Podcast appearances and mentions of wilson sonsini

Jason sits down with Wilson Sonsini partner Chris Paniewski for a special Startup Legal Basics on one of the thorniest questions in tech right now: how copyright law applies to AI training data.Chris has worked on some of the biggest AI deals ever — including Scale AI's $14B+ partnership with Meta and OpenAI's $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's design studio — and brings practical, on-the-ground insights from advising leading AI companies.In this episode, Jason and Chris cover:Why AI copyright law is unsettled and will take years to shake outThe difference between training data and output in legal termsHow “fair use” really works (and why it's a defense, not a permission slip)The risks of scraping vs. licensing, and why open source ≠ free useHow investors are diligencing AI startups around training dataWhy startups must think differently once they're funded vs. hacking in a dorm roomWhether you're building an AI product, investing in one, or just trying to understand where the law is headed, this conversation breaks down the real legal risks every founder should know.Timestamps:(0:00) Jason introduces the Startup Legal Basics series & Chris Paniewski(1:25) Why AI copyright law is unsettled(3:40) Training data: scraping vs. licensing(6:05) Open web ≠ open license; pitfalls around terms of service(8:15) Investor diligence & risks around training data(11:00) Open source & Creative Commons: common founder mistakes(13:25) “Fair use” explained: the four-part test(15:45) Why most disputes never make it to case lawCheck Out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.comCheck out all of the Startup Basics episodes here: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basicsFollow Chris:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-paniewski-09331a59/Follow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Now is the time for all of us to think of ourselves as entrepreneurs in residence, designing the future of compliance. In this episode of the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, GWIC co-host Hemma Lomax speaks with Kathy Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO of Streamline AI, about her journey from big law to in-house legal at DoorDash to launching her own legal tech company.   They discuss the importance of adopting an entrepreneurial mindset within compliance and legal departments, the journey of building innovative solutions like Streamline AI, and how addressing workflow pain points can revolutionize the industry. Kathy shares her personal journey, practical tips for aspiring entrepreneurs, and insights on leveraging technology to optimize legal operations for the future. Kathy's story is a testament to the power of entrepreneurship as a service. Tune in to hear how frustration became innovation, why compliance leaders are uniquely positioned to design the future of our field, and how each of us can become a tech influencer inside our organizations. ✨ You'll hear: Why compliance leaders should see themselves as entrepreneurs in residence. How Kathy turned workflow chaos into a scalable AI-driven product. Practical ways to start experimenting with tech and influence the next generation of compliance. This conversation is a powerful reminder that the future of compliance isn't something we wait for — it's something we create. Guest Bio: Kathy Zhu Kathy Zhu is the Co-Founder, CEO, and General Counsel of Streamline AI, a workflow intelligence platform transforming how in-house legal and compliance teams manage intake, triage, and operational efficiency. Kathy began her career at Wilson Sonsini, advising startups and emerging companies on incorporations, financings, and IPOs before moving in-house. At Medallia and later as the first commercial counsel at DoorDash, she experienced firsthand the growing pains of legal and compliance operations at scale. Frustrated by inefficiencies, she hacked together her own solutions — an experiment that became the foundation for Streamline AI. Today, Kathy leads Streamline AI in its mission to empower compliance and legal teams to operate as strategic business partners, supported by data, automation, and seamless integrations. She is also an advocate for women in leadership and brings lessons from her passions, such as scuba diving and meditation, into how she leads with calmness and clarity under pressure. Resources & Links: Learn more about Streamline AI: https://www.streamline.ai Kathy's WSJ/SpotDraft interview: SpotDraft Counsel Corner Alumni spotlight: Wilson Sonsini – Kathy Zhu Watch Kathy's podcast episode: Being a Business-Minded Lawyer (YouTube) Follow Kathy on LinkedIn: Kathy Zhu Podcast Recommendations:  How I Built This with Guy Raz Lenny's Podcast with Lenny Rachitsky Book Recommendation: Three Horizons Framework by Bill Sharpe

Today's show:Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw returns to Startup Legal Basics with Jason. This time, they dive into the “have” companies — the breakout startups with multiple term sheets, competitive valuations, and unusual deal terms.From founder voting proxies to mandatory follow-on investment clauses, Becki breaks down the creative “off-menu” structures showing up in today's financings, and what founders and investors need to watch for.Whether you're a founder navigating investor FOMO or a VC competing to get on the best cap tables, this conversation will give you insight into the new rules of the game.*Timestamps:(0:00) Jason welcomes Becki back to Startup Legal Basics(0:32) The “haves” vs. “have-nots” in today's startup market(1:28) Creative legal structures: the “off-menu” items(4:19) Travis' Uber favor & modern founder asks(7:05) Rise of secondaries & unusual board structures(11:22) Mandatory follow-on investment clauses in seed rounds?(14:13) Crypto's resurgence and legal implications(15:55) The decline of proper diligence in hot deals*Check Out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.comCheck out all of the Startup Basics episodes here: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basics*Follow Becki:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62/*Follow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis*Follow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Today's show:Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw returns to Startup Legal Basics with Jason to break down what's happening in today's startup market. From excess dry powder on the VC side to companies struggling to “grow into” their valuations, Becki shares what founders need to know about deal terms, pay-to-play provisions, and the shift from the 2021 heyday to today's more structured environment.Why down rounds and structured deals are becoming more commonHow “pay-to-play” works (and why it's showing up so often now)The psychology of VCs vs. founders during tough fundraisesWhat the M&A landscape really looks like in 2025Legal provisions investors are using to protect themselves in today's talent warsWhether you're a founder preparing for your next round or an investor navigating tougher terms, this conversation will help you understand the new realities of startup fundraising.*Timestamps:(0:00) Becki DeGraw joins Jason for Startup Legal Basics(1:12) The “perfect storm” shaping today's startup market(4:30) Companies struggling to grow into 2021 valuations(6:31) Why down rounds and structured deals are rising(8:59) Pay-to-play explained: what happens if investors don't participate(15:43) The mid-market M&A wave vs. big tech acquisitions(20:37) Talent wars, acqui-hires, and protective legal provisions*Check Out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.comCheck out all of the Startup Basics episodes here: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basics*Follow Becki:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62/*Follow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis*Follow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Craig Walker is the founder and CEO of Dialpad, a business communications platform powered by AI. A former M&A lawyer turned serial entrepreneur, Craig previously co-founded GrandCentral (acquired by Google and relaunched as Google Voice) and sold his prior company to Yahoo. In this episode, Craig shares how his career unfolded from door-to-door dictation sales to running a 1,500-person company, and how AI became central to Dialpad's strategy long before the hype cycle.Craig opens up about the loneliness of leadership, his bet-the-company acquisition of TalkIQ, and the hardest day of his career when four high-stakes deals all hinged on one phone call. He also explains why he still avoids hiring a COO, how he evaluates executive talent, and why long-term trust is his leadership superpower.Whether you're building in AI, navigating founder-operator transitions, or learning to scale without burning out, Craig's story is packed with hard-earned lessons and honest insights.Where to find Craig:DialpadLinkedInTimestamps:(00:00) Starting in door-to-door sales (02:54) What Craig learned about grit from early sales jobs (04:42) From Apple to law school to M&A at Wilson Sonsini (07:22) How Cisco influenced his approach to acquisitions (08:32) The founding of GrandCentral and acquisition by Google (09:12) Leaving Google to build again (13:22) Why Craig couldn't stay a middle manager (14:53) What Dialpad is and how it started (17:36) Google Ventures' support and early Dialpad funding (21:03) What startup life looked like in the pool house (24:17) Family trade-offs and how Craig stayed connected (28:23) Acquiring TalkIQ and the AI unlock (33:37) Why Dialpad was years ahead in AI (35:09) Lessons from integrating an early-stage acquisition (37:43) What tech reveals about culture (39:39) How Craig grew from scrappy founder to CEO (42:20) Delegating to operators while staying strategic (43:30) Why hiring executives is so hard (47:23) How he evaluates cultural fit and long-term potential (49:26) Loyalty, longevity, and building a trusted leadership team (50:57) Craig's moment of truth and the most stressful day of his career (55:48) What he wishes he knew earlier (57:46) His advice for founders in the AI eraIn this episode, you'll learn:How to evaluate and integrate an early-stage acquisitionWhy trust and long-term relationships build company resilienceWhat most founders get wrong about hiring senior executivesWhy naivete is an advantage in fast-changing marketsHow to stay optimistic in the face of startup volatilityWhy Craig empowers teams with autonomy, not layersHow a founder mindset helps navigate economic shocksWhat it takes to lead through multiple tech transitionsHow to pick colleagues  and partners you can grow with for decadesConnect with Alisa! Follow Alisa Cohn on Instagram: @alisacohn Twitter: @alisacohn Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/ Website: http://www.alisacohn.com Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

About MatiMati is currently Co-Founder & COO at School In One, an EdTech App (Endeavor ScaleUp 2025 Miami-based) operating in the USA as a SaaS or "SIS" (Student Information System) for K12 schools (kindergarten to 12th grade). The platform also operates back in LatAm, with +700,000 users, 40 full-time employees, $2.5M ARR, and +800 schools in 120 different cities. The team raised $500K from one Investor in LatAm for the US market expansion.Over the last few years, he helped +300 startups internationalize in Miami, with an accelerator that Mati co-managed until October 2023, owned by businessman Moishe Mana. During that moment, He structured strategic alliances with Dell for Startups, Wilson Sonsini, Zendesk, Delta & LatAm Airlines, Marriott, Deel, and acceleration, internationalization, and local economy promotion programs with Microsoft, IDB, ProChile, ProColombia, Uruguay XXI, Ingenio Incubadora, Ganesha Lab, etc., bringing $1M ARR and growing the team from 2 to 8 people.Learn more about Mati on LinkedIn. School In One websiteInstagram: School In OneLinkedIn: School In OneAbout RachelleEducator, Keynote Speaker, Consultant, Attorney, and AuthorSubscribe to my ⁠newsletter⁠.Check out my ⁠blog⁠ and submit a guest blog.Contact me for speaking & training related to AI, AI and the law, Cybersecurity, SEL, STEM, and more!⁠bit.ly/thriveineduPD⁠Interested in a sponsored podcast or collaboration? Contact me! Rdene915@gmail.com

Recorded live at the 2025 GeekWire Awards in Seattle, this episode features industry leaders navigating a shifting tech and political landscape. Amid celebrations of AI breakthroughs, startup milestones, and community-building, guests discuss deeper concerns: capital flight, regulatory headwinds, and what the region needs to retain its innovation edge. Featured on the show: Ambika Singh, founder and CEO of Armoire (Workplace of the Year winner) Joseph Williams, Washington State Department of Commerce (Public Policy Champion for Innovation) Emer Dooley, Creative Destruction Lab, University of Washington (Geeks Give Back honoree) Laura Ruderman, CEO of the Technology Alliance Aviel Ginzburg, co-founder at Foundations (Geeks Give Back honoree) Anand Subbaraj, CEO of Zuper (CEO of the Year finalist) Related coverage: GeekWire Awards 2025 revealed: Community ‘alive and well’ at annual celebration of best in tech Photos: Inside the GeekWire Awards, where it was ‘game on’ for a night of networking and more Presented by Astound Business Solutions, with category sponsors BECU, Baker Tilly, JLL, WTIA, Alltech, Wilson Sonsini, and First Tech. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Brief Encounters, Richard is joined by Daniel Glazer, Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in London and a leading advisor to UK tech companies expanding into the US.Together, they explore the realities of scaling across the Atlantic — from the cultural divide in venture capital and the complexities of US fundraising to the legal hurdles founders face when hiring or contracting stateside.Daniel shares hard-won insights on US market entry, including what UK companies often underestimate, how to approach litigation risk, and why understanding market norms is essential to avoid costly missteps.The conversation also touches on aligning with US investors, adapting business practices for American customers, and how to plan expansion strategies with intention - not urgency.Whether you're a founder looking at your next potential move or a legal leader advising high-growth clients, this episode is packed with practical guidance for going global.Daniel's links:Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.com/en/people/daniel-glazer.html#experienceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielcglazer/

