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"World of DaaS"

147 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 112 ratings

deep dive into Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) businesses.  World of DaaS is a podcast for data enthusiasts, by data enthusiasts, where Auren Hoffman talks to business and technology leaders about all things data - building it, acquiring it, analyzing it, and everything in between. 

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Episodes

Greg Isenberg - Startup Studios vs Traditional VC

April 23, 2024 09:00 - 41 minutes - 28.7 MB

Greg Isenberg is the CEO and Founder of Late Checkout Studio, a holding company for online community businesses. Greg has founded three venture-backed startups and he was also an advisor to TikTok and Reddit.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Greg and Auren discuss:  Changes to startup + VC ecosystem Startup studio model vs. private equity ChatGPT businesses in 2024 Building without venture funding World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit w...

Breaking Points Host Saagar Enjeti - Anti-Establishment Media

April 16, 2024 09:00 - 55 minutes - 38.3 MB

Saagar is the co-host of the podcast and web series Breaking Points, which has over a million subscribers on Youtube. He was previously a White House correspondent for the Daily Caller.  On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Saagar discuss:  Media business models and revenue streams Bias and anti-establishment media Parallels in US history to today Aliens, conspiracies and DC parties  World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit worldofdaa...

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen: Global Shipping and Logistics

April 09, 2024 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MB

Ryan Petersen is the founder and CEO of Flexport, a unicorn international freight forwarding business. He’s also a Venture Partner at Founders Fund. In this episode of World of DaaS, Ryan and Auren discuss:  Supply chain breakdowns  Geopolitics of commercial shipping Scaling freight forwarding businesses 10X Deglobalization vs international trade Returning to Flexport after stepping down as CEO Why good CEOs micromanage World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. Fo...

Bill Magnuson, CEO of Braze $BRZE : Future of Mobile

April 02, 2024 09:00 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MB

Bill Magnuson is the co-founder and CEO of Braze ($BRZE), a publicly traded customer engagement platform valued at over $5 billion.    In this episode of World of DaaS:  Growth of mobile technology Power of first-party relationships Modern martech mindset vs traditional advertising Tech company IPOs How SMS spam and fraud works Build vs buy martech strategies Toxic tech workplace culture and “family”  World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, vi...

Steve Case: AOL, AI & American Innovation

March 26, 2024 09:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MB

Steve was CEO of AOL during its meteoric rise from 1991 to 2003. He’s also the chairman and CEO of Revolution, which has invested over $1 billion in startups, and the author of several books, including Rise of the Rest and The Third Wave. In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Steve discuss the early days of the internet and the challenges of getting people to embrace it. Steve highlights the importance of community in AOL's success and the launch of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Steve ...

ID.me CEO Blake Hall: Identity & Security

March 19, 2024 09:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MB

Blake Hall is the co-founder and CEO of ID.me, a secure digital identity network with over 100 million members.       In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Blake dive into online security, passwords, AI, and geopolitics. Blake explains the concept of identity wallets and their potential to streamline access to services and benefits. He also breaks down why identity wallets are like VISA and Mastercard, and explains where there’s untapped opportunity for a trillion-dollar company in th...

Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier: Future of Higher Ed

March 12, 2024 09:00 - 44 minutes - 30.3 MB

Daniel Diermeier is the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University. He’s a world-renowned scholar of business management and political science. Before joining Vanderbilt, he was Provost of the University of Chicago.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Daniel engage in a thought-provoking discussion on free speech, academic freedom and the state of higher education at large. They explore the sources behind requests to curtail free speech, the principles guiding free expression at Vanderbil...

Daniel Lurie, Running for Mayor of San Francisco

March 05, 2024 10:00 - 36 minutes - 25.2 MB

Daniel Lurie is currently running for mayor of San Francisco. Prior to running for mayor, he was the founder and CEO of Tipping Point Community, a charitable organization that distributed over $30 million to organizations fighting poverty throughout the Bay Area last year.   In this episode of World of DaaS, Daniel discusses tackling crime, homelessness and cost of living in San Francisco. He breaks down the structural factors in the city’s governance and explains how they’re enabling corru...

