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Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

By: Brian Bell
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Welcome to Ignite, hosted by Brian Bell of Team Ignite Ventures. Join candid conversations with founders, investors, and thought leaders shaping the future of startups, tech, and venture capital. For informational purposes only, not investment advice or an offer to buy/sell securities.Brian Bell Economics Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Ignite Startups: How Open Source and AI Are Transforming Modern Software with Marc Seitz | Ep205
    Oct 22 2025

    Marc Seitz is the founder of Papermark, an open-source alternative to DocSend that helps startups share documents more securely and affordably. With a background spanning physics, hackathons, and startup building—from co-founding HackerBay to launching Intel Ignite Europe—Marc brings deep insights into open source innovation, founder culture, and the evolving intersection of AI and software development.


    In this episode, he discusses how open source is reshaping enterprise software, the “hackathon mentality” that drives rapid iteration, and why transparency and community are becoming core competitive advantages in tech. Marc also shares his perspective on building Papermark, navigating licensing, handling community pull requests, and how AI is transforming open source collaboration.


    In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

    00:01 Introduction and Guest Overview

    00:28 From Physics to Software

    01:41 Discovering the Physics-to-Software Path

    03:06 The Appeal of Instant Feedback in Coding

    04:36 Founding HackerBay

    05:15 The Rise of Dropout Culture in Startups

    06:14 Lessons from Early Experiments

    07:25 The Hackathon Mentality

    10:30 The Aha Moment for Papermark

    11:39 Building an Open-Source Data Room

    13:53 Why Founders Embrace Open Source

    14:49 Open Source vs Proprietary Software

    15:26 Selling to Enterprises and Data Sovereignty

    17:14 Transparency and Trust Through Open Source

    19:04 Who Uses Papermark

    20:59 Licensing Models and AGPL Explained

    22:27 Enforcing Open-Source Licenses

    23:33 Legal and Ethical Issues in Open Source

    24:50 Enterprise Adoption and Pricing

    25:31 Papermark’s Growth and Free Tier

    28:15 Competing with Incumbents

    29:22 Community Contributions and AI Integration

    30:45 AI and the Future of Open Source Collaboration

    33:43 Control vs Convenience in Software

    36:13 Surprising Community Pull Requests

    38:22 Managing Product Bloat and Feature Creep

    40:32 The Role of Maintainers and Contributors

    42:04 Leveraging Community and Capital Efficiency

    43:55 Building Publicly and Growing a Developer Community

    46:01 AI, RAG, and Secure Document Search

    47:15 Is Data Ever Truly Secure?

    48:32 Transparency and Audit Logs in M&A

    50:31 Evolution of Data Rooms and Compliance

    51:02 Adding e-Signatures and Future Roadmap

    51:49 The Future of Open Source Software


    Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ga6v0YUsHotLhjap67uu5


    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ignite-conversations-on-startups-venture-capital-tech/id1709248824


    Follow Marc Seitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcseitz/


    Follow Marc Seitz on X: https://x.com/mfts0


    Follow Team Ignite on X: https://x.com/teamignitevc


    Follow Brian on X: https://x.com/brianrbell


    Follow Brian on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bblinkedin/


    Visit Our Website: https://www.teamignite.ventures


    Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://insights.teamignite.ventures/


    👂🎧 Watch, listen, and follow on your favorite platform: https://tr.ee/S2ayrbx_fL


    🙏 Join the conversation on your favorite social network: https://linktr.ee/theignitepodcast


    🔥 Club Ignite is booking fast — our next gathering of top founders, investors, and operators will be our biggest yet. Apply now before spots fill: https://teamignite.decilehub.com/e/club-ignite-25

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    53 mins
  • Ignite LP: Avoiding Team-Risk and Finding True GP–Strategy Fit with Justinas Milašauskas | Ep204
    Oct 19 2025

    Justinas Milašauskas is an Investment Manager at Willgrow, a Lithuania-based family office and diversified investment platform. With over 15 years of experience across trading, institutional sales, and portfolio management, Justinas brings deep insight into public and private markets — from credit and derivatives to venture and private equity. He’s also an active angel investor and a member of the Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN), combining his analytical background with a passion for backing emerging founders and fund managers.


    With a journey that spans global finance hubs from Amsterdam to Paris and Vilnius, Justinas offers an insider’s look into how family offices evolve from traditional asset classes to cutting-edge venture investing. In this episode, he discusses the discipline behind manager selection, the lessons learned from early angel bets, and how Willgrow is navigating a shifting global investment landscape.


