I was in LA last weekend with my Insta-obsessed daughters. As we drove down Melrose, they shrieked “There it is! The pink wall! Pull over!”  I have driven by this wall numerous times, but it never occurred to me to stop. Aside from its gorgeous vibrant color, to me, it was just...a wall. To them, it was a selfie Mecca. And just how did my Boston-based kids know about this wall? “From an influencer, Mom!” they told me as they rolled their eyes at me.

We had to wait for some space to clear, as about twenty other teenagers waited their turn to strike a pose. While we sat in the lot, I asked them what the concept of an “influencer” actually meant to them. Essentially, in the land of social media, they shared that they view this as a serious sign of cache. An influencer is someone you follow and defer to their advice on topics ranging anywhere from where to get the cutest shorts to where you go to take the best selfies. And I rolled my eyes back at them.  

Candidly, I think my reaction comes from the use of the word “influencer” as a verb or being used like it’s an actual job. “She’s an influencer” sounds like a made up thing to me, paling in comparison to what the actual intent is: “She has the ability to influence.”  Of course, this is all in my humble opinion. Sure, mastering social media and building a brand that people trust is a skill. If I have a business, and I cultivate a set of people who have the power to affect purchasing decisions or behaviors based on how they engage with them, that is, in fact, a valuable thing. These are ultimately people who have taken the time to build an audience and promote products or services to them. They gain credibility by using products or services which they then promote themselves.  They might be photographers, models, marketers, negotiators or some form of an expert in their field.

In some cases, these people are paid simply for showing up at a club (think one of the Kardashians) and in others, there is actual work involved to gather reviews, get feedback, etc. Social media has exploded to the point where brands hire these people to connect with audiences in ways we’ve never seen before, and there is some serious value in that.

But this is where I begin to feel old.  

The concept of an influencer has been around for an awfully long time. To me, I’ve always thought of those people as those with tremendous credibility or expertise that has been built over time. For example, influencing my buying patterns (Steve Jobs could influence me to buy just about anything with an “i” in front of it) or my behaviors (Michelle Obama influencing me with the motivational reminder, “When they go low, we go high”).  In other words, even though they might have been powerful, influential faces, I had followed them for years and had built trust with what they stood for. I suppose it’s a virtual relationship based on trust over a sustained period of time. The influencers my daughters look to have become trusted resources, but in my humble opinion, they haven’t done much to earn it. It feels like it’s based on surface level perception, rather than true reliability. I realize that could be a completely unfair assessment.

I also know that I’m not someone who looks to others for guidance on basic life choices.  For example, just this morning I saw a Facebook post where a mother in my town was in search of a good steak restaurant.  She posted to a group of 1,000 other moms, and they were all too happy to influence her choice with their colorful recommendations. Candidly, it would never occur to me to ask a community of people I don’t know for input on such a basic thing. I’m not one to obsess over Amazon reviews before making a decision, as I know many people do.  Perhaps I’m just not that easy to influence. Or maybe I don’t put a lot of stock in what other people believe is great if I don’t know them. Or maybe I’m just missing out on some good decision-making techniques.

We’ve become a celebrity-obsessed culture, which scares me a little. Consumers do their best to avoid advertising, so it makes sense that they are making buying decisions influenced by what they see “cool” people subtly promoting. When we see a picture of Tom Brady wearing UGG boots, we think “Hmm, I thought those were so 2012, but I must be wrong...I must have a new pair this winter.” Some cute relatable teenage girl posts pictures of herself at Coachella wearing an amazing flower crown? I must make one. If we view people as relatable or living the lives we aspire to have, we buy.

I must admit I had a pretty negative reaction to my kids' interpretation of what constitutes an influencer because I can’t relate at all to a bunch of young women telling other young women where the best place to pose for a selfie is...and they listen. And yet, I have to give these influencers some major kudos; they have built a following, and people listen to their guidance. Perhaps today it’s about a selfie location; tomorrow it might be a far larger consumer purchase. Whatever it is, they’ve gained the trust of their audience. That, no matter who you are, is a powerful thing to be able to do. So while I still have some negative reaction to someone’s job actually being “an influencer,” the skills required to actually influence another human being to do anything is relevant to all of us.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator. 