Farah Gasmi is the Co-founder and CPO of Dioptra, the accurate and customizable AI agent that drafts playbooks and consistently redlines contracts in Microsoft Word. Dioptra is trusted by some of the most innovative teams, like Y Combinator and Wilson Sonsini. She has over 10 years of experience building AI products in healthcare, insurance, and tech for companies like Spotify. Farah is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School in NYC. She teaches a Product Management course with a focus on AI and data products. Laurie Ehrlich is the Chief Legal Officer at Dioptra, a cutting-edge legal tech startup revolutionizing contract redlining and playbook generation with AI. With a background leading legal operations and commercial contracting at Datadog and Cognizant, Laurie has deep expertise in scaling legal functions to drive business impact. She began her career in intellectual property law at top firms and holds a JD from NYU School of Law and a BS from Cornell. Passionate about innovation and diversity in tech, Laurie has also been a champion for women in leadership throughout her career. In this episode… Contract review can be time-consuming and complex, especially when working with third-party agreements that use unfamiliar language and formats. Legal teams often rely on manual review processes that make it challenging to maintain consistency across contracts, contributing to inefficiencies and increased costs. That's why businesses need an effective solution that reduces the burden of contract analysis while supporting legal and strategic decision-making. Dioptra, a legal tech startup, helps solve these challenges by leveraging AI to automate first-pass contract reviews, redline contracts, and generate playbooks. The AI agent analyzes past agreements to identify patterns, standard language, and key risk areas, allowing teams to streamline the review process. It supports a range of use cases — from NDAs to real estate deals — while improving consistency and reducing review time. Dioptra also enhances post-execution analysis by enabling companies to assess past agreements for compliance and risk exposure. In this episode of She Said Privacy/He Said Security, Jodi and Justin Daniels speak with Farah Gasmi, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Dioptra, and Laurie Ehrlich, the Chief Legal Officer at Dioptra, about how AI is used to streamline contract reviews. Together, they discuss how Dioptra accelerates contract reviews, supports security and privacy through strict data controls, and enables organizations to build smarter, more consistent contract processes — without removing the need for expert human judgment. Farah and Laurie also delve into the importance of AI-driven consistency in contract negotiation, vendor security evaluations, and how companies can safeguard sensitive data when using AI tools.

Nawa Lodin of Wilson Sonsini & Goodrich and Reema Taneja of Nixon Law Group join us to give an overview of the current state of the regulatory and legal landscape of AI and digital health matters.

SelectUSA Summit, 11-14 May 2024, Washington, DChttps://www.selectusasummit.us/--Dan Glazer, daniel.glazer@wsgr.comhttps://www.wsgr.com/en/..Feel free to contact us with any questionsBill Kenney, bill@meetroi.comMEET, http://meetroi.com/

This Day in Legal History: 13th Amendment PassedOn January 31, 1865, the U.S. Congress passed the 13th Amendment, formally abolishing slavery in the United States. The amendment declared that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." While President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had freed enslaved people in Confederate-held territories two years earlier, it lacked the permanence of a constitutional amendment. The House of Representatives passed the measure by a vote of 119 to 56, narrowly reaching the required two-thirds majority after intense political maneuvering. The Senate had already approved it in April 1864. Ratification by the states followed, culminating in its adoption on December 6, 1865. The amendment marked a legal end to slavery, but systemic racial discrimination persisted through Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and other restrictive measures. Despite this, the 13th Amendment laid the foundation for future civil rights advancements. Its passage was a key victory for abolitionists and a defining moment of the Civil War's aftermath. The amendment's "punishment for crime" clause later became a subject of controversy, as it allowed convict leasing and forced labor in prisons, disproportionately affecting Black Americans. Even today, debates continue over its implications for the U.S. prison system.Fox Rothschild LLP has blocked its lawyers from using DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, due to concerns about client data security. While the firm allows AI tools like ChatGPT with restrictions, DeepSeek's data storage in China raises unique risks, according to Mark G. McCreary, the firm's chief AI and information security officer. A recent data breach involving DeepSeek further heightened security concerns. Other major law firms, including Wilson Sonsini and Polsinelli, are also implementing strict vetting processes for new AI models. Wilson Sonsini requires its chief information security officer and general counsel to approve AI tools before use, while Polsinelli enforces firm-wide restrictions on unapproved AI software. Law firms are also monitoring AI use by third-party vendors to ensure compliance with security protocols. McCreary emphasized that established legal tech companies prioritize data protection, reducing the risk of firms switching to less secure AI models.Fox Rothschild Blocks DeepSeek's AI Model for Attorney UseA federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. government's ban on licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to adults under 21 is unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a previous ruling, citing the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires modern gun laws to align with historical firearm regulations. The federal ban, enacted in 1968, was challenged by young adults and gun rights groups, who argued it violated the Second Amendment. Judge Edith Jones, writing for the court, found insufficient historical evidence to justify restricting gun sales for 18-to-20-year-olds. The ruling marks a major shift in gun policy, aligning with broader legal trends expanding Second Amendment protections. The Justice Department, which defended the ban under the Biden administration, has not yet commented on the decision. Gun rights advocates hailed the ruling as a victory against age-based firearm restrictions.US ban on gun sales to adults under age 21 is unconstitutional, court rules | ReutersIn a piece for Techdirt, Karl Bode critiques the Trump FCC's decision to roll back efforts to curb exclusive broadband deals between landlords and internet providers. The Biden FCC had attempted to update outdated rules that allowed ISPs to form monopolies within apartment buildings, driving up prices and reducing competition. However, due to delays caused by industry opposition and the failed nomination of reformer Gigi Sohn, key proposals—including a ban on bulk billing—were left unapproved. When Brendan Carr took over as FCC chair under Trump, he quickly scrapped these pending consumer protections. Bode argues that U.S. telecom policy is stuck in a cycle where Democrats make half-hearted attempts at reform, only for Republicans to dismantle them entirely under the guise of deregulation. The result is a landscape where telecom giants and landlords continue to collude, leaving consumers with fewer choices, higher costs, and poor service.The Trump FCC Makes It Easier For Your Landlord And Your ISP To Collude To Rip You Off | TechdirtBally's Chicago casino project is facing a legal challenge over its commitment to reserving 25% of its investment opportunities for women and people of color. Conservative activist Edward Blum, known for spearheading lawsuits against affirmative action, filed the suit on behalf of two white men who claim they were unfairly excluded from investing. The lawsuit argues that the policy violates federal civil rights law and should be open to all investors regardless of race. This case is part of a broader push against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which gained momentum after a recent executive order from President Trump eliminating DEI programs in the federal government. Bally's maintains that its agreement with the city complies with legal requirements. The lawsuit references an 1866 civil rights law originally meant to protect Black Americans' economic rights and is similar to other cases challenging race-conscious corporate policies. Blum's organization has previously led legal battles against diversity-focused scholarships, grants, and hiring programs, including the Supreme Court case that struck down race-based college admissions in 2023.America's Battle Over DEI Strikes a Chicago Casino's Financing PlanThis week's closing theme is by Franz Schubert.Franz Schubert, one of the most beloved composers of the early Romantic era, was born on this day in 1797 in Vienna, Austria. Though he lived only 31 years, his vast output of music—ranging from symphonies and chamber works to piano music and over 600 songs—continues to inspire musicians and audiences alike. Schubert's music is often characterized by its lyricism, rich harmonies, and deep emotional expression, seamlessly bridging the clarity of the Classical era with the passion of Romanticism.Despite his immense talent, Schubert struggled with financial stability and never achieved widespread fame during his lifetime. He spent much of his career composing in relative obscurity, supported by a close-knit circle of friends and fellow artists. His songs, or lieder, are especially celebrated for their ability to capture both the beauty and melancholy of the human experience, with works like Erlkönig and Winterreise standing as some of the greatest achievements in the genre.His instrumental music, however, remained underappreciated until long after his death. Today, his symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas are recognized as masterpieces, filled with lyrical beauty and striking contrasts. Among his later works, the Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959 showcases his mature style, blending elegance with deep introspection. The final movement, Rondo: Allegretto, serves as this week's closing theme, capturing both Schubert's charm and his poignant sense of longing.Though he died in 1828, just a year after Beethoven, Schubert's influence only grew in the decades that followed. Composers like Schumann, Brahms, and even Mahler admired his work, helping to cement his legacy as one of music's great geniuses. Today, on the anniversary of his birth, we celebrate the life and music of a composer who, despite facing struggles and setbacks, left behind an extraordinary body of work that continues to resonate across centuries.Without further ado, Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Attorneys yearn for the commute. ----- Sullivan & Cromwell are bringing attorneys back to the office five days a week. The stated reason is to mirror "normal business hours" which is a cruel joke in an abnormal business hour industry. Democratic Party superlawyer Marc Elias faces an uprising at his firm after staff proposed a mandatory arbitration agreement despite many of his top clients openly campaigning on... banning mandatory arbitration agreements. Finally, Wilson Sonsini hands out bonuses but pulls a fast one with special payments.

Attorneys yearn for the commute. ----- Sullivan & Cromwell are bringing attorneys back to the office five days a week. The stated reason is to mirror "normal business hours" which is a cruel joke in an abnormal business hour industry. Democratic Party superlawyer Marc Elias faces an uprising at his firm after staff proposed a mandatory arbitration agreement despite many of his top clients openly campaigning on... banning mandatory arbitration agreements. Finally, Wilson Sonsini hands out bonuses but pulls a fast one with special payments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(0:00) Intro.(2:14) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(3:01) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with David (E24 from Nov 2020)(4:22) David's description of the ACGC(7:56) Post-Election Governance Changes (SEC, FTC, etc). ESG and DEI considerations. Federal vs state regulatory matters.(13:06) On crypto and digital assets in the new Trump administration.(14:51) On DOGE led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy(18:46) Delaware's challenge as the Favored Corporate Home(26:54) Elon Musk's Rescinded Compensation in Tornetta v Musk, the plaintiff attorneys' fees.(31:04) On the Rome Conference on AI, Ethics, and the Future of Corporate Governance (April 2024).(35:18) Public Benefit Corporations (PBCs) in the AI industry. On Anthropic's LTBT. On corporate purpose.(46:56) ServiceTitan's compounding IPO ratchet (reference to my article about it). IPO market.(52:06) Biggest winner and loser in business in 2024(53:54) Biggest business surprise in 2024 (55:10) Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2024(57:41) Charter competition among states, and Federal vs. State Corporate Governance(1:00:04) What's the biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2025David Berger is a partner at Wilson Sonsini and serves as the President of the American College of Governance Counsel. 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

