Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Video Series
277 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★ - 16 ratingsEach week, experienced entrepreneurs and innovators come to Stanford University to candidly share lessons they’ve learned while developing, launching and scaling disruptive ideas. The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series is produced by Stanford eCorner during fall, winter and spring quarters.
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Episodes
Damien Patton (Banjo) - The Altruistic Entrepreneur
January 30, 2019 08:09 - 43 minutes - 2.52 MB VideoEverything we know about “real time” is wrong, says Damien Patton, founder and CEO of Banjo. By analyzing and processing billions of live data signals, Banjo is able to deliver live-time, life saving information to aid agencies and the media. Patton shares his mission of using technology to help people by using artificial intelligence for good, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to listen to their gut when faced with tough ethical decisions.
Ryan Petersen (Flexport) - Modernizing the Shipping Industry
January 23, 2019 08:39 - 54 minutes - 3.1 MB VideoGlobal trade has existed for centuries, but hasn’t evolved with technology. Ryan Petersen, CEO and founder of Flexport, learned this the hard way as an entrepreneur managing the supply chain of his brother’s motorcycle sales business, and took it as an opportunity to update the industry. Petersen shares his insights on how entrepreneurs can solve some of the world’s biggest challenges and how the Internet can be a force for good.
Dan Widmaier (Bolt Threads) - Design to Disrupt
December 05, 2018 08:18 - 47 minutes - 2.72 MB VideoDan Widmaier, co-founder and CEO at Bolt Threads, is on a mission to disrupt the garment industry through technology and science. He shares his perspective on sustainability, the future of the environment and how to focus on the task at hand instead of distractions.
Brad Bao (Lime) - Innovation Driven By Sustainability
November 28, 2018 08:09 - 43 minutes - 2.49 MB VideoBrad Bao, co-founder and executive chairman of Lime, shares his mission to create close-knit neighborhoods through mobility. Highlighting Lime’s achievements, he challenges the notion that companies cannot succeed if they are socially responsible.
Emily Melton (DFJ) - Focus on Forward Momentum
November 14, 2018 08:13 - 47 minutes - 2.69 MB VideoEmily Melton, partner at the venture capital firm Threshold (formerly DFJ), shares her experience growing from a humanities student to tech investor. Melton shares advice for how to sustain startup momentum, navigate uncertainty and forge the honest, supportive relationships that lead to success.
Adam Pisoni (Abl Schools) - Let Your Customers Educate You
November 02, 2018 23:55 - 45 minutes - 2.62 MB VideoAdam Pisoni, founder and CEO of Abl Schools, shares how he tackles complex challenges, like modernizing the education system. Pisoni describes how he listens first, addresses today’s known issues and builds pathways to new possibilities. He breaks down how to identify scalable solutions, validate ideas and prioritize needs.
Tina Seelig with Steve Garrity (Hearsay Systems) and Juliet Rothenberg (DeepMind) - Find Your Superpower, Launch Your Career
October 31, 2018 09:06 - 50 minutes - 2.9 MB VideoProfessor of the Practice Tina Seelig sits down with Steve Garrity, founder of Hearsay Systems and Juliet Rothenberg, product manager at DeepMind for a new podcast called LEAP!. This series will take a deep dive into how to grow your career by unpacking some of the often overlooked and under-taught soft skills critical to the success of every entrepreneur. Each episode invites alumni at different stages in their career to discuss real-life scenarios, focused around a particular skill. In this...
Puneet Agarwal (True Ventures) - Strike the EQ/IQ Balance in Venture Capital
October 24, 2018 07:00 - 43 minutes - 2.52 MB VideoPuneet Agarwal, partner at True Ventures, describes the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) within venture capital and its implications on the business functions of companies. He shares scenarios where EQ sets the tone for open communication, helping to build a community of safety for their founders and investors.
