1430: Why Your Passion is Your Unfair Advantage in Fundraising + The Hidden Infrastructure That's Revolutionizing Hiring w/ Megan Goddard
In this episode, Megan Goddard, CEO and co-founder of Kizuna, shares her powerful journey from being personally impacted by the justice system to building a tech company that’s transforming it from the inside out. She reveals how she identified a critical gap in the background screening process and built an "infrastructure" business that provides a decision-making layer for companies, rather than another complex platform. This episode is a masterclass for any entrepreneur looking to turn a deep-seated passion into a scalable, impactful business, proving that you can solve major societal issues while building a successful for-profit venture.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- How a deep personal connection to a problem can become your greatest asset in business and fundraising.
- The strategic advantage of building an "infrastructure" business (API-first) that plugs directly into your customers' existing workflows.
- How to ethically and effectively use AI to enhance decision-making without automating away critical human judgment.
- A founder’s playbook for fundraising by leading with passion and deep industry expertise.
- Why finding co-founders with complementary skills (like legal and tech) is the bedrock of a successful and resilient startup.
- How to build trust and credibility in a complex, litigious industry by embedding compliance directly into your product.
- Why the entrepreneurial journey’s steep learning curve is its greatest reward.
📝 About Megan Goddard
Megan Goddard is the CEO and co-founder of Kizuna, a company building the infrastructure for more equitable and intelligent background screening. With over a decade of experience spanning both criminal justice reform and HR tech, she brings a rare blend of policy depth and product expertise to the future of hiring. Her passion for this work began at age 16, driven by family experiences with the justice system, and has fueled a singular mission: to create hiring systems that expand access to opportunity while strengthening trust and safety for everyone.
🎯 Megan’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
“Really pursue a problem that you’re obsessed with... If you’re obsessed with it, it’s going to be so fun. The solution is never going to be what you imagined it would be in the beginning. So don’t get so tied and attached to that solution, but do get obsessed with the problem.”
📢 Memorable Quotes
- "I never considered myself to be an entrepreneur... But once I kept confronting this big gap area and seeing no one else tackling it, I just figured I had to do something.” – Megan Goddard
- "We don't use AI for the decision making step... the employer or the business evaluating the background check will always be the ultimate decision maker.” – Megan Goddard
- "I was surprised at how smooth [fundraising] went. I think because I'm so passionate about this space... we barely prepared a pitch deck before I started talking to VCs... we just got lost in conversation." – Megan Goddard
🔗 Links & Resources
