What Fuels You: Recent Episodes
Fuel Talent
Shauna Swerland, CEO of Fuel Talent, launches the What Fuels You podcast, where she sits down with influential, interesting and successful leaders to learn from them. She digs into the stories and choices that made them who they are today, with the goal of sharing the inspiration, perseverance and stories of resilience that are normally only shared within an inner circle. You'll walk away feeling fueled by each episode as Shauna uncovers things like personal hardships and failures, what it’s like to become an entrepreneur and tips on building a successful career.
Mike Kropp is the Founder and CEO of Iridius, a Seattle-based company building compliance-ready AI infrastructure for highly regulated industries like pharma and biotech.
A technology executive with over 25 years of leading engineering teams at Microsoft and AWS, Mike has played a crucial role in developing innovative products and expanding their global business adoption.
Mike uses a collaborative, working backward approach to deliver products that help customers innovate and create high-impact solutions for their companies.
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Kavian Mojabe is the Founder and CEO of MediScan AI, the AI back office for independent medical evaluators. These are the licensed physicians whose opinions decide the outcome of workers' compensation, personal injury, and disability cases.
MediScan's best-in-class record review engine does in minutes what used to take weeks, helping physicians optimize chart reviews to help patients faster and more effectively.
Before MediScan, Kavian was a founding engineer at two startups acquired by Amazon and Adobe. But this one is personal—his father is an independent medical evaluator in Southern California, and Kavian grew up watching the toll the busy work took on a doctor who just wanted to practice medicine. MediScan is his answer: give that time back and let people like his father stay independent.
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Ian Wong is the Co-Founder and CEO of Summation, where he's building AI analysts for finance and operations teams. Ian previously co-founded Opendoor and served as CTO, and before that was the first data scientist at Square.
His career has centered on one question: How can technologists use data and AI to create meaningful change in the real world?
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Victoria Thain Gioia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Perelel, the first OBGYN-founded vitamin company offering doctor-formulated, research-backed supplements designed to meet the unique needs of women at every stage of their hormonal journey.
Before founding Perelel, Victoria worked in investment banking and private equity, then moved into finance and operating roles at The Honest Company, Olive and June, and Carbon38.
In 2018, while pregnant with her second child, she learned her daughter would be born with a cleft lip—often linked to nutritional deficiencies—despite taking all of the recommended vitamins. That experience led her to partner with OBGYN Dr. Banafsheh Bayati to bring real medical rigor to prenatal nutrition.
Perelel launched in 2020 as a direct answer to the one-size-fits-all model that had dominated women's healthcare for far too long.
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Greg Davidson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lalo, a modern baby and toddler brand built around the idea that new parents deserve better: better design, better guidance, and products that actually grow with their kids.
Greg's path to founding a baby brand is not what you'd expect. He came up through a series of fast-growing startups in sales and go-to-market roles at Elastic, Krossover, WayUp, and Artsy before co-founding Lalo in 2017 with his former WayUp colleague, Michael Wieder. Neither of them had kids at the time. His first child was born in 2020, just after officially launching the business in 2019 and right before a global pandemic. They were somehow still able to grow 400% that first year.
Lalo has since raised a $10.1 million series A, and expanded into Target, Babylist, Pottery Barn Kids and beyond. Greg is based in Miami and is a dad of three.
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Ross Goodhart is Co-CEO and a Founder of Jupiter—the new standard in dandruff care,
delivering clean, elevated, and seriously effective dandruff care products. He was born and
raised in Hawaii, and received his B.B.A from the University of Michigan School of Business in
2002, with an emphasis in Finance, Accounting and Entrepreneurship.
From 2002 to 2015, Ross worked in investment banking at Peter J. Solomon Company and
then private equity at Siguler Guff & Company, managing funds focused on consumer and
tech investments in emerging markets.
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Jennifer Worthington is the Co-Founder and President of Two Dice, a new live experience company she's building with George Kliavkoff, with whom she shares a belief in the power of live experiences to create connection and lasting memories.
She started her career at Jerry Bruckheimer Films, where she rose to senior vice president at age 23, working on some of the biggest films of that era: Armageddon, The Rock, Black Hawk Down, Pirates of the Caribbean. Then she walked away from Hollywood to open the Coyote Ugly Saloon on the Las Vegas Strip, which became the highest grossing bar per square foot in the country.
Jennifer is the author of In the Spirit of Las Vegas for Assouline and the creator of Little Angels, a multi-platform entertainment franchise developed in partnership with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey and now part of Hearst Entertainment.
Most recently, she served as CEO and Co-Founder of Play Social Inc., where she launched Play Playground, a next-generation experiential entertainment concept redefining social play for teens and adults.
She holds a degree from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
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Ardie Sameti is the Co-Founder and CEO of Scala. Ardie is part of a new generation of Northwest leaders rethinking how AI can solve one of the biggest challenges in enterprise operations—the ability to act on customer data in real time.
Scala is building an AI platform that unifies enterprise data and turns it into actionable intelligence, helping leaders see what's happening across their operations, respond faster, and empower their teams to perform at their best.
Before co-founding Scala, Ardie spent nearly a decade at Accolade leading AI and Platform initiatives inside high-volume healthcare operations. Ardie and his wife Ali are raising their three young kids in Kirkland, and he remains deeply engaged in the Pacific Northwest startup and community ecosystem.
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Amanda Schutzbank and Deborah Benton are Co-Founders and General Partners at Willow Growth Partners. Willow is an emerging growth fund providing early capital to entrepreneurs building next-generation, values-led consumer brands.
They typically lead the first institutional round for companies generating $1-5 million in revenue, applying a disciplined approach to valuation, capitalization, and scaling for long-term success.
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Evan Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Pacagen, using biotechnology to revolutionize consumer products. Before Pacagen, he served as Chief Science Officer at ODDITY, and previously built and sold Revela.
He earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and completed work as a Schmidt Science Fellow at Harvard.
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Aaron Finn is the CEO of SingleFile. He has spent over 25 years building and leading technology companies across consumer, internet, digital advertising, healthcare, and legal and compliance infrastructure.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at classmates.com, where he worked on customer acquisition analytics and scaling consumer platforms. He later co-founded AdReady, an automated advertising company, and led it through multiple growth phases and an eventual acquisition. Across those roles, Aaron has often been responsible for stepping into complexity and helping organizations scale responsibly. He joined SingleFile in 2021 to lead the company through its next phase of growth, with a focus on clarity, execution, and building infrastructure that works quietly and reliably in a highly regulated space.
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Brent Beardall is the President and CEO of WaFd Bank, the largest bank headquartered in Washington state with more than $27 billion in assets and 200 offices located in nine Western states. He has spent over two decades at WaFd, rising through Finance and Operations before becoming CEO in 2017.
Known for his candid leadership style and public advocacy for community banking, Brent has led WaFd through significant economic disruption, strategic pivots, and cultural transformation. He is a Stanford Executive Program graduate, a CPA by training, and serves on several civic and financial boards. Brent often describes himself as the luckiest man alive, a perspective shaped by lived experience, gratitude, and responsibility.
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Court Lorenzini is the founder and CEO of multiple successful technology startups including DocuSign, Point.com, Primus BioVision and MetaBrite Inc. His latest venture, FounderNexus, aims to triple the success rate of venture-backed startups, and his work with the Lorenzini Family Foundation is aggressively investing in building a stronger and more equitable society. Additionally, Mr. Lorenzini serves on the Boards of many early-stage companies across the US and UK as well as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, and is an active investor and advisor. Over his career, Mr. Lorenzini has raised over $300M in venture and strategic funding from leading corporations and venture capital funds. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Mr. Lorenzini held senior management positions with Cisco Systems and KLA-Tencor, including two years running a technology business in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and post graduate credentials from Stanford University, UC Berkeley and University of Wisconsin at Madison.
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Ari Roisman is an entrepreneur, CEO, and executive coach who helps ambitious founders push through barriers and build meaningful lives beyond success. Over the past decade, he's founded and led companies that have defined new categories from instant video messaging with Glide to wearable tech with Wristcam, which partnered with Apple and landed on Time's 100 best inventions list.
He's been recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of "35 Innovators Under 35", and now channels his experience into coaching founders, serving as Forum Officer for the YPO Entrepreneurship Network and advising companies at the intersection of technology and human growth.
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Raina Kumra is the Founder of Spicewell, a "Food is Medicine" startup focused on bringing everyday Ayurveda to the American diet, closing nutrient gaps, and planetary health.
Raina is also an advisor to Google X and CEO of Juggernaut, a transformation bureau that focuses on placing capital and storytelling for an organization's next leap. Previously, she worked in the Obama administration and served as Head of Digital for Wieden + Kennedy in New York.
For What Fuels You listeners, Raina has provided a promo code for 25% off SpiceWell products. Shop here for superfood seasonings, which make a great gift: What Fuels You discount code (https://spicewell.com/whatfuelsyou)
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Kyle Kiser is the CEO of Arrive Health, a leading healthcare technology company dedicated to improving patient care and clinical decision-making. With extensive experience in healthcare innovation, Kyle has been instrumental in transforming the healthcare landscape by simplifying access to vital information for providers, payers, and patients.
His leadership emphasizes operational efficiency, reducing administrative burdens, and delivering better health outcomes. Kyle is a recognized thought leader dedicated to advancing the transformation of the healthcare ecosystem, using technology to drive meaningful change and create more efficient and effective experiences for all stakeholders.
Learn more at arrivehealth.com.
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Dawn Lepore is the former CEO and Board Chair of drugstore.com—a leading online retailer of health, beauty, and wellness products—which she led from 2004 until the successful sale to Walgreens in 2011. Prior to joining drugstore.com, Dawn held leadership positions at the Charles Schwab Company, where she played a key role launching and then building Schwab's highly successful e-commerce business. Currently, Dawn serves on the boards of LoanDepot.com, Servco Pacific, and SecureSave, and she's Board Chair at Amperity. Dawn also serves as Co-Chair of the Washington Teach for America Board. Dawn has been honored by Fortune Magazine four times as one of the 50 most powerful women in American business, and by the National Organization for Women at their Aiming High Conference.
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Jennifer Wong is the CEO of Aritzia. She began her tenure at Aritzia in 1987 as a part-time style advisor, advancing her way through retail leadership roles to serve as president, COO, and chair of the executive committee for seven years.
She was elected to the board of directors in 2016 and appointed CEO in May 2022. She has led virtually every facet of Aritzia's business: building critical infrastructure across people, process, technology and space, and pioneering key strategic growth initiatives—including the expansion of distribution facilities, enterprise technology implementations, the launch of the e-commerce business and the initial US expansion.
A visionary and results-driven leader, Jennifer has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, a Glossy 50 honoree in 2023, an inductee into the Business of Fashion 500 Class of 2024, and a recipient of Ascend Canada's 2025 Executive of the Year Award. She is also a member of the Business Council of Canada. She earned a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
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Michelle Wahler is an entrepreneur, business leader, and mother who co-founded the active lifestyle brand Beyond Yoga in 2005. As CEO, she built the company from the ground up—transforming a concept into a global business with a thriving e-commerce platform, a robust wholesale presence, and six retail stores. Under her nearly 20 years of leadership, Beyond Yoga sold tens of millions of units worldwide and became a leader in inclusive, body-positive apparel.
Michelle championed a female-focused, values-driven culture centered on diversity, empowerment, and authenticity—both internally and for the broader community. In 2021, she led Beyond Yoga through a successful $400M acquisition by Levi Strauss & Co., continuing as CEO and joining Levi’s Executive Leadership Team through 2024.
Her work has earned national recognition: she was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 and honored as a DEIA Visionary by the Los Angeles Times in 2023.
Originally from Maryland, Michelle began her career in New York City and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and two dogs. Through the family foundation she co-founded, she actively supports philanthropic initiatives, advises emerging founders, teaches, and invests in mission-driven ventures.
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Loretta Soffe is a seasoned retail executive, board director, and strategic advisor with more than 25 years of experience driving growth and innovation in the global retail space. As the former executive vice president and general merchandising manager of Women's Apparel at Nordstrom, she led the company's largest division, growing revenue by 33% to over $2 billion and doubling e-commerce sales to $275 million.
Loretta was also a key player in shaping Nordstrom's early omnichannel strategy and building the foundation for the company's e-commerce success. After Nordstrom, she launched a successful consulting practice and served as a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group, working with global fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands.
As a recognized thought leader in retail strategy and women's leadership, Loretta is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences and contribute to thought-leadership forums. She is passionate about mentoring, emerging leaders, and empowering the next generation of women executives. Loretta just finished her first book called Balance is Bullshit.
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Doug Glant is a true renaissance man, a Stanford educated historian, master storyteller, former intelligence officer, radio host, educator, and community builder. From serving with the CIA and DIA in Vietnam and the Middle East to leading his family's Pacific Iron and Metal, Doug has navigated both high stakes, global arenas and the relationship driven world of industry. He's also shared his expertise as a lecturer on business history and US popular culture at Stanford, the University of Washington, and the Bohemian Club.
In the community, Doug has been a scout, on and off the field, photographer for the Washington Huskies, a mentor to youth in Seattle's Central District, and—even more unexpectedly—a vocalist performing with the Harry James Orchestra. His leadership roles include serving as international president of the Young President's Organization, national Chairman for Business in the Reagan-Bush White House in 1980, and decades of service to the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee.
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Terry Myerson is CEO and co-founder of Truveta, a leader in EHR data and analytics, led by a growing health system collective that together provide more than 18% of all daily clinical care in the US. Truveta is trusted by more than 50 leading healthcare and life science customers to study safety and effectiveness, improve patient care, and train medical AI. Across these leading organizations, Truveta connects data, people, and ideas to pursue the mission of Saving Lives with Data.
Terry previously enjoyed a 21-year career at Microsoft, leading the development of Windows, Xbox, and the early days of Office 365. As Executive Vice President, serving on the Senior Leadership Team, Terry played a pivotal role in developing the strategy for Microsoft alongside CEO Satya Nadella. Terry excelled at managing large teams at scale, tackling complex software challenges, and driving growth in partnership with a global ecosystem.
After leaving Microsoft in 2018, Terry joined the Madrona Venture Group and the Carlyle Group as an advisor to their investment teams and portfolio companies. He enjoys learning about new technology, particularly at the intersection of data, AI, healthcare, and life sciences.
An entrepreneur at heart, prior to Microsoft Terry cofounded Intersé, one of the earliest internet companies, which Microsoft acquired in 1997.
Terry is a graduate of Duke University and a current member of the Duke Engineering Board of Visitors.
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James Lazarovits is the CEO and Co-Founder of Archon Biosciences, a leader at the intersection of materials engineering and artificial intelligence. James brings over 15 years of experience building, mentoring, and investing in deep tech startups across AI, software, hardware, and robotics. Before founding Archon, James was at the forefront of AI-driven computational protein design as a post-doctoral fellow and later research faculty at the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, under the direction of 2024 Nobel Laureate, David Baker. There, he contributed to pioneering methods that integrate machine learning and molecular engineering to create next-gen therapeutic proteins. Jamie earned his PhD in nanotechnology engineering from the University of Toronto where he worked under Nanomedicine expert, Dr. Warren Chan. His doctoral work focused on overcoming biological delivery barriers, using nano materials and deep learning, laying the groundwork for his later contributions to rational protein design.
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Brad Handler is an entrepreneur redefining the luxury travel industry. Brad began his post college career at American Management Systems and then Apple. Brad then went to law school and was an attorney at a top Silicon Valley law firm, and then at eBay as their first in-house counsel from 1997 to 2001. But he is best known for his innovation in the world of destination travel clubs. In 2002 Brad founded Exclusive Resorts with his brother Brent and served as the company’s CEO and chairman. Brad and Brent then created Inspirato, a vacation service which, under their leadership, provided personalized, high-end travel experiences. Brad and his brother left Inspirato in 2024 and Brad recently started Passport Golf which partners with leading country clubs to offer luxury once-in-a-lifetime golf excursions to New Zealand, Scotland, and Ireland. Brad earned a bachelor’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
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Yoko Miyashita is the CEO of Leafly, the go-to platform for cannabis education, discovery, and community. Yoko joined Leafly in 2019 as general counsel and stepped into the CEO role the following year, right in the middle of the pandemic and a major turning point for the industry. Born in Japan and raised in the US, Yoko spent much of her childhood translating for immigrant parents, an experience that gave her an early understanding of voice, access, and responsibility. That thread has carried through her career from practicing law to leading through change. Before Leafly, Yoko spent over a decade at Getty Images as SVP and general counsel, guiding the company through the global legal strategy during a time of massive digital transformation. She's a UC Berkeley and UW law school grad. At Leafly, Yoko is helping shape what the future of cannabis can look like, centered around trust, education, and community.
