A lot of marriages can feel like two neighboring countries—independent, coexisting, but not really intertwined in purpose. On the other hand, some partners might lose their individuality, becoming overly enmeshed in the relationship. But there’s a middle ground we’re called to move toward: interdependence. In this episode, Whit and Casey explore ho…

As companies are increasingly looking for faster innovation cycles and increased collaboration with startups, but don’t always want the risk associated with direct investment, venture clienting has grown massively in popularity in recent years. The post Venture clienting as an entry point for more risk-averse corporates appeared first on CVC Unplug…

Todos Misticos Part 3 by M RamirezBy M Ramirez

In today’s world, relationships often resemble a consumer model—a value proposition where we constantly weigh what we get from the relationship against what we have to put in. It’s a balancing act: Is this still worth it? When the scales tip in the wrong direction, many of us are tempted to move on. This mindset, however, contrasts sharply with the…

In today’s world, navigating our relationships—whether in dating, marriage, family, or community—can feel like walking a tightrope. The constant noise from media, culture, and societal expectations makes it hard to discern what’s truly beneficial and aligned with our faith. So how do we approach these sensitive topics within a faith community? In t…

Paradoxical though it may seem that an industry as extractive in nature as mining would be so important to making the world more sustainable, that’s exactly the case. Partly that’s because of the need to reduce its own impact – bringing down its emissions and reducing its waste – but also because most other energy transition technologies rely on me…

Marriage is more than just a relationship between two people; it's a profound reflection of how God loves us. Yet, in today's culture, there are many misconceptions about marriage—arguably the most intimate and challenging of human relationships. If God is speaking to us through marriage, it’s crucial that we understand what He has to say. In this …

Historically, Latin American corporates, have been risk averse, wanting control, often family-owned, and that has been a barrier to innovation, but that is changing now, and they are more open to doing things in a new way, if for no other reason that it’s imperative to not being out-competed. The post LatAm is hungrier for venture service providers…

Do I really have to honor someone I disagree with? Malachi, the last prophetic voice before the coming of Christ, addresses a generation that had become complacent, dishonoring, and lacking integrity, and his message still resonates today. Malachi reminds us that our actions, both in small and large matters, reflect our understanding of who God is.…

The pain we refuse to process only lingers, but the Book of Joel reveals God's path to restoration and renewal. God doesn’t want your religious behavior—He desires for you to bring the fullness of your brokenness to Him, allowing Him to begin His transformative work. In this episode, Whit and Casey explore the prophet Joel, the importance of lament…

Todos Misticos Part 2 by M RamirezBy M Ramirez

The book of Zechariah offers both a prophetic glimpse into the future and a powerful message for the present. Brimming with vivid imagery and symbolism, it reveals the critical role of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling God’s purposes. But how do we interpret this rich symbolism, and what does the Holy Spirit's influence look like in our lives today? In…

breatheBy M Ramirez

The “typical” accelerator model as we know it – a cohort of young startups that go through some sort of curriculum and hopefully convince investors to back them at the end of it – sometimes offers mixed results. Founders may well find that the conversation they have at the end is an investor telling them to call them back when they have more revenu…

Our emotions are not off-limits! In this episode, Jamie and Heather talk about what they thought of the movie Inside Out 2. They explore how different life stages, like puberty and menopause, can impact our emotions and thoughts, and how crucial godly community is to our sense of self. Grab your popcorn and come along for the ride!…

The US healthcare market is a big, complicated one. It’s fragmented, it’s large, with long sales and feedback cycles, making it difficult to innovate and bring about change at scale, especially that which the venture model would be patient enough for. The post Innovating in an intractable healthcare system appeared first on CVC Unplugged.…

Prayer is not a place to be perfect; it's a place to be honest. Habakkuk begins by pouring his heart out to God, lamenting the injustice and wickedness he sees. This kind of raw honesty can be uncomfortable, but God wants us to bring our whole selves to Him in prayer—the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this episode, Whit and Casey explore the cultu…

Last September, I had the pleasure on this show of speaking to Mike Smeed, managing director of InMotion Ventures, the VC unit of Jaguar Land Rover, when he had just recently completed his first year on the job, which was also his first year as a CVC at all. Now, I’m happy to have him back on to talk about what he has learned, and how the team has …