(0:00) Intro.(2:09) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:56) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Richard (E126 from Feb 2024).(3:46) About his firm's 2024 SV150 Corporate Governance Report.(9:04) On Virtual (Stockholder) Meetings (89% of SV150).(11:23) Board Committee Structures. Audit, Comp, NomGov, and Others.(14:02) On SV150's approach to ESG, impact of new SEC.(18:53) On the evolution of boardroom diversity, impact of CA laws and Nasdaq Diversity Rule.(21:40) Why private ordering will become more important in corporate governance.(22:28) On dual or multi class share structures (-30% of SV150, and of those, 91% have sunset provisions).(25:25) On ServiceTitan's compounding IPO ratchet (reference to my article about it). "Governance is a spectrum"(31:29) On evolution of shareholder proposals in SV150. *Reference to E15 with Jim McRitchie.(36:30) On shareholder activism (7.4%) in SV150.(41:41) On the clawback policies of SV150 companies(48:27) On the backlash to Delaware incorporations and SV moving out of CA. Reference to WSGR's DE's Status as the Favored Corporate Home.(51:49) Biggest winner in business in 2024(53:27) Biggest loser in business in 2024(54:27)  Biggest business surprise in 2024 (56:53) Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2024(58:28)  What's the biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2025Richard Blake is a partner at Wilson Sonsini and the leader of the firm's public companies' practice. 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

Guests: Joe Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Loom; and Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner PerkinsLoom CEO Joe Thomas had a lot of things to think about before he sold his company to Atlassian for $975 million: The impact an acquisition might have on the product, how to keep the Loom brand alive, the risk of remaining independent... but it wasn't until after the deal was announced that he really understood what it meant for his team. “I didn't know how emotional it'd be for me,” Joe says. “All of the Loom employees, current and former, that reached out when this was announced, they did their calculation and they're like, ‘Oh my God.' That, to me, was the most emotionally transformative part of the process. I didn't fully recognize what that would be like, on the individual front.”Chapters:(01:34) - The Atlassian acquisition (05:25) - The bittersweet moment (08:15) - Transforming Loom (13:30) - Ilya's perspective (18:04) - Life-changing (22:55) - Doing it again (25:00) - Loom's early days (28:26) - The Series A (32:33) - Turning on monetization (35:37) - The Series B (37:05) - Loom AI (43:13) - Revenue orientation (48:18) - The acquisition landscape (52:27) - Working inside Atlassian (54:04) - Atlanta tech (55:00) - Who Atlassian is hiring (55:24) - What “grit” means to Joe Mentioned in this episode: Wilson Sonsini, Vinay Hiremath, Andrew Reed and Sequoia Capital, Zoom, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Shahed Khan, COTU Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Farquhar, the Lindy Effect, SVB, Google Chrome, Dropbox, Slack, Snapchat, HubSpot, the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter, Dylan Field and Figma, Atlassian Rovo, Palo Alto Networks, Salesforce, and Garrett Langley and Flock Safety.Links:Connect with JoeLinkedInTwitterConnect with IlyaTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Todays show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down challenges in distressed companies(1:04), pay-to-play scenarios (2:31), the importance of a market check in financing (9:25), and high-profile legal and ethical issues (18:03). * Timestamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (1:04) Distressed companies and VCs leaving the board; Challenges in distressed companies (2:31) Insider-led down rounds and pay-to-play scenarios (7:07) Legal actions and stockholder lawsuits in successful turnarounds (9:25) The importance of a market check in financing; Voting against board decisions (18:03) Character and incentives in the startup ecosystem; High-profile legal and ethical issues * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠⁠https://www.wsgr.com⁠ * 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 Becki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62 * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * 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 * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

Todays show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down fundraising trends (1:33), the challenges of M&A (7:39), and the evolving regulations for tech companies (13:29). * Timestamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (1:33) Fundraising trends and investor expectations (3:57) Breakeven points and penny warrants (7:39) M&A slowdown and regulatory challenges (13:29) Proposals for M&A regulation reform (16:08) Compliance costs and cybersecurity for startups (19:58) Legal strategies for startups and data policies * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠⁠https://www.wsgr.com⁠ * 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 Becki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62 * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * 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 * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

902: AI is reshaping legal services by streamlining tasks and driving innovation, yet it also challenges firms to navigate complex ethical and security issues. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High interviews Mike Lucas, Chief Information Officer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. They discuss the integration of Artificial Intelligence in legal services and how Mike is driving Digital Transformation at one of the world's leading law firms. Mike shares insights on the firm's innovative initiatives, including the development of AI tools like the Neuron platform and pilots with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. He also delves into the challenges of change management and the ethical considerations of adopting AI in a traditional industry like law.

902: AI is reshaping legal services by streamlining tasks and driving innovation, yet it also challenges firms to navigate complex ethical and security issues. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High interviews Mike Lucas, Chief Information Officer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. They discuss the integration of Artificial Intelligence in legal services and how Mike is driving Digital Transformation at one of the world's leading law firms. Mike shares insights on the firm's innovative initiatives, including the development of AI tools like the Neuron platform and pilots with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. He also delves into the challenges of change management and the ethical considerations of adopting AI in a traditional industry like law.

Todays show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down common legal oversights (5:26), risks of DIY legal documents (9:15), pro forma cap tables & ESOPS (18:31), and much more! * Timestamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (1:13) Legal preparations for startups and the importance of early legal counsel (5:26) Common Legal Oversights: Cap table, IP assignments, and employment agreements (9:15) Risks of DIY legal documents and safes (11:53) Cap tables and equity management (15:49) Impact of mismanagement on legal and financial outcomes (18:31) Pro forma cap tables and employee stock option plans (ESOPs) (21:39) Preparing for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) scenarios * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠⁠https://www.wsgr.com⁠ Check Out: https://www.thisweekinstartups.com/basics * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/ Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com * Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Follow Becki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62 * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * 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 * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

Todays show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down the current state of startup funding (0:37), anti-dilution provisions (7:11), re-incentivizing management teams (16:23), and much more! * Timestamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (0:37) Market update: Current state of startups and funding (1:21) Consolidated investment trends and the venture capital slowdown (4:23) The importance of due diligence, runway, and down round impacts (7:11) Anti-dilution provisions and strategies for investor communication (16:23) Re-incentivizing management teams and insider-led funding scenarios (23:46) Importance of investor relations and board management * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠⁠https://www.wsgr.com⁠ * 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 Becki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-degraw-639bbb62 * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * 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 * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

Unlock the secrets to successful transatlantic startup expansion with insights from Dan Glazer, the dynamic leader of the US Expansion Group at Wilson Sonsini's London office. Listen to Dan's personal narrative of moving from the US to the UK and his early love affair with London, as well as his instrumental role in initiatives like Tech Nation and the British American Project. Navigate the intricacies of raising venture capital across borders as Dan shares strategies for smoothing cross-border deals through integrated legal teams and the importance of training dual-qualified lawyers. Discover how the influx of American venture funds into London is changing the fundraising landscape for UK and European startups, and learn key tactics to attract US-based investors, including the critical role of having a strong product market fit in the US. Explore the nuances of global venture capital and the strategic considerations for expanding into the US, from the location of talent and proximity to customers, to cost implications and managing teams across time zones. Dan underscores the transformative potential of AI, paralleling it to the dot-com era, and offers practical advice for startups aiming to build a transatlantic presence.  In this episode, you'll hear about: Strategies for raising venture capital across borders Market size impact on early stage fundraising Signals to raise from US investors at an early stage 8 considerations for US business location Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Supporting Resources: Wilson Sonsini's US Expansion and Fundraising FAQ link: https://medium.com/@daniel.glazer/u-s-expansion-and-fundraising-a-comprehensive-faq-3bf143cd5249   Website: www.wsgr.com Social Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielcglazer/ Email: daniel.glazer@wsgr.com  Alcorn Immigration Law: Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter Sophie Alcorn Podcast: Episode 139: Why Choose the L-1 for Startups with Nadia Zaidi Episode 162: From Earth to Orbit: A Dialogue on Startups, Export Control, and Space Law with Bailey Reichelt Episode 165: Foreign Roots to Silicon Valley Heights: The Exit Journey of International Founder Alfonso de la Nuez Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook Alcorn Academy course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code EAB20 for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In episode 08 of Careers and The Business of Law: Legal Data Intelligence Series, Omar Haroun chats with David Cowen about his diverse career, starting at top-tier law firms like Wilson Sonsini and Orrick, and leading into his philanthropic work with Indego Africa. They dive into how Omar's passion for "doing well by doing good" shaped his career, spotlighting the power of legal data intelligence to boost both personal and organizational growth. Omar stresses that the next wave of legal pros needs to be adaptable, ethically driven, and savvy about leveraging data's potential to spark real change.   Key Highlights: Omar shares about his multicultural family background, with immigrant parents from Pakistan and Europe, and how their values of hard work and patriotism profoundly influenced him.  Omar discusses his transition to Indego Africa, a social enterprise helping Rwandan women. He was inspired by the concept of 'doing well by doing good,' a revelation that came from his interactions with the organization's founders and his personal experiences in Rwanda. Drawing on the philosophical teachings of Aristotle, Omar articulates his vision for a fulfilling life through achieving potential and ethical living. He links these ideals to his work at LDI, aiming to empower individuals and organizations to harness the full power of legal data. Mentions: Legal Data Intelligence official site: LegalDataIntelligence.org Indego Africa: Indego Africa Wilson Sonsini: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Orrick: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Song: Castles in the sand by Jimmy Hendrix  

878: Centuries-old industries like the legal profession and home-building are typically slower to adopt the latest advancements in technology, but even these industries today are taking advantage of the benefits provided by new artificial intelligence tools. In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium where Greg Moore, Chief Information Officer at KB Home, and Michael Lucas, Chief Information Officer at Wilson Sonsini discuss the topic of driving digital innovation ahead of disruption with Metis Strategy Partner and West Coast Lead Chris Davis. Greg shares insights into how KB Home uses technology to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations, while Michael explains Wilson Sonsini's use of AI-driven legal tools to improve service delivery. Both leaders highlight the importance of fostering a culture of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies.

878: Centuries-old industries like the legal profession and home-building are typically slower to adopt the latest advancements in technology, but even these industries today are taking advantage of the benefits provided by new artificial intelligence tools. In this episode of Technovation, we feature a panel from our most recent Metis Strategy Digital Symposium where Greg Moore, Chief Information Officer at KB Home, and Michael Lucas, Chief Information Officer at Wilson Sonsini discuss the topic of driving digital innovation ahead of disruption with Metis Strategy Partner and West Coast Lead Chris Davis. Greg shares insights into how KB Home uses technology to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations, while Michael explains Wilson Sonsini's use of AI-driven legal tools to improve service delivery. Both leaders highlight the importance of fostering a culture of continuous learning and adapting to new technologies.

Each week, the leading journalists in legal tech choose their top stories of the week to discuss with our other panelists.   This week's topics: 00:00 - Introductions 08:22 - Wilson Sonsini Brings 'Agentic AI' to Clients With New Neuron Contracting Module (Selected by Stephanie Wilkins) 20:28 - UK industry body launches due diligence questionnaire for vendors who use AI / I could also speak about DWF rolling out Copilot globally (Selected by Caroline Hill) 28:20 - Predicting the Supreme Court (Selected by Joe Patrice) 41:20 - Tony Mauro story (Selected by Stephanie Wilkins) 49:55 - Steno Launches Transcript Genius, Aiming to ‘Revolutionize How Attorneys Interact with Transcripts'; Also Announces $46M In New Financing (Selected by Stephanie Wilkins)

Craig Sherman, startup attorney at Wilson Sonsini, gives a market update on why it's a great time to be a seed founder and less so to be at a 2022 Series A or B fixer upper.

