Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

Transforming Hospitality Management: Cloudbeds’ Adam Harris

In this episode, we speak with Adam Harris, Co-founder and CEO of Cloudbeds, a leading cloud-based hospitality management system provider. Its software combines solutions for front desk, revenue management, distribution, guest acquisition, and guest engagement in a single unified system.
The company has been through four financing rounds, acquired multiple companies, and driven billions in revenue for tens of thousands of properties. Today, Cloudbeds is in more than 157 countries.
The company has raised over $240 million from investors such as Softbank, Viking Global, PeakSpan and other notable investors.
Adam co-founded Cloudbeds in 2012 after finding it difficult to book local accommodation while traveling in Brazil. He and co-founder Richard Castle envisioned a platform that would allow any property, no matter their size, type, or location, to run their lodging business successfully.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Family-Tech Entrepreneur: Skylight’s Michael Segal

In this episode, we speak with Michael Segal, the Founder and CEO of Skylight, a smart home startup that creates products used by millions of families around the world, including Skylight Frame and Skylight Calendar.
The original aim was to create a device that made it easy to share photos with loved ones from anywhere in the world. Founded in 2014 as a side business, Skylight is a highly successful bootstrapped company.
Michael was previously a Vice President at Bessemer Venture Partners, where he championed investments in companies that solve high-impact problems for individuals.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe. 

America’s New Favorite Videos: Cameo’s Co-Founder & CEO Steven Galanis

In this episode, we chat with a unicorn entrepreneur who knows how to manifest just about anything.  Steven Galanis, along with co-founders Martin Blencowe and Devon Townsen, created Cameo, a marketplace where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities.
The idea for these videos was discovered in 2016 when a single recording was released by NFL player Cassius Marsh, who recorded himself congratulating his friend on the birth of his son. Steven and Martin turned this idea into a business and Cameo was launched in 2017.
Earning several awards, recognitions, and fast praise, Cameo currently partners with tens of thousands of the world's top actors, athletes, and influencers to create the most authentic and personalized fan experiences in the world.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe. 

Data-Powered Consumer Brands: Amperity’s Derek Slager

In this episode, we speak with Derek Slager, the Co-Founder and CTO of Amperity, a customer data platform that helps brands build the unified first-party customer data foundation they need to grow revenue, reduce costs, save time, and stay compliant.
Founded in 2016, Amperity’s main drive in business is to enable larger consumer brands such as Wyndham and Alaska Airlines, to develop and maintain a unified view of their customer, using patented AI and ML methods. Now with more than 400 brands on their roster, Amperity is a trusted resource for turning data into business value.
The company has raised over $180 million and is backed by HighSage Ventures, Tiger Global, Madrona, and others.
Prior to Amperity, Derek was on the founding team at Appature and held engineering leadership positions at various business and consumer-facing startups, focusing on large-scale distributed systems and security.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe. 

Serial FinTech Entrepreneur: Cognaize’s Vahe Andonians

In this episode, we discuss the practical applications of artificial intelligence in financial services and banking with the Founder and CEO of Cognaize, Vahe Andonians. Vahe is a software engineer, data scientist, academic, senior lecturer, and visionary with decades of experience in the financial services industry.
In 2018, Vahe tapped into an issue many businesses are facing - too often, businesses are sitting on immense data stores without a good system for accessing all that information. Through Cognaize’s intelligent document-processing products, clients such as banks, insurers, and asset managers, can now transform unstructured data into an even better asset that drives more informed decisions and delivers powerful competitive advantages.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode click to subscribe.

Business AI Maestro: Fractal’s Srikanth Velamakanni

In this episode, we speak with Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-Founder, Group Chief Executive & Executive Vice-Chairman of Fractal, a provider of artificial intelligence to companies. Fractal's businesses include:  Crux Intelligence , which provides AI driven business intelligence;  Eugenie.ai  for sustainability;  Asper.ai  for revenue growth management; and Senseforth.ai, conversational AI for sales and customer service.
Since its founding in 2000, the company has raised more than $680 million from TPG, Apax, TA Associates and other notable investors and has empowered more than 100 Fortune 500 companies with its AI, data, and analytics-driven business strategies.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Cookie Monster Growth: Crumbl Cookies’ Founder Jason McGowan

In this episode, we speak with Jason McGowan, one of the Co-Founders of the fastest-growing cookie companies in the nation since 2017. With over 700 locations in the US and Canada, Crumbl Cookies is powered by cutting-edge technology, iconic branding, delicious desserts, and passionate people.
In 2017, two cousins, Jason McGowan, with career experience in technology and marketing, and Sawyer Hemsley, still finishing his college degree, teamed up to create a new kind of cookie company. What started as a side hustle and several trials and errors in their baking quests, eventually led to creating the world’s best chocolate chip cookie.
From there, the rest is history. Opening their first store in Logan, Utah, which only served their signature chocolate chip cookie, they eventually expanded to a weekly rotating menu of several flavor options and quickly made their way to opening locations throughout the states.
In 2023, Crumbl Cookies expanded internationally and opened stores in Canada. The company’s famous pink branded box and weekly flavor rotations make them stand out from the baking crowd.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe

Supercharging With Protein: The EVERY Company’s Arturo Elizondo

In this episode, we speak with Arturo Elizondo, Co-founder and CEO of The EVERY Company, which is an American biotechnology company that develops proteins and other products traditionally sourced from animals.
The company’s versatile proteins are proven solutions for a variety of applications, from bars and beverages to bakery, alt meat and novel foods and beverages that benefit from a protein boost.
Arturo has led The EVERY Company as its Co-founder and CEO for the last decade from concept through commercialization.  The Company has raised over $200 million dollars from notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

A 1000x Faster Database Solution: ClickHouse’s Aaron Katz

In this episode, we speak with Aaron Katz, Co-Founder and CEO of ClickHouse. ClickHouse is an open-source database management system which allows users to generate analytical reports using SQL queries in real-time.
Its technology works 100-1000x faster than traditional database management systems, and processes hundreds of millions to over a billion rows and tens of gigabytes of data per server per second.
Before founding ClickHouse, Aaron helped grow salesforce.com between 2002 - 2014 from a private, 200 employee startup, to a $200 billion market leader. He was also part of the team that took Elastic public and drove revenue from $5 million to $500 million.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Tech Entrepreneur Polymath: Figment’s Lorien Gabel

In this episode, we speak with Lorien Gabel, Co-founder and CEO of Figment, the leading provider of blockchain infrastructure. The company has raised over $150 million and is backed by Thoma Bravo, B Capital, Two Sigma, and other notable investors.
Figment provides comprehensive staking solutions for over 250 institutional clients. The world’s largest asset managers, custodians, exchanges, foundations, and token holders leverage Figment’s infrastructure and APIs to earn staking rewards. Staking is a process in which token holders can earn rewards by helping to secure a blockchain network.
Before Co-Founding Figment, Lorien was both a serial entrepreneur and corporate executive.  Along with his brother, Lorien founded three companies - 1) pingg.com, which was acquired by 1800-Flowers, 2) Bird on a Wire Networks, which was acquired by AT&T Canada and 3) Interlog, one of Canada’s first commercial ISPs, which was acquired by a large multinational telecommunications provider.
Lorien also spearheaded the exponential U.S. growth of UK-based tech company MessageLabs as Global VP Business Development, ran a division of Fortune 500 company Micron, and has served on the advisory board of a number of start-ups.
Lorien supports The Murph Challenge. To learn more about the annual event click here.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.