Podcasts about VC

A VC-backed boogie gas station? And a new Costco gas station too?... We know why gas got a glow-up.America super-sized the World Cup to great success… because in live sports, more is more.Chanel acquired the oldest shirt-maker in the world… and it's actually a contrarian AI bet.Five coffees a day keeps the doctor away…$COST $SBUX $LVMUYGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14: https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsNEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lyn Alden raised $40M to launch Orange Juice, a holding company that buys cash-flowing businesses and layers Bitcoin on top, not another pure-play treasury bet. ======================================================== Thank you to our sponsor! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Your biggest crypto vulnerability isn't your wallet, it's your phone number. Cape is America's privacy-first mobile carrier that rotates your SIM identity daily and blocks SIM swaps before they happen. Get 33% off your first six months at cape.co/unchained (use code: UNCHAINED). ======================================================== Lyn Alden just raised $40 million to launch a Bitcoin-backed holding company that skips the trade most of crypto is chasing. Rather than build another pure-play Bitcoin treasury stock, Orange Juice buys cash-flowing, unglamorous businesses and layers a Bitcoin treasury on top at the parent-company level. Lyn Alden, cofounder of Orange Juice and a partner at Ego Death Capital, frames it as a countercyclical alternative to procyclical treasury companies, and she does not spare Strategy from criticism. She compares Orange Juice's structure to Berkshire Hathaway and argues Strategy let its dollar reserve fall too far, weighing in as Laura invokes Michael Saylor's 'sell a kidney' line and STRC's slide to near $85 against its $100 target. She also addresses BIP-110's inscription debate and Bitcoin's quantum computing threat, questioning whether the community's resistance to change is a strength or a liability. Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained Guests: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lyn Alden - Cofounder of Orange Juice and Partner at Ego Death Capital Timestamps

Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Brought to you by:EDF: partnering with New Wave on this mini-series to explore how cleaner energy, industrial innovation, and ambitious startups can rebuild Europe's productive edge. Discover EDF's work with industrial and climate innovators here.****

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (1:17) Intro (2:45) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel. (3:31) Start of interview.  (4:39) AI and Governance Today (5:34) Data Center Politics (reference to moratorium by New York State) (6:48) About the 3rd Rome Conference on AI, Ethics and Governance (9:06) AI Hype and Job Fears (14:45) Birth and focus of The Chairs Circle and Limerick Lane Cellars. (22:53) CEO Succession Lessons (30:58) Founders versus Boards (37:04) EVs and China's Rise (44:58) Semiconductors, Chips and Geopolitics (49:03) Boards in a Fractured World "[W]e now need to have engaged board members, board members who are curious, who read, who stay up to speed on things, who keep asking more questions. You cannot have directors who are just calling it in anymore." (53:31) Government as Shareholder Karen Francis DeGolia is a board member at Vontier, CelLink, and NAUTO. Penny Herscher is a board member at Lumentum, Penguin Solutions, Forvia SA, and Modern Health. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

On this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Dave McClure and Aman Verjee of Practical VC to talk about the evolution of startup investing — from the PayPal mafia and Founders Fund era to 500 Startups, YC-style scale, and today's secondary market.—SPONSORS:Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjMaximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer cut their close in half, took audit findings from seven to zero, and cut back-office costs by 70% in six months. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at https://www.maximor.ai/Brex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAnrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtnRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comPulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuests:https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure/https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee/Company:https://practicalvc.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro3:00 Writing as a distribution strategy5:17 How Dave's blog led to Founders Fund7:24 Aman: writing at PayPal and law school9:29 PayPal: the red pen of David Sacks11:44 Sponsors — Rillet | Maximor | Brex14:59 500 Startups: the original thesis16:22 The volume strategy: more shots on goal18:44 Twilio, Lyft, Sendgrid, Credit Karma20:15 60x returns: right place, right time23:07 Sponsors — Anrok | RightRev | Pulley25:58 Accelerator ecosystem evolution28:42 500 vs. YC: scale as a weapon32:52 Globalizing the accelerator model35:04 Seed to secondaries: how it happened37:00 Scratching their own itch for liquidity38:10 The secondary market explained40:50 Types of secondaries43:29 Why would a VC sell a winner?46:07 Managing DPI as a late-stage manager47:02 The five horse framework49:15 Skipping the J curve51:44 Imperfect information as a feature55:22 Landmines: fraud, mismarked valuations57:00 VCs lie about valuations three ways57:58 Forward contracts and counterparty risk1:00:29 Credits

Southeast Asia's venture market is not in a downturn. It is in a structural winter, and mid-2026 is when that distinction stopped being academic. Kristie Neo returns to break down what is actually happening across the region: Singapore's IPO revival is real but is being carried by data centres and REITs rather than homegrown tech; allocators now rank Southeast Asia at the bottom of Asia behind China, India, Japan, Korea and ANZ; and a generation of growth-stage companies is being kept alive past the point where a merger or a wind-down would have served everyone better. Jeremy Au and Kristie also work through what could actually restart the funding ladder, from encouraging tech M&A and fixing university IP commercialisation, to tax incentives for angels and support for syndicate leads who can assemble the $1 million to $5 million rounds that Singapore currently cannot fill. If you are a founder raising in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand or Malaysia, or an LP trying to work out where capital goes next in Asia, this is the honest state of the market. Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/kristie-neo-southeast-asia-zombie-unicorns  BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #SingaporeIPO 00:00 Intro 01:00 Singapore's IPO revival and what is really lifting SGX 06:30 Safe haven status and the Indonesia allocation problem 09:34 Why Southeast Asia sits at the bottom of the allocator stack 14:58 A generation of zombie companies 18:07 The case for mergers, folds and consolidation 21:50 Fixing the funding ladder: who writes the first check 23:55 The IP commercialisation gap and university tech licensing 35:15 Rethinking how governments seed VC funds 41:24 Where can an LP put money today 45:00 Incentivising angels, syndicates and family offices 52:43 The information gap and parting thoughts

In this episode we break down YOUR teams and walk through the best trade ideas and structural fixes for the upcoming round. We'll look at must-have guns, cash cows, under-priced pods and obvious sells, plus how to navigate byes, injuries and role changes heading into Round 21.This episode is part of The Seven Tackle Set, the NRL SuperCoach podcast from SuperCoach Insight.PatreonIf you want the full experience and actual weekly edges, our Patreon is where everything lives. Exclusive podcasts and articles, weekly team reveals and trades, subscriber Q&A, consensus position rankings, premium Discord access, and direct 1-1 access to the hosts. Sign up here - https://www.patreon.com/12428569/joinJoin the number 1 stats provider for SuperCoach, Fantasy and Draftstars at rugbyleaguefantasypro.com. With SuperCoach changing the scoring, and making it impossible to see who averages what, RLFP is the best resource out there to get any scoring stat you need.Check out our other shows from 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1cFHlQFzCbxZL8bSACsca6S5ty-6Y11A&si=BT0gM1j82wbB2xbOUSE CODE: INSIGHT26 for 10% off.https://www.rugbyleaguefantasypro.comJoin our FREE discord here: https://discord.gg/6fDXWnBHMCGet your FREE consult with Ryan from Astute Newstead: https://tally.so/r/n005AQHostsSC BrainInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescbrain/Twitter: https://x.com/TheSCBrainSC WhispererInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/scwhisperer/Twitter: https://x.com/SCWhispererSC MattrixInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sc_mattrix/Twitter: https://x.com/SC_MattrixSeven Tackle SetInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/seventacklesetnrl/Twitter: https://x.com/7TackleSetNRLCHAPTERS0:00 Intro – Round 21 chaos, injuries and the Dolphins bye1:59 Team 1: The Wooden Spooners (Kenny) – Turbo out, Walsh in5:05 Lucas vs Tapine, and the Willison question7:41 Team 2: Ask Me the Zins (Jono) – seven DNPs to solve10:00 Do you burn the boost on Bostock?11:46 Hunting a value centre/wing under 600k15:52 Team 3: I'm Lykhan The King – 540k and eight trades18:01 Heilum Luki / Cody Ramsey to Dylan Lucas20:25 Captaincy review – Huddy, Haumole and the VC play21:12 Team 4: Louis – Sua to Walsh, Huddy to Duncan23:45 Is Reece Walsh the make-or-break trade?26:34 Wrap-up, start/sit content and the week aheadFind our socials, sponsors, all our shows, join our community and become a subscriber here: https://linktr.ee/InsightFantasySports Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Das erste Kapitel unserer Sommerserie mit den besten Future Weekly Deep Dives der letzten Jahre. In Episode #299 ging es um einen der größten Exits mit Österreich-Bezug. Und die Woche, in der fast alles vorbei war.Bernhard Niesner gründet 2008 in Madrid eine Sprachlernplattform, weil er auf einem Networking-Event zufällig neben dem Richtigen sitzt. Dreizehn Jahre später verkauft er Busuu um 385 Millionen Euro. Dazwischen liegt ein Jahr, in dem er in einem halbleeren Londoner Büro sitzt und zusieht, wie sein Unternehmen auseinanderfällt.Warum ihre eigene Uni die Idee abgelehnt hat und was er daraus über Awards gelernt hatDer Moment 2012: 50 Mitarbeiter, dann Downsizing auf 10, dann kündigen 30 weitere freiwilligWie Duolingo mit unbegrenztem Kapital genau ihre Position besetzt hatWarum er zwei Millionen von einem Tier-1-VC abgelehnt hat und Hansi Hansmann 300.000 gegeben hatWas ein Exit psychologisch mit einem macht, wenn man dreizehn Jahre drangehängt hatLearning: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Lifehack: If you don't ask, you don't get.Production: Hanna MoserMusik (Intro/Outro): www.sebastianegger.com

From the latest vinyl record collecting news to one of the biggest debates in music, this week's episode of Surface Noise is packed with opinions, hot takes, and plenty of opportunities for you to weigh in!   We kick things off with Current Events, covering the biggest headlines from the world of vinyl records, record collecting, audiophile releases, upcoming reissues, pressing news, and everything happening across the Vinyl Community.   Topics covered: (1) Iron Maiden sells their catalog and intellectual property. What is gained? What is lost? (2) Not one but TWO DSS (Definitive Sound Series) One-Step announcements, including one announced at the launch of a new album (new Beck record, "Ride Lonesome). (3) A rare record collection is going up for sale through another Discogs co-op, this time with Lance and his store, Permanent Records, out of Los Angeles.  (4) The grass-roots campaign in the VC led by Steve Westman to get the attention of Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page to reissue their catalog as Rhino Hi-Fidelity Audiophile releases. Will it work?   Then we tackle a fascinating question: What's the difference between talent and skill? Are the greatest musicians naturally gifted, or have they simply mastered their craft through relentless work? We'll name some of the biggest artists in music history and debate whether they're truly talented, exceptionally skilled, both... or neither. This topic is sure to offend (you've been warned). If you love vinyl records, record collecting, classic rock, jazz, soul, metal, punk, country, live concerts, music history, audiophile discussions, record stores, Discogs, rare records, album collecting, and passionate conversations about music, this is an episode you won't want to miss.   ⏬⏬⏬⏬   For more on host Concert Buddie: https://www.youtube.com/@ConcertBuddie https://concertbuddie.com IG: @concertbuddie   For more guest Kendall (aka Spin Doctor and His Vinyl Mayhem): https://www.youtube.com/@spindoctorandhisvinylmayhem   For more on guest Joel (Static ATX Records): https://staticatx.com IG: @staticatxrecords   For more on Chris (Groove Seeker): https://www.youtube.com/@Groove_Seeker IG: @thegrooveseeker   For more on Jason Roxas: https://www.youtube.com/@JasonRoxas   For more information on Vinyl Community Podcasts: https://vinylcommunitypodcasts.com   . . . .   Don't forget to visit FOTS (friends of the show) Vinyl Storage Solutions for the BEST sleeves to protect your best records (and your worst). Save 10% using the code(s) below: VCP10   For more information on the Spinz Vinyl App for IOS and taking your collecting game to the next level, get your free download here:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spinz-vinyl-record-scanner/id6758249212  