Manish Chandra (Poshmark) - Channeling an Adaptive Mindset
October 17, 2018 07:00 - 48 minutes - 2.79 MB VideoThroughout his career, Manish Chandra, founder and CEO at Poshmark, learned to evolve, grow and adapt to the economical and career changes he faced. His vision for a mobile shopping platform was ahead of its time. Chandra shares his thoughts on how to persevere in the face of doubt, how to partner with founders that share a common goal and why focusing on engagement and community is critical for scaling successfully.
Maureen Fan (Baobab Studios) - Animating Against the Grain
October 10, 2018 07:00 - 44 minutes - 2.56 MB VideoMaureen Fan, co-founder and CEO at Baobab Studios, shares how she blended her creativity and technical savvy in founding her virtual reality animation company. Undeterred by naysayers and an unforged path ahead, she encourages those with big imaginations to buck traditional career paths and to be persistent in asking for what you want.
Steve Vassallo (Foundation Capital) - Focus on Users to Solve Problems
June 04, 2018 17:41 - 53 minutes - 3.08 MB VideoThroughout life, Steve Vassallo has advanced his career through design thinking, from the slick flyer he created on his parents' computer to get him more work as a boy, to his five years at IDEO, and now as a startup investor at Foundation Capital. Vassallo explains how strategies like user observation and asking the right questions will get you to the heart of any problem that needs solving.
Lisa Alderson (Genome Medical) - Dare to Stretch Your Boundaries
May 24, 2018 21:42 - 55 minutes - 3.2 MB VideoSerial entrepreneur Lisa Alderson, co-founder and CEO of Genome Medical, shares her vision for the future of medicine, along with real-world advice for those seeking to start their own company: Discover and follow your passion to ensure you stay driven through the highs and lows. Above all, venture into unfamiliar territory in order to build the confidence to embrace change.
Gabriel Parisi-Amon (Nebia) - A Burnout Manifesto
May 18, 2018 21:39 - 52 minutes - 2.99 MB VideoGabriel Parisi-Amon, co-founder, CTO and COO of environmentally conscious shower startup, Nebia, bravely challenges the myth of “the perfect startup founder.” Parisi-Amon takes us on a journey through the seven stages of burnout he experienced in the early years of his startup, sharing how he’s emerged a more conscious and balanced leader. He offers tips and exercises for identifying the symptoms of burnout, urging us to prevent the fire before we’re consumed.
Joshua Hoffman (Zymergen) - Insights of an Accidental Entrepreneur
May 11, 2018 19:31 - 46 minutes - 2.67 MB VideoJoshua Hoffman, co-founder and CEO of industrial-chemicals maker Zymergen, details how his intellectual dabbling in college and the courage to work on his weaknesses prepared him to be a broadminded business leader. He urges aspiring entrepreneurs to become good storytellers and build strong teams of divergent thinkers, even if they drive you nuts. Hoffman explains why it's all worth the pain.
Chip Heath (Stanford University) - How Organizations Can Win Our Hearts
May 07, 2018 16:19 - 56 minutes - 3.22 MB VideoStanford business Professor Chip Heath discusses how certain moments we all experience — the first day at a new job, finishing a difficult project —don’t feel as special as they should, and how we can make them much more memorable with a few simple touches. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, Heath shares insights from his new book, “The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact.”
Tracy Chou (Project Include) - Debugging the Brogrammer Culture
April 27, 2018 21:50 - 56 minutes - 3.23 MB VideoAs tech companies come under fire for mishandling our data, with one blog post, a young software engineer forced these firms to share some of the most damning information they keep: the demographics of their workforce. Tracy Chou turned concepts familiar to her profession — like open sourcing, metrics reporting and benchmarking — to push for more diversity and inclusion throughout her industry. She discusses how the uphill battle continues through Project Include and why, in this case, a top-...
