The Pitch
Where startup founders raise millions and listeners can invest in the next billion dollar company. Forget everything you think you know about the world of venture capital. Host Josh Muccio takes listeners behind closed-doors and into the room where deals are made. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
July 24, 2024 • 36 mins
Alexa Von Tobel started thinking about money after her dad died when she was young. By the time she got her first job out of college, she was horrified to learn that there weren’t any financial resources online. So she built LearnVest – one of the first companies to help young people manage their money online – and sold it to Northwestern Mutual for $375 million.
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July 10, 2024 • 37 mins
As a glacier guide in Alaska, Georgia Grace Edwards had a problem: her pants. While the male guides just unzipped and did their business, she had to find a secluded place and completely undress in the freezing tundra. So Georgia Grace created the GoFly zipper technology to help everyone go on the go. Will the investors get behind this consumer product or is this business just too messy?
Featuring investors Cyan Banister, Charles Hu...
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June 26, 2024 • 39 mins
Lending is one of the oldest markets in recorded history. But founder Luis Sánchez believes there’s an opportunity that remains untapped… manufacturing companies in Mexico. Can Luis mint a Mexican unicorn? Or will the investors decide that this market is just too niche?
Featuring investors Elizabeth Yin, Charles Hudson, Beck Bamberger, Pascal Unger and Mac Conwell.
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Watch the KredFeed pitch on YouTube @thepitchshow
To invest wit...
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June 12, 2024 • 39 mins
Twin sisters Nilo and Jennifer Rahmani used to be site reliability engineers. Where they worked night and day to keep servers running at companies like Slack. But Nilo and Jen left their cushy jobs in tech to build Thoras AI, a platform that helps startups scale and optimize their cloud infrastructure using AI. Will the investors get down on site reliability, or will this “family business” scare them away?
Featuring investors Cyan ...
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May 29, 2024 • 36 mins
When women started curling their hair with bathrobes, Emily Kenison didn't see a silly TikTok trend. She saw the creation of a new market – heatless hair care. This lawyer-turned-inventor decided to capitalize on the craze by designing her own patented line of heatless curling headbands. Will the investors see a big vision in big curls, or is this just another one of those 'lifestyle' businesses investors love to hate?
Featuring in...
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May 15, 2024 • 48 mins
We thought it would take years before AI could replace a podcast host. That is, until founder Edward Brawer slid into Josh’s DMs to pitch his startup, PodcastAI. Edward thinks he can make podcast producers 10x more productive and he already signed two big name podcasters. Now can he convince the big name investors that PodcastAI will deliver 100x returns?
Featuring investors Elizabeth Yin, Charles Hudson, Beck Bamberger, Pascal Ung...
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May 8, 2024 • 45 mins
Since the beginning of The Pitch, we’ve told one story: what it’s like to raise money for a startup. But what about the rest of the journey?
On our new segment, The Exit, we talk to startup founders who’ve done the impossible, sold their startup for hundreds of millions. How does it feel to finally accomplish the dream? And is that dream all it’s cracked up to be? In our first exit interview, we talk to Bill Smith, a high school dr...
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May 1, 2024 • 34 mins
What if your favorite online store had models that look like you: your skin tone, your height, your body shape? That question propelled Vita Mallela to start Flock AI. Their AI generated models could help brands eliminate pricey photoshoots. But with AI startups so en vogue, how will the investors know if this AI startup is the one to walk the runway with?
Featuring investors Elizabeth Yin, Charles Hudson, Beck Bamberger, Pascal Un...
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April 24, 2024 • 42 mins
After spending a decade as a franchise broker, Kenny Rose decided to break out on his own and start FranShares. An alternative investment platform where anyone can invest in franchises. Now you can own a piece of your local fast food joint, a medspa, even a car wash! But will the investors be able to see big tech returns for a company that sounds like small fries?
Featuring investors Jillian Manus, Beck Bamberger and Mac Conwell.
....
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April 17, 2024 • 42 mins
Monica Williams wants to revolutionize the period experience for tweens. With $5 million in sales in just two years, she’s on her way. Now she wants to raise venture to scale her bootstrapped company. Will Monica get to pitch the big vision for RedDrop or will investors write her off from the start?
Featuring investors Elizabeth Yin, Charles Hudson, Beck Bamberger, Pascal Unger and Mac Conwell.