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Dr. Sam Heidari is the CEO of Lumotive, a groundbreaking semiconductor manufacturer based in Redmond, WA. Sam holds a PhD in electrical engineering from USC and previously served as CEO of Quantenna, where he led the company through a public offering and $1 billion acquisition by ON Semiconductor.
At Lumotive, Sam is leading a team that's building award-winning programmable optical semiconductors that improve perception, increase computing power, and enable reliable high-speed communication in various industries. The Light Control Metasurface™ (LCM) is a patented, software-defined photonic beamforming solid-state technology. As the first of its kind, it meets essential needs in various sectors, including 3D sensing and AI computing.
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Emily Long is the co-founder and CEO of Edera, the pioneer of strong workload isolation technology for cloud and AI infrastructure. She places the highest value on people and bringing diverse teams together to build something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Emily is a tactical and strategic leader who’s proven in scaling operations, fostering strong company cultures, and driving strategic execution. She’s also an unapologetic people person who believes in the capacity of humor and human connection to motivate and empower team members to achieve more. Prior to Edera, she was the COO at Chainguard, where she built, scaled, and led core business functions that helped lead the company to its Series C and Unicorn status. Emily also served as Chief Operating & People Officer at Anchore, where she oversaw business operations and sales and spearheaded its DEI initiatives. She’s also held strategic operations roles at LogicMonitor and KPMG. Emily is based in Santa Barbara, California and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
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Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer-oriented businesses covering several industries. He retired from Starbucks Coffee after 21 years where he led both the domestic business, as President of North America, and was the founding President of Starbucks International. During his tenure, he participated in the growth of the company from 28 stores to over 15,000 spanning five continents. He served on the Starbucks Board of Directors for 12 years before retiring.
Howard is currently a Trustee for the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation and is on the advisory board of Anthos Capital. He is committed to the development and education of our future leaders and has been a longtime advocate of the Servant Leadership Model. He has also authored two books on leadership titled It's Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup.
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Dr. Elizabeth Wako is president and CEO of Swedish Health Services, where she oversees an organization with more than 1,500 licensed patient beds, 48,000 annual inpatient admissions and $3.4 billion in revenue.
Dr. Wako has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare field. Before stepping into her current role, she worked as a registered nurse in behavioral health and held several key executive positions at Swedish.
She received her medical degree from the University of Utah and returned to the University of Washington to complete a medical residency in anesthesia, a fellowship in perioperative medicine, and finally, her MBA.
Dr. Wako lives in Seattle with her husband and four children.
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Kristen Hamilton is a three-time technology entrepreneur and CEO with multiple exits, a board director of late-stage startups, and a professional CEO Advisor. She is a General Partner at Enjoy The Work, where she teaches founders to become great CEOs. She co-founded the predictive hiring software leader Koru, and was CEO until it was acquired by UK-based Capfinity in 2019.
Kristen grew up near Montreal, and currently splits her time between Seattle and Whistler. She is a mom to two university-aged daughters and a golden retriever, and has deep passion for skiing, biking, rowing, and spending time outdoors in the mountains.
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Jim Weber is a Director, Advisor, serial CEO, Author, and Speaker. Jim joined Brooks Running Company’s Board of Directors in 1999 and was named CEO in 2001. He stepped down in 2024 after 23 years in the position, during which time he is credited for the Seattle-based running company’s aggressive turnaround story.
In 2022, Jim wrote a challenger brand, leadership memoir called “Running with Purpose: How Brooks Outpaced Goliath Competitors to Lead the Pack.”, with inspirational stories and tangible takeaways for current and aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, and runners.
He currently serves as a member of the board of advisors at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management.
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Sujal Patel is Founder and CEO of Nautilus Biotechnology, a life sciences company creating a large-scale, single-molecule platform for quantifying and unlocking the complexity of the human proteome, with the goal of enabling fundamental advancements across human health and medicine.
With nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience driving innovation for high-growth companies, Sujal is a successful entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist who founded and served as CEO of Isilon Systems, an enterprise data storage company. After completing one of the most successful initial public offerings of 2006, Isilon was acquired by EMC in 2010 for $2.6 billion.
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Dr. Oren Etzioni is the founder of TrueMedia.org, a free-use product that allows critical election audiences from around the world to quickly and effectively detect deepfakes.
He was the Founding Chief Executive Officer at the Allen Institute for AI (AI2), having served as CEO from its inception in 2013 until late 2022.
He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington where he helped to pioneer meta-search, online comparison shopping, machine reading, and open information extraction. He has also authored several award-winning technical papers, and founded and sold many companies.
In addition to his role at TrueMedia.org, he is currently a technical director of the AI2 Incubator and a Venture Partner at Madrona.
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Marc Rousso is the CEO of JayMarc Homes, a national award-winning home builder specializing in new custom homes in the Greater Seattle area. Marc founded JayMarc Homes along with childhood friend Jay Mezistrano in 2010, and together they’ve created a company culture that’s entrepreneurial, inclusive, and respectful. Marc has degrees from the University of Washington and the Sloan School of Management’s Executive Entrepreneurship Program at MIT. When not conversing with contractors, sharing ideas with real estate professionals, and talking to JayMarc homeowners past, present, and future, Marc balances his work life with a wonderful family: his wife, Leslie, and their two beautiful children, Lee and Siena.
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This is a condensed version of Shauna Swerland's 2020 interview with Kate Wallich, the Founder and CEO of Dance Church.
Kate’s desire to study and practice dance led her to people and places she never thought possible while growing up in Michigan. When this pursuit took her to Seattle, she learned how sharing the power of dance can forge meaningful connections and inspire others.
In this recap episode, Kate emphasizes the power of expressing yourself and how movement can promote healing and create positive communities.
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This is a condensed version of Shauna Swerland’s 2019 interview with Sue Suh, then Chief People Officer at Time.
Before working at Time, Sue’s career took her around the world on campaigns for international cooperation and change at the U.S. Departments of Defense, State, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
In this recap episode, Sue shares great advice for younger people with stories from her college and early career days. She also emphasizes the power of gratitude and human connections in her professional and personal lives and how daily choices add up to big opportunities.
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This is a condensed version of Shauna Swerland’s 2019 conversation with Jeremy Lott, President of SanMar.
SanMar gave Jeremy his first job, modeling on the cover of the company’s first catalog at the age of two. Since then, he’s learned the family business inside and out, from pulling orders to purchasing. Now as president, he focuses on creating a culture of opportunity and sustainability at SanMar and in their factories and offices around the world.
To learn more about SanMar, visit www.sanmar.com.
In this recap episode, Jeremy discusses SanMar’s philosophy that products should make positive impacts and how family values lead to success.
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This is a condensed version of Shauna Swerland’s 2019 interview with Dan Levitan, the co-founder of the venture capital firm Maveron.
Dan started the firm with Howard Schultz in 1998 after helping the Starbucks team accomplish its IPO. Under Dan’s guidance, Maveron focused on “creating a cauldron of consumer passion” by forming partnerships with non-normal entrepreneurs. These partnerships have included brands like Allbirds, Ebay, Lovevery, and Zulily.
To learn more about Maveron and the team behind their consumer-focused culture, visit maveron.com.
In this recap episode, Dan explains the importance of investing in consumers and relationships, the significance of seeing the opportunity, and how to elevate your aspirations.
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In this condensed version of Shauna Swerland's conversation with Chad Robins from 2019, you'll hear the origin story of Adaptive Biotechnologies, the corporate culture Chad is building there, and what Chad sees as the most important tasks of a CEO.
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Emily Pesce is CEO of Joon, whose mission is to make mental healthcare and well-being broadly accessible and effective for 13-24 year olds. Emily has over twenty years of experience across healthcare, e-commerce, grocery, supply chain, technology, mobile, and cloud computing. She has led product, marketing, design, technology, forecasting and replenishment teams, among others. Her primary operating experiences were at Amazon (AmazonFresh, Kindle, Gaming, AWS) and Nerdy (Product). Emily has also been an investor, providing early stage capital, sometimes the first money in, to over 30 companies (Working Lab Capital, Pesce Family Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners).
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Kellan Carter is a founding partner of Bellevue-based FUSE where he focuses on early-stage investments in intelligent software in both horizontal and vertical categories. He currently sits on several Boards, including Zuper and Pictory. Previously, Kellan spent seven years at Ignition Partners, a leading early-stage venture capital firm, and two years in investment banking at Mooreland Partners in San Francisco. Kellan also currently sits on the Board of the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club.
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We're sharing some of the most insightful clips from past interviews. You'll hear from Jane Park, Matt Oppenheimer, Dan Shapiro, Robi Ganguly, and Sue Suh.
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Mike Powers is the Founder and President of Alliance Partition Systems, with over 20 years of experience in the industry. He has done everything from scrapping at Safeco Field as a 1st bracket apprentice, to successfully bidding and managing multi-million dollar projects as an estimator/project manager, to President of one of the largest drywall companies in the state. He has three children: two teenage girls and a tween boy, who he enjoys spending time with, as well as traveling. His goal is to keep APS rated as the best place to work in the industry, and as a side effect grow to be the largest drywaller in Washington and Oregon. Mike Powers founded this company in September, 2007.
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Anoop Gupta is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeekOut, an AI-powered Talent Intelligence Platform helping organizations recruit, retain, and grow talent. Anoop started SeekOut after an 18-year career at Microsoft. During his tenure, Anoop was the Corporate Vice-President of the multibillion-dollar Unified Communications Group (Skype + Exchange). He was TA to Bill Gates, advising on technology and product strategy, and as a Distinguished Scientist at MSR, he led work on AI, Natural User Interfaces, and Telepresence. Prior to Microsoft, Anoop was a tenured professor at Stanford University and he holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.
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Christie Lagally is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat price-competitive with animal-based meat. Lagally began her career in the aerospace industry working on testing, designing, and manufacturing commercial airplanes at Boeing. Now at Rebellyous, she focuses on designing novel manufacturing equipment that addresses the two most significant obstacles facing the plant-based meat industry: cost and quality at scale.
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Nicole Schmidt has worked in the construction industry for 18+ years, starting as a designer for large and small hospitality and housing projects around the country before spending the second half of her pre-Source career at a variety of manufacturers in sales and business development. After teaching herself enough code to launch Source on her own, Nicole has become passionate about the ways in which technology can serve the construction industry and cognizant of the places that complicated projects will always need a human touch.
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Varun Puri is the co-founder of Yoodli, an AI powered communication coach. Yoodli helps you ace your next presentation or interview by providing private and judgment-free analytics on your filler words, body language, content and more. Yoodli (www.yoodli.ai) is being rolled out to 300k+ Toastmasters members globally, has raised $7M+ in funding, and been featured across media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Inc. Before Yoodli, Varun led Africa Operations for a GoogleX initiative that used invisible lasers to bring the internet to unconnected areas. He also ran special projects for Sergey Brin, one of Google’s founders. Varun is a TEDx speaker, part of Forbes 30 under 30, was voted the Best Young Entrepreneur in the Pacific Northwest, and gave the commencement speech at Claremont McKenna College, his alma mater.
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Spencer Rascoff is an entrepreneur and tech executive who co-founded Zillow, Hotwire, dot.LA, Pacaso, Recon Food, Queue, and heyLibby, and who served as Zillow's CEO for a decade. Spencer is an active angel investor and is starting new companies through his Los Angeles venture capital firm and startup studio, 75 & Sunny. He is also on the Board of Directors of Varo Bank. In the spring of 2022, Spencer was a Visiting Professor, where he taught Harvard College's first-ever startup class, "Startups from Ideation to Exit," in the fall of 2019, he co-created and co-taught the Harvard Business School course, "Managing Tech Ventures. Spencer hosts "Office Hours," a podcast featuring candid conversations between prominent executives on leadership, diversity and inclusion, and startups. Spencer graduated cum laude from Harvard University.
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This is a repost of one of our most popular episodes of 2023. Happy holidays to you and your families. We look forward to bringing you new guests and conversations in 2024!
Dr. Daniela Braga is the Founder and CEO of Defined.ai, one of the fastest-growing startups in the AI space. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Pacific Northwest 2020 Award, #27 Deloitte Fast 500 2020 (#1 in the Pacific Northwest region); #27 in Inc.5000 in 2020, and Goldman Sachs Most Intriguing 100 Entrepreneurs in 2021. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network as a Tech Pioneer and AI Expert in WEF Davos 2022. She’s also a YPO and a Chief member. Dr. Braga has raised over $80 million of Venture Capital, making her the woman founder in AI who has raised more capital in the world. Dr. Braga has been appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Resource Task Force, a 12-person body that advises the US president on the AI strategy of the United States. She is also an advisor to the President of Portugal.
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Listen to a short message from Shauna Swerland about wrapping up 2023 and plans for the podcast in 2024. Thanks for listening this year!
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Jon Staenberg has been an active venture capitalist for over 30 years, serving as a General Partner in three Funds managing over $250 million. As an angel investor, Jon has made over 250 investments. Currently, he is focused on building Agate Hound Fund, a fund for Search Funds. This asset class is relatively unknown but has shown exceptional performance over the past 40 years. Additionally, he spends his spare time working on his vineyard in Argentina, www.handofgodwines.com.
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Anna Gudmundson has been a senior tech business leader in the international high-growth scene for 15+ years. Her present-day focus is on transformational technologies which impact the world in a significant, positive way while also having strong commercial viability.
As CEO of Sensate, a consumer stress-management technology company, she is tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time: stress and mental health.
Apart from a passion for technology business, Anna has a huge curiosity for personal growth and the human potential - both in what she produces and how she leads. Anna leads Sensate to mobilize cutting-edge science and technology, informed by wisdom drawn from old traditions and practices, to bring greater calm and consciousness to our current, overstressed world.
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Krish Ramineni is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fireflies.ai, an AI meeting assistant that transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes meetings. Named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Krish graduated from UPenn. He was one of the youngest Product Managers at Microsoft, leading projects in customer voice and growth. He has guest lectured at Stanford on machine learning and holds patents in workflow automation. Krish is a thought leader in SaaS/AI and an active startup advisor.
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Raquel Barrett is a dynamic entrepreneur and leader known for her expertise in e-commerce, technology, and operations. As one of the co-founders of FUNBOY, a leading leisure and lifestyle brand, Raquel has played a pivotal role in shaping the brand's success. Driven by an innate passion for problem solving and a keen understanding of consumer behavior, Raquel has always been at the forefront of adopting new technology and e-commerce strategies. Before co-founding FUNBOY, she served as the Head of Marketing for a Seattle-based consumer tech startup. Beyond her professional achievements, Raquel is a mom to two young boys, balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with the joys of raising a family with her husband and fellow co-founder.
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Alessya Visnjic is the CEO of WhyLabs, the AI Observability company building tools that power robust and responsible AI deployment. Prior to WhyLabs, Alessya was a CTO-in-residence at the Allen Institute for AI, where she evaluated commercial potential for the latest AI research. Earlier, Alessya spent 9 years at Amazon leading ML initiatives, including forecasting and data science platforms. Alessya is also the founder of Rsqrd AI, a global community of 1,000+ AI practitioners who are committed to making enterprise AI technology responsible.
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Gaurav Oberoi is the CEO and co-founder of Lexion. He started his career as an engineer at Amazon, before moving on to found and sell two startups (BillMonk, and Precision Polling), and build a $20M+ ARR business from $0 as a VP of Product at SurveyMonkey. Gaurav co-founded Lexion as the first EIR at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He thrives on building products that customers love, with diverse teams that enjoy working together.
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John Case brings nearly three decades of industry leadership in cloud services, software product management, marketing, partner sales, digital promotion, and brand development to his role as CEO of Acumatica. Before joining Acumatica, John served as president and CEO of Unify Square, a leading provider of operations and performance management software and cloud-managed services. He also spent 16 years at Microsoft in a variety of executive-level positions, including corporate vice president of Office and Office 365, where he spurred the digital transformation of Microsoft’s most successful cloud business; and vice president of the worldwide OEM division in marketing and sales, where he jointly oversaw the global distribution and reseller channels for Microsoft.