Sarah Tavel, Benchmark Capital GP: Selling Work in SaaS

February 27, 2024 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MB

Sarah Tavel is a general partner at Benchmark Capital. She serves on the board of Chainalysis, Hipcamp, Medely, Rekki, and Cambly.  On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Sarah discuss the concept of selling work in the SaaS industry and how it differs from selling traditional productivity software. Sarah explains how selling work could unlock whole new verticals for software penetration and disrupt existing SaaS giants. Auren and Sarah explore the areas where these new, leaner softwar...

Meb Faber: Controversial Investing Insights

February 20, 2024 10:00 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MB

Meb Faber is the co-founder and CIO of Cambria Investment Management, which has over $2B in assets under management. He’s also the host of the excellent financial podcast the Meb Faber Show.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Meb discuss global portfolio allocation, bitcoin ETFs, controversial investing strategies, and little-known financial industry secrets. They discuss the most common mistakes Meb sees in investment portfolios, the importance of global diversification and tax e...

Neil Buddy Shah, Clinton Health CEO: AI, Data & Public Health

February 13, 2024 10:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB

Dr. Neil Buddy Shah is the CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the former managing director of GiveWell.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Buddy dive into all things data, public health, and AI. Buddy discusses innovative solutions for data scarcity in low-income countries, such as using machine learning algorithms to better target social and medical aid. He also explores the potential of low-cost surveys and the role of cell phones in data collection.  Buddy is a lo...

RewindAI CEO Dan Siroker: AI Wearables & Fundraising in Public

February 06, 2024 10:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MB

Dan Siroker is the co-founder and CEO of Rewind AI. He also co-founded Optimizely, and he was the Director of Analytics at Obama’s first presidential campaign.      On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Dan discuss how Rewind raised its Series A in public, and how the unconventional move benefited the company. Dan shares insights on creating a compelling pitch and the importance of practicing and honing the pitch through meetings with investors.  Dan also discusses the challenges and...

Emil Michael, Fmr Uber CBO: Ridesharing and Picking VCs

January 30, 2024 10:00 - 37 minutes - 25.8 MB

Emil Michael was the Chief Business Officer at $UBER during its hyperscale period from 2013 to 2017. He’s currently the CEO of DPCM Capital, and he’s also a strategic advisor to a number of amazing companies, including Codecademy, GroupMe and Taser.  On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Emil cover everything from tech IPOs and Uber's stock performance to the future of AI, the relationship between Uber and Benchmark, and more.  Emil shares insights into the reasons behind the delay i...

Austen Allred, CEO of BloomTech: Aligning Education Incentives

January 23, 2024 10:00 - 53 minutes - 37.1 MB

Austen Allred is the founder and CEO of the Bloom Institute of Technology (formerly known as Lambda School), a coding bootcamp that’s helped thousands of students get a job in tech.       The discussion kicks off with an exploration of Income Share Agreements (ISAs) and how BloomTech has used them as an alternative to student loans. Austen shares insights on the financial incentives and regulatory pressures that have prevented more schools from embracing ISAs, and how the current student lo...

Oren Cass, Director of American Compass: The New Right

January 16, 2024 10:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MB

Oren Cass is the founder and executive director of the think tank American Compass, and the author of the book The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America. He was also the Domestic Policy Director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.  In this episode, Oren discusses the limitations of common economic statistics, emphasizing their narrow scope in capturing the overall economic landscape. He challenges prevailing notions about the cost of thriving in the middle class, ...

Building and Understanding Data Businesses | Auren Hoffman | Media Empires

January 09, 2024 10:00 - 57 minutes - 39.8 MB

This episode is a rebroadcast of Auren's appearance on Media Empires with Erik Torenberg. Go check out  Media Empires for more from the best YouTube creators, podcasters, newsletter writers, and media entrepreneurs. In this episode, Erik and Auren discuss all things data business, including data on windfalls and net worth, reputational databases, and the failures and successes of LinkedIn. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.co...

Greg Lukianoff, President of FIRE: Free Speech

January 02, 2024 10:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MB

Greg Lukianoff is the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He’s also a bestselling author of several books, including The Coddling of the American Mind and most recently The Canceling of the American Mind. On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Greg delve into the current state of cancel culture. Greg reveals surprising stats on which schools are the best and worst for free speech in 2024 and breaks down the escalating levels of shoutdowns an...

