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:   Ventures Podcast

Ventures is an audio/video podcast devoted to exploring entrepreneurial stories, market landscapes, problem spaces, and opportunities to create for-profit and nonprofit ventures to benefit human beings.

You can listen and download shows on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, PocketCast, Castro, Castbox, Podchaser, PodcastAddict, Deezer, Listen Notes, or directly via the show’s RSS feed here. In addition, you can watch videos of episodes in the posts below or on YouTube here.

Scroll to the bottom for more recent episodes and the reverse chronological order of all episodes.

However, if you missed episodes from Year 1 (i.e. Season 1), we considered how to categorize each show by meta-theme/subject and discovered it was essentially the following ten categories:

  • Blockchains & Web 3.0
  • Leadership & Business Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Fundraising
  • Product Management
  • Life Sciences
  • Marketing & Sales
  • Cybersecurity
  • Design & Branding
  • Education
  • Founder Stories

Here they are (with links below) in reverse chronological order by category (again, scroll further down to see more recent episodes):

Blockchains & Web 3.0

  • Web 3.0 and agricultural supply chains; connecting farmers and startups via scaled trust :: with Joni Kindwall-Moore (Ep52)
  • How are blockchains creating value for humanity? Why is Web 3.0 important? :: with Andrew Cronk (Ep48)
  • Virtual Identities, Dream Thinking, and Human Flourishing in the Web 3.0 era :: with Joel Fariss (Ep24)
  • Taking back the Internet: Blockchains, Privacy, Web 3.0, and Figment.io :: with Andrew Cronk (Ep19)
  • What’s up with Blockchain? Web 3.0, DeFi, and scaling trust :: with Spencer Graham and Tony Little (Ep18)
  • Blockchains, the State of the Crypto Ecosystem, Proof-of-Stake, and Figment Networks :: with Lorien Gabel, Andrew Cronk, and Tony Little (Ep2)

Leadership & Business Management

  • The Amare Wave, love vs. war in business, and uplifting customers :: with Moshe Engelberg  (Ep51)
  • Navigating geopolitics, startup lawyers, and the parallels between the 1920s and 2020s :: with Larry Little (Ep50)
  • Self-discovery, discerning our limits, and transitioning from idealism :: with Kathryn Little (Ep45)
  • Finding purpose, embracing curiosity, and navigating a career path in the 2020s :: with Kim Porter, Eric Sullivan, and Sol Cates (Ep39)
  • Growing as a technology leader, engaging value-add investors, and optimizing go-to-market strategies :: with Bill Murphy and Sol Cates (Ep33)
  • Listening to your community, empowering the marginalized, and knowing when to step back :: with Foxy Davison (Ep27)
  • Coaching founders on leadership, holistic communication, team building, purpose, values, vision, and mission :: with Shandel Sutherland (Ep16)

Entrepreneurship & Fundraising

  • From founder to VC to founder again: practical advice for startups and investors :: with Alex Giannikoulis (Ep47)
  • Ideation to Product-Market Fit, choosing revenue models, and general advice for founders :: with Dave Parker (Ep43)
  • Emerging technology, startup funding, and books for entrepreneurs :: with John Biggs (Ep15)
  • Entrepreneurship, fundraising, and practical advice for startup founders :: with Troy Henikoff (Ep14)
  • Global impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and Global Brigades :: with Steve Atamian and Brian Howe (Ep8)

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 (Ep46)
  • Technical product management, architecting a growing product team, and deeply understanding your customer’s needs :: with David Pierce (Ep41)
  • The dance of product and growth within a startup, from idea through acquisition into enterprise :: with Jenna Langer (Ep38)
  • Web development for startups vs. enterprises, StimulusReflex vs. React, and New Magic with Ruby on Rails :: with Joe Clarke and David Parrott (Ep22)

Life Sciences

  • Soil science, microbiomes, and loving grains again :: with Joni Kindwall-Moore (Ep49)
  • Brokering trust, bringing transparency into medical supply sales, and distributing COVID-19 rapid antigen & antibody tests :: with Susie Kataoka and Norris Liu (Ep34)
  • HealthTech entrepreneurship, surviving cancer, and starting FertilityAnswers :: with Alice Crisci (Ep29)
  • Cholesterol, lipidology, ketogenic diets, N=1 experiments, and the future of health technology :: with Dave Feldman (Ep11)
  • 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 (Ep9)
  • Life Sciences Entrepreneurship & Price Transparency in Healthcare with Dr. Jeffrey Roh, Susie Kataoka, and Dr. Tony Little (Ep1)

Marketing & Sales

  • Connecting people, building community, and learning from super connectors :: with Weston Woodward and Sol Cates (Ep44)
  • Marketing operations, building a MarTech stack, and ensuring data visibility and security in a growing startup :: with Kelly Jo Horton and Sol Cates (Ep37)
  • Complex business-to-business (B2B) sales, the inflection point in a buyer’s journey, and strategies for building a sales team :: with Steve Crepeau and Sol Cates (Ep36)
  • Teaching financial literacy after the NFL, and embracing TikTok for marketing :: with Jed Collins (Ep26)
  • Public Relations (PR) for startup founders: How to effectively communicate with journalists, influencers, and potential customers :: with Alexandra Skillman (Ep17)

