"I'm not just the founder of this company, I'm also the beta test. So actually the first song that I wrote with this software has around 30 million streams now. I wrote it in 10 minutes. I produced it in about an hour, which was exponentially quicker. It was the first pop song that I had ever written, charted in 12 different countries." Zoe Wrenn, founder and CEO of Tamber.ai, discusses her approach to bridging music and technology, offering musicians a creative suite that leverages AI to...

"Look at your weaknesses and try to find people for your advisory board or board of directors that close out those weaknesses. Because you cannot be the best salesperson around, you cannot be the best operator, and you cannot be the best finance person [all at once]." Andrey Kudievskiy, Founder and CEO of Distillery, shares his remarkable journey from growing up in the USSR to building a successful AI-driven software development company in Los Angeles. He recalls his early love for...

In this episode, Vince Lucero, Founder & CEO of DubPrime, shares his journey from working on the Google Play Store and Credit Karma to founding a company aimed at revolutionizing credit access for gig workers. Vince discusses the challenges of traditional lending systems and how DubPrime is leveraging AI to assess creditworthiness in a more inclusive way. With a deep commitment to social impact, Vince’s story is one of innovation, passion, and a desire to pay forward the opportunities...

"My two passions in life from as long as I could remember were technology and fashion." We welcome Jessie Somekh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Rotate Your Closet, a peer-to-peer clothing rental app designed to monetize those barely-worn pieces sitting in your wardrobe in this episode of Founders in LA. Jessie shares her journey from a STEM-focused education at Vanderbilt to pivotal roles at Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, all while maintaining a passion for fashion. She discusses how Rotate...

"The idea that we cannot leverage our most intimate and valuable space in any way to recoup any value while we're gone is insane." In this episode of Founders in LA, we sit down with Bo Abrams, Co-Founder of kommu, a groundbreaking home-sharing network. Bo shares his journey from a determined business school applicant to a visionary entrepreneur revolutionizing the rental market.  kommu leverages trusted personal networks to unlock home-sharing opportunities that traditional platforms...

"If you can really be the lowest risk, highest return option, people will get it. The experts in that industry will get it and they will sign up." We sit down with Rachael Nelson, the Founder and CEO of Brandy, in this episode of Founders in LA. Rachael shares her journey from aerospace manufacturing to leading a groundbreaking app that democratizes influence by allowing everyday consumers to earn meaningful money through simple endorsements of their favorite brands. She describes the...

"You need a great lawyer and you need a great accountant. Those two things are inevitable. But they look at me and I go, 'Oh, you've never looked at your cap table." Joshua Lee, CEO and Founder of Ardius explores the vital importance of cap tables in managing startups and guiding investment decisions, in this episode of Founders In LA. With his deep background in accounting and building ventures, Joshua sheds light on the typical challenges and the strategic value of keeping cap tables clean...

"Cold calls are the base of our entire business. The first three months we spent in Flick's basement, cold calling, and it's still the best tool that we have. We still do it every day." Flick Moradian and Louis Pascal Walsh, Co-Founders of Tequio, a premium canned tequila cocktail brand, share their entrepreneurial journey, highlighting their persistent cold-calling efforts to establish connections, secure partnerships, and obtain valuable insights from industry experts on this episode of...

"It's these knowledge graph relationships that tie all these episodes together and enable users to discover each other's new content somewhat serendipitously or organically." This episode with Lucas Dickey, CEO and Co-Founder of Deepcast.fm, explores the platform's mission to revolutionize podcast discovery and engagement through AI-driven indexing and structuring of audio content. Lucas shares his extensive background in software product management and passion for podcasting, discussing...

"I've talked to founders who have been in LA for years and never felt like they had a sense of community within like a group of other founders who were doing the same things." In this episode, we sit down with Zack Oliver, the innovator behind Founders Table, a community initiative that connects LA founders over intimate dinner settings. Zack shares his journey from finance in New York to creating a network in LA through curated gatherings, aiming to foster relationships and exchange...

"We specialize in creating experiences that are immersive and spatial." Jack Gerrard and Jake Sally of Jadu AR take us into the development of their groundbreaking augmented reality game on this episode of Founders In LA. They describe the innovative challenges and creative solutions involved in bringing a mobile AR fighting game to life. Jack and Jake discuss their philosophy of creating immersive, spatial experiences that push the boundaries of traditional gaming, using augmented...

"Customer feedback is gold. Whether it's good, bad, ugly- whatever the feedback is- that's gold." We welcome back Sumeet Rana, the CEO and Founder of Prodhub.ai, in this episode of Founders In LA. Sumeet shares progress on prodhub.ai and how it has continued its mission to serve as a co-pilot for product managers, automating routine tasks to allow for the creation of superior products more efficiently. Beyond merely speeding up product development processes, Prodhub has significantly...

