Wharton Innovators in Business

Imagine transforming a simple text prompt into a fully produced song—within seconds. That's exactly what Udio does. Founded in December 2023 by a team of former Google DeepMind researchers, including CEO David Ding, Conor Durkan, Charlie Nash, Yaroslav Ganin, and Andrew Sanchez, Udio is reshaping how music is made. Backed by industry giants like a16z, will.i.am, Common, Tay Keith, and Steve Stoute's UnitedMasters, Udio is at the forefront of AI-driven music creation.

Aquaria, co-founded in 2021 by Brian Sheng, is dedicated toaddressing the growing global water scarcity problem. Using its cutting-edge Atmospheric Water Generation technology, Aquaria's products extract water from the air, purify it, and make it suitable for human consumption. This breakthrough provides an alternative water source, especially in regions where traditional methods like desalination or large-scale water treatment are not feasible.In this episode:Brian's story – from D1 varsity football athlete at Princeton to entrepreneur.What Aquaria does and why it is important in the fightagainst global water scarcity? Why choose “Atmospheric Water Generation” over other ways (desalination) to unlock the alternative water sources for humans?The challenges of starting a business?Brian's advice to anyone seeking to make an impact on the world.

Imagine transforming a simple text prompt into a fully produced song—within seconds. That's exactly what Udio does. Founded in December 2023 by a team of former Google DeepMind researchers, including CEO David Ding, Conor Durkan, Charlie Nash, Yaroslav Ganin, and Andrew Sanchez, Udio is reshaping how music is made. Backed by industry giants like a16z, will.i.am, Common, Tay Keith, and Steve Stoute's UnitedMasters, Udio is at the forefront of AI-driven music creation.

Ron Gura is the co-founder and CEO of Empathy. Founded in 2020, Empathy aims to provide bereaved families with holistic support, such as emotional guidance through grief, estate settlement, benefits and probate, etc. Empathy partners with employers, life insurance, health plans, and consultants to help people who have lost loved ones through the darkest of their lives. Prior to founding Empathy, Ron was a senior executive at WeWork and eBay, and founded The Gifts Project, a social e-commerce platform for group gifting.In this episode, you will hear about:What does Empathy do and why need Empathy?What inspired Ron to build  Empathy? Before Empathy: The Journey with The Gifts Project.Ron's advice to the young generation?

Dr. Ansari started to lead The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) in 2023 as the first female CEO of the organization. With over 11,000 physicians and 44,000 staff, TPMG provides care to over 5.4 million Kaiser Permanente members. Dr. Ansari is passionate about addressing physician burnout, improving team-based care, and fostering innovation in healthcare delivery. In this episode, you will hear about: What are Kaiser Permanente and The Permanente Medical Group? What is Value-Based Care? Why is the American healthcare system broken? The biggest challenge in scaling Value-Based Care model in the United States and how to tackle it? Dr. Ansari's journey in the healthcare industry and her advice for women transitioning into leadership roles. Current AI applications in Value-Based Care system? The future of the Telehealth? Advice for people who are interested in becoming a healthcare practitioner.

In this interview with Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, we dive into the inner workings of Jeff to understand how he sees driving impact. Since joining Coursera in 2017, Jeff has helped grow the platform to over 148 million learners worldwide, partnering with more than 7,000 institutions. He became a CEO for the first time at 27, leading Financial Engines, after graduating from Stanford MBA   In this episode, we'll explore: • How to become a CEO at 27? And the lessons he learned by taking on the role at such a young age. • Hear Jeff's thoughts on how effort, luck, and privilege have influenced his career path. • What about Coursera aligned with what Jeff hoped to achieve in the world? • Get an insider's view on how Coursera is expanding education globally, including exciting AI applications like personalized tutors and course-building tools for educators. • Jeff will also share his top course recommendations on Coursera and advice for those interested in the educational technology field.