Cliff Sentell co-founded Compass Professional Health Services in Dallas in 2005, where he and two partners each put in $20,000 and bought a single server. They started in healthcare price transparency, reverse-engineering the cost of specific procedures on specific plans out of billions of insurance claims. The first idea, selling to consumers, flopped, because frustrated patients wouldn't pay $20 to $30 a month for guidance they saw as nice-to-have. So they pivoted to employers, who were footing the bill for their workers' poor healthcare decisions, and wrapped the data in a tech-enabled service: an app, "health pros," and a custom CRM. Compass reached about $1 million in revenue in three to four years, grew from $3 million to $10 million fast, and scaled to roughly $30–40 million with 200 employees and Fortune 100 clients, T-Mobile its largest. They turned down growth equity investors to keep control and equity, funding growth off their own balance sheet. In 2018 Alight acquired Compass — mostly cash with a multi-year earnout — and revenue tripled inside Alight within three years. Today Cliff is a partner at Cypress Growth Capital, where he invests non-dilutive capital to help bootstrapped SaaS founders growth faster. The Cypress thesis is simple: in the AI era, industry domain knowledge is the moat, not features. Key Takeaways Sell To Payers — Frustrated consumers won't pay; find the customer whose real problem costs them money. Protect Your Equity — Declining growth equity kept control and made the eventual exit worth multiples more. Exit Isn't The End — After the acquisition, Compass re-found product-market fit and tripled revenue inside Alight. Flexible Beats Restrictive — Royalty funding flexes with cash, avoiding debt covenants and the loss of control equity brings. Outcomes Over Models — Value created, not the recurring-revenue label, now decides whether a company scales. Quote from Cliff Sentel, Partner at Cypress Growth Capital "The biggest thing that's changed now with AI in SaaS is differentiation. If you're really good at something, if you have domain expertise that other people can't do, and you add AI to that, your moat of better knowledge and capabilities gets wider. "That's fundamentally our investment thesis right now at Cypress. Can we find companies that are really good at a very specific domain capability, that have proprietary data, that create the system of action their customers use — feeding that information back into the knowledge set and building the moat wider and wider? "This is a moment where knowledge and expertise are at a premium. Not software, not how much you've built. How much do you know? That's what you're capable of achieving."  Links Cliff Sentell on LinkedIn Cypress Growth Capital on LinkedIn Cypress Growth Capital website Compass Professional Health Services (now Alight) Podcast Sponsor – LaunchBay LaunchBay helps B2B software companies automate client onboarding and implementation so customers activate faster and everyone stays aligned. If your onboarding includes data collection, setup steps, approvals, training, or any level of customization, LaunchBay replaces the messy mix of emails, spreadsheets, and meetings with a clear, all-in-one onboarding system. Teams use LaunchBay to onboard clients faster, stay on top of follow-ups automatically, and deliver a smoother experience, without hiring more people or adding more tools. Visit launchbay.com/practical and get 25% off your first 3 months on any LaunchBay plan. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

Anthony Georgiades talks about the spike in venture capital funding, and how it is flowing into more select deals. He says much VC capital is focused on frontier AI names, but he talks about a refocus across sectors, by VC investors, on core distribution, unit economics, and revenue, when deploying capital. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Boston. San Francisco. Beijing? The global biotech industry has long been concentrated in a handful of cities. But which emerging hubs could become dominant forces in biotech in the decades ahead? In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce Biotech’s Darren Incorvaia and Will Maddox discuss a new Fierce special report identifying five cities with the potential to become major forces in the global biotech industry. Did your favorite city make the cut? Listen to find out. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Top emerging biotech hubs in 2026 As US lawmakers increase scrutiny of Chinese trials, industry fears ‘huge distraction and expense’ British biotech VC funding shows ‘signs of recovery,’ but IPO rebound yet to materialize Could Basel be the next Boston? How the Swiss biotech hub is quietly raising its game This week's episode is sponsored by IQVIA Biotech. Built for biotech innovators, IQVIA Biotech is a full-service CRO, designed for agility, fast decisions, and the urgency needed for emerging biopharma. With dedicated teams and deep therapeutic expertise, we help move programs forward with focus and confidence. Visit IQVIABiotech.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the course of the past decade, quantum computing (or the concept thereof) has ridden hype cycles, just like AI or the internet writ large.  In the past year, however, as governments across the globe have committed north of $50 billion to the sector, and billions more have poured into quantum startups, the technology is finding itself in the midst of a particularly dramatic hype wave.  Yet even as the money pours in, quantum remains a nascent technology that hasn't seen any use in the real world. Among other applications, it offers enormous potential to revolutionize material discovery and molecular design, and to turbo charge clean energy tech. But how close we are to actually moving from isolated chips in a lab to bringing these real-world commercial applications to life remains a bit of a mystery. In this episode, Shayle speaks to Bob Sorensen, chief analyst for quantum computing at Hyperion Research. They dig past the VC hype to map out the current state of quantum hardware, look at the timeline for fault-tolerant computing, and evaluate where the true performance gains lie. Shayle and Bob discuss: - Why recent claims of "quantum advantage" are often based on artificial constructs without much real-world relevance - The difference between physical and logical qubits, and why reducing the "noise" is a defining hurdle for the hardware industry - How data-driven AI models and science-driven quantum architectures complement each other differently in materials discovery - Why 85 independent hardware vendors are far too many for the current ecosystem, and how market consolidation might impact investor confidence Resources - Catalyst: Quantum computing could be a critical climate solution - Catalyst: Can AI revolutionize materials discovery? - Latitude Media: Can quantum computing help solve the load growth problem? Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. This episode of Catalyst is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. Peak season puts every grid to the test — and the utilities that pass are the ones that built flexible capacity before they needed it. EnergyHub works with more than 170 utilities to coordinate 2.5 million devices and 3.4 gigawatts of dispatchable flexibility through a single platform designed to perform when it counts most. See what that looks like at EnergyHub.com.  Catalyst is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom Energy fuel cells deliver affordable, ultra-reliable onsite power for hospitals, utilities, and data centers – at speed and at scale. Learn more by visiting BloomEnergy.com.

特朗普政府收紧移民政策、暂停难民接收后，南非白人却成了少数例外：一些人以「难民」身份进入美国，另一些人拿着农业签证，来到密西西比的农场工作。为什么偏偏是他们？ 今年 4 月，刘骁骞前往密西西比州中部的农业地区。在黄昏的加油站和餐馆里，穿着卡其色短裤的南非白人劳工陆续出现，聚在吧台旁喝酒；有人从早上 6 点工作到晚上 8 点，握手时指甲缝里还沾满泥土。更高的收入之外，围绕本地就业、工资差异和种族问题的争议也随之而来，他们中的一些人也开始重新考虑是否要留在美国。 本期节目是一场与我们的老朋友、驻美记者刘骁骞的午后漫谈，从世界杯的美国观察到他在密西西比的采访，聊聊南非白人为何来到美国，以及特朗普如何将他们放进一套关于「白人受到威胁」的政治叙事。 本期人物 刘骁骞，资深驻外记者、非虚构写作者 徐涛，声动活泼联合创始人 主要话题 [02:25] 从世界杯「消失」到为一张红牌出面：特朗普把「美国例外」带进球场 [13:10] 在密西西比寻找「从天而降」的南非白人劳工 [19:09] 与雇主绑定的农业签证：当地失业黑人为什么被挡在农场外 [24:38] 是逃离迫害的「难民」，还是寻找高薪的经济移民 [30:54] 为什么偏偏是南非白人：MAGA 与「白人受到威胁」的平行叙事 [36:04] 工资更高却难以融入：换了国家，他们仍然面临相似的移民困境 [45:05] 融入现场还是保持距离：驻外记者如何理解另一个美国 延伸解读 洛杉矶的韩语世界杯宣传广告 图源：Engelsman in Afrika，《Boer Attire: The Lowdown》（2011） Boer Attire: The Lowdown Thousands of Africans flee anti-migrant South Africa Trump poised to expand refugee program for white South Africans 也可以在小红书账号「徐涛-声东击西」看到更多相关内容和幕后 给声东击西投稿 「声东击西」一直在寻找来自不同社会和群体的真实声音。我们曾经采访过为特朗普竞选生产 MAGA 帽子的中国制造商、记录过七位在美国大选中经历起伏的华人个体，也讲述了委内瑞拉青年的故事。 如果你也有一些特别的经历、观察或想法，不论是亲身体验的故事，还是你在某个行业、社区中的所见所闻，都欢迎你向我们投稿。 你的声音可能出现在未来的节目当中，我们非常期待你的分享！ 投稿入口 「Knock Knock 世界」 佛得角为什么成了世界杯最大的黑马？https://sourl.co/CWRTHn 在「Knock Knock 世界」里，听到全球新鲜事，还能成为「全球观察员」，报选题、参加选题会。2026 年的节目正在持续更新，有4期免费试听，苹果播客上还可以还【按月】随时订阅节目。 加入我们 声动活泼团队目前正在招聘内容监制、商业运营经理、商业发展经理和实习生，如果你也对播客行业的内容制作和商务运营感兴趣，欢迎投递！ 详情点击招聘入口：加入声动活泼（在招职位速览） 幕后制作 后期：赛德 运营：George 设计：饭团 实习编辑：翔宇 商务合作 声动活泼商业化小队，点击链接可直达商务会客厅，也可发送邮件至 business@shengfm.cn 联系我们。 关于声动活泼 「用声音碰撞世界」，声动活泼致力于为人们提供源源不断的思考养料。 我们还有这些播客：声东击西、What's Next｜科技早知道、商业WHY酱、跳进兔子洞&跳进兔子洞第三季、吃喝玩乐了不起、不止金钱、泡腾 VC、反潮流俱乐部 欢迎在即刻、微博等社交媒体上与我们互动，搜索声动活泼即可找到我们。 也欢迎你写邮件和我们联系，邮箱地址是：ting@sheng.fm 获取更多和声动活泼有关的讯息，你也可以扫码添加声小音，在节目之外和我们保持联系！ Special Guest: 刘骁骞.

The beauty industry disruptor that brought clean beauty into the mainstream is back with a shiny new brand concept.  Gregg Renfrew, the entrepreneur behind Beautycounter and Counter, is launching her third beauty brand on September 1 in an effort to reach consumers ages 14 to 30.   The brand is called Beecee and, in a lot of ways, is an iteration of now-defunct Beautycounter. The line will launch direct-to-consumer with lip gloss, skin balm and face mist at premium price points. The company is currently in the midst of a community meet-up tour — hosting events with Renfrew in Nashville, New York, Chicago and Charleston, among other cities — to recruit and mobilize excited young brand advocates who can earn a commission on sales.  But do young people care about clean beauty? “The answer is unequivocally yes,” Renfrew told Glossy. “I've actually been really surprised by how many of the young women with whom we've been interacting have said that this really matters to them.”  In 2013, Renfrew launched Beautycounter, a first-of-its-kind beauty business built off ingredient transparency, independent sellers and ‘boots on the ground' industry advocacy in Washington, D.C. The concept struck a nerve and forever shifted the beauty industry toward better transparency.  But Renfrew was very early to the "clean beauty" wave — something that, today, is very much table stakes for new brands. This has presented its own challenges for Renfrew's ongoing success.  “It's both a blessing and a curse to be the leader and the disruptor in any industry at any moment in time,” she said. “In some ways, I have the luxury now of coming back in through Counter and Beecee to see all the things I did well and all the things I didn't do well, of which there were many, and iterate on those models to do them better than I did before.” Beautycounter officially shuttered in 2024, giving Renfrew the opportunity to buy back her IP from the VC firm The Carlyle Group. Renfrew then parlayed her bestselling formulas and clean beauty mission into Counter, her brand launched DTC in 2025 to serve women 35 and older.  Glossy Beauty podcast host Lexy Lebsack sat down with Renfrew to discuss Beecee, the future of clean beauty, how to best reach Gen Z and why the best days of specialty beauty retail are behind us. 