For the 83rd episode of our podcast, I interviewed Ash Ashutosh, Founder and CEO at Actifio.

Ash is someone who fully embodies what it means to be a serial entrepreneur. In addition to Actifio, he also founded Serano Systems as well as AppIQ, a data storage company that was acquired by HP in 2005.

Actifio, his latest company, is the world’s leading enterprise data-as-a-service platform. Powered by patented Virtual Data Pipeline™ technology, Actifio frees data from traditional infrastructure to accelerate adoption of hybrid cloud, build higher quality applications faster, and improve business resiliency and availability.

Actifio is backed by some of the top venture capital firms in the industry and in case you didn’t know, the company is one of the unicorns in the Boston tech scene with a valuation of over $1B.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

• Ash’s background growing up in India and migrating to the US.
• His early career in the tech industry, including his time at StorageNetworks, an early cloud storage company.
• The details of Serano Systems and AppIQ, the first two companies that he founded.
• What he learned during the time he spent as a VC at Greylock.
• The aha moment behind Actifio and all the details on the company, its technology, and the massive market opportunity.
• Advice for founders raising early-stage capital.
• His thoughts on sharing a company’s valuation in the media after raising funding.
• Plus, a lot more.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Pluralsight.

It is amazing what machine learning can do. With mounds of data being harvested every day, there’s so much we can learn and create.

Pluralsight, the technology learning platform, is using this data for the good of tech professionals everywhere. Their AI helps you see what level your tech skills are at and recommends opportunities to keep learning.

And they’re looking for help to make their algorithms even smarter. If changing the way the world learns technology through the intersection of Design, Product, Data Science and Engineering is right up your alley, apply to work at Pluralsight.

Want to work here? Visit pluralsight.com/venturefizz to learn more.

Spoiler Alert:  It’s been great.

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on bad behavior lately.  In just the past few days, I consumed both Surviving R. Kelly and Leaving Neverland. Both horrifically disturbing to watch. Then I started reading Emily Chang’s Brotopia, the tale of boys behaving badly in Silicon Valley. By the end of the weekend, the sum of this content caused me to pause and reflect on how all of these stories relate to my own experiences, if at all. As highlighted in Chang’s book, so much has been written about being a woman in tech over the last few years, primarily with an abundance of negative stories attached to it. This has largely NOT been my experience.

I grew up in a pretty traditional family. My father is a highly educated serial entrepreneur, and my mother worked in the home raising my younger brother and I. Much like many of us experience in our own workplaces, the people my dad worked with became his best friends, and ultimately good family friends over the years.  My first memory in life took place when I was four with one of these friends. My parents had bought their first new home, and my dad recruited a bunch of his colleagues/friends to help with the move. I remember sitting on the floor of my new bedroom, intently watching as my dad’s friend put together my first “big girl bed.”  I remember thinking how mature I felt in that moment, and how kind Tom was to lend a hand in making me feel that way. To me, he was a wonderful family friend who went on continuing supporting me as a started a career. To adults, he was a respected executive. The point is, this man was warm, kind and helpful to me, and didn’t make me feel “less than” because I was a kid.  That became my mental model of what working with men would be like. And over the next several decades, I learned I was largely right.

My first job in a hypergrowth consulting firm was largely run by a well-balanced mixture of men and women. Just out of college, I saw them working together collaboratively, and treating each other with respect. As the company grew larger, a bright young woman came in to play the role of Managing Director, and she raised the bar for all. In other words, my most formative experiences in business started with seeing women celebrated as equals; and the men they worked with believing this was the norm.

When I went on to my two next companies, I joined up and coming startups that are fairly stereotypical of what we often still see at the surface level in tech. Charismatic, talented and visionary CEOs, leadership teams made up of mostly men, and the majority of talent under the age of thirty. And yet, even then, I viewed the fact that I was a woman as a competitive advantage, not a detriment. These men made it easy to feel like, “Sure I might be the only woman in the room, but that just provides me with a unique point of view I can contribute to getting us to a better solution.”

