Same Same but Tech

Dear friends, we come now to a bittersweet moment, the end of Season 2 of Same Same but Tech. But don't be sad! This year we spoke with some seriously smart people about some very complicated things. And in true SSBT fashion we had a blast while doing it. Season 2 had some *incredible* stories. From the highest of highs to the pits of despair, our guests brought us into their various worlds, building technologies that are moving and shaking the foundation of culture and bringing us into the future, one brilliant analogy at a time. And while the good times always have to come to an end eventually, we thought we'd like to keep the party going for one more supercut to remind you, dear listeners, of how much awesomeness we had along the way. On this final episode of the season, take a trip back with us to relive some of the best moments from the season. From diving into the NFT boom and hanging out on Clubhouse, to catching up on Instagram with a virtual pop star, we heard it all this year. We'd like to think that there's a bit of ear candy for each one of you out there. And did we mention the analogies were bumping? Featured guests this season include:Dana WorthPo BronsonArvind GuptaHugo Caselles-DupréDr. Ahmed ElgammalRichard GarriottRaphael RoettgenAxel MansoorJeremiah OwyangRoham GharegozlouDevin FinzerNicole de AyoraEdward SaatchiKundan KumarPattie MaesPat PataranutapornBrad FeldPhilippe Saint-JustHosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

This week on Same Same but Tech, we're going back to our roots to cover an - if not THE most - important buzzword in tech: Startups. We're all familiar with Harvard dorm room or Silicon Valley garage idols - but now, in 2021, a new wave of startups is booming even bigger. Money is pouring in as startups that were accelerated due to the pandemic - from audio social networks to video conferences to ghost kitchens!Anyone who's tried knows how hard it is to start any sort of new project, not to mention the funding, confidence, and team needed to bring it all together and put it out in the world. And while it launched back in 2013, a little known parking assistant company called ParkJockey shows off the perfect case study to see how the magic of startups comes together. After successfully launching an app that would help users find parking spaces nearby to concert venues and sporting events, a single Phil Collins show sent the entire operation spiralling, jeopardizing the entire business model. What's the best thing to do when you hit a major setback? Pivot! In this episode, we track the story behind the startup who created a product for finding parking spots, eventually growing it to become an urban revolution in the making: the rise of the ghost kitchen and “proximity as a service.” We'll get the inside scoop of all the ups and downs from Philippe Saint-Just, Co-Founder of REEF Technology, formerly ParkJockey.We'll also hear expert insight from longtime startup investor and veteran entrepreneur Brad Feld, Co-founder of Techstars and Managing Director of the Foundry Group.You might just walk away with the emboldened drive to go start your own venture. To the moon!Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

The deepfakes are coming! In recent years, the growing trend of AI manipulated media has been racking up views and making everyone from Tom Cruise to Nancy Pelosi say things they've never said before. And the technology behind these AI-driven deepfake models are only getting more accurate over time, meaning that one day soon, you might need to do a double take and make sure that's actually your ‘Bestie' when divulging all the hot gossip on Facetime.  We've been altering media for decades (Hello Photoshop!), but when did deepfakes first hit the scene? In this episode of Same Same but Tech, we'll tell the story of one scrappy startup called Lyrebird, which revolutionized an audio deepfake technology called voice cloning, which takes a small sample of a person's voice and from there makes it be able to say… well… anything at all! Co-Founder and Head of Research Kundan Kumar gives the inside look at how they developed their voice clones and released them to the world. To hype up their new platform, they put out an audio deepfake of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2017 casually discussing the new technology and it promptly broke the internet. From there they developed the product and signed up a bunch of users who started cloning their own voices. In 2019, Lyrebird joined up with like-minds at Descript to create even more AI-driven media manipulation tools along with Overdub, their key collaboration. But are we heading towards a future of distrust and suspicion for everyone we see and everything we do online? Can you trust everything you see? Everything you hear? Has a voice clone already taken over hosting duties for this very podcast? We might just have to run a deepfake detection program on Mauhan to find out. We'll also explore the ethical implications of the future of deepfake technology with expert insight from MIT Media Lab Professor, Pattie Maes and Research Assistant, Pat Pataranutaporn.Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