Malaika Judd, an entrepreneur, angel investor, and previous co-founder of Sendy. Sendy was a one-stop logistics platform for enterprises and merchants, covering delivery needs in the region to help small businesses/side hustles reach their customers more efficiently and cost-effectively. In this episode, you will hear about:

Andreata is a partner at TLcom Capital, a leading tech VC firm based in Nairobi. Locally rooted and globally connected, TLcom has managed in excess of $300M and is currently investing from its TIDE Africa fund, which invests in early to growth-stage companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. TLcom is also famous for its initiatives in building strong technology and entrepreneur-centric ecosystems.

Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia, a leading e-commerce platform in Africa. With proprietary logistics Jumia Logistics and JumiaPay fintech platforms, Jumia is able to seamlessly deliver the widest range of genuine products at low prices to the customer. Juia is also the first African startup that went public in NYSE. Today, it is active in 11 countries across Africa.

Jesse Moore, the CEO and co-founder of M-KOPA. M-KOPA, a leading technology startup in Kenya, helps underbanked low-income African households unlock essential products and services that improve their life qualities with fair and flexible financial choices. M-KOPA has built one of the world's most advanced connected financing platforms, deploying $1 billion in products and credit to 3 million customers. Since 2011, M-KOPA has raised $250 million in equity funding. In this episode, you will hear about:

Joseph Rehmann is the Founder & Group CEO of Victory Farms. By rebuilding the fish value chain from scratch, Victory Farms drastically reduced the cost of protein in Africa. Through this journey, Joe and his team have built one of the first truly regenerative aquaculture farms in the world: all while improving biodiversity, sinking carbon, and supporting jobs and local communities in Kenya and beyond. In this episode, you will hear about:

Daniel Yu is the Founder and CEO of Wasoko. Wasoko aims to unleash African commerce from various aspects. Using Wasoko's services, shopkeepers and suppliers are more efficiently connected. By simply ordering products via the mobile app, shopkeepers can receive deliveries at their doorstep. Additionally, Wasoko has been able to support and finance small retailers. Daniel is also conversant in more than 8 languages and has taken the founder's pledge to transfer 70% of his proceeds to effective interventions in reducing suffering. In this episode, you will hear about:

Basil Moftah, the General Partner at Nclude, a venture capitalist fund and Fintech innovation engine with a core focus on the Middle East and North Africa. As an influential force in the venture capital space, Basil is at the forefront of the Fintech revolution in Egypt, a country experiencing a quantum leap forward in its Fintech ecosystem. In this episode, you will learn:

Vikas is the Founder & CEO of Abillion. Abillion is a social media platform focused on helping people create better daily habits and rituals, starting with what they eat and buy. Abillion's mission is to become the definitive global ecosystem for everything sustainable. In this episode, you will hear about:

Jim Rogers, a well-known investor, author, and financial commentator. He is the co-founder of the Quantum Fund, a hedge fund that achieved an impressive record of returns, and the author of “The Investment Biker”. In this episode, you will learn:

Pierre Paslier is the co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla, a leader in the sustainable packaging and container manufacturing industry. Notpla is replacing the use of plastic in packaging with seaweed and plants that biodegrade in weeks to make our world more sustainable. In this episode, you will hear about:

Atish Davda is CEO and Co-Founder of EquityZen, a company working on bringing private markets to the public. Atish talks about his journey to starting EquityZen and what this company means to the future of investing in innovation. The interview is dedicated to PennPAC. PennPAC works with nonprofit organizations to help solve their business challenges through the engagement of Penn alumni who serve as pro bono consultants for short-term projects. (https://pennpac.org/about/)

Irving Fain, the founder and CEO of Bowery Farming. Bowery is the leading vertical farming company in the United States, serving almost 800 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms, such as Whole Foods, Giant, Walmart, and so on. Join the conversation and learn how technology can play an important role in the Agriculture industry's future and how Bowery brings high-quality products to our table in a more efficient and sustainable way. This episode is dedicated to the D.C. Central Kitchen, a nationally recognized "community kitchen" that recycles food from around Washington, D.C., and uses it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop work skills while providing thousands of meals for local service agencies in the process. (https://dccentralkitchen.org/)

Rick Bates, CEO and Co-Founder of RxSense. RxSense is a healthcare technology company that provides advanced cloud-based enterprise solutions. RxSense also contracts with the nation's largest pharmacies (including CVS, Walmart and Walgreens) to deliver consistently low prices directly to consumers on prescription drugs through its SingleCare (www.singlecare.com) prescription savings services. Tune in to learn how Rick entered the drug industry and what led his way to start his own company, how RxSense improves transparency in the healthcare industry, and his advice on how to navigate through challenges in the career. The episode is dedicated to Heading Home, Boston's leading provider of emergency shelter, transitional, and permanent housing for low-income families and individuals, (https://www.headinghomeinc.org/).