Julayne Virgil (Girls Inc.) - The Courage to Take Positive Risks
April 20, 2018 20:34 - 52 minutes - 2.99 MB VideoJulayne Virgil, CEO of Girls Inc. of Alameda County, describes how her organization provides youth with the confidence to overcome systemic gender bias, and hopefully, realize their full potential. Girls in the program are given the types of experiences that help them break through their fears and build strength for the challenges ahead. Virgil also talks about how innovation means improving what exists, not just creating something new.
David Baszucki (Roblox) - When the Platform is Your Product
April 16, 2018 23:42 - 53 minutes - 3.04 MB VideoTech entrepreneur David Baszucki explains how Roblox is essentially the YouTube for online games, a platform that derives immense value entirely from the millions of content creators and players who come together to build and be immersed in virtual worlds for fun. He discusses how the company dictates strategy and product roadmap, while depending on its users for growth.
Marc Tessier-Lavigne (Stanford University) - Elements of Effective Leadership
March 09, 2018 21:25 - 34 minutes - 1.97 MB VideoStanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne tells students that life is long and lived in chapters. Some of his include being a pioneering neuroscientist, head of research at Genentech, a co-founder of two startups, and president of two leading research universities. He shares what he's learned about how to lead organizations that turn discovery into real-world impact.
Josh McFarland (Greylock Partners) - Answering Common Startup Questions
March 07, 2018 20:43 - 59 minutes - 3.39 MB VideoHow do you know when it’s time to start a company? Or when to begin fundraising, and how much? And, as you grow, how do you recruit the best executives and build a culture centered on employees? Venture capitalist Josh McFarland of the firm Greylock Partners answers these questions and more through his experiences as founder and CEO of tech startup TellApart, which Twitter acquired for nearly half a billion dollars.
M. Sanjayan and Harrison Ford (Conservation International) - Scaling Sustainability
February 27, 2018 17:49 - 51 minutes - 2.94 MB VideoActor Harrison Ford shares his longstanding commitment to preserving nature through Conservation International, joined by the organization’s CEO, M. Sanjayan. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, the environmental leaders urge entrepreneurs and engineers to build disruptive innovations, while describing how strategic thinking is at the heart of the self-sustaining solutions they launch around the world.
Eurie Kim (Forerunner Ventures) - How to Know if Entrepreneurship is For You
February 20, 2018 16:47 - 54 minutes - 3.12 MB VideoThe key is understanding your own tolerance for risk in what you do for work, and how you pay the bills at home. At the firm Forerunner Ventures, founders must have three traits in spades to get funding: magnetism, discipline and vision. Eurie Kim, general partner at the firm, explains what it’s like to work at companies of different sizes, and what skills and strengths make you best suited for each.
Chris Anderson (3D Robotics) - The Ups and Downs of a Drone Startup
February 09, 2018 16:39 - 1 hour - 3.44 MB VideoThe tale of 3D Robotics starts in the garage of a teenager in Tijuana, Mexico, who launched a drone-making factory with a $500 check from entrepreneur Chris Anderson, who then flooded the American market with their unmanned aerial vehicles and disrupted the aerospace industry through grassroots, open innovation. Then, China caught on and drove U.S. drone makers into the ground. Anderson, 3DR's CEO, shares his hard-won insights.
Sameer Dholakia (SendGrid) - Focus On People
February 05, 2018 21:31 - 53 minutes - 3.08 MB VideoChoose co-founders based on their core values. Pick investors who will be there in your darkest hour. Make hiring the best people your top priority, and treat them like owners — not employees. Sameer Dholakia, CEO of business email service SendGrid, discusses the most important strategies for a startup's success, including the concept of "servant leadership."
Leila Janah (Samasource) - Reversing Poverty By Giving People Work
January 30, 2018 20:54 - 53 minutes - 3.08 MB VideoEntrepreneur Leila Janah describes how her social enterprise Samasource allows people in Africa and elsewhere to lift themselves out of poverty through dignified, fair-wage digital work like photo tagging for companies in Silicon Valley. She celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit in those who survive on next to nothing and explains how giving work is more effective than charity.
