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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Topic:   Startups
 Will Little

Jan 26, 2022
Startups Financial Modeling Ventures Podcast

Startup Finance & Accounting 101: A crash course for founders :: with Veronica Sagastume

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Veronica Sagastume (https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicalsagastume/) and I talk about all-things startup finance and accounting. From the perspective of what founders need to know, this episode ended up being a crash course in the various high-level aspects of bookkeeping, accounting, controller work, fractional CFO work, tax prep, legal considerations, and finance operating suggestions. Veronica’s firm (https://www.fortifiedaccounting.com/) works with funded, early stage startups and she makes a compelling pitch for why you should seriously consider hiring a firm rather than individuals in the early stages of your funded business.
Will Little

Dec 14, 2021
Startups Sociology Ventures Podcast

The importance of diverse perspectives in media, and the Expert Bookings Online (EBO) story :: with Crystal Berger

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Crystal Berger (https://www.expertbookingsonline.com/) and I talk about how her new company Expert Bookings Online (EBO) is working to create a simple marketplace solution for content producers and a wide diversity of subject-matter experts. In addition to making it fast and efficient for content producers to book experts, EBO will also help surface and train experts from all over the world - who would otherwise be overlooked - to be ready to be guests on shows to share their opinions and perspectives.
Will Little

Dec 1, 2021
Blockchains Startups Web3PMDAO Web3 DAOs

Starting a DAO (Part 1): A step-by-step story of the initial few weeks

✍️ The purpose of this series is to detail my experience forming a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) from the ground-up with the best tooling, patterns, and practices available today.

Will Little

Nov 23, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

Wealth creation and management for entrepreneurs in the 2020s :: with Aryeh Sheinbein

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Aryeh Sheinbein (https://www.instagram.com/aryehthebusinessman) and I discuss a unique approach to financial management for entrepreneurs in light of a rapidly changing tech landscape. While we talk often about venture building and investing on this show, we haven’t yet - until this episode - helped guide entrepreneurs about what to do personally once money is being made. There are a ton of wealth managers out there who bombard entrepreneurs with inbound requests to meet - especially once signs of success start happening - so we talk about how to prepare for that event and plan to navigate the attention. Overall, entrepreneurs today have many new avenues for generating income, and my conversation with Aryeh - who approaches wealth management differently as an entrepreneur/investor himself - is a refreshing perspective on how to approach the topic and mindset.
Will Little

Nov 10, 2021
Blockchains Startups Web3PMDAO Web3 DAOs

The past, present, and future of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) :: with Spencer Graham

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Spencer Graham (https://twitter.com/spengrah) and I discuss all-things DAOs. We talk about the history of DAOs, specific case studies and types, a compelling no-code platform (https://DAOHaus.club), when and why to use DAOs, and the promising future of these organizations in the overall technology and innovation space.

Will Little

Nov 2, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

The SUPLMNT story: a vision for urban wellness :: with Jairus Morris

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Jairus Morris (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jairus-morris-41a85355/) and I discuss his entrepreneurial journey starting and growing SUPLMNT (https://suplmnt.com/, ← if you are looking for a beautifully designed water bottle, check these out). We discuss his background, early validation experiments, team recruitment strategy, fundraising tactics, vision for his company, and advice for fellow entrepreneurs.
Will Little

Oct 26, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Sales

B2B sales strategies and practical tips for startup business development :: with Ken Lundin

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Ken Lundin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kglundin/) and I discuss a wide variety of strategies and tactics for improving sales traction and business development processes in a growing startup. We talk about Ken's journey into sales, how founders should reach out to (and land) early customers, how tangible goods companies should think about retail sales strategies, and how to run experiments and make sales decisions with data.
Will Little

Sep 21, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast No-Code / Low-code

The Bubble.io story, No-Code/Low-Code for founders, and changing the web app development paradigm :: with Josh Haas

In this episode of The Ventures Podcast, Josh Haas (co-CEO and founder of Bubble.io -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhaas/) and I discuss the implications of no-code/low-code in general - and Bubble.io in particular - for founders building new web apps this decade and beyond. After raising a recent $100m round, Josh and the Bubble team have a vision to replace traditional custom web development with their no-code/low-code solution, essentially as a new “language” that promises (and has proven) to save orders of magnitude of time and money for founders building web apps.
Will Little

Sep 15, 2021
Startups Venture Capital Ventures Podcast

Venture capital and angel investing insights for founders: How investors *should* evaluate your team, product, market, traction, and financial model

In this episode of Ventures, I took the liberty to record a short monologue that outlines how I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/) and my partners at Prota Ventures (https://www.protaventures.com) evaluate early stage venture deals and teach new investors how to conduct basic diligence. I briefly discuss what aspects of your founder team, product experience, market dynamics, traction nuances, and believability of your financial model commonly stand out to investors - for better or worse - when making allocation decisions.
Will Little

Sep 7, 2021
Startups Marketing Ventures Podcast

Tips for setting up and managing your marketing stack in a new startup :: with Kelly Jo Horton and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, we pull a clip from Episode 37 with Kelly Jo Horton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyjohorton/) and Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/) to discuss marketing operations in a growing startup. Early founder teams often leave the design, implementation, and maintenance of marketing stacks as an afterthought, which ends up costing the new company a massive amount of time and money. In this episode, Kelly Jo and Sol help us understand why bringing in an expert - or at least someone dedicated to learning from experts and driving the integrated flow of marketing data - is essential to any B2C or B2B company’s growth.
Will Little

Sep 1, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

How to validate a market for your startup without being naive :: with Bill Murphy and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, we pull a clip from Episode 33 with Bill Murphy (https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamwmurphy/) and Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/) to discuss how entrepreneurs should be aware of their rose-colored glasses when approaching a market. It’s not easy to face the brutal facts about what customers need and will pay money for, but the process of asking the right questions and making decisions with an appropriate amount of data is critical.

Will Little

Aug 17, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Branding

Love & Branding: Do you love your customers? Do they love you? Do you care? :: with Moshe Engelberg

In this episode of Ventures, I comment briefly on my evolving definition of “Brand” and pull in a clip from Episode 51 with Moshe Engelberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosheengelberg/) on loving customers (and whether they love you back). The best product leaders I know not only understand a market deeply and the value-add a product is bringing, but also think about “uplifting and connecting” people (Moshe’s definition of Love) in and around a product to create delightful experiences for customers.
Will Little

Aug 3, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

How to validate a new B2B SaaS startup idea :: with Patrick Lowndes and Brian Geihsler

In this episode of Ventures, we pull a popular clip from Episode 12 with Patrick Lowndes (https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricklowndes/) and Brian Geihsler (https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangeihsler/). The clip focuses on how they validated their Business-to-Business Software-as-a-Service (B2B SaaS) startup, VendorHawk, which sold to ServiceNow in 2018 (https://www.geekwire.com/2018/servicenow-snaps-vendorhawk-help-customers-manage-saas-spending/). We cover how to sell contracts with wireframes, how to reach decision-makers, how to test pricing, and how to set up an “alpha group” as a cohort of initial customers to help your new startup succeed.

Will Little

Jul 28, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Product Management

How to be an excellent Product Manager :: with Jenna Langer, David Pierce, Perry Azevedo, Kiel Sanders, and Patrick Lowdnes

In this episode of Ventures, we pull clips from Episodes 38, 35, 41, and 46 to dive deep into all-things Product Management. Most startup founders are overwhelmed and too busy to grasp the nuances of how world-class product managers think about growth and technical operations. These clips provide an overview and a primer to how some of the best in the industry think about their trade at different stages of company size and growth.
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.