Podcast
Inside Startup Investing with Chris Lustrino
Hosted by Kingscrowd, Sam Fiske · EN
Join Chris Lustrino as he talks to startup founders, angel investors, fund managers, investing platform executives, and more about the online private markets. Inside Startup Investing gives listeners the inside scoop on alternative investing such as startups from an investor and founder perspectives.
41episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Atari Hotels: Building a $124M Gaming-Themed Destination in Phoenix
Mar 1800:23:22Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Jordan Taylor, managing member of Atari Hotels, about the development of a $124 million Atari-themed destination hotel planned for downtown Phoenix. (00:00–02:14) The project combines real estate development with immersive gaming culture, featuring a 91-room hotel, gaming-inspired experiences, and a venue for esports events, concerts, and creator gatherings. (03:21–13:14) Jordan explains how the team secured licensing rights from Atari, why Phoenix’s population growth and urban revitalization make it an ideal location, and how the hotel is designed to serve both travelers and the local community. (06:34–10:01) The conversation also dives into the investment structure behind the project, where investors acquire a majority interest in the physical real estate rather than just a brand concept. (04:39–05:36) Jordan walks through the $124 million capital stack, including equity from investors and family offices alongside construction financing. (05:42–06:16) Finally, they discuss how stabilization and refinancing could provide early liquidity for investors, followed by ongoing cash flow distributions and potential exit scenarios down the road. (19:28–21:10)
Transcribe →Why Most Crowdfunding Campaigns Fail (And How Top Issuers Avoid It)
Mar 500:28:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino sits down with Jason Fishman, founder of Digital Niche Agency (DNA), one of the earliest and most active “capital raising agencies” in equity crowdfunding. (00:00–02:45) |Jason breaks down what actually drives successful Reg CF and Reg A+ campaigns in 2026: setting traffic goals, understanding conversion math (average investment size vs. how many investors you need), and building a multi-channel funnel across Meta, Google, newsletters, retargeting, webinars, events, and organic content. (04:25–10:06) They also unpack the “crowd effect” that causes many campaigns to look flat mid-raise before spiking near the deadline. (10:19–12:30) Finally, they explain why consistent updates and investor relations between rounds can materially influence outcomes—both by improving trust and by strengthening repeat-investor participation over time. (23:04–25:55)
Transcribe →FDA Progress + Manufacturing Scale: Inside Pirouette Pharma's Latest Round
Feb 2500:27:26Tap to summarizePirouette Pharma CEO Conor Cullinane returns to Inside Startup Investing to share the company’s progress since its last Wefunder raise—spanning FDA engagement, IND planning, and major steps toward scalable manufacturing. Pirouette is building a disc-shaped, push-button delivery system for injectable medications—aiming to turn the “violent, error-prone” experience of legacy auto-injectors into something closer to the Staples Easy Button: push once, and the device handles the rest. Chris and Conor discuss why intimidation and usability are major barriers in today’s injection landscape, how Pirouette is approaching OTC naloxone via a combination-product regulatory pathway, what a pharmacokinetic study looks like, and why Pirouette is investing in manufacturing capacity to support both commercialization and pharma partnerships. Chapters 00:44 What Pirouette is building 03:42 Progress since last raise 06:26 FDA pathway explained 09:08 PK study + size/cost/timeline 13:07 Partnerships vs. standalone commercialization 16:15 Revenue timing + adoption expectations 20:12 Manufacturing scale plan 23:34 Founder “why” 26:07 Investor close
Transcribe →From 7 Years to 12 Weeks: Sunstone Health’s AI for Epilepsy & Autism
Feb 1900:29:21Tap to summarizeSunstone Health CEO Joshua Resnikoff joins Chris Lustrino to explain how Sunstone uses AI on healthcare claims data to proactively identify children with developmental delay—starting with epilepsy and autism—and help families reach the right specialists and diagnostics faster.They break down what claims data is, why the healthcare system is reactive by default, and how Sunstone’s approach can compress what often takes years into roughly weeks by flagging high-need cases, coordinating advanced diagnostics, and delivering actionable next steps. Joshua also shares Sunstone’s go-to-market strategy (positioned as an employer-paid benefit), why the pricing model is designed to reduce “point-solution bloat,” and how expansion could move across employers, TPAs, reinsurers, and large insurers. 00:00 Needle-in-a-haystack intro03:13 What Sunstone does (AI + claims data)05:32 Flagging patients vs. diagnosing07:21 Employer benefit + privacy model15:54 GTM + sales cycle reality17:57 Outcome-based pricing model20:16 Unit economics ($10k per case)22:11 Expansion paths + other diseases26:23 Fundraise use of proceeds28:03 Investor closing
