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 my podcast, Ventures.

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Topic:   Startups
 Will Little

Jul 14, 2021
Startups Startup Fundraising Ventures Podcast

How to start a business :: with Dave Parker, Troy Henikoff, and Alex Giannikoulis

In this episode of Ventures, we pull clips from Ep43 (Dave Parker), Ep14 (Troy Henikoff), and Ep47 (Alex Giannikoulis) to dive into the specific topics surrounding ideation, validation, creation, and early growth of a new business. We talk about market-first vs. team-first, finding a co-founder, financial modeling, and practical advice from the perspective of investors and entrepreneurs on how to build a company from the ground up.
Will Little

Jul 6, 2021
Web 3.0 & Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast

Web 3.0 and agricultural supply chains; connecting farmers and startups via scaled trust :: with Joni Kindwall-Moore

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Joni Kindwall-Moore (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-kindwall-moore-rn-57a81014/) and I continue our conversion from episode 49 and focus this time on supply chain issues in agriculture and consumer packaged goods companies (CPG, like Joni’s startup, https://snacktivistfoods.com/). We talk about how a Web 3.0 future would make her life easier, help growers, cut out needless people and systems in the middle, and help buyers find more reliable products and sellers around the world.

Will Little

Jun 29, 2021
Startups Sociology Ventures Podcast

The Amare Wave, love vs. war in business, and uplifting customers :: with Moshe Engelberg

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Moshe Engelberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosheengelberg/) and I discuss his book The Amare Wave: Uplifting Business by Putting Love to Work. From an entrepreneurial lens, we cover topics including loving customers, helping customers love your business, example case studies from a new founder perspective, and the existential purpose of every for-profit and nonprofit organization on the planet.
Will Little

Jun 22, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Economics

Navigating geopolitics, startup lawyers, and the parallels between the 1920s and 2020s :: with Larry Little

In this episode of Ventures, my father (Larry Little, https://www.kitsapsun.com/opinion/columnists/) and I discuss entrepreneurship through the historical lens of the past 100 years. We talk about the arc of history for him personally and his family, and for the global political and economic situation at large. We cover how to find a great startup lawyer, advice for entrepreneurs, thoughts about navigating political polarization, and hope in entrepreneurs - in general - to help bring about a better world.
Will Little

Jun 15, 2021
Health Science Startups Ventures Podcast

Soil science, microbiomes, and loving grains again :: with Joni Kindwall-Moore

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Joni Kindwall-Moore (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-kindwall-moore-rn-57a81014/) and I discuss the science behind grains, soils, and microbiomes. We also talk about the story of her startup (https://snacktivistfoods.com/) and how her team is helping to regenerate healthy soils and grains to improve human health.
Will Little

Jun 8, 2021
Web 3.0 & Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast

How are blockchains creating value for humanity? Why is Web 3.0 important? :: with Andrew Cronk

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Andrew Cronk (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcronk/, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at https://figment.io/) and I discuss Web 3 and blockchains beyond price hysteria, energy-usage debates, and influencer shenanigans. While everyone has been distracted by current events, the Web 3 builders continue to push the technology forward in a way that is genuinely compelling for our future. We talk about Proof-of-Stake, building a Web 3 developer community, technologies that exist today for decentralized apps, NFTs, Helium Network, what the rest of this year looks like for Figment, and much, much more.

Will Little

Jun 1, 2021
Startups Startup Fundraising Venture Capital Ventures Podcast

From founder to VC to founder again: practical advice for startups and investors :: with Alex Giannikoulis

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Alex Giannikoulis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/giannikoulis/) and I discuss his journey from startup land, to angel investing, to venture capital, to founding a new company again. His current startup (https://goivee.com/) builds enhanced in-vehicle experiences. We dive into not only the story of IVEE, but how Alex’s experience as an angel investor and VC has informed his leadership style and practical advice for founders, especially regarding fundraising.

