The Global Startup Movement

Dr. Mark Lutter is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Governance Research, a nonprofit creating the ecosystem for charter cities. Prior to launching the Center for Innovative Governance Research, he was Lead Economist for NeWAY Capital, an asset management firm which made early stage investments in charter cities. During graduate school, he consulted on several new city projects and special economic zones. He has a PhD in economics from George Mason University where his research focused on charter cities. He has been published in several newspapers and magazines including CityAM, the Daily Caller, and Cato Unbound.   On this episode you'll learn: -What's the difference between a special economic zone and a charter city? -Where in the world can the charter city model have the most impact? -What does Mark think of China's $4 Trillion commitment to their Belt  Road Initiative?

Sajith Pai is a Director at Blume Ventures, one of India's leading early-stage venture firms with $150M under management. After a two-decade long stint in Media & Entertainment, much of it in The Times of India Group, across Strategy & Corp Dev roles, Sajith moved to Blume Ventures in 2018. At Blume, Sajith focuses on supporting their investments in the Media, EdTech, Commerce space, in addition to helping build up the Research function. On this episode you'll learn: What does the total funding funnel look like for Indian startups? What are the differences between India1, India2, and India3 and why has almost all VC gone into India1 focused startups? How has the Indian ecosystem evolved over the past 5 years?

Uwem Uwemakpan is the Programme Manager for the Tony Elumelu Foundation, one of the largest Pan-African Entrepreneurship Programs which convenes the biggest gathering of African Entrepreneurs yearly. Uwem is also the Lagos Chapter Director of Silicon Valley based Startup Grind and manages the community team and initiatives. He drives 'The Afropreneur Network', an initiative dedicated to growing the African Entrepreneur and also sits on the 2018 Advisory Board of the South By Southwest (SXSW) Accelerator, Injini (Africa's EdTech Incubator), and the Lagos ambassador for Startupbootcamp. He believes entrepreneurship is key to Africa's development and as such invests his time and resources in initiatives that help the African Entrepreneur grow. On this episode you'll learn: Besides fintech, what sectors do Uwem think are most ripe for disruption in Nigeria? What can the nonprofit sector do better in catalyzing development in Africa? Why is it important for Africa to move up the value chain and decrease the amoun

Andrew Rowan is the Author of Startup Vietnam, an American entrepreneur, and an Entrepreneur in Residence with the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program, currently living in Peru. Andrew has previously lived in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for one year where he worked as a tech consultant and plunged into Vietnam's startup scene. As Director of GKTA Group, he established a partnership with the €11 million ($13.1 million) Finland-Vietnam Innovation Partnership Program (IPP), which accelerates growth for startups originating in Vietnam and is supported by the Governments of Vietnam and Finland until 2018. Andrew regularly collaborates on innovation initiatives in Vietnam with the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, as well as with Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). On this episode you'll learn: What are the Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang ecosystems like? Why is Vietnam one of Southeast Asia's fastest growing economies? What do American entrepreneurs need to know in order to successfully

Xiaochen Zhang is the Cofounder and President of Fintech4good and brings more than 16 years of thought leadership and global experience to build impactful solutions and enable innovative ideas in North America, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia. FinTech4Good introduces cutting edge fintech and blockchain solutions to emerging markets through incubation, acceleration and investment. In working with partners, FinTech4Good launched Insurance Blockchain Lab, Inclusive Finance Blockchain Lab, and Smart City Blockchain Lab. He also serves as a founding partner of New Development Ventures, on the Crowdfunding Professional Association Board of Directors and UN ESCAP Digital Economy Task Force. Xiaochen advised government agencies and multinational organizations on innovative finance in positions at the World Bank, United Nations, and other international partnership platforms. On this episode you'll learn: -What the current state of the blockchain startup ecosystem in China? -What country's blockchain ecosystems

Kari Gordon is the Executive Director of Startup Calgary. She is a champion of the startup community, bringing together diverse people, skills, and experiences to foster innovation. She has been instrumental in leading Alberta to transform economic downturn into entrepreneurial opportunities. Under Kari's leadership, Startup Calgary became a founding member of the Calgary Innovation Coalition, a collective of 17 organizations representing the innovation community to the Alberta government. Hannah Cree is the co-founder of CMNGD (COMMONGOOD) and a leading Alberta advocate for social enterprise and compassionate business innovation. In her work, Hannah combines experience in entrepreneurship, finances and marketing with a passion for ending poverty and homelessness in Canada. On this episode you'll learn: How should Social Good startups direct their capital raising efforts? What sectors is Calgary gaining traction in their startup ecosystem What does the angel and VC ecosystem look like in Calgary?  

Troy Vosseller is the Co-Founder of gener8tor, A Concierge Startup Accelerator and has run accelerators in partnership with Allianz, American Family Insurance, and more. His first company was a dorm room t-shirt brand, Sconnie Nation (www.sconnie.com). That has since spawned multiple companies including Sconnie Beer (www.sconniebeer.com) and SCONNIEBAR (www.sconniebar.com). On this episode you'll learn: -How does gener8tor's accelerator for musicians measure success? -At what stage does Troy think it's best for a startup to establish a board? -What international market excites Troy the most outside of the US?