Transcribe →Atombeam: AI Data Compaction That Sends 4× More Data Without New Networks
Feb 1100:29:15Tap to summarizeAtombeam CEO Charles Yeomans joins Chris Lustrino to break down a deceptively simple idea with massive implications: make data smaller while it’s streaming so you can move and process more of it—without upgrading networks.Charles explains Atombeam’s commercial product NeurPack, how it can often quadruple effective bandwidth, and why this matters across IoT, smart meters, satellites, defense, oil & gas wells, fintech, and eventually data centers and GPU utilization. They also dig into the realities of commercialization—choosing near-term deals that close fast while still pursuing multi-year “industry standard” opportunities—and why execution (not invention) is the real differentiator.00:00 What Atombeam does (pizza analogy)03:13 NeurPack explained05:35 Why 95% of IoT data doesn’t move09:38 “Like launching 3 more satellites”13:57 Commercialization + customers16:31 Data centers + GPU utilization24:29 Defense traction + partnerships26:44 What success looks like (distribution)
Transcribe →Scaling Regenerative Ag with Swarms of Robots
Feb 400:26:10Tap to summarizeFounder Clint Brauer explains how Greenfield Robotics builds compact, row-running robots that mow weeds and lay mulch while enabling nighttime foliar feeding—helping farms reduce herbicides and improve soil biology. He shares the personal catalyst (his father’s Parkinson’s), why tillage damages soil ecosystems, and how small, autonomous swarms can cover large acreages more cheaply than traditional machinery. We dig into go-to-market (from RaaS to equipment sales with software/telemetry fees), manufacturing with partners, and adoption curves from organic innovators to conventional growers. Brauer outlines the roadmap (attachments, reliability, self-charging), unit counts across 17 states, and potential exit paths with ag OEMs like John Deere—all while keeping the mission clear: get chemicals out of agriculture.Highlights include...Why “weed by day, foliar-feed by night” changes farm economicsHow mulch from cut cover crops suppresses weeds & feeds soilRaaS → leases → direct sales: what farmers prefer (and why)Swarm autonomy vs. ever-bigger tractors—cost & uptime mathManufacturing scale via Amity Technologies; why small wins hereEarly-adopter profile: regenerative, organic, and safety-driven growersExit lanes with major OEMs—and the case for remaining independent
Transcribe →Why People Buy: Inside Solsten's Cognitive-Behavioral AI
Jan 2200:43:55Tap to summarizeToday, Chris sits down with Joe Schaeppi, co-founder & CEO of Solsten—a deep-tech company mapping human psychology and turning it into actionable AI for creative, targeting, and product personalization. After 8 years of R&D, Solsten's “human context layer” helps enterprises and SMBs understand why people act the way they do—then adapt ads, products, and AI agents to match. Clients like LEGO and Peloton report creative wins and 3× conversion lifts, while a new self-serve product opens the stack to smaller teams.Highlights include...• Building a cognitive-behavioral AI model from clinical-grade psychometrics and authentic behavior data• Why “creative is the new targeting” (Meta’s Andromeda) and how psychology-matched creative cuts CPI/raises LTV• Personalization beyond demographics—training AI agents to speak in users’ thinking and communication styles• Go-to-market shift: from years of R&D to scale (>$35M raised; investors incl. RedBird & Galaxy)• Use cases across gaming, fintech, health/fitness, hospitality, and more
Transcribe →Scaling Whiskey in a Down Market: Cleveland’s Global Pivot
Jan 700:28:20Tap to summarizeCleveland Whiskey was my first-ever equity crowdfunding investment (May 16, 2016), and founder/CEO Tom Lix has sent detailed quarterly updates ever since. In this episode, we cover 00:00–03:03 why Tom built a technology company in spirits—not just another craft label; 03:03–06:09 how pressure-aging in stainless tanks unlocks flavors from non-oak woods (black cherry, hickory, apple) and produces great whiskey in hours not years; 06:09–09:27 the pivot to concentrates and why India’s “Indian-Made Foreign Liquor” niche is a game-changer for price and margin; 09:27–12:47 the new 45,000 sq. ft. Cleveland facilities, 12× capacity today with room to double again, plus how shorter cycle times unlock multi-shift throughput; 12:47–16:09 resilience through a U.S. whiskey slump, tariffs, and changing consumer trends; 16:09–20:03 valuation, real-estate upside on Cleveland’s waterfront, and IP; and 20:03–28:19 the founder mindset—why Tom keeps going and how global demand (India, SE Asia, Africa) can drive the next chapter.
