How I Started is a podcast discussing the "0 to 1" stories of the most amazing people on the planet.

In this episode, my guest is Ilana Diamond.
Ilana is the Managing Partner at 412 Venture Fund headquartered in Pittsburgh. 412 venture fund invests in early-stage startups and focuses on the untapped potential of underrepresented founders in the region.

Before this, Ilana was the founding Managing Director of Alphalap Gear – the hardware arm of the nationally ranked accelerator program Alphalab. At Alphalab gear, Ilana worked with hundreds of startups – sourcing and coaching portfolio companies as well as serving on the boards of many. Even before, Ilana was President & CEO of Sima Products Inc, which produced consumer electronics under several different brands.

Ilana is a master networker, and I got the opportunity to witness her operate firsthand when I was part of a robotics startup that went through the Alphalab Gear program. During my time in the Pittsburgh Startup scene, I felt Ilana was everywhere and everyone knew Ilana.
In this conversation, Ilana shares her wisdom about building startups, defining culture, and overall building a productive life. It took me a long time to get this episode ready as I kept going back to listen and take notes on the many insights.

This conversation is packed with golden nuggets to help you level up your game no matter what level you are operating at in your career. I had so much fun and learned a ton from this conversation. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!


Find Ilana at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilana-diamond-9162155/
https://www.412venturefund.com/

This podcast is part of my infrequent newsletter - Always be learning! #ABL
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