Founders

In this episode of the Seedcamp Podcast, we were joined by Sheila Marcelo, Founder, Chairwoman & CEO of Care.com. 

Sheila joined Seedcamp on our US tour to meet with our Founders and talk about the personal life experiences and passion that led to her building Care.com, the world’s largest online care destination. She touches on everything from creating company culture and failing fast as a young Founder, to scaling the company and being coached as a CEO.

Sheila Marcelo, Founder of Care.com

Phil Libin, Co-Founder and Chairman of Evernote and Managing Partner of General Catalyst Partners, joined Carlos Espinal for a chat at Web Summit in Dublin. 

Phil and Carlos discuss everything from his long-standing career as a CEO, looking at his key advice for managers making the transition from early-stage leader to the CEO of a growth company, to the origins of Evernote and, in Phil’s new role in Venture Capital, what the future of apps looks like. Phil gives insight into the thoughts that led to him stepping down as CEO of Evernote as the company scaled. Debating when to recognise that someone skilled in running larger organisations makes sense for your business and that you can hire the best talent. 

Phil Libin, Co-Founder & Chairman of Evertnote and Managing Partner, General Catalyst Partners

Ben Drury, Founder of 7Digital, joined Seedcamp’s Dave Haynes for this interview talking through his journey as an entrepreneur. From starting in the first dot-com boom within early online music tech to building 7Digital during the dot-com crash, Ben discusses everything from building new services for a new era of technology, acquiring and selling other companies, to 7Digital’s own IPO. 

Ben Drury, Founder of 7Digital

In this episode, Carlos was joined by Damian Kimmelmann, Co-Founder and CEO of DueDil, a fintech company that provides accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date private company data. 

After talking through Damian's background as a serial entrepreneur and the idea that built DueDil, we switch focus and talk through sales, looking at how to find and scale a b2b sales team.

Damian Kimmelmann, Co-Founder and CEO, DueDil

Starting by scoring a first interview with Guy Kawasaki Harry Stebbings walks us through how he started his network from scratch and built his massive following for his 20 Minute VC podcast show. 

In this podcast, Harry shares his story with Carlos giving unique insights on to some of the amazing marketing efforts that he has created to drive user growth and retain his audience all while highlighting the accomplishments of his interviewees. Discover how he uses channels like Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter to drive his audience to the show and how he discovered which channels best converted for him.  

www.thetwentyminutevc.com
www.twitter.com/HarryStebbings
www.seedcamp.com
www.carlosespinal.com

Harry Stebbings, Founder of the 20 Minute VC Podcast

In the crowded marketplaces of food and retail, how do you carve out space for independent new brands? For Jenny Costa, founder of Rubies in the Rubble, and Alex Mezger, director at the family managed Jude's Ice Cream, the answer lies in competing on the best quality products possible and relying on an authentic messaging. 

Since 2011, Rubies in the Rubble has been producing high quality relishes and jams out of surplus produce that would otherwise go to waste. The business has gone from concocting recipes in home kitchens to selling in some of the UK's leading retailers and nailing deals with giants like Virgin. It has been important, Jenny says, to bring an authentic vibrancy to the brand, ensuring the product did not get 'lost in the supermarket shelves'.

Similarly for Alex at Jude's Ice Cream, the priority is in delighting customers. 'If it's down to price and price alone, we'll walk away,' he says. The business began as a family-run affair and remains that way. 'In terms of working wth family, it's grounded in respect and knowing each others' strengths, and working to these', says Alex. Jude's also 'massively over-invests in innovation'  – leading to experiments like their black coconut flavour.

Listen to learn more about navigating supply chain difficulties, nailing brand messaging, managing the compromises between price and quality, and the secrets behind running successful food brands.


Show notes: 
Carlos Medium: sdca.mp/2entVR3
Seedcamp: www.seedcamp.com
Rubies in the Rubble: www.rubiesintherubble.com
Jude's Ice Cream: www.judes.co.uk

Related bio links:
Carlos: linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal / twitter.com/cee
Jenny: linkedin.com/in/jenny-costa-685b474a
Alex: linkedin.com/in/alex-mezger-a26558

Finding Flavour: Jude's Ice Cream and Rubies in the Rubble on building loved brands

This Much I Know is the podcast from Seedcamp, Europe’s seed fund.

Tune into hear the inside story from startup founders, investors and leading tech voices: the people who’ve built businesses, scaled globally, failed fantastically and learnt massively.

Seedcamp invests early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. Seedcamp provides the infrastructure to fast-track a founder’s vision and create value through immediate access to smart capital, a lifelong community of support and a global network built upon a decade’s experience backing exceptional talent.

Finding Flavour: Jude's Ice Cream and Rubies in the Rubble on building loved brands

The Seedcamp Podcast