Today, less than 10% of Fortune 500 companies are considered to be tech companies. We are still at the beginning of the tech opportunity. You don't have to be a technologist to benefit from this rising tide. If you work in professional services and wondering which client niche to pick, the tech sector is a very good bet. There will be new companies being formed and bought, stock market IPOs and licensing deals to be made. As the tech sector grows, innovators and their investors will need to work with lawyers, bankers and accountants. They will chose those who understand the industry. If you want that to be you, listen to this episode and come to our free class for lawyers.  In this episode, you will learn from Daniel Glazer, Managing Partner of Wilson Sonsini's London office. Wilson Sonsini specialises in advising tech companies and venture capitalists, and has its origins in Silicon Valley. In this episode you will learn: The difference between a lawyer and a strategic advisor  What lawyers need to know about tech to advise tech clients What kind of help lawyers offer start-ups as they grow Differences between the US and UK legal systems FREE Class: Get Tech Clients! Introduction to Tech for Lawyers ---  To discuss a corporate training program for your organisation, book a consultation call here.  Happy clients include Blackstone x Techstars Launchpad, Oxford University and Constellation Brands.  ---    We love hearing from our readers and listeners. So if you have questions about the content or working with us, just get in touch on info@techfornontechies.co   Say hi to Sophia on Twitter and follow her on LinkedIn. Following us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will make you smarter. 

Eugene Daneshvar is a University of Michigan PhD graduate working on thin film neural implants but has since transitioned into the legal side of things having passed his bar exam and working with Wilson Sonsini as a patent attorney. This interview took almost 2 years to get done but we're glad we were able to do it!     Top 3 Takeaways: "I think the main thing I'll say is you don't undermine your valuation by not having an informed and intentional patent strategy, and you don't have to go cheap. You know, I feel that you have to bootstrap, but if you work with certain law firms that are very entrepreneurial friendly, and my firm is not the only one, but I think that is a general statement, which is, you know, work with somebody who understands your business model. But then, secondly, work with somebody who understands your technology as well." "I want my clients to understand that I'm building something valuable for them. Let's ensure all that value is captured in the application. If not, it risks not just their business, but also their motivations for it. They aim to translate this information and idea to help a certain subset of the patient population." "Some people cut corners without considering the broader strategy implications. I suggest working with individuals who are willing to learn about the process. We're all part of the same community, and if you're listening to this podcast, you're part of mine. I want the best for you, so don't hesitate to reach out."   0:45 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did?  5:15 Was it your idea from the beginning to do both a PhD and law school? 7:15 Why are patents important in the neurotech field? 11:30 What are some big mistakes you've seen in the neurotech entrepreneur field? 17:30 Is it better to have a strong lawyer or one that knows your field? 21:00 What is the process for a student wanting to spinoff a technology? 28:00 Have you seen deals go badly because of legal issues? 32:45 Is there anything that we didn't cover that you wanted to mention?  

