Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

The Finance Platform for SaaS Founders: Arc Technologies’ Don Muir

In this episode, we speak with Don Muir, Co-Founder and CEO of Arc Technologies. Founded in 2021, Arc provides a better way for software startups to raise capital without incurring costly dilution and risky debt.  Arc converts a startups’ future revenue into upfront capital, provides a cash management account to store, manage and spend funds, and delivers financial analytics to drive growth.  The Company is backed by Left Lane Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, NFX and Atalaya Capital, among others. I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.

Unlocking the Power of Big Data to Transform Mobility: INRIX’ Bryan Mistele

In this episode, we speak with Bryan Mistele, Co-Founder and CEO of INRIX, the global leader in connected car services and mobility analytics. The Company is at the forefront of connecting cars to smarter cities in more than 60 countries around the world.
Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered the practice of managing traffic by analyzing data not just from road sensors, but also from vehicles.
Prior to INRIX, Bryan was an executive at Microsoft. He built HomeAdvisor into the #1 ranked business-to-business and business-to-consumer company in both the online mortgage and real estate industries. The company was a joint venture between Microsoft and five leading mortgage banks.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.

Reengineering Online Advertising: Seedtag Founder Albert Nieto Riera

In this episode, we speak with Albert Nieto Riera, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Seedtag. Seedtag is the leading contextual advertising company in Europe and Latin America. With AI technology based on machine learning algorithms, the company powers the most relevant and engaging communications in a privacy-first world through contextual advertising.
The company has raised over $300 million dollars from leading investors including Advent International and Oakley Capital.
Seedtag was founded in 2014 by two former Googlers with a clear mission: to change how online advertising is done. Today, Seedtag has a large international presence with over 400 employees across offices in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.

Bringing Online Products to Life: nfinite Founder and CEO Alexandre de Vigan

In this episode, we speak with Alexandre de Vigan, Founder and CEO of nfinite. nfinite is the leading e-merchandising platform for online merchants to create, display and manage product visual experiences to increase their online sales.
The company has raised over $100 million dollars from leading investors including Insight Partners and U.S. Venture Partners.
nfinite is all about helping the world usher in the post-shoot era in which product visual availability is no longer reliant on costly, logistical, and carbon-heavy photoshoots.
Visual production is shifting to computer-generated 3D imagery (CGI) — which facilitates higher performance and resource efficiencies and has less environmental impact.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.

Scaling Software Companies: Invoca CEO Gregg Johnson

In this episode, we speak with Gregg Johnson, the CEO of Invoca.  Gregg is a seasoned software leader who previously led Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s social marketing product line, where he integrated $1 billion of M&A investments into the Salesforce product portfolio.  He is also a successful entrepreneur.
Invoca is the cloud leader in AI-powered conversation intelligence for revenue teams that enables marketing, sales, customer experience, and eCommerce teams to understand and immediately act on the information consumers share via conversations.
The company has raised $184 million from leading venture capitalists including Upfront Ventures, Accel, Silver Lake Waterman, H.I.G. Growth Partners, and Salesforce Ventures.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.

Education Franchise Leader: Lightbridge Academy’s CEO Gigi Schweikert

In this episode we speak with Gigi Schweikert, CEO of Lightbridge Academy, a state-of-the-art child care franchise.  The company currently has over 120 child care centers open, under construction or in development throughout Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and several other states.
Lightbridge Academy’s proprietary early childhood education curriculum impacts the whole child in a multitude of ways. By embracing every moment as another opportunity to learn, all developmental areas are met, unlocking every child's potential.
Schweikert took over from Lightbridge founding CEO Guy Falzarano in 2021. She started her career as Director of the United Nations Early Childhood Care and Learning Centre.
I am your host RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show.  

Craft-Casual Food Maestro: Dog Haus’ Founding Partner André Vener

In this episode we speak with André Vener, founding Partner of Dog Haus, a craft-casual hot dog concept known for its gourmet takes on hot dogs, sausages, and burgers; premium shakes and soft-serve ice cream; and a beer program that spotlights local brews.
Vener, along with co-founders Hagop Giragossian and Quasim Riaz, share a passion for creativity, quality, and commitment to community. They opened the first Dog Haus in Pasadena, California in 2010 and their 50th location in December 2021.
Prior to Dog Haus, Vener served as CEO of the California Philharmonic for 10 years and as Executive Producer for Pasadena Entertainment. He also founded and operated redwhite+bluezz, an award-winning restaurant and jazz club.
Three key takeaways from this episode include:
1. When working with partners, “It’s not majority wins, it’s minority wins.” If one partner is not comfortable with a project, then the rest of the partners listen.
2. Empathy and the ability to easily see how to best lead and motivate a team member can be developed.
3. Find partners who prioritize these three things: Family first; take care of your people and you’ll be taken care of; be entrepreneurs grinding till the end, then take the big pay day.
I am your host RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show.  

Boosting Employee Productivity: Overall’s Co-Founder and CEO Jon Cooper

In this episode we speak with Jon Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Overalls, a new kind of employee benefit platform that helps make employees’ lives easier by assisting on things like making financial and insurance decisions, choosing vendors for your home, and handling other personal time-draining tasks.
Jon is the Co-Founder and former CEO of Life.io, a pioneer insurtech company that successfully recast digital customer engagement for life insurance.
Three key takeaways from this episode include:
1. People miscalculate the concept of risk when it comes to entrepreneurship.  It can be a lot riskier taking a job and being an employee, rather than building your own business.
2. Entrepreneurs need to have the spirit of “test, learn, experiment.” Always be willing to second guess the assumptions you made going into a project.
3. You don’t need to innovate on every aspect of your business. Innovate on one thing, and be as traditional as possible on everything else. This will allow you to channel all your energy into figuring out the key driver of your business.
I am your host RJ Lumba. We hope you enjoy the show.  

Wow Customers With Experience: Luxury Haircare Pioneer Frédéric Fekkai

In this episode we speak with Frédéric Fekkai, the world-famous celebrity hair stylist and Founder of FEKKAI Brands and FEKKAI 3.0, his newest brand of haircare products combining his legendary expertise on everything hair with his relentless focus on creating innovative, high-performance products that are clean, vegan, and sustainable. 
Frédéric sold his namesake haircare brand to P&G in 2008, but in 2018 reaquired it with the help of Cornell Capital. He is now CEO of Blue Mistral, a holding company founded by Frédéric and Cornell Capital to operate Fekkai Brands together with Bastide, the fast-growing Provence-based provider of luxury fragrances and hand and body care products that Frédéric has led since 2017.
Three key takeaways from this episode include:
1. Customers need to be wowed when they experience your brand in order for it to be a massive success.
2. Beauty evolves to reflect the fashion and lifestyle of the day, and so should your business.
3. Make being sustainable a priority, both for the good of the planet and because customers are quickly coming to prefer it.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  

Create A Movement And Win: Creative Branding Maestro Scott Goodson

In this episode we speak with Scott Goodson, the Founder and CEO of StrawberryFrog, a powerhouse creative consulting company who has worked with iconic brands including Google, Mercedes, Heinekin, Emirates, Pepsico, LG, Truist and many others.  StrawberryFrog is behind the Purpose Power Index, the world’s first empirical study of Purpose driven companies.
Scott founded the company over 25 years ago.
Three key takeaways from this episode include:
1. Think hard about your company’s purpose, create a Movement and accelerate your company’s trajectory
2. You can take on massive industry incumbents and win, even as a small business
3. Cultivate a family culture of entrepreneurship, it can inspire future generations  
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.