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Walter Berger currently serves as President and Co-CEO as well as a director of Kymeta Corporation. Under his leadership, the company successfully released its second-generation product and broadband service, improving performance through an integrated WAN device providing seamless satellite and cellular communications, accelerating Kymeta's global market penetration. Walter has served on several public boards including REG a renewal energy company and private boards including Sirius Computer Solutions, a national integrator of technology-based business solutions. He holds a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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Hope Cochran is currently a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group. Previously, she served as the CFO of King Digital, the creators of Candy Crush. At King, she not only led the company through an IPO and acquisition to Activision but also became a rockstar Candy Crush player. Prior to that she was the CFO of Clearwire through its sale to Sprint in 2013 and was the founder of her own company, SkillsVillage which she went on to sell to PeopleSoft. In 2013 Fortune named her to the top 10 Most Powerful Women in Gaming and in 2018 Women’s Inc named her Most Influential Corporate Director. She is also on the boards of three public companies, Hasbro, MongoDB, and New Relic. Hope has a passion for the arts and holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Music/Opera from Stanford University.
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Derek Streat is the Co-founder and CEO of DexCare, a data-driven intelligence company that makes healthcare access better for everyone. He is an accomplished healthcare technology entrepreneur and executive, having co-founded and/or led six venture-backed companies including three in health tech and four acquired by public companies. Prior to joining Providence as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence to commercialize DexCare, Derek served as Vice President of Digital Solutions at Johnson & Johnson after it acquired his surgical AI company, C-SATS. Derek is also actively involved in national healthcare data transparency efforts for the improvement of patient care as a Co-founder and Board member of two leading data-sharing organizations, PEDSnet, and the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative.
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Kris Engskov is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rippl, a venture-backed start-up redefining the next generation of mental health for seniors. Leveraging a value-based approach, disruptive technology, and a relentless focus on empowering its clinicians, Rippl is pioneering a new care model to dramatically expand access to high-quality, wrap-around mental and behavioral healthcare for seniors, their families, and caregivers. Most recently, Kris served as President of Aegis Living, one of the nation’s leading innovators in providing assisted living, memory care, and wellness services to seniors. Prior to jumping into senior health, Kris spent over 16 years at Starbucks Coffee Company where he held multiple senior leadership roles including President of the company’s flagship U.S. Retail division and earlier as President of Starbucks Europe, Middle East & Africa. Previously Kris worked for Madrona Venture Group, LLC, a Seattle-based venture-capital fund, and earlier in his career, he was in public service. From 1993 to 2000, Kris held several positions in the Clinton White House, including Assistant Press Secretary and Personal Aide to the President. He received his B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Welcome, Kris!
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Mo Afshar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pipe17 - Bringing the power of modern enterprise software to the e-commerce marketplace. Previously, he was CEO of Spoken Communications which was acquired by Avaya and served in various positions at Oracle. Over his fourteen years at Oracle, he built and managed multi-billion-dollar businesses. Mo is an advisor to several venture and private equity firms. He was educated in the UK and attended Cambridge University for his Ph.D. in Computer Science.
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Grant Ries is the CEO of Deep Sync, a leading data and technology company in the marketing industry. Before Deep Sync, Grant was a member of the executive leadership team at Liveramp, where he continues serving as a strategic advisor. During his time at the company, he held several roles, including CEO of Liveramp B2B, as well as running the following businesses: Data, Marketplace, Advanced TV, and most recently as the Executive VP of Emerging Markets. Grant joined Liveramp through the acquisition of Pacific Data Partners, a B2B data and technology company he co-founded. Prior to Liveramp, Grant co-founded and served as a Board Member and Chief Revenue Officer of BlueKai. When Oracle acquired BlueKai in 2014, Grant co-launched the Oracle Data Cloud, a global business unit, and served as its Vice President. Grant currently serves on the board of directors of Mountain and Rembrand, is an active angel investor, and has provided advisory and operating support for his various investments in the technology sector over 20 years.
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In this episode of the What Fuels You Podcast, Shauna talks with T.A. McCann, managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, a startup studio and venture capital firm. They discuss T.A.'s background in sailing, winning the America’s Cup, swimming, his successful career in startups, and his tips for staying healthy and productive. This episode covers topics such as entrepreneurship, validation of startup ideas, time management, and health and human performance.
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Craig Unger is the Founder and CEO of Hyperproof, a security assurance and compliance operations platform transforming the way you manage and do the work. Craig is an expert in building technology businesses and teams. Prior to founding Hyperproof, Craig founded Azuqua and was a leader at Microsoft where he led the development of Microsoft Dynamics and Access. He has 30 years of experience building software used around the world. Craig loves technology and he is addicted to designing software that delights and disrupts.
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Stephanie Sprangers is the Founder and CEO of Glamhive, the online personal styling service that brings expert personal stylists and makeup artists - recruited directly from Hollywood and Instagram - to everyone. Stephanie is a lifetime style-seeker and tech executive turned entrepreneur. With vast experience in the affiliate marketing and digital rewards space, she launched Glamhive as a place for the average consumer to share images of their outfits and get rewarded for the purchases they drive. Stephanie later expanded her vision to create a virtual styling platform that would democratize personal styling by creating a way for people to work with the influencers, stylists, and makeup artists that they admired in traditional and social media. Under Stephanie's leadership, Glamhive has developed patented technology that allows stylists and makeup artists to take clients through a styling experience that is 100% online which means people can work with stylists anywhere in the world.
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Nicole Alvino is the Founder and CEO of Firstup, a leading enterprise SaaS company in workforce engagement and intelligence. She is a passionate entrepreneur making millions of global employees more supported and productive and enterprise customers – including 40 of the Fortune 100 – more agile with workforce intelligence. Previously, was the Founder and CEO of Dermalounge and started her career at Enron where she learned important lessons about how to lead authentically and transparently. She received her BA in Economics and Japanese at Vanderbilt University and attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business for her MBA.
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Dave Cole is the CEO and Co-Founder of Open Raven, a Kleiner Perkins-backed post-series B company focused on reimagining data security for the modern era. He also started the Security Voices podcast as a sponsorless show focused on highlighting the diverse people and perspectives in cybersecurity. Dave’s fingerprints are visible across the cybersecurity industry from his 26 years of working as a leader in consulting (at Deloitte and ISS), enterprise products (at Foundstone, CrowdStrike, and Tenable), and consumer products (at Norton). Dave is a frequent spokesperson, making appearances on NBC, CNN, and elsewhere while speaking at industry events such as RSA, Black Hat, and B-Sides Las Vegas. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and is a member of the board of UM School of Information and Inspectiv. Dave is an investor focused on helping to grow businesses in his hometown of Los Angeles where he lives with his wife and son.
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Katherine Sizov is the CEO and Co-Founder of Strella, a biosensing hardware and software company that provides data to optimize the produce supply chain and decrease losses due to food waste. She started the company when she read that 40% of food was wasted before being consumed. Now, Strella has helped Washington state apple and pear growers organize their inventory based on shelf life to reduce food waste and improve the overall quality. Katherine studied molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she further explored her passion for applied science and food.
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Dr. Grin Lord is a clinical psychologist and AI empathy innovator. She is the founder/CEO of mpathic.ai - AI empathy at scale - and of Therapists in Tech, a collaborative of 3k+ digital mental health experts who are defining the digital mental health revolution together. Grin was previously the Chief Clinical Officer of Lyssn.io, a Clinical Product Psychologist at Youper.ai, and a Research Scientist at the University of Washington where she studied the key ingredients in conversation that make therapy effective and promote change. Her areas of expertise include conversational design, using machine learning to augment human connection, evidence-based therapy, and empathy.
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Dr. Daniela Braga is the Founder and CEO of Defined.ai, one of the fastest-growing startups in the AI space. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Pacific Northwest 2020 Award, #27 Deloitte Fast 500 2020 (#1 in the Pacific Northwest region); #27 in Inc.5000 in 2020, and Goldman Sachs Most Intriguing 100 Entrepreneurs in 2021. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network as a Tech Pioneer and AI Expert in WEF Davos 2022. She’s also a YPO and a Chief member. Dr. Braga has raised over $80 million of Venture Capital, making her the woman founder in AI who has raised more capital in the world. Dr. Braga has been appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Resource Task Force, a 12-person body that advises the US president on the AI strategy of the United States. She is also an advisor to the President of Portugal.
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John DeFeo is the President and CEO of Rapid NanoSensor, Inc and President of Venture Advisors, LLC. Previously, he served as the Chairman, President, and CEO of CoCo Communications. John is a seven-time CEO with more than 40 years of leadership experience in strategic planning, marketing and sales, customer care, six-sigma, lean manufacturing, and product & business development. His experience touches nearly every facet of telecommunications and medical device industries. He has extensive experience in complex capital financings, having raised more than $1.7 billion in private, venture, and public markets. John attended Temple University, where he received his BBA in Business Administration and AT in Electrical Engineering.
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Vishal Sunak is the Founder and CEO of LinkSquares, the company behind the fastest-growing AI-powered contracting platform for legal teams. LinkSquares is trusted by more than 800 legal teams at mid-to-large companies, including Commvault, Fitbit, and Wayfair, to move their businesses forward faster. Vishal was named to Boston Business Journal’s 2022 40 Under 40 list, honoring the Boston area’s young professionals who are achieving the most in their careers and giving back to the community. LinkSquares’ rapid growth ranks #10 in Massachusetts and #379 overall on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing companies, landing a top spot for the second year in a row. The company also ranked #90 on the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ awards, recognizing North America's most innovative, fastest-growing technology companies. Vishal has a B.S. in Engineering from Northeastern University and an M.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Outside of LinkSquares, Vishal mentors local Boston-based startup founders, plays covers and the blues on his guitar and spends time adventuring with his wife and two young daughters.
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Allison Arzeno is the CEO of Assurance, which helps people choose the best insurance products for themselves. As CEO, Allison leads the company’s strategy to scale and drive growth while staying true to its original mission of building a better insurance solution for the mass market. Allison joined Assurance in 2017 as a chief data scientist, then became president in 2020 and CEO in 2021. She is passionate about using data science to help people address life’s most important challenges and teaching others to find answers in data for themselves. It started with her work in operations research at MIT, where she earned her PhD studying how predictive modeling can help diabetes patients personalize care. She later applied this expertise as CEO of a health wearables startup focused on heart health and as a data science consultant at Sequoia Capital. Allison is the co-author of “The Analytics Edge,” a widely accredited business analytics textbook, as well as a former lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and MIT Sloan School of Management. In addition to receiving her PhD from MIT, Allison holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of California, Davis.
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Manik Suri is the Founder and CEO of Therma, a technology startup whose mission is to help protect our food, health, and planet. Therma builds smart cooling technologies to reduce emissions and improve grid resilience of distributed energy resources through refrigeration to help power the grid across food and healthcare industries. Manik is an expert on climate and refrigeration and has been speaking at international climate events like The New York Times Climate Hub at COP26, GreenBiz VERGE Electrify, Techonomy Climate, and WEBIT Impact Forum. Previously, Manik co-founded the Governance Lab (GovLab), an innovation center at NYU that develops technology solutions to improve government. He has been recognized amongst the Top 100 Harvard Alumni in Technology, is a past Affiliate of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and previously held positions at global investment firm D. E. Shaw & Company and the White House National Economic Council.
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Kristen Bauer is the CEO of Laird Norton Wealth Management (LNWM) and has more than two decades of experience in private wealth management, financial services, and business management. Before joining LNWM, Kristen was a senior leader at Tiedemann Advisors serving as Managing Director for the Pacific Northwest. She also served as CFO, Chief Business Development Officer, Chief Client Service Officer, and then President of Threshold Group. Kristen graduated from the University of Washington Foster School of Business with a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Business and Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS). Kristen grew up in Bend, Oregon, which inspired her love of the outdoors and her ongoing involvement with environmental causes. She currently serves as Board Chair of The Nature Conservancy, Washington Chapter, and is Board President of the Wilderness Awareness School.
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Kirill Makharinsky is the Founder and CEO of Enki, the company that helps teams with adoption of business intelligence and data tools. Previously, he co-founded Emerging Travel Group (including the brands RateHawk & ZenHotels) a profitable OTA with net annual revenues of over $100M, and Quid, a leading research and analysis tool for strategy teams with revenues of over $50M. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he is an angel investor in Calm, AngelList, Opencare, and more.
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Greg Schwartz is the CEO and co-founder of Tomo, leading the company in its mission to make buying a home as enjoyable as living in one, by providing an intuitive platform with empathic experts. Prior to Tomo, Greg was part of the executive leadership team at Zillow Group. As president of media and marketplace, he led sales, business strategy, product development and customer service across the company’s Premier Agent, real estate, rental, mortgage, and new construction marketplaces. Before joining Zillow, Greg was VP of advertising sales at CNNMoney, served as the national accounts director for Yahoo's automotive and finance properties, and held multiple positions at DoubleClick. Greg has been named by Inman News as one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders and was named to the Swanepoel Power 200. Currently, he is on the board of directors for Car Gurus and the board of trustees for Hamilton College. When he’s not in the office, you can find Greg tearing up the trails on his mountain bike or at the beach with his family.
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Megan Jasper currently works for Sub Pop Records as the label's CEO. She started working for Sub Pop in 1989 and eventually went back to the label in 1998. Before working at Sub Pop she was the Northwest Sales Representative (for five years) for Alternative Distribution Alliance, a music company that distributes mostly independent music to retailers in the US. Megan has also volunteered for numerous non-profits, served on the Board of Directors for SCBWI for four years, volunteered and served on the Board of Directors for The Service Board for ten years, the Board of Directors for the Vera Project for six years and served as a Seattle Music Commissioner for six years. She is currently on KEXP's Board of Directors. When she isn't working, volunteering, or listening to music, she's training for triathlons and hanging out with her family: Brian, Yogi, Bear, Claw, and Pickles.
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Lisa Gersh is an experienced operating executive and public company board member, having been the CEO of multiple companies and currently serving on three public company boards. Most recently, Lisa was the CEO of the fashion brand, Alexander Wang. Prior to that, Lisa served as the CEO of Goop, Inc. (a lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow) and was the President and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. In 2000, Lisa co-founded Oxygen Media with Geraldine Laybourne and served as its President and COO. In 2007, Oxygen was acquired by NBC Universal, and Lisa was made the President of Strategic Initiatives at NBC. Lisa began her career as a lawyer and has 13 years of experience at law firms, one of which she co-founded. Her public company Board experience is quite extensive, having served on the boards of various companies including, Hasbro, Inc., The Bail Project, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, The Second Shift, and Jones Road. Lisa’s a graduate of the State University of New York Binghamton and holds a law degree from Rutgers Law School.
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Nancy Xiao is the CEO at Mason, where she is responsible for day-to-day company leadership as well as driving its next stage of innovation. She previously served as the President of Mason–overseeing the company’s meteoric growth both in terms of company expansion and platform adoption. A mobile technology and hardware industry nerd, Nancy has undertaken complex challenges, from pushing the boundaries of VR to enabling companies to build their own smart hardware product lines. Prior to Mason, Nancy held various positions at both Oculus and Facebook. Nancy attended the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a BA & BBA with Distinction, in English and Business Administration.
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Matt Ehrlichman is the CEO, Chairman, and founder of Porch Group, a Seattle-based vertical software platform for the home. Porch’s mission is to help home services companies grow and through these relationships to help make the home simple, from moving to maintenance and everything in between. Prior to founding Porch, Matt created his first technology startup, Thriva, in his dorm room at Stanford University, where he also received his Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurial Engineering and Master of Science in Management Science and Engineering. In 2007, he sold Thriva to Active Network for $60 million and went on to become Active Network’s Chief Strategy Officer, where during his five-year tenure, Active grew from $60 million to more than $420 million in revenue and an initial public offering in 2011. Matt currently lives in Seattle with his wife and three children.
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Poppy MacDonald is the President of USAFacts, the non-partisan, non-profit civic initiative, and source for well-visualized data on the American people and how we are doing as a nation – leading an effort to help Americans ground their democratic debate in facts. Previously, Poppy served as president and chief operating officer of POLITICO USA; President, publisher, and chief revenue officer of the National Journal, as well as executive director of business development at POLITICO Pro, overseeing the launch of Politico’s first paid subscription model. Poppy has also served as a partner at Gallup Inc., where she launched the World Poll and led the health care practice. Poppy began her career serving members of Congress, representing her Pacific Northwest hometown on both the Senate and House sides of Capitol Hill – and is happy to be back, enjoying Seattle with her husband and two children.