Meet Alexander Ballatori and Shane Shahrestani, two innovative minds revolutionizing the medtech industry with their groundbreaking company, StrokeDX. Their story is not just about technological innovation; it's a tale of resilience, determination, and a deep-rooted desire to enhance stroke care. Amidst financial hurdles and skepticism, their commitment to transforming stroke diagnosis and treatment shines through. Their episode is a must-listen for anyone intrigued by the confluence of medical technology, entrepreneurial spirit, and the profound impact of personal experiences in shaping healthcare solutions.   Guest links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-shahrestani/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-ballatori/ Charity supported: Sleep in Heavenly Peace Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at podcast@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 027 - Alexander Ballatori & Shane Shahrestani [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. [00:00:50] Hello, and welcome back to The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am so excited to introduce you to my guests today, Alex Ballatori and Shane Sharasani. They are the creators and innovators extraordinaire behind StrokeDX, and I'm so excited just to talk with them, find out more about the innovation and see where they're going from here. So thank you all so much for being here. [00:01:11] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah. Thank you so much for having us. We're really excited to be here. [00:01:15] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Excellent. I'd love if you two wouldn't mind starting off by just sharing a little bit about yourself, your background and, well, let's stop there. Let's do that first. [00:01:26] Alexander Ballatori: Great. I'll go ahead. So, I'm Alex. I'm originally from upstate New York, from Rochester, so very grateful to be in sunny California at the moment. Now that we're entering the winter period. But I went to the University of Rochester to study biology and chemistry. I was really interested in medtech and medicine in general. And I want to take some time before deciding what type of graduate degree I was going to pursue as well as learn a bit more about the startup ecosystem. So I ended up living in San Francisco for a few years. I really got to see a lot with respect to medtech in general, predominantly in the orthopedic in the pediatric health space, and then I ended up choosing to go to medical school where I met Shane is my first roommate in medical school and we hit it off right away started. [00:02:07] This is our 2nd business together and yeah very passionate about stroke. Stroke has impacted my family numerous times and when I saw this creative solution that Shane developed during his PhD and also just given my long lasting interest in medtech, it was a no brainer to start this company with him, but I'll let him kind of take over from there, give him some background, and then we can dive into more about our story as a company. [00:02:32] Shane Shahrestani: Thanks, Alex. Yeah, so my name is Shane Sharasani. I grew up in sunny Southern California, very different from Rochester. And I was at UCLA for undergrad. I studied neuroscience and then I did my MD PhD, my MD at USC and my PhD at Caltech. And the way they designed that is you do 2 years of med school, you do the full PhD and you come back and you finish med school. So in the first 2 years, I saw the effect that stroke had on patients. And when I went into my PhD, I wanted to develop technology that can solve that problem. Namely, having timely access to stroke care diagnosis that you receive faster treatment because time is brain. So that's where this idea came about. [00:03:13] We pivoted this tech from the aerospace industry and developed this tech for stroke detection. And when it came time to spinning out of Caltech, there was no other partner that I wanted on this other than Alex. He's my best friend and also my first roommate, as he said. So it made sense to work together and we work very well together. So since then, it's been a exciting journey since the end of 2020 when we spun out and filled with highs and lows. And we're happy to be here today on this podcast. Thank you. [00:03:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, of course. Again, thank you all so much for being here. And it's just fun to hear how you guys got connected in the first place, and the fact that, you know, this roommate, which could be so hit or miss, let's be honest. And it just turned into this fantastic friendship and now business partnership. So I love hearing those kinds of background stories. So, you know, Alex, you mentioned having a personal connection to stroke, and perhaps Shane, you do as well, but I would love if you would share a little bit about your, your own experience and kind of what really motivated you all to tackle this issue and to try to make a difference in this arena. [00:04:26] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, so, I mean, it started really close to home with my grandfather, actually, as well as a couple other uncles and great uncles, unfortunately. And, you know, my, so both my family, both my parents are clinicians by training. And so, when I saw them, and I saw the care that they received, my, my family was always, my, both my parents were very strong advocates for anyone in my family that became ill. And when I saw my family members go through stroke care, I saw that even if you have the best advocate at one of the best hospitals, there's still so many inefficiencies in the care that we can deliver. [00:05:00] And then going to medical school and seeing it firsthand when we are now. I was functioning as the provider at that point, there's just so, it's just so many issues. And despite all the advancements we've made from surgical technique and therapeutics, we haven't put a dent in stroke outcomes in multiple decades. So, you know, when we, when I first saw what this technology could do, the chain had developed at the price point that it can, also at the safety level and in the amount of time that it can deliver this information, I saw all of those problems from at my, within my family and within my medical training. That could be solved just with this simple, elegant, low cost solution. [00:05:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's incredible. And Shane, do you have anything to add to your own experience with stroke and what motivated you to develop this? [00:05:51] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah, of course. So I briefly touched upon the fact that I went to the PhD, I already had some experience with stroke in terms of dealing with patients in medical school and really looking at the inefficiencies there. Why are we ordering so many CTs? There has to be a better way to monitor at the bedside. And why do we not have that? Right? And now I work as a neurosurgery resident and those problems still exist. So many patients every day have to be sent back to the scanner just because something changed about their exam, and we have no idea what happened until we send them down to this big, bulky, expensive machine that requires transport. It uses radiation and there have to be better ways to solve these problems and provide the information at a point of care at a efficient cost to the patient in the hospital system. [00:06:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And so I would love if you both or one would share a little bit about the technology itself, kind of where you are in process with approvals and all that fun regulatory excitement and just, you know, what do you envision for your company as it grows? [00:07:01] Shane Shahrestani: So from a tech perspective, there are sensors that they use in aerospace to look for cracks in airplane wings. And we have methods for non destructive detection. That's what they call it: "non destructive testing and detection" that we use every day in other fields. So what we did is, we took this technology and we optimized it for the human body, specifically for the brain and by doing so you can create a non invasive handheld, small, cheap, portable, non radiating technology that you can use anywhere to quickly assess objectively how the brain is doing in terms of its cerebrovascular health, right? [00:07:52] And the idea is it works a lot like a metal detector, right? And in stroke, you can either have too much blood in the hemorrhage or too little. And in ischemic stroke, where you're literally stopping blood flow. And if you have a metal detector that's tuned for the human body and for blood, then you can quickly assess how is the blood flow changing and what are we going to do about it? So that's the technology, and I'll pass it over to Alex to talk about the rest. [00:08:17] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, so absolutely. So given that this technology can differentiate, localize, as well as produce an image of where the lesion is, and in stroke, again, there's two types of stroke. You need to know what type of stroke they're having. And then once they have the stroke can progress over time. So back in 2020 and 2021, when Shane was first validating this technology with an NIH funded grant awarded to Caltech and USC, we saw that it could provide all of that critical information in a very compact form and in a very low cost form. [00:08:48] So once we published that information in Nature Scientific Reports, we went out and started the company. We went out and started to raise money. And one of the, one of the things that we knew is that our basis, the basic form of our technology the common baseline principle, how it works could impact the entire stroke continuum. Right? So the stroke space has a lot of problems. So, for example, 1 out of 6 stroke patients in an ambulance goes to the wrong hospital because we can't evaluate their brain. Often stroke patients are just found down. Right? [00:09:20] So as an EMS personnel, all you want to do is get them to the closest hospital. But unfortunately, not all hospitals can manage stroke patients. So, one out of six times they're wrong, and that leads to hours in their delays in care. And like Shane said, time is brain. Every minute that passes, you lose a million neurons irreversibly. So, that's the first problem. It's kind of like the EMS. [00:09:38] Then in the emergency department, it still takes quite a while to rule in stroke, because we rely on CT scans. And there's also just a whole slew of things that have to happen for a patient in that process of getting admitted to the hospital. So stroke on average takes over two hours to diagnose from the initial symptom onset. So that's kind of the pre hospital, early hospital problem within stroke care. [00:10:01] The other big problem in stroke care is we don't have any way of monitoring patients at the bedside with a disease that's rapidly progressing. And so currently we just send patients back down to CT, on average four times for admission. And so 80%, unfortunately, these repeat scans are negative. Nothing had changed in the brain, but we require objective information to manage these patients appropriately. So we keep sending them back. [00:10:26] The other problem not to get too into the weeds with this is that most stroke patients are above the age of 65. They are enrolled in Medicare and the Medicare bundled payment system. Ever since it came out, hospitals have been losing money across the board route on stroke care, and a big contributing factors are inability to monitor and image the brain in a timely manner. So that problem also goes into the neuro rehab setting where hospitals are now pressured to push patients into neurorehab where they're getting paid, you know, per diem. And also can kind of close the DRG. [00:10:56] So you can kind of look at the stroke continuum as two problems. The early hospital, pre hospital, and then the inpatient inability to monitor this rapidly progressing disease. We have built an automated device for that second space, the inpatient and neurorehab space. Which is an automated, lightweight device that takes our sensor and has two mechanical arms that move it around the patient's head in a completely automated fashion, removing the human element to the path and the scanning path. [00:11:23] And so what that enables us to do is it enables us to put this device-- it sits right at the head of the bed-- all you have to do as a user is set them up in it, which takes less than a minute. You press go on a tablet and it scans everything and tells you all the information that's happening right at the point of care. It also enables us to leave it on and monitor patients over time, which is going to be a game changer in inpatient stroke care, where currently it takes quite a while to get patients to CT. [00:11:48] And again, 80 percent of the time it was a negative scan. So it's a completely inefficient process. That's actually we estimate to be over a 6 billion in efficiency in the U. S. alone. So we're first pursuing that, but not to say that we're not interested in the pre hospital space. We still are very interested in prehospital stroke ruling and so a lot of our diluted first round of our first round of funding, which was just about a year ago, we came to our 1 year mark, like 4 or 5 days ago, is spending a lot of time on improving our sensors capabilities, which we've improved about 3 X from what it was back in 2021. [00:12:21] So ultimately we are pursuing the inpatient space first, because there's a very clear problem for us to solve that we can solve, but it's not to say that we're not going to go for the outpatient space at a later date. We are still very actively pursuing it because our technology will be the one to solve that problem as well. [00:12:39] Lindsey Dinneen: I love it. And I love how bold and confident y'all are in your ability to do this because it's exciting to see that there are such amazing innovations and there's progress in this space. So thank you for doing the work to make that happen. I know that's going to impact so many people's lives. And also, I want to say congratulations because y'all are winning so many awards. I was looking at your LinkedIn pages and it was so fun to see, you know, post after post. So tell me a little bit about some of your recent wins, if you'd love to share that. You've been part of the MedTech Innovator Accelerator cohort for a year ish now. So yeah, just tell me about your experience and what you're celebrating. [00:13:25] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah. I mean, it's been an incredible process. MedTech Innovator is by far the most significant thing we have participated in since forming our company. The doors that were completely shut and locked and sealed that we could never potentially even knock on are now wide open because of MedTech Innovator. So yes, we've been participating for the past year and it's been a wonderful experience. First, starting off at the the pitch events at UCLA, where we pitched to the judges, where they narrowed it down. They had about 1200 early stage companies. I think a total of 1900 applications in total. And they, after those pitch events, which there were five, they narrowed it down to 61 companies total and about, I think it was 40 early stage companies. [00:14:06] So we enrolled in that program and got assigned to some incredible mentors, got to meet all of these amazing alumni that were either first time founders or seasoned, seasoned founders that have been through a lot. And we just had this complete access to this amazing network of people that we could talk to. And so, you know, it started off with Wilson Sonsini, the Innovator Summit, and the Wilson Sonsini medical device conference where we were picked to be in the top five for the vision award, which is based on the criteria, "would you invest in this company? And would you want to work for them? And do you find them inspirational?" [00:14:38] So we made it into the top five, which we're pretty surprised about, honestly, because it was a cohort wide boat. And then we had 7 minutes to pitch very similar to the finals, which I'll get to in a second. And we won that, and that was the first kind of wave of, you know, just increased interest in us, a lot more visibility for us, and a lot of validation. Our 2022 was a very very trying time for us, which we can talk about later. But anyways, that was the first big win for us. [00:15:05] And then we participated in the cohort and got to know the MTI team and our mentors and go through the value proposition program. It was so helpful for us in so many ways, and it culminated in us making it to the finals at the AdvaMed medtech conference, whereas a similar setup, we had about 7 minutes to pitch, try to explain all of the wonderful things about our technology in just a couple of minutes. After a crowd vote, we ended up winning. And so, it was really special for us because in 2022, as young innovators, you get a lot of doubt, you get a lot of no's, you get a lot of people saying you're crazy. And so to win that was really special. And I want to give Shane a moment to say anything else with respect to that too, but it was just a really sweet moment for us after what we've been through. [00:15:48] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah, a hundred percent. You know, we were two young guys in medical school, no previous business experience, trying to spin out a medtech company while also being in medical school. And the number of times we got said no to, we completely lost track. So to be able to build back up and to make it to a point where we're actually the top startup in medtech in the world was, you know, we didn't even believe it. And also, you know, a couple other things it was, Alex and I just went so much. It was awesome working together as a team over the last year and figuring out all these other problems that came up. And at the same time, at MedTech Innovator, we met so many other people going through similar problems as us. And there are so many amazing cohort companies that we got to meet who are going to change how medicine is provided in the U. S. and globally. So it was an absolute pleasure to work with all of them and to work together to solve so many problems in MedTech Innovator. It's cool. [00:16:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's incredible. I'm so glad that you guys had such a great experience with the cohort. And again, yeah, congratulations for winning the whole thing. That's fabulous. And I think it does speak to the innovation that y'all are bringing to the world and how important it is. And obviously you're getting some really good external validation. I mean you know the value that you're bringing, but it's always nice to have an outside person saying, "yes, we agree," you know, and to that point, I'm really curious about your 2022, because you kind of mentioned that that was a little bit more trying. So if you'd be willing to speak to that, I'd love to hear a little bit about that. [00:17:28] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, absolutely. So like Shane mentioned, we were both full time in medical school. We were in the hospital for, I don't even want to admit how many hours. I don't think I'm allowed to say how many hours. And you know, trying to form a pitch deck. And, we're both heavy in science and research and we know how to build the presentation typically for the scientific community, right? And so, and again, we're clinicians, like, one of the reasons why I mentioned before, I think, before the recording, one of the reasons why we're so excited to come to this podcast is that this podcast is really about increasing and bringing technology to increase human health and improve human health. [00:18:05] And, you know, one of the things that we were passionate about, and still are very passionate about, is that we want to bring this product to market because we know it's going to help a lot of people. But one of the things that we had to learn is that we needed to pitch a company, right? We needed to pitch a vision and a mission, which we had the vision and the mission. It's gotten much more refined. But we had, that was our, I think our first learning curve, which we give a lot of, we have got to give a shout out to Helen McBride and Julie Schoenfeld from Caltech, as well as our lead investors at Freeflow for helping us with that one. [00:18:33] But it was tough. We were pitching during our lunch breaks and we were pitching on the weekends and we had investors lined up and then unfortunately, the day before the round of funding was supposed to come through, the markets went south and they said, "Hey, we're not investing right now. So sorry." And we were in a good amount of debt. And so, it speaks to one of the value or one of the most important things when starting a company is kind of faith in your mission and faith in your founder. [00:18:57] We were sitting and just looking at each other like, "man, what are we gonna do right now?" Like, we were still fully deep in school studying for our board exams, and we were in debt and we couldn't even build anything. And so, you know, we kept going at it and we really believed in what we could do. And we ended up finding Freeflow Ventures with David Fleck and Kevin Barrett who believed in us and, and saw our vision as well as the individuals at Caltech, and then we ended up finding quite a few other angel investors who are all directors of stroke centers, neuroradiologists, triple board certified neurologists, and you know, experts in clinical trial neuro design. [00:19:34] And they all believed in us. And so we got the money that we needed. And we've been sprinting ever since, which is why we've been able to accomplish so much in the last year. And, you know, now looking back, Shane and I were just talking about this, after we'd won MedTech Innovator finals and we were like, you know, 2022 was really tough, but it put us in a really good position because it forced us to study everything about the market, learn everything about our competitors. And really hone in on where are we going to bring this thing first? Right? Because like I said before, there's an entire continuum of stroke care where the sensor could be applied and we will apply it to all of those areas. [00:20:12] But what did we want to do first? Right? And so I think us having to go through that tough time is one of the reasons why we're so successful in such a short amount of time. So it was a tough time, but we're obviously, I think we're doing much, much better out of it. Now we can, you know, when you look back at it, we're grateful more than anything else. It's taught us a lot and definitely earned our stripes. [00:20:35] Lindsey Dinneen: It sounds like it. Shane, do you have anything to add to that? [00:20:39] Shane Shahrestani: Pressure makes diamonds. I mean, we felt the pressure. We definitely felt the pressure. It's an understatement, but you know, we learned a lot and we were able to thoughtfully revise our pitch