Podcast
Village Global Podcast
Hosted by Village Global · EN
The Village Global podcast takes you inside the world of venture capital and technology, featuring enlightening interviews with entrepreneurs, investors, and tech industry leaders. Learn more at www.villageglobal.vc.
30episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Recall Sessions: Itai Damti on Embedded Finance and the Art of Getting Your First Customer
Feb 2300:45:58Tap to summarizeWelcome to Recall Sessions – a new series on the Village Global Podcast.Hosted by Somrat Niyogi, Partner at Recall Capital, each episode goes deep on go-to-market: how the world's most successful companies got their first customers. In this episode, Itai Damti, Co-Founder & CEO of Unit, joins Somrat to break down how Unit went from a year of stealth building with no committed customers to becoming the leading embedded finance platform – moving over $50 billion annually and powering programs at seven public companies.Itai talks about the bet he and co-founder Doron Somech made on a market that barely existed, why they spent a full year building before going to market, how their first customer came through a LinkedIn message, and what he's learned about selling infrastructure that changes how buyers think.He also shares a framework for categorizing buyers – deciders, explorers, and the "unawares" – and why minding the chasm between your first 5% of customers and the next 95% is where companies live or die.Thanks for listening – if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
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[Highlight] Why Dog Longevity Drugs Are the Fastest Path to Human Longevity with Celine Halioua
Feb 1900:12:03Tap to summarizeThis is a short excerpt from our full conversation with Celine Halioua, Founder & CEO of Loyal, which recently raised a $100M Series C, and Village Global GP Sam Kirschner.Celine discusses Loyal's 10-year vision for expanding into cats and humans, why the pharmaceutical industry has been slow to treat aging as a drug category, and why the biological and economic case for going dogs-first is stronger than most people realize.Listen to the full episode here: https://www.villageglobal.com/podcastThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
Transcribe →[Highlight] Shishir Mehrotra on Big Tech vs. Startup Careers and Building a World-Class Hiring Process
Feb 1600:08:10Tap to summarizeThis is a short excerpt from our full conversation with Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman (formerly Grammarly), and Village Global's Ben Casnocha.Shishir and Ben discuss the "Silicon Valley Inc. vs. Google Inc." framework for understanding career tradeoffs, when recruitment firms add value vs. when they don't, and how to design a hiring process that produces great outcomes — including the critical role of reference checking.Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/S7UO7AOLgBAThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
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Celine Halioua On The Science and Business of Making Dogs Live Longer
Feb 1100:53:09Tap to summarizeCeline Halioua, Founder & CEO of Loyal, joins Village Global VP Sam Kirschner to discuss her journey building a biotech company developing the first FDA-approved drugs for lifespan extension – going dogs first. Loyal has raised over $250M and recently closed its Series C after clearing major regulatory milestones on both efficacy and safety.In this conversation, Celine breaks down why you can't develop a human longevity drug today (and it's not because of biology – it's logistics and financial norms), why dogs are the fastest path to getting there, and how milestone-based fundraising works for deep tech companies that are years from revenue. She also shares hard-won lessons on understanding the incentives of the people around you, taking people as they are, and staying emotionally unattached to the how while staying committed to the what.Loyal: https://loyal.com Celine on X: https://x.com/celinehalioua Thanks for listening – if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
Transcribe →[Highlight] Why Henry Shi Chose Anthropic Over Starting Another Company
Feb 600:13:12Tap to summarizeThis is a short excerpt from our full conversation with Henry Shi (Anthropic, co-founder of Super.com) and Village Global GP Anne Dwane.Henry and Anne discuss the three paths available to successful founders, why traditional venture capital often becomes a sales job, the rise of "seed-strapping" as a new funding model, and what ultimately led Henry to join a frontier AI lab instead of starting another company or becoming an investor.Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN88HLFx8-MListen to the full conversation here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-%24200-million-revenue-founder-to-frontier-lab-with/id1316769266?i=1000746090022Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