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Tom Skerritt is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Triple Squirrels, a PNW lifestyle focused media content provider. Tom has led a successful acting career, being a two-time Golden Globe nominee and Emmy Award winner for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In a 60-year acting career, Tom has appeared in more than 40 films and over 200 television episodes, including roles in classics, such as MAS*H, War Hunt, Alien, Steel Magnolias, Top Gun, A River Runs Through It, and Picket Fences. After Tom graduated high school, he enlisted in the US Air Force, then continued to UCLA, where he began his storytelling and acting career. Originally from Detroit, Tom now resides in Seattle with his wife Julie, who he co-founded Triple Squirrels with just prior to the covid pandemic. In his free time, you can find Tom working on his memoir and two new screenplays.
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Manoj Pinna is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seattle based Pebble Health. Pebble Health levels the playing field between small businesses & startups and Fortune-500 companies for employee benefits. Pebble Health is used by people in 20 states, making it available for small employers to offer generous benefits like fertility, $0 deductible health plans affordably, or save 30% on benefits spending. Over the past 17 years, Manoj has been driving change in staid and inefficient industries including finance, fintech, and health care.
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Lisa Sun is the Founder & CEO of GRAVITAS, a company whose origin story dates back to Lisa’s first professional review: that she “lacked gravitas” and “should go buy a new dress, big jewelry, and great shoes.” Realizing the transformative power that clothing can have, Lisa secured the patent on building shapewear into dresses and launched Gravitas as a Confidence Company that offers innovative apparel and styling solutions designed to makeover women from the inside-out. Prior to founding Gravitas, Lisa spent 11 years at McKinsey & Company where she advised leading luxury, fashion, and beauty brands globally on strategic and operational issues. Lisa graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with distinction in Biology and Political Science.
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Erin Quick is the Co-founder and CEO of PairTree. With more than 20 years of global brand marketing experience, and more importantly, as a two-time adoptive mother, Erin is a leader in the movement to modernize adoption in the U.S. Previously, Erin co-founded Stoke Strategy, a Seattle-based brand strategy firm, which she led for 12 years. She began her marketing career at Addison in San Francisco and New York, where she worked on global branding for Domino’s Pizza, Merrill Lynch and The Make-a-Wish Foundation. Erin is a recipient of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40-Under-40 award and most recently, PairTree, under Erin’s leadership, was selected to participate in the 2021 TechStars Seattle Accelerator. She is currently a Visionary Voices Member, Speaker with All Raise, guest lecturer at Brown University and the University of Washington. Erin lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband and two children.
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Omri Gazitt is the co-founder and CEO of Aserto, an authorization startup and his third entrepreneurial venture. He’s spent the majority of his 30-year career working on developer and infrastructure technology, most recently as the CPO of Puppet. Previously, he was the VP and GM of HP’s Cloud Native Platform, and General Manager at Microsoft with responsibilities for Azure, SQL Server, Application Server, and the .NET Framework.
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Derrick Morton is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seattle-based FlowPlay, and has been an entrepreneur, leader, and innovator in the digital entertainment industry for more than 25 years. At the helm of FlowPlay for the last 15 years, he has established the company as the creator of the industry’s most powerful immersive gaming platform, driving product innovation to build the engaging multiplayer social casino that captures the attention of 75 million users worldwide. Derrick has identified new opportunities in untapped markets, including free-to-play sports betting, and fantasy sports gaming. Over time, Derrick has spearheaded the development of more than 200 digital entertainment projects.
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Andy Heily is the third-generation family member to lead Seattle-based Continental Mills, makers of Krusteaz® pancake and bake mixes and WildRoots® snacks, among other high quality, tasty products. Andy lives and breathes Continental Mills, having touched nearly every aspect of the business throughout his 19 years with the company, including roles in Sales, Marketing, Research and Development and Operations. He served as the company President and Chief Growth Officer (CGO) since 2015 and was named President & CEO in 2019. His love for food, and passion for people, is the perfect formula to successfully manage the family-owned food business. Andy was born and raised in the Seattle area and attended Eastside Catholic, where he was a State Champion and All-American distance runner. He then attended Georgetown University on a track scholarship and earned his MBA at Georgetown. Andy currently lives in the Seattle area, where he loves to make Krusteaz pancakes on the weekends with his wife Courtney, son Wyatt, and daughter Maggie.
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Ryan Frazier is the Co-Founder & CEO of Arrived. Arrived makes it easy for anyone to invest in shares of single-family rental homes, and earn passive rental income + property appreciation right away. The company is backed by Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Spencer Rascoff (the former CEO and founder of Zillow), and Core Innovation Capital. Previously, Ryan was the Co-Founder and CEO of DataRank, an alumni of Y Combinator, and GM at Sprout Social.
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Justin Hayashi is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Engen – a born digital, tech-fueled, people-powered, and growth-obsessed integrated marketing agency. Justin started New Engen in 2016 and has been fortunate enough to work alongside an exceptional team that has built the business to 230 employees and over 120 reputable brands, including General Mills, ViacomCBS, Google, FIGS and more. Prior to New Engen, Justin was at Zulily building attribution models to evaluate advertising effectiveness, designing customer LTV predictions, and leading the customer acquisition marketing teams for both digital and offline advertising. Earlier in his career, Justin worked at Boeing and in economic development for the Sonoma County government. Outside of work, Justin spends as much free time as possible with his wife and 20-month-old daughter.
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Dan Lewis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Convoy, a digital trucking network that is transforming the trillion-dollar global trucking industry in service of its mission, “To transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste”. Before Convoy, Dan served as General Manager of New Shopping Experiences at Amazon, after having product and data roles at Microsoft, Google, and various startups. Dan started his career in supply-chain and strategy consulting for Oliver Wyman, working in operations across Europe, Latin America, and the US, after graduating from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in cognitive science.
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Lindsay Droz and Kristi Lord are the Co-Founders of L’Avant Collective, a female founded consumer product company based out of Seattle that creates high performing, plant-based cleaning products in countertop worthy packaging. L’AVANT Collective was born out of the near constant demand for cleaning up after our kids and pets but wanting the products we used to be non-toxic, highly effective, and conveniently located. Lindsay and Kristi formed an instant friendship sparked at a mutual friend’s wedding, where they both 9 months pregnant and the only ones not lining the bar. Fast forward 10 years, two successful careers, 6 babies and many wine filled evenings dreaming of starting something of their own, they took the plunge and created L’AVANT Collective. Prior to L’Avant, Lindsay worked in Sales and Marketing in the medical device world, and Kristi in finance and accounting.
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Erin Papworth is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nav.it, the social and finance app that helps young earners find their personalized way to increased wealth. A two-time entrepreneur, she spent over a decade living and working overseas, managing multi-million dollar programs and working for organizations like Johns Hopkins University, Doctors without Borders, the United Nations, and the United States Government. During that time, Erin experienced firsthand the decline of societies when young people have limited access to credit and financial markets. She became passionate about increasing access to financial system for marginalized population in order to help them grow intergenerational wealth.
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Melissa Widner is the CEO of Lighter Capital, the pioneer and leader in revenue-based financing for tech startups and scales-ups. Prior to Lighter Capital, Melissa was the Managing Director of NAB Ventures, the VC arm of the National Australia Bank and a General Partner at Seattle based SeaPoint Ventures. She was also the founder and CEO of 7Software, and the CEO of Northwest Industrial Supply, where under her leadership, both companies generated over a 10X return to investors. Melissa is also the co-founder and Chairperson of Sydney based Heads Over Heels, an organization that supports women entrepreneurs running companies with high growth potential. She has served as a lecturer at the University of Washington's Graduate School of Business where she taught courses on venture capital and entrepreneurship. Melissa has also served on the boards of several venture backed technology companies in both the US and Australia. She holds a MA from Stanford University and a BA from the University of Washington.
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Demetri Themelis is the Co-Founder and CEO at Knock, the leading performance management platform and CRM for multifamily property owners and managers. In his eight years at Knock, Demetri has led the company to win three start-up competitions and successfully raised $50M in funding – all while developing meaningful friendships along the way. Prior to co-founding Knock, he worked in equity sales at UBS. He is an avid skier and outdoorsman, and has competed in numerous competitions including the US Freeskiing Open. Demetri is a proud member of the Seattle Greek-American community and serves on the parish council of St. Demetrios Greek Othordox Church. On weekends he enjoys adventures around with his wife, Heather, and dog, Ouzo.
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Cara Oppenheimer is the Co-Founder of GoodBuy, the easy button for conscious shopping. Goodbuy is a browser extension that intercepts all of your mega-retailer shopping and diverts you to thousands of small businesses that align with your values. Before pursuing life as an entrepreneur, Cara lived the “agency life” for 17 years as a Creative Director, managing, building, and directing the vision for creative teams and Fortune 100 brands. Over the years she spent in the agency world, Cara learned a lot about what it meant to be a brand that lived its values, and unfortunately (on occasion), what it meant when a brand did not. So, with those incredible learnings in her repertoire, and a deep long-standing desire to build something of her own, Cara started in on her second life building goodbuy. Cara is Canadian born and raised, a mom of two boys under four, and a believer in ordering one of everything off the menu.
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Frank Mycroft is the co-founder and CEO of Booster, the leading mobile energy delivery platform that delivers fuels including renewables to fleets and consumers in the U.S. Prior to Booster, Mycroft worked as a rocket scientist for NASA and Boeing. He also served as the Vice President of Strategy for Planetary Resources, a robotics company that aspired to mine asteroids in space. Mycroft and colleagues Tyler Raugh and Diego Netto founded Booster Fuels in 2014.
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Grant Feek is the Founder and CEO of TRED, the most trusted person-to-person online used car marketplace. He founded the company on a simple premise: it should be easy for consumers to buy and sell cars. Prior to Tred, Grant worked in private equity and automotives at Lehman Brothers, Lowe Enterprises and BMW. He studied at the University of Southern California and Harvard Business School, and was elected to the Young President's Organization in 2021.
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Alayne Sulkin is the publisher and editor-in-chief of ParentMap, a Seattle media company that provides daily digital access to essential parenting information, along with a monthly news magazine, targeted annual periodicals and a highly regarded lecture series. Alayne currently serves on the executive committees of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Brothers for Life, and StandWithUs boards. She is actively involved in amplifying other Jewish organizations in Seattle and beyond, such as One Table, UW Hillel, and JNF/Alexander Muss High School in Israel. Alayne and her husband Robert Sulkin have three adult children Arielle, Eli, and Maya, and two grandchildren, Levi and Stella.
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Richard Galanti is the Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Director of Costco. He joined Costco Wholesale Corporation in March 1984 as VP, Finance; and nine years later he became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, positions he continues to hold today. In 1995, he also became Director of the Company. Prior to Costco, Richard was in investment banking with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation in New York, where the last transaction he worked on, in late 1983, was a private equity financing for a little start-up company located in Seattle... Costco Wholesale Corporation. Richard received his M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and his B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He has also served a 9-year term on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; and has been on the Foster School of Business Executive Education Advisory Board since 2000.
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Yadhu Gopalan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Esper, the DevOps platform for intelligent edge devices. Esper is helping thousands of enterprise customers manage their device fleets, with the first DevOps enterprise-grade functionality with the ability to scale. Yadhu has over 25 years and 35 patents in embedded systems and security. Code he has built helps run over 100 million devices globally. He has held engineering leadership roles over the years, including owning systems engineering for Amazon, designing back-end solutions for FireOS and serving as the Chief Architect of Microsoft Windows CE. Yadhu spends his free time recharging by hiking in the Pacific Northwest.
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Jeremy Fain is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cognitiv. With over 20 years of interactive experience across agency, publisher, and ad tech management, Jeremy led North American Accounts for Rubicon Project before founding Cognitiv. At Rubicon Project, Jeremy was responsible for global market success of over 400 media companies and 500 demand partners through Real-Time-Bidding, new product development, and other revenue strategies, ensuring interactive buyers and sellers could take full advantage of automated transactions. Prior to Rubicon Project, Jeremy served as Director of Network Solutions for CBS Interactive. With oversight of a $30 million+ P&L, Jeremy was responsible for development, execution and management of data-driven solutions across CBS Interactive’s network of branded sites, including audience targeting, private exchange, and custom audience solutions. Prior to CBS, Jeremy served as Vice President of Industry Services for the IAB, where he shaped interactive industry policy, standards, and best practices, such as the first VAST standard and the Tc&Cs 3.0, by working on a daily basis with all the major media companies as well as all the agency holding companies. Jeremy Fain attended Yale University where he graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Columbia Business School where he received his MBA.
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Rajeev Singh is CEO of Accolade, the Seattle-based company providing millions of people and their families with an exceptional healthcare experience that is personal, data driven and value-based, so that they can live their healthiest lives. Last month was Rajeev’s sixth anniversary at Accolade – congratulations! Prior to joining Accolade, he co-founded Concur, the global leader in travel and expense management, in 1993. Concur went public (Nasdaq: CNQR) in 1998, and grew to more than $800mm in revenue, over 4,000 employees, and more than 25,000 customers before being acquired by SAP AG for $8.3 billion in 2014. Rajeev’s desire to change the world extends into personal philanthropy as well. In March 2020, as the COVID pandemic unfolded, he rallied a group of like-minded donors to launch the #allinseattle initiative that raised funds for local organizations on the frontlines – providing food, shelter, and small business relief. The initiative raised $27 million in the first 72 hours. In 2021, as the tail end of the pandemic continues to hit countries such as India hard, Rajeev has partnered with other Seattle-area leaders to raise $10 million for Seattle for India to send crucial healthcare supplies to address the crisis. Singh graduated from Western Michigan University with a BSE. Today, he serves on the board of directors for several Seattle headquartered companies: Avalara (Nasdaq: AVLR), a top provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation for businesses; Amperity, an intelligent customer data platform; Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation; and the University of Washington Foundation.
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Scott Jacobson is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, where he has spent over 14 years helping early-stage technology entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest build and scale their companies. Scott is on the boards of companies like Rover, Flexe, and CommerceIQ, and focuses much of his energy on consumer businesses or business technologies that have a significant consumer component. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon, where he did two tours of duty, leading product management for Amazon’s 3rd-party seller platform and working on the launch of the original Kindle.
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Lo Friesen is the Founder and CEO of Heylo, a Seattle-based licensed cannabis processor. Upon obtaining a degree in Environmental Chemistry from Northwestern University, Lo followed a passion for medicine to work in a renowned gastroenterology lab in Chicago. The experience inspired her to explore cannabis as medicine and to enter the emerging industry. Lo joined Eden Labs, where she developed a strong foundation in botanical extraction. She later launched Heylo in 2017, with the mission to help anyone get more out of life with cannabis. Heylo's vape and topical products serve the Washington recreational market with clean cannabis extracts with unique chemistry and incredible cannabis terpene profiles. Lo and the Heylo team are committed to education and facilitate community engagement by hosting educational events, concert series, public tours, American Chemical Society meetings, CANN-STEM events, and Heylo Sessions events. Her personal mission is to provide cannabis users with as much information as possible and to enable active and engaged lifestyles with cannabis.
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Shahar Plinner is the co-founder and CEO of Formations, and a Tax Guru and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the field. He is an advocate to the self-employed and helps them stop the overpayment of taxes and keep their hard-earned money for better consumption, investment, and retirement. Shahar has managed thousands of clients, tax returns, business structures and S-Corps, and before he Founded Formations, he built a successful tax accounting practice in Seattle, serving over 3,500 customers. Shahar is married has 3 amazing kids.
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Bella Sangar is the Founder and CEO of Sri Bella Foods, disrupting the $50 Billion dollar ready-to-eat CPG market by leaning into her Indian village roots. She’s built a table with partners like Amazon, Albertsons and Kroger. With Sri Bella, she is inviting the American consumer to enjoy the premium global flavors of her food and leading the emerging direct-to-kitchen category with her unique meals. Her unique journey and leadership style, relentless defense and approach, to building premium food products makes her a 2021 female CEO to watch, noted by her Puget Sound Business Journal 40 under 40 award.