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry: Future of US Labor

December 26, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MB

Mary Kay Henry is the president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million people in unions across the US and Canada. In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Mary Kay discuss the current surge in the labor movement and what it means for American companies and workers. Mary Kay breaks down some recent developments, including Microsoft's agreement with the Communications Workers of America around unions for game developers.   The conversation also delves int...

Joe Lonsdale: 8VC GP and Palantir Cofounder

December 19, 2023 10:00 - 44 minutes - 30.3 MB

Joe Lonsdale is a co-founder of a number of amazing companies, including Palantir, Addepar and OpenGov, and he’s a cofounder of the University of Austin. He’s also the founder and managing partner of the venture firm 8VC, and he’s invested in some incredible companies, including Oculus, Anduril, Wish and Flexport. In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Joe engage in a thought-provoking discussion on optimism and pessimism, technological progress, and reforming society at the most basic...

Sam Lessin of SlowVC: The End of Factory-Farmed Unicorns

December 12, 2023 10:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MB

Sam Lessin is a GP at Slow Ventures, a former Facebook product manager, and the founder of Drop.io and Fin. He’s also the co-host of an excellent podcast on tech called More or Less.  On this episode of World of DaaS, Sam gives a comprehensive breakdown of the state of venture capital. Auren and Sam discuss the “unicorn factory” for building public companies, the influence of megafunds like Tiger Global and Softbank, and the fundamental changes that VC went through in 2018-2022.  Sam also ...

Hubspot CEO Brian Halligan: Navigating Startup Boards

December 05, 2023 10:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MB

Brian Halligan is the co-founder, longtime CEO and now executive chair of Hubspot, a full service platform for marketing, sales and customer service. Hubspot was founded in 2006 and has a market cap of $23B today. Brian coined the term “inbound marketing” and helped give rise to one of the biggest shifts in marketing of the last 20 years.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Brian offers a deep dive into the intricacies of boardroom politics, effective leadership transitions, and the ever-evo...

Auren Hoffman: Entity Resolution with Placekey

November 28, 2023 10:00 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MB

This episode is a rebroadcast of Auren’s appearance on the MapScaping Podcast.  In this episode, Auren and MapScaping host Daniel O’Donohue go deep on geospatial data. They start by discussing Placekey– an open entity resolution service for places and addresses. Auren gives a breakdown of the complexities involved with address matching, and what that has to do with the dollar, Unix time, and innovation.  Auren and Daniel also delve into a broader conversation about join keys, data integrat...

Sam Corcos, Levels CEO: 10x Delegation

November 21, 2023 10:00 - 59 minutes - 41.2 MB

Sam Corcos is the CEO of Levels, an a16z-backed health tech startup. While Levels’ mission is amazing, what really sets the company apart is how Sam runs it: Levels is highly transparent, asynchronous first, and serious about leveraging delegation for maximum productivity.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Sam gives a master class on the art of virtual assistance and delegation.  Levels uses VAS to allow team members much greater leverage over their work. Sam himself has four EAs that allo...

Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio: The API Economy

November 14, 2023 10:00 - 56 minutes - 38.6 MB

Jeff Lawson is the cofounder and CEO of Twilio, a $10 billion public software communications company. Jeff has an incredible founder story. Prior to Twilio, he co-founded Versity, which he sold for $30 million when he was just 23 years old. He was also the founding CTO of Stubhub and one of the first product managers at AWS. He founded Twilio in 2008.  In this episode, Jeff shares his insights into the API economy, scaling successful businesses, and the future of the SaaS business model. J...

Spencer Kimball, CEO of Cockroach Labs: Future of Open Source

November 07, 2023 10:00 - 43 minutes - 30 MB

Spencer Kimball is the founder and CEO of Cockroach Labs, a $5 billion company that makes the CockroachDB database used by Netflix, Nubank, Shipt, and many other leading tech companies. Spencer was building and contributing to major open source projects before he graduated from college.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Spencer and Auren do a deep dive on open source companies: How they make money, what the ecosystem looks like in 2023, and competing with the giants like AWS and Oracle.  ...

