Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

The Elon Musk of Defense Tech: Mach Industries’ Ethan Thornton

In this episode, we speak with Ethan Thornton, Founder of Mach Industries, which is building the next-generation of defense systems. 
Ethan dropped out of MIT at the age of 19 years old to found Mach Industries, which was soon backed by Sequoia’s Stephanie Zhan and Shaun Maguire and eventually Bedrock Capital’s founder Geoff Lewis. Ethan ran a wood and metal workshop in high school to make the initial Mach products. 
Since 2020, Mach has been dedicated to solving the next generation of warfare with lethal systems that deter kinetic conflict and protect global security. Their team of elite engineers, manufacturers, and operators are creating a better defense system for the U.S. and its allies.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

HealthTech For Employers: PeopleOne Health’s Jordan Taradash

In this episode, we speak with Jordan Taradash, Co-Founder and CEO of PeopleOne Health, which provides world-class healthcare that seamlessly blends treatment and prevention, leading to significant savings for employers and employees by keeping people healthier.
Jordan oversees PeopleOne Health’s executive team, steering the company’s strategic vision, culture, and sales, as it advances as one of the fastest-growing leaders in value-based primary care. Previously, Jordan was the CEO of Innovative Wellness Solutions, one of the largest wellness companies in the United States.
PeopleOne Health is one of the fastest-growing primary care providers. Leading employers and thousands of members trust PeopleOne Health and rate their customer satisfaction an excellent 90+ NPS (exceeding the healthcare industry average of 35).
Jordan supports End Veteran Debt.  To learn more about this organization click here.
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Compliance Tech Entrepreneur: Thoropass’ Sam Li

In this episode, we speak with Sam Li, Co-Founder and CEO of Thoropass, an information security compliance and audit solution that enables companies to get and stay compliant with infosec frameworks and privacy standards.
Under Sam’s leadership, Thoropass has supplemented its core products with audit services, pentesting, and AI cybersecurity solutions. Before Thoropass, Sam was an EIR at Bain Capital Ventures after running Zinc Platform, a Y combinator-backed InsurTech startup as co-founder and CTO.
Thoropass now has over 1k customers and is backed by leading investors such as JP Morgan, Fin Capital, Canapi Ventures and BCV.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Private Investing Made Simple: Yieldstreet’s Michael Weisz

In this episode, we speak with Michael Weisz, Founder and CEO of Yieldstreet, the leading private market investment platform helping people dive into alternative investing with confidence and ease.
Founding the company in 2015, Michael’s team believed private market alternatives should be a fundamental part of investors’ portfolio. From real estate, venture capital, private equity, art, short term notes and beyond, Yieldstreet investors gain exclusive access to a wide range of opportunities.
Prior to founding Yieldstreet, Michael held a variety of positions in the specialty finance sector, including Vice President of business development at a New York-based credit opportunities hedge fund and as a Founder and Chief Investment Officer of specialty finance company Soli Capital.
Michael is involved in several charities across the United States and abroad that are focused on caring for widows & orphans, enhancing education for K-12, food stability, and supporting local community needs.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Transforming Employee Healthcare: Healthee’s Guy Benjamin

In this episode, we speak with Guy Benjamin, Co-Founder and CEO of Healthee, a healthcare platform that makes it easier, faster, and more efficient to get care.
Founded in 2021, Guy’s team believes everyone, everywhere, deserves access to high-quality affordable healthcare. The platform provides personalized, instant, and uncomplicated answers to coverage, treatment, and benefits questions, end-to-end Open Enrollment support, and tailored preventive care suggestions.
Prior to Healthee, Guy worked as an Associate Partner for McKinsey & Company. 
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Legal Tech Innovator: Proof’s Eric Voogt

In this episode, we speak with Eric Voogt, Founder and CEO of Proof, the world's first on-demand service-of-process platform that provides instant access to experienced servers and the ability to track a serve in real-time from a desktop computer or mobile device.
Founded in 2017, Eric’s paralegal understood the issue of tirelessly calling process serving companies to see if they had availability, while faxing docs and waiting to get updated on serve statuses. The people at Proof believe law firms can create electronic serve requests 24/7, receive live updates, see mapped verification of all attempts, and connect directly to servers in real time.
Eric is also currently President of the firm Glad Voogt Lopez Smith PC.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Private Credit For All: Percent’s Nelson Chu

In this episode, we speak with Nelson Chu, Founder and CEO of Percent, which is unlocking private credit and providing unparalleled access through its modern private credit market, empowering investors, borrowers, and underwriters with innovative technology to increase the speed and frequency of transactions at a fraction of the cost.
Founded in 2018, Percent’s platform is becoming the market standard for asset-based and corporate lending, powering over $1 billion in transaction volume in a multi-trillion-dollar private credit industry.
Prior to Percent, Nelson founded a strategy consulting firm named Lumenary, and co-founded MySupport, an online platform that helps seniors, people with disabilities and families connect with direct support workers.
Nelson supports Yamba Malawi and Womankind.
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Recovery Within Reach: Bicycle Health’s Ankit Gupta

In this episode, we speak with Ankit Gupta, CEO and Founder of Bicycle Health, a digital clinic to help people free themselves from opioid dependence.
In 2017, after spending time in an orthopedic clinic to learn more about pain management and opioids, Ankit founded Bicycle Health to increase access to high-quality, integrated medical and behavioral healthcare for people with opioid use disorder. Through a single app, Bicycle Health combines medication, behavioral healthcare, drug screening, therapy, and peer support.
Before Bicycle Health, Ankit co-founded Pulse News which was later acquired by LinkedIn, where he then served as Principal Product Manager.  He is also a co-founder of Docs and Hackers, a group of medical practitioners and software builders who aim to improve the practice of medicine with technology.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Elevating Mental Health: Meru Health’s Kristian Ranta

In this episode, we speak with Kristian Ranta, CEO and Founder of Meru Health, an online holistic mental health provider.
In 2016, Kristian founded Meru Health after losing family members to mental health struggles and seeing so many others struggle. From these experiences, he learned that access to mental health care was severely lacking and the available care often didn’t work. His team felt that a more comprehensive, holistic approach could deliver better and faster results.
Meru Health is backed by Industry Ventures, Foundry Group and other notable investors.
Prior to Meru Health, Kristian Ranta was an advisor at Kaiku Health and Co-Founder of Mendor, a development company committed to improving the daily treatment of diabetes.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Providing Lasting Healthcare Change: Omada Health’s Sean Duffy

In this episode, we speak with Sean Duffy, the Co-Founder and CEO of Omada Health, a virtual-first healthcare provider that nurtures lifelong health, one day at a time.
Since 2011, Sean and his team’s mission has been to inspire and enable people everywhere to live free of chronic disease. They do this by building digital health programs that are evidence-based, performance-priced, and designed to delight their users.
Omada is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Norwest Venture Partners, Fidelity, Wellington Management, and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.