When one enters into these hyper-growth environments, there is no doubt that just about everyone feels some degree of imposter syndrome at some point. Regardless of your skills and experience, you are forced into a world where there often isn’t a clear cut right answer, and you must collaborate and take some disciplined risks to survive and thrive. I consider myself fortunate to have partnered with some exceptional people - both men and women - to build some pretty exceptional companies. And along the way, of course, I dealt with some bad behavior.  I’ve had my a** grabbed on numerous occasions. I’ve been told my work was irrelevant by older men who didn’t understand or value it. I’ve felt left out when the boys go off to football games and didn’t invite me. And yet, I’ve also had a senior woman leader suggest I was moving quickly up the ladder because a male mentor must be giving me “special favors.” I’ve had female peers talk trash because I was able to build successful relationships with executives. In other words, acting like a jerk is genderless. And it’s how we choose to respond to it that’s important.

When I was in college, I interned in a software company. One day, my job was to fetch coffee during a board meeting. Rather than get upset that I was being asked to serve a bunch of men, I took it as an opportunity to ask these board members questions and attempt to connect with them. They didn’t ignore me; rather, they seemed impressed that I was courageous enough to engage. I didn’t view it as being bold or audacious, or “finding my voice.” I just chose to think of it as “these are just people with more experience than me. I can learn from them.”  And when the inevitable bad behavior did happen, like when male colleagues touched me inappropriately, I’ve responded with a simple, “WTF are you doing?” It stopped immediately. And when women talked trash, I didn’t try to convince them otherwise. I just ignored them. Nothing pisses off a bully more than not letting them get to you. I learned it was up to me to take control of the situation, not let the situation take control of me.

I’ve heard it said numerous times over the last year, “It’s a tough time to be a white guy.”  I don’t agree; unless of course you are a white guy who happens to be a total a**. There are people who behave badly just about everywhere - it’s not limited to the Valley, and it’s not limited to men.  And yet, it’s our responsibility not just treat people the way we’d like to be treated, but to not allow others to treat us badly in the first place.  I appreciate not everyone feels like they have the confidence or the voice to speak up, but it’s a critical business skill each of us must learn. “Knock it off” shouldn’t be difficult words for anyone to utter, regardless of the circumstance. I’ve found that when they are in fact spoken, it’s actually quite effective.

Yes, there are toxic environments, and bad people operating within them.  However, it’s been my experience that there are far more people who are working hard to build professional, collaborative and productive relationships. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with men and women during my career who have helped to create that dynamic, as well as been exposed to a handful of jerks. Surviving and thriving comes with holding the bar high with the people I choose to work with (company culture really matters) and speaking up when things aren’t working.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator. 

It's no secret that raising funding for your startup is difficult. Then, once you accomplish this goal and the money has been raised, a whole new set of challenges lie ahead. How do you go about managing this capital, so that it maximizes the goal of growing a business. In addition to managing your spend and burn rate, at what point should you hire someone to lead your financial operations?

We asked several of the top CFOs in the Boston tech scene for their point of view on these two very important topics:

• What advice would you give to founders in terms of managing a company's capital and finances?
• When should a company add a CFO to the team?

Take a look at the answers below for lots of great advice.

Jim Kelliher, CFO at Drift

What advice would you give to founders in terms of managing a company's capital and finances?

Earlier this year, Venture Lane, a new startup accelerator/co-working space, opened in Government Center. The organization has a specific focus: guiding startups that are starting to gain traction by not only providing them with a space to work and collaborate with others but also giving access to mentors as well.

Venture Lane’s Founder Christian Magel had a chance to speak with us about the organization and how they are assisting early-stage startups. Magel also touched upon his own career as a serial entrepreneur and what led him down the path of helping other entrepreneurs.

Colin Barry [CB]: Let’s talk about your career. You’ve been involved with tech companies and now you’re helping them out. How did you get started doing that?