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Jayson DeMers is the Founder & CEO of EmailAnalytics, a sales productivity tool that visualizes your team's email activity, boosting email response time by 42.5% and sales by 16%. What he brought in business and marketing prowess, he lacked in technical development ability, so he teamed up with Scott, a long-time CTO and data visualization veteran, to build EmailAnalytics. He has now worked with thousands of clients, successfully improving their business’ email response time. Previously he ran a marketing agency that he founded in 2010 and sold in 2019. Jayson currently lives in the Seattle area with his family.
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Jesse Proudman is the co-founder and CEO of Makara, a new investment platform democratizing access to the cryptocurrency markets, and the co-founder of Strix Leviathan, a crypto investment manager powered by a sophisticated proprietary trading platform. Prior to Strix Leviathan and Makara, Jesse founded Blue Box, a cloud computing startup that he led to a successful acquisition by IBM. During his time at IBM as an IBM Distinguished Engineer, Jesse focused on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency applications. With more than two decades of experience as a technical entrepreneur, Jesse serves on the board for the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington and the Strix Leviathan Nest Fund Investment Committee. Jesse earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound and is currently based in Seattle with his family.
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Sean Hsieh is a serial entrepreneur and currently serves as the CEO of Concreit, building a simple way of saving & investing in commercial real estate for everyone. Previously, he was the Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Flowroute, an award-winning business communications provider focusing on API-driven SMS, SIP trunking and telecommunication resources. Flowroute delivers cost savings, flexibility, and higher quality connections to thousands of businesses around the world. Sean thrives off his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, technology, culture, design, and hip hop. His talents have served Fortune 100 companies including Apple, Linksys (Cisco), and Motorola, pushing forward new marketing ventures and fostering rapid growth. Sean holds a degree in Information & Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine. He developed his expertise in technology, marketing, and design growing up in Davis, CA.
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Ed Petersen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wrench, Inc. The company was started with the mission to remove the hassle of vehicle ownership through trust, transparency, and convenience. Wrench operates throughout all 50 states and British Columbia and Ontario, Canada providing maintenance and repair to consumers and enterprises and vehicle inspection services. Ed is a serial entrepreneur, having founded multiple companies, including Intelius, Talentwise, Union-Street.com, LocalMobile, and Pantheon. These companies have provided approximately $1 billion in exits to their collective shareholders. While leading Wrench, he was a 2020 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and in 2021 Wrench was recognized as one of the best places to work in the nation by Forbes. Ed graduated from Whittier College with degrees in Business Administration and History and served for several years as a member of the Board of Trustees. Ed is also an active angel investor in the Seattle area, having invested in numerous startups over the years.
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Kate Wallich is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Dance Church. Kate is a Seattle-based choreographer who believes in the combined power of artists and the public. A dancer, choreographer, educator, and founder who was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch,” Kate has cultivated community through her inclusive dance-fitness class Dance Church. Which has been bringing people together through the joy and release of dance since 2010 — in real life and on the internet. In response to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown that left many in search of new ways to exercise, they partnered with Seattle-based startup studio Pioneer Square Labs to launch their subscription video on demand platform and brought on CEO Clara Siegel. With Dance Church Go, the Dance Church movement has reached a massive audience and has brought joy to living room dancers all over the world.
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Matthew Marx is CEO and Co-Founder of Evocalize, developers of the Evocalize Collaborative Marketing Platform. Evocalize technology connects businesses to execute marketing programs together that are not possible on their own. Matt has spent over 20 years at the intersection of marketing and technology and has a particular passion for using technology to make great marketing simple. Prior to founding Evocalize, Matt worked on the senior leadership team for Austin-based marketing technology company Bazaarvoice, the London-based strategy consultancy PA Consulting Group, and on Oracle Retail’s software group. Matt has helped set advertising standards with the Interactive Advertising Bureau in New York, and has an MBA from Babson College in Wellesley, MA.
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Kirt Debique is the CEO & CTO of SyncFloor, a B2B platform providing licensed access to high-quality commercial music for use by businesses and creators. Built around the concept of natural language music search, SyncFloor has created an intuitive and innovative engine for music discovery, and the patented SyncFloor platform connects customer websites, services, and applications to music from the world's best labels and publishers. The company is also the maker of SongsForPodcasters, a modern podcast-specific music licensing experience made for consumers, small businesses, and creative professionals. A twenty year Microsoft veteran with experience as an engineer, architect, technology strategist and general manager, Kirt has worked on mobile productivity, real-time communications, multimedia systems, distributed security, and operating systems. He is an accomplished inventor with 38 technology patents, as well as the owner and founder of Brick Lane Records, a Seattle independent music label.
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David Wolf is the founder and CTO of JetClosing, a tech startup in the Real Estate space working to make all-digital home closings the new normal. A UW and Stanford CS graduate, he has worked in the Seattle area tech scene for over 20 years. Prior to JetClosing, he worked At Amazon, where he ran the team who built the Amazon retail shopping iPhone app, used by millions worldwide. He also led teams at other local tech companies like Xome, Motricity, and Infospace. David also happened to be one of Redfin’s first customers in 2006, and is passionate about transforming real estate, or any lagging industry, with modern technology.
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Mark Adams is the Chief Operating Officer of Adaptive Biotechnologies, a commercial-stage biotech company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease. Prior to joining Adaptive, Mark served as Managing Director, Healthcare Advanced Analytics, at SVB Leerink, a health and life sciences-focused investment bank, since April 2018. Mark has also served as Chief Information Officer at Celmatix, a women’s health precision medicine company, from September 2016 to April 2018, and at Good Start Genetics, a molecular diagnostics company. Mark holds a BA from Oberlin College and a PhD from Baylor College of Medicine.
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Ward Vuillemot is currently the CTO at RealSelf where he oversees product, design, engineering, data science and analytics, IT, and customer support. As a person with high-functioning autism, he is more surprised than anyone else that he’s found his vocational calling leading others remotely. He has successfully worked 100% remotely from his home in central Washington for the past 6 years. Previous employment includes Boeing, Amazon, Xbox and other companies in a variety of roles spanning aerospace engineering to technical Japanese interpreter to software engineering to product management to technology leader. Ward currently lives in Central Washington with his partner and their 2 great danes. He’s also working on a book aimed toward technology leaders on how to build high-functioning organizations by creating psychologically safe environments built upon EQ, kindness, and clear communications. He’s looking forward to a post-COVID world where we can once again attend NorwesCon and exhibit his artwork.
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David Glick is the CTO of Flexe, a logistics technology company that brings deep logistics expertise and enterprise-grade technology to deliver innovative eCommerce fulfillment, retail distribution, same-day delivery, and network capacity programs to the Fortune 500. As CTO, David is responsible for the design and development of the FLEXE technology platform. Before FLEXE, he spent nearly 20 years at Amazon, including five years as the VP of Fulfillment Technology, where he oversaw the development and functionality of the technology within Amazon’s fulfillment centers, as well as the technology for Amazon's transportation systems for two of those years
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Tina Tran Neville is the Co-founder and CEO of Lana Learn. Born in Vietnam, Tina came to the U.S. as a refugee as a young child. A first-generation college student to the University of Tulsa and Yale University for graduate school, Tina was the first in her family to attend college before joining the U.S. Foreign Service where she worked as a U.S. diplomat in Iraq, Pakistan, and Washington, DC. Tina later became a teacher and education entrepreneur with her first company Transcend Academy that supports education services for high school students. With Lana Learn based in Seattle, Tina now combines her love of service, education, and entrepreneurship to advance the future of work company that supports U.S. multinational companies desiring to train their global workforce in English and workplace skills. From her work, she is the recipient of U.S. Department of State’s Superior Honor Award, International Stevie Gold Business Award, and the Puget Sound Business Journal Seattle “40 Under 40.” Near and dear to her heart is also advocating for the advancement of women and people of color in entrepreneurship through Camelback Ventures, American Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, and Home of Grace Orphanage. Tina has lived and worked in Vietnam, Pakistan, Iraq, Thailand, Mexico, and Honduras. She now lives with her husband and two young boys calling both the Seattle area and Southeast Asia home.
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Joe Ottinger is a management consultant, board member, author, and thought leader in the areas of entrepreneurial leadership, Innovation, and strategy execution. After a 15 year technology career, Joe co-founded a global management consulting firm called Kotter International with Harvard Business School professor John Kotter. After Kotter International, Joe founded his own management consulting firm called Iinnovate which provides comprehensive strategic advisory services to CEOs and senior teams that are scaling, as well as CEO peer forum groups for CEOs of companies that are scaling. Joe is the author of books and articles on entrepreneurial leadership, that have appeared in Forbes, and Chief Executive Magazine, among others. Joe cares deeply about transforming companies, communities, and lives through innovation. Iinnovate, along with the University of Washington, has published the Best of the NW Innovation Ecosystem Guide, for the last 6 years, providing insights for entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, service providers, and support organizations, as well as publishing the Greater Seattle Innovation Ecosystem Report Card which takes a snapshot of the changes to and status of our innovation economy. Joe currently lives in Seattle with his wife and has three grown children.
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Brian Lent is a data science pioneer who has been at the forefront of data mining, machine learning, forward-thinking analytics, and leading-edge AI technology for over three decades. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Plunk—the first mobile app helping homeowners grow their largest financial asset—Brian is working with a world-class team to bring advanced data mining, AI & ML algorithms to residential real estate. Prior to Plunk, Brian founded the mobile analytics company Medio Systems, supporting 440+ million users in over 100+ countries. Brian also started one of the first data analytics teams at Amazon in the late 1990’s when he moved to Seattle with the acquisition of Junglee. He has also led groundbreaking technology work for companies including IBM, Nokia/HERE Technologies, and Intelligent Results. Brian earned his Masters and Ph.D. candidacy at Stanford University in Computer Science and is considered a key industry thought leader and author of numerous professional publications and patents.
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Pete Christothoulou is an entrepreneur and company leader who has focused on building and scaling technology-driven business productivity platforms for most of his career. He's currently the founder and CEO of Xembly, a fast-growing start-up using AI to rid the world of bad meetings. Prior to Xembly, Pete was the CEO of Marchex, a conversational analytics company he co-founded and took public. After residing in Seattle for many years, Pete, his wife Heather, and two daughters, Pia and Coco, moved to Canada during the pandemic (to support their daughter's acting career) and now reside in Napa, California.
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Shane Kovalsky is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mystery, a managed marketplace for surprise & delight. In just over 2-years, Mystery has pivoted and found product market fit three times and brought smiles to 350+ businesses and more than 30,000 customers. Shane previously worked for Porch, Convoy, and ran a number of his own businesses and side hustles. He’s passionate about pesto, shared experiences, and data-driven results.
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John Pham is an entrepreneur, team builder, former aerospace engineer, and practicing orthodontist. As CEO and Co-Founder of InBrace, John and his are building an entire new category of teeth-straightening - giving the 500 million people who’ve opted out of orthodontics a solution that has clinical precision and doesn’t require work or lifestyle adjustments while in treatment. It delivers a completely hidden solution, with Smartwire being placed behind your teeth to gently perfect your smile in half the time, with half the pain, and half the work. Prior to InBrace, John spent years as a Boeing engineer and startup entrepreneur, then went to USC and graduated with a Master’s degree in Craniofacial Biology and completed a residency at USC. He also received his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Doctorate degree in Dental Surgery from UCLA. John now serves as a Managing Orthodontist for Bristol Dental and Orthodontics as well as Co-Principal Investigator at USC’s Advanced Orthodontics and Viterbi Engineering group. He has been recognized in 2018, 2019, and 2020 when InBrace was one of Orange County’s Top Workplaces; and in 2019 and 2020 when I was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He currently resides in Orange County with his wife and 2 children.
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Loria Yeadon is the President & CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle. She has a proven record of accomplishment serving on public, private and non-profit boards, managing P&Ls, building and leading global executive teams, and catalyzing action while driving social change. Prior to the YMCA, Loria spent over 14 years serving in many strategic roles within various industries and markets, including Honeywell and Intellectual Ventures. Loria serves on the Board of Directors of the Laird Norton Company and Governor Inslee’s Social Supports Leaders Advisory Group for Washington State. She is a champion and advocate for equity and justice for all, especially youth and families in marginalized communities. Loria currently lives in the Seattle area with her husband and three daughters.
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Jessica is the CEO and Founder of LegUp, a venture-backed Seattle-based organization that connects families to available childcare, and helps small business childcare providers grow. Prior to LegUp, Jessica spent over 10 years in operations, HR, and consulting at various companies, including Common Engine and The Riveter. She also serves as an advisor at Ethel’s Club, the first social club and digital space for people of color, and Female Founders Alliance, a startup community dedicated to accelerating the success of highly scalable companies founded by women and non-binary individuals. Alongside these roles, Jessica is a Vice Chair of the King County Democrats. She previously sat on the Board of the Seattle Children’s Theatre and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Seattle Hub where she helped organize and lead several initiatives, including raising money for those affected by wildfires. Jessica currently lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
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Rachel Marshall is the Co-founder and owner of Rachel’s Ginger Beer. After a five-year post-collegiate stint living in the Bavarian Alps, Rachel returned home to Seattle and couldn’t find the kind of ginger beer she’d fallen in love with abroad—bold, acidic, fresh, and not overly sweet. So she got to work perfecting her recipe to share with others. In 2011 Rachel and her partner Adam Peters, founded Rachel’s Ginger Beer. Working in a borrowed kitchen space, they created a beverage meant to play nicely with your favorite spirit—from vodka to tequila to bourbon—but serve you just as well the morning after. The company’s workspace has since turned into a 10,000-square-foot production plant in SoDo, with 6 different locations, and a roster of flavors, parlaying 40 combined years of hospitality experience into their true passion.
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Bob Bagga is an entrepreneur, financial technology innovator and barter exchange pioneer based in the Seattle area. He is the co-founder, CEO and president of BizX, a network of businesses that trade with each other without spending any cash. Founded after the 9/11 attacks, BizX helps businesses connect and forge new, and potentially long-lasting relationships where they can support one another – particularly during times of crisis. Prior to founding BizX, Bagga launched the Barter Business Exchange, which facilitated more than $60 million in trading volume per year and involved more than 4,000 member companies, including high-profile brands such as Rogers Communication, Revlon, and Kodak. He also served as the COO of UBarter, a consumer-focused online barter platform. Bagga has been recognized with various awards, including Puget Sound Business Journal’s ’40 Under 40’, the “Exceptional Leadership Award” from the Young Presidents’ Organization, and various honors from the International Reciprocal Trade Association. He currently lives in the Seattle, Washington, area with his family.
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Nick Hughes is the CEO of Founders Live and a successful American entrepreneur with business achievements in social media, digital payments, and e-commerce. He excels at interpersonal leadership, communication, business and product development. In addition to creating the global startup marketplace Founders Live, Nick stays busy as an advisor to numerous startups and occasionally takes positions in sales or biz dev roles if needed. Previously, he founded the mobile payment startup Seconds as well as helping start Coinme, a company built around expanding bitcoin and digital transactions into the physical realm via Bitcoin ATM’s. As a sought-after adviser, entrepreneurial speaker and writer with guest appearances on popular technology and media outlets, Nick enjoys helping others discover their unique entrepreneurial path and is on a mission to elevate entrepreneurial equality around the world.
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Dave Parker is a 5 time founder and has been a part of 11 transactions, as a founder, operator, board member, and advisor. Dave is the managing partner of DKParker where he helps founders scale their companies for growth and exit. His 20+ year career has highlighted his ability to innovate new ideas and scale products and companies in the US and Internationally. Dave recently published Trajectory: Startup – Ideation to Product / Market Fit where he continues to help early-stage founders in the process of creating a new startup. For the last 15 years, he has held executive positions in software development, enterprise IT and professional services, software distribution, and hardware companies. Today he serves on the board of directors for many west coast companies.
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Scott Svenson is the CEO and Co-Founder of MOD Pizza, a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan-style pizzas and salads, with nearly 500 locations across America. At its heart, MOD is a platform for doing good, and is rooted in the idea that if they take care of their employees, they’ll take care of the customers, and the business will take care of itself. Prior to founding MOD, Scott and his wife Ally, founded and sold two successful businesses while they lived in the U.K. – Seattle Coffee Company and Carluccio’s. While in the U.K., Scott served as the President of Starbucks Europe, before returning to his hometown of Seattle to raise his four boys.
