Inside Startup Investing with Chris Lustrino

Chris Lustrino sits down with Chris Graebe, founder of IPO Deal Hunter and one of the longest-tenured private market investors in the equity crowdfunding ecosystem. Together they discuss the state of startup exits, liquidity events, IPOs, and what investors should be looking for when evaluating private companies. Drawing from years of experience and several successful outcomes, Graebe shares how he identifies founders, evaluates opportunities, and balances short-term liquidity plays with long-term moonshot investments.

The conversation explores BeatBox Beverages' acquisition by Anheuser-Busch, one of the largest crowdfunding-backed exits to date, and the lessons investors can learn from backing...

This week on Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino sits down with Rebecca Kacaba, co-founder and CEO of DealMaker, one of the leading platforms powering retail capital raises for private companies.

Rebecca discusses the growing influence of retail investors across private markets and IPOs, why companies like SpaceX, Reddit, Gemini, and others are increasingly allocating shares to retail participants, and how community ownership is becoming a strategic advantage for modern brands.

The conversation explores DealMaker's unique approach to capital formation, helping companies build and own their own investor communities rather than relying solely on marketplace traffic...

On this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Dr. Michael Wyand, CEO of Oxeia Biopharma, a clinical-stage biotech company developing a potential breakthrough treatment for concussions and persistent concussion symptoms.

Oxeia is leveraging ghrelin, a naturally occurring hormone involved in brain energy regulation and neural repair, to help heal the inflammation and cellular damage caused by traumatic brain injuries. With promising Phase 2a data showing an 85% responder rate among treated patients, the company is pursuing what could become the first FDA-approved pharmaceutical treatment specifically targeting concussion recovery.

Chris and Michael discuss the...

Pytheas Energy CEO Josh Zuker joins Inside Startup Investing to discuss how the company is using AI and data analytics to revive overlooked oil wells abandoned by major operators. Drawing on his unconventional journey from finance and real estate into oil and gas, Josh explains how Pytheas identifies underperforming “stripper wells,” optimizes production through monitoring technology, and builds long-term value from assets others leave behind.

The conversation dives into the economics of oil production, how Pytheas approaches acquisitions and operational efficiency, and why the company ultimately views itself as both an energy operator and a technology company. Josh...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Renji Bijoy joins Chris Lustrino to discuss why he believes spatial computing glasses will become the next major computing platform after smartphones.

Immersed began as a VR productivity platform designed to make remote work feel more collaborative and immersive. Today, the company has over 1.5 million users who use its virtual workspace software to create multiple virtual monitors, collaborate with remote teams, and work from anywhere using VR headsets.

But Renji believes the existing hardware from major tech companies still falls short. That led Immersed to develop Visor, its...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Madeline Fraser joins Chris Lustrino to discuss how Gemist is bringing AI, automation, and modern ecommerce infrastructure to the jewelry industry.

Inspired by her own frustrating experience buying an engagement ring, Madeline built Gemist to help jewelry brands, retailers, and manufacturers modernize the highly manual process of custom jewelry sales. The company’s platform enables customers to design and visualize jewelry online while automating pricing, rendering, quoting, and product configuration workflows behind the scenes.

Chris and Madeline explore why jewelry has historically lagged behind technologically, how COVID accelerated om...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with George Moringer about building a platform that teaches kids emotional intelligence through engaging, gamified group sessions. [00:00]

Tapouts focuses on helping children ages 4–16 understand and regulate their emotions by turning behavioral science into interactive, easy-to-use tools. [01:00]

George shares how the idea originated from his interest in resilience and stress psychology—and the realization that these skills are rarely taught early in life. [02:30]

Early product challenges revealed a key issue: parents valued the product, but kids didn’t want to participate—forcing the team to rethi...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino sits down with Carter Fowler, founder and CEO of Totem, a company building decentralized, offline communication technology.

Totem’s flagship product—a wearable compass-like device—lets users locate friends and family without relying on cell service or Wi-Fi. Originally built for music festivals, the product has quickly expanded into families, travel, outdoor recreation, and even accessibility use cases.

With over 50,000 users, $3.5M+ in revenue, and profitability achieved in under two years, Totem is proving both strong product-market fit and viral distribution.