decks, our business plans, our engineering plans with all the no's that we were getting and the feedback that we were getting underlying those no's and that's how we were just able to learn and grow. And I think there's something to be said about being young and trying to run a business. I think a lot of people don't necessarily believe in you, especially when you're asking for millions of dollars. So, we learned that we, as Alex said, earned our stripes and proved ourselves and that we were serious and we knew what we were doing. [00:21:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And you know, what's so interesting is, when I was looking at both of your LinkedIn profiles and just seeing, I kept thinking, do you guys sleep? Do you have time to sleep? [00:21:40] Alexander Ballatori: We're sponsored by caffeine. That's actually, so Shane and I, before we even started this. We, I don't know, Shane, how many papers we published together and like 30 at least and so many conferences. And it was honestly like that, that the number of nights where we consumed hundreds of milligrams of caffeine, just working together is how we knew we were going to be great business partners. And so, you know, again, we're StrokeDX is sponsored by caffeine. [00:22:06] Lindsey Dinneen: Amazing. Can we get that official so that you actually don't have to pay for your coffee or whatever? Your caffeine of choices. Incredible. So this journey from, and obviously you probably wouldn't consider it a complete pivot or anything, but this journey from clinician to entrepreneur, and everything that entails, you know, obviously, like you said, 2022 was this huge learning curve. What would be some advice that you might have now looking back and being able to say to somebody who might be in a similar situation, maybe what's a one or two pieces of advice that you would say would be beneficial? [00:22:49] Shane Shahrestani: All right. A couple of things. One, find a co founder that you trust with your life, who is your best friend, that you'd rather be awake drinking Monsters at 3am than being asleep. That's very important. Two, every time someone says, no, that's an opportunity to learn and grow. And if you have the resilience and grit to keep your head up when you're being told no and to learn from it and to keep going forward, it will always work out. [00:23:20] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, that's exactly, literally exactly what I was going to say. You know, someone gave us a good piece of advice. They said, expect to receive 200 no's. And so when you get your 113th, you know, you're barely, you've just barely crossed the halfway mark. Just keep going, because you should expect 200, right? And that was something that, you have to be a little crazy to do this. But also, I think, in addition, like what Shane was saying, you need to have someone that when you hit a low, you know that you can trust the person next to you and you just say, "okay, let's learn from this. Let's refine our approach. Let's , amend our deck and our plan. And let's keep going." Right? [00:23:58] And also, I think really taking the time to understand the market is really-- what you have, first of all, this is before you even get to this point-- you need to understand what you have, how it will be applied. And I think that was actually one of the one of our biggest benefits is that we work in medicine and we understand clinical utility, clinical need and as well as what we've learned that was very easy for us to learn because of we are clinicians is the whole pay/ payer system, right? [00:24:25] And, you know, price points and pricing strategies, it's all kind of coming from a clinical side. And seeing these products that I know how people use them. I've seen them use. I've used them. It just made it a lot easier for us. But yeah, ultimately boils down to having a strong partner. And and not taking things too to heart when people tell you that you're crazy. [00:24:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, indeed. You know, that reminds me, I remember one time somebody saying, " when you hear no it's very rarely no forever. Never going to consider it, the end, close the door, slam it, and lock it." It's usually, "no, not right now." So if you can take that with a grain of salt, if you can take those no's with a grain of salt, eventually, you'll get to either them changing their mind or somebody else saying, no, I agree with you, you're absolutely right. [00:25:22] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, we got a lot of "not nows." And I think it really boiled down to the fact that our first prototype was handheld. And so we were confident in our decision to go into the inpatient setting. And so now the pendulum has swung the other way. And now that we've validated that our automated device has worked in this translation, translational project of automating this technology has been successful, all of those people that were the not nows are the, "are you raising money now?" questions, which is obviously a great feeling. But yeah, no, definitely. We learned a lot. There were-- also be frank. There are many times where they ask us questions that we studied for weeks afterwards and learned so much from so all those not now is really they shaped us in such a positive way. [00:26:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, yes, I can imagine. Anything to add to that, Shane? [00:26:13] Shane Shahrestani: No, I totally agree. As Alex was saying, a lot of the previous no's are now reaching out to us. So table turn for sure, but it just takes hard work, great resilience. Got to keep your head up, keep fighting and it works out. [00:26:30] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. Out of curiosity, going back to your childhoods, could you have possibly imagined where you are now, back in the day? I mean, did you always have an interest in medicine? Is this something that sort of developed over time? Did you think you were going to be a business owner? [00:26:50] Shane Shahrestani: So ever since I was in fifth grade, I always loved the brain. I knew I wanted to do something related to the brain and now I am working in neurosurgery, but my deep passion is medtech. That's what I wake up for every day. I look forward to working with Alex and our team and solving complex problems and creating new devices that can save brain. Right? So I knew I'd be somewhere in this field, but I had no idea that I'd be able to work on a product so amazing that can really just change the paradigm and stroke care, which affects so many people every year. So, so, I never thought I'd be a business owner. I knew I'd be in the brain somewhere, but this is super exciting. [00:27:35] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, and for me, I, so I grew up with two rockstar parents. Both came from nothing from, you know, farms in Italy, but both were very naturally gifted when it came to science and medicine. And so my parents actually met while my dad was completing his PhD at the University of Rochester. My mom was finishing up her MD. And they both saw that they had Italian last names, and then the rest is history. And then I grew up in Rochester, New York, and clouds and snow for the first 22 years of my life. But, I was very, whether it's nature or nurture, I was always very drawn to science and medicine, and both my parents actually were both entrepreneurs as well in the medical space. [00:28:13] So my dad was a pioneer in lipid and bile metabolism in the liver and developed a lot of enzymatic targets and a lot did a lot of the early work in understanding bio reabsorption. And my mom is a surgeon with multiple devices under her belt and actually is pursuing, it just gotten one of her products just got FDA cleared at the moment. They're launching right now. So I grew up in a very unique household where this is kind of dinner conversation, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be in medtech. I knew I wanted to some sort of degree in medicine. [00:28:44] And so I took time off after I graduated and I got a degree in biology and chemistry. And so I kind of went into my time off just trying to explore as much as possible. I got my hands on so many different startups. I also got to learn from kind of the bigger medtech corporate world is getting more in respect to the orthopedic world. And so I knew it was for me, but then I was deciding PhD or MD. And for me, I liked kind of the wide breadth of knowledge that you get from the MD because there's so many problems in medicine that need to be solved. [00:29:16] And one of the things that really sticks with me is that this whole definition of "gold standard" or "standard of care," or "this is the best that we got" that I just don't, I don't like accept fully, maybe that's just kind of how I was raised or what, but I knew that I was going to, I wanted to go to medical school because I knew that there were so, there's so much more I could learn with respect to how we take care of patients that is so behind with respect to where it should be and can be, especially when you look at what's happening at some of these top universities, like a Caltech and USC and at the lab or at the benchtop. [00:29:52] So, of course, the PhD would have kind of pigeonholed me into one very specific area that I couldn't decide what I was super interested in. So to tell to go back to your question, if I, if you ask me 5 years ago, if I would be doing exactly what I'm doing right now. No, there's no way. But given my background, given my experience with stroke and then, you know, working with Shane, it just really harmoniously kind of just worked out very well. [00:30:17] And I'm really looking forward to the next few years and seeing where we can take this and then the next one as well. And the next one after that. Shane and I have a very common, one of, one of the we're I keep saying we're crazy. We kind of are in many ways where when a finish something a little bit, when we finish a task and we like finish our to-do list, the next thing we say is not like, "let's go grab lunch or grab dinner or something." It's "alright, what's next? What do we do next?" Right? And so I know the day... [00:30:40] Shane Shahrestani: I'll call Alex at like 6, 7 p. m. and be like, "Alex, I'm itching to do something. Like, just tell me something to do. What needs to be done?" He's like, "dude, you just worked a 14, 16 hour day. Why do you want more work?" I don't know. I just, it feels wrong. [00:30:56] Alexander Ballatori: I was like, Shane, go to sleep. [00:30:57] Lindsey Dinneen: It's all that caffeine. You've got your system wired, ready to go. Oh my word. Oh, that's incredible. Oh, my goodness. So out of curiosity, are there any moments or maybe one moment or whatnot that kind of stand out to you? It could be through medical school, it doesn't necessarily have to be with StrokeDX, but just a moment that stands out to you as saying, "yes, I know exactly why I'm here. This is it." It's reinforced for you: "I am in the right place at the right time doing the work that I really feel passionate about." [00:31:37] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, you know, I think there wasn't one specific moment, but more so a process over 2022. And being told no, so so many times. And then finally battling through debt, and thank you so much to our lawyers for being very flexible with us on that. But when we finally got the amount of investors that we needed and the amount of money that we needed, everything, just we were on fire. We were so ready and we had such a strong plan. The moment the money came in, it was we were already starting to send it out the door to our engineers to start paying. And we started working that the same day that the money came in, we had a meeting with our engineers to start working. And I think just that transition point from going from trying to sell the mission to actually executing it was definitely a highlight for us. So I don't think there's one specific moment. But I think it was that kind of transition and seeing all of our incremental improvements in our sensor and seeing this device come to life. It's just been, it's, I think it's almost the whole process is really just validated that this is where I'm supposed to be. [00:32:45] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah, I think to the families of people who had a stroke and explaining to them what a stroke is and the prognosis and what's going to happen to their loved one, and then seeing people unfortunately pass because of stroke, and maybe they live too far from a hospital and their life could have been saved if they came in a little bit sooner, or they didn't know that they were having a stroke and they tried to sleep it off and woke up and couldn't move half their body. Right? And the stories go on and on. You see it in every permutation and every variation. But then, at the end of the day, these are people and their loved ones are in the hospital with them and you're trying to keep them alive and all our odds are against you and it's a function of losing brain cells and that is a function of time and efficiency, right? [00:33:41] So a big why is just so much suffering, sadness, loss can be prevented by creating new technologies that can just make healthcare more efficient for people, right? Faster, cheaper, better diagnostics, better assessment tools, better ways to monitor. And you know, that's another reason why I think Alex and I, you know, share that in common and we just work tirelessly just to create new things to just change the paradigm, change the standard of care, make things better for people. 'Cause that's just where our heart and our passion lies. [00:34:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I'm very glad that you both did not let all the no's deter you. I'm glad you were willing to come back to your why and just keep at it. Yeah, that's, that takes a lot of grit and determination, but glad y'all are doing what you're doing. So, pivoting just for fun, imagine that you were asked to teach a masterclass on anything that you want. You're going to be given a million dollars for this. What would you choose to teach and why? It also doesn't have to be related to your industry at all, although it could be. [00:34:58] Alexander Ballatori: I, so my family and my my, just family events and cooking is, and my Italian heritage, is very important to me. And so I, it's, when I'm not working, I'm cooking or I'm spending, I make wine for fun. It's just it's all the traditions from my family. So I think if I had to teach a class, it would probably be sharing some of my family recipes, and also I love to cook and host all the time. So I like have had cooking classes at my house with friends and every year I make wine. It's always a big event and always have people over it. It's a really simple process. It seems so daunting, but it's quite simple, especially when you do it the old world way. And so, yeah, I guess I guess that would probably be mine. [00:35:45] Shane Shahrestani: First of all, I would go to Alex's masterclass. I'd pay however much he charged. I'd be there. His wine is like the only wine I drink now. If I had to teach a masterclass, so there's two things about me that I don't even know if Alex knows. I can identify the Latin name for any insect, any insect. And also I can classify like any saltwater fish, like tropical fish. So, somewhere between insects and tropical fish, just like, you pointed out, I'll just tell you what it is. [00:36:17] Alexander Ballatori: No way. Get out of here. We gotta go to the Galapagos. We're going on a trip. [00:36:23] Shane Shahrestani: Dude, I'm ready. We'll be the new Charles Darwins. [00:36:28] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay, so if I were to just take a random photo of a bug, I could just send it to you and you'd go, yeah, that's a... [00:36:34] Shane Shahrestani: A hundred percent. I can tell you like what order and like species that bug is. [00:36:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Amazing. [00:36:41] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah. [00:36:42] Alexander Ballatori: Incredible. [00:36:45] Lindsey Dinneen: We learn something new every day. I love it. [00:36:48] Shane Shahrestani: Just when you thought I couldn't be more nerdy, Alex. [00:36:52] Alexander Ballatori: No, so the reason why I'm laughing is because I used to do the exact same with any, you could show me any dinosaur skeleton and I knew I could do the exact same thing. I definitely can't anymore. I definitely cannot anymore. [00:37:05] Shane Shahrestani: That's so funny. [00:37:06] Alexander Ballatori: That's definitely just harsh parenting on like repeated flashcards. It was some genuine interest there, but [00:37:15] Shane Shahrestani: That's incredible. [00:37:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Amazing. I see how, you know, your, some of your childhood interests or pastimes have led you to successful careers in medicine, 'cause that amount of memorization must be daunting, but it clearly isn't because y'all have been doing it your whole life. [00:37:32] Shane Shahrestani: It's been the journey, from insects to here, you know. [00:37:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Amazing. Alright, on a slightly more serious note, how would you like to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:37:46] Alexander Ballatori: That's a great question. You know, I had a mentor at UCSF that was in a very similar position to where I kind of see myself in the later years of my career and it's very difficult to be a clinician full time and still spin technologies out, run the kind of the business end of things. And, he was someone that did it. He was someone that did both, and that's something that I also aspire at some point. And, we had this conversation where you kind of have to view it as, "do you want to be the person that takes care of the tree? And you can see the impact from your own hands on that one person? Or would you rather maintain the forest and drive things that can impact the entire forest?" It's something that sticks with me always. [00:38:35] And like I was mentioning before, just this whole concept of standard of care or gold standard, the best way to do something that I never really fully accept. So I think it's kind of not fully concrete, but I think continuing to spin out technology that these amazing technologies that are stuck at the benchtop. And through this kind of bureaucratic tech transfer process, I really see myself down the line. I would like to be remembered by our ability to take these amazing technologies and not accept that things are just the way that they are because they never are, right? We used to operate without gloves and not that long ago and wondered why our infection rates were so high. So I think for me, just down the line, I'd love to be able to be remembered by bringing new technologies and not accepting that what we currently considered the best way to do it, the actual best way to do it. [00:39:23] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah, I think, similarly, I think we all have family and friends that we love and we cherish. And I think everyone's biggest fear is losing someone that they care about. And I think we have one shot in life and my personal mission statement is just to do whatever I can just to spread positivity, happiness, ways to, to maximize that love and keep people around. Right? And I really think that medical devices and medicine and new technologies are the way to just create new solutions to problems that affect everyone. Or will affect everyone at some point in their lives. So, it would be great to be remembered as innovators, someone who can create that device that saved my brother or my mom, you know? And I think that's also a big dream or aspiration that, that we work towards every day. [00:40:26] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and final question: what is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:40:36] Alexander Ballatori: I mean, I love seeing a big table filled with food anytime, because it's, again, it's my family. We used to get together every Friday, every Sunday, no exceptions. Everyone is there, 50 to 100 people. And so every time we open a table and it's like I'm going back to upstate New York for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. And so every time I see there, I think about it, you know, we've all grown now and we're all kind of all over the place. So we don't get together as much. So anytime I think about that's definitely that's definitely my, my, what makes me smile for sure. [00:41:06] Shane Shahrestani: Lately I've been smiling, looking at that big check we won at MedTech Innovator. [00:41:16] Alexander Ballatori: Me too. Me too. Me too. [00:41:17] Shane Shahrestani: Yeah. So we'll leave it there. [00:41:20] Alexander Ballatori: And our new device rendering also makes me smile. [00:41:22] Shane Shahrestani: That's oh yeah. Yeah. That makes me smile. [00:41:25] Alexander Ballatori: It's also both of our phones screensavers. So we're smiling a lot. [00:41:31] Lindsey Dinneen: I love it. That's fantastic. It's just motivation day in and day out. You just look at it and go, "yeah, this is great. This is what we're doing." Oh my word. That is absolutely incredible. And this has just been so much fun. I really appreciate you both joining me today and sharing more about your backgrounds and your passion and all of the really exciting innovation coming out of your company. Again, thank you. Thank you for what you're doing for the world. It matters. And it's really cool to see you take the challenge and get past the no's to get to those yeses. So thanks. [00:42:08] Alexander Ballatori: Yeah, no, thank you so much for allowing us to share our story and make sure you follow us as we are moving very quickly and starting to collect clinical data. And so it's a very exciting time to, to start following us. If you aren't already, it's now is the best time to start. [00:42:22] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. [00:42:23] Shane Shahrestani: Appreciate you for having us today. It's been a pleasure chatting and hopefully we do this again soon. [00:42:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And we are so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which provides beds for children who don't have any in the United States. So thank you for choosing that organization to support. And yeah, we just wish you continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:42:52] Alexander Ballatori: Thank you so much. Thanks again. [00:42:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And thank you also to our listeners for tuning in. Please go follow StrokeDX. Like they said, they are moving quickly and you will definitely want to be on top of that. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am, I'd love if you'd share this episode with a colleague or two, and we will catch you next time. [00:43:14] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.  

