Anyway, hope it gives you a laugh over the holidays. I told John we’d be back!

Veer is an entrepreneur with an incredible sense of mission and purpose.  He shared a great deal about the people who have inspired him and shaped him as a person.

 It’s all part of our social entrepreneurship series. Enjoy.

John’s an expert in this space and tells us the story of Echoing Green, which was launched in 1987, named after a William Blake poem about creating a better world. In 2002, Echoing Green was recast as a global non-profit by one of its alumni fellows.

Echoing Green has funded the ideas of more than 500 fellows. “We’re looking for people who have the maximum potential to create social change,” says Walker. “It really is about that single individual person.”

If you need subtitles to understand my friend John’s great Scottish brogue let me know. 

http://venturestudio.wpengine.com/?p=1215 We sat down recently with Mike Norman, co-founder of Boston-based WeFunder.

Wefunder’s platform seeks to offer an alternative to the traditional funding rounds a startup normally has to go through by marrying it with the popular crowdfunding techniques found on websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Wefunder splits from the aforementioned platforms in two key ways: It actually does allow businesses to use the platform, and potential funders are also offered a stake of equity in the company. 

It’s innovative — and was nearly legal at the time of filming. Wefunder became active upon the subsequent passage of the recently congress-approved Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which centered on a provision that allows small and medium-sized companies acquire traditional business funding through crowdfunding methods. It could be huge win for Wefunder and the startups interested in using the platform.

Do you believe this is the startup pathway of the future? Let us know in the comments.

Note: This video was produced before the passage of the JOBS Act on March 27.

Enjoy.

Watch our interview with Brown, Jr. to find out how AOL Ventures got started, what types of companies they’re looking to invest in and why strong management teams are so important.

This Venture Studio Classic was originally released on June 28, 2011.

Check out our interview with Frankel to learn what motivates him as an investor, why he’s so attracted to early stage companies and his thoughts on where the next tech bubble will manifest.

This Venture Studio Classic was originally released on October 24, 2011.

Clavier just closed SoftTech VC’s mammoth third fund — a whopping $55 million, which is more than three times larger than the firm’s successful second fund. The new fund will allow Clavier and company to invest in 60 to 65 new companies with an initial investment averaging $400,000.

Watch our interview with Clavier to find out what he looks for in new investments, why VCs do whatever it takes to help their portfolio companies succeed and why there is no pride in venture capital.

This Venture Studio Classic was originally released on May 16, 2011, after the launch of SoftTech VC Fund III, but prior to it closing.

He didn’t have a back up plan — it was football or nothing.

Following the advice of a mentor, Howes got on LinkedIn. There he discovered a way to build a brand identity for himself around something other than his talent on the field. He became so engaged with LinkedIn that he wrote two books about using the site and today he is in demand, as a speaker, as a sports marketer and as the host of numerous webinar training sessions.

Watch our interview with Howes and learn how to maximize your presence on LinkedIn, his suggestions and best practices for freelancers and why he recommends all job-seekers start their search on LinkedIn.

Their unique approach to connecting qualified customers with deluxe brands got the attention of New York’s venture capital community and landed them a seed investment of $1.4 million, followed by a series A round of $10.5 million. Having hit their third year’s sales target in just seven months, Birchbox is now scaling their business model rapidly, as well as planning a new subscription offering targeted at men.

Check out our interview with Beauchamp and listen to her tips on what entrepreneurs should be thinking about before meeting a potential investor, how she and her business partner manage the personal dynamics between co-founders and a look at the logistics of rapidly scaling a company.

Back as a second-time entrepreneur, Ellis’ latest venture is creating a marketplace for celebrity content where none previously existed. At WhoSay, Ellis is building a platform that simplifies the direct-to-fan relationship, creating greater engagement for the celebrities and influencers who use it.

You can also watch the interview on Mashable.

Thanks to Mike Brown, Jr. for hosting our shoot at AOL Ventures.

Check out our interview to learn how Lean Startup Machine has helped participants figure out if their ideas are valid and pivot if they’re not. Owens elaborates on why he feels that sometimes the best way to give entrepreneurs a dose of reality is to kick them out of the building and what he looks for when reviewing applications for his program (hint: demonstrate that you’re truly dedicated to being an entrepreneur).

Thanks to Mike Brown, Jr. for hosting our shoot at AOL Ventures.

In this interview with General Assembly co-founder Brad Hargreaves learn how the space got started, how they designed their curriculum and hear Hargreaves talk about his broader views on the current startup landscape.

You can also view the video on Mashable.

Laramie and his team built a viable platform and applied for admission at TechStars Boulder. They were admitted, moved to Colorado for three months and graduated with a term sheet in hand. Though the sheer amount of advice from mentors can be overwhelming, Laramie and his team agree that they are better off after going through the program.

Check out our interview with Laramie and learn about his tips for communicating with investors (hint: build a relationship before you’re ready to ask for financing), what investors look for in a company at the seed stage and how ADstruc educates potential buyers before selling to them.

Thanks to Mike Brown, Jr. for hosting our shoot at AOL Ventures.

Check out our interview with Mandy and Meggan to learn how they launched using Lean Startup principles, the challenges of running a company with two co-founders and how they go their business off the ground.

You can also view the video on Mashable.

Check out our interview with Bartakovics to find out how Tasting Table is distinguishing itself in the already-crowded online food recommendation market, what he’s learned (the hard way) about proper money management and what some of his most recent challenges have been (hint: the not-so-glamorous side of scaling a company).

