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Capital Calling

Capital Calling

By: Coeus Collective
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Welcome to Capital Calling: a video podcast where founders pitch live, and investors decide. Our show features leading early-stage founders pitching their startups directly to leading venture capitalists, including investors from iconic firms like Draper Associates, Initialized Capital, Pioneer Fund, and SOSV. Produced by Coeus Collective Ventures in partnership with the NYU Stern Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, the show offers an unfiltered look at how venture decisions are actually made. This is a show that takes you "behind the curtain" of venture investing: viewers see how investors evaluate teams, markets, and traction in real time, and how founders respond when the stakes are real and outcomes are uncertain. Filmed in New York City and distributed across the @CoeusCollective YouTube channel and all podcast platforms, Capital Calling sits at the intersection of media, entrepreneurship, and capital. Do these founders have what it takes to answer the calls of the investors? Find out on the first season of our show.© 2026 Circle Promotions, LLC Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Vitalis: Can This Biomaterial Help Tendons Heal Faster?

    Vitalis: Can This Biomaterial Help Tendons Heal Faster?
    Mar 26 2026
    Tendon injuries are notoriously hard to heal. Even after surgery, recovery can be slow, complications are common, and today’s tools often stop at mechanical repair instead of actively promoting regeneration. But can a biomaterials company built to improve healing in the operating room convince investors it belongs in the future of surgical care? In this episode of Capital Calling, Asser El Ashwah, Founder of Vitalis Regenerative Materials, pitches a company developing regenerative biomaterials designed to improve surgical outcomes. Vitalis’s lead product, BioBlend, is a bio-integrated tool that combines advanced biomaterial formulations with PRP at the point of care, with the goal of enhancing tissue regeneration, reducing complications, and improving recovery in sports medicine procedures and beyond. The company is initially focused on tendon repair, where existing interventions often fail to deliver sustained biological support during healing. (NYU Tandon School of Engineering - https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/asser-el-ashwah-molecular-architect-building-new-biomaterials-new-way-heal-and-new-company) What sets Vitalis apart is its delivery mechanism. Unlike conventional PRP therapies, which can dissipate quickly and lose effectiveness, Vitalis is building a system designed for localized, sustained release of growth factors through a biocompatible polymer formulation. The product is intended to fit directly into existing surgical workflows, turning regenerative medicine from a post-operative add-on into an integrated biosurgical tool. Over time, the company sees broader applications across orthopedic, vascular, reconstructive, and wound healing procedures. (https://nyusternberkleycenter.com/2025/03/revolutionizing-recovery-with-vitalis-regenerative-materials/) Across the table, investors René Bastón of Covenant Venture Capital, Sabriya Stukes, PhD of SOSV, and Doug Hayes of Junto Health & Hubble engage with the pitch as it unfolds. They assess the clinical and commercial need in tendon repair and sports medicine, the defensibility of Vitalis’s biomaterial approach, the practicality of integrating the product into surgeon workflows, and whether a regenerative platform built around sustained growth-factor delivery can scale into a venture-backed medical device company. Capital Calling provides a behind-the-scenes look at a real pitch from both sides of the table. Each episode begins with a live founder pitch and product demo, followed by direct investor questioning. After the pitch, investors enter into a private debrief conversation where they debate the opportunity openly: without the founder present. The founder, on the other hand, enters the On-Call Room to discuss the pitch one-on-one from their perspective. Then, the investors give their verdicts, where feedback is delivered candidly and decisions are made. Produced by Coeus Collective in partnership with the NYU Stern Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship, Capital Calling offers founders, operators, students, and investors an unfiltered look at how early-stage investment decisions actually happen, and what separates compelling ideas from fundable companies. Founders pitch live. Investors decide.
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    41 mins
  • ConNext: Is There a Better Way to Network Than LinkedIn?

