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

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 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.

Will Little

Sep 8, 2020
Health Science Startups Ventures Podcast

COVID-19 response and innovation at University of Washington Medicine. Plus, a call-to-action for medical technology entrepreneurs :: with Danica Little, Dimitry Levin, and Dr. Robert Sweet

In this episode of Ventures we look at the response to COVID-19 by teams involved with emergency preparedness and innovation at University of Washington (UW) Medicine in Seattle. We also discuss the need and options available for startups to collaborate with UW Medicine to help - not only with COVID-19 relief - but with general medtech and telehealth innovation to provide better care for patients in a post-COVID-19 world.

Will Little

Aug 25, 2020
Startups Financial Modeling About Will

I turned 40 this summer. I spent my 20s building businesses and my 30s investing in early stage founders. Here are a few things I’ve learned thus far.

Greetings to anyone else out there in the Oregon Trail Generation that is crossing (or has recently crossed) the 40 mark. :) We’re old enough to remember an analog world, but young enough to have grown up with the early days of the Internet. It’s been quite a ride thus far.

Will Little

Aug 25, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast

Finding a technical co-founder, becoming an angel developer, and starting a new golf gear company :: with Gabe Coyne

One of the most common questions in the startup space is how to find a technical co-founder to design and build your product. In this episode of Ventures, we discuss in depth both how to become a great startup CTO and to find one in your network. We also talk about the founding story of Stix (https://stix.golf/), a new golf brand focused on middle-market, stylish clubs for the casual golfer.

Will Little

Aug 18, 2020
COVID-19 Startups Will's General Newsletter

New podcast episode on the founding story of Kickstarter & empowering creatives :: Plus, how to think like a (good) epidemiologist

It was fascinating to hear the founding story of Kickstarter and discuss with Charles and Wilson how to best support founders in this COVID-19 era, especially those inventing, creating, and selling tangible goods. Also, let's talk about Bayesian inference machines.

Will Little

Aug 18, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast

Co-founding Kickstarter, empowering creatives, and starting a tangible goods company in a pandemic :: with Charles Adler and Wilson Fong

In this episode of Ventures we look at the founding story of Kickstarter and discuss how to support and advise founders that are bringing new companies to life. We discuss specifically the challenges facing founders selling tangible goods in the COVID-19 era and how online resources and communities can be leveraged to optimize success in this difficult market landscape.

Will Little

Aug 11, 2020
Startups Visual Design Ventures Podcast Branding

Startup Branding :: Strategy, Competitive Positioning, Personas, Naming, and Visual Design :: with Elisabeth Hass and Natalie Grummer

Most founders don’t pay enough attention to foundational branding processes, which often results in customer confusion, off-putting names/visuals, and/or an untimely death for new startups. In this episode, we dive into many aspects of branding a startup, from naming and competitive positioning to visual design and personas/values, including specific recommendations for designing a logo, mockups, and prototypes.

Will Little

Jul 28, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast

Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), Fighting Human Trafficking, and Starting a Nonprofit :: with Amanda Hightower and Brent Turner

In this episode of Ventures we dive into the horrors of human trafficking within the sex trade, specifically in and around the greater Seattle area. We look at one group’s efforts (REST - Real Escape from the Sex Trade) to combat the problem by providing a suite of services, working closely with law enforcement, and ensuring all people being trafficked understand they are worthy of love. We also dive deep into how REST got started, and how the relationship between the executive director and board chair is an important story to learn from for any for-profit or nonprofit founder team.