Episode 335 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Ernesto DiGiambattista, entrepreneur and investor. This episode is the 2nd of three interviews that were recorded live at Suffolk University with Suffolk alums. Ernesto has a unique background that hits the trifecta of experience. He spent time in senior roles with larger enterprise corporations, then he founded a venture backed company called ZeroNorth which was acquired by Harness, and he’s now an investor in early stage startups as Managing Director of Genesis Accel. Thus, he was able to provide a very unique perspective, not only around building companies but we also talk about some of the inner-workings of the venture capital industry. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * The details behind EIEIO, which is the acronym that Ernesto uses for hiring, that being Energy, IQ/EQ, Experience, Integrity, and Organizational Fit. * Ernesto’s background story and how he got his career started in the tech industry and how he landed his role at Bank of America and then as an executive at Sentinel Benefits. * What led him down the path of entrepreneurship and how he recognized the market opportunity that turned into ZeroNorth and the full lifecycle story behind the company. * What Ernesto and his partner, Tom Meredith, are targeting for investments. * The importance of understanding the fund dynamics of a VC firm like their deployment requirements and other key factors. * Common pitch mistakes that he sees from founders and why you should show customer retention and revenue growth. * His view on customer success at a startup in the early stage and why it might be more important than sales. And so much more.