Don Aquilano's guest appearances

Don Aquilano

Unvalley

Moments To Momentum

Scott Jones

Tiffany Sauder

Lindsay Tjepkema

Mike Kelly

Jeb Banner

Kevin Bailey

Don Wettrick

Robert Harris

Scott Johnson

Shane Mac

Kristian Andersen

Sean Ellis

Ruben Harris

Jack Russell

Jay Baer

OwlTail

Kelli Jones

Kelli Jones joined Allos Ventures in 2020.   As Program Manager, Kelli will help Allos identify and evaluate investment opportunities and enhance its presence in the marketplace. She will also support Allos portfolio companies with activities such as investor and mentor introductions. Prior to joining Allos, Kelli was the Program Manager for Techstars, where she supported early stage start-ups in the Heritage Group Hardtech Accelerator; and was Director of People, Culture, and Brand for Givelify. Kelli is also a founder of Be Nimble Foundation and Black Hatch Fund, which support tech and tech-enabled start-ups founded by Black and Brown founders in Indiana. Before relocating to Indianapolis in 2017, Kelli lived in Los Angeles, CA, working as Director of Sales &amp; Marketing for two venture-backed media companies, HipHopDX and Blavity. She spent the majority of her career in New York, running an event and experiential marketing agency working for brands like Google, HP, Microsoft, Lipton/Brisk, Redbull, Samsung, and Akai. Don co-founded Allos in 2010, but he did some pretty cool stuff before that, too. Don's tenacity and entrepreneurial drive exhibited itself early in his career, when he was so frustrated that Hewlett Packard had come on campus his senior year solely to recruit electrical engineers (as a production and operations management major, he was more of an industrial engineer) that he accosted the recruiter in the hallway and refused to let him leave until he'd managed to secure a job offer. After working as an operations manager in Hewlett Packard's Circuit Technology Group, serving on the corporate-wide team responsible for the selection of a new ERP system, and having co-founded two small software companies along the way, Don left HP for business school. Upon graduation, he joined The Boston Consulting Group as a consultant, and then Diageo, where he was a manager of strategy for Guinness Americas and Caribbean (he assures us that testing the product was not part of his job responsibilities, but merely a perk). He first moved into the venture capital world with the Fox Group in New York, where he participated in the early funding of companies including WebMD, before being recruited to join Gazelle TechVentures as its second managing director in April 2000.  Gazelle was ranked in the top quartile for venture funds nationally for its 2000 vintage, and Don participated in all of the firm's successful investments, including Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN), a former Russell 2000 company, where he served as executive chairman. And five years after meeting John, who was serving on the executive committee at Gazelle, Don agreed to join Blue Chip as a managing director, where he managed investments in software and services companies Aprimo and Intradiem. Don has served on the advisory boards of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centers for IU and Ball State, and is Chairman Emeritus of the advisory board for Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing.  Don is a frequent lecturer at IU, Notre Dame, Butler University and has twice taught the Entrepreneurship capstone course at Purdue University. Find out more about Allos Ventures  Find out more about Sixty8 Capital  Find out more about  Be Nimble