"One of the biggest problems we see, at least on the physician side, is that any other kind of disease that you have, you always get a quantitative test. So if you have heart disease or high cholesterol, you get that blood panel back with concrete numbers on it. and if it's diabetes, it might be A1C, it might be glucose, but for musculoskeletal disorders, it's always in either an x-ray or an MRI, which is considered qualitative" We sit down with Rebecca Zheng, the mind behind Calcu, a...

"Failing is the best way to learn" In this episode of Founders in LA, Jason Vego, CEO and Co-Founder of Bevz, shares insights into the journey of revolutionizing retail operations for independent liquor and convenience stores through innovative SaaS solutions. With a focus on simplifying inventory management and enhancing e-commerce capabilities, Vego illuminates the challenges and triumphs of catering to a sector often overlooked by technology advancements. The conversation navigates the...

"So now these humans, these agencies, are stuck with going with these other platforms that are available out there that are catering clearly saying we hate the middleman like you. And I'm like, what's going on here?" In this episode, we're joined by Julio Chaves, the visionary founder and CEO of XrossWorld, a pioneering platform revolutionizing influencer marketing in this episode of Founders in LA.  Julio takes us into the fascinating journey of XrossWorld, sharing how they leverage...

"In Uruguay, we are used to going against the odds." In this episode, we welcome Hilario Canessa, the visionary Founder of Studio4D to Los Angeles. Canessa brings us with him into the world of digital twins for urban planning, a concept that merges cutting-edge video game technology with the complexities of city development. He shares how his company uses immersive environments to simulate future urban landscapes, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. By providing unmatched...

"We think it is unethical and broken for tech companies to steal people's copyrighted artwork and train models and derive value from it without permission and without compensation." In this episode of Founders in LA, Matthew Adell, Co-Founder and COO of SOMMS.AI, we dive into the intersection of generative AI and the music industry, focusing on ethical practices and artist compensation. Matthew criticizes big tech for exploiting artists' copyrighted work without permission or fair...

"Humans are really good at workarounds. We have finite brain capacity and the flood of information that's coming in, especially with Gen AI, can't be processed by humans." In this episode, Jon Lemelman Founder and CEO of Classify, showcases its role as a beacon in the realm of personal productivity tools. Classify is not just another app—it's a groundbreaking platform designed to address the modern dilemma of information overload through its innovative use of AI-based workflows.  The...

"We solve the problem of knowledge walking out the door when someone retires or changes jobs, and we elevate everyone to the level of a star performer" In this Founders in LA podcast episode, Joe Rogers, CEO of Workdone.ai, shares his entrepreneurial journey from consulting to creating an innovative AI platform that captures and automates corporate knowledge. Joe discusses how Workdone.ai prevents knowledge loss due to employee turnover, ensuring all team members perform at their highest...

"How do you make [athletes] reach their best performance without injuring them? That's it. That's the equation we're trying to solve." In this episode of Founders in LA, Luca Buratto and Ahmed Issaoui introduce Lubu. This innovative startup is redefining the landscape of sports and healthcare with its smart orthotics designed to elevate athletic performance while minimizing the risk of injury. Embedded with advanced sensors, Lubu's orthotics meticulously analyze foot dynamics and body...

Mike Chen of Cohere Commerce offers a deep dive into the intersection of retail and technology. As a former chef turned data scientist, Chen brings a unique perspective to the retail industry, emphasizing the importance of data in making informed buying and selling decisions. He details the journey of creating a platform that not only facilitates smarter sourcing for retail buyers but also helps vendors showcase their market fit with solid data. Chen also opens up about the hurdles in...

"We didn't really understand how big the problem was until we really went live with the Fairmont hotel. And then after Techstars, we finished Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator, and they kept pushing us to go bigger and bigger. And it's, can we solve organics at a massive scale for massive businesses? So we can do it for businesses and now we can do it from municipalities." In this episode of Founders in LA, Lee Robinson, CEO and founder of Dyrt returns to our podcast studio to provide an...

"Education is about inspiration, not memorization. Memorization is part of it but really to inspire students, professors need these insights and they need high-quality, engaging content" In this episode of Founders in LA, Steven Walters, Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Breakout Learning, discusses the innovative approach of his AI-enabled educational publisher. Breakout Learning focuses on engaging content and AI-powered small group discussions, aiming to revolutionize critical...

"I always offer [prospective clients] to be their intern [for a day]. So if you want me to do work for you, I'm happy to do it. But what we are actually doing is just taking notes." In this episode of Founders in LA, Dan Botero, CEO and Founder of inlike, shares his journey in revitalizing real estate development through technology. inlike is a groundbreaking project management platform tailored for small to medium real estate developers, blending AI and software engineering to enhance...