WTF is an NFT? How do you make one? Why are they worth so much? All of these questions and more answered on this edition of Same Same but Tech. The age of the NFT is upon us, and it’s bringing a whole new era of hype to the notorious ‘future of everything’ technology: the blockchain. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are unique digital assets that can be bought and sold on the public ledger of the blockchain. And after the sales of several huge and eye-catching NFTs this winter, marketplaces all over the interwebs are getting in on the action, promising an infinite sea of art and other digital assets to save to your hard drive. And just like all things internet, this NFT boom started with cats. In this episode, we trace the story of the rise of Dapper Labs, who’ve been on the front edges of advancing the blockchains first killer app. They started Cryptokitties in 2017, an NFT marketplace offering a digital den of kittens that are cute, unique and collectible. It was wildly successful, but ultimately limited in scope. We’ll talk to Roham Gharegozlou, Dapper’s CEO, about how they soon added basketball to the mix, partnering with the NBA to create a highly lucrative market for NFT collectibles and highlights from the NBA’s hottest players.  Before you open up your crypto wallets and empty out your bitcoin, is this latest crypto trend a bubble? Or are we on the cusp of a paradigm shift -- where digital and physical items now hold the same value in our eyes? With expert insight from Devin Finzer CEO of OpenSea, one of the biggest NFT marketplaces today. Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

On this edition of Same Same, we’re bending the line between real and surreal, as we look at the world through the eyes of the sensational and virtual pop star Lil Miquela. Miquela has three million Instagram followers, was named among Time Magazine's 25 most influential people on the Internet, has been part of Paris Fashion Week, where she did the step and repeat for Givenchy. She hosted at Coachella 2019 and co starred in a Calvin Klein campaign with Bella Hadid. An entirely new era of stardom is upon us, and the pop stars of the future are going to be, well, a little less human. All the Instagram glitz and TikTok glam of today’s digital influencer culture, without the human flaws? That’s the promise of the latest mind blowing innovations in virtual beings technology.That’s right, Miquela is not a human being, she's a virtual one. But don’t tell her that. She’s a creation of the Los Angeles startup, Brud. As the classic rise to fame story goes, Miquela is a bright eyed and young aspiring singer who moves to Hollywood to make it big. She eventually finds friends and builds a following - music videos, brand deals, interview appearances all follow. But then what happens when the puppet notices the strings? And will we be comfortable trading our friends and idols for AI companions? This week we’re looking at one of the newest technologies out there through the lens of one of the oldest concepts on earth: fame. We’ll talk with Nicole de Ayora, Chief Content Officer at Brud., the startup that introduced Miquela to the masses. We’ll also hear expert analysis from Edward Saatchi, Founder and CEO of Fable Studio. Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

On this edition of Same Same, we trade doom scrolling and zoom fatigue for the perfect happy medium, not to mention the hottest new trend in social networking for the pandemic era: live audio.  Since Covid-19 drove the world indoors and “Work From Home” became the new mantra, a host of voice-first social networking apps like Clubhouse have busted through the interwebs and into our airpods, creating a buzz around Social Audio as the next frontier of social media. Will it last beyond lockdown? Musician and all around great guy Axel Mansoor is our special guest for this episode. We’ll trace his glow up on the Clubhouse app, from finding community through performing songs and hosting big name musicians on his wildly popular “Lullaby Club” to becoming the face of the Clubhouse app icon itself earlier this year. With expert commentary from Jeremiah Owyang, Silicon Valley industry analyst and founder of Kaleido Insights. Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

This week on Same Same, we get a cockpit view of outer space, from one of the first earthlings who self-funded a private flight up into orbit.Richard Garriott was the son of a NASA Astronaut, but a setback squashed his dreams of following in his father’s footsteps. After several decades, many different ventures and tens of millions of dollars, Richard manifested that dream by climbing aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and flying into the stars.  According to Richard, the perspective shift of being in space is so powerful that it changes everything about how you see our planet, the solutions to our problems, even how we see each other. What will change when more and more people experience that? The private space industry has placed an astronomical bet on this question. And the answer is coming soon.With expert commentary from Raphael Roettgen, space investor and founder of E2MC Ventures. Hosted by Máuhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

This week on Same Same but Tech, we hear the behind-the-scenes story of an infamous art auction and the history-making sale of a painting created by a computer.Hugo Caselles-Dupré is a doctoral candidate in Paris who, along with a few friends, formed the art collective Obvious. The trio programmed a computer that could produce original paintings using AI, leveraging a Generative Adversarial Network (or “GAN”). When one of their earliest pieces, the Portrait of Edmond de Belamy, sold for nearly half a million dollars at a Christie’s auction, “generative art” took the art world by storm and raised the philosophical question of what is - and isn’t - “art”? Ultimately, what started as a fun project for three childhood friends turned into a history-making case of imposter syndrome. Did the Obvious team really deserve all the attention (and money) for just six months of clever programming?Hugo Caselles-Dupré shares the fascinating process behind his iconic piece and how he was first contacted by Christie’s after being spotted on an NFT (non-fungible token) platform. Including expert commentary by Dr. Ahmed Elgammal, Professor of Computer Science and Founder & Director of the Art&AI Labs at Rutgers University)Hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Guests: Hugo Caselles-Dupré (Co-Founder of Obvious), and Dr. Ahmed Elgammal (Professor of Computer Science at Rutgers University and Founder & Director of Art & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Rutgers).Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com