Michael Seibel, Y Combinator Group Partner

October 31, 2023 09:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MB

Michael Seibel is a group partner at Y Combinator and the managing director of YC's startup accelerator. He evaluates 1000s of startups a year and sees hundreds go through YC, which means he has better data on startup success than just about anyone in tech. He’s also the cofounder of Twitch.  In this episode, Michael and Auren dive into the startup landscape and the inner workings of Y Combinator. As a partner at YC, Michael sheds light on the top qualities he seeks in applicants, drawing f...

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of a16z: Venture Capital

October 24, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MB

Ben Horowitz is the cofounder and CEO of Andreessen Horowitz, the most influential venture capital firm of the last 20 years. Ben and Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z) have invested in some of the biggest companies out there, including AirBnb, Coinbase, Facebook, Instacart, GitHub and Oculus.  Prior to his VC career, Ben founded Opsware/Loudcloud, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion. He’s also the author of the bestselling books 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' a...

Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel: AI

October 17, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MB

Guillermo Rauch is the founder and CEO of Vercel, a cloud platform that powers some of the biggest names on the internet, like Patreon, Ebay, Netflix and Adobe.   Guillermo has an incredible founder story– he began coding at age 10, dropped out of high school and moved from his native Argentina to San Francisco as a teenager. He’s also the creator of several major open source projects and a dual threat CEO who runs his own solo VC firm, Rauch Capital.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Gui...

Andrew Ross Sorkin: SVB, Lessons from 2008 Financial Crisis & VC

October 12, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MB

Andrew Ross Sorkin is a financial columnist for the New York Times, a co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box and the founder and editor of DealBook. He’s also the co-creator of the hit-show Billions and the author of the bestselling book Too Big To Fail, on the 2008 financial crisis.  On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Andrew dive into the intersecting realms of technology, finance, and data. Andrew offers non-obvious insights into the 2008 financial crisis, highlighting the nuances of a p...

Peter Thiel: Science, Society, Stagnation

October 03, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MB

Peter Thiel is one of the greatest entrepreneurs and investors of his generation. He was the co-founder and CEO of PayPal, the first investor in Facebook, and co-founder of Palantir Technologies. He’s the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Founders Fund, and the author of Zero to One, one of the best business books of all time. In this episode, Auren and Peter dive deep on venture capital, scientific stagnation, AI, tech start-ups, and more. Peter shares his compelling...

Amjad Masad: CEO of Replit: Future of Coding

September 26, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MB

Amjad Masad is the founder and CEO of Replit, an online coding environment.  Amjad and Auren discuss what the rise of AI means for coding, developers, and tech companies. Amjad shares his thoughts on consumer vs creator computer culture, why development hasn’t moved to the cloud faster, and why everyone should be able to call themselves a programmer.  They also discuss Amjad’s experience coming from Jordan to start a company in the US. Amjad shares whether he still thinks Silicon Valley is...

Martin Sorrell: S4 & WPP: AdTech, Advertising & AI

September 19, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 31.9 MB

Sir Martin Sorrell is the founder of WPP, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, which he ran for over 30 years. He’s currently the executive chairman of S4 Capital, which is a pure play digital advertising company he founded in 2018.  In this episode, Auren and Martin dive into the fascinating intersection of AI in advertising, the economic impact of Brexit, and the ever-evolving landscape of ad revenue at big tech companies.  Martin shares his global outlook for advertisin...

Neil Strauss, Author of "The Game": Growth in the AI Era

September 12, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MB

Neil Strauss is a 10x New York Times bestselling author and a renowned journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Esquire.   Neil and host Auren Hoffman delve into the intriguing world of charisma, self-improvement, and relationships. Neil explains how anyone can learn to be more charismatic, and what charisma has to do with group dynamics.    The conversation then shifts to personal transformation and the challenges of breaking recurring patterns. Neil ch...