Transcribe →[Highlight] The Future of Coding and Work in the Age of AI with Henry Shi
Feb 300:08:59Tap to summarizeThis is a short excerpt from our full conversation with Henry Shi (Anthropic, co-founder of Super.com) and Village Global GP Anne Dwane.Henry and Anne discuss how AI coding tools have evolved from autocomplete to junior engineers, what skills will matter when writing code becomes obsolete, and whether humans or AI will end up as the boss in the future of work.Listen to the full episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/village-global-podcast/id1316769266?i=1000746090022Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN88HLFx8-MThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
Transcribe →[Highlight] Grammarly's Evolution into an AI Agent Platform with Shishir Mehrotra
Jan 2800:11:38Tap to summarizeThis is an excerpt from our full conversation with Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman (formerly Grammarly).Shishir discusses why Grammarly is one of the most underestimated companies in Silicon Valley, how it's transforming from a grammar tool into an open platform for AI agents, and why "assist" AI—which meets you where you work—may be more powerful than chat or autonomous agents.Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UO7AOLgBAThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.com or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.com/signup
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Village Global Accelerator: Inside Scoop with Santiago Suarez, CEO Addi.com
Jul 30, 2021Tap to summarizeSantiago Suarez (@SantiaSua), co-founder and CEO of ADDI, joins Village Global co-founder and partner Anne Dwane on this episode. They discuss:- What he wish he knew when he started ADDI.- Why hustle alone has never made a company successful, and why he says it’s necessary but not sufficient.- His experience going through the Village Global Accelerator, and now mentoring founders in the program.- Where he’s looking to invest in fintech.- Startups he would like to exist that don’t yet.- Why he has changed his mind on investing in founders working in a space he doesn’t like.Companies Santiago has invested in:ProTalento - https://protalento.org/english-version/Kolors - https://kolors.com.mx/Rubik - https://www.getrubik.com/*The deadline to get your application in for the fall vintage of the Village Global Accelerator is August 10th! It’s a personalized and tight-knit program with an amazing network of peers, advisors, and experts. Companies that have been through the accelerator have raised from some of the top venture funds in the world, like a16z, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, True Ventures, Felicis and more.Learn more and apply at www.villageglobal.vc/accelerator!
Transcribe →Founder Tips, Focus, and Fintech with Santiago Suarez, CEO Addi.com
Feb 16, 2021Tap to summarizeSantiago Suarez (@SantiaSua), co-founder and CEO of ADDI, joins Village Global co-founder and partner Anne Dwane on this episode. They discuss:- What he wish he knew when he started ADDI.- Why hustle alone has never made a company successful, and why he says it’s necessary but not sufficient.- His experience going through the Village Global Accelerator, and now mentoring founders in the program.- Where he’s looking to invest in fintech.- Startups he would like to exist that don’t yet.- Why he has changed his mind on investing in founders working in a space he doesn’t like.Companies Santiago has invested in:ProTalento - https://protalento.org/english-version/Kolors - https://kolors.com.mx/Rubik - https://www.getrubik.com/*The deadline to get your application in for the spring vintage of the Village Global Accelerator is March 1st! It’s a personalized and tight-knit program with an amazing network of peers, advisors, and experts. Companies that have been through the accelerator have raised from some of the top venture funds in the world, like a16z, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, True Ventures, Felicis and more.Learn more and apply at www.villageglobal.vc/accelerator!Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup
Transcribe →Santiago Suarez on Building a Great Lending Business
Jan 7, 2020Tap to summarizeSantiago Suarez (@SantiaSua) of Addi joins Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- Is lending a cyclical business- Lending as a form of customer acquisition- What can fintech lending companies learn from Affirm and Square- How lending in LatAm differs from North America- How to develop competitive advantages as a lending business in LatAm- Lessons to learn from scaling very fast- How to hire early employees- How to decide your company’s culture- How can lending startups compete with banks- How should lending startups think about balance sheet risk- How has the lending ecosystem changed in the past decade- Thoughts on Clearanc- Common mistakes of finch startupsThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.
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