Evan Buhler's journey into startups began after he decided to quit his Big Law job following a conversation with one of his clients who had built a multi-billion dollar company.

After two attempts at building a legal tech startup, Evan started building Talok Capital. A Venture Capital firm focused not only on providing capital to startups but also on helping founders protect their startups legally.

Kevin Henrikson founded Accompli, an email app that was acquired by Microsoft for $200M. Before Accompli, Kevin was also the Director of Engineering at Zimbra (Acquired by Yahoo for $350M).

Scott Van den Berg is the General Partner of HotStart VC, a fund focused on investing in celebrity-owned brands. HotStart has already made several notable investments in brands backed by celebrities like Selena Gomez, DJ Khaled, and Jake Paul. During this episode Scott & the host (Berk) discuss: - How Scott invested in brands backed by Selena Gomez, Jake Paul, DJ Khaled, etc - How to get partner with celebrities if you're a founder - The trend of celebrity-backed brands - The risks of celebrity-backed brands and how to deal with them And more... Connect with Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-van-den-berg-22b534150/Connect with the host: https://meetberk.com/ Looking to get featured or got feedback? Email berk@ostradis.com!

Devang Sachdev is a tech executive turned venture capital investor. His experience spans leading product at Nvidia, helping Twilio grow to $500M+, and joining Snorkel AI as an early employee and helping them scale to unicorn status. Devang is now an investor focused on investing in AI companies across fields like DeepTech, B2B Vertical SaaS, and more. Connect with Devang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devangsachdev/ Got questions or feedback? Email berk@ostradis.com!

Landon Sanford is an entrepreneur having built 3 venture-backed startups with one of his startups raising from Y-Combinator, Sequoia, Craft Ventures / David Sacks, and Co-Founders of Hubspot & Honey. During this interview, Landon talks about: 👉 Growing up with a governor & congressman father as well as lessons he's learned from his father, Mark Sanford 👉 Raising $1M right out of college to build a travel app & how he left because of co-founder disagreements 👉 Driving Uber & doing freelance work to fund his startups 👉 Getting into YC for his AI startup and how he left because of co-founder disagreements Connect with Landon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landon-sanford/ More about Landon: https://landon1.webflow.io/ Connect with the host (Berk): https://meetberk.com/ Looking to get featured or got feedback? Email berk@ostradis.com!

JR Butler was an early employee at Turbonomic which IBM acquired for $2 billion in 2021. JR then went on to found Shift Group where he scaled their platform to $1.5M in ARR. During this interview, JR Butler talks about: 👉 Playing Hockey Professionally & How losing it turned him into an alcoholic (and stories from ending up in hospitals and handcuffs) 👉 Recovering from his addiction and going into business 👉 Stories & Lessons from joining Turbonomic and helping it grow till its exit 👉 How Shift Group was founded and how they scaled to $1.5M ARR in 12 months Connect with JR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrbutler/ Work with Shift Group: https://shiftgroup.io/ Connect with the host (Berk): https://meetberk.com/ Got feedback or looking to get featured? Email berk@ostradis.com!

Steve Walsh is an executive, founder, angel investor, and mentor to multiple startups. His career started out working for Congressman Joseph Kennedy. After his brief time in politics, Steve went on to join Cox Communications as an early employee where he helped take the company from 0 to $1 billion in annual revenue. He later went on to join Comcast as a VP where he experienced burnout. Using capital from his previous experiences, Steve became an angel investor. Making direct investments himself as well as becoming a Limited Partner in LAUNCH by Jason Calacanis and other angel syndicates. During this conversation, Steve tells stories from the different phases of his career. Topics include: 👉 Stories & Lessons from Working with Congressman Joseph Kennedy 👉 Stories & Lessons from Working as a Salesman under famous billionaire Herb Chambers 👉 Joining Cox Communications as an early employee & helping take it from 0 to $1 billion 👉 Joining to join Comcast as an executive & burning out 👉 Stories & lessons from becoming an angel investor Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/handsonangel/ Steve's Fundraising Course: https://steve-walsh.mykajabi.com/Welcome Connect with the podcast host (Berk): https://meetberk.com/ Got feedback or looking to get featured in the next episode? Email berk@ostradis.com!

Alan D'Souza is a serial entrepreneur with 5+ successful exits & an investor. Some of his past startups include: - txtBrowser: ChatGPT for SMS (1.3 Billion Paid Search Queries) - Free Paisa - App discovery platform (50 Million Users, $5+ Million ARR) - Adof Games - Creator of Games like Battle of Dots (1.1M+ Paying Users) - OpenInApp – Gsuite for Creators (1.5+ Million Paying Users) During this episode, the host discovers Alan's playbook for building, growing, and exiting his startups. Connect with Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsouza-alan/ Connect with the host (Berk): https://meetberk.com/ Got feedback or looking to get featured on the next episode? Email berk_lee@ostradis.com!