Bram Cohen, Founder of BitTorrent and Chia: Decentralization, Data Science & Blockchain

September 05, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MB

Bram Cohen is the creator of BitTorrent, which revolutionized digital entertainment and has been downloaded over two billion times. Today, Bram is the founder and CTO of Chia network, which manages the Chia cryptocurrency. Chia uses a unique proof of space model, in contrast to proof or work or proof of stake models like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  In this episode of World of DaaS, Bram and host Auren Hoffman discuss a wide range of topics related to technology, data science, and cryptocurrenci...

Bryan Johnson: How to Age in Reverse

August 29, 2023 09:00 - 58 minutes - 40.1 MB

Bryan Johnson is the founder of the payments processing company Braintree, which sold to Paypal for $800 million in 2012. He’s also the founder of OS Fund, which invests in advancing genomic and biological technology, and Kernel, which is focused on developing brain-machine interfaces. In 2021, he launched Project Blueprint, which aims to slow and reverse the aging process in the human body. He's spent millions of dollars optimizing and tracking his health, becoming the "most measured man in...

Sue Gordon, fmr ODNI/NGA/CIA: OSINT, Cybersecurity, War

August 22, 2023 09:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MB

Sue Gordon is the former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. She had a 30+ year career with the CIA, as well as serving as Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.  Auren and Sue discuss shifting global power dynamics and the nature of modern intelligence in an ever-evolving world. They delve into the realm of cyber defense and Sue gives an overview of the expanding threat landscape that stretches far beyond government borders. They also discuss open s...

Ajit Pai: Innovation, Regulation, GDPR

August 15, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MB

Ajit Pai is the former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, where he served from 2017 to 2021. He’s currently a partner at Searchlight Capital. Auren and Ajit delve into the intricacies of technology regulation, including the nuances of regulating AI and crypto. Ajit outlines the essential triggers for preemptive intervention, and the many unintended consequences of Section 230 and Europe’s GDPR privacy regulation.  They also discuss the anticompetitive nature of big tech, ce...

Steven Pinker: Human Cognition vs. AI

August 08, 2023 09:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MB

Steven Pinker is a linguist, cognitive scientist, and a professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard. He’s the author of twelve books, including the bestsellers How the Mind Works, Enlightenment Now, and most recently Rationality. Auren and Steven delve into the world of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and intellectual freedom. Steven brings his perspective from cognitive psychology to explain how AI does (and does not) mirror the human brain.  They also explore the com...

Erik Torenberg: Optionality, AI & Elites

August 01, 2023 09:00 - 51 minutes - 35.5 MB

Erik Torenberg was the first employee at Product Hunt, and the founder and chairman of On Deck. He’s currently a partner at Village Global and the founder of Turpentine podcast network.   Erik and Auren discuss the startup founder mindset and what it takes to be successful in tech. Erik shares the career strategies and frameworks that have allowed him to found multiple companies and a venture capital firm.  They also discuss unconventional financial arrangements that could allow more peopl...

Jesse Pujji: Digital Marketing, D2C & Venture Studios

July 25, 2023 09:00 - 53 minutes - 36.7 MB

Jesse is the founder and CEO of Gateway X, a venture studio focused on DTC brands. Previously, he was the co-founder and CEO of Ampush, a digital marketing firm which he bootstrapped to an eight figure exit. Jesse and Auren break down some of the nuances of digital marketing and discuss the state of marketing on the major tech platforms today. They also discuss Red Ventures, “the most impressive company you’ve never heard of.”  Jesse is an expert on DTC companies and shares his insights on...

Immad Akhund, CEO of Mercury: SVB, Neobanks, and UI

July 18, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 33.3 MB

Immad Akhund is the CEO of Mercury, a bank for startups. He’s also a multi-time founder and a Dual Threat CEO with over 300+ angel investments.  Auren and Immad discuss the collapse of SVB and how Mercury handled an influx of over $2 billion in deposits. Immad explains some lesser-known structural aspects of the banking system that affect the product and customer experience.  Auren and Immad also talk about crowdfunding a startup, how much focus founders need to succeed, and why Dual Threa...

Prince Turki Al Faisal: Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia & Energy

July 11, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MB

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud was the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Directorate for 24 years. He also served as the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the UK, Ireland, and the United States, and he’s the author of The Afghanistan File.  Auren and Prince Turki discuss the complex history of Afghanistan and Middle East geopolitics. Prince Turki shares his thoughts on the mistakes made by the U.S. in Afghanistan, the consequences of negotiating with the Taliban, and how the U.S. ...

