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July 8, 2015

The VFA Podcast: Neil Capel on hustling to sell an unknown product and growing Sailthru to a 180 person company

Listen to the most recent episode of Smart People Should Build Things: The Venture for America Podcast, a play.it original in collaboration with CBS!

In the most recent episode of Smart People Should Build Things: The Venture for America Podcast, Jeremy sits down with Neil Capel, a serial entrepreneur and the Founder & Chairman of Sailthru, a marketing platform that combines omnichannel data collection, automated personalization, and predictive intelligence, making it easy to personalize every channel for every customer.
Neil, a British native, met his future wife at a wedding in New York and promptly circulated his resume so he could stay in the States. He spent less than a year at Morgan Stanley before acting as the Chief Technology Officer for Music Nation, ASmallWorld, and Money-Media, prior to founding Sailthru.
The week after Lehman fell apart (and, amazingly, the week of his wedding), Neil launched Sailthru. He worked on building the business alone for a year and a half (“drinking copious amounts of tea at home,”) before hiring team members and raising a $48 million seed round. Today, Sailthru is a company of 180 employees, most of whom Neil knows by name.
Download the latest episode to hear Jeremy and Neil chat about why choosing the right VC is key to the success of a startup, the hustle it took to get Sailthru’s first customer, and Neil’s philosophy that encouraging self improvement is the pillar to building a strong company culture.

Posted in: The VFA Podcast

VFA Has Ceased Operations


Since its first cohort in 2012, Venture For America (VFA) has championed entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth across the nation. As of August 6, 2024, VFA has ceased its operations. While this marks the end of an era, it also provides an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments and lasting impact that we have achieved together.

Please click here to read the full update.

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