In 2015, Joey Zwillinger co-founded Allbirds with his partner Tim Brown. Since its founding, Allbirds has gone to design what Time Magazine has called the “World's Most Comfortable Shoe” and has been worn by Barack Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, and many others. But even more fascinating is Allbird's no-compromise mentality to developing sustainable and eco-friendly shoes. Join us to learn more about Allbirds and Joey's journey with the brand! The event is dedicated to raising awareness for Stiles Hall, an organization helping low-income, youth of color students succeed and excel in the education pipeline: http://www.stileshall.org/. 

Steve Gu, CEO of AiFi, talks about how he is using AI to automate stores around the world. While AmazonGo and other large conglomerates are pursuing a cashier-less future, Steve Gu talks about how AiFi is shaping this emerging landscape and what to expect in the not-so-distant future. In this interview, you will learn: How do computer vision and machine learning work in the context of an autonomous store? How does AiFi technology differentiate someone taking an 80g bag of chips versus taking a 120g bag of chips? What will our experience be like when we enter a retail store in 30 years? All donations and charitable contributions will go to Evidence Action - Deworm the World Initiative, which is an Effective Altruism recommended organization that has shown through research to deworm a child in India for $0.35 per child, and in Kenya, for $0.66 per child, vastly improving their quality of life. donate just $3.50 to help change the lives of 10 Children. Learn more about Deworm the World Initiative here: https://www.evidenceaction.org

Tracy Young, the co-founder and CEO of TigerEye, a sales and go-to-market platform that helps leaders track and predict the future performance of their business. She was previously the co-founder and CEO of PlanGrid, a construction productivity software. PlanGrid grew from 5 co-founders to 450 people and helped build over 1 million construction projects around the globe before being acquired by Autodesk in 2018 for $875 million. This episode is dedicated to the World Wildlife Fund, a non-profit organization committed to building a future in which people live in harmony with nature. Check out https://www.worldwildlife.org/ to see the work they are doing.

Fred was a part of the original founding team of Zappos and alongside Tony Hsieh and others, helped Zappos grow into a company with more than $1 billion in gross merchandise sales before it was bought by Amazon in 2009. He is also the founder of Las Vegas-centric investment fund Honus Capital, and the co-founder of luxury fashion brand Ross and Snow. This full interview is dedicated to the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation. The Goodie Two Shoes Foundation provides disadvantaged children and children in crisis with new shoes and socks, as well as other items deemed essential for good health and positive development (https://goodietwoshoes.org/)

We talk with Matthew Bannick, the Former Managing Partner of Omidyar Network, Former President of eBay International, and former President of PayPal on his advice in entering the impact investment sector as one of the pioneers in the industry. The conversation also covers Matt's advice on helping a company achieve global expansion, strategies to measure impact and what it takes to be a great leader. This full interview is dedicated to BRAC. Its mission is to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. BRAC has been a leader in poverty reduction efforts through encouraging social and economic empowerment, both in Bangladesh and around the world. There will be a Q&A section with questions selected from the comments section! Post your questions below. Check out Omidyar Networks website here: ⁠https://omidyar.com/

Deciding Our Future: Interview with Annie Duke, the author of How to Decide and Thinking in Bets. She was previously a professional poker player, winning a WSOP Poker Bracelet. She is now a renowned speaker and expert in the decision strategy space. This full interview is dedicated to Alliance for Decision Education. Their mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education. https://www.alliancefordecisioneducation.org/ There will be a Q&A section with questions selected from the comments section! Post your questions below.