For Episode 11, I sat down with Cuco Vega who is the Head of Platform at Leap Global Partners, a firm with a global footprint in the United States and Latin America! Pretty unique. Cuco had interesting insights to share on how he conducts VC Platform, and I'm honestly so happy that I got to jazz with him. Here are the topics we covered: - The curre…

djs - dm for extended cutBy M Ramirez

Payments, payments, payments. In a world with a diminishing reliance on cash, payment technology is quite literally making the economy go round. But obviously, it's not always as easy as tapping a credit card. Today I speak to David Rolf, head of Visa Ventures, about the difficulties, and the opportunities out there, when it comes to letting people…

The devil doesn't always tempt us with things that are obviously evil—sometimes he tempts us with comfort. Wrestling with God involves not compromising in moments of discomfort. It means taking your whole self to the Lord and saying, "I don't know if I can trust you, but I'm going to dig into your word and community to find out." In this episode, J…

I will be playing for your enjoyment at Hanky in Melbourne, Australia. Fetish parties for the LGBTQI community🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Tix available via Eagle Leatherhttps://bit.ly/HankyOrangeTracklist: Wehbba - LlullNo Name Left - Self Destruct SequenceSon of Son - Lost ControlPet Shop Boys - Party in the Blitz (Superchumbo Remix)Pagano - ZeligEli Brown - When I …

The world of sports has been seeing some really dramatic shifts in recent years, including huge changes in how sports are consumed – less via the big networks and more via mobile platforms, for example – and that’s having big implications across the space, opening up opportunities for startups and investors alike. The post The Next Wave Webinar: In…

Universities, by their very nature, have always been strong centres of innovation. Scientific discoveries are routinely made in university research labs – but spinning those discoveries out into an operational business comes with numerous hurdles. Academics who go on to found companies based on their research have not just a steep learning curve to…

We have an insatiable appetite for stories. Art helps us make sense of the world, bypassing logic and getting directly at the heart. The story of Ruth teaches us in four chapters what Ruth and Naomi learned over a lifetime. In this episode, Whit and Lyndsey discuss ruth chapter 3, the power of story, how to make sense of the seemingly risqué action…

Lace up your shoes – we’re going on a walk! In this episode, Heather shares about her transformative experience walking the Camino Santiago pilgrimage. Throughout her 170 mile walk, Heather found solace in the simplicity of being present in the moment, meditating on scripture, and communing with the Lord. Her literal walk was a powerful picture of …

Just because you can grow very quickly, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. That’s the argument that Rob Bier, managing partner of Trellis Partners and 6:30 Partners, makes against the concept of “blitzscaling”, the hypergrowth philosophy popularised by Reid Hoffman. In his new book, called Smooth Scaling, as well as in a recent op-ed for Global C…

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we hope or plan. When we face loss and disappointment, we may question if God is who He says He is. We can learn a lot about facing adversity from the story of Ruth and Naomi, who both lose everything they have but continue to move toward God. In this episode, Whit and Chris discuss navigating suffering, wrestli…

Financial services permeate every other industry, and is a crucial part of everyone’s lives – whether you’re talking about payments, wealth management, or anything else, fintech touches it all. Today I’m joined by Hugo Bongers, partner at Motive Ventures, who by his own admission “lives and breathes” fintech. Formerly the head of ABN Amro Ventures,…

To read the story of Ruth as a romantic love story is to miss the full picture of God’s faithfulness in horrific circumstances. It is about love –– but the covenantal, sacrificial kind of Ruth to Naomi and God to His people. In the second part of their conversation about Ruth, Whit and Casey explore how God works through people and places to form u…

If you didn’t know, the Old Testament has some pretty crazy stories. One of the challenges in understanding ancient texts like Ruth is the vast cultural gap between then and now. Ruth unfolds against the backdrop of the time of the judges, a period marked by moral decline and spiritual turbulence in Israel. In this episode, Whit and Casey take a de…

Fred Schonenberg is the founder of VentureFuel, a New York-based advisory firm focused on bringing together startups and large organisations, mainly corporates including the likes of Coca-Cola, ABInBev, The Hershey Company, Comcast and more, to efficiently create commercial partnerships between them. The post How to get startups and corporates to f…

Have you ever felt like God speaks more clearly to others than to you? In the noise of life, discerning God's voice can be a challenge. But we have good news: you can get better at recognizing God’s voice! In this episode, Spiritual Formation Pastors Casey Shirley and Blake Zimmerman talk about how God speaks through His Spirit, the power of commun…