Carter shares how the co...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Olowo-n’djo Tchala about building Alaffia, a mission-driven consumer brand rooted in ethical sourcing. (00:00–01:30)

Olowo-n’djo shares his upbringing in Togo and how it shaped his vision for a new economic model. (01:30–04:30)

He explains how Alaffia organizes women-led cooperatives to produce shea butter and connect them to global markets. (04:30–08:30)

The discussion covers fair trade economics, including paying above-market wages while maintaining strong margins. (08:30–13:00)

They explore how Alaffia scaled into a national brand through persistence, retail distribution, and product-market fit. (13:00–17:00)

Finally, Olo...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Adrian Solgaard about building a sustainable travel brand rooted in ocean plastic innovation. (00:00–01:30)

Solgaard began as a Kickstarter campaign and quickly gained traction with consumers seeking functional, eco-friendly products. (01:30–03:15)

Adrian explains how the company turns ocean-bound plastic into premium luggage and accessories. (03:15–05:40)

They discuss product design, including modular systems that differentiate Solgaard in a crowded travel market. (05:40–08:10)

The conversation dives into scaling challenges, including manufacturing, supply chains, and maintaining quality. (08:10–11:20)

Finally, they explore brand storytelling, mission alignment, and how sustai...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Nicholas White, CEO of Fragment Media, about building a subscription-first digital media company. (00:00–01:31)

Fragment has generated over $40M in revenue and built a growing base of 20,000+ paying subscribers by focusing on high-quality, niche journalism. (01:31–02:13)

Nicholas explains the company’s flagship publication, Nautilus, and how it delivers deep, contextual science storytelling beyond headline-driven news. (02:43–04:48)

They discuss Fragment’s target audience—highly educated, high-income readers increasingly willing to pay for quality content. (04:58–06:37)

The conversation dives into growth strategy, including content quality, social distribution...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Harmen van Kamp, CEO of GACW, about reinventing the wheel with an airless suspension system. (00:00–01:45)

GACW’s technology integrates suspension directly into the wheel, eliminating traditional tires, shocks, and complex components. (02:10–04:20)

Originally built for military and extreme terrain use cases, the product is now expanding into broader commercial applications. (05:30–07:10)

Harmen explains the engineering challenges behind the system and how it improves durability, maintenance, and performance. (08:40–11:15)

They discuss early traction, partnerships, and how the company is approaching manufacturing and scaling production. (12:30–15:45)

Finall...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Jim Iversen, CEO of Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical, about building a platform of therapeutics targeting inflammation across multiple diseases. (00:00–01:28)

The company is advancing a pipeline of drugs addressing conditions like COVID, alcohol-related inflammation, and arthritis, with multiple Phase 2 trials completed. (01:28–02:27)

Jim explains how drug development works—from preclinical research to Phase 1 (safety), Phase 2 (efficacy), and Phase 3 (confirmatory trials). (04:14–06:05)

They explore how Sen-Jam uses AI and over one million data points to validate its platform and identify new drug opportunities. (08:32–09:30)

The discussion also covers how...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Jordan Taylor, managing member of Atari Hotels, about the development of a $124 million Atari-themed destination hotel planned for downtown Phoenix. (00:00–02:14)

The project combines real estate development with immersive gaming culture, featuring a 91-room hotel, gaming-inspired experiences, and a venue for esports events, concerts, and creator gatherings. (03:21–13:14)

Jordan explains how the team secured licensing rights from Atari, why Phoenix’s population growth and urban revitalization make it an ideal location, and how the hotel is designed to serve both travelers and the local community. (06:34–10:01)

The co...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino sits down with Jason Fishman, founder of Digital Niche Agency (DNA), one of the earliest and most active “capital raising agencies” in equity crowdfunding. (00:00–02:45)

|Jason breaks down what actually drives successful Reg CF and Reg A+ campaigns in 2026: setting traffic goals, understanding conversion math (average investment size vs. how many investors you need), and building a multi-channel funnel across Meta, Google, newsletters, retargeting, webinars, events, and organic content. (04:25–10:06)

They also unpack the “crowd effect” that causes many campaigns to look flat mid-raise before spiking near the deadline. (1...

Pirouette Pharma CEO Conor Cullinane returns to Inside Startup Investing to share the company’s progress since its last Wefunder raise—spanning FDA engagement, IND planning, and major steps toward scalable manufacturing.

Pirouette is building a disc-shaped, push-button delivery system for injectable medications—aiming to turn the “violent, error-prone” experience of legacy auto-injectors into something closer to the Staples Easy Button: push once, and the device handles the rest.

Chris and Conor discuss why intimidation and usability are major barriers in today’s injection landscape, how Pirouette is approaching OTC naloxone via a combination-product regulatory pathway, wha...

Sunstone Health CEO Joshua Resnikoff joins Chris Lustrino to explain how Sunstone uses AI on healthcare claims data to proactively identify children with developmental delay—starting with epilepsy and autism—and help families reach the right specialists and diagnostics faster.