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Watch the RedDrop pitch on YouTub...
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April 10, 2024 • 40 mins
Growing up as a pastor's kid, Emmanuel Brown saw what a financial burden church real estate can be. Churches sit empty 70% of the week even though they have commercial kitchens and professional sound systems and oh so much space for activities! So Emmanuel built ChurchSpace, a church rental marketplace. He has faith in his business – but can he convert investors if they believe congregations are shrinking?
Featuring investors Jilli...
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April 3, 2024 • 52 mins
Kavitta Ghai struggled in school due to autism and ADHD until a positive experience with a college professor transformed her academic journey. Convinced this was the future, she launched a startup to make classrooms more accessible. Now, she just needs a VC to lead her $3 million seed round. Will Kavitta pass the test with the investors in The Pitch Room?
Featuring investors Cyan Banister, Charles Hudson, Elizabeth Yin, Mac Conwell...
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March 20, 2024 • 3 mins
The Pitch is back for season 11! Recorded for the first time in front of a live studio audience, we invited the top startup founders and VCs from across the country to join us in Miami. Visionary founders will pitch everything from pants you can pee in, to Airbnb for churches. And it wouldn’t be 2024 if we didn’t throw in some AI and alternative investments!
Tune in to season 11 to hear the true story of how venture deals get done....
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November 22, 2023 • 59 mins
For our season 10 finale, we’re trying something crazy. We’re giving you a full pitch from start to finish with no editing whatsoever! Founder Chase Robbins presents his snack delivery business, Handle, to investors Paige Doherty, Neal Bloom, Elizabeth Yin, Mark Phillips and Charles Hudson. Will they back this college dropout who promises on-campus deliveries in 15-minutes or less? Or will they steer clear of a space that's seen bi...
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November 15, 2023 • 29 mins
Online shopping was supposed to make things easier. But with so many options, it’s also made our shopping experience more fragmented than ever. Kristine Locker set out to fix that with her social shopping app Locker. However, her target demographic is a couple generations behind most VCs. Can Kristine convince investors she has the solution to a problem they don’t experience or will they abandon this startup in the cart?
You can al...
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November 8, 2023 • 30 mins
Ever stood at the recycling bin wondering, “Is this cup really recyclable?'' Enter Nicole Toole, the founder of ECGO, an AI-powered app designed to tackle this confusion. With ECGO, you snap a photo of any item, and the app will tell you how to properly dispose of it. But as mind-blowingly awesome as this is, the investors wonder how much money can you really make from trash when you’re selling to universities.
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November 1, 2023 • 32 mins
Luke Barkley Young was tired of two things: companies that don’t take responsibility for products they put in the world and moldy shower liners. So he created Outlines, a circular subscription for all your home essentials. Their first product is a recyclable shower curtain. But it’s a rough environment out there for direct to consumer products. Will the VCs invest in Luke’s big vision for replenishables – or would that just be pour...
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October 25, 2023 • 40 mins
Venture investors have spent the last decade searching for the killer use case for VR. Today’s founder, Andrew McHugh, thinks he’s found it with his startup, Wist. But days before Andrew gave his pitch, Apple sent shockwaves through the industry by announcing their new headset, the Vision Pro. Will investors be skittish about the tech giant entering the space? Or is it a sign that VR’s big moment has finally arrived?
You can also w...
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October 18, 2023 • 40 mins
Cofounding sisters Kinsey and Jessa Lux think they’ve found the next big opportunity in sports tech, audio lessons for horseback riders. But the equestrian market is way smaller than say, running or cycling. Is a passionate market enough to excite investors, or is Ride iQ too niche to become a billion dollar business?
Today’s investors are Beck Bamberger, Al Bsharah, Jillian Manus, and Howie Diamond.
To learn more about Kinsey and ...
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September 27, 2023 • 29 mins
Jason Vego wants to disrupt an industry so old school he has to sell door to door. Yet somehow his SaaS platform for convenience stores boasts a 95% conversion rate from free trial. Another number comes up in The Pitch Room though, Jason’s ownership percentage in Bevz. Will this founder win over the investors or get the door slammed in his face?
Today’s investors are Paige Doherty, Neal Bloom, Elizabeth Yin, Mark Phillips and Charl...
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