Christian Magel [CM]: In 1995, when the internet revolution came around, I started working for an internet media company before turning my attention to more web-related projects. I completed my first project in 1996, which was a B2B platform for entertainment media. From then on, I was hooked on the craziness of the space. My background is in marketing, especially with figuring out go-to-market strategies, a skill in high demand in the early days of the Internet.

The first startup I joined was LetsBuyIt.com, which was an early eCommerce website founded in Sweden. At the time, LetsBuyIt.com was the second largest funded startup in Europe. It was focused on group buying long before Groupon popularized it. This was a new frontier for me and nothing was prewritten, so figuring out strategies was challenging.

Come 2005, my business partners (Rolf Hansen, Andy Perreiter and Thomas Enge) and I started another company called simyo, which was an online-only telecom service. Think of it as being similar to Virgin Mobile, where you have more control over your mobile service and all benefits of e-commerce. We ended up rolling out into five European countries and helping transform the telecom industry, mainly because we were a customer champion and more tech-driven, as opposed to our competitors who had shops, subsidiaries and lock-in contracts.

My business partners and I then met Peter O’Connell, an Australian entrepreneur who wanted to bring a similar business to the country [Australia]. We hopped on the plane to Sydney and after half-a-day, we were ready to start a business, called Amaysim, another online-enabled telecom service. At the time, we built the largest independent mobile operator in Australia with over AUD 200 mio. in revenue. In 2015, we had an opportunity to register for an IPO and after the company went public, we all decided to take a break; two of the founders went back to Europe, and my wife (who is from Boston) and I came to the United States. Now, at this point, I had been back-and-forth to Boston for nearly 20 years. I’ve always loved Boston and the tight-knit community here.

CB: So, now on to Venture Lane. How did the idea for that come about?

CM: Once I moved to Boston,  I started looking at what was out there and what kind of business I could build that’s scalable and one that can impact early-stage companies. Specifically, I wanted to positively impact the lives of both the founders and the companies they are building. I started looking around and noticed that there were tons of open working spaces, but a lot of these places may have lost their mojo, so to speak; they weren’t catering towards the real needs of an early stage tech startup. I also found a thriving scene of accelerators, who are doing great things for the community but are selective and only take in companies for a short period of time. I wanted to create a space that was the best of both worlds and curate a hub for early-stage tech companies.

Venture Lane has three goals in mind: creating a community, creating real impact through mentors and connections, and giving entrepreneurs space where they and their teams can take advantage of their momentum without having to give up equity.

CB: Why focus on just early-stage companies and why not go for the companies that have raised a Series A or have raised more than that?

CM: We want to help companies gain stability by offering our assistance. If you ask an entrepreneur about the mistakes they’ve made early on, they can usually point to one or two things, and we want to share our own experiences to help make a difference for the startups in Venture Lane.

At this part of their lifespan, early-stage companies are relying on shared resources and are looking for a way to connect with other founders. However, it is a stage where a lot can go wrong and a company could fail, so providing mentorship and enabling collaboration is important. When it comes to resources, say, for example, you don’t have a CFO. Why not share a CFO with another company? And then, when you're ready to take off, the CFO can decide which company to join.

CB: Currently, there are six startups stationed here with a handful being Techstars or Y Combinator alumni. How did you come across these companies and how did they become a part of the space?

CM: Full disclosure: this is not the kind of space where we advertised that we were taking in companies. Since myself and our staff were plugged into the Boston tech community, all of the referrals were through word-of-mouth, or through private contacts. One thing that unites all of the startups in the space, however, is that they all have an existing product and a smart and talented team. They are well-positioned for high growth.

Another factor is the people factor, meaning we want to bring in folks who are willing to be team players. It reminds me of a rugby team in New Zealand that brought in all of these star players, but the organization made sure the team was the star, not just one particular player.

CB: One thing that really stands out to me is the design and layout of Venture Lane’s offices and lobby. Did you have a hand in designing the space?