Cybersecurity

  • Cybersecurity and user experience philosophies through Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 :: with Jim Reavis and Kurt Seifried (Ep42)
  • History and principles of cybersecurity for startup founders, individuals, and Web 3.0 builders :: with Malcolm Harkins and Sol Cates (Ep40)
  • Cybersecurity, 5G, extraterritoriality, and the dynamic negotiation of trust :: with Tony Rutkowski, Sol Cates, and Tony Sager (Ep32)
  • The history of cybersecurity & the Internet, and lessons for the Web 3.0 generation :: with Tony Sager and Sol Cates (Ep31)
  • Cybersecurity, Rapid Antigen Tests, Learning to Code, the Enneagram, and Meta-Level New Year’s Resolutions :: with Sol Cates (Ep25)

Design & Branding

  • Building a co-founder team with product and design capabilities, and the future of UX in the no-code/low-code era :: with Perry Azevedo (Ep35)
  • Design, innovation, work, and the future of humanity :: with Joel Fariss (Ep21)
  • Startup Branding :: Strategy, Competitive Positioning, Personas, Naming, and Visual Design :: with Elisabeth Hass and Natalie Grummer (Ep5)

Education

  • From social work to social entrepreneurship and starting an inner-city boarding school :: The Ryan Banks Academy story, with Valerie Groth (Ep28)
  • Home Education & Practical Suggestions for Parents this Fall :: with Abby Wahl and Sarah Little (Ep4)

Founder Stories

  • Starting a company in the pandemic, leveraging no-code solutions, and finding co-founders online :: The indifit.co story with Cheryl Kemp (Ep30)
  • The Bird Buddy story, raising over $2m on Kickstarter, and growing an IoT company :: with Franci Zidar and Kyle Buzzard (Ep23)
  • Entrepreneurship and innovation in media, No Excuses Jobs, and the Converge Media story :: with Omari Salisbury (Ep20)
  • Starting a side business, validating a product idea, and managing people :: the Lead Honestly story with Shay Howe and Darby Frey (Ep13)
  • The VendorHawk story: Idea to successful acquisition within a few years, and the importance of founder worldview alignment :: with Patrick Lowndes and Brian Geihsler (Ep12)
  • Period equity, femtech, health education, and Project Untaboo :: with Rachael Kim (Ep10)
  • Finding a technical co-founder, becoming an angel developer, and starting a new golf clubs company :: with Gabe Coyne (Ep7)
  • Co-founding Kickstarter, empowering creatives, and starting a tangible goods company in a pandemic :: with Charles Adler and Wilson Fong (Ep6)
  • Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), Fighting Human Trafficking, and Starting a Nonprofit :: with Amanda Hightower and Brent Turner (Ep3)

You can, of course, browse my Satchel site and view additional categories and sub-categories.

As part of Season Two, in addition to more interviews, I’m planning to mix in shorter episodes on specific topics, pulling clips from Season One and mixing in my own commentary. If you have any recommended episodes/topics I should cover, please let me know (will@wclittle.com).

Will Little

Feb 15, 2022
Startups Venture Capital Sociology Ventures Podcast

How to prioritize people, relationships, and communication when venture building and investing :: with Linda Olson and Laura Yunger

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Linda Olson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-olson-cpc-cfa-55885858/), Laura Yunger (https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurayunger/), and I discuss the often-overlooked value of people and communication alignment when building and investing in businesses. This is an episode I wish I had 20+ years ago when starting out my entrepreneurial career. Based on their extensive experience coaching and investing in entrepreneurs, Laura and Linda also talk frankly about how to avoid burnout and stay maximally healthy with your team.
Will Little

Feb 8, 2022
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3PMDAO Web3 DAOs

Introducing BanyanDAO: Training and supporting Web3 product leaders to promote human flourishing :: with Priya Baveja, Jake Varghese, and Mike Anderson

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Priya Baveja (https://www.linkedin.com/in/priya-baveja/), Mike Anderson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeandersonjr/), Jake Varghese (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-varghese-498335/) and I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/) talk about Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) structure, governance, incentives, and participation. We are a subset of founders currently launching BanyanDAO (https://banyandao.xyz/), which is growing a community of Web3 entrepreneurial leaders to promote human flourishing. Our first training event - to level up Web2 product managers into Web3 - will be in April 2022 (exact dates TBA). For more details and to participate, join us in our Discord server (https://discord.gg/bYnxySgw34) and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BanyanDAO).
Will Little

Feb 1, 2022
Startups Venture Capital Sociology Ventures Podcast

Unlearning racism in venture building & investing :: with Lindsey T. H. Jackson

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Lindsey T. H. Jackson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-t-h-jackson/) and I discuss the journey of anti-racism and anti-oppression work in ourselves, in venture capital, and in startup ecosystems. We discuss the nuances of dismal representation numbers in venture; how to approach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) conversations in the workplace and beyond; how to develop a regular practice to self-reflect, define your community, and “fail fast” on your own anti-racism journey; and how to encourage others to consider embarking on the journey themselves.
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

