The Uncovered Podcast
Have you ever wanted to know the real secrets to starting, building, and scaling a company? How do you learn to fail and fail fast? How should you be thinking about financing and exit strategies? The entrepreneur’s journey is a long one — full of unknowns, risks, and opportunities at every turn. At PJC we have your back. With our Uncovered podcast, we aim to expose some of these unknowns so you can better understand what to expect and how to prepare. Each season you’ll hear from first time founders to repeat founders, to low and high profile companies, taking you behind the scenes to reveal the secrets and stories previously untold. We hope you’ll join us! Uncovered is presented by PJC, an early-stage venture capital firm committed to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Episodes
Episode Summary:
Phil Bronner is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of D.C. based Ardent Venture Partners, which was co- founded in 2020 with fellow veteran investor Phil Herget. Phil has had an impressive 15-year career in venture prior to starting Ardent, leading 16 investments (was actively involved in 20) totaling over $100 million. He has also been on the entrepreneurial side, founding Quad Learning, a venture-backed st...
Episode Description:
In episode 7 of Season 3, Matt and Rob speak with Lee Hower, co-founder and Partner of NextView Ventures. Lee has spent his career as an entrepreneur and investor in early-stage software and internet startups. In this episode, you'll learn more on Lee's early days at PayPal alongside Elon Musk, to co-founding LinkedIn and moving back to the east coast to start his venture career at PJC. You’...
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Season 3 of the “Entrepreneurial Side of VC” hosts Matt Hayes and Rob May speak with David Martirano, Managing Partner of PJC. Tune in to learn more on his 20+ year career in venture and how its evolved over the years as well as the current trends within venture capital today.
What is Uncovered:
- The differences between raising capital for a VC fund versus a startup
- The parall...
Episode Summary:
Virginie Raphael is the Founder and Managing Partner of FullCircle, a pre-seed fund focused on the structural changes required to create a better workforce and closing the incentive alignment gap. In this episode, Matt and Marissa talk with Virginie about her path to venture, her motivation for starting FullCircle (first launched in June of 2021) and her passion for helping companies at the earliest stages wit...
Episode Summary:
Vishal Vasishth is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Obvious Ventures, founded in 2014, and investing in both early and growth stage companies. In this episode we speak with Vishal on his path to starting Obvious Ventures - from his time at Patagonia which greatly influenced the way he thought about brand and culture to his entrepreneurial path focused on how to solve real problems in the world. Tune in...
Episode Summary:
In our third episode of Season 3, Matt joins forces with Marissa Millbury, VP at PJC, to speak with Abby Miller Levy, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Primetime Partners. We learn more on how she went from wellness entrepreneur to founding Primetime Partners in 2020 which is focused on the trillion dollar global sector of Aging. A powerful conversation around this particular sector that is ripe for i...
Episode Summary:
Join us for episode 2 where we speak with Managing Director and Co-founder of General Catalyst Partners, David Fialkow. In this episode, we learn more about David’s journey from documentary filmmaker to venture capitalist and the common thread they share.
What is Uncovered:
- David’s unique path to starting General Catalyst alongside his long time friend Joel Cutler
- The importance of mentorship a...
Episode Summary:
Our first guest of Season 3 is Ian Rountree, Founder of Cantos. Ian grew up the son of a Marine and a public school English teacher from South Florida. He was introduced to VC at an early age while visiting his aunt in the bay area who was married to a venture capitalist. Although Ian’s interest in venture capital came at an early age, his trajectory to starting Cantos zig zagged as he went from graduating ...
Episode Summary:
In our final episode of this season we speak with Miguel Vega who is a partner at Cooley LLP. Miguel has been practicing law for 27 years representing clients in the technology and life sciences space. He has worked on M&A transactions of all sizes and provides great advice for both CEOs looking to sell their company and buyers. You will discover the common mistakes each player can make, when to start e...
Episode Summary:
On Episode 10 we speak with Emeka Iffih, who is the Head of Strategic Planning & Corporate Development at Commvault. Emeka has been in corporate development for over 20 years and in this episode we learn more on his role at Commvault, how they approach investments vs M&A and the common mistakes entrepreneurs make that cause deals to fall apart. We also hear more on how Emeka got started in corporate ...