Most founders treat fundraising like a necessary evil — something to endure, survive, and move past so they can get back to building. Jason Fishman, founder and CEO of Digital Niche Agency, has spent a decade proving that's exactly backwards.With over 500 deals under his belt and campaigns that have collectively generated hundreds of millions in revenue and capital raised, Jason breaks down how modern founders are using regulated investment crowdfunding (Reg CF, Reg A+, and Reg D) not just to fill their bank accounts, but to build armies of shareholders, brand advocates, and strategic partners. The real asset isn't the money — it's the 20,000 investors who now want you to win and will tell everyone they know.This episode is a masterclass in treating your capital raise as a full-blown marketing campaign.Key Takeaways4:14 — How Jason discovered fundraising is a marketing exercise. Working at a social gaming company in LA, he created 75 versions of a pitch deck and saw firsthand the inefficiencies — and the upside — of a well-executed raise.7:01 — Why the warm-intro VC mindset is outdated. The traditional approach limits founders to who they know. Reg CF and Reg A+ let you target anyone — including non-accredited investors — and build a shareholder base of tens of thousands.8:48 — The planning principle most founders ignore. If you need funds in a year, start today. Fundraising isn't a sprint — it requires seeding relationships and building infrastructure long before you launch.10:48 — The traffic math behind a successful Reg CF campaign. You need 50,000–100,000 visits to an offering page to generate ~1,000 investments. Understanding digital marketing metrics — not just dollars raised — is the real measure of momentum.14:37 — Reg D vs. Reg CF vs. Reg A+ — how to choose. A clear breakdown of all three exemptions: who can invest, minimum investment levels, filing complexity, timelines, and when each makes sense for your stage.22:05 — How crowdfunding creates negotiating leverage with VCs. A graphene-industry client hit their full $5M Reg CF raise in 43 days — then used that crowd as a "waiting list" to walk away from unfavorable VC terms.23:52 — Which industries work best for community-driven raises. It's not just consumer brands. B2B companies, biotech, modular homes, and AI companies are all succeeding — what matters is a compelling market narrative.28:34 — Storytelling is the real conversion lever. The 3-1-3 method: break your pitch into 3 sentences, compress to 1 sentence, then distill to 3 words. If someone can't repeat your idea at a coffee shop, they won't invest or refer.36:55 — The #1 mistake founders make when marketing a raise. Not starting early enough — and assuming the offering page will do the work. The top 10% of deals get the majority of investments; the bottom 50% do no marketing at all.40:28 — The right vs. wrong way to use AI in your raise marketing. AI slop is rampant. The rule: don't use it unless it's better than human. AI accelerates experts — it doesn't replace them.42:47 — The future of capital formation is large crowds, fast. Prediction markets, digital communities, and A-list endorsements point toward a world where raises fill overnight — whoever builds the audience first wins.Tweetable Quotes"Twenty thousand investors isn't twenty thousand line items on a cap table. It's twenty thousand people who now want you to win — and who will tell everyone they know." — Jason Fishman"The community, the audience, is actually the most valuable part. It is a marketing exercise well beyond the funds raised." — Jason Fishman"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Look at fundraising as already accomplished — then figure out the steps to get there." — Jason Fishman"The fewer words used, the better. People need to be able to understand what you do so well that they feel comfortable explaining it to someone else." — Jason Fishman"AI slop is far too prevalent. Don't use it unless it's better than human — for any software, any tool, any AI." — Jason Fishman"If I scroll your offering page and the headlines don't sell me, I'm gone. It could be the most amazing company ever — but the storytelling sold you short." — Jason Fishman"Raise money like you're building a following, not begging for a bailout." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership Lessons1. Your investors are your first growth channel — treat them that way. The companies winning with community raises aren't just collecting capital. They're recruiting advocates. Every shareholder is a potential referral source, customer, and word-of-mouth engine. Build your raise strategy like a customer acquisition funnel, not a one-time event.2. Plan your raise 12 months before you need the money. Fundraising has a long cycle — regulatory filings, audience warming, relationship seeding. Founders who wait until they need capital have already lost the game. Start building your investor community before your runway demands it.3. The offering page is your highest-stakes landing page. Optimize it like one. You need 50,000–100,000 visits to generate ~1,000 investments. Apply e-commerce conversion thinking: glance test, bold headlines, social proof above the fold, and clear immediacy (time-limited share prices, investment bonuses). If the headlines don't convert, the product never gets a chance.4. Simplicity isn't dumbing down — it's the highest form of clarity. Use the 3-1-3 method: 3 sentences → 1 sentence → 3 words. If your investor can explain your company at a dinner table, they will. If they can't, they won't invest — and they definitely won't refer anyone. Complexity kills conversion.5. Crowdfunding creates leverage — don't give it away too early. A crowd of investors is a negotiating asset. Founders with a demonstrated ability to raise from retail investors can walk away from unfavorable VC terms and return to the crowd. This only works if you've built the infrastructure before you need the leverage.6. Diversify your capital-raise strategy the same way you diversify your marketing stack. Don't put all your eggs in one basket — not in SEO, not in one broker-dealer, not in one VC relationship. The founders who succeed build multiple traffic sources, multiple audience touchpoints, and multiple investor pipelines working simultaneously. One channel is fragility. Multiple channels are momentum.Guest Resourcesjfishman@digitalnicheagency.comdigitalnicheagency.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jafishman/Episode SponsorThe Futureproof Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfkXKUPZ5xuOqMPR7_gzGybncTtavyR1NThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel'Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/https://jeffmains.com/books/SaaS Fuel ResourcesWebsite - https://championleadership.com/Jeff Mains on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkmains/Twitter - https://twitter.com/jeffkmainsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesaasguy/Instagram - https://instagram.com/jeffkmains

Despite all my rage… In this episode, Mark and Dan discuss Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #31, which is legacy issue #995. This issue was written by Joe Kelly. The cover features artwork by Patrick Gleason and Dean White. The interiors feature artwork from artist Patrick Gleason, colors by Marcio Menyz, and, of course, letters by VC's Joe Caramagna. This issue was first released on June 18th, 2026. Rick Coste edited this episode. Alex Galucki edited the video version of this podcast. Our artwork is handcrafted by artists Ron Frenz, Nick Cagnetti, and the late Sal Buscema. Our theme songs were produced by Ryland Bojack, Tony Thaxton, and Spider-Maj. Our animated introduction to the show is by Josh Sutton of Panels to Pixels. Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOPCnjzQZNViyEnoOuckaVQ We would also love to see you join our Amazing Spider-Slack community board. If you'd like to join in on our amazing conversations, click this link to get started: https://join.slack.com/t/amazingspider/shared_invite/zt-42tsfhs2-yBaH6KkRmOWiW_8gCf9SmQ This week's Patreon podcasts include a review of Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #32, our discussion of the two Spider-Man/Superman comics, and two episodes of the Whatever a Spider Can Diaries, which document Dan’s process of writing a book about Spider-Man. If you'd like to follow along with our reviews as they are released, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/superiorspidertalk Read our B-Title reviews, collecting memories, and more in the Amazing Spider-Talk Substack! http://www.amazingspider.substack.com You can email questions to our show at amazingspidertalk@gmail.com or by clicking here. You can also BUY MARK'S BOOK, 100 Things Spider-Man Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. The post The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #31 / LGY #995 – REVIEW appeared first on Amazing Spider-Talk.

Anika sits down with Julie Ellis to explore the inflection point every founder dreads—the moment you've built the business, achieved the goal, and suddenly realize you have no idea who you are without it. Discover why selling an eight-figure business can feel like grief disguised as success, how delegation is the real bottleneck between scaling and plateauing, and the counterintuitive truth that derails most women entrepreneurs: it's never about having a bigger vision. It's about believing you're worthy of one—and whether you have the systems and people around you to make it real.In This EpisodeFrom dance to finance to founder: How an unexpected career path led Julie to solve a problem every parent knew existedThe basement to eight figures: Building Mabel's Labels from a 300 sq ft basement in Hamilton, Ontario to an internationally recognized brand—with zero industry experienceGrassroots growth and celebrity endorsements: How a tiny magazine feature led to Daily Candy recognition and a life-changing mention from Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The ViewThe art of delegation and scaling: Why most founders plateau and what separates those who scale to eight figures from those stuck at product-market fitThe post-exit identity crisis: Navigating grief, imposter syndrome, and gratitude after selling to Avery Products—and why the 90-day rest period changed everythingBig Gorgeous Goals: Why "gorgeous" matters as much as "big"—and how to chase ambitious goals while actually enjoying the journeyThe confidence gap and funding inequity: Why only 2.9% of venture capital goes to women entrepreneurs, and what Julie is doing to change thatPocket Coach: The asynchronous coaching model that keeps entrepreneurial momentum alive between sessionsBuilding community for women founders: The Big Gorgeous Goals podcast and investing in women-led businessesLeading through uncertainty: Why the biggest breakthroughs happen in times of changeTimestamps00:00 Introduction: The woman who solved every parent's labeling problem02:01 An unexpected founder: Dance degree, 15 years in finance, and the moment everything changed04:00 The basement days: One year of research, zero industry experience, and a team of misfits06:28 From tiny magazine feature to Elizabeth Hasselbeck's endorsement on The View11:06 The biggest gap between founders who plateau and those who scale: Delegation and decision-making12:49 The acquisition: Selling Mabel's Labels after nearly 13 years—and why it was the right time17:29 The post-sale emotions: Grief, imposter syndrome, and the gratitude sandwich19:07 The 90-day rest and the identity crisis: Why "I'm not qualified" became the biggest lie22:22 The coaching pivot: Why certification gave her the "add" she was looking for23:18 Writing during the pandemic: How a daily writing group turned a book idea into Big Gorgeous Goals25:37 Why "gorgeous" matters: Dancing toward your goals instead of grinding toward them28:01 Creating white space: Why unstructured time is where the best ideas live31:33 The confidence gap and funding inequity: 2.9% of VC goes to women; only 2% of women-founded businesses reach $1M33:45 Pocket Coach: Asynchronous coaching for keeping momentum alive between sessions35:52 The Big Gorgeous Goals podcast: Storytelling for women entrepreneurs39:02 Her ideal coaching clients: Low seven-figure founders scaling to $5-10M40:01 What's next: New keynotes and workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty41:38 Her guiding quote: Rabindranath Tagore's "Reach high for stars lie hidden in you"Key Insights & TakeawaysInsight 1: Unmet Market Needs Beat Industry ExpertiseJulie and her co-founders had no background in supply chain, marketing, or distribution—just a teacher, a financial planner, a lawyer, and a printing expert. What they had was a real problem to solve and a growth mindset. Expertise can be learned; identifying genuine customer pain points cannot.Insight 2: Delegation and Decision-Making Are the Scaling BottleneckThe biggest gap between founders who plateau and those who scale to eight figures isn't product or market—it's the ability to delegate and make decisions. Most founders get caught in the "I should have just done it myself" trap, which prevents them from reaching the next level.Insight 3: Post-Exit Grief Is Real—And Worth ProcessingSelling your business is an achievement, but it's also a loss. Julie experienced imposter syndrome, grief, and identity confusion after the sale. Her 90-day rest period—where she did nothing—was transformative. The emotional work matters as much as the financial outcome.Insight 4: White Space Is Where Creativity LivesThe best ideas don't come at your desk—they come in the shower, on a walk, flying on a plane. Creating intentional unstructured time requires saying no to things and protecting space fiercely, even though it feels counterintuitive.Insight 5: Women Entrepreneurs Face Systemic Funding and Confidence GapsOnly 2.9% of venture capital goes to women, yet women-led businesses outperform on efficiency and team management. The solution isn't just funding—it's mentoring, networks, and other women believing in women.Insight 6: Asynchronous Coaching Keeps Momentum AliveTraditional coaching sessions every two weeks create gaps where momentum dies. Pocket Coach's voicemail-based model lets entrepreneurs push through decisions in real time, maintaining the energy they need to scale.About Julie EllisJulie Ellis is a leadership coach, author, investor, and podcast host specializing in helping women entrepreneurs scale from seven to eight figures and beyond. She co-founded Mabel's Labels in a 300 sq ft basement in Hamilton, Ontario in 2003, growing it into an internationally recognized eight-figure brand before selling to Avery Products in 2016.After a 90-day rest and a brief stint managing 135 people in corporate retail, Julie pursued coaching certification and discovered her true calling: helping other entrepreneurs navigate the inflection points she'd experienced. She is the author of Big Gorgeous Goals: Bold Women Achieve Great Things, which features interviews with 16 women entrepreneurs who've scaled beyond the comfort zone.Today, Julie invests in women-led businesses, hosts the Big Gorgeous Goals podcast, offers one-on-one and asynchronous coaching through Pocket Coach, and delivers keynotes and workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty.Resources & Links MentionedJulie Ellis's EcosystemBig Gorgeous Goals (Book) — Hybrid published with Page Two, distributed through MacmillanBig Gorgeous Goals Workbook — Self-published companion guideBig Gorgeous Goals Podcast — Stories from seven and eight-figure female foundersPocket Coach — Asynchronous voicemail-based coaching for entrepreneursConnect with Julie EllisOpen to: Keynotes, workshops on leading bold teams through uncertainty, coaching, and investing in women-led businessesLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-ellis/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejulieellisWebsite: www.julieellis.caSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Small teams with smart AI can solve problems no one imagined before. In this episode, I spoke with Zhen Lu, CEO of Runpod, about the rapidly evolving AI landscape and the future of software development. Zhen Lu shared how Runpod is empowering engineers to train AI models tailored to specific business needs, improve efficiency, and reduce waste. We also discussed his founder journey, the power of co-founder alignment, global innovation outside traditional tech hubs, and the importance of human accountability in AI-driven organizations. Here are the highlights: ● Runpod builds AI developer infrastructure. The platform supports tailored AI workloads, enabling businesses to efficiently train models specific to their needs. ● AI is changing how software is built. Engineers are challenged to rethink software design, not just accelerate existing processes, creating new opportunities for innovation. ● Efficiency and sustainability matter. Fine-tuning smaller, focused models reduces resource waste, energy consumption, and operational costs compared to massive off-the-shelf models. ● Co-founder alignment drives success. Implicit trust, complementary skills, and low ego between Zhen and his co-founder have accelerated decision-making and execution. ●     Global networks and bootstrapping foster innovation. Scarcity encourages creativity, and building strong relationships outside Silicon Valley has enabled Runpod to grow and support AI developers worldwide.   About the guest: Zhen Lu and co-founder Pardeep Singh started by running crypto mining rigs out of their New Jersey basements. When Ethereum's "The Merge" threatened to make that obsolete, they pivoted,  converting the rigs into AI servers. As corporate developers at Comcast building ML projects, they saw firsthand that the GPU developer experience was, in Zhen's words, "just hot garbage." That insight became Runpod.   Launched in early 2022, Runpod offers fast, developer-friendly GPU infrastructure: clean APIs, CLI tools, serverless options, and easy configuration. Rather than the traditional VC route, they debuted on Reddit with "Hey Reddit, give us your worst" — and got "please take my money" in return. They went on to earn validation from Hugging Face co-founder Julien Chaumond and a seed round led by Dell Technologies Capital, hitting $120M ARR, 10 billion serverless requests, and serves ~900,000 developers across 31 global regions.   Connect with Zhen Lu: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeen/ Website: https://www.runpod.io/ Connect with Allison: Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/ Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/    #CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last Friday, Europe's tech ecosystem was abuzz with the news AI godfather Yann LeCun was launching an AI VC firm.Then, hours later, he quit.This week on the podcast, reporter Maya Dharampal-Hornby joins host Freya Pratty to discuss the curious tale of Yann LeCun's shortly-lived firm, Extelligence Invest. The pair chat about where Extelligence was going to invest, who was involved and why Yann might have left the fund.The former Meta chief AI scientist still has a lot on his plate. Earlier this year, he raised $1bn for his Paris-based world models startup AMI Labs, after targeting $500m. He also advises London and Luxembourg-based VC firm Hiro Capital.Read our reporting on Extelligence here: https://sifted.eu/articles/yann-lecun-new-vc-firmSign up to our daily newsletter here: https://sifted.eu/newsletters

