Frank Furman was destined to lead. First, as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps. Then as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company
And now, he’s Chief Operating Officer of the VC-backed & fast-growing PadSplit.
PadSplit is disrupting the affordable housing industry by creating safe, attractive, and respectable co-living environments. One room at a time, often for workforce housing. Unlike AirBnB, this is long-term rentals
Based in Atlanta, PadSplit has 1,200 bedrooms listed & its average rental is 8.5 months
Clearly, Frank & PadSplit are onto something. Because they’ve been backed by a who’s who of early-stage ventures. Including Impact Engine, Cox Enterprises, Kapor Capital, Techstars, 1984 Ventures, Base Ventures and Core Innovation Capital.
But this episode isn’t about funding. It’s about leadership.
And how Frank is scaling his team at PadSplit.
Nothing inspires me more than a brilliant young company founder with a huge vision.
Such as Sam Walder.
He’s CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based Trala. And he intends to make world-class music education accessible to everyone.
Eventually, Trala plans to expand its app to help people learn all instruments in the symphony orchestra. And they’re starting with violin.
Why?
It’s hard. Nail the violin, and you can use tech to teach virtually any instrument.
Trala’s app features video tutorials with notable violinists along with “signal processing” technology that listens while you play the violin & gives instant feedback on rhythm and pitch mistakes.
The app has been downloaded over 250,000 times and students spend an average of 5 hours per week on the app. Trala charges $20 per month or $120 for the entire year.
Clearly, Sam is onto something.
He recently raised venture capital from Next Play Ventures, the early-stage VC fund launched by former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.
Other investors include Techstars Ventures, Blue Titan Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Webb Investment Network, Phoenix Rising, Concrete Rose Capital.
How can a Rockstar team of 12 people teach your app to teach you any musical instrument?
In this 20-minute conversation, Sam reveals how he’s built a highly-diverse team.