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

Mar 23, 2021
Startups Marketing Ventures Podcast

Marketing operations, building a MarTech stack, and ensuring data visibility and security in a growing startup :: with Kelly Jo Horton and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Kelly Jo Horton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyjohorton/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/) and I discuss marketing operations from a startup and enterprise perspective. We dive into Kelly Jo’s story entering the space, the need for a marketing operations expert as early as possible in a startup, how to avoid technical debt with your MarTech stack, why to setup a centralized command center, and how/why to retool a broken MarTech data infrastructure.

Will Little

Mar 16, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Sales

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

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Steve Crepeau (https://www.truesalesresults.com/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/), and I discuss the nuances of sales, including characteristics, values, tactics, and techniques for helping people progress along the buyer’s journey. Our discussion expands from complex B2B sales to how the “inflection point” concept can be applied to other areas of startups and enterprise sales, including “selling” your team and investors on your idea as a startup founder.

Will Little

Mar 9, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Design Product Management

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

In this episode of Ventures, designer/developer Perry Azevedo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/perryazevedo/) and I discuss the importance of a co-founder team having product and design capabilities, the important nuances between “product” and “design”, examples from products that Perry and I have built together, and the future of UX design in the era of low-code/no-code applications.

Will Little

Mar 2, 2021
Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast

Brokering trust, bringing transparency into medical supply sales, and distributing COVID-19 rapid antigen & antibody tests :: with Susie Kataoka and Norris Liu

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Susie Kataoka (https://www.linkedin.com/in/susiekataoka/), Norris Liu (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenorrisliu/), and I discuss the origin story of Zebra Health, the work they are doing to bring transparency to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) global market, starting a joint venture between their startups, distributing rapid antigen and antibody tests for COVID-19, and aspiring toward blockchain/Web 3.0 opportunities for any marketplace that involves brokering trust.

Will Little

Feb 23, 2021
Startups Venture Capital Ventures Podcast

Growing as a technology leader, engaging value-add investors, and optimizing go-to-market strategies :: with Bill Murphy and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Bill Murphy (https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamwmurphy/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/), and I discuss the worlds of private equity and investment banking, how founders should think about engaging strategic investors, the different stages of technology leadership as a company grows, and the services that Cresting Wave (https://www.crestingwave.com/) offers to help tech companies mature operations and execute go-to-market strategies.

Will Little

Feb 16, 2021
Blockchains Ventures Podcast Cybersecurity Web3

Cybersecurity, 5G, extraterritoriality, and the dynamic negotiation of trust :: with Tony Rutkowski, Sol Cates, and Tony Sager

In this week’s episode of Ventures, my guests Tony Rutkowski (http://www.circleid.com/members/6809/), Sol Cates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sol-cates-649736/), Tony Sager (https://www.cisecurity.org/) and I extend last week’s conversation about cybersecurity and Web 3.0. We dive into topics related to international data controls, entrepreneurship in a global landscape, 5G, SSL certificates, and the evolving definition of trust.

Will Little

Feb 9, 2021
Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast Cybersecurity Web3

The history of cybersecurity & the Internet, and lessons for the Web 3.0 generation :: with Tony Sager and Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Tony Sager (https://www.cisecurity.org/), Sol Cates (https://twitter.com/solcates), and I discuss Tony’s journey through the National Security Agency during the cold war and dawn of the Internet. We talk about how Sol and Tony crossed paths, and how cybersecurity has evolved over the past 50 years, and how the Web 3.0 generation can (and should) learn from the Web 1.0 generation.

Will Little

Feb 2, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

Starting a company in the pandemic, leveraging no-code solutions, and finding co-founders online :: The indifit.co story with Cheryl Kemp

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Cheryl Kemp (founder of https://indifit.co/) and I discuss her journey of starting a company at the beginning of the pandemic, finding co-founders, leveraging no-code technology to validate her idea, pivoting into a completely different business model, providing software for fitness instructors, experimenting with growth strategies, and raising startup capital in 2021.