7 月 7 日至 8 日，北约峰会在土耳其安卡拉举行。美国总统特朗普在会议开场就因为军费问题向盟友施压，威胁切断与西班牙的贸易，甚至再次提起格陵兰岛的主权归属。随着「美国优先」与「欧洲自主」理念的碰撞，本次会议成了我们观察「北约是否已经脑死亡？」争论的关键窗口。 从会议内容上看，理念的碰撞似乎并不意味着联盟走向瓦解。从人工智能与军事能力的进一步结合，到美欧围绕防务支出、军工产业和全球责任展开新的博弈，北约正在从传统军事同盟转向一个覆盖安全、科技与产业链的复合型联盟。美欧一方面在价值观和战略选择上分歧加深，另一方面又在现实安全上彼此依赖。跨大西洋关系由此进入冷战结束以来最重要的一轮再平衡，而这种既分化、又合作的调整，又将如何影响未来的全球地缘格局？ 这一期节目，我们邀请到清华大学战略与安全研究中心副研究员孙成昊，带我们透视安卡拉峰会背后的权力逻辑，并探讨在这个纵横捭阖的新时代，美欧关系又将如何重塑。 本期人物 孙成昊，清华大学战略与安全研究中心副研究员 徐涛，声动活泼联合创始人 主要话题 [04:53] 「交付峰会」：三大背景与三项实质成果 [09:22] 乌克兰角色的转变：从「安全消费者」到「安全贡献者」 [14:19] 欧洲内部的分歧图谱：中东欧、法国、德国、南欧各自的算盘 [23:59] 特朗普的一贯逻辑：从「责任分担」到「责任转移」 [38:02] 「西方反对西方」：意识形态裂缝下的美欧关系还回得去吗？ [48:01] 面对欧美关系的再平衡，中国如何寻找议题中的博弈空间？ 延伸解读 Nato's carnival of Trumpian caprice 也可以在小红书账号「徐涛-声东击西」看到更多相关内容和幕后 给声东击西投稿 「声东击西」一直在寻找来自不同社会和群体的真实声音。我们曾经采访过为特朗普竞选生产 MAGA 帽子的中国制造商、记录过七位在美国大选中经历起伏的华人个体，也讲述了委内瑞拉青年的故事。 如果你也有一些特别的经历、观察或想法，不论是亲身体验的故事，还是你在某个行业、社区中的所见所闻，都欢迎你向我们投稿。 你的声音可能出现在未来的节目当中，我们非常期待你的分享！ 投稿入口 加入我们 声动活泼团队目前正在招聘内容监制、商业运营经理、商业发展经理和实习生，如果你也对播客行业的内容制作和商务运营感兴趣，欢迎投递！ 详情点击招聘入口：加入声动活泼（在招职位速览） 幕后制作 后期：赛德 运营：George 设计：饭团 实习编辑：翔宇 商务合作 声动活泼商业化小队，点击链接可直达商务会客厅，也可发送邮件至 business@shengfm.cn 联系我们。 关于声动活泼 「用声音碰撞世界」，声动活泼致力于为人们提供源源不断的思考养料。 我们还有这些播客：声东击西、What's Next｜科技早知道、商业WHY酱、跳进兔子洞&跳进兔子洞第三季、吃喝玩乐了不起、不止金钱、泡腾 VC、反潮流俱乐部 欢迎在即刻、微博等社交媒体上与我们互动，搜索声动活泼即可找到我们。 也欢迎你写邮件和我们联系，邮箱地址是：ting@sheng.fm 获取更多和声动活泼有关的讯息，你也可以扫码添加声小音，在节目之外和我们保持联系！

In this episode, we sit down with Ann Miura-Ko, Co-Founding Partner of Floodgate and one of Silicon Valley's earliest investors in companies like Lyft, Twitch, Twitter, and Okta. After nearly two decades investing in founders at the earliest stages of company building, Ann shares how she identifies exceptional entrepreneurs long before the rest of the market. We discuss how Twitch almost never happened, the early rivalry between Uber and Lyft, why the best entrepreneurs are truth seekers, the future of AI-pilled organizations, what teaching has revealed about curiosity and character, and how Ann thinks about investing in the next generation of world-changing companies. If you're interested in startups, venture capital, AI, or understanding how the best investors think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-5&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/d1fb3aec-f1c5-4681-b763-af05df15ac3d-008umkv4Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Joel Brewer, founder and CEO of Brewer Digital, joins Jeff Mains on Future Proof Founder to cut through the AI hype and get practical about what it actually means to build software in 2025. Joel brings a developer's perspective to a conversation that's usually dominated by non-technical voices — and the result is a grounded, honest look at how early-stage SaaS founders can work with engineering teams, avoid costly mistakes, and use AI as a tool rather than a crutch.From rescuing failed offshore builds to helping non-technical founders navigate Claude Code, Joel shares what he's learned from 13 years in the startup trenches. The conversation covers sandbox environments, the evolving definition of a senior engineer, the difference between bootstrapped and VC-backed engineering cultures, and why clear goals — not shiny tools — are still the most valuable thing in any founder's arsenal.Key Takeaways3:46 — Joel shares how getting fired launched his 13-year journey building Brewer Digital from freelance Rails work to a full software development agency for early-stage founders.6:59 — Goals before tools. Joel's antidote to AI-driven chaos: go back to basics. Know where you're headed before you pick up a tool. AI accelerates whatever you point it at — including anxiety.11:36 — The sandbox lesson. Real-world story: a client went rogue with Claude Code and made changes directly to a production database, thinking they were just experimenting. Sandboxes exist for a reason.14:15 — The new definition of a senior engineer. From Google I/O: senior engineers used to be defined by what they could build that others couldn't. Now, they're defined by what they understand that others don't — especially critical as AI writes more code.15:17 — The construction metaphor. AI doesn't eliminate the need for engineers — it expands what's possible to build. We went from huts to skyscrapers with better tools. The same shift is happening in software.19:36 — Communication breaks before code does. When Joel steps into a failed project, the first red flag he looks for isn't the codebase — it's whether communication between founders and engineers has broken down.21:08 — Optimize for the right thing. Feedback loops are powerful — but only if you've already defined what you're optimizing for. Shipping features faster means nothing if the features aren't moving the needle.24:21 — The Southwest Airlines principle. Joel shares a CEO quote about the real goal of flying a plane — not the technical operation, but getting someone home for Christmas. The same applies to product teams: the feature is never the goal.25:52 — Bootstrapped vs. VC-backed engineering cultures. Bootstrappers tend toward capital efficiency and caution. VC-backed companies optimize for velocity and growth at scale. Different goals, different cultures — both valid depending on the mission.30:21 — What gets lost when AI replaces people. When you replace humans with agents, you lose humanity and irreplaceable individual creativity. Joel argues that sitting with a notebook for 15 minutes can still outperform an hour with AI for generating genuinely inspired thinking.33:36 — Advice for non-technical founders hiring developers. Know your goals for the product before the first engineering conversation. Engineers love solving problems — if you don't guide them with clear goals, they'll solve the wrong one brilliantly.35:03 — The future of founder-engineering relationships. AI removes code-writing as the bottleneck. The new bottleneck is communication — rapid testing, alignment, and iteration between product, founder, and engineering.38:24 — Complexity kills growth. AI tools are excellent at adding complexity. Founders who learn to fight that tendency — preferring simplicity and brevity — will have a structural advantage.Tweetable Quotes"AI becomes a tool when you know where you're headed. If you don't know your destination, AI just helps you get lost faster." — Joel Brewer"A senior engineer used to be someone who could build what others couldn't. Now, they're someone who understands what others don't." — Joel Brewer"The sandbox isn't optional. You can ask Claude to change your production database, and it will. Enthusiastically." — Joel Brewer"Complexity kills growth. AI is really good at adding complexity. That's a problem worth solving on purpose." — Joel Brewer"I sat down with a notebook for 15 minutes and had more genuinely inspired ideas than an hour with AI. People can still think. That's not nothing." — Joel Brewer"If your imagination is unlimited, AI doesn't replace you — it just lets you build the skyscraper instead of the hut." — Joel Brewer"We're not very good at predicting the future. And when there's a lot of money involved in selling a specific version of it, that's worth keeping in mind." — Joel BrewerSaaS Leadership Lessons1. Start with goals, not tools. The most expensive AI mistakes happen when founders adopt a tool and then search for a use case. Reverse the order: define what you're trying to accomplish, then evaluate whether AI actually serves that goal. Tool-first thinking creates fast, sophisticated chaos.2. Build a sandbox culture — literally and figuratively. Non-technical founders experimenting with AI-assisted development tools need guardrails. In software, that means sandboxed environments separated from production. In leadership, it means creating space for experimentation that doesn't put the business at risk. Permission to explore is only valuable when the blast radius is contained.3. The new competitive edge is understanding, not output. As AI commoditizes the ability to generate code, copy, and content, the strategic advantage shifts to comprehension — people who understand why something works, what the architecture actually does, and when not to build something at all. Leaders who can explain the machine are worth more than leaders who can only operate it.4. Communication is the bottleneck AI just uncovered. Before AI, writing code was slow enough that communication gaps could hide. Now that code can be written in hours, the limiting factor is alignment — between founders and engineers, product and market, vision and execution. Founders who invest in communication infrastructure will outpace those who just invest in faster tools.5. Tie every feature to a business outcome — before the first line of code. Engineers are problem-solvers. They will build what you put in front of them. If the problem you hand them isn't connected to a business goal, they'll build the wrong thing exceptionally well. Make the goal explicit, measurable, and understood by the whole team before any work begins.6. The human element isn't a liability — protect it. When every company is using similar AI stacks, the differentiator becomes the people. Human creativity — particularly the kind that emerges from unstructured thinking time — is increasingly rare and undervalued. The best leaders will use AI to create more space for deep thinking, not less.Guest Resourcesjoel@brewerdigital.com www.brewerdigital.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-brewer-69680037/ Episode SponsorThe Futureproof Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfkXKUPZ5xuOqMPR7_gzGybncTtavyR1NThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel'Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/https://jeffmains.com/books/SaaS Fuel ResourcesWebsite - https://championleadership.com/Jeff Mains on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkmains/Twitter - https://twitter.com/jeffkmainsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesaasguy/Instagram - https://instagram.com/jeffkmains

What separates the investors and founders who thrive in moments of radical change from those who don't? According to Alec Litowitz, it isn't intelligence or emotional maturity - it's adaptability.Alec is the founder of Magnetar Capital, one of the most respected multi-strategy hedge funds in the world, and the founder and managing partner of QStar Capital, his single family office and investment platform. Over a 30-year career that began at J.P. Morgan, continued as a founding partner and global head of equities at Citadel, and culminated in building Magnetar from scratch, Alec developed a framework he calls the Adaptability Quotient - AQ - for making decisions under genuine uncertainty. His book, The Adaptability Quotient, publishes September 15th.Today, through QStar, Alec invests with no fund mandate and no LP constraints - thematically across both public and private markets, in everything from CoreWeave and SpaceX to top-tier VC and PE managers. That unconstrained vantage point, combined with three decades of pattern recognition across market regimes, gives him a distinctive lens on where venture capital sits inside the current moment of change.Nick and Beezer dig into the core distinction Alec draws between risk and uncertainty - a difference he argues most investors collapse at their peril - and how the AQ framework maps directly onto how founders build, how VCs back them, and how the venture ecosystem itself needs to adapt. They also get into what he calls the second cognitive revolution: why AI isn't just a new tool but a system-level regime change, what that means for the capital stack and liquidity timelines in venture, and why the answer for smaller players isn't resistance - it's remapping.Quotes"What entrepreneurs get paid for is not risk. They get paid for uncertainty, for resolving the uncertainty. People may stay at some stranger's house or they may not, but I don't know the probability. If it's high, I have a business. If it's zero, I don't have a business. Let's go resolve that probability. And when someone does a startup and tests it, raises money, probes around it, and gets feedback loops - the answer is yes. That's what they get paid for, for resolving that uncertainty."Time Stamps00:00 What Entrepreneurs Actually Get Paid For00:31 Introducing Alec Litowitz: Citadel, Magnetar, and QStar02:49 Three Career Chapters and the Through Line: A Systematic Approach to Uncertainty06:09 The Book: Why Alec Wrote The Adaptability Quotient07:29 AQ Defined: Why IQ and EQ Aren't Enough When the Frame Itself Changes9:40 Why QStar: No Constraints, No Mandates, Just Mapping the Moment12:22 QStar's Investment Framework: Thematic, Top-Down, Technocentric and Anthrocentric14:51 Why Venture Still Matters: The Venture 20, the Mag Seven, and Where Disruption Lives17:03 Risk vs. Uncertainty vs. Black Swan: The Framework Most Investors Get Wrong22:30 Applying AQ in Venture: MVPs as Probes, Pivots as Feedback Loops22:51 A Case Study in Failing Without Feedback Loops24:33 The Second Cognitive Revolution: Why AI Is a Regime Change, Not a Tool29:20 Is SaaS Uninvestable? What Becomes Abundant and What Becomes Scarce32:53 Mapping the Venture Ecosystem: Capital Intensity, New Entrants, and IRR Pressure37:08 The Liquidity Problem Reframed: DPI, TDPI, and Timeline Mismatch40:12 Secondary Markets as a Structural Response43:48 Final Advice: Upgrade Your Operating SystemLinksConnect with the guest and hosts on LinkedIn!Alec LitowitzBeezer ClarksonNick ChirlsLearn more about:The Adaptability Quotient (pre-order on Amazon)QStar CapitalMagnetar Capital⁠⁠Early Adapters Newsletter⁠⁠Asylum Ventures⁠⁠OpenLP

