Episode 437 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Nick LaRovere, CEO & Co-Founder of Pryzm. It seems obvious that selling to the U.S. federal government is complex, especially if you aren’t one of the traditional defense prime contractors… but it doesn’t have to be that way. Pryzm is out to help companies level the playing field. As I was preparing for this podcast, I learned about things like “J-Books” – the massive justification documents that outline the federal spending budget. While this budget information is public, these documents are notoriously long, dense, and difficult to navigate. This seems like a logical use case for AI. But while many AI tools attempt to simply wrap public data to write proposals, Pryzm goes far deeper. Founded by a team of Colby alumni with backgrounds at Palantir and Lockheed Martin, Pryzm has built an AI-powered command center. The platform unifies market intelligence, relationship insights, and real-time program awareness into a single, actionable view, making it the operating system for federal capture and acquisition. The company recently closed a $12.2M seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) through its American Dynamism fund, with participation from XYZ Venture Capital, Amplify.LA, and Forum Ventures. Armed with IL5 and FedRAMP High authorizations, Pryzm is actively modernizing the federal procurement industry. In this episode, we cover: 00:00 Introducing Nick LaRovere, CEO & Co-Founder of Pryzm 04:23 Advice for Building a Startup in the DefenceTech sector 08:55 Nick's Background, Early Influences, & Attending Colby 15:36 Getting his career started 20:06 Early Experiences, including Tesla and Palantir 26:48 Founding Prysm and Its Mission 33:42 Details on the Prysm Platform 36:50 Growth and Scaling of Prysm 40:47 Raising funding from Andreessen Horowitz 45:23 The Importance of Storytelling in Entrepreneurship 46:54 Future Growth and Hiring Plans 47:50 3 Essential Apps 50:25 Book / Podcast Recommendations for Entrepreneurs 52:28 Nick's Hobbies Outside of Work Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 436 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Shilpi Gupta, Founder of Qyn Labs. Lived the problem and driven to solve it. If I were a venture capitalist, that would be the most critical pillar of my investment thesis. It’s not impossible to succeed otherwise, but entrepreneurs who have personally experienced the friction they’re solving, I believe, will always have a massive edge. Shilpi fits the mold here. It was her own personal health experience that led her to a stark realization that hormonal health data is currently reactive, fragmented, and sparse. She knew there had to be a better way, so she founded Qyn Labs to solve this problem and as you’ll learn, she is uniquely qualified to build this company. For context, our brain communicates in two ways: electrical and chemical. Hormones are the primary chemical signals in our body, yet we have almost no real-time visibility into them. Qyn is changing that with a data-driven platform designed to bring clarity, precision, and understanding to hormone health through simple, at-home testing. Before Qyn, Shilpi spent her career scaling complex robotics and consumer hardware products. She was part of the Roomba team at iRobot, then she played a key role in making Prime One-Day delivery happen through her work at Amazon Robotics, and then she learned about healthtech while leading product at Pison. Chapters 00:05 Introducing Shilpi Gupta, Founder at Qyn Labs 03:40 Advice for Entrepreneurs Building in the HealthTech Industry 06:25 Shilpi's Childhood and Early Influences 10:29 Career Beginnings and Transition to Product Management 14:11 Experience at iRobot and Lessons Learned 18:18 Amazon Robotics: Scaling Consumer Experience 22:10 Joining Pison and Getting her Start in HealthTech 26:59 What led Shilpi down the path of starting Qyn 30:55 The Details about Qyn and How it Works 37:31 The Flow of Data to the Consumer 40:36 Advice on Building Hardware and Figuring out Manufacturing Partners 42:05 Raising Capital as a First Time Founder 44:34 Qyn's Business Model 45:28 How Shilbi Leverages AI 46:54 Three Apps Shilpi can't live without

Episode 435 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix. The venture capital industry originated back in 1946 in the Boston area, when The American Research and Development Corporation was founded by MIT president Karl Compton and Harvard professor Georges Doriot. From that point, an industry was born, and firms were created, but very few have had the lasting impact and track record as Matrix, one of the OG firms that helped institutionalize this industry. The firm has a tremendous track record through the years making investments in legendary companies like Apple and FedEx… plus category creators like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Oculus… or current investments like Canva, Suno, GOAT, and Flock Safety. Matrix is investing out of its 12th fund, an $800M fund for seed and Series A investments, and the firm continues to have a strong presence on both coasts. Kojo is a Stanford grad, who was the Head of Product at Sirona Medical, the AI operating system for radiologists, before becoming a VC. Now based in NYC, Kojo has been an investor with Matrix for over five years. Some areas of interest these days for investments include agent-driven commerce, how the software infrastructure is getting rebuilt for agents, and model application integrated companies. His investments include companies like Channel3, BoldVoice, Ampersand, and LM Studios. Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix 03:24 What is Agent Driven Commerce 09:45 Koji's background & Early Career 13:20 Joining Matrix as a VC 14:37 Advice for Aspiring Venture Capitalists 17:05 The First Year in Venture Capital 20:26 Details about Matrix's 25:01 Investment Areas of Interest for Kojo 27:48 The Art of the Cold Email to a VC 34:17 Exploring the 'Why Now' Philosophy 37:59 AI: Current State and Predictions 42:06 Common Mistakes Founders Make 44:23 GTM for Developer Products 48:11 Leveraging AI in Daily Workflow 49:23 Kojo's Recommendation & Personal Interests Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 434 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ted Julian, CEO & Founder of Flux. Lots of successful people are very humble. They might credit their success to timing, luck, or another reason to downplay things which is a trait that I do admire. Ted fits the bill here, as he’s very humble. But, as you’ll hear in this podcast interview, his track record is extraordinary. He’s been part of the founding team or leadership team for not 1, not 2, not 3… but 4 exits. Very few, if any, have that type of track record in Boston. It’s obvious that he knows how to time the market with the right product and build an exceptional team to execute and scale. That is exactly why I am so incredibly excited about what he is working on right now. With the current paradigm shift to AI, there is a rare opportunity for proven founders to swing for the fences and build massive anchor tech companies in Boston. Ted’s latest company is Flux, which recently announced $5M in funding round led by Calibrate Ventures, with participation from True Ventures and Glasswing. They have built a code-first engineering intelligence platform that gives engineering leaders ground-truth visibility into the work actually happening across today’s complex, AI-accelerated codebases. Think of it this way: Salesforce completely digitized the sales pipeline, HubSpot digitized the marketing funnel… now, with AI tools helping developers ship code faster than ever before, Flux provides the missing system of record to ensure engineering organizations are optimized with less risk and are aligned with business outcomes. Chapters 00:00 Introducing Ted Julian - CEO & Founder of Flux 03:44 Lessons Learned Around GTM Strategies & Getting Early Adopter Customers 06:58 Ted's Background and Getting his Career Started 07:32 Co-Founding @ Stake & Amazing Alumni 09:26 Other Exits 14:38 Ted's Philosophy of Entrepreneurship 19:34 Why He Keeps Building 22:27 Details on Flux: Transforming Engineering with AI 27:41 Flux's Recent $5M Round of Funding & What's Next 30:23 Their fundraising process 33:53 Leveraging AI in his personal life 36:32 Hobbies outside of work

Episode 433 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Roy Hotrabhvanon, CEO & Co-Founder of PlayerData. Some companies seem like they were just meant to happen, which is certainly the case for PlayerData. Back in 2016, Roy was on track to compete in the Rio Olympics for archery when a severe car accident completely derailed his plans. But instead of letting that tragic incident define him, Roy picked himself up and built a tech company around the specialized performance tracking tools he had originally hacked together to train his own body. He was using sensors and data to optimize his performance, which certainly was not common practice back then. His firsthand experience seeing what hardware, software, and data could do for athletes sparked the foundation for PlayerData, and his timing turned out to be absolutely perfect. Fast forward, PlayerData helps athletes at every stage of their game build confidence, stay healthy, and work smarter with the company’s world-class performance tracking technology. The company recently announced a $12M from Kevin Durant’s 35V, Tennis Australia, Darco Capital, and Pentland Ventures, and what is also really exciting, they announced the move of their U.S. headquarters from Philadelphia to Boston. As you’ll hear from this interview, PlayerData is relentlessly innovating. In addition to their core wearable tracking platform, they recently partnered with Mitre to launch the world's first GPS-enabled "Connected Ball" which is FIFA certified. Now, coaches, trainers, and athletes have even more data to optimize training and performance. In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of great topics, including: Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Roy Hotrabhvanon, CEO & Co-Founder, PlayerData 04:33 Fundraising for a Hardware / Software company in the sports industry 07:37 Roy's background - Growing up in Thailand 11:02 Meeting his PlayerData Co-Founder, Hayden Ball 11:39 What he was tracking that led to starting PlayerData 13:40 The early days of PlayerData 18:30 "Hardware is Hard" - Experience building hardware in the sports space 24:12 PlayerData today - Details on the Company and how it works 27:22 Collecting data in practice and real game situations 28:48 The platform's ease of use and portable nature 31:29 Details on the cloud-first tech behind the data 34:24 Leveraging AI for Enhanced Coaching 35:39 Strategic Expansion into the US Market 36:54 Why Roy chose Boston for their US Headquarters 37:48 Scaling Operations and Team Growth 38:57 Go-to-Market Strategies for Broad Accessibility 41:00 What's next for PlayerData 41:48 Advice for Founders in the Sports Tech Industry 43:03 Integrating AI into Daily Operations 44:17 3 Apps Roy Can't Live Without 45:29 Book / Podcast Recommendations 46:00 What He Does for Fun Outside of Work