Episode Summary:
Tune into this episode to hear from Kevin Spain, General Partner at Emergence Capital. Kevin’s background in both VC and corporate development over the last 20 years brings a unique perspective on how M&A have changed, the trends he is seeing in this space along with great advice for entrepreneurs looking to go public.
What is Uncovered:
- How the landscape of M&A has changed over the last ...
Episode Summary:
On episode 8, Matt and Rob speak with Leigh Price, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at IBM. Leigh has over 30 years in the industry and has overseen just north of 400 purchases at IBM. In this episode you will learn everything from the strategies IBM takes with acquisitions, how the corporate development team is organized and the importance of culture & integrity in this business. L...
Episode Summary:
In episode 7, we speak with John Swanciger, who runs strategic alliances at Toast. John shares the unique path that brought him to corporate development after many years working in tech as a C-level executive, and his advice for others who are considering corporate development. He discusses what it has been like joining Toast after its first acquisition, and how the team thinks about staying true to Toast’s cu...
Episode Summary:
On episode 6, Matt and Rob speak with Charlie Burckmyer, Director of M&A and Corporate Development at Culligan International. We learn more about how an M&A deal looks at a company with over 80 years of delivering water filtration & softener products. Charlie discusses the types of companies Culligan looks to acquire and how that has changed over the years, new technologies emerging within the ind...
Episode Summary:
Hilary Shirazi may have had a more traditional path to corporate development, but it wasn’t what she had planned. On this episode we learn more about Hilary’s various roles in corporate development from being an early member of LinkedIn's Corporate Development team and working through the Microsoft acquisition to her role at Zendesk today. We uncover more on how she thinks about building relationships, h...
Episode Summary:
On our 4th episode of Season 2, Matt and Rob connect with Brandon Greer, Manager of Corporate Development at HubSpot. We chat with Brandon on his experience from investing and helping SaaS teams in VC to working in partnerships and leading the venture arm at HubSpot. We uncover more on how HubSpot invests and what makes their venture arm unique. It’s a great episode for entrepreneurs to listen to and gain a...
Episode Summary:
On this episode Rob and Matt speak with Scott Haylon, Director of Business and Corporate Development at Datadog. This episode dives into Scott’s unique background & trajectory to corporate development, and is packed with advice for founders considering a merger or acquisition. Scott also provides great insight into his role at Datadog and the secrets to success for a M&A and the road to an IPO.
Episode Summary:
Our first guest of Season 2 is Anders Bialek who talks to us about his role as VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at iRobot. Tune in as Rob uncovers more about the ins and outs of working within corporate development as well as the strategies & secrets for both founders and corporate development teams to know ahead of a M&A.
What is Uncovered:
- How Anders got started within corporate develo...
Episode Summary:
Join us for season two of The Uncovered Podcast where we explore the world of corporate development. On our intro episode you’ll hear from PJC partners, Rob May, Matt Hayes and David Martirano as they discuss this past season’s episodes, the biggest takeaways and consistent lessons uncovered from the world of corporate development. Find out more on what is uncovered in this season by tuning into this episod...
Episode Description: In our final episode of our COVID-19 miniseries, Matt & Rob discuss the state of the economy, the macroeconomic changes from the pandemic and how these changes, such as in human behavior, will impact the economy on a longer term scale.
Topics covered include:
- Inflation and the decrease in globalization from COVID-19
- How entrepreneurs may think differently around pricing power
- PPP Loans and the adverse e...
Popular Podcasts
The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast. Join us for insider coverage during the intense competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have you know and those you'll be hard-pressed to forget.
In The Village will take you into the most exclusive areas of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to explore the daily life of athletes, complete with all the funny, mundane and unexpected things you learn off the field of play. Join Elizabeth Beisel as she sits down with Olympians each day in Paris.
Listen to the latest news from the 2024 Olympics.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the 33rd Olympic Games and you can follow Paris Summer Games to stay up to date on all things Olympics. We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Paris Summer Games so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.