CM: We had a very capable design and architect group, the Baker Design Group, who also designed the TripAdvisor building out in Needham. It was a very collaborative approach, where every design idea and furniture choice was decided amongst the group. It took six months to create a space that cultivates this kind of collaborative, flexible environment.

Frankly, for me, the fun was in getting to work with Baker Design Group. We wanted to make it fun and attractive, but also efficient for workflow. Think about it: you come into an office and you spend all of this time looking at a screen. Sometimes, it's nice to look at something else to spark your imagination. Some people have said that it has a mid-60s European feel, which actually fits the time period when the building was first built.

CB: Can you share some future plans for Venture Lane?

CM: Of course! Our big focus is to look for 20 or so companies that are on fire to bring the space to full capacity. We also just introduced our programming, so we will be hosting weekly roundtables or workshops and more advisors to help the companies out. However, we want to focus on making this a sustainable business and we want to be the best place to work if you are an early-stage company in Boston.

Colin Barry is an Editor & Staff Writer to VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKrash

Images courtesy of Venture Lane

What do the career path and day-in-the-life look like for an Account Manager at SmartBear?

We connected with Christopher Collins to find out!

Also, SmartBear is hiring! Click here to see all of the company's openings!

Where did you grow up?  What did your parents do for work?  

I was born in West Roxbury, MA and grew up in a small town in Western Massachusetts. My parents are consultants in the engineering and software industries.

Where did you go to college?  What did you study and what were some of your initial jobs out of school?

I went to Saint Anselm College, where I studied Economics and Public Policy. Upon graduation, I wanted to take the time to explore different opportunities. I worked at the Department of Commerce, a small marketing firm, and coached lacrosse. Through coaching, I expanded my network and had the opportunity to meet with sales leadership at SmartBear. I left the meeting excited and inspired by this growing company and knew I had to get involved.

What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

They say curiosity kills the cat, but I would argue otherwise. If I had to boil my success down to one word it would be curiosity. This attribute has led me to challenge the status quo, continuously learn, and take risks.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have grown significantly in the year I’ve been at SmartBear and I attribute that success to the environment here. I am surrounded by intelligent, driven people. Coworkers in any department are always available to discuss ideas or questions I might have. Starting in business development taught me about the challenges our customers face, and how we can help improve their everyday lives. My manager gave me a great foundation in software sales which I was then able to build upon.

Due to the growth of our organization, I was asked to become a team lead, managing 10 other team members on the US Sales Development Team. And more recently, I have been promoted to Account Manager. Though each role has been demanding, I work with a great team that ensures success.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Account Manager at Smartbear?

I work with customers in highly regulated industries, such as aerospace and defense, banking, and aviation, to improve their software development process. This requires finding and connecting with the proper stakeholders to understand the issues they face and develop a possible solution.

Any tips for someone considering a career in your field?

This is a high paced environment. Be constantly curious and try to learn as much as you possibly can. Once you think you've learned enough, be prepared to adapt quickly. What works today, might not work tomorrow.  

Day in the Life

Coffee, tea, or nothing?

Coffee. Probably too much coffee.

What time do you get into the office?

8:15 AM

What are three things that motivate you in your role?

I’m motivated by the will to succeed, the desire to continue to learn, and seeing those I mentor succeed.

Every day is different, but can you outline what a typical day looks like for you?

Before I leave work, I make a list of everything I want to accomplish the next day.  When I arrive in the morning, I prioritize that list based upon any new emails or notifications I may have received and I hit the ground running!

What time do you head out of the office?

5:30

Do you log back in at night or do you shut it down completely?  

Will this be published? Then I am always available.

Any productivity hacks?

Butter in said coffee.

What are the 3 apps that you can’t live without?

News, Lyft, and Calculator

What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?

I most proud of my growth at SmartBear over the past year. I have been trusted with the responsibility of leading a team, and then earned the opportunity to contribute to one of the most profitable products.

Who do you admire or call upon for professional advice?

Both of my managers have been great resources. Each started where I was, and have established themselves as trusted voices at the company. I have yet to encounter a situation where I couldn't go to them and have an honest dialogue.