Chris Gerdes (Stanford University) - Ingenuity Derived from Self-Driving Cars
January 23, 2018 20:26 - 55 minutes - 3.18 MB VideoOn the racetrack, the checkered flag goes to the car that’s driven to its limits and maneuvered decisively in the moment. On a two-lane road, the split-second act of passing a vehicle stopped in front of you becomes a way more complicated call when algorithms are in control. Autonomous-vehicle maker and Stanford Professor Chris Gerdes applies these findings and more to business and life.
Patrick Brown, (Impossible Foods) - Food Fight To Turn Back Climate Change
December 05, 2017 22:40 - 58 minutes - 3.35 MB VideoMake beef out of plants instead of cows and you can begin to save the planet. That's what inspired award-winning scientist Patrick Brown to leave his professorship at Stanford University and found Impossible Foods. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, Brown describes how his singular passion for impact prompted him to leave academia and become a food-tech entrepreneur.
Anne Wojcicki (23andMe) - Driving Discovery and Disruption
November 21, 2017 17:33 - 55 minutes - 3.2 MB VideoAnne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO of the popular DNA-testing company 23andMe, discusses how providing people with their own genetic data empowers consumers to make better health decisions and advances science. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, Wojcicki explains how the intense scrutiny that the DNA-testing company has received is a sign that it is disrupting the status quo.
Amy Chang (Accompany) - Entrepreneurs Keep Pushing
November 13, 2017 22:55 - 56 minutes - 3.21 MB VideoAmy Chang had accomplished a lot in her eight years at Google, helping launch and then lead Google Analytics to 70 percent market share. But then she left to launch her own tech startup, a relationship-intelligence platform called Accompany. In conversation with Matt Harvey of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Chang talks about getting out of one's comfort zone and laying the groundwork for a successful career.
Tristan Harris (Time Well Spent) - Making Technology Less Manipulative
November 03, 2017 23:32 - 57 minutes - 3.26 MB VideoHow good are you at limiting your screen time? Because of the way humans evolved, our brains are no match for the engineers, designers and companies that collectively create the devices and apps that demand our attention all day long, according to technology ethicist Tristan Harris. A former tech entrepreneur himself, Harris is now co-founder of Time Well Spent, a nonprofit movement to create an ecosystem that aligns technology with our humanity.
Catherine Berman (CNote) - Embrace Your Otherness
October 31, 2017 20:16 - 54 minutes - 3.12 MB VideoIndustry disruptors, it stands to reason, tend to be outsiders. But how comfortable are you not being an outlier? Serial entrepreneur Catherine Berman shares her story of coming to terms with the traits and experiences that set her apart from friends and colleagues throughout adolescence and early in her career. Embracing her uniqueness emboldened Berman to launch several social ventures, the latest being a social-impact startup in fintech called CNote.
Rich Barton (Zillow Group) - Empower People with Information
October 25, 2017 17:02 - 55 minutes - 3.18 MB VideoThere was a time, not long ago, when information we desperately wanted wasn’t at our fingertips. What’s the best deal on flights to New York? How much does that home down the street cost? Serial entrepreneur Rich Barton has made a career out of providing all those juicy details by launching platforms such as Expedia, Zillow and the company-review site Glassdoor. He shares his journey and advice for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Bob Sutton (Stanford University) - How to Outwit Workplace Jerks
October 17, 2017 22:18 - 56 minutes - 3.21 MB VideoEven as adults, we still have to deal with bullies, at work and otherwise. Stanford Professor Bob Sutton has devoted his career to studying organizational behavior and dysfunction, and of late, figuring out how we all can avoid or deal with people who demean, disrespect and drain their peers. The professor of management science and engineering draws on academic research and anecdotal evidence included in his new book, "The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal with People Who Treat You Like Dirt."