You can also view the video on Mashable.

Check out our interview with Dave Gilboa, Warby Parker’s co-founder and co-CEO and learn how the company is disrupting the eyewear industry, similar to the way Netflix crashed the video rental market. Dave also talks about some of the company’s early growing pains, including having to put 20,000 customers on a waiting list and why Google shut down his company’s email servers.

You can also see the interview on Mashable.

Check out the interview to learn Holland’s view on investing in clean tech and what he’s focusing his investments on right now. He also has the greenest custom home in the U.S., which is net energy positive, meaning it creates more energy than it uses. A huge advocate for student entrepreneurship, Holland describes how student entrepreneurs should be thinking and talks about two students who he met and later funded, that went on to run a billion-dollar energy company.

You can also watch the video on Mashable.

“These are two of the hottest Internet markets in the world right now,” said Grinda, who notes that GDP growth is fueling similar growth in the digital sector in these emerging markets.

In additional to his views on Brazil and Russia, watch our interview with Grinda to hear his thoughts on why he considers himself an entrepreneurial thief, what he considers when deciding to fund a company, what the “secret sauce” is for running a successful consumer Internet company and tell the story of how he went from being broke in 2001, to being a successful startup founder and prolific investor just a decade later.

You can also watch the video on Mashable.

Watch the interview with Steinberger to learn how failing at a business plan competition helped him refine the business for success, how he positioned the company to quickly cut deals with the giants of the space and learn why he created two distinct business plans for his company prior to launching his app.

You can also check out the interview on Mashable.

Ries’ new book, The Lean Startup, has climbed to #2 on the NY Times Bestseller List, in the “Advice and Misc.” category. In the book, Ries talks about his strategies for running a successful startup, which are based on the “lean manufacturing” process that originated with Toyota.

Check out our interview with Ries for his advice on the metrics that entrepreneurs should really be paying attention to, why he thinks job titles are irrelevant in the startup world and how the lean startup model helped Instagram pivot to its present business model.

You can also check out the interview on Mashable.

Check out our interview with Sonar founder Brett Martin to learn how he wants to democratize the meeting space, the perks he offers to entice new hires, some of the challenges he faces as an entrepreneur and how growing up in the popular vacation community of Ocean City, MD and making friends with complete strangers inspired him to pursue the creation of an app that helps you realize your online connections in the “real world.” You can also see the full interview on Mashable.

Watch the interview to learn about how their site takes advantage of crowdsourcing, partnered with Whole Foods and the importance of communicating an idea to investors. You can also see the interview at Mashable.

Thanks to Mike Brown for hosting our shoot at AOL Ventures.

Check out Marissa’s interview to hear what she has to say about some of the challenges she’s experienced, how she relies on friends in tough times and what every entrepreneur should know about the power of asking for help. You can also watch the video on Mashable.

Watch Shane’s interview to hear about his experience going through the TechStars mentorship program, raising money and how his experience of losing a big sale helped him better understand Contently’s business model. You can also check it out here on Mashable.

While recuperating after having his jaw wired shut, Joe Fernandez had to rely on Twitter and Facebook to communicate. Unable to speak to anyone, he noticed how online communication influenced his personal network and set out to create a website that could measure word of mouth and how it scaled.

That website is what we know today as Klout, where Fernandez is CEO. In the video above, Fernandez shares his story with Venture Studio.

Stay tuned for new episodes of Venture Studio every Tuesday and Thursday on Mashable.

Since Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinsky left Columbia University to join Y Combinator, their startup, Codecademy, has attracted close to 1 million users and $2.5 million in funding from elite tech investors like Fred Wilson’s Union Square Ventures, Ron Conway’s SV Angel fund and Yuri Milner.

Check out the video above to hear their story and stay tuned for new episodes of Venture Studio every Tuesday and Thursday on Mashable.

Since Alexa von Tobel dropped out of Harvard Business School to create LearnVest in late 2009, her personal finance startup has attracted more than 100,000 users and raised $24.5 million in funding.

Von Tobel stopped by Venture Studio to talk about her story, as well as shed light on LearnVest’s latest feature, Career Bootcamp, which teaches users how to negotiate a salary and to how to make sure they’re in the right job. She also spoke about her inspiration for LearnVest, why she dropped out of Harvard in the middle of a recession and what advice she’d give to those who are just starting their own businesses.

Check out the video above to hear von Tobel’s story and stay tuned for new episodes of Venture Studio every Tuesday and Thursday on Mashable.

Sachin and his co-founder Andrew Montalenti have a great story- and they way they’ve stuck together through thick and thin, their inventiveness, willingness to adapt to the needs of the market is simply awesome.

My favorite line was: “… get product market fit, gain the domain expertise, be persistent and eventually you get there…”

Enjoy

00:10 What is Parse.ly?

00:23 Their new analytics system: Parse.ly Dash (capturing >300 million page views per month)

00:56 The origins of the company, how the cofounders literally worked nightly to figure out what they should do (while holding down day jobs), and eventually got into DreamIT Ventures accelerator

2:23:  Their funding story (Blumberg Capital, ff Ventures, Scott Becker and other angels)

3:25:  The challenges they encountered prior to receiving funding, ie. doing consulting on the side to help bootstrap the company, etc! What qualities Sachin thinks it takes to succeed