They break down what claims data is, why the healthcare system is reactive by default, and how Sunstone’s approach can compress what often takes years into roughly weeks by flagging high-need cases, coordinating advanced diagnostics, and delivering actionable next steps. Joshua also shares Sunstone’s go-to-market strategy (positioned as an employer-paid benefit), why the pricing model is desig...

Atombeam CEO Charles Yeomans joins Chris Lustrino to break down a deceptively simple idea with massive implications: make data smaller while it’s streaming so you can move and process more of it—without upgrading networks.

Charles explains Atombeam’s commercial product NeurPack, how it can often quadruple effective bandwidth, and why this matters across IoT, smart meters, satellites, defense, oil & gas wells, fintech, and eventually data centers and GPU utilization. They also dig into the realities of commercialization—choosing near-term deals that close fast while still pursuing multi-year “industry standard” opportunities—and why execution (not invention) is the real di...

Founder Clint Brauer explains how Greenfield Robotics builds compact, row-running robots that mow weeds and lay mulch while enabling nighttime foliar feeding—helping farms reduce herbicides and improve soil biology. He shares the personal catalyst (his father’s Parkinson’s), why tillage damages soil ecosystems, and how small, autonomous swarms can cover large acreages more cheaply than traditional machinery. We dig into go-to-market (from RaaS to equipment sales with software/telemetry fees), manufacturing with partners, and adoption curves from organic innovators to conventional growers. Brauer outlines the roadmap (attachments, reliability, self-charging), unit counts across 17 states, and potential exit paths with a...

Today, Chris sits down with Joe Schaeppi, co-founder & CEO of Solsten—a deep-tech company mapping human psychology and turning it into actionable AI for creative, targeting, and product personalization. After 8 years of R&D, Solsten's “human context layer” helps enterprises and SMBs understand why people act the way they do—then adapt ads, products, and AI agents to match. Clients like LEGO and Peloton report creative wins and 3× conversion lifts, while a new self-serve product opens the stack to smaller teams.

Highlights include...
• Building a cognitive-behavioral AI model from clinical-grade psychometrics and authentic behavior data
• Why “creative...

Cleveland Whiskey was my first-ever equity crowdfunding investment (May 16, 2016), and founder/CEO Tom Lix has sent detailed quarterly updates ever since. In this episode, we cover 00:00–03:03 why Tom built a technology company in spirits—not just another craft label; 03:03–06:09 how pressure-aging in stainless tanks unlocks flavors from non-oak woods (black cherry, hickory, apple) and produces great whiskey in hours not years; 06:09–09:27 the pivot to concentrates and why India’s “Indian-Made Foreign Liquor” niche is a game-changer for price and margin; 09:27–12:47 the new 45,000 sq. ft. Cleveland facilities, 12× capacity today with room to double again, plus how shorter cycle times unlock multi-shift throu...

Read our Macrovey deal analysis (closed) on Kingscrowd

Robotics hype is everywhere—but who actually makes robots work on real warehouse floors? In this episode, Chris sits down with Macrovey Director of Business Development Matt Labinski to unpack how Macrovey designs fully autonomous, material-handling systems that act like a warehouse “Robotics OS.” We start with what Macrovey is and isn’t (00:03)—the company doesn’t manufacture robots, it integrates best-in-class OEMs through proprietary orchestration software. Matt explains the model (00:32): up-front design + install and recurring software/maintenance—plus a Robots-as-a-Service option that lowers CapEx. We dive into who buys (06:28...

Read our deal analysis on Paladin

Paladin Power CEO Ted Thomas—a U.S. Navy veteran with 20+ years in energy storage and the named inventor on multiple U.S. patents for stackable batteries and integrated power systems—joins Inside Startup Investing to explain how he helped pioneer integrated storage and why Paladin’s patented, fire-safe, all-in-one system can make true home energy independence practical. We cover why the inverter is the real bottleneck, how Paladin’s stackable 10 kW architecture fast-charges EVs and extends battery life, and how the single-device design replaces a tangle of inverters, batteries, and chargers...

Victory Hemp turns hemp seeds into clean protein, healthy oils, and even xylitol with a solvent-free, patented process built for every aisle. At 00:00 we define what “hemp food” really is; by 01:20 we outline Victory Hemp’s B2B product stack; at 03:00 we unpack the solvent-free patent and why taste/clean label matter. Around 05:00 we hit functionality (emulsifying, gelling, egg replacement). At 06:30 we cover North American supply and USMCA sourcing, then 08:00 the next facility plan (~$21M, equity + USDA B&I/NMTC). By 10:00 we map capacity (> $30M revenue) and path to self-fund growth. At 11:30 we dive into zero-waste (hulls → xylitol), and by 13:00...