Colin Barry is the Content Manager to VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKrash.

Images courtesy of Christopher Collins

For the 81st episode of our podcast, I interviewed Richard Dulude, Co-Founder and Partner at Underscore VC.

Richard has a really interesting background with a multi-faceted career. He was a professional skier competing for a spot on the US Olympic team, turned programmer, turned entrepreneur and now a venture capitalist.

In his current role at Underscore VC, he’s leading the firm’s investments in the areas of the blockchain, AI, machine learning, XR, and serverless technologies.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

• What it's like competing for a spot on the Olympic team while studying engineering at an Ivy League school.
• Richard’s career, including his time working on the pricing strategy for iTunes at Apple and helping to launch the direct-to-consumer eCommerce business for Procter & Gamble.
• The story of how Underscore VC came to be, and all the details behind the firm, plus what they are targeting in terms of investments.
• His thoughts on whether entrepreneurs are born or made.
• What areas of technology he’s interested in right now.
• Advice for founders raising capital.
• How to determine valuations.
• Plus, a lot more.

Data has always been important to the people-focused elements of a business; never more so than now in the age of big data.

Every HR/people strategy team I know is in search of finding that right alchemy of data that, if providing those right insights and used properly, will aid us in creating predictive models and proactive changes to our work. And yet, while we rush to hire operations people to tease out this vital information and invest in tools to automate and accelerate finding answers, many of us are only focusing on half the picture. It’s one thing to have data, but you need to be able to communicate it in a way that is influential and meaningful. In other words, both you and your data need to be able to tell a story.

Here’s my recent personal struggle. Over the years, my team has curated a set of data that really digs into the basics our board and leadership care about; attrition, retention, highlights on our sales team, etc. And while I’m proud that we’ve assembled a solid set of information they find valuable, it’s just not good enough for me.  Given our rapid growth, we don’t have a lot of trend data. Each quarter, a group of us dissect the information we’ve collected, analyze it, and then align on what story it’s telling us. It’s quite manual and takes a lot of effort. This data analysis and storytelling should work in conjunction with one another, and the flow of information should work seamlessly together - or at the very least, complement each other.

Being able to supply the right data and analyze it meaningfully is one skill set we all need, but so too is the ability to tell an effective story about it. Sound daunting? It doesn’t need to be. Think of it like making a good pasta sauce.

Do you start cooking your sauce before you have all the ingredients for it?  No.

Do you cook the pasta before you’ve made the sauce?  No.

Do you taste the sauce before it’s simmered?  Sure...but primarily to test and edit it.

In other words, there is a method to storytelling. You start with the foundational elements - like browning the garlic in olive oil - and build from there. You add the tomatoes, and you carefully add in the basil and oregano to taste. By building one step at a time, your story (and your sauce), each piece will be supported by the elements that came before it. Sounds simple, right?  Let’s lay it out a little more.

SHARE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

Not all data can illuminate all answers.  Every model has some assumptions baked in, and it’s important to call those out. For example, if you are reviewing survey data, you may make some assumptions about having used a representative sample of information. In other words, share your model and state your hypothesis - similar to high school chemistry class. It gets everyone on the same page about the starting place.

BUILD THE FOUNDATION

Since you’ve shared the basic model and assumptions your story is being built upon, it’s important to next share some details.  This might include what it is you are analyzing (e.g. attrition trends in account executives), what each of the variables mean (e.g. the data that supports your model) and why you think it’s important to analyze this information in the first place (e.g. we are seeing attrition go up...we want to dissect why this might be happening).

SHARE THE INITIAL FINDINGS

While a beautifully crafted model can look impressive, it’s not enough to stand alone.  To accompany it, you’ll need to share what analysis you’ve done with the data and why you did it.  You’ll also need to share that you’ve learned from this exercise.

This is where pictures come in. We all learn and understand differently.  Whether it’s through numbers or pictures, a balance is important. A concise graph or table can save you a lot of time in explanation. If you don’t have the skills or talent to create this on your own team, there are a ton of examples available for free with a simple search. There are also a multitude of affordable classes that can help.