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Nader is the Managing Partner of Frazier Healthcare Partners. He joined the firm shortly after inception in 1991 and has led the firm's Growth Buyout investment effort since 1995. During his 29-year tenure, Nader has been responsible for successful exits totaling over $4 billion of equity value. He has served as Chairman of the Board of United Digestive and was also responsible for and served as a director of the firm’s investments in CHG Healthcare, Priority Solutions International and Bravo Health. Currently, he serves on the Boards of Accuity Health Systems, MedData, Northfield Medical, Alteon Health, MOD Pizza, 98point6 Inc., and the Tacoma Rainiers. He recently joined the Board of Managers at Aegis Living.
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Rob Eleveld is the CEO of Ekata Inc., where he leads the charge in Ekata’s continued growth and global expansion. He previously was the CEO of Whitepages, Inc. and has served as the CEO of other Seattle tech firms, including Optify and Vykor. He started his business career in enterprise software sales at Onyx Software Corp. and has grown from there. Rob is a proud veteran as an officer in the United States Navy, where he served aboard a fast attack nuclear submarine. He has a BA in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MSE and MBA from Stanford University.
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Maria Colacurcio is CEO of Syndio, an analytics platform that ensures workplace fairness in every stage of employment and aims to eliminate pay disparity. She is responsible for the company’s vision, strategy, building talent within the organization, and developing organizational excellence to deliver the highest levels of business value to its customers. Most importantly, she is passionate about issues surrounding equal pay, employee wellness and equity at work. Prior to joining Syndio, Maria co-founded Smartsheet.com, worked in technology and communications at Microsoft, Starbucks, and a variety of tech startups. She has a proven track record of building successful companies, with strong core values that are dedicated to its people and customers. In addition, Maria is also a mom to seven kiddos and makes sure to talk about family finances at the dinner table.
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Kurt Beecher Dammeier is a fourth generation Puget Sound native entrepreneur, leader on the Seattle food scene, and the CEO and Founder of Sugar Mountain. Through his company, Sugar Mountain, Kurt is the owner and chef of a number of creative food brands and restaurants, from the award-winning Beecher’s Handmade Cheese to The Butcher’s Table, a swanky steakhouse that features Mishima Reserve, his luxury Wagyu beef brand. With each operation, Kurt’s goal is to demonstrate how quality ingredients make for delicious meals, without added food colorings, flavor enhancers, or preservatives. Kurt has always felt passionately about authentic, full-flavored foods, free of artificial additives. Beyond the retail world, Kurt is effecting change in people’s eating habits through The Beecher’s Foundation (501c3), founded in 2004. Through education and community engagement, the Foundation inspires people to eat real food and vote with every food dollar.
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Nishant Singh is the CEO and Founder of Peach. He started the company in 2014 with a focus that daily lunch should be amazing for working professionals. Today, Peach is operational in the entire United States and deliver thousands of lunchboxes from local restaurants to offices each day.
Nishant Singh has experienced the startup thrills, from raising the largest seed round in the Pacific Northwest in 2014, to taking hard steps of restructuring the business to weather changing market conditions. 7 years down the line and Nishant’s entrepreneurial spirit is fueling his ambitions to take the company to IPO.
Outside of his dreams of taking Peach public one day, Nishant enjoys cooking and traveling with his wife. During the pandemic, they have road tripped nearly 10,000 miles across the United States including a recent honeymoon through the Mojave desert.
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Jodi Sternoff Cohen is a bestselling author, award-winning journalist, functional practitioner and founder of Vibrant Blue Oils, where she has combined her training in nutritional therapy and aromatherapy to create unique proprietary blends of organic and wild-crafted essential oils. She has helped over 70,000 clients heal from brain related challenges, including anxiety, insomnia, and autoimmunity.
Her website, vibrantblueoils.com, is visited by over 500,000 natural health seekers every year, and she has rapidly become a top resource for essential oils education on the Internet today. Her first book “Healing with Essential Oils” is available on Amazon.com. Her new book “Essential Oils to Boost the Brain and Heal the Body was released today, March 16, 2021.
Stimulate Your Vagus Nerve - Boost the Brain Book
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Michael Howell is co-founder and CEO of Dolly, a Seattle based tech company, that was created in 2015 to re-imagine the moving and delivery experience by putting the customer in control. Dolly has grown into the leading on-demand, final-mile delivery provider for big and bulky goods trusted by national retailers like The Container Store, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, and many more. Mike’s passion for the customer experience and using data to uncover and act on business insights that solve problems has been the cornerstone of his entrepreneurial success. Prior to Dolly, Michael was a co-founder at Wetpaint, a media and social publishing company, that was acquired by Viggle. Previous to that Mike was a management consultant at Lake Partners Strategy Consultants where he specialized in analytics-driven strategic consulting. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics with honors from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He lives in Seattle with his wife and three kids.
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Andrew is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rainway, leading the way in building a best-in-class game streaming technology. Rainway’s mission is to unleash the future of computing, collaboration, productivity, and development by using real-time interactive streaming to change the way that desktop software is built and distributed. Andrew is an experienced software engineer, a 2018 Thiel Fellowship alumni, and has been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30!
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Eric is Founder and CEO of SoundCommerce, a data platform that equips consumer brands with advanced technology, enabling world-class shopper experiences that drive profitable growth. Eric is a serial entrepreneur with SoundCommerce being his sixth startup! He is a driven growth-stage internet/software executive with a proven record in consumer-direct and retail commerce, SaaS, cloud integration, digital currencies and digital advertising. As founder and CEO, Eric grew and led companies to shareholder liquidity including cash exits to Amazon.com, and Liberty Interactive. Eric’s twenty years’ hands-on contributions range from day-one founder to public offerings and board directorships and more.
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Leigh is CEO of Whitepages, a provider of online directory services, helping individuals and small businesses contact, vet and verify people in their worlds. Before Whitepages, Leigh led marketing and growth at ReachNow, the U.S. mobility services division at BMW Group, served as Chief Marketing Officer for legal marketplace Avvo, and as Senior Vice President & GM of the Call Analytics division at Marchex. Leigh is a graduate of the University of Washington, and is also co-owner and winemaker at Welcome Road Winery in Seattle.
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Michel is the Co-Founder and CEO of usermind, responsible for company vision, strategic direction, planning and execution. Usermind, the leader in Experience Orchestration (XO), is changing the way enterprises use what they know about customers to actively shape experiences in real time. Michel’s enterprise software career spans almost 20 years with roles in sales, products, strategic marketing and general management. Before founding usermind, Michel was VP of Products at Apptio, where she drove product strategy, defined the category and discipline of Technology Business Management and helped grow the company from 30 to almost 400 employees. She also spent almost 8 years at Mercury Interactive learning how to build world class products like LoadRunner and QualityCenter which made customer’s lives better. She aspires to do the same at usermind.
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Forest is Founder and CEO of Voodle, a short video app for business teams to capture, share and discover important business moments as they happen where they work – home, office, or on the road. Forest is a serial entrepreneur with a 30 year passion for innovation in video platforms. Previously founder and CEO of hospitality marketing SaaS provider buuteeq, and visual effects software tools innovator Puffin Designs. He was a founding partner of China based UX design and development studio for OTT video applications Redsafi, and the founder CEO of Pixvana which spent 4 years developing a VR video platform before pivoting to create Voodle!
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Liz is co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Fresh Chalk, a social network aiming to give you a faster and more efficient way to find trusted recommendations. The site allows users to search through local service providers (like plumbers or vets) and products (like electronics or beauty products) to see which have been recommended by their friends. Prior to Fresh Chalk, Liz was with LiquidPlanner for 11 years, starting as the company's marketing contractor and working her way up to COO and ultimately to CEO in 2012. Liz is an entrepreneurial leader who got ground-level marketing and product management experience at tech giants (Amazon, Google, Sony) before making her way into the startup world. She is an active member of the Seattle startup and technology community and is passionate about mentoring and advocating for diversity in technology and leadership.
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Scott is the CEO of Attunely Inc. A proven, compliant, and trustworthy machine learning platform that makes the recovery of receivables easy, seamless, and profitable. Attunely has earned recognition as one of the Best Places to work in Seattle, #29 of 50 Best Paying Companies, and #7 of 50 Best Small Companies to work for. Scott brings over 30 years of technology executive management experience in both domestic and international markets. Scott’s career spans decades of technology innovation with US WEST, Starbucks, startup Vendaria, aQuantive, and Microsoft.
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Aaron is a globally recognized systems entrepreneur who has used the science of purpose to change the way we work and serve. He is the CEO and Founder of Imperative, a venture-backed startup that is reconnecting us as human beings in the workplace through peer coaching. Widely known for his thought leadership, he is the author of The Purpose Economy (2014) and a regular advisor and thought partner for many global brands.
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Shelly is the co-founder & CMO of X4Impact and Giving Tech Labs. Their vision is to inspire entrepreneurs worldwide to drive positive impact and change. Shelly has 20+ years of award-winning experience leading digital media campaigns for tech startups and Fortune 500 companies, including NBCUniversal, Comcast, Giving Compass and VidaNyx, where she serves on the Board of Directors. As a strong believer in the power of good intentions, Shelly is a passionate cheerleader for making personal connections, creating strategy and having a vision for the greater good!
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Jason is a serial entrepreneur, and retail consumer goods expert, obsessed with bringing amazing products to market. He has close to 20 years’ experience delivering impactful and beautiful products to the world’s largest retail chains. Jason is currently the CEO of two consumer good businesses; Ubio Labs which is a market leader in mobile accessories and FLTR which is a medical supply company formed to address the acute shortage of PPE during the COVID crisis.
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Adam is CEO of Brightloom, where he and his team are building the first ever high-performance, retention marketing solution for consumer brands. A long-time technology innovator, Adam is passionate about helping brands build meaningful and long lasting customer relationships.
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Dr. Darvish is the Founder and Medical Director of Holistique Medical Center and Holistique IV Lounge in Bellevue, WA. Dr. Darvish is an internationally-sought out board-certified Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine lecturer, writer and clinical physician who consults and trains medical doctors as well as patients from all over the globe. Using the wisdom of the body’s own healing capacity, as a holistically-minded physician, she integrates the science of Western Medicine with the wisdom of Eastern medicine to transform lives from within while slowing the aging process through optimizing the regeneration and wellbeing of the body, mind and soul
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Roei is CEO of magniX, an electric propulsion technology company, poised to disrupt the aerospace industry with its advanced electric engines that will enable transportation capabilities and services never possible before. We dig into Roei's leadership style, and learn about how his experiences in the military, corporate finance, and time at the Boeing Company and Bold IQ all brought him to wear he is today.
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Kirby is a seasoned startup operator and angel investor. He is currently the Founding General Partner at Ascend.vc, a pre-seed stage venture fund investing in marketplace, e-commerce/DTC, and B2B software startups in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a Techstars mentor, passionate Board member, and Board Chair-elect at Special Olympics of Washington, where he helped bring the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games to Seattle.
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Christy is an intrapreneur, entrepreneur, and strategist. She is currently building her fourth start-up, Artemis Connection, a boutique strategy consulting firm passionate about helping innovative leaders reach their goals. She loves working for forward thinking executives who want results. She has seven years of experience working in corporate strategy, including nearly four years at McKinsey & Co. Before this, Christy was an award winning economics and mathematics teacher. Come join us to learn a little more about how Christy got to where she is today!
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Tony is the Co- Founder and CEO of Possible Finance, a financial technology company fighting to make financial services accessible and fair for all. After graduating from Harvard University, Tony joined a civic technology company, Axon, that pioneered the idea of putting body cameras on police officers. This is also where he would meet his co-founders of Possible. They explored different ideas in how to use technology to serve lower income and minority communities where they came up with the idea that blossomed into what Possible Finance is today!
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Mike currently serves as CEO for Concentric Advisors, a risk management consultancy that specializes in delivering strategic security and intelligence services. Mike retired from the United States Navy after over 38 years of service, finishing his military career as the Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.Throughout his career, Mike served in Navy and Joint leadership and command positions at every level. He led disaster relief and humanitarian efforts, the full spectrum of warfare operations, and counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations. He is renowned for his effectiveness in navigating cross-cultural, complex, and international environments, building and promoting lasting partnerships.
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Russell has been a Seattle area healthcare and technology entrepreneur for a long time and has a background in corporate finance and private equity. In 2018-2019, Russell re-architected his life and moved abroad with his family to Costa Rica. That posed an interesting challenge. He needed a profession that he could perform from outside the United States while also tapping into his passion of supporting other entrepreneurs to achieve their highest and best use. Today, Russell is the co-founder of Stride Services, a national bookkeeping and accounting firm serving over 100 high growth companies. He regularly speaks on boring accounting topics and makes them really fun, interesting, and strategic for entrepreneurs.
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Julie is a managing director at Pioneer Square Labs, and runs the firm's venture capital arm, PSL Ventures. Prior to PSL, Julie was a partner at Madrona Venture Group, where she led the firm’s investments in Integris, Poppy, and Julep. In 2013, Julie launched the Seattle Entrepreneurial Women’s Network, an informal forum for women entrepreneurs and startup executives to connect in the Greater Seattle area. She currently resides in Seattle with her husband, Alejandro, and their toddler son and newborn daughter.
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Chirag is an experienced CEO, strategy executive, consultant, and FinTech/Insure Tech founder. Currently, he is the co-founder of JennyLife, an innovative mobile-first life insurance provider geared towards empowering women and providing straightforward coverage and financial security. Prior to Jenny Life, Chirag worked in investment banking for big names such as Goldman Sachs, and The Federal Reserve Board. He holds a MBA, Strategy from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a masters of public policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Maryland. He went on to serve as strategy officer at Asurion, the world’s largest handset insurance provider where he witnessed how rewarding it was to help fix people’s lives through insurance, and never looked back!
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Matt is a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience building and leading world-class SaaS and consumer companies. Matt has led the growth of companies in the private and public sectors, including Rosetta Stone, RealNetworks, Expedia and many more. He has had multiple turnaround successes as a public company president as well as a private company CEO. As President of Rosetta Stone, Matt is responsible for driving the transformation and growth for all aspects of the company's Consumer and Enterprise & Education language businesses. Matt has led the company’s evolution from a declining perpetual business to a thriving software subscription business. Matt is also a proud 4th generation Northwestern!
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Russ is CEO and Board Member of WineBid, the leading global auction recommerce site for fine and vintage wines. He also serves on the Board of Ooma, a NYSE-listed Voice over IP company for businesses and consumers, and is on the Board and original angel investor of DemandStar Corporation, a B2G marketplace. He is also an Advisor to the founders at Modus real estate closing, which was recently acquired by Compass. Russ cares deeply about building great cultures with high performance teams, who delight customers with amazing products and services, and it shows! In this episode we discuss his entrepreneurial journey, those who have inspired him along the way, and even his time as a “cowboy poet”.
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Adam Wray is a cloud enterprise technology entrepreneur and serial CEO. In 2017, Adam founded AstrumU, an AI company created to translate educational experiences into skills that lead to predictable career outcomes and economic opportunity for every learner. With over $13 million in funding, AstrumU is being used by an initial cohort of colleges and universities across the country including the University of Washington, the University of Kansas, and American University. In this episode we discuss the inspiration behind the idea that launched AstrumU, how they are creating opportunity, and changing the way in which education and industry work together going forward!
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Debbie is a Certified Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant, and the Owner of Simply Placed, founded in 2003. Through her work, Debbie teaches individuals and groups productive habits and organized systems that allow them to maximize their email, time, tasks, workspace, and teams. Debbie’s goal is to help her clients live more productive and rewarding lives, free of the stress and chaos caused by disorder. In this episode we learn about the psychology of behavior change and useful tips and tricks such as “Habit stacking”, and compartmentalization, that might be able to help you too organize your life!
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Keita is the founder and chief strategist of Success Bully, an elite accountability practice for women with a champion’s mindset who need strategic support to create momentum in their personal and professional lives. In this episode we dive deeper into the inspiration behind Success Bully and Keita’s fascination by human behavior that got her to wear she is today. Keita discusses how she wants people to know that you can transform who you are, and you can transform your life, by just that daily commitment to the goal. You can build that confidence, and get out of your own way and into action, to live the life you deserve, the life you've always wanted!