Sandy Jen (Honor) - The Rewards of Taking Risks
October 11, 2017 17:23 - 51 minutes - 2.96 MB VideoEntrepreneur Sandy Jen has lived with self-doubt and insecurities throughout her life: in college, at her first startup, and later as a working mother. But facing the risks she feared each time gave her confidence that a shy, little girl from the suburbs can grow up to improve people's lives through technology and a passion for impact. She co-founded the senior-care startup Honor, and this is her story.
Toni Townes-Whitley (Microsoft) - The Ethics of Innovation
June 07, 2017 00:00 - 58 minutes - 3.37 MB VideoHow often do entrepreneurs and corporate leaders think about issues like fairness, accessibility or unseen biases in the technologies they invent and advance? That’s the challenge for companies leading the digital transformation that’s disrupting every aspect of society, says Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector and Industry at Microsoft, in this talk about innovating strategically and responsibly.
David Eagleman (Stanford School of Medicine) - A Brainy Approach to Innovation
May 31, 2017 00:00 - 57 minutes - 3.29 MB VideoRenowned neuroscientist David Eagleman shares his passion for translating the complexities of cognition into mind-blowing inventions and educational material for the masses. The public-television host, bestselling author and Stanford adjunct professor speaks with Tina Seelig of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program about his decision to leave the lab and dedicate his life to bringing scientific discoveries into the world.
Carlos Watson (Ozy Media) - Taking a Lead From Tech
May 24, 2017 00:00 - 56 minutes - 3.23 MB VideoCarlos Watson, co-founder and CEO of Ozy Media, describes how its forward-focused digital news magazine, Ozy, looks more toward innovators in business sectors outside traditional media. The Emmy-winning journalist shares the unlikely origins of his entrepreneurial drive, and explains how his wide-ranging career has been fueled by family, curiosity and the thrill of starting fresh.
Tim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson (Zoox) - Self-Driving Cars for Everyone
May 17, 2017 00:00 - 57 minutes - 3.28 MB VideoTim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson, co-founders of autonomous-vehicle startup Zoox, detail a not-too-distant future when we’ll get into their cars and do nothing other than say where we need to go. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, the two entrepreneurs explain how self-driving cars work and how their fleet of electric vehicles could make owning a ride obsolete.
Kevin Weil (Instagram) - Unfiltered Insights From Instagram
May 10, 2017 00:00 - 59 minutes - 3.39 MB VideoWhat motivates you to share a photo on Instagram — or not? Kevin Weil, head of product at the company, discusses everything from user behavior to business strategy with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig. Weil describes how mission alignment helps teams succeed and allows Instagram to continue experimenting and thriving inside its parent company, Facebook.
Olivia Fox Cabane (Author and Speaker), Judah Pollack (Riverene Leadership) - Life Hacks for Breakthrough Thinking
May 03, 2017 00:00 - 53 minutes - 3.08 MB VideoOlivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack, co-authors of the book “The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking,” share tips on how we can train ourselves to have more “eureka” moments with mental exercises that awaken more regions of our brains and build our comfort level with failure and uncertainty — two givens on the way to innovation.
Debbie Sterling (GoldieBlox) - Disrupting the Pink Aisle
April 26, 2017 00:00 - 56 minutes - 3.25 MB VideoDebbie Sterling, founder and CEO of GoldieBlox, shares her evolution from lonely inventor to inspiring entrepreneur with a vision to give young girls the confidence to become engineers through hands-on play. Sterling talks about overcoming gender stereotypes and her own fears, as well as the entrepreneurial challenges of embracing failure and succeeding despite scant resources.
Tracy Young (PlanGrid), Doug Leone (Sequoia Capital) - Solve the Problem You Have
April 19, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 3.48 MB VideoEntrepreneur Tracy Young and Doug Leone, global managing partner at Sequoia, discuss the nature of a harmonious relationship between a startup’s founders and the VC firm investing in them. Young is co-founder and CEO of PlanGrid, which allows construction managers to oversee projects via their device. She and Leone speak with Toby Corey, a lecturer in Stanford University’s School of Engineering.