Most flour today is milled for shelf life, not flavor or nutrition. Cairnspring Mills set out to flip that script. Co-founder & CEO Kevin Morse explains how the company created a premium craft flour category by contracting regeneratively grown, higher-margin grains directly from farmers and stone-milling to retain flavor and nutrients, winning over top chefs and bakeries nationwide. We cover the growth story ($5.1M → $6.4M → pacing $7.9M), why demand is pulling them to expand capacity, and the plan to build a dramatically larger mill in Pendleton, OR (with the Umatilla Tribe) as part of a future network of regional mills. Kevi...

Founded in 2013, Crowd Street helped popularize online access to commercial real estate. Now CEO John Imbriglia is steering a 2.0 strategy: an institutional-grade private markets platform spanning private equity, private credit, venture capital, and CRE—with lower minimums, improved IRA flows, and heavy investment in education, diligence, and UX. John details Crowd Street’s scale to date (~300K members, ~30K investors, ~$4.5B raised in CRE), the “supply–demand–loyalty” framework driving the rebuild, a new omnichannel acquisition push, and partnering with Callan (advisor to >$4T AUM institutions) to help source and select managers. We cover feeder/registered fund structures (1099s, no capital c...

MoviePass became a cultural phenomenon—then imploded under new ownership. Founder Stacy Spikes bought the brand out of bankruptcy for ~$140K, relaunched, and delivered profitable 2023 and 2024—now unveiling Mogul, a fantasy-sports-style game for movies that could 10x ARPU versus subscriptions. In this episode, Spikes recaps the original data behind movie subscriptions (111% lift in theater attendance; concessions tailwind), what broke during the $10-per-month era, and why MoviePass 2.0 pairs a sustainable, any-theater subscription with a knowledge-based gaming platform (salary cap, leaderboards, seasonal play). We cover unit-economics realities (why exhibitors can subsidize with F&B and MoviePass can’t), core user behavior and de...

BabyQuip helps families travel lighter by delivering clean, vetted baby gear—like cribs, car seats, and strollers—right to your hotel or vacation rental. CEO Fran Maier (co-founder of Match.com) shares how the company hit its first profitable quarter and keeps growing through strong word of mouth and a new Vrbo partnership that puts BabyQuip in front of more travelers. The team is also expanding beyond baby gear into beach, pet, and mobility equipment under the GoQuip brand to serve seniors and people with disabilities. We dig into how the marketplace works (trusted local providers, insurance, and safety stan...

Early detection saves lives, but today’s tools are often invasive, slow, or used too late. In this episode, Breath Diagnostics CEO Ivan Lo explains how a non-invasive breath test can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with disease—positioning breath as a first-line screen for early-stage lung cancer and potentially pneumonia and TB. We cover the science (why breath can capture near real-time biological change), sensitivity/specificity signals from 800+ patients, and a go-to-market/regulatory plan that prioritizes post-op pneumonia (shorter trials, no entrenched standard of care) before lung cancer screening. We also discuss platform economics (low-cost disposables, existing LC-M...

Most older adults want to age in place, but families and caregivers can’t be there 24/7. wisdom.io uses edge computing + radar + computer vision to detect falls and anomalies without wearables—keeping data inside the home and only sending alerts. CEO Cathy Minter shares:
• Market reality & unmet needs in home care
• Tech stack, privacy, and why edge > cloud for seniors
• B2B2C go-to-market (home-care agencies, hospital discharge, 55+ communities)
• Pricing, unit economics, and pilot accuracy targets
• Samsung partnership: Wisdom on the Go (outside-home safety & gait insights)
• Competition (Sensi.AI, SafelyYou) and empathy-led design

Chapters:

In this episode, we catch up with Justin Giuffrida, CEO and co-founder of Citizens Coffee, to hear how the company’s Australian-style café model is performing as it scales beyond New York into Texas. The update? Citizens is thriving. After record openings in Houston, the team has now launched Austin, which became the best-performing opening in company history—hitting profitability in just six weeks and trending toward Citizens’ most profitable locations to date.

Citizens runs a high-margin breakfast & coffee model, pairing chef-driven, fresh food with third-wave coffee, best-in-class hospitality, and local community partnerships. Their stores open at roughly...

In this episode, we talk with Rob Creighton, founder and CEO of Windlift, a deep tech company developing airborne wind energy systems and tethered flight platforms that can both generate power and serve as elevated sensing platforms for defense and commercial applications.