Episode 435 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix. The venture capital industry originated back in 1946 in the Boston area, when The American Research and Development Corporation was founded by MIT president Karl Compton and Harvard professor Georges Doriot. From that point, an industry was born, and firms were created, but very few have had the lasting impact and track record as Matrix, one of the OG firms that helped institutionalize this industry. The firm has a tremendous track record through the years making investments in legendary companies like Apple and FedEx… plus category creators like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Oculus… or current investments like Canva, Suno, GOAT, and Flock Safety. Matrix is investing out of its 12th fund, an $800M fund for seed and Series A investments, and the firm continues to have a strong presence on both coasts. Kojo is a Stanford grad, who was the Head of Product at Sirona Medical, the AI operating system for radiologists, before becoming a VC. Now based in NYC, Kojo has been an investor with Matrix for over five years. Some areas of interest these days for investments include agent-driven commerce, how the software infrastructure is getting rebuilt for agents, and model application integrated companies. His investments include companies like Channel3, BoldVoice, Ampersand, and LM Studios. Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix 03:24 What is Agent Driven Commerce 09:45 Koji's background & Early Career 13:20 Joining Matrix as a VC 14:37 Advice for Aspiring Venture Capitalists 17:05 The First Year in Venture Capital 20:26 Details about Matrix's 25:01 Investment Areas of Interest for Kojo 27:48 The Art of the Cold Email to a VC 34:17 Exploring the 'Why Now' Philosophy 37:59 AI: Current State and Predictions 42:06 Common Mistakes Founders Make 44:23 GTM for Developer Products 48:11 Leveraging AI in Daily Workflow 49:23 Kojo's Recommendation & Personal Interests Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Ako ti dnevni performans zavisi od mozga – ovo je za tebe. ⚡️ZenFlow uskoro izlazi u prodaju, a prvi pristup dobijaju članovi naše VIP liste.Prva serija je ograničena, zato obezbedi svoj ZenFlow pre svih.⬇️ PRIJAVI SE NA VIP LISTUhttps://nurolab.rs/Pridruži se AI Profit Lab-u uz 20% POPUSTA sa kuponom „BIZNISPRICE“.

Većina startupa sanja o tome da jednog dana dobije velikog enterprise klijenta. Fonua je krenula upravo suprotno – od prvog dana gradila je proizvod za najveće svjetske kompanije poput Netflixa, Bookinga i Canve. U ovoj epizodi razgovarali smo s Davorom Tremcem, suosnivačem i CEO-om Fonue, o tome kako izgleda prodaja enterprise softvera, zašto su network i povjerenje važniji od samog proizvoda te zašto founder mora stalno učiti nova "pravila igre"._______________00:00 Hrvatski startup koji radi za Netflix i Booking01:12 Problem koji Fonoa rješava diljem svijeta05:55 Zašto su krenuli od najvećih klijenata10:35 Kako su prodali rješenje Uberu17:15 Zašto je network važniji od proizvoda22:05 Zašto u Hrvatskoj nema dovoljno enterprise prodavača28:20 Najveći izazov: zapošljavanje32:00 Može li founder ostati CEO?35:30 VC ili bootstrapping?42:05 Kako održavati globalni network48:10 IPO ili nešto drugo?50:35 Što je sljedeći veliki cilj Fonoe?_______________

Krysta was talking business with her boyfriend Mike when it clicked: the reason her business feels un-takeable has nothing to do with the business itself — it's the personal brand underneath it. In this solo episode she breaks down why your reputation is the one asset that travels with you across every pivot, and hands you a framework to build it. In this episode we dive into:• Why your business is just a "container" — and your personal brand is the real asset• How founder-led marketing puts you in rooms you weren't invited to• A three-column exercise to find the personal brand hiding in plain sight• The four content lanes that turn your social media into your resumeThe Portable Reputation• Personal brand isn't the soft-girl morning routine or the iced-coffee photo dump — it's your portable, transferable reputation• Your businesses (the Fitness Fix, The Spread) are containers; the through line is how you think, notice, and communicate• "Clarity" was never about niching down forever — it means people understand the world you're building, and range stops feeling like chaos the moment you name the thread that connects itYour Instagram Is Your Resume• Krysta's finance-to-fitness-to-marketing path looks random on paper — but the through line made it inevitable• A gym she'd worked for DMed her to run their marketing after seeing her page — proof she was building an asset without realizing it• Founder-led marketing means becoming visible enough that people understand your values and POV before they meet you• Goldman Sachs projects the creator economy nearing half a trillion by 2027, with VC and PE now backing founder-led brandsBuild Something Portable• Give yourself permission to let your focus change — think next 12 months, not forever• FYX Tip: pair a "portable strength rep" with a "visibility rep" this weekYour Personal Brand Exercise (Want to build the three columns alongside Krysta? Jump to 31:49 in the episode- grab a sheet of paper, 20–30 min):Step 1 — Draw three columns.• Column 1: What you're already paid for or qualified to be paid for (job, business, role, credentials, degree)• Column 2: What people already come to you to explain (topics they've quietly ID'd you as the expert on — hiring, relationships, workouts, money, leadership)• Column 3: What you want to be known for in the next 12 months (not forever — just the next year)The overlap between Column 1 and Column 3 is where your personal brand lives: credible now, pointing where you're headed.Step 2 — Turn the overlap into four content lanes.• Point of view: your hot takes — what you notice, what people get wrong• Proof: the receipts — client results, your own story, lessons from past roles• Teaching: frameworks and exercises people can use• Human context: what makes you a person, not a robotStep 3 — Name your through line.The one thread that lets every topic make sense together (Krysta's: women becoming more of themselves). Then repeat it again and again — people won't connect the dots for you.Step 4 — Pick one platform. Not seventeen. Get good at one, then expand.Step 5 — Commit to creating. Start with one post a week, build to two, then three.This conversation reminds us that the person is harder to erase than the business. Whether you're a founder mid-pivot or an employee who knows the current role isn't forever, you leave with the framework and permission to build something no algorithm or layoff can take. No Such Thing for the week: there's no starting over from zero when people already know how you think.Looking for more? Check out ⁠EP35⁠ with Gemma Luzzi on why your identity has to move before the money does.Want a personal brand audit? DM Krysta at ⁠@thekrystahuber⁠⁠⁠⁠or the team at ⁠@thespreadmktg ⁠⁠⁠ — founder or career-pivoter, it doesn't matter which.Follow Krysta:⁠⁠@thekrystahuber⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thefitnessfyx⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thespreadmktg ⁠⁠

Dans cet épisode, je reçois Mounia Erkha, ancienne VC chez ISAI devenue coach d'entrepreneurs et fondatrice de la méthode 108 Milliards, pour une discussion autour de la transformation intérieure des dirigeants et des mécanismes psychologiques qui façonnent leurs décisions.Nous avons parlé :Du manque de courage qui pousse certains dirigeants à garder pendant des années un collaborateur qu'ils savent inadapté, jusqu'à ce que la situation devienne intenableDes tensions entre cofondateurs, comparées à un mariage civil, nourries par la peur du conflit et une sous-qualification en communicationDe la croyance limitante selon laquelle réussir trop bien ferait de vous quelqu'un de mauvais, et comment elle pousse certains fondateurs à s'auto-saboterDes différences culturelles entre entrepreneurs américains, européens et asiatiques dans leur rapport à la réussite et à l'argentDe la plasticité cérébrale expliquée par la métaphore des autoroutes et petits chemins cérébraux, et comment la visualisation permet de renforcer certains circuitsDu jeu de l'avocat américain, une technique consistant à argumenter de mauvaise foi le contraire d'une croyance limitante pour mieux la déconstruireDe sa vision de la vente, résumée par la phrase d'une de ses formatrices, "coaching is selling and selling is coaching", et de la nécessité de travailler sur soi avant d'accompagner les autresUn échange qui mêle psychologie, neurosciences appliquées et retour d'expérience très concret sur ce qui bloque vraiment les dirigeants, bien au-delà des discours habituels sur la performance.Liens utilesMounia Erkha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mouniaerkha-coach/108 Milliards: http://www.108milliards.com***************************Cet épisode est produit et animé par Solenne Niedercorn, fondatrice de Finscale.

Matthew Bullis grew up in a mud-brick hut with no running water on a small island off South Korea, was adopted to the US at 11 speaking no English. After a dot-com near-miss, he took over his brother's struggling concrete-pumping software — down to about $20,000 a year — for 90% of the company. He taught himself to code and rebuilt it from scratch. From 2016, Bullis built RapidWorks into the operational system of record for heavy-equipment subcontractors: concrete pumping, cranes, hydrovac, and other site services. RapidWorks helps contractors book jobs, dispatch crews, manage the field, and get paid faster with accuracy and speed, taking dispatchers' productivity from 20 jobs to 60+. Today the company is near $20 million in ARR, serving more than 80% of the concrete-pumping market. In 2023, approaching $5 million in revenue, Bullis sold a majority to Wavecrest Growth Partners and brought in a new CEO Tim Curran with a new executive team. Matthew  expected to be phased out within a year. Instead, by staying flexible and solving whatever broke, he became indispensable as chief strategy officer, taking on important strategic execution roles across the company where he was needed. Key Takeaways Solve any problem — A bootstrapper's real value is surviving anything and solving whatever breaks. Stay flexible — Don't trade on past wins; credibility comes from the value you create now. Sit with customers — Weeks in their offices surfaced problems they never thought to ask for. Hire your boss — A ready-made CEO and team de-risk the scale a founder can't reach alone. Keep perspective — Nothing is as good or as bad as it feels in the moment. Quote from Matthew Bullis, Co-Founder and CSO of RapidWorks "To stay useful and relevant when you're not the CEO any more, you have to be flexible. People overemphasize the value of what they've done in the past: look at all the great things I did. But that's like living in your high school glory days. It doesn't merit much, and you can't expect people to give you credibility just for what you built. "Your real value is surviving anything and solving any problems. Take that to heart — I can survive anything, I can solve any problem, I can create value for myself and the people around me. Under any difficult situation, people are drawn to people of value. "So I stopped staying quiet. When I saw things weren't done right, I spoke up, and the seasoned leadership saw my opinions had value. When people see value in you, and you really help, they want you on their team — that's how I won the other executives over." Links RapidWorks on LinkedIn RapidWorks website Wavecrest Growth Partners Podcast Sponsor – Vista Point Advisors This podcast is sponsored by Vista Point Advisors, a leading investment bank for founder-led software, AI, and internet companies. Vista Point works exclusively on the sell side, providing unconflicted M&A and capital raising advice to help founders maximize business value, evaluate their options, and realize ideal outcomes.   The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes by Laura Hilty, Principal at HealthX Ventures and Chief Strategy Officer at Ignite Data, to discuss her path from Epic to building and launching seven software products at a clinical research startup, supporting acquisitions, and ultimately seeing the business sold to Blackstone for $5B—before moving into early-stage health tech investing. Laura shares how digital health opportunities are shifting as Epic expands into AI, creating new investment risk and pushing startups toward deep niches and tech-enabled services Epic won't replicate, like devices or clinician staffing. We also cover the FDA's push toward real-time clinical trials and questions around participant-level data, plus innovations addressing clinician shortages through automation and peer support, including Sober Sidekick's relapse prediction. Laura closes with advice on proving product-market fit before VC, defining moats in an AI-driven world, and avoiding overly frothy early valuations. Visit HealthX Ventures at www.healthxventures.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hilty001/ ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Radar integrates self-custodial Bitcoin payments directly into Signal's messaging network, eliminating the need for separate apps or custodians when sending value to contacts.Seth for Privacy, from the Cake Wallet team, explains how Radar targets everyday users rather than Bitcoin maximalists by preserving Signal's privacy model while adding instant Lightning-enabled transfers via Spark.The discussion covers seamless account migration from Signal, offline payment receives, wallet risk limits for non-critical funds, and the decision to pursue VC funding through a separate entity.Timestamps:00:49 — Why Messaging & Payments Stay Separate03:34 — Migrate Signal Account Without Losing Data08:18 — Send Bitcoin Instantly With One Tap10:10 — Receive Payments Completely Offline11:40 — Bitcoin for Everyone, Not Just Bitcoiners14:21 — Don't Put Life Savings in Hot Wallet17:10 — Signal Can't See Your Bitcoin Payments19:13 — Donating Monthly to Signal Foundation22:48 — Radar Takes VC Path Unlike CakeLinks: Radar Chat: https://radar.chat@SethForPrivacy: https://x.com/sethforprivacyCake Wallet: https://cakewallet.comStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