Jan 18, 2022
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3 DAOs

Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) operations and logistics on DAOHaus :: with Alex Zub and Spencer Graham

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Alex Zub (https://twitter.com/theAlexZub), Spencer Graham (https://twitter.com/spengrah), and I talk about the details of day-to-day “DAO life” on DAOHaus (https://daohaus.club/). We talk specifically about how Raid Guild (https://www.raidguild.org/) - a services DAO - manages proposals, escrow, billing, and bridges to the traditional finance system. We also talk about short-term and long-term financial incentives for DAO founders/participants, how DAOs can quickly raise funds and manage risk/assurance/trust, and how newcomers to DAOs can/should think about how to participate to create maximum value for themselves and their communities.
Will Little

Jan 11, 2022
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3 DAOs

Leadership, trust, and identity considerations when starting a DAO vs. a traditional startup :: with Liz Sweigart, PhD

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Liz Sweigart (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizsweigart/, PhD in Organizational Leadership) and I discuss the differences between a DAO and a traditional startup in terms of starting, organizing, and leading. We talk about trust vs. relating, identity considerations in DAO communities, positive vs. exploitative transactions of value, and qualitative vs. quantitative measurement of success. If you would like to join us as we explore starting a DAO together, check out https://www.redpilldao.xyz/ and our Discord server (https://discord.gg/PvtMZf6yws).

Will Little

Jan 4, 2022
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3 DAOs

How (and why) to create NFTs and participate in DAOs

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/ | wclittle.eth) recorded a monologue about my perspectives on “why” Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) matter. I also talk practically about how you can create NFTs on https://opensea.io/ and other NFT marketplaces, and how to participate in DAOs.
Will Little

Dec 28, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3

Introducing EnneagramNFTs: Background, motivation, and vision :: with Natalie Grummer and Perry Azevedo

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Natalie Grummer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliegrummer/), Perry Azevedo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/perryazevedo/), and I talk about the launch of https://www.EnneagramNFTs.com // We talk about the background, motivation, vision, and artistic/technical details of the project, including the setup of https://www.EnneagramDAO.com, a new Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) dedicated to teaching people about the Enneagram - and supporting Enneagram coaches & artists - to promote human flourishing.
Will Little

Dec 22, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3 DAOs

Who owns Web 3.0? Responding to critics // and the promise of DAOs & NFTs

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/) recorded a ~10min monologue about my own reflections on recent tweets from Jack Dorsey (https://twitter.com/jack/status/1473139010197508098) and Elon Musk (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1473165434518224896, which Jack then responded to). The basic criticism is that “Web 3.0” is essentially owned and pumped by venture capitalists (VCs) and that no real noticeable value has yet been created for humanity. I begin my reflections by talking about self-sovereign identity and decentralized finance, and then talk about the promise of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). A future where individuals can own, govern, and have autonomy over their own value-creation, DAOs that promote social causes, and DAOs that fuel a new generation of venture building….this is a future that I can get behind and support. Yes, VCs will make money, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the vision they are helping to create is a bad thing.
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 7, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3PMDAO Web3 Metaverse

Metaverses, Decentraland, and Metaversal Education :: with Josh Vitulli

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Josh Vitulli (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-vitulli-71926415/) and I dive deep into metaverses, specifically the Web 3 metaverse Decentraland (https://decentraland.org/). We talk about how Josh’s design and urban planning background led him into the metaverse space, how he does training courses on Decentraland via his project Metaversal Education, practical considerations for how to get involved, other metaverses, NFTs, avoiding high gas fees on Ethereum, and the future of entrepreneurship in Web 3.
Will Little

Nov 30, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3PMDAO Web3 DAOs

Practical considerations when designing and forming a DAO :: with Spencer Graham and members of our Web 3 Product Manager Training DAO

In this episode of Ventures, a group of members from our Web 3 Product Manager Training DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) asked Spencer Graham (https://twitter.com/spengrah) a series of questions about how and why to form a DAO. We talk about practical decision-making, governance, money transfers from a central treasury to pay for services, management and accountability for DAOs operators and contractors, “on-chain” vs. “off-chain” considerations, and legal/tax/regulatory concerns.
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 16, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Web3PMDAO Web3

How Web 3.0 will impact the future of entrepreneurship

In this episode of Ventures, I (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wclittle/) take about ~10min to talk about my perspective on why Web 3 (i.e. decentralized ownership, blockchains, Metaverse, and the Semantic Web) will dramatically change the landscape for entrepreneurship in the future. Based on feedback from the first year of this podcast, I share a bit about my story; i.e. how building and *owning* my own Web 2.0 ventures in the 2000s is analogous to what many entrepreneurs are doing right now in Web 3 communities. New communities and networks are being created rapidly, and the markets that our children will participate in the future are almost impossible for us to conceive of today.
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.