software Development Ruby on Rails Will's General Newsletter

Lipidology with Dave :: Code with Isaac. Plus, are "mainstream" and "keto" actually getting along?

In this week’s episode of Ventures, Dave Feldman (@DaveKeto) was kind enough to sit down with me and answer a ton of questions. Also, Isaac from South Carolina (14yrs old) sat down with me to walk through setting up his local Windows machine for Ruby on Rails web development.

Will Little

Sep 22, 2020
Health Science Keto Ventures Podcast

Cholesterol, lipidology, ketogenic diets, N=1 experiments, and the future of health technology :: with Dave Feldman

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Dave Feldman (@DaveKeto) and I discuss a variety of topics related to lipids, immunology, ketogenic diets, and the future of health tech. I first came across Dave’s work when I noticed my cholesterol levels (specifically LDL-C) raised significantly when fasting and/or low-carb dieting, and I found that there is a large community of people who have noticed the same phenomenon. Dave has helped pioneer efforts to formulate hypotheses around why this might be the case, and why LDL levels in our blood may be considerably more complex than we’ve been led to believe.

Will Little

Sep 15, 2020
Startups Will's General Newsletter Social Entrepreneurship

Two important social justice issues to consider this week (and why to mark your calendar for October 17th)

First, listen/watch to today’s episode of Ventures: Period equity, femtech, health education, and Project Untaboo :: with Rachael Kim. Second, please mark your calendar: Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST) is hosting A Night of REST: Virtual Soirée at 6pm PDT on Saturday, October 17th

Will Little

Sep 15, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast

Period equity, femtech, health education, and Project Untaboo :: with Rachael Kim

In this episode my guest Rachael Kim (Founder & CEO, Project Untaboo) and I discuss period equity, period health/care/education, Project Untaboo, and advice for entrepreneurs and investors considering the space of femtech and healthcare in general.

Will Little

Sep 8, 2020
Health Science COVID-19 Startups

An inside look at COVID-19 care responses and innovation efforts within University of Washington Medicine :: an ask for those learning to code :: and a followup post on Reddit in /r/Entrepreneur

I sat down last week with a few folks from UW Medicine and learned about their amazing response to COVID-19. Being on the front-lines of the pandemic in the USA, it is extremely admirable how they organized themselves, formed an innovation group, and opened sourced their efforts to help healthcare communities around the world.
Will Little

Sep 8, 2020
Startups

Reflections on entrepreneurship education, learning to code, business validation, finding co-founders, & time management :: A shout-out to - and empathy for - founders diving in and juggling it all

For a bit of background, a couple weeks ago I posted a few thoughts in /r/Entrepreneur from my past couple of decades of building and investing in businesses. Thanks for all the encouraging feedback and thoughtful questions. This article is a summary of the five most common topics/themes/questions that come up from that thread.