Episode 432 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Johannes Galatsanos, CEO & Co-Founder of Diffraqtion. I’m incredibly lucky to host this show because the guests I interview are truly out to rewrite the rules of what's possible. Johannes is a perfect example. He brings over 15 years of deep expertise across AI, quantum tech, and operations across a career that includes lots of deep research in academia to executing massive, corporate AI initiatives at global giants like Novartis. So, what does someone with that background do to push the absolute limits of technology? How about building a space company that is creating the world’s first quantum camera to help satellites and machines see further and think faster? By blending quantum photonics with cutting-edge AI edge-computing, Diffraqtion’s technology enables satellites and telescopes to bypass traditional lens constraints entirely—delivering 20 times higher resolution and 1,000 times faster processing speed, all at a fraction of the cost. As you’ll hear from this interview, there are a countless number of use cases and industries that are perfect for Diffraqtion’s technology, which puts them in an ideal spot to build a massive anchor tech company in the Boston startup scene. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 02:37 What is Quantum Computing? 11:40 Johannes' Childhood in Greece and Early Interests 14:52 Transition from Academia to Industry 20:46 Introduction to Diffraction and the Quantum Camera 25:03 Quantum Camera Applications in Space Domain Awareness and Earth Imaging 27:26 Commercializing the technology 28:48 Manufacturing Challenges and Building the Quantum Camera 33:56 Building in Public and Strategic Networking 39:38 Their Innovative Rolling Funding Strategy and Capital Efficiency 45:50 Perfecting their Investor Pitch 49:08 Why Boston for Space Tech Innovation? 53:26 Excitement About Space Industry and Artemis Missions 55:43 Closing Remarks

Episode 431 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Cathy Lewenberg, CEO of Bevi. When most people think of a beverage company, they immediately think of a traditional consumer brand fighting for shelf space at the grocery store. But the real magic behind Bevi is its highly defensible B2B business model and it’s brilliant. Bevi has made the old corporate water cooler cool again with its high quality platform which combines smart hardware, software, data, and customized flavors & enhancements to create a delightful experience. Oh, and its units are directly installed into your office, gym, hotel, or elsewhere. On top of their success, Bevi is also helping out our planet. The company recently hit a historic milestone, officially surpassing 1 billion single-use bottles and cans saved from ending up in landfills. Cathy stepped in as Bevi’s CEO almost two years ago to lead the company’s next phase of growth. As you’ll hear, she is uniquely qualified to scale this business. She spent years driving digital transformation and healthy convenience initiatives at CVS Health, before serving as Chief Operating Officer and then CEO at Drizly, where she helped lead this hypergrowth company to a $1.1B acquisition by Uber. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * Cathy’s advice on joining a founder-led company as CEO. * Her background growing up in upstate New York and her competitive experience rowing crew at Princeton. * Her impactful tenure at CVS Health, where she ran the food and beverage business, led the shift toward healthy convenience retail, and helped play a key role in the decision to exit the tobacco category. * Why she joined Drizly and the dramatic “COVID moment” that triggered rocketship growth for alcohol delivery, leading all the way up to the Uber acquisition. * All the details about Bevi, what’s next, and the company’s culture. * The burning question: Is a residential Bevi machine coming to our homes anytime soon? * Cathy’s advice to the next generation of women aspiring to step into the CEO seat. * And, so much more! Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 430 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Phil Beauregard, Managing Partner of Impellent Ventures. I first met Phil back when Boston was going through another massive resurgence of growth following the financial crisis of 2008. It was a special time when local founders and investors banded together to help build and scale the Boston tech ecosystem. It was a movement that is reminiscent of what we are seeing today with the Mass AI Coalition. There was a major buzz in the air back then, and it worked, resulting in the launch of multiple successful companies, including two of Phil's own startups which were both acquired. There is a phrase that Phil commonly uses, which is “why join the Navy when you can be a pirate” and I think it speaks volumes to his mentality and how they deploy capital at Impellent Ventures. They don’t just simply follow the herd, especially when it comes to finding elite entrepreneurs. They are entirely location-agnostic and welcome working with exceptional founders who are tackling massive, real-world problems in emerging ecosystems... not just out in Silicon Valley. Impellent Ventures is focused on making seed and pre-seed investments. The firm is led by Phil, David Brown (who previously appeared on Episode 190), and Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought of The Roots, who serves as a General Partner at the firm. