Story In A Bottle Podcast

As VC who invests in early stage companies - Adi Levanon of Symmetrical Ventures embraces the opportunity to help grow companies from the ground up. In fact, growing up in Silicon Valley with visionary-type parents, she was poised from an early age to enter the industry. However, she attributes a lot of her success to her time living in Israel, serving in the military, and later becoming a lawyer. Over mezcal margaritas at Fool’s Gold in New York City, Adi enumerates how “everything I’ve done has lead me to what I am doing now” - including sharing her daily experiences in her own podcast “The Adi Tells” podcast.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to take a headstrong approach to entering a new field and finding a job in a new city.
  • Why learning you’re not a fit at a company is not a failure.
  • The value of working with investors who understand your industry.
  • Mistakes to avoid when you pitch.
Direct download: SIAB_ALevanon_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:10pm EDT

Alexander Reyna is the Creative Director, Games and VR at MLB Advanced Media - whose primary role is to help bring to life the most innovative ways to put baseball content into the hands of its passionate fans. It’s a role that suits him well, as it intersects his entrepreneurial spirit and his design background, dreaming up big ideas and solutions as technology evolves. However, the road to get there was not without its perils. Over The Main Brewey’s Tiny Beautiful Something at Fool’s Gold he talks about the many failures and obstacles he overcame as an artist in his early career, his entry into tech from the gaming world, and how those experiences shape the work he’s doing today.

What You’ll Learn:

- How to take an entrepreneurial approach to the product design process

- Insights into how the tech and design industry has evolved

- Learning how to thrive beyond “failure”

Direct download: SIAB_ZReyna_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:13pm EDT

Emily White is the co-founder of Dreamfuel and Whitesmith, two companies helping musicians and athletes achieve their goals. However, she began her professional career as a competitive swimmer. Born into a family of athletes, it only made sense that Emily attempt a stint in the pool but, when her interests deviated to the music world, she resourcefully used her competitive career as a springboard to get into the program of her choice at Northwestern. Over mocktails at Fool’s Gold in NYC, she describes her path through the music world - where she’s experienced almost every role in management from touring to talent - and how it’s lead her full circle back to swimming, as she contributes in a way she could’ve never envisioned.

 

What You’ll Learn:

- The important career lessons one can learn from jam bands.
- A woman’s perspective to the perils and biases encountered while fundraising.
- How understanding each part of your business is fundamental to being a strong leader.

Direct download: SIAB_EWhite_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:55am EDT

Phillip Bowden has spent over the last decade entrenched in the world of tech; arguably the most evolutionary period in the industry’s history. What’s more, he’s experienced its growth from several key vantage points. From his earliest experience with computers - by way of tinkering around on a household PC he wasn’t supposed to - he essentially dove into the field in early development roles at Gowalla and Tumblr. However, when friction within the industry increased, he ultimately decided to do his own thing, co-founding consultancy Brooklyn Computer Club with Buzz Andersen. Over Penicillins, he explains the challenges of this ever-evolving industry and his shifting role within it, even today as he helps tech darling Spotify continue to grow.

What You'll Learn:

- Why having more people on a team doesn't ultimately solve a problem faster.

- The pros and cons of working in the tech field with little formal tech education.

- Insights into working for both early stage and larger companies - and the benefits of each.

Direct download: SIAB_PBowden_v3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:13am EDT

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