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David Wasielewski is the Managing Partner at one of Seattle’s favorite restaurants, Din Tai Fung. In this episode David discusses how he became the first non-family member to operate a franchise by the company. Over the last 10 years David went on to open four Washington locations, one Oregon location, as well as become a proud partner of the Seahawks and Mariners and open units in the stadiums. We learn about the relationships that fuel him such as his family, and his journey from moving to the US at 12, changing industries, and the steps along the way that got him to where he is today.
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Lee LeFever is the co-founder of Common Craft with his wife, Sachi. They are known for being pioneers of the "explainer video" movement, starting in 2007. Since then, they’ve built Common Craft into a scalable business without employees, earned over 50 million online views, and worked with many of the world's most respected brands. In this episode, Lee discusses growing up in an entrepreneurial family and how seeing an unmet need in the online community space led to his success. He digs into the key takeaways from his book, The Art of Explanation, and shares details on his new book, Big Enough, which comes out September 15th. Lee’s outlook on the different ways to think about success and how “it doesn’t always have to be about the bottom line” is refreshing and one you’ll want to hear!
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HeadLight CEO and Co-founder, George White, joins us to discuss how their technology provides a visual source of truth about infrastructure projects and how the business has evolved since 2005. After recently closing a $25 million funding round, George has some valuable insight on fundraising and choosing the right partners. He also dives into HeadLight's process of defining their operating principles, the liability aspect of the business, and the importance of being a vulnerable leader.
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In 2015, Dan Price, the CEO of Gravity Payments, announced that he would take over a $1 million pay cut and raise the minimum wage for everyone at his company to $70,000. Now five years later, he joins us to discuss cutting his salary again, this time to $0, to keep his company and employees afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. He shares details from their brainstorming session during this difficult time, and the way the Gravity Payments team has come together will truly wow you. Dan also reflects on the publicity he received after his big announcement, the lawsuit that followed, writing his book “Worth It,” growing up in a religious household, and much more.
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Jay Deutsch, the CEO of BDA, Inc, co-founded the merchandising agency for iconic brands with his best friend by striking a deal with the NFL when he was just 16 years old. BDA now employs over 750 employees and has 34 offices around the globe. On this episode, you'll hear why they’re always challenging the status quo and how he’s been leading with transparency during the COVID-19 pandemic. You'll also find out more about his involvement in Seattle’s new NHL team and what philanthropic causes are near and dear to his heart. Jay's obvious passion for this business 36 years later will leave you feeling inspired and wanting to learn more.
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Nutpods Founder and CEO and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Madeline Haydon, shares her story from humble beginnings and lessons she learned from her refugee parents immigrating to the US. On this episode, you’ll learn how her Kickstarter campaign provided the assurance that she had a good idea, how the odds were stacked against her when it came to fundraising and what the moment was when she felt like she made it. In five short years, Nutpods has grown to the #3 brand in the plant-based creamer category, the #1 selling brand on Amazon, Amazon 2019 Small Business of the Year and the fastest growing brand of refrigerated plant-based creamers in national retailers – no small feat. In addition to hearing her business advice, Madeline also shares some important guidance on taking care of yourself and teaching kids to find their motivation from within.
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Nikesh (Niki) Parekh, CEO and Co-founder of Suplari, has built a career growing private and public technology companies in Seattle. On the What Fuels You podcast, Niki discusses what it took behind the scenes to execute seven acquisitions worth $430 million and six financings worth $150 million, the types of people he’s drawn to when building a winning team, and how recruiting and hiring have been for Suplari during COVID-19. You’ll also hear him look back fondly on his life-changing time in India doing social service and takeaway some lessons from his “happiness journey” over the last several years.
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Laura Malcolm and her husband James founded Give InKind after experiencing the unexpected stillbirth of their first child and seeing how much work was created for their friends and families who wanted to be supportive from around the country. Give InKind changes the way people give, receive and coordinate support through major life events, with a mission that everyone feels supported, whenever and wherever they need it. On this podcast, Laura talks about the emotional events that influenced the shifts throughout her career and the details of what it took to get Give InKind off the ground - including moving her whole family to Thailand! She shares her love for Female Founders Alliance, what raising two rounds in the last six months was like, and how they started growing 40 percent weekly when the COVID-19 crisis began!
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After immigrating from India and building an impressive resume, Reetu Gupta founded Cirkled in in 2015. The award-winning, 21st century recruitment platform matches high school students with the best fit colleges and universities, improving outcomes for both sides. On this episode, Reetu discusses the slow evolution of this space and how their platform is doing some much-needed disrupting to the ten billion dollar industry. She also shares some interesting findings on how COVID-19 is going to impact students' higher education plans from a survey they conducted. Hear what Cirkled in is doing to virtually help students make informed decisions about their futures and level the playing field in college admissions.
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Dwayne Clark is the CEO and Founder of Aegis Living, an author, philanthropist, producer, playwright, longevity expert, husband, father and grandfather. On this podcast, Dwayne talks about how he got involved in the senior housing industry and why he’s been passionate about transforming the sad old folks’ home for over two decades. He openly shares his personal experience of losing a family member during the COVID-19 pandemic, how Aegis Living has been responding to the crisis and key insights on what our future could look like based on his research. You’ll also learn a time exercise that will help you “suck the richness out of life,” how to think broader about your career and how you can give back in more ways than just donating money.
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Sari Davidson founded BooginHead, a baby accessories company, from her kitchen table in 2005 after not being able to find what she needed to keep her son’s sippy cup from constantly hitting the floor. Sari talks about coming from an entrepreneurial family, how she juggled her business with a full-time job at Microsoft for three years, and how BooginHead got picked up by large retailers like Babies R Us, Walmart and Target. She also discusses mask production, growing their e-commerce business during the COVID-19 crisis and how she’s using this time to grow personally and with her family.
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Back again, Dan Shapiro, CEO of Glowforge, discusses the Ear Savers they’ve been creating to help contribute during the COVID-19 crisis. With their “Two Million Essential Ears Initiative,” Glowforge is striving to provide one million free Ear Savers to anyone wearing a mask to keep us safe. He talks about how he’s shown up as a leader during this time, being grateful for Glowforge's open culture and why he ultimately decided to turn down the PPP money. Dan also shares an awesome new online learning platform for kids and some fun games to try during the stay-at-home order!
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Matt McIlwain, one of the Managing Directors at Madrona Venture Group, explains the most important quality he looks for in a CEO before investing, Madrona’s new accelerator fund, how he spends his time as an investor and his passion for public policy on the What Fuels You podcast. On COVID-19, Matt brings up some interesting points about the “natural tension between freedom and boundaries” and how “barriers have been broken down to find sustainable preventions, cures and tests.” Listen to hear what he believes will be the business opportunities that come out of this pandemic.
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Crowd Cow CEO and Co-founder, Joe Heitzeberg, tells the story of how the company came to be and how they are bringing people together through high quality craft beef and meats. He discusses how COVID-19 has impacted the meat industry and how his company's been continuing to help small and multi-generational family businesses during this time. Joe talks about their work with Arbor Day Foundation and how everything you buy on Crowd Cow, end to end, is 100 percent certified carbon neutral. You'll also learn about radical transparency, get tips on fundraising, and even hear him play a little guitar!
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Chad Robins, CEO and Co-founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies, discusses their recent partnership with Microsoft to decode the immune system's response to CODVID-19 and develop better diagnostic tools and their partnership with Amgen to develop potential antibody therapies to treat the disease. Chad also shares how the medical field is adapting and facing new challenges during this pandemic.
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Jeff Wald, Founder of WorkMarket and author of The End of Jobs, discusses the benefits of being acquired by ADP in 2018 and their partnership with Volunteer Surge, a platform launched in response to the pandemic that is rapidly training one million volunteer community health workers to support frontline doctors and nurses. Hear Jeff also talk about being in New York City right now, takeaways from his book and his thoughts on how the COVID-19 crisis will impact the future of remote and freelance work. Jeff is full of knowledge on the world of labor and shares a ton of valuable statistics, trends and thoughts you won’t want to miss!
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Founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett, Ellen Bennett, shares the story of how she started her company in her 20s and how they continue to evolve over time. Starting with just aprons, Hedley & Bennett has expanded to become an all-encompassing “workwear” company, most recently adding masks to their product line after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Ellen discusses how their values made it an easy decision to get involved, their buy one, give one model and their donation of over 100,000 masks to hospitals and healthcare providers on the frontlines. She also opens up about her confidence, her "wake up and fight" motto, mentors and how she’s finding the good in this time of slowing down.
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Ian Morris is the Co-founder and CEO of Likewise, an innovative startup backed by Bill Gates that’s re-imagining the way that people find great recommendations. Though the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every business in some way, Ian shares how the stay at home order and closure of recreational facilities has resulted in a tremendous jump in users on Likewise’s platform on this special episode of the What Fuels You podcast. He discusses how they’re up 400 percent on the number of recommendations and saves taking place on the application, the most popular lists and categories on Likewise and how they are quickly expanding their content on the platform to meet users' needs and interests.
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Angela Dunleavy-Stowell, CEO of FareStart, a non-profit that transforms lives and disrupts poverty through food, life skills and job training, shares how they are on the frontlines of King County’s COVID-19 response. Angela talks about how FareStart gives people second chances, their 1400 percent homeless shelter meal increase during the pandemic, and how they are serving 26 different locations, with the capacity to do up to 50,000 meals a day. She also discusses how people can help give back to FareStart and the community, staying centered during this time and being fueled by leaving a legacy behind that her kids would be proud of.
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Heather Redman and Jill Singh are among a group of leaders spearheading an initiative to help Puget Sound during the COVID-19 pandemic called All In Seattle. As of their launch in mid-March, they have raised over $30 million to contribute directly to proven non-profits in our community and are continuing to support those in need. Heather and Jill discuss how this idea came about, how they chose the organizations they are supporting, details about putting the website together, and their thoughts on what Seattle’s needs will be as the effects of this pandemic continue to evolve.
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Shannon Anderson, Madrona Venture Group’s Talent Director, joins us to discuss COVID-19’s impact on the Seattle community. Shannon shares how she’s advising their portfolio companies during this unique time and gives examples of CEOs who are truly living their values in the midst of this crisis. She also weighs in on best practices for leadership communication and provides details on Silver Lining, the new, free resource for connecting laid off employees with companies that are hiring. Hear why Shannon is fueled by "creating opportunities out of problems" and why she sees “tremendous opportunity once we get through the current situation" on this special episode.
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Jeremy Lott, President of SanMar, joins us on this special episode of the What Fuels You podcast to discuss SanMar’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the recent crisis, SanMar, the largest supplier of apparel to the Imprinted Sportswear and Promotional Products market, has joined a coalition of American-owned textile companies to be part of the solution. They are working with the White House to produce millions of much needed face masks to support hospitals and health care workers. Jeremy, an incredible philanthropist, answers questions on what this process has been like, how the pandemic has impacted their company and culture, and shares his positive outlook for the future.
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President and CEO of Ben Bridge Jeweler, Lisa Bridge, shares the story behind their family business founded in 1912. Lisa grew up cleaning the store counters as soon as she was tall enough to reach them and now, she’s the first female president of the company and the youngest executive in over 60 years. She discusses their "family culture," what they do to make sure people feel recognized, their acquisition in 2000, diamond trends, and the work she’s doing to transform their in-store experience. Lisa talks about her incredible proposal story and how she’s fueled by “putting good energy out into the world and creating joy and happiness.”
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As a former lawyer and a social justice advocate at heart, Frances Dewing is fueled by using whatever she’s doing as a platform for social advocacy and change. Now as the CEO of Rubica, a cybersecurity company, Frances is helping small businesses and consumers protect their digital lives and secure you from invisible threats online. On this episode of the What Fuels You podcast, Frances discusses fundraising three rounds, Rubica’s culture, what she believes people can do to support female founders, and her advice for people just starting out in their careers. She also explains how cybercriminals are making money today and provides helpful tips on what you can and should be doing to protect your data right now.
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Co-founder and CEO of Barre3, Sadie Lincoln, candidly opens up about her unique childhood being raised by a strong group of women, her journey in the fitness industry and how building a business “has been the most amazing way to grow personally.” In 2008, Sadie co-founded Barre3 with her husband, which focuses on teaching people to be balanced in body and empowered from within. Today they have over 160 franchise studios powered by female entrepreneurs and an online workout streaming subscriber base in 98+ countries. During this episode, Sadie offers a fresh perspective on what fitness could and should look like as opposed to what we see every day in the media. She also shares her experience with mindful leadership, honoring her body and showing up authentically. Sadie’s story behind starting Barre3 is incredibly relatable and what it’s grown into will inspire you.
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On this episode of What Fuels You, Stefan Weitz discusses gut health, his diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis and his probiotic subscription company, Jetson, that he founded as a better way to manage his chronic disease and also help “make 50 million Americans healthier.” In addition to Jetson, Stefan has an incubator called 87 that heavily invests in exciting direct to consumer companies – many of which he shares details about. Stefan also reflects on the impactful advice his first boss at Microsoft gave him, the three ways he believes you can view success and how he would rate himself on each scale, and what ultimately drove him to leaving Microsoft after nearly two decades (and why he wishes he did it sooner).
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Rebecca Lovell, Executive Director at Create33, shares knowledge from her 20+ years of management and operating experience and over a dozen years running and supporting startups in Seattle. At Create33, she’s helping support high-growth technology startups through targeted educational content, strategic connections and mentorship. She opens up about her vision for the company to become the most diverse and dynamic community that it can be, how her philosophy as a mentor is to ask a lot of questions to unlock the answers within, and how she played in traffic and embraced serendipity to end up where she is today. Rebecca also talks about her passion for working with non-profits throughout her career, the qualities she believes makes a good entrepreneur, her love for karaoke and her excitement for entering a new chapter as a soon to be mom!
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Sue Suh discusses her career journey, which includes undergrad at Princeton, two master’s degrees, the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, The Rockefeller Foundation and now TIME. As the first Chief People Officer at TIME, Sue is focused on culture-building, recruitment, human resources, security, facilities and other operational areas. She talks about how TIME is a “97-year-old start-up” that’s energetically evolving, her belief in courageous and trusted journalism, how inspiring it’s been under new ownership, and the events that they host, including the TIME 100 Summit and Gala. Sue also reflects on how she’s learned to be a positive person from her parents, the different countries and cultures she’s experienced throughout her career, her stint in acting and how she genuinely wakes up every day and pinches herself because she feels so lucky and grateful.
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Voracious reader and Southerner, JJ McKay, paints a picture of what his childhood was like growing up in a small town. After having success with the American Heart Association, JJ moved to Seattle and continued being a connector and gracious host, which has served him well in his career and his life. In 2016 he founded The Fresh Toast, an award-winning lifestyle, health and wellness platform, which partly focuses on making the cannabis conversation mainstream. On our podcast, JJ talks about raising millions for a variety of philanthropic causes, why he gives his employees ten mistakes, marijuana industry trends and much more.
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Jean Thompson went from owner to CEO of the Seattle Chocolate Company 18 years ago after the Nisqually Earthquake destroyed their factory and left the company in a difficult place. Over the last nearly two decades, Jean has re-branded the company using Pacific Northwest inspiration and ingredients and has more than quadrupled the company’s revenue. In this episode, Jean talks about the steps they are taking towards sustainability, how they are helping feed hungry families through the jcoco chocolate line, their fun R&D process and their incredible partnership with Alaska Airlines. She also shares why she loved experiencing being a stay at home mom in between her years at Microsoft and at Seattle Chocolate, and the encouraging message she’d give to her younger self.
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Zillow veteran, Rebekah Bastian, joins us to talk about all things company culture. Rebekah has been with Zillow for nearly 15 years, most recently serving as their VP of Community and Culture. She discusses what makes their culture so great, their equity and belonging efforts and how she balances her family life with her career. We also chat about her college pivot from music to engineering and her most recent venture as CEO and Co-Founder of OwnTrail, inspired by writing her book Blaze Your Own Trail. Rebekah is making waves in our community and her support and desire to empower women is refreshing.
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Mohit “Mo” Bhende, Co-founder of Karat, loves connecting with people and interviewing, so it’s no surprise he found a pain point in the industry and founded the company in 2014. Karat has created the category of Interview Engineering and has conducted over 60,000 technical interviews on behalf of clients including Intuit, Wayfair, Indeed and Pinterest. In addition to his career journey and his learnings from Karat, Mo shares stories from his unique upbringing in India, how he got rejected from 12 of the 13 colleges he applied to, his passion for skiing and how he’s restructured his days since becoming a dad. In this podcast, he recalls the life defining moment his dad said to him “all it takes is one,” and it will change your perspective on everything just like it changed his.