Transcribe →Robots as a Service: Macrovey's Recurring Revenue Model in the Aisles
Dec 2300:30:44Tap to summarizeRead our Macrovey deal analysis (closed) on KingscrowdRobotics hype is everywhere—but who actually makes robots work on real warehouse floors? In this episode, Chris sits down with Macrovey Director of Business Development Matt Labinski to unpack how Macrovey designs fully autonomous, material-handling systems that act like a warehouse “Robotics OS.” We start with what Macrovey is and isn’t (00:03)—the company doesn’t manufacture robots, it integrates best-in-class OEMs through proprietary orchestration software. Matt explains the model (00:32): up-front design + install and recurring software/maintenance—plus a Robots-as-a-Service option that lowers CapEx. We dive into who buys (06:28): e-commerce, 3PLs, pharma, defense (U.S. Air Force) and even smaller 10k–100k sq ft facilities. Category context (07:31): warehouse robotics penetration is still surprisingly low; Macrovey targets the SMB/mid-market others ignore. We cover why OEMs and warehouses need an integrator (09:09), the sales cycle and deal sizes (12:22)—from $50k pilots to $3M+ programs—and how modular, mobile systems (25:03) move with demand. Finally, we hit the AI layer (27:31): machine learning that optimizes slotting, picking, and vision-based QA. If you want exposure to warehouse autonomy without betting on a single robot, Macrovey’s middle-layer, recurring-revenue approach may be the de-risked way to play it.
Transcribe →Paladin Power: The Inverter Breakthrough Making Homes Truly Off-Grid
Dec 1600:24:13Tap to summarizeRead our deal analysis on PaladinPaladin Power CEO Ted Thomas—a U.S. Navy veteran with 20+ years in energy storage and the named inventor on multiple U.S. patents for stackable batteries and integrated power systems—joins Inside Startup Investing to explain how he helped pioneer integrated storage and why Paladin’s patented, fire-safe, all-in-one system can make true home energy independence practical. We cover why the inverter is the real bottleneck, how Paladin’s stackable 10 kW architecture fast-charges EVs and extends battery life, and how the single-device design replaces a tangle of inverters, batteries, and chargers for faster installs and lower cost. Ted shares traction (incl. enterprise wins like Disney), a revenue jump from News: Paladin engages Aegis Capital Corp. for IPO advisory while it evaluates capital-markets options—no assurance of any IPO; timing/terms subject to market, regulatory and due-diligence outcomes.Chapters(00:00) We open with why batteries remain the bottleneck for EVs and home solar, and how Paladin’s inverter-first architecture changes the equation; (03:28) Ted outlines the mission—make every home independent from the grid—plus why legacy systems were designed for grid-tie, not true autonomy; (06:58) we break down the bi-directional, stackable inverters (up to 80 kW in a compact footprint) and how routing solar directly to loads can double battery life; (09:15) cost and efficiency: delivering 30–60% lower system costs versus status-quo builds; (10:29) scaling: U.S. manufacturing with a contract partner, and why distribution/EPC channels are the fastest path to market; (12:00) whole-home power without load shedding, faster installs, and sub-90-minute at-home EV charging; (13:21) IP and moats: utility patents and why copycats face multi-year certification delays; (15:34) use cases and demand drivers—from Disney facilities to homeowners facing rising rates and outages; (20:56) generators vs storage: when backup gensets still make sense and when solar-plus-storage wins; (22:46) Ted’s closing case for investors.
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