ISN’T THIS MORE IMPACTFUL THAN JUST SHARING A BUNCH OF NUMBERS?!

Continue to share your additional pieces of data.  Whether it’s looking at the information from another vantage point or digging a little deeper, you are adding more ingredients to your story to create a more comprehensive picture.

In addition to sharing your findings, you should include your interpretation of this data.  For example, “I believe this analysis is accurate based on …” or “I have interpreted these finds to mean…”

SUMMARIZE

If you’ve created a strong story to accompany your data, it should be fairly simple to comprehend. Pull it all together with a crisp summary about what you’ve analyzed and your key findings, highlighting your big conclusions. You want to be able to have people understand the context and the big picture; not just zero in on one or two data points.

Bottom line: No one wants to present a whole bunch of data and have it fall flat. You want the people you share it to walk away educated, and enlightened about what you’ve shared. I know when I am trying to cook something new, following a recipe helps guide me in the right direction. However, when it’s complemented with a picture of the finished product and even a little context about what inspired the dish, I feel far more prepared to create something delicious.

For the 79th episode of our podcast, I interviewed Jennifer Lum, Co-Founder and COO at Forge.AI.

Jennifer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and startup advisor. Her track record really speaks for itself. She was part of some legendary teams in the Boston tech scene - that being m-Qube, which was acquired by Verisign and Quattro Wireless, which was acquired by Apple. She then went on to be a Co-Founder of Adelphic Mobile, which was also acquired - this one by Time.

As an angel investor, she has invested in over 30 startups and companies like Crashlytics, Careport Health, TribeHR, and others have also exited. In addition, she is also really well known as an advisor and mentor for lots of companies & founders.

Forge.AI is tackling a very complex problem with a massive market opportunity. 80% of the world’s information is unstructured and not easily used by computers. That’s a lot of untapped potential and Forge.AI is transforming this unstructured information into machine-ready data for computational use. The company recently announced an $11M Series A round of funding led by Underscore VC.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover lots of topics, like:

• Jennifer’s background including the details on how transformative her experience was at m-Qube and Quattro Wireless.
• The story behind the founding of Adelphic, and its acquisition by Time.
• All the details on Forge.AI, her latest startup and the market opportunity for their technology.
• What she looks for in a company before making an angel investment and advice for people looking to become angel investors.
• Her thoughts on the current state of the Boston tech scene and companies that she is excited about.
• Plus, a lot more.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Pluralsight.

It is amazing what machine learning can do. With mounds of data being harvested every day, there’s so much we can learn and create.

Pluralsight, the technology learning platform, is using this data for the good of tech professionals everywhere. Their AI helps you see what level your tech skills are at and recommends opportunities to keep learning.

And they’re looking for help to make their algorithms even smarter. If changing the way the world learns technology through the intersection of Design, Product, Data Science and Engineering is right up your alley, apply to work at Pluralsight.

Want to work here? Visit pluralsight.com/venturefizz to learn more.

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Never one to thrive in a traditional classroom setting, I have always been an experiential learner. I seem to learn the most when I am hands-on, or can see and engage with a new topic rather than just hear about it.  As a result, all of my best learnings in business have come from being involved in hyper-growth companies, where one survives by rolling up their sleeves and be forced to figure it out. I’ve applied the same process to my personal development through life. I don’t want to read about the world around me; I want to walk through every open door I find and experience what’s on the other side.

My oldest daughter leaves for college this fall, and with limited time for vacations between my kid’s school schedules and my own commitments, we selected their February break as a time to celebrate what might be our last vacation together as a threesome (though I’m sincerely hoping this is not the case). I let them pick where we would go, and they selected Africa. Not an insignificant pick by any stretch of the imagination, but one that was sure to be memorable if we could pull it off. It took about nine months of planning, but well worth the effort. We just returned from what might be one of the best adventures of my life.

