In today’s founder spotlight, we’re joined by a rare breed, Adam Schwartz, who has lived the full startup cycle, not once but multiple times, and has done so on his own terms. He is a founder who went from building scrappy marketplaces to scaling a profitable, venture-free company. Adam’s latest venture, Parable, has secured investment from founder-operators: the minds behind HubSpot, Ramp, Vimeo, Superhuman, Squarespace, and more.

Adam Schwartz On Selling A Company For $40+ Million And Now Building An AI Tool To Help Organizations Manage Their Time Efficiently

Dan Magy’s journey from a sun-soaked surf town in Southern California to building some of the most impactful defense technology in modern warfare doesn’t follow any conventional path. He’s not a coder, nor does he claim to be a technical wizard. But what Dan lacks in technical prowess, he makes up for in vision, grit, and relentless curiosity. Dan’s latest venture, Firestorm Labs has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Harpoon VC, 645 Ventures, Feld Ventures, and Lockheed Martin Ventures.

Dan Magy On Selling A Company To Blue Halo For Nine Figures And Now Raising $50 Million To 3D-Print Drones In 20-Foot Container-Sized Spaces

If you’ve ever done data analysis in Python, there’s a good chance you’ve used Pandas, the groundbreaking open-source library that transformed how data scientists work. But behind Pandas is Wes McKinney’s story of intellectual curiosity, risk-taking, and a relentless drive to build useful tools for others. Wes's latest initiative, Composed Ventures, is a micro venture capital (VC) fund that invests in early-stage data infrastructure, AI, and ML companies, as well as next-generation Python tooling and other related technologies.

Wes McKinney On Raising $110 Million To Develop And Promote Open-Source Standards And Tools For Data Analytics And Now Supporting Other Tech Founders

When you hear the term self-made, you might think of grit, long nights, and entrepreneurial tenacity. But in Suneera Madhani’s case, it’s a generational story—one forged in gas station aisles, sharpened in corporate boardrooms, and carried forward in billion-dollar exits. Suneera's latest company, Worth AI, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Silicon Valley Bank, Ingeborg Investments, DeepWork Capital, and Florida Funders.

Suneera Madhani On Founding And Selling A $1-Billion Payments Company And Now Building A Credit Assessment Platform For Small Businesses

In a world where adult beverages have long been synonymous with alcohol, Bill Shufelt saw something different—a cultural and economic opportunity hidden in plain sight. He successfully navigated the startup ecosystem--scaling, manufacturing, building, and financing his company. Bill's company, Athletic Brewing, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like General Atlantic, Keurig Dr Pepper, Blake Mycoskie, and Lance Armstrong.

Bill Shufelt On Raising $225 Million To Revolutionize Craft Beer For The Modern Adult

Some entrepreneurs build one company. Others become serial founders. Then there’s Vadim Rogovskiy — a rare breed who has built, scaled, sold, shut down, invested, and started all over again. His journey involved switching industries and switching sides on both sides of the table. Vadim's latest venture, Stealth Startup, has developed EVE, an AI assistant that allows humans to focus on high-impact decisions while it handles the rest. AI can filter 80% of noise, 80% of less important threads, conversations, etc., thus extending human capabilities.

Vadim Rogovskiy On Building & Exiting Companies And Now Creating An AI Executive Assistant To Extend Human Capabilities

Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster ride, and few have navigated its twists and turns with as much grit and adaptability as Vikram Shekhawat. His journey is a testament to resilience, learning, and an unwavering vision when building, scaling, and exiting his many startups. Vikram's latest venture, ModalX, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Plug and Play, Panache Ventures, Combine Venture Builders, and Thin Air Labs.

Vikram Shekhawat On Selling A Company To Blackboard And Now Building An AI Platform To Offer Companies A Suite Of Tools To Streamline Content Creation And Business Workflows

Rami Tamir is no stranger to the startup world. A seasoned entrepreneur with multiple successful exits, he has honed his ability to build, scale, and navigate acquisitions like a veteran baseball player hitting home runs with each venture. Rami's latest venture, Salto, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures.

Rami Tamir On Selling Two Companies To Cisco And Red Hat, A Third $500-Million Company To Oracle, And Now Helping Businesses Configure Their Applications

In the world of entrepreneurship, few stories embody resilience, vision, and adaptation like that of Colin Wiel. A four-time founder, Colin has built and scaled multiple companies, navigated financial crises, pioneered tech-driven real estate ventures, and is now at the forefront of AI innovation. Colin's latest venture, Qurrent, has raised funding from friends, angels, strategic investors, and venture capitalists.

Colin Wiel On Taking A $1 Billion-Company Public, Merging A $800 Million-Company, And Now Deploying and Managing Custom AI Workforces For Businesses

Molham Aref’s journey as an entrepreneur is nothing short of fascinating. With multiple successful ventures, big exits, and a deep history in AI, his story offers insights into the trials, triumphs, and evolution of the tech world, especially around the rise of AI. Molham's latest venture, RelationalAI, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Madrona Venture Group, Addition, Tiger Global Management, and Menlo Ventures.

Molham Aref On Selling Two $100+ Million Companies And Now Raising $122 Million To Help Organizations In Efficient, Data And AI-Driven Decision-Making

Alejandro Cremades (@acremades) · Zencastr

Alejandro Cremades (@acremades)

Welcome to the DealMakers show, hosted by Alejandro Cremades. Alejandro is a
serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and cofounder at Panthera Advisors
(M&A and fundraising advisory). On this podcast you will find weekly interviews
with entrepreneurs that have been very successful at raising capital or getting
their company acquired. You can learn more at https://alejandrocremades.com

DealMakers

Alejandro Cremades's Show

Want clips that will inspire my audience which are entrepreneurs. These clips will be used on TikTok mainly.