👨💻 Issue #33: Intrapreneurship & Intrapre-inception
The serial founder, tech investor & advisor, and creator of 'intrapre-inception'
💬 Welcome to issue #33 of Between the Lines
The global pandemic has certainly brought about a boom in startups and founders, as the number of new companies and founders around the world continues to rise. Many of these new entrepreneurs are starting to move away from the major entrepreneurial city hubs like SF and NYC — and one of these people is the one and only Claremont alumnus Adam Altman. This week, Adam shares his thoughts on how he simultaneously manages two startups, why the Austin technology scene is so appealing, and what he wishes he knew as a first-time founder.
~ Josh & Miles
👤 Community Spotlight: Adam Altman
No, the two company logos next to Adam is not a mistake. Adam Altman is a CMC graduate, former tennis player, and a father of five (three kids and two startups).
After acquiring pitch-book gorilla arms over three months of investment banking, Adam joined the dot-com startup iwin.com. After that, he went on to found two digital ad bidding marketplaces, and a movie subscription service. Most importantly, he is also the founder of Rebilly and Redocly, the two R’s that you’ll learn more about below.
What’s one fun, tactical insight on how you manage two separate start-ups simultaneously?
Leading two separate companies simultaneously is not easy. I limit my focus to my unique value. Then, I find people who do it better than me and mentor the next generation of leaders. I have also mastered The Art of Slack Message Microcopy and The Way of the No-BS Meeting. Something’s gotta give.
Many still think Silicon Valley is a necessary accompaniment to a successful technology startup. You, however, among others, have found success outside of the Bay Area. What would you say are the benefits and tradeoffs to founding a technology startup away from SF? Is there something in the tech community in Austin that might entice and interest future founders?
I think the main arguments for starting a company in Silicon Valley were access to people and capital. I’d say that’s been slowly shifting for a while until the pandemic accelerated things dramatically. The tech community in Austin is very generous and collaborative. Without them, I wouldn’t have started Redocly. I think Austin is now approaching that focused-energy / critical-mass threshold that turns cities into 24/7 factories of ideas and connections.
Also, there’s no beating the music scene here. And Elon just moved in. That’s got to count for something, right?
Read on to learn more about Redocly & Rebilly and their founding stories, Adam’s advice to first-time and experienced founders, and what he’s coining as “intrapre-ception”. 👇
📣 Pardon the Announcement: Women in Product Management
Calling all students and recent grads interested in product management - Claremont’s on-campus organization for aspiring product managers, Product Space, has put together a fantastic panel of Claremont alumni to talk about careers in product management. Kira Weiss (PM at Microsoft), Kara Schacter (PM at Getaway & ex-PM at BCG), Alina Rainsford (PM at Intuit), Linnea Uyeno (PM at SAP Concur) will be joining Product Space on Thursday, February 24 from 5:30 - 6:15 pm to talk about careers in product management, choosing the right company, and tackling imposter syndrome as a young PM. Register and learn about the numerous ways to break into PM and get a chance to ask questions to the panelists!
💼 Who’s Hiring?:
Co-founded by Julia Cole (CMC), Seven Starling is a digital health company designing the next generation of care for women and families. Using the most effective, evidence-based frameworks like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), group-based support, and dedicated coaching, their programs put parents in control of their health and wellbeing. They are backed by top-tier venture capital investors and healthcare partners and are currently looking for a head of strategic partnerships.
Head of Strategic Partnerships
This is an awesome opportunity for someone who's looking to join an early-stage team (< 10 employees), build something from the ground up, and make a meaningful impact in the maternal mental health space.
Correlation Ventures was the first venture firm to pioneer ‘money-ball’ style venture capital investing and uses proprietary data science and algorithmic strategies to back early-stage entrepreneurs. They’re friends of Claremont (and Miles’ venture capital alma mater!) and have backed many Claremont-founded companies like Agni, Hamsapay, Janux Therapeutics, Sunbasket, Futuremood, and Zippia. They’re hiring for an investment associate role and wouldn’t mind leaning into the powerhouse Claremont community again!
Make sure to check out the other 5,000+ open jobs at 400+ Claremont-affiliated companies here on our Storyboard. Plus, make sure to create a profile and enter your preferences to get alerted to new job postings relevant to you, be they the 750+ remote jobs, 180+ internships, or 30+ part-time positions available. We’ve published research that shows that Claremont-founded companies that disproportionately hire Claremont talent outperform — so pay attention Claremonsters!
As always, if any of these roles catch your eye 👀 , apply and mention Between the Lines. Or if you are an employer and are looking to hire tip-top Claremont talent, fill out this form to have your jobs featured.
🗣️ Conversations on the Interwebz:
This week’s top read 🔥
You probably hear API all the time…but do you really know what it is? Founder/CEO of Redocly, Adam Altman (CMC), gives his definition to help you out.
The financings keep coming….💵
Over three years ago David Carroll helped co-found Spotter — a data-driven, technology company that is fueling the creator economy. Today, they sit at a $1.7B valuation with over $750M in total funding.
DeepSurface Security and founder/CTO Timothy Morgan (HMC) just finished raising a Seed round to continue helping cybersecurity teams quickly and efficiently discover, analyze and remediate cybersecurity risk.
Nalu Medical, co-founded by Daniel Pivonka (HMC), is a CA-based company focused on innovative and minimally invasive solutions for chronic neuropathic pain. They just closed a $104m equity financing round.
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🍽️ BTL Snacks:
🎥 Another Claremont unicorn was Spotted….. Spotter, co-founded by David Carroll (PO), just raised a $200M Series D funding round led by Softbank. The startup that licenses the back catalogs of YouTube creators and recoups ad revs also just notched a $1.7B valuation.
💻 Cisco starts to eye major software expansion….. WSJ has reported that Cisco, founded by Sandy Lerner (CGU), has made an offer to acquire intelligence software provider Splunk for $20B+ to expand their software business that currently makes up 30% of the company’s annual revenue.
⚕️The leading neurostimulation technology….. Nalu Medical, co-founded by Daniel Pivonka (HMC), continues to advance its minimally invasive solutions for patients with chronic neuropathic pain with some of the most advanced technology on the market.
🎮 The Zynga 2.0 instant-gaming company….. Playco is on an operational mission of trying to build a game that more than 1B people can play. CEO and co-founder Michael Carter (PO) shares some of Playco’s latest progress as the company seeks to bring the world closer through play.
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