Unicorn Builders

Tom Livne: The GTM Story of Verbit ($2 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Tom Livne, Founder and CEO of Verbit, an AI-powered transcription platform that's raised over $600 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Tom’s background, including lessons learned from his time in the Israeli military, and founding his first tech company in his 20s
His favorite book, and why Walt Disney is the founder who most inspires him.
How the startup and unicorn ecosystem in Israel evolved, and what it’s like today
How Tom’s time as a practicing lawyer led him to identify a problem and start Verbit
Resisting the temptation of premature multi-million dollars SPAC deals, the importance of taking a stance when you believe in something, and the state of Israeli democracy
Favorite book: 
The Alchemist

Justin Borgman: The GTM Story of Starburst ($3+ Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Justin Borgman, CEO and Co-Founder of Starburst, a data lake analytics platform that's raised $414 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Why Justin prefers to be called a “workhorse” rather than an unicorn
The entropy in the data universe and how Starburst aims at giving customers the freedom to analyze their data regardless of where it’s stored
Why Justin has over 10 co-founders, and how this has been an advantage for Starburst
Justin’s transitioning away from sales, what keeps him awake at night, and what he does to balance his work and personal life
The lowest point for Justin as a founder, the importance of finding the right mentors, and the day Starburst became a unicorn

Arvind Jain: The GTM Story of Glean ($1 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean, an AI-powered workplace data search and management platform that has raised $155 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Arvind’s background, including a decade in Google in the early 2000s and being a unicorn builder twice in a row
Why Arvind thinks luck plays a big role in building unicorns, what his superpower is, and his vision on leadership
Why employees spend up to 25% of their work time searching for data in the company’s servers
How Glean uses the power of generative AI to help people find enterprise information quickly
Why a startup founder starting out should look for a big problem to solve, and the challenges of achieving unicorn status

Abhay Parasnis: the Story of Typeface ($1 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders we speak with Abhay Parasnis, Founder and CEO of Typeface, an enterprise AI platform that has raised $165 Million in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Abhay’s background, including his time at IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and being CTO at Adobe, and working on the project that became Java
Photography, Abhay’s favorite photo he ever took, and landscapes he would love to photograph
What Abhay has learned being a board member at Schneider Electric and Dropbox
How Typeface personalizes AI content generators to each company’s brand and voice
What Typeface is doing that makes it stand out in the market, and lessons Abhay learned from fundraising

Rodrigo Liang: the Story of SambaNova ($5+ Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Rodrigo Liang, Co-Founder and CEO of SambaNova, an enterprise generative AI platform that's raised over $1 Billion in funding.
Topics Discussed:
Rodrigo’s decades-long background in the tech industry, including Sun, Oracle, and HP
What are the two qualities that Rodrigo most admires in the great CEOs he has met, and what it was like to work with Larry Ellison
Why companies have difficulty breaching the chasm from pre-AI to post-AI, and how SambaNova helps them do that
Lessons from “near-death” corporate experiences, and fundraising skills
Why, for Rodrigo, a startup is first of all a mentality

Arif Nathoo: the Story of Komodo Health ($3 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Arif Nathoo, CEO and Co-Founder of Komodo Health, a data platform that has raised over $400 million.
Topics Discussed:
Arif’s background as a hospital volunteer, his studies in medicine and public policy, and his work as a management consultant
Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, stoicism, and Arif’s personal philosophy
The “curse” of being a startup founder and what motivates Arif to continue working
Advice Arif would give to his younger self when starting his company
What Komodo has already accomplished and what Arif’s vision is moving forward
 
Favorite book: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Dave Wessinger: the Story of PointClickCare ($5 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Dave Wessinger, CEO and Co-Founder of PointClickCare, a healthcare technology platform that's raised over half a billion in funding, about why the healthcare industry in on the verge of a technological breakthrough, and what it means for customers and patients alike. By making patient data accessible, breaking down data silos and connecting care teams with the insights to manage relationships in the right way, PointClickCare is building a better world of healthcare.
We also speak about Dave’s background as a tech entrepreneur and how a desire to build video games transformed into pioneering healthcare solutions, the benefits of building a business with close family members, building significant market shares across various markets, and how PointClickCare evolved from an senior-focused SaaS firm to a comprehensive care solution. 
Topics Discussed:
Dave’s background as a technology entrepreneur, and how a passion for video games led him to a pioneering role in providing healthcare
Working closely with family members as a unique entrepreneurial experience built on inherent trust
How PointClickCare evolved from a senior-centered SaaS company into a comprehensive care solution
Achieving dominant positions through brand building and customer satisfaction across various markets
Why starting a company requires a combination of self-belief and a sense of adventure, and Dave’s experience with both

Jean Paul Chauvet: the Story of Lightspeed ($2+ Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Jean Paul Chauvet, CEO of Lightspeed, a unified point of sale payments platform that's raised over a billion dollars in funding.
 
Topics Discussed:
Jean Paul’s background as an engineer, and how a ‘golden childhood’ in Nigeria helped him find his road to business leadership
The importance of timing and industry insight to guide critical business decisions, and how Jean Paul got it right again and again
How Lightspeed manages to stay ahead of the game by listening to customers and constantly striving for innovation
Why founders looking to achieve big things should learn to fail fast and course correct
Being hyperactive, hardworking, and ultimately always coming back to business rather than rest
 
Favorite book: 
Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers (Collins Business Essentials)

Federico Larsen: the Story of Copado ($1.2 Billion Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Federico Larsen, CTO and Co-Founder of Copado, a DevOps platform for Salesforce that's raised over $250 Million in funding. 
Topics Discussed:
Federico’s background, coming from Argentina and working on Latin America’s first Salesforce system integrator
How challenges of implementing complex processes gave rise to the inspiration for an automated solution, and, ultimately, Copado itself
How Copado rose from humble roots to service enterprise-scale customers, including Fortune1000 companies
Federico’s advice on fundraising, and the importance of choosing investors who align with the company's goals and values
The key elements of building a business that every funder needs to get right, from building a cohesive team to encouraging collaboration, even among a distributed workforce
 
Favorite book: 
Conquest of Mind: Take Charge of Your Thoughts and Reshape Your Life Through Meditation

Henrique Dubugras: the Story of Brex ($12 Billion+ Valuation)

In today's episode of Unicorn Builders, we speak with Henrique Dubugras, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brex, a fintech unicorn most recently valued at more than $12 Billion.
Topics Discussed:
Henrique's entrepreneurial journey, from starting his first company in Brazil, attending college in the United States, and eventually Co-Founding Brex
How setbacks shaped Henrique's determined mindset as an entrepreneur, and the lessons he learned along the way
Brex’ company focus on corporate expenditure, accountability and compliance, whether for travel costs or credit cards
Why the closure of Silicon Valley Bank might create a real opportunity for Brex to provide transactional services to startups
How Brex profiles their potential competitors, and their plans to make sure they secure their own space