Windlift’s core platform is a tethered winged UAV—a cross between a quadrotor and a high-lift airfoil—that can autonomously fly patterns to extract energy from wind, delivering power to the ground via tether. Their current small demonstrator (about 25 lbs) can supply 1–3 kW (enough for a household in windy regions), while planned systems around a 40-foo...

In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy McCool, founder and CEO of HEVO, a company building wireless charging systems for electric vehicles. Think of a garage-floor charging pad—pull in, align, and your car charges automatically. HEVO has been solving the physics, standards and automotive integration work for over a decade, and now stands at the front line of commercial adoption.

HEVO is underway with two major global automakers, including Stellantis (Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Peugeot, and more), to integrate wireless charging into up to seven EV platforms beginning 2027–2028. This isn’t a small bolt-on—the company has achi...

In this episode, we speak with Groomit co-founders Sohel Kapadia and Lars Rissmann about building a mobile, on-demand pet grooming platform designed for convenience, quality, and scale. Unlike typical marketplace models (e.g., Rover/Wag), Groomit vets groomers, provides fully outfitted mobile vans, manages logistics/technology, and delivers a consistent standard of service—for both pet parents and groomers.

After bootstrapping for years, Groomit has achieved $7.4M in 2024 revenue (up from $5.8M in 2023), with over 150,000 pets groomed and an average rating of 4.8 stars. The company now operates in 17 states and 50+ cities, with a repeatable playbook for entering ne...

In this episode, Maxwell Salzberg, co-founder and CEO of BackerKit, shares how his team built the infrastructure behind rewards crowdfunding—and why they’re now operating their own crowdfunding platform with a distinct focus on community, continuity, and creator success.

BackerKit started by solving the most painful and underappreciated part of rewards crowdfunding: the post-campaign chaos of fulfillment, logistics, and communication. Over the past 13+ years, they became the backbone for creators raising on Kickstarter and others—helping manage backers, collect shipping/taxes, handle upgrades, and more. Today, BackerKit has evolved into a full-stack crowdfunding platform—supporting from the firs...

In this episode, Chris speaks with Alex Wright-Gladstein, founder & CEO of Sphere, the company behind the Sphere 500 Climate Fund—a low-fee, index-like mutual fund for 401(k)s that excludes fossil fuel companies and is now available on Fidelity and Schwab. Alex explains how her team navigated years of audits, platform approvals, and AUM thresholds to unlock real adoption within the retirement ecosystem—and why crossing $100M AUM is the tipping point that could lead to billions in inflows from the largest corporate 401(k)s.

Highlights include...

David Webb’s Yarnhub pulls 400 million annual views for cinematic WW2 stories—no ad spend required. On Inside Startup Investing he details how that captive audience now funds a historically accurate video-game, why the company’s CPMs beat integration ads, and the path to 3–5 billion monthly views across multiple channels. If MrBeast can sell burgers, Yarnhub can sell history. Listen in and judge whether this next-gen studio merits a spot in your alt-portfolio.

Accidental media empire. Webb left Intel, acquired “War History Online,” and pivoted from publishing to high-quality animated shorts on YouTube.

Huge organic reach. Yarnh...

On this week’s Inside Startup Investing, Dr. Nicole Paulk—founder & CEO of Siren Biotechnology—details her AAV gene-therapy “FedEx truck” that can deliver anti-tumor cytokines directly to brain cancers. Early animal data show 86 % complete responses; the FDA has signaled a fast-track path for Siren’s first-in-human trial set for 2026. With analog comps like Keytruda earning $30 B a year, Siren’s upside—and impact—could be enormous.

Highlights include...

In this episode, Chris speaks with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of Rise Robotics, a company developing an energy-efficient alternative to hydraulic systems. Using a patented belt-based actuator technology called Beltdraulic™,  Rise delivers the same power as hydraulics — but with significantly more energy efficiency, lower weight, and no fluid leaks. Their tech also supports built-in sensing, enabling AI and autonomous operation out of the box.

Sonpal shares how Rise is approaching commercialization through a focused entry into the lift gate market, a $2 billion space where hydraulic failure and maintenance are common pain points. The Rise solution reduces vehicle downtime and i...

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino speaks with Ryan Duey, co-founder and co-CEO of Plunge, the cold therapy and sauna brand that has quietly scaled to $80M+ in annual sales with minimal outside funding. 

Ryan breaks down how a garage-built idea during COVID turned into a high-growth wellness hardware business with over 40,000 customers, including a fast-growing B2B channel. Founders will appreciate his transparency about scaling manufacturing, solving shipping nightmares, and building technical moats through operational execution. If you’re in DTC, hardware, health & wellness, or considering community rounds, this is a must-listen.

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