In this whopper of an episode, we track the story of the Impossible Whopper from the glimmer of an idea in a lab all the way on to the menu at Burger King. Dana Worth takes us back to Impossible Foods circa 2015, when he was traveling door-to-door doing his best to convince famous chefs like David Chang to try a plant-based burger in their kitchens. But the plant-based revolution didn't truly go mainstream until Dana met some receptive innovators at Burger King. With expert commentary by Po Bronson and Arvind Gupta, Partners at IndieBio and authors of Decoding the World. Hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, Head of Innovation at Spotify, Partner-alum at BCG Digital Ventures, and NYC-based angel investor and entrepreneur.Guests: Dana Worth (SVP at Plenty, Former VP at Impossible Foods), Arvind Gupta (Co-lead of the Engineering Biology Practice at Mayfield, Founder at IndieBio)  and Po Bronson (General Partner at SOSV, Managing Director of IndieBio)Visit our website:  https://www.samesamepodcast.com  

Get ready for Season 2 of Same Same. It's anything but the same same about tech. We are featuring deep-dive stories about the tech topics that need explaining. And we use analogies to explain them to you. Hosted by Mauhan Zonoozy. Powered by BCGDV.  Produced by Corinne Javier and Lee Schneider. Music by Oovra. 

What makes our podcast tick? Join us behind the scenes with Corinne Javier and Lee Schneider (Producers @ Same Same but Tech) to recap our first season of Same Same But Tech. We discuss our favorite episodes, dream guests, and preview Season Two!  Sound effect medley, anyone? Additional NotesCorinne Javier is an undercover Creative and everyone’s favorite teammate. When she’s not running SSBT, she’s in Venture Operations at BCG Digital Ventures in NYC. Lee Schneider is a podcast producer, minimalist, and television escapee. He is the founder of redcupagency.com, the co-founder of the FutureX Network, and co-founder of 3 children. He is married to a fierce goddess. SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures. 

Uncovering the key to the design process with Kevin Bethune (Founder + Chief Creative Officer @ Dreams Design + Life) and Bill Burnett (Executive Director of the Design Program @ Stanford University)Kevin Bethune is the Chief Creative Officer at Dreams • Design + Life and Board Chair for the Design Management Institute. He is also a first time author, writing a book for the MIT press. He is an expert in the design and leadership space with over 10 years of experience. He  was also the former VP of Strategic Design at BCG Digital Ventures. Bill Burnett is the Co-Author of the New York Times’ Best-seller Designing Your Life and Co-Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University. SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures. 

 How does Spotify make money? What’s better - YouTube or Apple Music? Disney+ or Netflix? Gabby Cohen (Chief Brand Officer at Rent the Runway) and Sanjay Amin (Head of YouTube Music Subscription Partnerships) join host Mauhan Zonoozy to dissect the subscription economy vs the sharing economy, and provide the real reason why we don’t “own” anything anymore - not even our clothes.Additional NotesGabby Cohen is the Chief Brand Officer at Rent the Runway, an online service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals.  Prior to Rent the Runway, Gabby was a Senior Vice President at SoulCycle and their fifth corporate employee.Sanjay Amin is Head of YouTube Music Subscription Partnerships at YouTube, and an expert in digital music and media.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures. 

“Why did we run out toilet paper during the pandemic?” In this Mini Episode, Matt Salzberg, Founder + Chairman @ Blue Apron, joins us to discuss supply chains, how they've been affected by the coronavirus, the impact on the food supply chain, and how consumers can influence ethical production practices, like Apple’s commitment to go carbon neutral.ADDITIONAL NOTESMatt Salzberg founded Blue Apron in 2011, and served as President and CEO for its first six years. During that time, Matt built Blue Apron into a nationally recognizable brand with millions of customers and an innovative supply chain, and led their $2 billion IPO. Matt is currently Blue Apron's Chairman, as well as a Managing Partner at Material, a venture capital fund and venture studio.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  

Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto is the Managing Director at Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a leading cryptocurrency exchange that lets customers buy, sell, and store digital assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Prior to Gemini, Jeanine served as Chief Operating Officer of NASDAQ subsidiary, International Securities Exchange (ISE).  Shawn Cheng is a Partner at ConsenSys, the renowned blockchain studio building decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain.  ConsenSys’ goal is to build a more open, inclusive, and secure internet of value, commonly called Web3.  Prior to ConsenSys, Shawn worked at Vayner/RSE, BBDO, and Razorfish.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  Guests: Jeanine Hightower-Selito, Managing Director at Gemini, and Shawn Cheng, Partner at ConsenSys