Kelli Jones joined Allos Ventures in 2020.   As Program Manager, Kelli will help Allos identify and evaluate investment opportunities and enhance its presence in the marketplace. She will also support Allos portfolio companies with activities such as investor and mentor introductions. Prior to joining Allos, Kelli was the Program Manager for Techstars, where she supported early stage start-ups in the Heritage Group Hardtech Accelerator; and was Director of People, Culture, and Brand for Givelify. Kelli is also a founder of Be Nimble Foundation and Black Hatch Fund, which support tech and tech-enabled start-ups founded by Black and Brown founders in Indiana. Before relocating to Indianapolis in 2017, Kelli lived in Los Angeles, CA, working as Director of Sales &amp; Marketing for two venture-backed media companies, HipHopDX and Blavity. She spent the majority of her career in New York, running an event and experiential marketing agency working for brands like Google, HP, Microsoft, Lipton/Brisk, Redbull, Samsung, and Akai. Don co-founded Allos in 2010, but he did some pretty cool stuff before that, too. Don's tenacity and entrepreneurial drive exhibited itself early in his career, when he was so frustrated that Hewlett Packard had come on campus his senior year solely to recruit electrical engineers (as a production and operations management major, he was more of an industrial engineer) that he accosted the recruiter in the hallway and refused to let him leave until he'd managed to secure a job offer. After working as an operations manager in Hewlett Packard's Circuit Technology Group, serving on the corporate-wide team responsible for the selection of a new ERP system, and having co-founded two small software companies along the way, Don left HP for business school. Upon graduation, he joined The Boston Consulting Group as a consultant, and then Diageo, where he was a manager of strategy for Guinness Americas and Caribbean (he assures us that testing the product was not part of his job responsibilities, but merely a perk). He first moved into the venture capital world with the Fox Group in New York, where he participated in the early funding of companies including WebMD, before being recruited to join <a href="http://www.gazellevc.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Gazelle TechVentures</a> as its second managing director in April 2000.  Gazelle was ranked in the top quartile for venture funds nationally for its 2000 vintage, and Don participated in all of the firm's successful investments, including Rubicon Technology (<a href="http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&amp;q=NASDAQ:RBCN" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">NASDAQ:RBCN</a>), a former Russell 2000 company, where he served as executive chairman. And five years after meeting John, who was serving on the executive committee at Gazelle, Don agreed to join <a href="http://www.bcvc.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Blue Chip</a> as a managing director, where he managed investments in software and services companies <a href="http://www.aprimo.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Aprimo</a> and Intradiem. Don has served on the advisory boards of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centers for IU and Ball State, and is Chairman Emeritus of the advisory board for Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing.  Don is a frequent lecturer at IU, Notre Dame, Butler University and has twice taught the Entrepreneurship capstone course at Purdue University. Find out more about <a href="https://www.allosventures.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Allos Ventures </a> Find out more about <a href="https://www.sixty8.capital/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sixty8 Capital </a> Find out more about <a href="https://www.benimbleco.com/?fbclid=IwAR3dJ_V5dZ_jBmxBQxlHU5lk1Rwzsn2H8x6fwqoJCOKohc-0c1Y5KyznZbc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Be Nimble</a>

Episode 7: Kelli Jones & Don Aquilano

Shwetha Pai

Brian Powers

The data has shown that fundraising is a different kind of beast for Midwest-based startups. Unlike the investing scene in Silicon Valley, which is characterized by fierce competition and bullish investors, fundraising in the Midwest is grounded in a foundation of collaboration and strong relationships. There is funding out there for innovative, fast-growing tech companies in America’s heartland, but founders will struggle to secure it if they try to follow a coastal playbook.In this first episode of Powderkeg: Igniting Startups’ second season, we dive deep into the intricacies of fundraising in the Midwest with a new and improved episode format. Our first guest, Don Aquilano, is an Indianapolis-based venture capitalist who started his career at major firms in New York. With his decades of experience between the East Coast and Midwest tech ecosystems, he has an intimate understanding of the national investment landscape. He’s joined by Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers, two experienced startup founders who bring knowledge of what it’s like “in the trenches” for Midwest tech entrepreneurs today.Together, our three guests paint an in-depth picture of the non-Valley fundraising landscape and offer invaluable tips and strategies for finding funding the Midwestern way. Don, Shwetha, and Brian discuss such pressing topics as why you should or shouldn’t seek funding for your startup, which investors you should talk to and how to build relationships with them, and what the current state of Midwest tech investing says about the future.In this episode with Don Aquilano, Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers, you’ll learn:*Statistics that show why Midwest tech investing is on the rise (5:37).*How to start building relationships with investors before you fundraise (14:02).*Reasons why your startup should or should not seek funding (20:47).*Who you should raise from and how to approach dealings with coastal VCs (31:47).*What makes Cincinnati a great place to grow a tech startup today (37:19).Please enjoy this conversation with Don Aquilano, Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers!If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at powderkeg.com/itunes.

The data has shown that fundraising is a different kind of beast for Midwest-based startups. Unlike the investing scene in Silicon Valley, which is characterized by fierce competition and bullish investors, fundraising in the Midwest is grounded in a foundation of collaboration and strong relationships. There is funding out there for innovative, fast-growing tech companies in America’s heartland, but founders will struggle to secure it if they try to follow a coastal playbook. In this first episode of Powderkeg: Igniting Startups’ second season, we dive deep into the intricacies of fundraising in the Midwest with a new and improved episode format. Our first guest, Don Aquilano, is an Indianapolis-based venture capitalist who started his career at major firms in New York. With his decades of experience between the East Coast and Midwest tech ecosystems, he has an intimate understanding of the national investment landscape. He’s joined by Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers, two experienced startup founders who bring knowledge of what it’s like “in the trenches” for Midwest tech entrepreneurs today. Together, our three guests paint an in-depth picture of the non-Valley fundraising landscape and offer invaluable tips and strategies for finding funding the Midwestern way. Don, Shwetha, and Brian discuss such pressing topics as why you should or shouldn’t seek funding for your startup, which investors you should talk to and how to build relationships with them, and what the current state of Midwest tech investing says about the future. In this episode with Don Aquilano, Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers, you’ll learn: *Statistics that show why Midwest tech investing is on the rise (5:37). *How to start building relationships with investors before you fundraise (14:02). *Reasons why your startup should or should not seek funding (20:47). *Who you should raise from and how to approach dealings with coastal VCs (31:47). *What makes Cincinnati a great place to grow a tech startup today (37:19). Please enjoy this conversation with Don Aquilano, Shwetha Pai and Brian Powers! If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at <a href="http://powderkeg.com/itunes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">powderkeg.com/itunes</a>.