Will Little

Jan 26, 2021
Health Science Startups Ventures Podcast

HealthTech entrepreneurship, surviving cancer, and starting FertilityAnswers :: with Alice Crisci

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Alice Crisci (https://www.instagram.com/fertilityanswers_/) and I discuss her journey as a cancer survivor and entrepreneur in the medical/fertility space. While many people turn to “Dr. Google” when trying to find answers to their medical questions, Alice and her team have created a more sophisticated and personalized approach for finding answers to fertility-related questions. In addition to talking about MedAnswers and their first vertical, FertilityAnswers, Alice and I also talk about mental health for founders, how to validate an initial entrepreneurial idea, and how to think about smart resource allocations for effective go-to-market strategies.
Will Little

Jan 19, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast Social Entrepreneurship

From social work to social entrepreneurship and starting an inner-city boarding school :: The Ryan Banks Academy story, with Valerie Groth

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Valerie Groth (https://www.ryanbanksacademy.org/) and I discuss the Ryan Banks Academy story, her background in social work and in Chicago Public Schools, resiliency when starting a school and nonprofit, and life for students in a pandemic. With social entrepreneurship gaining increased attention globally, we dive into a number of topics in this conversation to help founders think about relevant issues to address with new ventures.
Will Little

Jan 12, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

Listening to your community, empowering the marginalized, and knowing when to step back :: with Foxy Davison

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Foxy Davison and I discuss her journey as a community advocate and venture-builder in Seattle’s Central District and beyond. Foxy has a remarkable ability to listen and serve, and we - as fellow entrepreneurs - have many things to learn from her about how to pay attention to our communities. In addition to hearing about her entrepreneurial pursuits, we also discuss how to focus and step back from opportunities that might otherwise seem important, and how to effectively develop an internal compass in order to say yes and no to the appropriate things.

Will Little

Jan 5, 2021
Startups Ventures Podcast

Teaching financial literacy after the NFL and embracing TikTok for marketing :: with Jed Collins

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Jed Collins (https://www.tiktok.com/@fullbackoffinance) and I discuss the basics of financial literacy and Jed’s journey into the NFL and entrepreneurial venture thereafter. Of particular interest is not only Jed’s story and important content he is teaching young people, but also how he has been using TikTok as a marketing engine to grow his business.

Will Little

Dec 30, 2020
COVID-19 Software Development Ventures Podcast Enneagram

Cybersecurity, Rapid Antigen Tests, Learning to Code, the Enneagram, and Meta-Level New Year’s Resolutions :: with Sol Cates

In this episode of Ventures, Sol Cates (https://twitter.com/solcates, cloud and cybersecurity expert at Thales) and I discuss advice for founders regarding technical infrastructure security. We also have a bit of a Random Show at the end of the year here as we discuss ways to combat COVID-19, provide technical founder training, practice self-discovery with the Enneagram, and think about New Year’s Resolutions.

Will Little

Dec 22, 2020
Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast Design

Virtual Identities, Dream Thinking, and Human Flourishing in the Web 3.0 era :: with Joel Fariss

In this episode of Ventures, Joel Fariss (https://joelfariss.com; a design research and strategic futures associate at Gensler) and I continue our conversation from Episode 21 and explore the implications of self-defined virtual identities and data stores as it relates to innovation, human progress, Dream Thinking, and Web 3.0.

Will Little

Dec 15, 2020
Startups Startup Fundraising Ventures Podcast Kickstarter

The Bird Buddy story, raising over $2m on Kickstarter, and growing an IoT company :: with Franci Zidar and Kyle Buzzard

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Franci Zidar (https://mybirdbuddy.com) and Kyle Buzzard (https://protaventures.com) discuss the Bird Buddy story from an idea to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Bird Buddy is a smart bird feeder that notifies users of visiting birds with a live stream and AI-assisted photo capturing features. We discuss many aspects of the story to date, including early validation work, design interactions, and the incorporation of feedback from interested customers. We also dive into practical advice for aspiring hardware/IoT entrepreneurs considering a Kickstarter campaign as part of their marketing strategy.