    In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

    00:02 Early life in Vilnius and family influence in finance

    03:00 Starting career as a trader in Amsterdam

    04:10 Transition from public markets to family office investing

    05:30 Discovering venture capital and building early networks

    06:25 Joining Willgrow and professionalizing the venture journey

    07:45 Lessons from angel investing and early portfolio wins

    09:45 Evolution of Willgrow from transport and real estate to investments

    11:50 Growth into a diversified global investment platform

    13:00 Five core investment areas at Willgrow

    14:10 Why Willgrow focuses on funds over direct deals

    16:30 Building a “bulletproof” fund portfolio strategy

    18:10 Strategic asset allocation and balancing risk across classes

    20:40 How Willgrow sets portfolio weights and long-term targets

    22:40 Shifts in venture returns and performance assumptions

    23:50 Managing liquidity and duration through secondaries

    25:55 Currency exposure between U.S. and European investments

    28:20 Sourcing fund managers and building LP networks

    30:40 Partnering with fund-of-funds and global advisors

    31:00 GP–strategy fit as a key selection criterion

    32:30 Evaluating track records and past success indicators

    33:00 Investing in first-time GPs and assessing credibility

    34:20 Soft referencing and network-based validation

    35:00 From concentrated bets to diversified fund portfolios

    37:20 Navigating a more competitive venture landscape

    38:20 Specialist vs. generalist fund approaches

    40:40 How Willgrow evaluates sector focus and adaptability

    44:30 Benchmarking and monitoring fund performance

    46:50 Lessons learned after four years of venture investing

    48:50 Ticket sizing, pacing, and realistic growth assumptions

    49:30 Risks of first-time teams in emerging managers

    51:00 Case study: when a first-time GP team collapses

    52:00 Evaluating fund valuations and markup practices

    53:00 Due diligence and data room best practices

    54:20 What LPs look for in deal memos and documentation

    54:37 End of main discussion


    Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ga6v0YUsHotLhjap67uu5


    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ignite-conversations-on-startups-venture-capital-tech/id1709248824


    Follow Justinas Milašauskas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milasauskas/


    Follow Justinas Milašauskas on X: https://x.com/justi_nas


    Follow Team Ignite on X: https://x.com/teamignitevc


    Follow Brian on X: https://x.com/brianrbell


    Follow Brian on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bblinkedin/


    Visit Our Website: https://www.teamignite.ventures


    Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://insights.teamignite.ventures/


    👂🎧 Watch, listen, and follow on your favorite platform: https://tr.ee/S2ayrbx_fL


    🙏 Join the conversation on your favorite social network: https://linktr.ee/theignitepodcast


    🔥 Club Ignite is booking fast — our next gathering of top founders, investors, and operators will be our biggest yet. Apply now before spots fill: https://teamignite.decilehub.com/e/club-ignite-25

    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Ignite VC: Dr. Jack Stockert on Transforming Medicine Through Venture Innovation | Ep203
    Oct 14 2025

    Jack Stockert, MD is the Managing Director at Health2047, the venture studio founded by the American Medical Association (AMA) to build, fund, and scale startups transforming healthcare from within. With a background that bridges medicine, consulting at McKinsey, and entrepreneurship, Jack brings a rare perspective on how to align medical insight with innovation and investment.


    With years of experience helping founders tackle foundational healthcare challenges — from chronic disease and obesity to AI-driven diagnostics — Jack offers a deep look into how Health2047 is shaping the future of healthcare through system-level design and strategic venture building.


    In this episode, he discusses his journey from practicing medicine to redefining it through entrepreneurship, how the AMA-backed studio chooses which problems to solve, and what the future of healthcare might look like by the year 2047.


    In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

    00:00 Early Medical Journey

    03:18 Combining Medicine and Business

    04:33 Lessons from McKinsey

    05:35 Becoming a Founder

    07:46 Moving to Silicon Valley

    09:43 The Origin of Health2047

    10:08 Why the AMA Created a Venture Studio

    12:28 Identifying and Incubating Startups

    13:16 The Four Strategic Pillars

    14:36 Building Fewer, Deeper Companies

    16:17 Problem Framing and Greenfield Innovation18:11 Portfolio Highlights: Moneta Health, HOPPR, Phenomix Sciences, ScholarRx

    20:09 The AMA’s Role and Mission Alignment

    22:50 Why the Year 2047

    24:00 Blind Spots in Digital Health

    26:19 Healthcare in 2047

    29:39 Balancing Investor Returns and Clinician Impact

    31:57 AI and Wisdom in Medicine

    33:09 The Human Element in Healthcare

    35:38 The Smartest “No” Health2047 Ever Made

    38:58 Policy Fast Track: GLP-1 Therapies

    42:00 The Systemic Shift

    43:18 Closing Reflections


    Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ga6v0YUsHotLhjap67uu5


    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ignite-conversations-on-startups-venture-capital-tech/id1709248824


    Follow Jack Stockert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackstockert/


    Follow Team Ignite on X: https://x.com/teamignitevc


    Follow Brian on X: https://x.com/brianrbell


    Follow Brian on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bblinkedin/


    Visit Our Website: https://www.teamignite.ventures


    Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://insights.teamignite.ventures/


    👂🎧 Watch, listen, and follow on your favorite platform: https://tr.ee/S2ayrbx_fL


    🙏 Join the conversation on your favorite social network: https://linktr.ee/theignitepodcast


    🔥 Club Ignite is booking fast — our next gathering of top founders, investors, and operators will be our biggest yet. Apply now before spots fill: https://teamignite.decilehub.com/e/club-ignite-25

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
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