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * A conversation around building startups outside of San Francisco, and why we are living through the "consumerization of the enterprise" era. * The correlation between smaller fund sizes and investor returns. * Phil’s background growing up in New Bedford and studying business at The Wharton School at UPenn, plus how he first caught the entrepreneurial bug and met his co-founder, Matt Grace. * The inside story behind his two exits: Objective Logistics to Carbon Black and Rekindle to HubSpot. * His transition from operator to investor at Impellent Ventures, plus all the details on their unique investment criteria, portfolio company examples, and how Tariq Trotter joined the firm. * His role as an early advisor to multiple successful tech companies, including the critical advice that Toast luckily chose not to take. * How Phil is leveraging AI to build his own Relationship Intelligence System, helping him scale his ability to "pay it forward" to the ecosystem. * Plus, so much more!

Episode 429 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Lior Div, CEO & Co-Founder of 7AI. One of the most exciting parts of this platform shift to AI is watching elite, repeat founders get back into the arena. It’s often these experienced builders who have the appetite and the playbook to swing for the fences and create a truly category-defining company. Lior is exactly one of those entrepreneurs. Along with his co-founder, Yonatan Striem-Amit, this duo is uniquely qualified to build the leading agentic AI security platform. They have deep expertise in the cybersecurity industry and… by the way, they’ve done this before with their prior unicorn, Cybereason. 7AI empowers enterprises to shift security tasks to AI agents. The company recently made waves across the entire tech ecosystem by announcing a massive $130 million Series A round of funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from Blackstone Innovations Investments, Greylock, CRV, and Spark Capital. To put that into perspective: a $130 million Series A is the largest Series A round in the history of the cybersecurity industry. It is exactly that type of aggressive funding, along with blue-chip investors, that creates market leaders. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: A discussion around the rapidly changing landscape of AI and how that affects cybersecurity. Lior’s background story, including being part of Israel’s elite Unit 8200 intelligence group and how he got involved in the cybersecurity industry. Scaling Cybereason, plus why he chose to build his companies in Boston. The background story of 7AI and all the details on the company & platform. The distinct operational differences between building a traditional software business versus building a native AI company. 7AI’s aggressive growth plans ahead, a look inside their company culture, and what it takes to build a trusted brand in security. The most important skills someone needs to be a successful CEO. And more! This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Episode 428 of The VentureFizz #podcast features Mike Pappas, CEO & Co-Founder of Modulate. Is Boston the best place to build a voice AI company? Based on its rich history in this category, I would have to say 1000%. From the early days of ScanSoft and Dragon to SpeechWorks and Vlingo—all of which eventually fell under the voice juggernaut Nuance, which worked on the early days of Siri and was acquired by Microsoft—the pedigree in this city is unmatched. Add in players like Bose, Vivox, and the sizable presence of Amazon Alexa in the area, and it's clear: Boston is the voice capital of the world. Mike Pappas and his co-founder Carter Huffman are adding a massive new chapter to that legacy and thatis Modulate, a venture-backed voice intelligence company building AI models and APIs designed to understand real-world conversational audio at scale. Modulate is the company behind ToxMod, the world's most advanced proactive voice moderation platform. If you’ve played Call of Duty lately, you’ve likely interacted with their tech. And, the company recently launched a new product called Velma, the leading AI-platform for real-world voice intelligence. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: Mike’s perspective on the shift from license-based to usage-based pricing models. Mike’s background story—from his physics studies at MIT to his early career at Bridgewater Associates. Entering "startup land" at Lola and the critical hiring lessons he learned while working alongside Paul English. The founding of Modulate and the pivotal moment when they realized the tech they built was actually the solution to a massive safety problem in gaming which led to a relationship with Activision. All the details about ToxMod and Velma, including customer examples and use cases. Why their dataset is a "moat" that makes their technology uniquely defensible in the age of generic LLMs. Mike's advice for first-time founders on raising capital and building a high-performance culture. Plus, so much more! This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.