The VITALIZE Podcast: Venture Capital | Startups | Angel Investing

The VITALIZE Podcast comes from VITALIZE Venture Capital, a seed-stage firm with offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles that also runs a pre-seed angel community. Host Justin Gordon, the firm's Director of Marketing, leads interviews that split into two distinct series: an angel investing track and a future of work track. This dual focus gives the show a perspective you won't find on most VC podcasts, connecting startup investing to broader shifts in how people work, collaborate, and build companies. With about 82 episodes, it's a smaller catalog than the big-name shows, but the quality is consistently high -- it holds a perfect 5.0 rating, albeit from a modest number of reviews. Guests include notable figures like Pejman Nozad of Pear VC, and episodes frequently spotlight investors and founders who are operating outside the typical Bay Area bubble. The geographic diversity of the firm itself means conversations often touch on what venture looks like in the Midwest, on the West Coast, and in emerging startup ecosystems. The angel investing episodes are particularly useful for people who are thinking about making their first few startup investments. Gordon asks practical questions about how angels evaluate deals, what check sizes make sense at different stages, and how to build a portfolio strategy without institutional resources. The future of work episodes explore topics like wellness investing, community-driven venture models, and how remote work is reshaping the kinds of companies that get funded. The conversational tone is relaxed without being unfocused, and episodes run at a comfortable length for a commute or lunch break. If you're interested in the intersection of early-stage investing and workplace transformation, the VITALIZE Podcast fills a gap that bigger shows tend to overlook.