Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Jordan Kutzer, founder of Throwback Studios, about how Jordan correlates the competitive nature of starting a company to baseball, especially regarding his mission to become the biggest VR brand and media company in the world. During this high velocity discussion, Jordan details the overcoming of multiple rejections, "coaching" customers, building visceral relationships in VR, and his inherent instinct to win. Tune in for key insights into the world of VR!

Jordan holds a Stanford University B.A. in Science, Technology & Society with a concentration in Information Technology, Media and Society (2015). Former Stanford Student-Athlete and Pitcher. Working to empower the next generation of game creators.

Connect with Jordan Kutzer

Throwback Studios https://throwback.studio/

Throwback Studios on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/throwbackvr/

Throwback Studios on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/throwback.vr/

Throwback Studios on X https://x.com/throwbackvr

Throwback Studios on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@throwbackvr

Jordan on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordankutzer/

Jordan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jordankutzer/?hl=en

Jordan on X https://x.com/jordankutzer

Jordan on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jordankutzer

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Sampriti Bhattacharyya, founder of Navier. She shares her journey from a small city in India to building a next-gen maritime company in the U.S. From sun-tracking solar panels to dodging marriage and surviving a landslide, Sampriti’s story is one of overcoming challenges. She highlights the value of exceptional people, persistence through failures, and her mission to transform the future of waterways. Tune in for an inspiring episode!

Sampriti is a 3x founder and the CEO of Navier, a pioneering company at the forefront of innovation in sustainable, maritime transportation. Sampriti's journey began with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) after completing projects with NASA. Her academic pursuits span diverse fields including Electrical Engineering, High Energy Physics, Aerospace Engineering, MechE/Robotics/Control & AI. Driven by a passion for tackling fundamental technological challenges with global implications, Sampriti thrives on creating products that push the boundaries of exploration and discovery. Her work reflects a deep-seated commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to address pressing societal needs and unlock new frontiers of possibility.

Connect with Sampriti Bhattacharyya

Navier https://www.navierboat.com/

Navier on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/navierboat/

Navier on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/navierboat/?hl=en

Navier on X https://x.com/navierboat

Sampriti on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampriti-bhattacharyya-40368a3/

Sampriti on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sampriti_bh/?hl=en

Sampriti on X https://x.com/sampritibh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with AJ Forsythe, founder of Coop, about his not-so-illustrious journey as a founder, and the rewarding yet challenging components of building companies. Discover how AJ’s journey evolved from his first steps building iCracked to his ambitious mission of putting chickens on Mars. Adam and AJ reflect on the nature of entrepreneurship and the importance of seizing life's fleeting moments. Tune in for another fun episode filled with shark diving, fossils, and more!

AJ is going to put chickens on mars. He’s a serial entrepreneur and absolutely loves the startup life (mainly because he’s probably unemployable 😂). In college he founded YC-backed iCracked which was a multinational on-demand phone repair and insurance company that grew to 6 countries and a few thousand technicians. They were acquired by Allstate in 2019 and now he’s running Boost VC backed company, Coop, which builds AI powered chicken coops for anyone’s backyard. AJ has been recognized on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list , was #23 on INC 5000, and continues to innovate at the intersection of agriculture and tech – and wakes up with a smile everyday because he’s building his dream company.

Connect with AJ Forsythe

Coop https://smart.coop.farm/

Coop on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/coop-inc/

Coop on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesmartcoop/

Coop on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesmartcoop

Coop on X https://x.com/thesmartcoop

AJ on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajforsythe/

AJ on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aj__forsythe/

AJ on X https://x.com/spudzeee

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Collin West, founder of Ensemble VC, about his incredible journey rowing across the Arctic Ocean and how it changed his approach to decision-making and team management. Learn how this experience influences Ensemble’s data-driven approach to assessing startups. Adam and Collin dive into the evolution of venture capital and reflect on their near-death experiences. Tune in for laughs, insights, and a fresh perspective on adventure and opportunity in VC!

Collin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ensemble VC, which focuses on using data to identify top teams building companies that can impact a billion people. Collin is also a Guinness World Record holder for leading the first-ever crossing of the Arctic Ocean. His team of four rowed non-stop and unsupported for 41 days through the biggest storm season in Arctic history - this is where he learned just how important a great team is pursuing a mission that's never been done before. Collin's prior investments include Zoom Video (NASDAQ: ZM), Carta, Groww, ICON, Saronic, Sidecar Health, and many others. Previously, Collin was a founder of the Kauffman Fellows VC fund and on the founding fund team at the pioneering data-driven VC firm Correlation Ventures. An avid competitor, Collin spends his free time training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, mountain biking, and climbing mountains.

Connect with Collin West

Ensemble VC https://www.ensemble.vc/home/#ensemble

Ensemble VC on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ensemblevc/

Collin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/collinwest/

Collin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/collinrwest/?hl=en

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

According to a BCG report, only 19% of VCs have some kind of scientific or technological competence. And that creates a translation problem between deep tech founders and investors. 

To close that gap, Arkady Kulik and his cofounder, Tamaz Khunjua, built RPV, a venture fund that brings scientific expertise to the market and helps scientists become strong entrepreneurs.

On this episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Arkady joins us to explain how the RPV team’s extensive background in science and entrepreneurship serves deep tech startups.

Arkady describes how starting a venture fund differs from founding other companies and shares his excitement around ‘being at the edge of science’ as a frontier tech VC.

Listen in for Arkady’s unique take on what it means to be useful to others and learn how RPV is working to make talented scientists billionaires!

Topics Covered

The idea behind RPV

• Help scientists become strong entrepreneurs
• ‘Commercialization of science’

How Arkady got into venture capital

• Moved to US to be part of scientific exploration of humanity
• Lack of funding in prototyping stage of deep tech startups

Arkady’s biggest accomplishment before age 20

• Launched first company at 18 without external investment
• Scaled to annual revenue of $5M in third year

How starting a venture fund differs from starting other companies

• More competitive, thousands of similar funds raising money
• Harer to differentiate and properly tell story of niche

What part of being a VC Arkady enjoys the most

• Being at edge of science and meeting interesting people
• Finding processes that make things work

The secret skills Arkady is most proud of

• Developed extreme level of discipline
• Extremely organized in managing time and data

How Arkady thinks about being useful to others

• Provide with relevant information or connections
• Put smile on someone’s face, make life better

The most valuable thing RPV provides for deep tech startups

• External proof point for science and technology
• Entrepreneurial experience and change management

Arkady’s ‘deathbed test’ to measure success

• Nothing ‘could have but didn’t achieve’
• Self-actualization (happy, complex person)

Connect with Arkady Kulik

RPV https://rpv.global/

RPV on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/rpvglobal/

Arkady on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arkady-kulik/

Arkady on X https://twitter.com/arkadykulik 

Resources

Starburst Aerospace https://starburst.aero/

Cantos VC https://cantos.vc/

Countdown https://countdown.capital/

Fifty Years https://fiftyyears.com/

Productivity Planner https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/productivity-planner

Terraforming Mars https://www.fryxgames.se/games/terraforming-mars/

Breakfast with Pops: A Venture Capital Handbook by Adam Draper and William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on X https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/