Coronavirus: What will the pandemic mean for globalization? In this interview with Geoffrey Garrett, the Dean at the USC Marshall School of Business and former Dean at the Wharton School, we discuss the impacts on global trade and commerce as a result of the pandemic and the preceding trade war. The interview is dedicated to Southern California Counseling Center (SCCC) which works with volunteers to change lives and strengthen communities by providing affordable mental health care to people in need (https://sccc-la.org/)

Irving is the founder and CEO of Bowery Farming, a cutting-edge vertical farming company that is revolutionizing the way we grow food. Irving has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to using technology to create a paradigm shift in how we produce agricultural goods and interact with the world, the land around us. Today's discussion will not only cover the traditional founders story, but also how to provide healthy, quality and sustainable food at scale. This Interview is dedicated to DC Central Kitchen. Check out their website to learn more: http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/

Laura is the CEO and founder of Helaina, which aims to be the first company to put human proteins into food. Through harnessing the power of precision fermentation, Laura and her team seek to create the glycoproteins found in breast milk to help enhance existing infant formula, and in the future open a whole new class of ingredients for food. Laura is also NYU's youngest-ever adjunct professor in Food Science & Technology in 2017 and was featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 list in 2022. This interview is dedicated to the Good Foods Institute - Find more about them here https://gfi.org/

Sankarshan Murthy talks about the constraints of space and how Bumblebee Spaces is seeking to disrupt the industry by innovating a new way of living, with AI and robotics to maximize livable space. The interview is dedicated to Evidence Action - Dispensers for Water Initiative at https://www.evidenceaction.org/dispensersforsafewater/ Find more about Bumblebee Spaces at https://www.bumblebeespaces.com/

Life-Saving Drone Delivery: Interview with Keller Rinaudo, the co-founder and CEO of Zipline a drone delivery company that transports critical and lifesaving products precisely where and when they are needed. This full interview is dedicated to Malaria No More (www.malarianomore.org). They mobilize the political will and global resources required to achieve malaria eradication within our generation. Check out https://flyzipline.com/ for more information on Keller's company. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Impact through International Development with Stephanie von Friedeburg, Senior Vice President, Operations, at International Finance Corporation. This interview is dedicated to the Women Entrepreneurs in Finance Initiative: https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/t... Stephanie von Friedeburg is IFC's first Senior Vice President, Operations. She most recently stewarded the institution in the midst of the pandemic and led the implementation of IFC's strategy to create projects, attract private investment, and ultimately support a resilient and inclusive recovery in emerging markets. She currently leads all IFC investment operations and advisory services and manages IFC's $60 billion debt and equity portfolio in more than 100 countries. Her priorities include increasing opportunities for women, scaling up investments to fight climate change, and promoting digital development. Her career spans almost three decades in the World Bank Group. She started at IFC, where she also served as the first Chief Operating Officer and has spent more than two decades in investment operations, developing strong expertise in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe and in sectors such as telecom, manufacturing, and a wide array of technologies. In addition to an MBA from the Wharton School, she holds a Master of Arts from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

ZOOM INTERVIEWS FOR CHARITY: Becoming a Startup hero - Interview with Tim Draper, Founder of Draper VC and Renowned Venture Capital Investor who invested in Tesla, Baidu, Skype, Hotmail, Robinhood etc. The event is dedicated to Draper Heroes institute, a mission to research, develop and share educational models and methods that encompass, explore and/or promote entrepreneurial career paths. (https://www.draperhero.org/) There will be a Q&A section with questions selected from the comments section! post your questions below. Find other interviews like this by checking out our channel and subscribing Check out Tim Draper's book How to be the Startup Hero on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y5j53hl2Also more information about Tim Draper at https://timothydraper.com/

All Proceeds from this original live podcast was donated to the Basser Center at Penn. Learn more and donate at https://www.basser.org/. Jon Steinberg is the current President of Altice USA News and Advertising. Jon is also the Founder of Cheddar, the former CEO of DailyMail and the former President of BuzzFeed. This podcasts discusses the future of media and his advice for undergraduates.

Grace Knight's Poem on Cystic Fribrosis