Will Little

May 25, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Product Management

Scaling a product management team, lessons learned from startups and enterprises, and how to drive customer success from a product advisory board :: with Kiel Sanders and Patrick Lowndes

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Kiel Sanders (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kielsanders), Patrick Lowndes (https://patricklowndes.com/), and I discuss many details surrounding growing product management teams and operating efficiently at scale. We discuss the various roles that newer founders may not be aware of that exist at larger companies, the skill sets needed to recruit and manage effectively, setting up a product advisory board, what to do when customers are unhappy, and lessons learned when scaling products both at a new startup and within a larger organization.
Will Little

May 18, 2021
Startups Sociology About Will Ventures Podcast

Self-discovery, discerning our limits, and transitioning from idealism :: with Kathryn Little

In this special episode of Ventures, Kathryn Little (my amazing mother) and I discuss finding oneself, discovering purpose, transitioning out of idealism, saying yes and no to the right things, processing grief, marriage, parenting, and being who you are as an entrepreneur and human being. Indeed, when thinking about the best possible guest for this episode, I asked my mother and she graciously agreed to share her story and insights.
Will Little

May 11, 2021
Startups Sociology Ventures Podcast

Connecting people, building community, and learning from super connectors :: with Weston Woodward and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Weston Woodward (https://www.linkedin.com/in/westonwoodward/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/solcates/), and I discuss community building from a personal, startup, and local city perspective. We talk about how to listen and ask questions, effectively connect people to help raise the tide for everyone, advice for startup founders, and thoughts about social media and the future of communication in the Web 3.0 era.

Will Little

May 5, 2021
Web 3.0 & Blockchains Startups Will's General Newsletter

Trajectory: Startup. Plus, is it possible to use social media in a healthy way?

In this newsletter I write about this week's podcast with Dave Parker and our discussion on his new book, Trajectory: Startup: Ideation to Product/Market Fit―A Handbook for Founders and Anyone Supporting Them. I also write about my recent thoughts and conversations with colleagues about social media, well being, and Web 3.0.
Will Little

May 4, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

Ideation to Product-Market Fit, choosing revenue models, and general advice for founders :: with Dave Parker

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Dave Parker (https://www.dkparker.com/) and I discuss his new book, Trajectory: Startup - Ideation to Product-Market Fit. We talk about Dave’s background, his journey into startups, how he approaches common questions from founders, why he is fascinated with teaching founders about revenue models, information asymmetry in the venture capital industry, and where Dave is heading next.
Will Little

Apr 27, 2021
Web 3.0 & Blockchains Startups Sociology

One From Many: Lessons for the Web 3.0 generation from Dee Hock's book on VISA and the rise of Chaordic Organization

In his book One From Many (2005), Dee Hock beautifully tells the founding story of VISA and weaves in his concerns about centralized, command-and-control organizational structures. As an alternative solution, Dee describes his vision for “Chaordic” (Chaos + Order) organization and how VISA was started with such principles. You can read the Amazon reviews for the gist of the story and how most people think about it. Here, I’m going to focus on a few things that stood out to me regarding lessons for the Web 3.0 generation.

Will Little

Apr 27, 2021
Web 3.0 & Blockchains Startups Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and user experience philosophies through Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 :: with Jim Reavis and Kurt Seifried

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Jim Reavis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimreavis/), Kurt Seifried (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtseifried/), and I discuss the philosophies and principles behind the Web 1, Web 2, and Web 3 transitions from a cybersecurity perspective. We talk about the implications of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), user experiences in a Web 3 world, and an exciting new project that Kurt and Jim are working on in the blockchain and education space.

Will Little

Apr 20, 2021
Startups Software Development Ventures Podcast Product Management

Technical product management, architecting a growing product team, and deeply understanding your customer’s needs :: with David Pierce

In this episode of Ventures, my guest David Pierce (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddpierce/) and I dive deep into the technical side of product management through his personal story. In a growing startup, not only is “product” relatively misunderstood, but embracing the nuances between the growth and technical sides of product management is often completely missed. In our conversation, we talk at length about how founders and enterprise managers alike can best elevate their technical product operations to achieve business success.