    ConNext: Is There a Better Way to Network Than LinkedIn?
    Mar 19 2026
    Professional networking is more fragmented than ever. Young professionals are told that relationships matter, yet most platforms still leave them cold messaging strangers, collecting weak ties, and hoping something turns into opportunity. But can a platform built to make networking more intentional convince investors it belongs at the center of career growth? In this episode of Capital Calling, Celia Davis, Founder of ConnNext, pitches a professional relationship platform built for young professionals looking to form more meaningful connections. ConnNext is designed to help users build real professional communities through a matching system focused on career growth, support, and relationship quality rather than passive social feeds or transactional outreach. The company’s core thesis is that networking should feel more human, more relevant, and more useful than sending hundreds of cold messages or endlessly applying to jobs online. (make-connexions.com (https://www.make-connexions.com/faq?utm_source=chatgpt.com)) ConnNext positions itself as a new layer in the professional networking ecosystem, aimed at Gen Z and millennials across industries who want to meet the right people digitally and in person. The platform is built around the idea that strong professional relationships can be matched, nurtured, and maintained more effectively through a purpose-built product focused on community, career development, and trust. Celia has described the company as a response to the uncertainty of the current job market and the need for a better way to network. (make-connexions.com (https://www.make-connexions.com/faq?utm_source=chatgpt.com)) Across the table, investors Jennifer Wolf, Former Managing Partner at Initialized Capital, Jeremy Kagan of Textbook Ventures, and Antonio Calderon of Distributed Ventures engage with the pitch as it unfolds. They assess professional networking behavior among younger users, the challenge of building trust and engagement in a relationship platform, the product’s differentiation from LinkedIn and other social networks, and whether ConnNext can scale into foundational infrastructure for meaningful professional connection. (LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-connexions?utm_source=chatgpt.com)) Capital Calling provides a behind-the-scenes look at a real pitch from both sides of the table. Each episode begins with a live founder pitch and product demo, followed by direct investor questioning. After the pitch, investors enter into a private debrief conversation where they debate the opportunity openly: without the founder present. The founder, on the other hand, enters the On-Call Room to discuss the pitch one-on-one from their perspective. Then, the investors give their verdicts, where feedback is delivered candidly and decisions are made. Produced by Coeus Collective in partnership with the NYU Stern Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship, Capital Calling offers founders, operators, students, and investors an unfiltered look at how early-stage investment decisions actually happen, and what separates compelling ideas from fundable companies. Founders pitch live. Investors decide. 🔔 Subscribe to Coeus Collective on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoeusCollective 📰 Early Access newsletter: https://coeuscollective.beehiiv.com/ 📲 Follow us everywhere: @CoeusCollective Special thanks to the NYU Stern School of Business Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship. Follow @nyuinnovation for updates on their programs. Hosted by Antonio Di Meglio and Leon Li DISCLAIMER: The Capital Calling podcast, and any related media properties produced by Coeus Collective, are provided solely for informational and educational purposes. Nothing presented in this episode should be construed as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, investments, or financial products. Coeus Collective does not provide investment advice, and all opinions expressed are those of the hosts or guests at the time of recording.
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    35 mins
  • OOSO: A $500K Bet on Sparkling Tea

    OOSO: A $500K Bet on Sparkling Tea
    Mar 12 2026
    A beverage category built on energy drinks, soda, and canned alcohol is starting to fracture. But can a sparkling tea brand inspired by natural wine convince investors it has the taste, positioning, and brand power to break through? In this episode of Capital Calling, Sophia Spring (Racciatti) and Oliver Spring, Co-Founders of OOSO, pitch a better-for-you beverage brand building a bold and elevated take on tea. OOSO is a sparkling tea inspired by natural wine, formulated with organic teas, adaptogens, L-theanine, vitamin B12, and vitamin C, and sweetened with organic honey instead of artificial ingredients or fake sugars. Positioned as a sophisticated, functional alternative to traditional canned beverages, the company is trying to carve out space at the intersection of wellness, flavor, and modern social drinking culture. Across the table, investors Johnnie Yu of Listen Ventures, Christian McKenzie of Lofty Ventures, and Horace Madison of The Haven engage with the pitch as it unfolds. They examine OOSO’s brand positioning within the crowded functional beverage market, customer acquisition and retail strategy, flavor and product differentiation, and whether a premium sparkling tea company raising $500K with 60% already committed can scale into a venture-backed consumer brand. Capital Calling provides a behind-the-scenes look at a real pitch from both sides of the table. Each episode begins with a live founder pitch and product demo, followed by direct investor questioning. After the pitch, investors enter into a private debrief conversation where they debate the opportunity openly: without the founder present. The founder, on the other hand, enters the On-Call Room to discuss the pitch one-on-one from their perspective. Then, the investors give their verdicts, where feedback is delivered candidly and decisions are made. Produced by Coeus Collective in partnership with the NYU Stern Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship, Capital Calling offers founders, operators, students, and investors an unfiltered look at how early-stage investment decisions actually happen, and what separates compelling ideas from fundable companies. Founders pitch live. Investors decide.
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    41 mins
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