Dmitri Alperovitch: Ukraine, Russia, Starlink & Cyber Warfare

July 05, 2023 09:00 - 58 minutes - 40.1 MB

Dmitri Alperovitch is the co-founder and former CTO of CrowdStrike and the founder of Silverado Policy Accelerator.  Dmitri and Auren delve into the complexities of cyber warfare, geopolitics, and their intersections. Dmitri explains the intricacies of the 'vulnerabilities equities process' and the challenges in making software safer.  The conversation also explores the realm of cyber weapons and Ukraine's resilience in combating cyber attacks. Shifting to geopolitics, they discuss the imp...

Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic: AI and Media

June 27, 2023 09:00 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MB

Nick Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic. Prior to that, he was editor-in-chief of Wired and a senior editor at The New Yorker. Nick and Auren discuss the evolving relationship between tech and media and the impact of social media platforms like Twitter on these industries. Nick shares insights into the tech industry's self-narratives and its influence on politics.  They also delve into the world of AI and its implications for journalism, from generating news stories to creating children's...

Hadi Partovi: Coding, AI & the Future of Learning

June 20, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MB

Hadi Partovi is the founder and CEO of Code.org. He also founded Tellme Networks and ILike, held leadership roles at Microsoft and Myspace, and angel invested in a number of incredible companies, including Facebook, DropBox, Airbnb, and Uber.  Hadi and Auren discuss making computer science as part of the core curriculum in public education. Hadi explains the importance of learning basic computer science and explores how AI will change software development and education.  Hadi also shares i...

David Sinclair: Living to 120

June 13, 2023 09:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MB

David Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and the founder of the Sinclair Lab. He’s the author of the bestselling book Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To, as well as a founder of several biotech companies.  Auren and David discuss the potential to expand the average human lifespan by decades. David challenges traditional notions of aging and emphasizes the need to embrace new technologies. They also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of common anti-aging...

Matt Kaminski, Politico EIC: Future of Media & Speech

June 06, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MB

Matt Kaminski is the Editor in Chief of Politico and the founding editor of Politico Europe.  Auren and Matt discuss the challenges of restoring trust in journalism and navigating politics in the digital age. Matt highlights the complicated nuances of getting a story right, the role of bias in journalism, and the need to protect free speech. He also discusses how Politico approached breaking the story of the leaked decision in the Supreme Court’s Dobbs case.   Matt and Auren also explore t...

Marissa Mayer: AI Insights and Walmart, Google & Yahoo

May 30, 2023 09:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MB

Marissa Mayer was the CEO of Yahoo and the 20th employee at Google, where she held key leadership roles in major Google products including Search, Maps, and Gmail. She’s currently the co-founder and CEO of Sunshine.  Marissa and Auren discuss the unexpected turn AI has taken towards creativity and expression, and its impact on coding and software engineering. They also explore how AI can improve software engineering and potentially affect the business models of tech giants like Google. Mar...

Tom Tugendhat: UK Minister, OSINT, MI5 & Cybersecurity

May 23, 2023 09:00 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MB

Tom Tugendhat is the UK’s Minister of State for Security and a British Member of Parliament. He was previously the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, and before that he served multiple tours in the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Auren and Tom discuss the role of the UK's Minister of State for Security and Tom’s work with cybersecurity, intelligence gathering, and defense. Tom highlights some of the most overlooked factors in security and what government and pri...

Jack Abraham of Atomic: Incubators & Startup Studios

May 16, 2023 11:00 - 50 minutes - 34.7 MB

Jack Abraham is the founder of Atomic, a startup studio that has launched several dozen companies including Hims & Hers, Openstore, and Bungalow. Before starting Atomic, Jack co-founded Milo, which he sold to eBay. Auren and Jack discuss how the studio fund model works and what’s allowed Atomic to be successful in a space where many other studios have failed. Jack breaks down the process of finding scalable ideas and deciding which ones to allocate resources to.  Auren and Jack also dive i...

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Hilary Mason
1 Episode

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