十年前的 6 月 23 日，英国以 51.9% 对 48.1% 的公投结果决定退出欧盟，十年后的当下，这个国家却似乎比任何时候都要显得迷茫。 来自工党的基尔·斯塔默宣布辞去首相职务，英国将在 10 年间迎来第 7 位首相。从穿衣的仪式感、王室的余晖，到「拿回控制权」的脱欧口号，英国一直在用各种方式证明自己“与众不同”——可当经济基础再也撑不起这套身份叙事，这个曾经的日不落帝国，究竟还能靠什么找到自己是谁？ 这一期节目，我们邀请到常驻英国的老朋友 Gabriel，聊聊他眼中拧巴又迷茫的英国：脱欧十年，到底改变了什么，又没能改变什么。 本期人物 殷岳 （Gabriel）， 现英国牛津大学MBA， 金融时报中文网驻英国专栏作者 徐涛，声动活泼联合创始人 主要话题 [03:13] 英国的“规矩”：着装礼仪、仪式感背后的身份边界感 [13:12] 从日不落帝国到“忧郁的衰败”：2008年金融危机如何成为关键转折点 [22:37] 戴高乐两次否决英国加入欧共体：三条预言般的理由 [28:19] 脱欧背后：一场全球性的民族身份大搜寻 [35:07] 英国政府、王室、教会三大身份支柱是否正在同时失灵 [50:39] 英国何时能不再靠“区别于他人”证明自己 延伸解读 With closer EU ties 'crucially important', Britain sets sights on new summit Scars mark Britain's economy 10 years after Brexit vote 也可以在小红书账号「徐涛-声东击西」看到更多相关内容和幕后 给声东击西投稿 「声东击西」一直在寻找来自不同社会和群体的真实声音。我们曾经采访过为特朗普竞选生产 MAGA 帽子的中国制造商、记录过七位在美国大选中经历起伏的华人个体，也讲述了委内瑞拉青年的故事。 如果你也有一些特别的经历、观察或想法，不论是亲身体验的故事，还是你在某个行业、社区中的所见所闻，都欢迎你向我们投稿。 你的声音可能出现在未来的节目当中，我们非常期待你的分享！ 投稿入口 「Knock Knock 世界」 免费收听

Connection is your greatest multiplier—if you know how to build it right. Enjoy my conversation with David Homan, CEO of Orchestrated Connecting. 3 takeaways: Connection is built, not found. It starts with curiosity, vulnerability, and showing up consistently. Give first—without keeping score. The best relationships aren't transactional… they're intentional. Gratitude compounds. A simple thank you can strengthen a relationship for a lifetime. Most people focus on outcomes. The best focus on people. --- A "Connector of Connectors:" David Homan connects people. His primary skill in life is learning about people, helping them reframe and pitch themselves better, and then creating long-lasting relationships based on the premise that for everyone for whom he connects the dots, they would be described as an action oriented, natural giver with high integrity. His book, Orchestrating Connection, published in 2025 is a USA Best-Seller, and his community of over 2300 global "superconnectors" represents family offices, venture capitalists, impact investors, entertainers, athletes, CEOs/Founders, community organizers, and a myriad of other incredible "occupations" that do little to describe how amazing each individual in this community of communities is. He launched his tech company, SOAR Connect in July 2024 and will be bringing out of beta to change the way we build relationships at scale with trust. How David got here: As a prior non-profit CEO, David raised millions for the arts while running a multi-national, multi-million dollar Foundation that survived near total destruction due to Bernie Madoff, and incubated a social impact film company for the Dalio Family Office. His impact advisory firm, Orchestrated Opportunities, partners with family offices, start-ups, funds, and nonprofits to builds new, structured ecosystems of relationships to strategically scale and expand their growth. Focal areas include mental health, health and wellness, climate change, art, philanthropy, social justice, and investing in women, among others. David is a recognized classical composer whose music can be found by saying "Alexa–please play the music of David Homan" with 7 albums and radio play internationally. His latest project is a film/mini-series focused on a composer who loses his mind to Alzheimer's. He serves as an Advisor to NEXUS, the Catalyst Impact Foundation, Regeneration.VC, and as Board Chair of the Arthur Miller Foundation. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big! Connect with David Homan:Website: www.orchestratingconnection.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_connection_orchestrator/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrhoman    *E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.

What does it actually take to build an executive team from nothing? This week on The Data Minute, Ashley Neville fills in for Peter and sits down with Francois Ajenstat, Founder and CEO of Golden Analytics, to talk hiring at the earliest stages of a company, from seed through Series B.Francois spent over a decade as Chief Product Officer at Tableau before leading product at Amplitude, and recently launched Golden Analytics, an AI-native BI platform that just closed $21 million in total seed funding. He walks through why he sees fundraising as less about the check and more about finding long-term partners, why he never set out to build a foundational model, and why he thinks the fear around AI replacing data analysts has it backwards. He also breaks down his approach to those first few hires: starting with people he trusts completely, using Carta's own compensation data to build trust with candidates during offer negotiations, and the three-part test he runs on every new hire around AI fluency, taste, and ownership of outcomes.The conversation also covers Golden's unconventional customer feedback loop, the surprising order in which startups actually hire across functions, and Francois's long-running framework for job satisfaction: the work, the people, and the recognition.Subscribe to Carta's weekly Data Minute newsletter: https://carta.com/subscribe/data-newsletter-sign-up/Explore interactive startup and VC data, with Carta's Data Desk: https://carta.com/data-desk/Chapters: 01:17 – Announcing the $21M Seed: Fundraising Is About Partners, Not Just Capital 02:57 – Pitching Golden Analytics: Zig When Everyone Else Zags 06:06 – Why Golden Isn't Building Its Own Foundational Model 07:48 – The Privacy Question: Why Golden Never Sends Customer Data to the Models 09:17 – Will AI Replace the Data Analyst? (No, It Makes Them 10x) 10:57 – From CPO to "Solo" Founder: Why the Label Never Fit 13:14 – Hiring Employee One: The Former Tableau CTO 15:17 – Using Carta's Comp Data to Build Trust with Candidates 17:42 – Thinking About the ESOP from Day One 19:08 – The New Hiring Bar: AI Fluency, Taste, and Ownership 21:44 – Inside a Seven-Person Company Outshipping the Competition 22:46 – No Wall Between Customers and Engineers 24:33 – Making Customers Feel Like Founders 27:03 – An Unboxing: The Golden Analytics Coin 28:06 – The First Experience: What Happens When You Open Golden 29:33 – Surprising Data: Founders Hire Before They Raise 30:52 – The Order of Hires: Why CFOs Come Before Revenue 32:18 – Fractional vs. Full-Time: "Does This Make the Beer Taste Better?" 34:22 – What's Next to Hire: Engineers Ahead, Sales Behind 36:11 – Why Golden Skips the Middle: Senior Talent Paired With Junior Hunger 38:25 – Education, Fear, and Learning by Doing 41:15 – Building Carta's Own Report With AI, Faster 43:06 – Every Company Is a Data Company 44:27 – The Customer Data Francois Obsesses Over Daily 47:28 – Is SaaS Dead? Why the "Apocalypse" Headlines Miss the Point 49:21 – The Three-Factor Test for Job Satisfaction 51:47 – Redefining Appreciation: Experiences Over Titles 54:47 – What's Next for Golden Analytics 56:30 – OutroThis presentation contains general information only and eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. (“Carta”) is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services, and is for informational purposes only.  This presentation is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. © 2026 eShares, Inc., dba Carta, Inc. All rights reserved. In the interest of transparency, Golden Analytics is a customer of eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. ("Carta").  While we have invited them here today to discuss their journey, please note that this is not an endorsement, solicitation, or recommendation for Golden Analytics or Carta. Carta does not assume any liability for reliance on the information provided during this podcast.

Send us Fan MailSix investors introduce themselves — an angel, a VC general partner, a physician investor, an attorney-turned-real estate investor, and two accredited investor group members. Then, without a break, they immediately grade two real pitch videos on the spot. One company scores high. One gets torn apart. The episode ends with the investor who reveals the 3-part framework behind every score: Credibility, Clarity, and Whimsy — and exactly what each one means.About Family Office ClubThe world's largest investor club in the family office space. 19 years. 300+ events. 16 million members. $1B+ in community transactions.

Jonathan Userovici observe la tech et le venture capital depuis plus de 10 ans.À 33 ans, il fait partie d'une nouvelle génération d'investisseurs qui a vu évoluer les derniers grands cycles technologiques.Au départ, il devait rester seulement 3 mois chez Idinvest.Finalement, il n'a jamais quitté le monde du VC.Dans cet épisode, il raconte ce qui a changé en une décennie.Il y a 10 ans, beaucoup de startups se construisaient en modernisant de vieux marchés.On prenait un acteur historique, souvent lent et peu digitalisé, puis on créait une version plus simple, plus rapide et plus moderne.Aujourd'hui, l'IA bouleverse complètement cette logique.Quand tout le monde peut créer plus vite, la vraie question est qu'est-ce qui aura encore de la valeur demain ?Jonathan prend notamment l'exemple de Lovable, symbole d'une nouvelle génération de produits très simples à utiliser, mais qui reposent aussi sur des technologies déjà existantes.Dans ce nouveau monde, les investisseurs ne regardent plus seulement l'idée ou le marché.Ils regardent surtout la vitesse d'exécution, la capacité à avancer vite, à recruter, tester, vendre et itérer sans attendre que tout soit parfait.Ce sont les High Agency Founders.Des fondateurs capables de faire bouger leur boîte sur tous les fronts.L'épisode aborde aussi l'avenir du travail, les métiers qui vont disparaître, et la place de l'humain dans un monde post-IA.Avec Headline, Jonathan accompagne des startups européennes dans leurs différents stades de développement.Le fonds gère plus de 5 milliards d'euros, compte plus de 100 collaborateurs et investit partout en Europe.Pour lui, une grande boîte peut naître en France.Mais pour devenir un géant mondial, elle doit très vite penser au-delà de son marché local.Bonne écoute !===========================

Canadian universities are getting into the VC game, with U of T and McMaster anchoring a new life-sciences fund aimed at turning more campus research into commercial breakthroughs in areas like cancer, heart disease, and brain disease. Plus, the collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is reviving inflation fears, as renewed conflict threatens energy markets and raises the risk that price pressures could get worse again.And in The Big Picture: Meta plans a massive AI data centre in Alberta, Nvidia's valuation falls back to pre-AI boom levels, and Knix founder Joanna Griffiths is selling her remaining stake and stepping down.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

