Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

Elevating The Software Experience: Pendo’s Todd Olson

In this episode, we speak with the Founder and CEO of Pendo, Todd Olson. Pendo’s software product experience platform allows companies to make product intelligence actionable with speed and scale, giving rise to a new generation of companies that put product at the center of everything.
A three-time entrepreneur, Olson teamed up with fellow product leaders and technologists from Red Hat, Cisco, and Google to launch Pendo in October 2013. Its customers include the world’s leading companies, including Verizon, Morgan Stanley, LabCorp, OpenTable, Okta, Salesforce, and Zendesk.
Todd’s passion for helping digital teams build great products led him to write his first book: “The Product-Led Organization: Drive Growth By Putting Product at the Center of Your Customer Experience”.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Credit FinTech Powerhouse: Avant Co-Founder Paul Zhang

In this episode, we speak with Paul Zhang, the Co-Founder and leader of technology of Avant, a credit-first financial technology company that provides access to innovative financial solutions, including personal loans and credit cards.
Since its founding in 2012, the company has connected almost 3 million customers to $8 billion in loans and 1 million credit cards.  Avant has raised over $600 million of equity capital.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Dominating The E-Commerce Experience: Bloomreach’s Raj De Datta

In this episode, we speak with Raj De Datta, the Co-Founder and CEO of Bloomreach, a leading software platform for digital commerce experiences that powers brands representing 25% of retail E-Commerce in the US and the UK. He is also the best-selling author of "The Digital Seeker" - a playbook for digital teams to win big.
Founded in 2009 by Raj De Datta and Ashutosh Garg, Bloomreach was primarily focused on creating products centered around site search, which later evolved to include additional tools for merchandisers, such as product recommendations. They unify real-time customer and product data so businesses understand what customers really want.
Before launching Bloomreach, Raj was entrepreneur-in-residence at Mohr-Davidow Ventures, served as Cisco’s director of product marketing, and was on the founding team of telecom company FirstMark Communications.
Raj supports RepresentUs and United States Tennis Association.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Leading Cloud Software for Insurance: Applied Systems’ Taylor Rhodes

In this episode, we speak with Taylor Rhodes, CEO of Applied Systems, the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and an innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems.
Taylor joined Applied in 2019 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of SMS Assist, the leading cloud-based software platform for multi-site property management. Previously, he was CEO of Rackspace, where he led the company’s growth from a cloud pioneer to an industry leader with more than two billion dollars in revenue.
Taylor was recognized as one of the Top 50 SaaS CEOs of 2023 by The Software Report.
Taylor supports World Vision.  To learn more about this organization click here.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

Boosting Sales Productivity: Mindtickle’s Krishna Depura

In this episode, we speak with Krishna Depura, the Co-Founder and CEO of Mindtickle, a sales-readiness platform that helps fast-growing companies prepare their sales and customer success teams effectively, through building seller knowledge, skill sets, and winning behaviors.
Created in 2011, Mindtickle’s goal was to create frameworks and solutions to help influence revenue leaders who want to create high-performance teams. These world-class companies include Johnson & Johnson, Splunk, and Wipro.
Before founding Mindtickle, Krishna most recently was the Director of Product Management at PubMatic. Additionally, Krishna has worked with leading companies and startups, including Microsoft, Tejas Networks, and Infinera.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

An Effective Clean Energy Entrepreneur: Palmetto’s Christopher Kemper

In this episode, we speak with Palmetto’s Founder and CEO, Christopher Kemper. Palmetto offers a Clean Energy Operating Platform, which makes it easier and more affordable for homeowners to source their energy from renewables like solar power.
Chris sees Palmetto as the ultimate platform to make the most significant impact on mitigating climate change and he is constantly seeking ways to compound their impact for the betterment of the environment, people, and consumers.
Chris is currently a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme and a Chairman for Pay It Forward For Climate.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

World’s Leading Conversational AI Platform: Yellow.ai’s Raghu Ravinutala

In this episode, we speak with Raghu Ravinutala, Co-Founder and CEO of Yellow.ai, a global leader in generative AI-powered customer service automation.
Raghu co-founded the company with a vision to make customer and enterprise interactions more effective and effortless. Since its inception, Raghu and his team have successfully expanded Yellow.ai’s presence across the U.S., Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Australia and Latin America with over 1,000 customers in over 85 countries.
Previously, Raghu worked for 16 years with leading tech companies such as Texas Instruments, and Broadcom across leadership roles in engineering, product management and business development both in the Bay Area and India.
Raghu was recently recognized as one of the Top 50 SaaS CEOs of 2023 by The Software Report.  The company is backed by Salesforce Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, WestBridge Capital, and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to follow.

Revolutionizing Company Collaboration: Assembly’s Jonathan Fields

In this episode, we speak with the CEO and Co-Founder of Assembly, Jonathan Fields. Assembly is an AI-generated platform that integrates with Slack, Teams, intranets, mobile, email, and other communication tools, and can be used for recognition, rewards, feedback, polls, contests, announcements, and more.
In 2017, the founders of Assembly, including Jonathan and three others, had a goal of maximizing collaboration, increasing engagement, and boosting productivity in the workplace. They persisted and worked to create a platform that does just that. Their dedication created spaces where information is easy to find, communication is a breeze, and employees genuinely connect.
Before Assembly, Jonathan made his way from Financial Analyst to Head of Strategic Partnerships at ZipRecruiter. He is also currently an active Advisory Board Member at Apploi.
Jonathan supports Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and LA’s BEST.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

Creating a Safer Internet: Aura’s Hari Ravichandran

In this episode, we speak with Hari Ravichandran, the Founder and CEO of Aura, a mission-driven technology company dedicated to creating a safer internet for everyone.
In 2014, after Hari’s credit card information was stolen, he was inspired to start Aura and today, the company offers an easy-to-use, integrated suite of services trusted by more than one million customers.
Previously, Hari founded Endurance Group (Nasdaq:EIGI), a leading provider of cloud services for small businesses with worldwide operations and over 5 million customers.
He is also the Founder and CEO of Jump Ventures, a scalability infusion firm focused on long-term collaboration and strategically investing in businesses to drive exponential growth.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.

The Next Big Beverage Entrepreneur: Bevi’s Sean Grundy

In this episode, we speak with Sean Grundy, the Co-Founder and CEO of Bevi. Bevi is redesigning the beverage supply chain with machines that purify water and make customized drinks in seconds. Their system vastly cuts the cost and carbon footprint of beverages.
Since Bevi's inception in 2013, the company has helped thousands of organizations across North America save more than 300 million plastic bottles collectively.  The company has raised over $130 million in venture capital to disrupt the bottled beverage industry.
Prior to founding Bevi, Sean worked in environmental conservation at a non-profit organization in the US and China, which shaped his commitment to creating a more sustainable future.  Sean graduated from Princeton and MIT.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to follow.