Amy Caizza, a Partner at Wilson Sonsini, discusses new proposed rules by FinCEN that would see a significant expansion of AML / CFT obligations for Registered Investment Advisers, Venture Capital Advisers, and Private Fund Advisers. This could mean a significant addition to advisers' obligations when screening potential investors. Here is a link to the recent alert that the firm published on the proposed rule as well as a link to Amy's bio and contact information.Amy is leader of the firm's fintech and financial services group, which is recognized as a leading U.S. fintech practice by Chambers FinTech. 

Green startups are imagining solutions to the climate crisis and leading the transition to a sustainable economy. Yet sustainable entrepreneurship remains incredibly daunting given market challenges, long pathways to commercial viability, and an ill-suited investor landscape. In this episode, host Sarah Backer sits down with Jesse Lazarus, Associate Attorney with the Energy and Climate Solutions practice of Wilson Sonsini, to discuss the legal and policy solutions that could enable green startups to thrive to in turn help accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy.  Read the full Environmental Law Reporter article: Dismantling Roadblocks to a Sustainable Transition. ★ Support this podcast ★

(0:00) Intro.(0:55) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(1:41) Start of interview.(2:21) Richard's "origin story." His position as Chair of WSGR's public company practice and Chair of the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council.(7:30) On the origins and focus of WSGR's 2023 Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report.(12:00) What findings were most surprising or unexpected in this year's report? Discussion on ESG disclosures.(14:40)  On ESG backlash and regional differences. Importance of (institutional) investors.(15:36) On some SV150 companies leaving their CA HQs (both to other states and decentralizing with no HQ). Impact of diversity disclosure laws (SB-826 and AB-979) and taxation.(18:48) Incorporating in Delaware vs other states (prompted by Elon Musk's desire to re-incorporate from DE to TX). FYI 143/150 (95%) of the SV150 are incorporated in Delaware.(23:25)  On evolution of virtual meetings (board and stockholder meetings).(26:15)  On evolution of board committees structure and focus (ie. ESG/sustainability, Cybersecurity/privacy, Human Capital, Technology, AI).(32:13)  Impact of Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule. *5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the rule (October 2023). Gender diversity in SV150: 33% boards, 22% C-level execs, 5% CEOs.(36:09) On Dual and Multi-Class Share Structures in SV150 (~30% of SV150 have them. ~91% have sunset provisions).(39:40)  Shareholder Activism in SV150 (~8%) and impact of new SEC Universal Proxy Rules.(44:24) Looking ahead, what key governance issues should SV150 companies be preparing for in the next few years? Climate disclosure rules (EU, CA, SEC, investor requirements, etc) and AI.(47:00)  Increase in antitrust and other regulatory enforcement. "We are in a high enforcement regulatory environment."(49:24) Book that has greatly influenced his life: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (1923)(49:50) His professional mentors (WSGR): Steve BochnerKatie MartinJose Macias(50:35)  Quotes that he thinks of often or lives her life by: "If you start right, it's easy to end right. But if you start wrong, it's very, very difficult to get on the right path and end right" by Joseph Smith. (51:10) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves.(51:58) The living person he most admires: his parents.Richard Blake is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and the leader of the firm's public companies practice. He practices corporate and securities law with a focus on public company representation, corporate governance, and public offerings. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__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

In this episode we take a look at the key considerations for expanding your UK business to the US. What expansion options are available to you, which kind of businesses tend to succeed, and what are some of the common challenges UK businesses face?   Joining Declan for the conversation are Blick Rothenberg's US UK Private Client Director Michael Holland and our guest Brad Doline, Of Counsel at law firm Wilson Sonsini.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us on Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, where hosts David Lat and Zach Sandberg sit down with Kannon Shanmugam, one of the nation's preeminent Supreme Court advocates. A partner at Paul, Weiss, Kannon serves as chair of the firm's Supreme Court and appellate practice, chair of the D.C. office, and co-chair of litigation. On the podcast, he discusses how his study of the classics was an ideal background for a lawyer, his distinctive style as a Supreme Court litigator, and his approaches to teaching advocacy and mentorship. Kannon also reflects on his time at Paul, Weiss, which he joined five years ago this month, and shares some of the strategies behind its remarkable success, as well as his career advice for law students and lawyers. In this week's Moves of the Week, David shares the news of Torridon Law, the law firm founded by former attorney general Bill Barr and former Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot, hiring former White House lawyers Pat Cipollone, Pat Philbin, and Kate Todd, while Zach highlights McDermott's strategic addition of a healthcare team from Wilson Sonsini. Don't miss this episode for an in-depth look at legal excellence and leadership. Remember to rate, review, subscribe, and share Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers with your colleagues and friends!

Perella Weinberg activism banker Jillian Alsheimer and her husband, Sebastian, an activism partner at Wilson Sonsini, discuss marriage, white squires, M&A and prospects for Bernie Sanders as a labor-backed director nominee.

Ralph Tsong has primarily practiced assisted reproductive technology law since 2016 when he started Tsong Law Group. Ralph is licensed in California, Illinois, Washington and Arizona. Prior to practicing ART law, Ralph was a labor and employment lawyer with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (now the California Civil Rights Department) and California Department of Industrial Relations. Ralph also was an attorney at Legal Aid Society of Los Angeles, the Asian Law Alliance, Wilson Sonsini and Littler. Liens are popping up in many insurance plans that cover surrogacy. What are liens? Do intended parents have to pay them? Could liens spread to other states? Listen as Ralph discuss with Ellen and Jenn: • His path to becoming a lawyer with a multi-state practice. • Going through fertility treatment and adoption and seeing the difficulties firsthand. • Shifted his practice to ART law and adoption. • What liens are and why they are an increasing problem in surrogacy arrangements. • Why these liens should be found discriminatory and illegal. Want to share your story or ask a question? Call and leave us a message on our hotline: 303-997-1903. Learn more about Ralph's legal practice: https://www.tsonglaw.com/ Learn more about our podcast: https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/ Learn more about our surrogacy agencies: https://www.brightfuturesfamilies.com/ Get your IWTPABIY merch here! https://iwanttoputababyinyou.com/merch Learn more about Ellen's law firm: http://trachmanlawcenter.com/

Today's show: Wilson Sonsini partner Adam Shevell joins Jason to discuss gaining access to datasets (1:10), fair use in copyright cases (6:29), and more! * Time stamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini partner Adam Shevell joins Jason (1:10) Gaining access to datasets, avoiding copyright infringement, and why IP is protected (6:29) The concept of fair use and when it applies (11:26) What new founders should pay attention to (14:59) The Github case (17:42) Proper strategy for getting permission (22:56) How startups get crushed with legal bills (23:32) The Andy Warhol supreme court case * Check out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠https://www.wsgr.com * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Corporate governance insights from Amy Simmerman, a partner at Wilson Sonsini, leading their Delaware office and governance practice and also a member of the firm's board of directors. We cover a broad spectrum of topics, including what boards can/should consider in the current environment and the need to keep abreast of Delaware law even if you are not incorporated in Delaware.For more corporate governance podcasts, check out Feedspot's list of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts (which includes Women Governance Trailblazers (listed as Women Governance Gurus)) - https://blog.feedspot.com/corporate_governance_podcasts/

Today's show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they discuss the contrast between late-stage and seed-stage investing(2:52), repricing stock options(5:48), the adoption of AI legal industry(23:29), and much more! * Time stamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (1:19) The increase in tech layoffs and AI startups (2:52) Late-stage vs. early-stage investing and the seed-stage value chart (5:48) Repricing stock options when underwater (14:05) Disclosing revenue, burn rate, and growth rate (18:08) RIFs and knowing your employees (20:57) The long-term effects of remote work (23:29) The use of AI and chatbots in law * Check out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.com * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Todays show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason on the latest edition of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down legal standards in the startup ecosystem(2:19), SAFE agreements and convertible notes(5:41), conflicts faced by founders and investors(20:58), and much more! Time Stamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason (2:19) Breaking the box or sticking to widely accepted frameworks (3:47) General trends and the adoption of safe agreements (5:41) Differences between SAFE agreements and convertible notes (10:34) Companies that raised high valuations during a hot market and need to raise funds again (15:43) The impact of down rounds and pay-to-play provisions on investors, founders, and employees (20:58) Conflicts faced by founders, existing investors, and new investors (27:58) Surviving down markets * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: ⁠https://www.wsgr.com/en/⁠ * ⁠Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo⁠: ⁠https://www.launch.co/four⁠ ⁠Apply for Funding⁠: ⁠https://www.launch.co/apply⁠ ⁠Buy ANGEL⁠: ⁠https://www.angelthebook.com⁠ Great recent interviews: ⁠Steve Huffman⁠, ⁠Brian Chesky⁠, ⁠Aaron Levie⁠, ⁠Sophia Amoruso⁠, ⁠Reid Hoffman⁠, ⁠Frank Slootman⁠, ⁠Billy McFarland⁠, ⁠PrayingForExits⁠, ⁠Jenny Lefcourt⁠ Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: ⁠https://substack.com/@calacanis⁠ * Follow Jason: Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/jason⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jason⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis⁠ * Follow TWiST: Substack: ⁠https://twistartups.substack.com⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/TWiStartups⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin⁠ * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: ⁠https://www.founder.university/podcast