Osarumen Osamuyi is the author of the Subtext, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Africa's Talking labs in Nairobi, and a great thinker in Africa's Tech Community. He was previously based in Lagos and served as head of investment and ecosystem research at Ventures Platform a leading source of capital, capacity building, support and advocacy for entrepreneurs across Africa. He started his foray into tech with TechCabal. On this episode you'll learn: -Is there enough quality deal flow for the incoming venture capital funds to invest in? -What's the state of consumer-facing tech on the continent? -Should startups change their approach in working with banks?

Kelly Lapierre is the cofounder and partner at Venture Catalysts, a non-profit with the mission of building an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Detroit through strategic large scale entrepreneurship events and targeted growth programs. We provide leadership, training, and mentorship for founders and ecosystem leaders. Kelly has been an active ecosystem builder in Detroit since moving back in 2013. On this episode you'll learn: You moved back to Detroit in 2013 right as the city was declaring bankruptcy, how did the startup community evolved throughout those years? What kind of work is being done to connect the Ann Arbor and Detroit ecosystems? Anything in particular that's worked well or lessons on what hasn't worked? What sectors present the biggest opportunity for startups in Detroit?  

Yariv Lotan is the Head of Strategic Sector Development for Startup Nation Central. Start-Up Nation Central is an independent non-profit that builds bridges for Israeli innovation. They connect business, government, and NGO leaders from around the world with Israeli innovation, offering Israeli innovators access to high-potential and previously inaccessible markets, through highly customized business engagements, and through Start-Up Nation Finder – an easy to use, up-to-date, free online platform for discovering and connecting with the thousands of relevant innovators. Yariv previously headed the primary private-equity investment arm of a major insurance group in Israel where he Invested $100m in private-equity, venture-capital and real-estate. On this episode you'll learn: -What sectors are Israel leading and where are their gaps in the ecosystem? -What countries have been most active in investing in the Israeli ecosystem? -What are the other ecosystems besides Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that are growing startu

Brian Park is a startup evangelist, advisor, and angel investor. He is the director for Startup Grind DC and Managing Director at the SparkLabs Cyber+Blockchain (formerly Fishbowl Labs), which is the premiere startup accelerator in the Washington DC area. He was also formerly the global COO of Startup Grind, which is the one of the largest hi-tech startup communities in the world with over 1,000,000 startup entrepreneurs in 600 cities. He has been featured in Forbes as "17 Top Business Gurus to Follow on Snapchat" and other publications such as TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Business Insider, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Politico, and Washington Business Journal. On this episode you'll learn: -How did Fishbowl Labs originally get started? -What similarities do the Cyber and Blockchain industries share? -Why DC hasn't emerged as a top startup ecosystem on a global scale?

Leland Rice is the co-founder and CEO of Dedalus Global, an investment advisory firm focusing on emerging markets and emerging technologies. Chairment of the African Fintech Summit, is a global initiative to bring the issues, entrepreneurs, and opportunities revolutionizing finance in Africa to the world's stage. This bi-annual event occurs each April in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF, and each November in a different African city.  On this episode you'll learn: -How has the African Fintech Landscape evolved in the past year? -What does Leland think about African startups going to SE Asia or Latin America? -How is data aggregation creating opportunities for Africa's SMEs?

Toni Eberhart serves as Executive Director for Alabama's leading non-profit ideation accelerator, Urban Engine. Toni's past achievements focus on economic impact primarily within the Southeast Region of the United States spanning across diverse industries such as medicine, energy infrastructure, higher education, and federal program & policy operations. Toni is known as a distinguished leader in the evolution of robust and dynamic innovation ecosystems, often advocating for burgeoning business & technology communities in the State of Alabama. On this episode you'll learn: -What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring your local innovation hub as a 501c3  -What are Urban Engine's successes for other small town ecosystems to replicate? -What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Huntsville startup ecosystem

Scott Resnick is a founder and Entrepreneur in Residence of StartingBlock Madison, a 50,000 sq foot entrepreneurial hub opened in 2018. StartingBlock connects startups to corporate partners clustered in the healthcare, manufacturing, insurance and gaming industries, and provides links to mentors and capital partners.  Scott is also the cofounder of Hardin Design & Development, a startup focused on full cycle software development and enterprise web creation. He currently is the company's Chief Operating Officer. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, he grew the company to an eight figure revenue. On this episode you'll learn: -How did the founding team of StartingBlock Madison put the pieces together to secure funding? -What metrics besides venture capital can be used to gauge a startup ecosystems health? -What are the biggest strengths of the Madison Startup Ecosystem?

Cédric Giorgi is the Director of Experience Design for SIGFOX, who's building a global LPWAN wireless network for the Internet of Things.  Before that, Cédric was the co-founder of Cookening, founded in 2012 and sold in 2015, a global marketplace that brings locals with foreigners during home cooked meals. Cédric worked at several startups during his early years of his carreer: he was Europe Director for Seesmic and Marketing Director for Goojet/Scoop.it. Cédric has been highly involved in the startup ecosystem since 2009, as Co-Editor and Conference Organizer for Techcrunch France in 2010/2011, curator and host of LeWeb Brands Track between 2011 and 2014. He's since 2014 co-founder of NYC-based event La French Touch Conference. On this episode you'll learn: -How has Cedric made the French startuper Facebook group so successful? -Why has Toulouse has become a hotbed for IOT startups -Why is venture capital so concentrated in Paris?