Di-Ann Eisnor (Waze) - Driving Growth + Authenticity
March 08, 2017 00:00 - 55 minutes - 3.18 MB VideoDi-Ann Eisnor, director of growth for Waze, explores whether authenticity can be preserved when a well-meaning startup scales to a workforce of hundreds and a user community of about a billion. Eisnor describes how the crowdsourced navigation and real-time traffic application has moved on from virtual cupcakes to encouraging carpooling in its quest to eliminate traffic congestion around the world.
Shirzad Chamine (Positive Intelligence, Inc.) - The Enlightened Entrepreneur
March 08, 2017 00:00 - 58 minutes - 3.33 MB VideoBefore Shirzad Chamine found his calling as a coach to today’s top CEOs and executive teams, he was a charismatic entrepreneur who turned into a hyper-critical tyrant without even knowing it. That dark chapter ignited his journey to understand how to conquer our self-sabotaging sides and live in the light of “Positive Intelligence” — the approach Chamine developed for mastering the mind and finding true happiness and success.
Dave Evans (Stanford Life Design Lab) - Designing the Life You Really Want
March 01, 2017 00:00 - 59 minutes - 3.38 MB VideoDave Evans, co-founder of the popular Life Design Lab at Stanford University, discusses the key concepts and exercises that guide students in their quest to figure out what they want to do in life. He underscores the importance of accepting who you are and connecting that to what you believe and do, while attacking dysfunctional notions like the one that dares you to be the “best version of yourself.” Can’t we have more than one?
Susan Feldman (One Kings Lane) - Bootstrapping with Flair
February 15, 2017 00:00 - 56 minutes - 3.21 MB VideoE-commerce entrepreneur Susan Feldman describes how she and her co-founder went from bootstrapping One Kings Lane in the midst of the Great Recession, standing out from competitors in the home-decor industry by carefully curating product and focusing on creative flair, and ultimately being acquired by Bed, Bath & Beyond in 2016. Feldman speaks with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig.
Adam Grant (University of Pennsylvania) - Six Ways to be an ‘Original’
February 08, 2017 00:00 - 48 minutes - 2.77 MB VideoUniversity of Pennsylvania Professor Adam Grant, one of today’s most influential management thinkers, shares the top six takeaways from his book “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World,” bringing his insights to life through amusing behavioral research and lively audience interaction. Grant explains why middle managers are notorious idea killers, why stress helps some rise to the occasion and how entrepreneurs and organizations can get what they want through unconventional means.
Meg Whitman (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) - Lessons in Situational Leadership
February 01, 2017 00:00 - 1 hour - 3.56 MB VideoMeg Whitman, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, describes how she learned to lead companies big and small to success by adjusting to different environments, building on what a business does best, and approaching work with urgency and initiative. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, Whitman recounts the explosive growth during her time as president and CEO of eBay, the challenging turnaround of storied tech giant HP, and her 2010 run for California...
Brendan Boyle (IDEO) - Playing With Purpose
January 25, 2017 00:00 - 55 minutes - 3.15 MB VideoIt may not be rocket science, but there’s still much to consider when inventing children's toys, starting with all the ideas for what to build. Within the famous design firm IDEO, a small team toils away in a toy lab founded by Brendan Boyle, who also teaches design thinking at Stanford University. In conversation with Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, Boyle discusses the importance of playfulness, divergent thinking and creativity in making toys.
Bob Tinker (MobileIron) - Evolving With Your Company
January 25, 2017 00:00 - 56 minutes - 3.23 MB VideoTech entrepreneur Bob Tinker was humbled when he stepped down as CEO of MobileIron, a leading provider of mobile security that went from being a three-man startup to a public company with nearly 1,000 employees, earning $150 million a year. Over those eight years, however, he learned how to position a business just right, how a CEO’s job and behavior must change over time, and how a leader can develop the self-awareness to adapt.