What to expect at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 and an interview with the Manager of Onsite Learning at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum. Also, how L3Harris converted the Qatari-gifted 747 into Air Force One, the Cirrus TRAC10, window seat lawsuits, a rule change to allow supersonic flight over the United States, and an update on Boom Supersonic's strategy for its self-developed Symphony engine. Image by Linda and Lily. Guest Dick Knapinski is Director of Communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). He has served in that capacity since 2010 and has been with the organization since 1992. Dick serves as the liaison between the media and EAA throughout the year, particularly during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world’s largest fly-in convention. The event runs July 20-26, 2026. Dick Knapinski Boeing Plaza will be packed with aircraft to celebrate the aviation technology theme. Currently planned innovation displays for July 21 include BETA Technologies, Bye Aerospace, Jetson, American Drone, MagniX, Zipline, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Airhart Aeronautics, Merlin Labs, Amazon Delivery, and Starlight Productions. In addition to the displays on Boeing Plaza, Bye Aerospace, Jetson, BETA Technologies, American Drone, and ScaleWings plan to fly during the afternoon air show. Drone delivery company Wing will display the latest developments in its operations at Twilight Flight Fest. Learn more about the AirVenture Airshows and performers, Aircraft Anniversaries & Gatherings, Authors Corner, AviationTech, KidVenture, and the Fly-In Theater. Rare warbird static/flying displays will include the B-29 “Doc,” as well as a rare Consolidated PB4Y and the CAF’s B-24 Liberator on static display at Boeing Plaza. Vicky Benzing will fly her P-51 “Plum Crazy,” and Bernie Vasquez will demo a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in afternoon shows. The Aviation Gateway Park will spotlight helicopters, advanced vertical lift platforms, and eVTOL aircraft through static displays and interactive exhibits. Before joining EAA, Dick built a broadcasting career in Wisconsin, including stints as Program Director at WNBI Radio, News Director at WMGV Radio, and Station Manager at WLFM-FM/Wisconsin Public Radio. He also spent years as a sportswriter for the Appleton Post-Crescent. Dick holds a private pilot certificate and remains active as a writer and spokesperson for EAA. Aviation News How was the new Air Force One prepared for flight? The two permanent VC-25 replacements were selected in 2015, and the $3.9 billion fixed-price contract was signed in February 2018. Boeing began physical refurbishment work in February 2020 on two 747-8I airframes originally built for the bankrupt Russian carrier Transaero. Boeing has already reported $2.5 billion in losses on the program. The current delivery target for the first jet is between 2027 and 2028, with the second jet to follow later. The ex-Qatari 747-8 “bridge” aircraft was gifted to the U.S. Air Force in May 2025 and entered service on July 1, 2026. L3Harris did the conversion in about 10 months. The quick conversion was accomplished due to several factors: Pre-staged employees operated on a 24/7, three-shift structure. (Boeing has worked a normal single-shift industrial pace, with no incentive to surge, staff once costs started ballooning.) The bridge aircraft came with a luxury interior. (Boeing's jets had incomplete interiors – basically shells.) Missing VC-25 elements. Reports (unconfirmed by the government) include no evidence of defensive countermeasures and a lack of EMP hardening. L3Harris didn’t out-engineer Boeing. They ran a 24/7 surge crew on a plane that already had a finished VIP interior, targeted a much narrower requirement (“executive airlift” vs. full presidential command-post survivability), and the government has not been forthcoming about which hardened-aircraft features (EMP shielding, missile countermeasures, full secure comms suite) were omitted. See also: Trump wants the $400M Qatari-gifted new Air Force One to be the centerpiece of his presidential library. But there's a problem. Cirrus launches TRAC10, a new light aircraft for the flight training market Purpose-designed for flight schools and to be powered by a turbocharged Rotax 916 iSc FADEC engine, the plane has a three-seat interior, a Garmin flight deck, and the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Cirrus says they have 100 orders from 13 flight schools. United Airlines must face lawsuit over ‘window seats’ that lack windows Not every “window seat” has a window. Sometimes it has a wall. That's just the way it is. But last August, some passengers filed class actions ⁠against United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, claiming that the carriers failed to properly disclose the lack of a window during the booking process. United claimed that “window seat” described the seat’s location and did not contractually promise that the seat would, in fact, have a window. In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge James Donato rejected the airlines' request to dismiss the suit. New Rule Clears Way for Quiet Supersonic Flights By way of history: The FAA issued 14 CFR § 91.817 in April 1973, prohibiting civil aircraft from flying at speeds exceeding Mach 1 over land in the United States. The ban came as a result of early Air Force and NASA-controlled boom tests over cities, concerns over the Boeing 2707 SST program, and the impending arrival of the Concorde. NASA’s X-59 QueSST is flying specifically to gather community-response data on its “quiet boom” design.  In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed rule: Enabling Supersonic Overland Flight), the FAA is looking to replace the blanket Mach-1 ban with a noise-based standard. Supersonic flight over land would be permitted if the boom signature falls under a certain loudness threshold. The NPRM states, “Manufacturers have demonstrated it is possible to fly supersonic aircraft without sonic booms reaching the surface by using sonic boom abatement techniques, making complete prohibition on civil supersonic flight outside of test areas no longer appropriate and an unnecessary restraint on the growth of the U.S. aviation sector.” The NPRM shifts the regulatory trigger from speed to noise. Right now, § 91.817 just bans anything faster than Mach 1 over land. The proposed rule keeps that structure but adds an exception: an operator may exceed Mach 1 if it can demonstrate that the sonic boom’s overpressure at the surface does not exceed 0.11 pounds per square foot (psf). This NPRM only covers en-route/overland boom noise. A separate rule on takeoff/landing noise is expected later this year, with both rules targeted for finalization by mid-2027. The comment period ends August 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM EDT. Boom Supersonic Q2 2026 Update https://youtu.be/gtf0-bVSbeA?is=GmG8VhICNm4wg7tP The FAA proposal to change from speed regulation to noise regulation is something Boom Supersonic and others have been seeking. In the Boom Supersonic Q2 2026 Update video, Blake Scholl reveals Boom's strategy for the Symphony engine. The company intends to market a variant of the engine for behind-the-meter power generation that AI companies can utilize for power. In large part, the engine OEMs wouldn’t develop an engine for the Overture because the huge development cost couldn’t be covered by the expected engine volume. So when Boom announced it was developing its own engine, the business case was unclear. But by focusing on the ground power generation market, Boom can spread development costs over a greater number of engines. Also, that revenue stream would generate cash flow for the Overture program. National Air and Space Museum Celebrates 50 Years With Opening of Five New Galleries Hillel attended the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum media preview of the opening of the five galleries. Last episode, we listened to two recordings from that event. This week Hillel speaks with Mike Hulslander, the museum's Manager of Onsite Learning. Mike has worked in museums and zoos for more than 28 years and has researched, written, presented, and evaluated science programs for school groups, families, and the general public. At the Air and Space Museum, he is responsible for science-focused programs and exhibitions. Mike also manages the Museum's learning centers: How Things Fly and the Design Hangar. Mike is also an adjunct faculty member at the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education. He serves as a science educator on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program national review panel for experiment selection and has participated in reviews for the past 11 missions aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Supersonic demo Lift vs. Angle of Attack Hosts this Episode Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, Rob Mark, David Vanderhoof, Hillel Glazer, and Brian Coleman.

In this episode, we sit down with Kate McAndrew, Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a $100 million pre-seed venture fund investing in the next generation of founders. After spending more than a decade investing in over 100 early-stage companies, Kate shares how she evaluates entrepreneurs long before the rest of the market catches on. We discuss what makes a startup worth investing in, how great investors think from first principles, the traits that separate exceptional founders, how to build company cultures and institutions that last, and the unconventional path that led her into venture capital. If you're interested in startups, investing, entrepreneurship, or understanding how the best venture capitalists think, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-4&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/860f1c91-f717-41cd-a6c1-567458bfb806-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

South and Southeast Asia face a different challenge to many developed economies. As the regions continue to grow, so too does demand for energy, transport and industry. The question is whether that growth can be powered by cleaner technologies from the start. In the second of our episodes recorded from Singapore, Michael meets Marie Cheong, founding partner at 100x100, a climate tech venture builder and VC for South and Southeast Asia. Previously, Marie co-founded WaveMaker Impact, where she helped launch climate startups addressing some of the region's biggest opportunities for decarbonisation. Marie explains why climate innovation in emerging South Asian markets requires a different approach. They discuss investing across the region, growing energy demand, using AI to decarbonise manufacturing, and why there are no "silver bullet" solutions to climate change. Marie also takes Michael to the People Bee Hoon noodle factory, which makes rice vermicelli noodles to see how Desmond Goh, the factory's director is using AI to improve his operations. Michael meets to Desmond and Muun AI founder Kathryn Knight about how better use of data can help cut emissions and waste. And at the end of the episode, a very special announcement… stay tuned. Topics Include Building climate startups across South and Southeast Asia Why climate investing needs more than "silver bullet" technologies The biggest opportunities for climate innovation in emerging Asian markets Solving regional pain points as the key to success Can Southeast Asia grow without burning more coal? Investing in emerging markets and navigating regional diversity How AI can help manufacturers cut emissions, costs and energy use The next generation of climate technology in Asia Leadership Circle Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live Links Marie Cheong's bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-cheong-06141b36/ Wavemaker Impact https://wavemakerpartners.com/ 100x100 https://www.100x100.com/ Muun AI https://muun-ai.com/ Watch our previous episode from Singapore, with Ravi Menon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvhd34i6YMk Harish Hande on Cleaning Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUxdaHFJI68 South Asia Includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,and Sri Lanka. South East Asia Includes:  Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Acronyms FESIA - Future Energy Storage and System Integration Alliance ASEAN - Alliance for Southeast Asian Nations CPTPP -  Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership MT - Megatonne SAF - Sustainable Aviation Fuel SME - Small/Medium-sized Enterprises

This week on CMO Confidential, we are revisiting one of our favorite conversations with Rob Ward from January of 2026.A CMO Confidential Interview with Rob Ward, co-founder and General Partner of Meritech Capital, a top Silicon Valley venture firm. Rob shares his take on what he calls a "super terrifying and exciting time" and provides perspective on AI receiving the most capital of any technology in history, the "durability of revenue" and how quickly start-ups are now reaching $100 million in revenue. Key topics include: why VC's focus on growth vs. profitability; the risks associated with massive long-term capital investment; why marketers should pick a "trusted advisor" as their AI partner; and why your data strategy needs "context. Tune in to hear how Astronomer handled the "Coldplay Concert Incident" which immediately became a PR classic and the "VC Foie Gras Effect."What happens when a top venture capitalist pulls back the curtain on AI, valuations, hype cycles, and what's actually working?In this episode of CMO Confidential, host Mike Linton sits down with Rob Ward, Co-Founder and General Partner at Metech Capital, to unpack the realities behind the AI boom. Rob has spent more than 26 years investing in category-defining companies like Facebook (Meta), Snowflake, NetSuite, Zipcar, and Cloudera — and he brings a rare, grounded perspective to today's AI frenzy.Together, they explore: • Why AI adoption is still early — despite explosive growth • The real risks behind inflated valuations and “AI-washing” • How VC decision-making changes during platform shifts • What marketers and executives should actually look for when choosing AI partners • Why data strategy, change management, and trust matter more than tools • What layoffs, productivity, and the future of work really look like beneath the headlines • A masterclass in crisis communications, featuring Ryan Reynolds, Gwyneth Paltrow, and ColdplayIf you're a CMO, CEO, board member, founder, or agency leader trying to make sense of AI without getting swept up in the hype — this is a must-listen conversation.⸻Chapter Markers00:00 – Welcome to CMO Confidential00:19 – Introducing Rob Ward and today's AI conversation01:13 – Where we really are in AI adoption02:26 – Explosive AI growth: what's real vs hype03:35 – Why enterprise AI adoption is still a slog04:37 – Vendor spend, hyperscalers, and the trillion-dollar buildout06:12 – Is this an AI bubble? Public vs private market realities07:20 – Accelerating investment rounds and lack of diligence08:12 – AI-washing and durability of AI businesses09:46 – Proof-of-concepts, switching costs, and fragile loyalty10:55 – Big Tech vs startups: why this cycle is different11:40 – Why VCs chase platform shifts despite the risks13:05 – How AI is changing profitability and headcount math16:11 – “FOGRA” investing and capital distortion17:00 – Circular investing and data-center risk18:23 – Data centers, GPUs, and betting on the wrong future19:38 – Credit default swaps and financial warning signs21:45 – How executives should choose AI vendors22:58 – Change management and why culture matters most24:09 – Why data strategy is the real AI strategy26:36 – “Frequently wrong, never in doubt” and AI hallucinations27:01 – Practical AI use cases for marketers30:00 – Layoffs, productivity, and what's really happening to jobs33:05 – The best questions to spot real AI fluency35:00 – AI safety, geopolitics, and long-term risks36:38 – Crisis management masterclass: Astronomer, Coldplay & Ryan Reynolds39:58 – Final advice and closing thoughts⸻Subscribe for weekly episodes featuring world-class marketing leaders, board members, and C-Suite executives.#CMOConfidential, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandStrategy, #CorporateActivism, #MarketingStrategy, #CMO, #AIinMarketing, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BrandReputation, #ConsumerTrust, #DigitalMarketing, #MarketingInsights, #ThoughtLeadership, #BusinessStrategy, #CustomerCentricSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are we buying Bitcoin to compensate for our fragile masculinities?In Episode #524 of 'Meanderings', Juan and I discuss: are young men drawn to Bitcoin and crypto because of masculinity, how easy it is for commentators to analyse online language to cherry-pick the loudest voices and build a sweeping narrative from that, our personal journey with Bitcoin and why we still find it compelling today, whether Bitcoin's future is as a widely used currency and what actually gives something value. Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline:(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:07) Bitcoin Bros and the masculinity angle(00:06:54) Where the book gets Bitcoin right and wrong(00:15:35) From NFT jokes to why they would buy Bitcoin today(00:23:22) Their personal Bitcoin journeys and travel lessons(00:30:04) Is Bitcoin mainly a financial asset or something more(00:40:16) Will Bitcoin usage shrink as tech and payments evolve(00:47:51) Bear market mood, volatility and long term adoption(01:05:12) Australian digital dollars, VC trends and market scepticism(01:17:01) Could energy or compute become the next currency?(01:19:49) Next week: celebrations, milestones and obligation Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/K99e8fysBnTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastsValue 4 Value Support:V4V: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast

David Oliver sits down with Rhonda Ladig, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), to challenge common assumptions about rural innovation. Rhonda shares how CORI's 43 member communities and 101+ tech startups span healthcare, aerospace, biotech, cybersecurity, and outdoor recreation with over 10% of ventures already AI-driven. The conversation digs into how CORI measures real impact beyond "butts in seats," how its new Rural Entrepreneurship Index is helping tell a data-backed story to funders, and why only 1% of venture capital reaches rural communities despite 12% of entrepreneurial activity happening there.What you'll learn:Why "if you've met one rural community, you've met one rural community" and why that matters for how we design supportThe three pillars of CORI's work: community experience, tech workforce development, and entrepreneurship/direct startup supportHow CORI's "train the trainer" model builds lasting capacity instead of dependencyMoving from outputs to outcomes: lessons from a 6-year longitudinal study in Emporia, KansasWhat the Rural Entrepreneurship Index measures and why business-creation data tells a different story in rural countiesThe capital gap: 1% of VC vs. 12% of entrepreneurial activity in rural AmericaRhonda's "magic wand" wish for funders, ESOs, and policymakers working in rural communitiesResources & Links:Center on Rural InnovationRural Entrepreneurship IndexConnect with Rhonda Ladig on LinkedIn

