6. Elias Torres, CTO and co-founder of Drift, Episode Debrief

02/11/21 • 41 min

First Pitches with Lolita Taub and Eric Bahn

In this episode, show hosts Lolita Taub and Eric Bahn along with show producer Hung Pham break down last week's episode with guest Elias Torres, CTO and co-founder of Drift, and share their reactions, thoughts, and insights.

Previous Episode

5. Beating the Odds to the Tune of 360M Dollars w/Elias Torres of Drift

How do you define the American dream?

For most, it’s the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone.

But for others, it’s a pipe dream, a fairy tale, a false hope.

Because no matter how hard they work or how much time and effort they put into something, it is virtually impossible for them to achieve success.

And that’s due to the country and societal class they were born into; there are too many barriers for upward mobility.

But the silver lining in all this is that it builds grit, and when grit meets opportunity, well, you’ve got a force of nature.

On this episode of First Pitches, we talk with an entrepreneur who became just that.

Elias Torres is the co-founder and CTO of Drift, a conversational marketing platform valued at over 360M dollars.

Elias arrives in the United States in 1993 as a poor 17-year-old from Nicaragua; his family home was destroyed the year before.

But with this new opportunity, he hustles his way into a college scholarship, works at IBM, and at the start of the great recession--upends his security to follow his dream of starting a startup.

And even then, success isn’t guaranteed. He fails again and again until he finally lands on an idea that would become Drift.

Drift and Elias’s overnight success has been 10 years in the making, and his story will leave you speechless.

Listen to find out why.

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Next Episode

7. Building a New Kind of VC Through Hustle and Grit with Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital

According to author Angela Ducksworth, the secret to success is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.”

In short, it’s the ability to persist in the face of hardship to achieve your goals no matter how long it takes.

When you have this type of grit you become a force to be reckoned with, much like our guest on this week’s episode of First Pitches.

We’re talking about Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital.

You may have seen Arlan before as she’s graced the cover of Fast Company as the first black businesswoman and is the author of an Amazon Best Seller: It’s About Damn Time.

She also happens to be friends with the cast of the daytime soap show, General Hospital.

But just five years ago, it was a different story. She was just another underestimated founder.

In 2015, Arlan was quickly judged as being: an LGBT black female; non-college-educated, and at one point, homeless--sleeping at SFO airport while she raised money.

Since then, she’s managed to hustle her way through all these headwinds and raised a combined $12 million for Backstage Capital and the ArlanWasHere Investments fund.

And through these vehicles, Arlan has invested in over 130 underestimated founders.

Interested in learning how Arlan developed her grit? Listen to find out how.

Get tactical tips on how to master your first pitch. Sign up for our newsletter at www.firstpitches.com