#56: How to Fundraise in the Midwest w/ Venture Capitalist Don Aquilano, Shwetha Pai & Brian Powers

Haresh Gangwani

Following last month’s announcement that Powderkeg has officially become a product company, my team and I have been doing some intensive planning on how to build a world-class customer experience (CX). With this in mind, I sought out Haresh Gangwani of Bolstra and Don Aquilano of Allos Ventures for this episode to get the perspective and advice of two experts in the SaaS Customer Success space.Gangwani and Aquilano have a combined 30 years of customer success experience, Gangwani as a business operator and Aquilano as an advisor and investor. Gangwani previously served in various VP roles at the enterprise software company Aprimo, where he developed such a passion for helping customers get value out of a product that he later launched his own customer success SaaS startup, Bolstra. Meanwhile, Aquilano invested in and sat on the boards of both Aprimo and Bolstra, which helped him form a close working relationship with Gangwani and taught him the incredible value of customer success from a financial and advisory perspective.Our guests provided some truly invaluable insights on why and how to make outstanding customer success practices a secret weapon for your SaaS business. I know I’ll be heeding their advice as we create our new customer experience strategy for Powderkeg.Enjoy the show, and please leave us a comment below to let us know if you liked the episode! You can also reach out to Gangwani and Aquilano on LinkedIn (links below) to thank them for sharing some of their wisdom on the podcast.In this episode with Don Aquilano and Haresh Gangwani, you’ll learn: -- How Gangwani conceived of Bolstra’s customer success platform -- What a true mentor/mentee relationship looks like, and why you need one -- The big difference between customer success and customer support -- Bolstra’s process for driving customer success with their SaaS product -- Why charging for customer success actually makes economic sense -- Why you need to commit to customer success early in the life of your business ---This episode of Powderkeg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you.DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup.So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg.If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

Following last month’s announcement that Powderkeg has officially become a product company, my team and I have been doing some intensive planning on how to build a world-class customer experience (CX). With this in mind, I sought out Haresh Gangwani of Bolstra and Don Aquilano of Allos Ventures for this episode to get the perspective and advice of two experts in the SaaS Customer Success space. Gangwani and Aquilano have a combined 30 years of customer success experience, Gangwani as a business operator and Aquilano as an advisor and investor. Gangwani previously served in various VP roles at the enterprise software company Aprimo, where he developed such a passion for helping customers get value out of a product that he later launched his own customer success SaaS startup, Bolstra. Meanwhile, Aquilano invested in and sat on the boards of both Aprimo and Bolstra, which helped him form a close working relationship with Gangwani and taught him the incredible value of customer success from a financial and advisory perspective. Our guests provided some truly invaluable insights on why and how to make outstanding customer success practices a secret weapon for your SaaS business. I know I’ll be heeding their advice as we create our new customer experience strategy for Powderkeg. Enjoy the show, and please leave us a comment below to let us know if you liked the episode! You can also reach out to Gangwani and Aquilano on LinkedIn (links below) to thank them for sharing some of their wisdom on the podcast. In this episode with Don Aquilano and Haresh Gangwani, you’ll learn: -- How Gangwani conceived of Bolstra’s customer success platform -- What a true mentor/mentee relationship looks like, and why you need one -- The big difference between customer success and customer support -- Bolstra’s process for driving customer success with their SaaS product -- Why charging for customer success actually makes economic sense -- Why you need to commit to customer success early in the life of your business --- This episode of Powderkeg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you. DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup. So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to <a href="http://developertown.com/powderkeg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">developertown.com/powderkeg</a>. If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast.

#39: How Customer Success Can Be Your Company’s Secret Weapon with Don Aquilano and Haresh Gangwani