Alexis Hancock is a Technologist at Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”).  In her role, she works to secure the web through HTTPS Everywhere, a Chrome extension that encrypts communications with many major websites, making your browser more secure.  She was previously a web developer and system administrator.  Alexis is passionate about encryption and tech equity for all and has been assisting activists and educators with their tech needs for almost 10 years.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  Guests: Alexis Hancock, Technologist at Electronic Frontier Foundation

Greg Sullivan is Director of Mixed Reality at Microsoft Hololens, an untethered mixed reality device with apps and solutions that enhance virtual collaboration. Ted Schilowitz is the Futurist at Paramount Pictures, where he works with studio leadership and technology teams at Paramount, Viacom, and CBS to explore new forms of emerging technology, with a focus on Virtual and Mixed Reality.  Prior to joining Paramount, Ted was the Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he was part of the creation teams for Alien, Planet of the Apes, and predator VR experiences.  SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  

Boris Sofman is the Director of Engineering, Head of Trucking and Perception at Waymo - formerly the Google self-driving car project.  Waymo’s mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around autonomously.  Prior to Waymo, Brois was the Co-Founder and CEO of Anki, an AI and robotics company.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  Guests:  Boris Sofman, Director of Engineering, Head of Trucking and Perception at Waymo

Andrew Lewman is the Co-Founder and former CEO of The Tor Project, the non-profit behind the Tor browser, the most well-known and widely-used dark web internet browser. Andrew is a globally renowned internet security and dark web expert, and works with the U.S. government and its allies, as well as Interpol’s Crimes Against Children Initiative. Andrew has helped co-found several tech and security companies, including TechTarget, Farsight Security, and DarkOwl. Gary Alford is a Supervisory Special Agent at the Internal Revenue Service.  He is most well-known as the sleuth that helped crack the infamous Silk Road online drug trafficking case, specifically by helping unmask Dread Pirate Roberts, the site’s creator.  SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  Guests: Andrew Lewman, Co-Founder of the Tor Project and Dark Owl, and Gary Alford, Special Agent at the Internal Revenue Service

Christian Guirnalda is the Director at Verizon 5G Labs and Innovation Centers, where he spreads the 5G gospel to the community, and supports the best and brightest entrepreneurs, academics, and innovators in building 5G experiences through Verizon’s 5G Incubator. SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  

Andrey Yanyuk is one of the world’s most successful professional video game players and streamers.  He currently owns the esports and gaming entertainment brand, Tempo Storm, which has teams competing in Hearthstone, Heroes of Storm, Fortnite, World of Warcraft, Fifa, and more of the best video games.  When he’s not competing, Andrey is often seen streaming on Twitch under his pseudonym, reynad.Matthew Cohen helps lead the gaming division at Creative Artists Agency (“CAA”), Hollywood’s most prominent talent agency.  Before CAA, Matthew was CEO of Core Mobile and a VP at Machinima, a gaming content company acquired by Warner Bros. With a background spanning video game, digital, and film development, Matthew is one of the most prolific and sought-after experts in the field.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  Guests: Matthew Cohen, Gaming at CAA, and Andrey Yanyuk, Owner of Tempo Storm.

Anthony Johnson was the long-time CTO of GIPHY, the internet’s go-to GIF engine with over 700 million daily users. If you’re on Slack, Instagram, Snapchat, or Messenger, you’re probably using GIPHY.  Anthony was recently named CTO of Thrasio, an acquirer of third-party Amazon brands.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures.  

Quentin Hardy is Silicon Valley’s favorite tech journalist. Known for his work at the NY Times, WSJ, and Forbes, Quentin was hand-picked by Google to lead their editorial efforts and wax poetic on all things cloud computing.Kimberly Zenz is one of the world’s most sought after cyber security strategists.  Currently she is Director of the German Cyber Security Organisation, DCSO, in Berlin, but has worked globally helping national governments stay one step ahead of international hackers and cyber-spies.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures. 

Justin Kan is most famous for co-founding live-streaming platform Twitch, which Amazon acquired for nearly $1 billion. Justin was formerly a Partner at Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator, and is now Founder and CEO of Atrium, a machine learning powered legal company. Dennis Mortensen is the CEO and founder of x.ai, an AI personal assistant used to schedule meetings. He’s a pioneer in data and artificial intelligence, as well as a serial entrepreneur who has launched and sold several companies.SSBT is hosted by Mauhan M Zonoozy, founder of Bubbl (acquired by Cricket Media), NYC-based angel investor, and Venture Architect Director at BCG Digital Ventures. 

Hosted by Mauhan Zonoozy. Powered by BCG Digital Ventures, Boston Consulting Group’s corporate innovation and incubation group.