I spend the legendary episode number 10, with none other than Richard Hughes who is the Operating Partner at Gutter Capital, a fund I deeply admire because of how they treat their founders and the depth of the care they provide for their success. Richard helps his founders find and retain the most talented candidates at every level from entry-level…

One of the biggest hurdles to getting technology from universities out into the market has been that of intellectual property – who does this technology belong to and who can benefit from it? Traditionally, many universities have been loath to part with their IP rights, which is a death knell for any investment a potential spinout may be hoping for…

As parents, one of our greatest desires is to see our children not only get along but also develop long-lasting bonds that last their whole lives. How do we help our kids want to stay close to us and to each other? In this episode, Heather and Jamie get vulnerable about their own sibling dynamics, discuss healthy communication, and share their hope…

Finally, I sit down with Dani from Forum Ventures where she leads Platform for 380 startups, with a 6-person Platform team! We went into extreme detail to learn how they've built a community of founders/investors/mentors so well, and how they continue delivering tiptop value to their startups even at this scale. We left no stone unturned, and we'd …

Jeppe Hoier is a long-time venture investor with experience in financial VCs, corporate VCs and on his own as an angel investor, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. A former partner at Maersk Growth, the CVC arm of Danish logistics giant Maersk, Hoier talks about how he was initially sceptical of going into a corporate VC, having been initially dissuaded…

A lot of us respect the Bible but if we’re honest with ourselves, we struggle to love it. We haven't learned to "consume" what's spiritually nourishing. Scripture is not just literature; it's spiritual fuel, essential for our growth and vitality. In this episode, Whit and Casey discuss how to learn and grow in our understanding and love of God’s Wo…

What a unique episode. My admiration for Divya went up tenfold when I learned why she does what she does, and how she entered the world of venture capital. Often times we forget the weight of our own "why" and this episode reminded me about how our whys truly drive our behaviors. Divya is a VC Partner at Graham & Walker. Here are the topics we cove…

We’re going back into the vault this week! They say that the only constant in life, and business, is change – so how do you manage it effectively? That’s why last year I spoke with Jonny Crowe, a lawyer by training whose long career has been tied together by one central theme: executing and managing transformation. This is something he’s done both …

Sometimes it feels impossible to hear God in a world filled with distractions and doubts. We often want a miraculous, "burning bush" moment. But what if He's speaking through the ordinary, day-to-day? In this episode, Whit and Casey explore the pivotal role of wisdom, the common pitfalls we encounter in seeking God's voice, and their own encounters…

For a while now, there has been a clear trend, for example, of hospital functions like patient monitoring, diagnostics, and other treatments being moved closer to the patients, even into their homes, which frees up space within hospitals, which of course, even before covid, have been dealing with huge capacity constraints. Many hospitals are operat…

It's my first time hosting someone with such a unique background, who obsesses about communications and everything that surrounds it. Her perspective is truly one of a kind, and there's so much I learned in such a short amount of time talking to her. I'm so proud to be sharing this with you. Galina is the Head of Communications at Vibranium VC. Her…

hard and fast. April 2024 techno mixAbada - @charlottedewittemusicDepot - @iamweskaWhat We Think - @locoandjam (@d_unity remix)Nautilus - kr!z @laertemarcal remix (with @audion dancing again)Jubilee - Luca Morris & @mozzy-rekorder (with @tiga mind dimension)Biohazard - @laertemarcal (with missy elliot lose control)Snapshot 99 (dub) - @ben-sims (wit…

DL enabled for your techno setsBy M Ramirez

The way we buy things has been changing. Supercharged by the pandemic, the digital and physical sides of the retail experience continue to merge, data analytics continues to play an increasingly large role in how companies target and sell their products, and the consumer journey is, hopefully, getting easier and easier. The post Why Cencosud Ventur…

Is Jesus offering us a hard and miserable life? At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus unveils two distinct paths: one to life and one to death. The path to life is one of repentance and devotion – it requires leaving everything behind. But the treasure is worth the cost. In this episode, Whit and Casey explore the road to life Jesus sets out…

What a detailed interview. One of a kind. Julian and I went into specifics of how their fund (Maze) operates and how exactly they support their portfolio founders through a unique blend of VC Platform services. Great talk! Julian is the Product Analyst at MAZE. Here are the topics we cover: - How she landed her VC Platform role, despite being from …