This past week George K and A were off for the holidays. We revisit an episode from earlier this season. What if the best investment decision is one where no human is involved?Brant Meyer, partner at Trac VC joins the show this week to talk about the firm's approach, where algorithms — not partners in puffer vests — make every single call. Over 115 investments to date with zero human investment decisions. An 8.5% loss ratio, orders of magnitude less than traditional VC, would seem to suggest they're on to something.George K. and George A. wanted to know, if machines make the decision, what exactly is Brant's job? But the more interesting conversation isn't about the wins. It's about what the model forces you to confront. We assume removing the human removes the bias — but Trac's algorithms are trained on data with its own biases.Then there's the psychological dimension. Brant makes the case that most resistance to algorithmic investing is emotional rather than rational. VCs resist algorithms because the discretionary call is the whole point. The juice, as he puts it, is the feeling of knowing. Strip that away and you're threatening an identity.Which raises the question George K. and George A. keep circling: how did venture capitalists acquire oracular status in the first place? The hit rate doesn't justify it. The pattern recognition, Brant argues, was never really theirs to claim.And yet , no founder wants to take money from a robot. The relationship still matters. The question is just whether we've been confusing that relationship with the thing it was never actually doing.Mentioned:Trac VC's video

El episodio 121 llegó con escándalos, paradojas y jugadas que no te podés perder.Elon Musk, el mayor promotor de la AI del mundo, le puso un techo de 200 dólares por semana a cada empleado de Tesla para gastar en tokens. Su argumento: después de ese límite, el gasto es puro desperdicio. Una decisión que va contra toda la narrativa del token maxing y que debería leer cualquier empresa antes de abrir la billetera.Sam Altman sigue moviendo piezas. OpenAI le ofreció el 5% de la compañía al gobierno americano, sin lógica aparente salvo una: convertirse en un activo de seguridad nacional para blindarse de reguladores y competidores. La jugada política más audaz del año en Silicon Valley.El escándalo de la semana lo protagonizó un VC que anunció públicamente haber invertido en Anduril. El co-founder de la compañía lo desmintió en Twitter en tiempo real. Resultó que compró una partecita de un SPV de un SPV sin estar en el cap table. Los trapitos al sol del mercado secundario en su máximo esplendor.También hablamos de Cocos Capital, la fintech argentina que nunca levantó plata institucional, compró un banco y acaba de entrar a Brasil. Y de cómo las acciones tech cayeron desde sus máximos — Coinbase 69%, Oracle 57%, Salesforce 57%.__

Robots are here, and they're going to change the world, with Unitree currently in pole position. Joining me to discuss are Niko Ciminelli, longtime SemiAnalysis advisor, robot kid and VC along with Reyk Knuhtsen, robotics lead at SemiAnalysis. Lily Ottinger cohosts. Our conversation covers: Why robots are the real general-purpose technology because, for the first time in history, we can decouple capital from human labor. How everyone keeps underestimating Unitree: the DJI and BYD playbooks, the danger of dismissing “robot dogs,” and why iteration speed matters more than dancing demos. China's edge: vertical integration, actuator manufacturing, and supply chains that make Chinese humanoids much cheaper than American ones. Why you can't AI your way out of a hardware problem or from a supply chain that makes your robot far more expensive to build. What America should do next: allied supply chains, special economic zones, and industrial policy. suno song: https://suno.com/s/EBSxwT7ltOerJJGD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

以色列的多面战线正越扩越大。在刚刚过去的 6 月 30 日，以色列总理内塔尼亚胡在采访中赞扬以色列「近年来取得的军事成就」，坦言这场战斗「永无止境」。而仅仅一周前，联合国人权理事会发布的最新报告显示，自 2023 年 10 月以来，因为以色列的行动，加沙已有近 7.5 万人非正常死亡，其中儿童约 2 万人。 如果仔细盘点，以色列同时深陷加沙、黎巴嫩、叙利亚、也门、伊朗、约旦河西岸等多条战线。战争之外，这个国家内部也在经历自己的撕裂：从建国前的路线之争，到 2022 年司法改革引发的大规模抗议，「分裂」始终是以色列政治的底色；而曾被寄予厚望成为「中东硅谷」的它，也在人才流失、资本观望中透支着自己的创新未来。在如此处境下，以色列的战争机器为何还是停不下来？ 这一期节目，我们邀请到研究中东问题的嘉宾朱兆一，一起聊聊以色列眼下的处境、内部的撕裂，以及这个国家未来可能走向何方。 本期人物 朱兆一，盘古智库中东研究所执行所长 徐涛，声动活泼联合创始人 主要话题 [01:28] 以色列如何深陷「七线作战」的泥潭？ [16:53] 战争为何停不下来：内塔尼亚胡的政治算计与以色列的民意共识 [28:13] 从建国分歧到司法改革：以色列从未停止的内部分裂 [38:17] 战争的代价：人才流失下，「中东硅谷」的梦还能圆吗？ [48:53] 支持滑坡与政局僵局：内塔尼亚胡还能撑多久？ 延伸解读 Israel continues to commit genocide, atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children, UN independent commission finds Israelis No Longer Ahead in Americans' Middle East Sympathies 也可以在小红书账号「徐涛-声东击西」看到更多相关内容和幕后 给声东击西投稿 「声东击西」一直在寻找来自不同社会和群体的真实声音。我们曾经采访过为特朗普竞选生产 MAGA 帽子的中国制造商、记录过七位在美国大选中经历起伏的华人个体，也讲述了委内瑞拉青年的故事。 如果你也有一些特别的经历、观察或想法，不论是亲身体验的故事，还是你在某个行业、社区中的所见所闻，都欢迎你向我们投稿。 你的声音可能出现在未来的节目当中，我们非常期待你的分享！ 投稿入口 「Knock Knock 世界」 从难民营到世界杯，世界杯上最远的一次「传球」https://sourl.co/bm6TRJ 在「Knock Knock 世界」里，听到全球新鲜事，还能成为「全球观察员」，报选题、参加选题会。2026 年的节目正在持续更新，有4期免费试听，苹果播客上还可以还【按月】随时订阅节目。 加入我们 声动活泼团队目前正在招聘内容监制、商业运营经理、商业发展经理和实习生，如果你也对播客行业的内容制作和商务运营感兴趣，欢迎投递！ 到详情点击招聘入口：加入声动活泼（在招职位速览） 幕后制作 后期：赛德 运营：George 设计：饭团 实习编辑：怡然、翔宇 商务合作 声动活泼商业化小队，点击链接可直达商务会客厅，也可发送邮件至 business@shengfm.cn 联系我们。 关于声动活泼 「用声音碰撞世界」，声动活泼致力于为人们提供源源不断的思考养料。 我们还有这些播客：声东击西、What's Next｜科技早知道、商业WHY酱、跳进兔子洞&跳进兔子洞第三季、吃喝玩乐了不起、不止金钱、泡腾 VC、反潮流俱乐部 欢迎在即刻、微博等社交媒体上与我们互动，搜索声动活泼即可找到我们。 也欢迎你写邮件和我们联系，邮箱地址是：ting@sheng.fm 获取更多和声动活泼有关的讯息，你也可以扫码添加声小音，在节目之外和我们保持联系！ Special Guest: 朱兆一.

This Week In Startups is made possible by: CLA - www.claconnect.com/withyou Northwest Registered Agent - www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist Agree.com - www.agree.com Today's show: Forget the triple-triple-double-double-double; the new bar for startups hoping to raise venture capital has reached the stratosphere, though our venture panel is worried that startups are focusing too much on today's problems that may not become companies tomorrow. During a lively VC roundtable, Cowboy's Aileen Lee, Floodgate's Mike Maples, and Lerer Hippeau's Ben Lerer joined Alex to dig into exiting pre-AI startups, rising valuations, token spend, why they are keeping their funds small, and whether the government just tripped OpenAI and Anthropic! Guest Links: Aileen Lee https://x.com/aileenlee Cowboy VC https://cowboy.vc Mike Maples https://x.com/m2jr Floodgate https://www.floodgate.com Bene Lerer https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjlerer Lere Hippeau https://www.lererhippeau.com Timestamps: 0:00 Aileen Lee, Mike Maples, and Ben Lerer join the show 5:13 Venture liquidity returns: what SpaceX/Stripe distributions mean for LPs 9:13 Bending Spoons prices IPO at $29/share, roughly $18.4B valuation 10:31 Agree.com - Stop chasing invoices and automate your entire contract-to-cash stack. Go to https://agree.com and tell them Jason sent you to get 50% off for life! 12:09 "Companies get bought, not sold" — Ben on taking first offers seriously 17:41 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations — interviews, meetings, calls — you need a Plaud NotePin. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off! 19:34 Mutiny's burn-the-boats AI pivot with Jaleh Rezaei 20:19 Northwest Registered Agent - Get more when you start your business with Northwest. In 10 clicks and 10 minutes, you can form your company and walk away with a real business identity — Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist 22:15 Mike's KeepSafe story: the "rule of 70" and profit-first companies 25:12 The new growth bar: 5x, 4x replaces triple-triple-double-double 28:55 Fund size is your strategy: why Floodgate and Lerer Hippeau stay small 30:11 CLA - Innovation takes balance. CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors can help you get from startup to where you want to end up. Get started now at https://www.claconnect.com/withyou 37:39 The $100M Series A: Starcloud, General Intuition, Scale Cognition, Scout AI 40:35 King-making rounds and why mega-seeds destroy optionality 54:11 Open-weight models: the GLM-5.2 moment and going model-agnostic 55:30 Why fine-tuning open models is a treadmill, with Cursor/Kimi as an example 1:03:28 Grading the Trump administration on Mythos and Fable 1:06:33 Rising anti-AI sentiment, the wealth gap, and lessons from social media 1:11:43 Raising kids in the post-intelligence era 1:12:35 Where to find the panel and what each firm is investing in Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

What if a self-taught coder and waiter became one of the most active healthcare venture capitalists in the country - and could teach you everything about reinventing yourself, embracing the incubation period, and finding massive opportunity in the chaos everyone else is running from? Join Nick Lamagna on The A Game Podcast: Real Estate Investing For Entrepreneurs for one of the most raw, real, and inspiring conversations we've had - Marcus Whitney, co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart Health Investors, 3x IBJJF Masters World Champion, soccer team co-owner, podcast host, hip hop head, and creative rebel who went from broke waiter in Nashville to venture capitalist disrupting the entire healthcare industry. This isn't just a business episode - it's a masterclass on identity, reinvention, critical thinking, and what it really means to build a life worth living on your own terms, whether you're in the grind, on the mat, or in the middle of figuring out what the next chapter looks like. Whether you're an entrepreneur trying to raise capital, a Jiu Jitsu competitor questioning your next move, a real estate investor looking for your edge, or just someone trying to figure out who they are when the title gets stripped away - this conversation will change the way you think about failure, freedom, and what it actually means to bring your A Game. Marcus went from dropping out of college and showing up to a restaurant in uniform asking for a job on the spot, to building, scaling, and selling multiple companies and running one of the most active early-stage healthcare VC firms in the US. Now he's opening up about the lessons, the losses, and the season of life nobody talks about - the incubation period. While most people only talk about the climb, Marcus breaks down the real game: ✅ Why standing still is the riskiest move you can make in today's economy - and what entrepreneurship as "full contact economics" really means ✅ How to separate your identity from your achievements so failure never has the power to break you ✅ The difference between the Hustler and the Hacker - and why you need both to create outsized performance in business and in life ✅ What waiting tables taught him about people skills that no MBA program ever could ✅ Why the incubation period isn't failure - it's the most important season of growth most people never give themselves permission to experience ✅ How surrounding yourself with the right people (and cutting back on the wrong ones) is the single biggest lever you can pull for your future ✅ Why hope is the most underrated weapon an entrepreneur has - and how to use it to survive the seasons when nothing seems to be working ✅ What Jiu Jitsu, venture capital, and going back to white belt in Mexico City all have in common + more Connect with Marcus: www.marcuswhitney.com Marcus Whitney on Instagram Marcus Whitney on Facebook Marcus Whitney on YouTube Marcus Whitney on LinkedIn Marcus Whitney on Twitter   Connect with Jumpstart Foundry: www.jsf.co Jumpstart Foundry on Instagram Jumpstart Foundry on Facebook Jumpstart Foundry on YouTube Jumpstart Foundry on LinkedIn Jumpstart Foundry on TikTok Jumpstart Foundry on Twitter   Connect with Jumpstart Health Ecosystem: Jumpstart Nova Jumpstart Health Investors Jumpstart Capital Jumpstart Insight   Connect with Nashville Soccer Club: www.nashvillesc.com Nashville Soccer Club on Instagram Nashville Soccer Club on Facebook Nashville Soccer Club on YouTube Nashville Soccer Club on LinkedIn Nashville Soccer Club on TikTok Nashville Soccer Club on Twitter --- Connect with Nick Lamagna www.nicknicknick.com Text Nick (516)540-5733 Connect on ALL Social Media and Podcast Platforms Here FREE Checklist on how to bring more value to your buyers