Omar Hedeya is an engineer turned VC investor with 1 unicorn in his portfolio. During this interview with the Builders & Funders Show, Omar talks about: 👉 Investing in his first unicorn startup 👉 Stories from notable founders he's met including the Syrian who built & exited his startup to Snapchat in a warzone 👉 The levels to fundraising & how to be a great storyteller

Jon Staenberg was an early employee of Microsoft, early investor in Facebook & Docusign ($16 billion valuation) along 400+ other startups, and the founder of Agate Hound Fund. During this interview, Jon & Berk discuss: 👉 Why Heros are Crucial for Success & Things Jon has learned from Warren Buffet 👉 Stories & Lessons from The Early Days of Microsoft & Working with Bill Gates 👉 How to put yourself in a position to get lucky & how Jon "accidentally" invested in Facebook & Docusign in the early stages 👉 How Jon was one of the OG venture investors & why search funds are the next big thing

Paul Swegle is a former SEC & DOJ lawyer turned startup attorney having done over $15 billion in deals including taking Porch Group Public ($522 Million Mkt Cap) and Being a part of ING Sharebuilders $9.5 Billion Exit. During this interview with the Builders & Funders Show, Paul Swegle discusses: 👉 The New Department of Government Efficiency Led By Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy & How Founders Can Take Advantage of The New Deregulation 👉 Why Founders Should Understand Laws & Regulations and The Story of One of Paul's Clients That was Hit by Fines & Oversight for one of their ad campaigns 👉 Stories of how founders have been scammed by partners, employees, etc and how to spot / avoid being scammed 👉 Deal making lessons from doing $15 billion in deals including a $9 billion exit & $500M+ IPO

Len Lehmann built & scaled 3 venture backed startups, including one that went public. He's also an angel investor at Sand Hill angels. During this interview Len talks about: 👉 Lessons from Landing Funding from Sequioa 👉 Questions All Investors Ask Themselves When They Decide Who to Fund And more... Looking to get featured in the next episode or got feedback? Email hello@ostradis.com!

Mark Benak was the CEO of Asset Performance Technologies (APT) which was acquired by Uptake for 8 figures. Mark is also an active angel investor in tech startups. Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbenak/ Connect with the host (Berk): https://meetberk.com/ Got feedback or looking to get featured in the next episode? Email berk_lee@ostradis.com.

Martin Tobias is a serial entrepreneur with experience building & scaling 3 venture-backed startups, including 2 successful exits / IPOs.

He's also directly raised well over $500 Million throughout his career. Martin is also an investor with an 8% success rate, a rate that puts him in a league of elite investors. During this Builders & Funders interview, Martin & Berk discuss: 👉 How Martin lost $500M after Building a $2 Billion Public Company (Loudeye Technologies) 👉 How Martin became one of the best venture investors in the world with a success / unicorn rate of 8% 👉 How Martin raised $250M as a complete outsider for Imperium 👉 How Martin picks problems to work on & how to pick problems as a founder 👉 The 2 things all successful founders have in common Looking to get featured in the next episode or got feedback? Please email hello@ostradis.com!

Chris Haroun was an early investor in Facebook & Palantir. He's also raised well over $1 Billion and he's grown his educational platform to 2 Million Students. During this interview, he talks about: 👉 Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking in Jail (Then giving a Ted Talk 🤯) 👉 The One Trait Every Billionaire He's Ever Met Shares 👉 Meeting Doug Leone of Sequoia and The One Lesson He Learned From Doug That He'll Never Forget 👉 The Story of How a Persian Rug Merchant Accidently Invested in PayPal (and What Chris Learned from Him) 👉 Learning Body Language Tips from FBI / CIA Veterans 👉 Beating Depression 👉 Fundraising Lessons from Raising $1 Billion (and the one trick to land meetings with anyone in the world) 👉 The one networking trick that will get you any client or job you want in the world And much more... Looking to get featured in the next episode or got feedback? Please email hello@ostradis.com!

Matt Wilson is an Angel Investor, Venture Capitalist, Exited Entrepreneur, and Former Sales Executive at Nestle & Coca Cola. Some of his most famous investments include Lyft ($24 Billion IPO) & Pinterest ($12 Billion IPO). Connect with Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwilsonyyc/ Connect with Berk (the host): https://meetberk.com/ Looking to get featured in the next episode or got feedback? Email hello@ostradis.com!

Frederic Gray is a VC at Techstars and the Exited Founder of Packfed. During this episode Fred talks about: 👉 Passing on a startup that ended up becoming a $4B unicorn 👉 Backing another unicorn (PrizePicks) & why he decided to back them early on 👉 Fundraising lessons from being a founder turned VC (and now mentor to other VC-backed startups at Techstars) 👉 Tips for getting into Techstars, the $116B startup accelerator And much more... Connect with Fred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederic-gray-iv-637bba11/ Connect with Berk (the host): https://meetberk.com/ Looking to get featured in the next episode or got feedback? Email hello@ostradis.com!

Peter Hopton is the founder of Iceotope ($73M raised to date), Venture. Community, and Ampere. He's also been an advisor to NASA & serves as the Chairman of multiple technology-focused companies in the UK. Connect with Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterhopton/ Connect with the host: https://meetberk.com/ Looking to get featured or got feedback? Email hello@ostradis.com!

David Mandel is a Super Angel (500+ Investments) and the Managing Partner of Emerging Ventures. He was also the founder of 2 successful Insurance & Auto Lending Companies before exiting them to invest in tech startups. During this interview, we talk about: 👉 Why David exited his companies to become a tech investor 👉 David's first few investments 👉 The deal that excited David the most 👉 How 3 college kids who barely spoke English closed $2 million contracts from the Navy & one of the big 3 oil companies (and why David almost passed on them) 👉 David's biggest mistakes & successful investments

Phil Fraser founded the largest Bingo company in the UK, building it from 0 to an 8-figure exit with 0 funding from outside investors. Phil is now an angel investor & mentor to founders like himself. This episode was dedicated to talking about stories & lessons from the journey of building, scaling, and exiting WhichBingo.