Anytime you step outside of your comfort zone, I’ve learned you can either try to hold on to whatever control you can muster and aim to make the experience as relaxed as possible. Or, you can throw caution to the wind, and push yourself in the unknown world to gain new knowledge and experience. I prefer the latter.

I went to Tanzania this month with two goals; to help my children and I continue to broaden our world view, and to have some fun experiencing new things together. The trip wildly exceeded all of my expectations. And while I could regale you with tales of elephants walking in front of our tent or observing that zebras are so omnipresent that we began to think of them as the squirrels of the Serengeti, there were far more meaningful takeaways.

One of the biggest learnings I walked away with was a new lens on customer service. At Rapid7, we’ve been spending a lot of energy ensuring that our customers aren’t just “serviced,” but have the best possible experience we can provide. Arriving in an unfamiliar country not entirely sure what to expect of our adventure, I immediately noticed nearly everyone we interacted with operated with a lens towards creating an exceptional experience as well.

Though Tanzania is a relatively stable country,  many of its inhabitants still live well below the poverty line. They rely heavily on agriculture, tourism, and mining to fuel their economy. While I’ve traveled to other lands that also focus heavily on tourism as a major source of revenue, I’ve never encountered one where the people seem so genuinely keen to create an experience of a lifetime.

It started with our guide, who met us early our first morning and made us incredibly comfortable by explaining exactly what our upcoming several days would look like. He set our expectations about everything from being stopped on the highway multiple times by police to how bumpy our journey through the Serengeti would be in our jeep. He took the potential fear of the unknown out of the equation and set the context that essentially even though we were about to experience some things out of our everyday norm, he’d be there to guide us every step of the way.

And as we traveled over the coming days, each one a new adventure, I was struck that it wasn’t just an exceptional guide with an eye towards making this experience a memorable one; each person we interacted with operated in a similar manner.  On our stay one night at a farm, one of the workers there took the time to tour us through the fields, proudly pointing out all the vegetables that we’d be eating that night. He taught us how to milk a cow, and let us check for eggs their chickens had just laid.  He turned an overnight stay into a fun adventure and helped us appreciate our meal that night all the more because we understood exactly where each item came from.

Moving into the Serengeti, losing all connection to the real world was a disorienting feeling. No more email, no more texts for several days. And yet, once we got over the initial shock, we quickly recalled the true meaning of being in communication - it’s about connection.  We pulled up to our first tented camp after a long day out in the plains and were greeted with staff singing to us as a form of welcome. They had been in contact with our guide throughout the day, so knew exactly where we’d been, and a little bit about each of us.  They made us feel welcome immediately and treated us as though we were the most important guests they’d ever had. At one point, my overly picky eater of a daughter was noticed to be moving her food around her plate at our communal dinner. The infectiously kind manager pulled me aside after having noticed and asked what they could prepare for dinner the following evening that she would get excited about eating. After I had said not to go to any trouble for her, he engaged her in a conversation about her favorite foods.  To my shock, the following night, the twelve guests around the table were eating many of the items she had shared with him.

Our final night provided yet another example of this incredible focus on the customer experience.  Our last two nights were spent at a camp run by all women. They were just as welcoming and hospitable as the primarily male-led camp we had stayed at the previous two nights, but they did something which to me was a complete standout. After dinner, their approximately 20 person staff entered the dining tent, and began to sing and dance.  Within minutes, they pulled every guest into their circle and began to get each person involved. Most guests were shy and intimidated; there was some hardcore African dancing going on, and we were arguably clueless. And yet somehow, they didn’t just manage to get everyone to participate - they turned that one experience into one that was discussed later by the guests as one of the highlights of their entire trip. They had someone managed to make something foreign and different feel like it was the most natural and fun thing to do within a matter of minutes.

This trip was exceptional and arguably my favorite vacation ever. While I will forever remember the children we played with in the orphanage, the beauty of the wide open plains and the encounters with the incredible animals we saw, the Tanzanian people we met along the way will remain the most etched in my brain. While the service to their customers was fantastic, the experience they created was just beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.