Great Entrepreneurs with RJ Lumba

Engineering Healthier Sweets: Nick’s Niclas Luthman

In this episode, we speak with Niclas Luthman, Founding Partner of Nick’s. Based in Sweden, Nick’s develops "better for you" alternatives to popular sugar packed and carb loaded foods, such as confectionery, ice cream, snacks and sweeteners. Nick’s seeks to eliminate the gap between indulgent and healthy, through food innovation, to empower more people to make better food choices.
An entrepreneur with a mechanical engineering background, Niclas became a self taught food engineer in 2014 after having to change his diet and lifestyle.  He worked with food scientists to develop a range of sugar, wheat and gluten-free snacks that can be part of every-day life.  The Nick’s range has become a permanent fixture in the Swedish confectionery aisles and also has a home in the US.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

The Education Entrepreneur: Elevate K-12’s Shaily Baranwal

Shaily Baranwal is the Founder-CEO of Elevate K-12. She started Elevate K-12 with a passion for bringing high-quality synchronous instruction to K-12 schools to solve the teacher shortage crisis.
Shaily is a non-conformist, disrupting the status quo to truly make an impact in the educational field and beyond. Prior to starting Elevate K-12, Shaily was a management consultant at AT Kearney and has founded both a chain of pre-schools and a chain of restaurants in India; her restaurant chain was acquired by India’s largest food and beverage conglomerate, Dabur.
Elevate K-12 is backed by General Catalyst, Arsenal Growth Equity and other notable investors.
Shaily holds degrees in Industrial Engineering and Early Childhood Education, as well as an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. She is on the board of the University of Michigan Zell Lurie Institute and advises the development of students who want to take and continue on the path to entrepreneurship.
Shaily launches the Baranwal Entrepreneurial Scholarship Fund at the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business and Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. The scholarship will fund the entrepreneurial aspirations of University of Michigan students.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode click to subscribe

The Future of Software Sales: Tackle’s John Jahnke

In this episode, we speak with John Jahnke, the CEO of Tackle, the leading solution built to help software companies generate revenue through a data-driven Cloud go-to-market (Cloud GTM).
John is a business and technology leader with a successful track record of building great teams to drive emerging technology patterns.
Tackle works with more than 550 software companies including CrowdStrike, HashiCorp, Lacework, New Relic, VMware, and many more at every stage - from companies scaling their go-to-market to the largest software companies in the world.
They are venture backed by three of the world's top SaaS investors - a16z, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Coatue.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Rapid Growth in Healthcare Franchising: Restore Hyper Wellness’ Jim Donnelly

In this episode, we speak with Jim Donnelly, Co-founder of Restore Hyper Wellness. Restore delivers expert guidance and an extensive array of cutting-edge health modalities, such as IV drips and cryotherapy, integrated under one roof. With multiple franchise locations across the U.S., the company is a national presence and leading brand in the Hyper Wellness space.
Restore was founded in 2015 in Austin, Texas after Jim used cryotherapy while training for a triathlon. The success of the Austin location accelerated the brand into a franchise entity, and they are planning to have 500 locations by the end of 2024.
Prior to founding Restore, and after serving in the military, Jim founded and backed multiple ventures.  He also co-founded IgoUgo.com, a  leader in user-generated travel website content, which was later sold to Sabre Holdings / Travelocity.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Game Changer In Web Development: Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch

In this episode, we speak with Guillermo Rauch, Founder and CEO of Vercel, the frontend cloud that gives developers the frameworks, workflows, and infrastructure to build a faster, more personalized web.
Founded in 2015, the company has raised over $300 million dollars and is backed by GGV Capital, Accel, Bedrock Capital, CRV, and other notable investors.
Vercel unlocks developer potential and enables users to go from idea to global application in seconds. Vercel enables customers like Under Armour, Nintendo, The Washington Post, and Zapier to build delightful user experiences on the Web.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

The Enterprise 5G Revolution: Celona’s Rajeev Shah

In this episode, we speak with Rajeev Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Celona, the enterprise 5G company that enables a new generation of AI-powered business critical apps in the enterprise and helps organizations accelerate their digital transformation journey.
Before founding Celona, Rajeev was the VP of product management and marketing for Federated Wireless, where he launched the industry’s first and leading Spectrum Access System. Prior to Federated, Rajeev held multiple product management leadership positions at Aruba Networks, including creating its Cloud Wi-Fi business.
Taking advantage of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum, Celona’s solution architecture is designed to simplify and automate deployment of cellular wireless technology by enterprise IT organizations and managed service providers.
The company was born with the idea that a combination of 5G radio technology, edge computing and machine learning software will fundamentally change how organizations work and do business.
Celona is backed by Digital Bridge Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Norwest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Transforming Math Education: Cuemath’s Vivek Sunder

In this episode, we speak with Vivek Sunder, CEO of Cuemath, an online supplemental learning platform. Cuemath started in India in 2013 with a mission to transform the way children learn math.
The company started as an offline tutoring center with a small group of students but is now the world's leading online math education platform. Backed by marquee investors such as Google and Sequoia, Cuemath is present in 80+ countries today and is trusted by over 200,000 students for all their math needs.
Prior to working at Cuemath, Sunder worked for more than two decades at P&G and served as COO of Swiggy, an India-based food ordering and delivery platform. Sunder leads Cuemath’s mission to be a global math powerhouse with 21st century techniques and technology.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

The Cloud Maestro: Zesty CEO Maxim Melamedov

In this episode, we speak with Maxim Melamedov, the CEO of Zesty, which has developed the next generation of cloud management solutions.
Maxim came to Zesty from a prior career in homeland security and is a veteran of the Israeli Air Force.
Zesty helps cloud engineering teams to slash cloud costs, maintain perfect app performance, minimize the hassle of managing infrastructure, and fully realize the true flexibility of the cloud.
The company has raised over $116 million since its founding and is backed by B Capital, Sapphire Ventures, and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Saving the Bees Through Technology: Beewise CEO Saar Safra

In this episode we speak with Saar Safra, CEO and Co-Founder of Beewise. 75% of all the fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts that we consume around the globe are pollinated by bees. We’re talking for 8 billion people.
Beewise’s mission is to help beekeepers pollinate  and produce honey by saving their bees, utilizing modern technology. The company has redesigned the beehive with today’s technology providing climate & humidity control, pest control, autonomous swarm prevention, automated harvesting and real-time problem alerts.
The company has raised over $120 million from leading investors including Insight Partners, Corner Ventures and other notable firms.
Saar is a seasoned entrepreneur and has had three successful exits from the five companies he founded prior to Beewise.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show.  If you like the episode, click to subscribe.

Solving The Food Waste Problem: Afresh CEO Matt Schwartz

In this episode, we speak with Matt Schwartz, Co-Founder and CEO of Afresh. Afresh is on a mission to reduce food waste globally by transforming the fresh food supply chain. The company builds AI-powered solutions that meet fresh food’s many challenges to optimize grocery retail forecasting, ordering, and operations.
Matt co-founded Afresh in 2016 while pursuing his MBA at Stanford.  He began his career as a consultant with Bain & Company.
Afresh has raised approximately $150 million and is backed by Insight Partners, Spark Capital, Walter Robb and other notable investors.
I am your host RJ Lumba.  We hope you enjoy the show. If you like the episode, click to subscribe.