Today's show: Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki DeGraw joins Jason to kick off another series of Startup Legal Basics! In this episode, they break down secondary market transactions, including the evolution of secondaries (00:50), trends in the industry (3:16), critical aspects of Qualified Small Business (QSBS) stock(20:06), and much more! * Time stamps: (00:00) Wilson Sonsini Partner Becki Degraw joins Jason (00:50) The increased use of secondary markets (3:16) How companies staying private longer influenced the rise in secondaries (4:25) Determining how much founders should be allowed to sell (6:21) Spending more than a company is worth (9:26) The Pari-Passu concept explained and how it applies to early investors, founders, and employees (10:38) Who gets to sell pre-IPO (12:44) Off the cap table transactions and hypothetical scenarios (18:26) Tender offers and the NASDAQ secondary market (20:06) The critical aspects of qualified small business (QSBS) stock * Check Out Wilson Sonsini: https://www.wsgr.com/en/ * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com Great recent interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland, PrayingForExits, Jenny Lefcourt Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow Jason: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Ready to dive deep into the nitty-gritty, the good, the bad, and the downright stinky? Join your favorite host Bob Sewell and civil litigation maestro, Marshall Hunt, as we take you on a wild journey through the unexpected and surprisingly compelling world of...you guessed it...dog poop! In this episode, we're not just talking sh*t, we're discussing the real legal ramifications tied to those little brown 'presents' left behind by your favorite furry friends.Can you sue your neighbor when his pet soils your lawn repeatedly? Can you be arrested for your pet's waste?Together, we'll scoop up the facts about how Arizona is taking a firm stance against poo-littering pet parents. Don't know your obligations when your pooch poops? We've got you covered, as we 'doggie bag' all the need-to-know details, including the hefty fines that might be hiding in those not-so-secret deposits.But it's not all bad news and 'dirty' talk; we're also digging into the exemptions for those with disabilities. We'll explore the responsibilities and rights of service animal owners in our canine-caring community.Don't let the subject matter fool you - this isn't just a stinky situation, it's a fascinating exploration into the intersection of pets, law, and civic duties. So, leash up your curiosity, fetch your headphones, and let's get ready to roll in some seriously intriguing insights!Grab your poop bags, folks! It's time to take a walk on the wild (and wonderfully woofy) side of pet law in Arizona. Hold your noses - it's going to be an informative, engaging, and surprisingly fun ride! So, sit back, relax, and get ready to get the 'scoop' on the legalities of dog poop. Trust us, this is one conversation you won't want to 'leave behind'!This idea was provided by a subscriber!  Thank you, N.J.!*** Listeners please note…the show makes reference to a Supreme Court case involving a dog toy…that is labeled as dog poo…which prompted a trademark infringement lawsuit from Jack Daniel's. (Give this show a listen…you'll understand!!!) Our point was that this subject can get so weighty the nations highest court is not above dealing with it. We didn't tackle the trademark law nuance, but if you're interested…our friends at the Wilson Sonsini law firm have the goods here. The case was decided a couple of days after our recording. A bad verdict for the doo doo folks: https://info.wsgr.com/index.php/email/emailWebview?md_id=15013

Ami has dabbled around in different jobs and careers while trying to figure out her true calling. But her high-achieving Indian parents don't get what, exactly, she's looking for. And Samorn Selim, a career coach who works with BIPOC, women and first-gen professionals, speaks with Juleyka about how to get clarity around what we want professionally without feeling beholden to our families.Ami Thukker is the host of Tuckered Out With Amy Thukkar, a podcast where she interviews South Asian trailblazers, leaders and experts around the world.Featured Expert: Samorn is a lawyer turned career coach on a mission to help us all take our careers from dread to joy. Samorn has coached more than 1,000 BIPOC, women, and first-generation professionals who are lawyers, techies, and leaders to build their dream careers. Through her companies, Samorn Selim Coaching and now Career Unicorns she has successfully worked with individuals who want to make a positive impact in the world to land dream jobs, be promoted to leadership positions, negotiate 6 figure salaries, and develop a book of business. Samorn has been a keynote speaker at Google, Autodesk, Wilson Sonsini, Paul Hastings, UC Office of the President, the National Association for Law Placement, and other organizations on hot topics including: developing your signature personal brand, managing cultural code switching, and sponsoring women of color and first generation professionals. She is a board member of the American Bar Association Career Center, and has provided pro bono career coaching to first generation college and undocumented students for the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation and the New Leaders Scholarship. She has been published in The Recorder, The Daily Journal, American Bar Association, and The Transcript (Berkeley Law's alumni magazine). Her book, "Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic, Depressed, Insomniac Lawyer" is available on Amazon. Learn more about her work on her website.If you loved this episode, listen to She Loves Her Work, Her Parents Don't Get it and Her Roots Inspired a Career Change, But Her Parents Don't Get It.We'd love to hear your stories of triumph and frustration so send us a detailed voice memo to hello@talktomamipapi.com. You might be on a future episode! Let's connect on Twitter and Instagram at @TalkToMamiPapi and email us at hello@talktomamipapi.com. And follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.

On the Energy Gang this week, Ed Crooks is joined by Dr. Melissa Lott, the Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and Amy Duffuor, who is a General Partner at Azolla Ventures, a climate-focused investment firm. In this week's episode, the gang start of by discussing the recent outcry over the possible impact of offshore wind development on whales. Although there is no evidence connecting the wind industry's activities to the rise in whale deaths, people are worried that there could be a link. It's an example of the broader issue in energy investment: there can often be tensions and conflicts between what we need to do to tackle the threat of climate change and the interests of local communities and eco-systems. The transition to a low-carbon energy system means building a huge amount of stuff, from wind farms to power lines to lithium mines to flood defenses. The industry is under intense scrutiny to show that it can develop the infrastructure we need in a responsible way. Also on this show: “electrify everything” has been a slogan in the clean energy movement for a long time. Now it is becoming a reality, and gathering momentum. Taking just a couple of recent examples: Poland is building new factories to produce heat pumps that will replace gas boilers for home heating; and the state of California has announced that it wants to move to zero emission vehicles not just for passenger cars and light trucks, but for heavy trucks as well, by the end of 2035. These shifts to use electricity for heating and transport and going to increase the load and strains on grids around the world. How can we make sure that electricity systems can keep up?Finally, Amy's firm Azolla is part of a new coalition called the Venture Climate Alliance, designed to accelerate progress towards net zero emissions. Why do we need yet another group in the financial sector working on climate and emissions? And what is the role of venture capital in the transition to a clean energy system?Subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode and follow us on Twitter, we're @theenergygang The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati—the premier legal services provider to technology, life sciences, and clean energy enterprises. Wilson Sonsini has built a leading energy and climate solutions practice and its team is dedicated to a single goal: advancing what's next in the energy industry. For more information about Wilson Sonsini's energy and climate change team, visit wsgr.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a special edition of the Energy Gang this week. New York University's 2040 Now event is an initiative focused on addressing the challenges posed by climate change, and this week the Energy Gang joined in. As part of the week of exercises, talks, exhibitions and discussions, regular Energy Gang member Amy Myers-Jaffe led a workshop on building energy transition scenarios, looking for ways to deepen our understanding of the present and strengthen our predictions about the future. The Energy Gang was there to record live in the Kimmel Center for University Life at NYU. Scenario analysis is particularly useful for analyzing the energy transition, because its trajectory is still uncertain, and a large number of variables can influence outcomes. Some of the most important of those variables are qualitative rather than quantitative, making them hard to analyze in a computer simulation such as an energy systems model. Thinking about a wide range of scenarios is a vital tool for testing assumptions and highlighting alternative possibilities. Amy and host Ed Crooks were joined by Energy Gang regular Robbie Orvis, Senior Director of Modelling and Analysis at the think-tank Energy Innovation, and by Erin Coughlan de Perez, Dignitas Associate Professor at Tufts University. With contributions from NYU professors, students and invited guests, they discussed the aspects of climate, policy, technology and finance that will shape our energy system and climate over the decades to come. And they ask the question: when we try to predict the future of energy, what are we missing?Subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode and follow us on Twitter, we're @theenergygang The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati—the premier legal services provider to technology, life sciences, and clean energy enterprises. Wilson Sonsini has built a leading energy and climate solutions practice and its team is dedicated to a single goal: advancing what's next in the energy industry. For more information about Wilson Sonsini's energy and climate change team, visit wsgr.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alternative sources of power are moving into the spotlight.As the share of dispatchable power in our electricity system declines, with coal-fired plants giving way to variable wind and solar, maintaining reliable supplies to keep the lights on becomes more complex. Investment in wind and solar is still vital for making progress towards net zero emissions, but other sources of low-carbon power are also moving into the spotlight. Those can include nuclear and hydrogen generation, as well as wave and tidal power, but there's another source of renewable energy that's been attracting a lot of attention recently: geothermal. Today geothermal accounts for just 0.5% of renewables-based capacity for electricity generation globally, but some think it could play a much bigger role in the future. In the past few years there has been growing interest in geothermal energy, driven by some exciting innovations. Quaise Energy, for example, is developing a millimeter wave drill that they say could enable them to deliver energy at $40 per MWh. Fervo is a startup working on horizontal drilling for geothermal, enabling them to reach more areas and lowering surface footprints. On the Energy Gang this week, Ed Crooks is joined by Dr. Melissa Lott, the Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and by Nneka Kibuule, who is a Principal at Aligned Climate Capital and co-founder of GreenTech Noir. They discuss the potential of geothermal as an energy source, and the important questions over its environmental impact. What are the trade-offs when we develop new sources of low-carbon energy that could help tackle climate change, but create local impacts on sensitive ecosystems?There's a $100 million plan to turn apartments in New York City into Virtual Power Plants, or VPPs. There are now hundreds of VPP projects across the US and Canada, with New York and California being the biggest states. But what exactly are they, and how do they work? In New York City, the plan is to control air-conditioning units in real-time to reduce electricity demand, relieving stress on the grid and helping to cut emissions. Nneka Kibuule explains how Aligned Climate Capital has invested in several businesses developing technologies for VPPs, making it possible to turn homes and businesses into a collective energy resource for utilities and the grid. Finally, the focus on ESG investing continues. When investors and companies look at ESG scores and ratings, are they getting too hung up on the numbers and not paying enough attention to all the other important factors that are more difficult to measure?Subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode and follow us on Twitter, we're @theenergygang The Energy Gang is brought to you by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati—the premier legal services provider to technology, life sciences, and clean energy enterprises. Wilson Sonsini has built a leading energy and climate solutions practice and its team is dedicated to a single goal: advancing what's next in the energy industry.   For more information about Wilson Sonsini's energy and climate change team, visit wsgr.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  David Wang is the Chief Innovation Officer at Wilson Sonsini, and is the only person of color and Asian American on the management team.   According to a Yale Law School report published in November 2022, Asian Americans are the largest minority group at major law firms, but continue to have the lowest ratio of partners to associates (only 4.3% are equity partners).    So how does one break the bamboo ceiling?  In this episode, we discuss:   - Difficult conversations about how you can break the bamboo ceiling. - How a serendipitous meeting can change the course of your career and lead you on a career path you never thought of.   - Why fortune favors the prepared, and what you can do to make sure that when the opportunity arises, you can capitalize on it.   - How what may be perceived as a weakness can be your X factor that leads to your unique value.   - How to create small wins, so that you can get buy-in even from those who are skeptical.   - What you can do as a leader to give your team a sense of belonging and to change policies that help to dismantle systemic discrimination.  Connect with David on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/david-y-wang.   Connect with Samorn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim.   Get a copy of Samorn's book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c.      Get weekly career tips by signing up for our newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com.