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CEO of Gennev, Jill Angelo, is changing the stigma associated with women’s health in the second half of their life with the first-ever online clinic for women in menopause. Prior to starting Gennev, Jill had a 20-year career in tech, with 15 of those years at Microsoft in executive roles. During this episode, Jill shares details of her life growing up on a farm, her background in speech communication, how the idea for Gennev came to be during her sabbatical and the impact being on The NBC Today Show had on the business. We also have an open conversation with Jill about menopause – the symptoms, statistics and ways to manage, the importance of diversity of thought in the workplace and being fueled by a desire to be meaningful.
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Chris DeVore, Managing Partner of Founders’ Co-op and former Managing Director of Techstars Seattle, shares how he’s helped over 200 Pacific Northwest startups raise over $1.5 billion in investor capital. You’ll learn what is unique about Seattle’s startup ecosystem, how seed rounds came to be and details on what the venture capital process is like for investors. Chris talks about how he’s now raised four funds, why he’d always rather back a founder who has been told she or he isn't 'enough' and is hellbent to prove otherwise, the lessons he learned from working at Patagonia and the founders/companies he’s most proud of from Techstars Seattle. During this episode, you’ll also get to know him personally - including his love for making pizza, how he ended up at Yale and his fond memories of spending time at his family’s place up on Lopez Island.
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OfferUp’s CEO, Nick Huzar, joins us to talk about the evolution of the largest mobile marketplace in the U.S. OfferUp, which he started in 2011 and has raised $261 million in funding so far. They have a strong focus on safety and live and breathe their product (their 70,000 square foot office is furnished entirely by furniture bought locally on OfferUp)! Nick discusses learning work ethic from his parents at a young age, how he’s raising his kids to have grit and how his “word is everything.” He also shares how he manages the difficult balance of patience and pushing, how joining a small company after college gave him the confidence to start his own company and how having hard problems to solve is what gets him out of bed in the morning.
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The CEO of RealSelf, Tom Seery, shares details about his upbringing in Upstate New York, packing up his car and moving west to Seattle in search of more innovation and startups, and how he started working with Expedia after getting his MBA. You’ll also learn about where the idea for RealSelf came from, how he chose the name, what their business model is and how the industry has shifted over the years. Tom is a visionary and incredible at giving back - supporting surgeons who donate their time and go on humanitarian trips abroad. He believes “the difference between a person who has ideas and an entrepreneur is execution,” and he will inspire you to think bigger and strive to make an impact. For more information, visit RealSelf.com and follow RealSelf on Instagram @realself.
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Apptentive CEO and Co-founder, Robi Ganguly, shares how his company is helping give consumers a voice and enterprise brands measure customer sentiment in actionable ways. Eight years in and over $17 million in funding raised, Apptentive has helped clients see a 500% increase in App Store ratings and reviews, an 80% increase in positive customer sentiment and a 100% increase in customer retention. In this episode, Robi gives helpful tips on what to look for in investors and board members, being intentional with culture and values, and the importance of giving people a voice. He also opens up about his childhood and being first-generation American, his love for reading and Tae Kwon Do, why he chose to go to Ponoma College over the ivy leagues, and the three things that are a part of his ritual to start his days off right.
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Rathna Sharad is helping make international shipping easy, affordable and friction-free from “anywhere to anywhere” through her company, FlavorCloud, which she co-founded in 2017. Rathna started in the shipping space with her first company, Runway2Street, a marketplace to help smaller companies sell luxury women’s clothing and accessories internationally, after working in supply chain for many years. In just a short time, FlavorCloud has raised $2.3 in venture seed so far and was featured on CNBC most promising upstart of 2019. Rathna shares what it was like growing up in India, her admiration for her parents, and her passion for traveling. She also discusses how she was able to combine her love for both fashion and the tech world as an entrepreneur, her takeaways from raising money and the importance of founders thinking about diversity.
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Clayton Lewis was one of the youngest Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill before he pivoted to the private sector at age 30. Since then, he’s helped take two companies public and was General Partner at Maveron for over a decade. His most recent company, Arivale, had several successful years and raised over $50 million before it closed down earlier this year. Clayton discusses his path into politics, his passion for health and wellness and how closing Arivale’s doors was “tragic” for him. He also chats with us about being a publicly gay leader in Seattle, what his upbringing was like and about being a competitive Iron Man triathlete. You’ll take away a ton from Clayton’s tips on strategizing in an interview, the importance of setting really audacious goals, and learning to “pause, reflect and listen” in life.
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Ben Gilbert’s had the entrepreneurial bug since he was young, starting with building his high school website and developing apps in his college dorm room. Since then, Ben has worked at several incredible startups, become Co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, Co-host for popular venture capital podcast, Acquired, and was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017. Ben attributes much of his success to always “having two careers at once” by working on side projects and being fueled by a sense of accomplishment. In this episode, Ben talks about his first app, SeizeTheDay, that was downloaded over a million times, the story of how Acquired came to be, if he invests in people or ideas and the entrepreneurs he admires outside of PSL. He also shares what growing up in the Midwest was like, what being an Eagle Scout taught him, his involvement with the Anti-Defamation League, and much more.
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Henry Albrecht, CEO of Limeade, founded the software company that elevates the employee experience and helps build great places to work in 2006. His time at Intuit ignited the idea that if they could build a system that helps you measurably improve your financial well-being, then there should be a software system that can measurably improve your overall well-being. On this episode, Henry discusses the concept of burnout, his own personal experience with it, and how it pushed him into building Limeade, which now has $33 million in funding, has acquired two companies and serves some of the most admired companies in the world. Henry also shares details about his personal life including growing up as the youngest of four boys, playing basketball in college and in Europe, and how he’s raising his three children. Henry is a continuous learner, a “self-improvement nut” and a CEO who truly embodies what he’s building at Limeade.
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Mia Lewin, three-time founder, started Spruce Up in 2018 to provide a new personalized way to shop for home furnishings and decor and spruce up any space in your home. Mia had previous success in the design space with another startup, Design Story, as well as experience in venture capital and investment banking. Mia shares details on her experience growing up in Finland, her passion for Scandinavian design, and what it’s been like for her to raise three boys as an entrepreneur. She also discusses the struggles of fundraising as a woman, the role her mentors have played in her career, and how Spruce Up is using AI to create a totally new customer experience in the home design space. Mia’s passion and dedication to creating a curated shopping experience for your home will have you signing for Spruce Up immediately at www.getspruceup.com!
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After a decade in security engineering, Bill Shihara co-founded the premier U.S.-based blockchain platform, Bittrex, in 2014. In this episode, Bill reflects on his time at Microsoft and Blackberry and the impact each of those companies have had on his career. He discusses the importance of recognizing when you’re no longer growing at a company, making security a priority from the start of building anything, and how thinking about culture shifts as you grow internally. You’ll also learn how Bittrex has evolved in the last five years, how innovation is at the core of its business foundation, and how they’re now making an impact internationally. Bill’s story on his start in cryptocurrency and the ‘happy accident’ that ultimately led him to become an entrepreneur is one to hear.
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Jeremy Lott talks about his experience growing up in a family-owned business since birth. SanMar, the largest supplier of apparel to the imprinted sportswear and promotional products market, was started by his dad back in 1971. Jeremy, now President, always wanted to work in the business, but wanted to prove himself successful first. He did just that through his career in investment banking and by receiving his MBA before returning to Seattle. In this episode, Jeremy discusses the benefit of working with a family business consultant, SanMar’s supply chain and business operations all around the world, their values, and how they’re thinking about sustainability and the environment. It’s obvious Jeremy knows his business inside and out, and the way he deeply cares about his customers, employees, community and family is incredibly moving.
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Tim Porter, Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, discusses how the venture capital firm operates, what a day in the life of a VC looks like, what he looks for in a founder, and funding female founders. Prior to joining Madrona in 2006, Tim attended MIT and Stanford Business School and worked at Teledesic and Microsoft. His passion about very early stage companies makes him a perfect fit for his current role, where he focuses on investing in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. Some of Tim’s companies include Heptio, Highspot, Algorithmia and Lattice Data. Beyond talking about his work, Tim shares the lessons he wants to pass on to his children, what growing up in the Midwest was like and what he’s focusing on improving about himself. This episode is great for anyone thinking about a startup, looking for funding or curious about venture capital and learning more.
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Karl Siebrecht, Co-founder and CEO of FLEXE, shares how he went from being a Diving Officer in the U.S. Navy to becoming a serial entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding FLEXE, Karl was the President at aQuantive and the President and CEO of AdReady. Following a tenure in Ad Tech, a discussion among friends sparked the idea for creating FLEXE, the on-demand warehousing, fulfillment and logistics company founded in 2013. Now at 130 people, 1100+ warehouses and having recently completed their Series B, FLEXE is one of the fastest growing companies in Washington State. Karl discusses the lessons he learned at aQuantive and AdReady, FLEXE company culture, and what they look for during their hiring process. He also talks about his family, why he chose to go to Duke and Dartmouth, his favorite books, and his dream of building a company where people say “that’s the best company I ever worked for.”
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Daniela Luzi Tudor co-founded WEconnect Health Management in 2014 to help support those in recovery from substance use disorder (addiction). Daniela was born in Romania and lived in Germany and Portugal before coming to the United States. As a child, she always excelled academically and went on to University of Washington before starting another company, SoundStrokes Art, in Los Angeles. Daniela talks about what it was like living in an immigrant asylum before coming to America, her own struggles with substance abuse, and her experience winning a contest to get to go to Richard Branson’s island. She shares helpful insights on what substance abuse is, diagnosing it, and how recovery looks different for everyone. Daniela’s vulnerability, perseverance through her difficult times, and desire to have a lasting, positive impact is beyond inspirational and something everyone should hear.
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Michael is the CEO of Gen Next, an eclectic community of influential and purposeful leaders committed to addressing the most critical issues facing future generations. He pioneered a high impact venture philanthropy model to counter domestic terrorism, which has been featured at the White House and across Wired, Bloomberg, Axios, ABC News and more. Michael talks about a childhood visit to Russia and its transformative effect, why he doesn’t pay attention to the 24-hour news cycle, the importance of taking the long view, and how he thinks about social impact. He also discusses lessons with global perspectives, the importance of civics, his family’s recent adoption triumph, and the benefits of daily journaling and meditation. In yet another stimulating episode, Michael will make you think big-picture about the world we will leave behind for the generations to come
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Mitch Gold, Co-founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of Alpine Immune Sciences and Managing Partner of Alpine BioVentures, talks about his lifelong commitment to helping patients with cancer, which stems from the loss of his mother when he was just four years old. Prior to his work at Alpine where they’re creating therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune disease, Mitch was the CEO of Dendreon, a biotech company that created a treatment for prostate cancer. Mitch discusses the lessons he learned at Dendreon, what he hopes to achieve with Alpine, what he loves about being a dad, and his interest in “where humanity is going.” This thought-provoking episode dives into the future of science, challenging yourself and those around you, and encouraging you to be a never-ending learner like he is.
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Heather Rogers, co-owner of Modern Dermatology and the Founder of Doctor Rogers RESTORE shares everything from her childhood days of getting bullied to what products everyone should be using on their skin. Heather’s knowledge on dermatology is unmatched. She opened Modern Dermatology in 2015 and has dedicated her work life to making sure she provides the best care to her patients. While running her practice, her dissatisfaction with the selection of products for healing skin led her to also research and create her own line, Doctor Rogers RESTORE. Her plant-based, hypoallergenic Healing Balm beat out its competitor, Aquaphor in skin healing and patient satisfaction during a split face trial. Her entire skin care line is effective, safe and sustainable. RESTORE is available at beauty retailers including NET-A-PORTER, VIOLET GREY, Revolve, Dermstore, Cos Bar and Credo Beauty as well as dermatology offices across the country. During this episode, you’ll hear about Heather’s journey through school, how she found dermatology and what the process has been like starting and running two companies at the same time. She also talks about the influence her sister’s death has had on her, the importance of human connection and how her busy schedule is making her be more intentional with the way she spends her time.
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Navigating Cancer’s Founder and President, Gena Cook, has nearly 30 years of experience directly working to help cancer patients. Gena first got started in the healthcare industry in pharmaceutical sales and took increasing roles until she became an accidental entrepreneur in 2008. Her company, Navigating Cancer, now supports over a million patients and thousands of cancer care providers nationwide to lower costs, improve patient satisfaction and drive better outcomes. Gena talks about how she’s juggling being a very busy working mom, the boards she’s on and the importance of their partnership with McKesson, a Fortune 10 healthcare services and technology company. The word “visionary” came to mind when Gena was asked how people would describe her as a leader, and we think you’ll agree after hearing her passion for and dedication to solving important problems.
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Ian Morris, the CEO of Likewise, talks about the exciting things that he and his team are building at Likewise to help all of us get better recommendations about what to watch, read, and experience next. Before Likewise, Ian spent 7 years at Microsoft where he helped create and went on to lead Microsoft HomeAdvisor. He then served 10 years as the CEO of Market Leader, the real estate software leader that he took public and later sold to Trulia in 2013. Now, with Likewise, an innovative company which was originally imagined and is funded by Bill Gates’ private office, he is out to change the way we all discover, collect, and share recommendations about the things we are passionate about. Ian opens up about his passion for entrepreneurship which dates back to his college years, how he led Market Leader through the crash of the real estate market, and the values he and his wife try to instill in their children. His fuel for “the people side of things” and his passion for the exciting things they’re building at Likewise is contagious.
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Colette Courtion has founded three venture-backed consumer health and beauty related startups. During this episode, Colette takes us through her journey from a quiet child to a leader and innovator. She shares the lessons she learned while working at Starbucks for eight years, how she started Calidora Skin Clinics, and what ultimately made her decide to sell it. In the midst of growing her second company, JeNu Biosciences, Colette’s decision to get pregnant and the information her girlfriends shared with her ended up birthing the idea for her current company, Joylux. Founded in 2014, Joylux is a leading global femtech company that has developed a portfolio of light-based medical devices and products that help solve women’s intimate health issues such as stress urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness and sexual function concerns. In addition to sharing how she leads, measuring success through customer feedback and Joylux’s partnership with leading e-tailers, such as Goop, Colette gets personal; she opens up to discuss her miracle pregnancy through intrauterine insemination to help destigmatize women’s health issues and decisions. She shares how she struggles to find balance and how she’s driven to help empower women to gain the confidence they deserve.
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Xiao Wang talks about his own family’s process of immigrating to the United States from China and how it influenced him to start his company, Boundless Immigration. Before Boundless, Xiao received degrees from both Stanford and Harvard Universities and worked for McKinsey, the New York City Department of Education, and Amazon. With the help of Pioneer Square Labs, Xiao decided to leave the corporate world and cofound his company in 2017. Xiao discusses what his parents went through during their immigration process, his plans for what he wants to achieve with Boundless in the future, and how he’s extremely proud of their 100% approval rate from the government. He also shares his passion for doing multiple Ironman triathlons, why he got really into cooking, and how he’s fueled by “contributing a meaningful brick” to the great wall of humanity.
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Adina Mangubat co-founded her company at age 22. Spiral Genetics, a leader in the genomics analysis industry, makes software to compare large populations of whole human genomes. They closed a multi-million-dollar funding round in 2013 and were acquired in 2017. Earlier this year, Spiral Genetics left their parent company and re-launched by partnering with Microsoft to analyze the genomes of people with heart disease. Adina breaks down what genomes are, how she got into this space, the several pivots they made early on and the process of un-acquiring her company. She also shares how she’s interested in who her employees are as human beings, dealing with the criticism of being a young CEO earlier on, leading with transparency, and her idea of ‘Surprise Date Day,’ which you will want to incorporate into your own relationship!
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Co-founder of Maveron, Dan Levitan, discusses his extensive careers in both investment banking and venture capital. At age 40, Dan pivoted his career by uprooting his life in New York City, moving to Seattle, and starting Maveron with former Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz. Through his venture capital firm, Dan is focused on helping build and monetize consumer brands. Some of the companies in his portfolio include Zulily, Potbelly, eBay, and Allbirds. In this episode, Dan shares his love for Duke University, what influenced his decision to quit his successful career and move across the country, and his appreciation for his four mentors. He talks about how his relationship with Howard Schultz came to be, the values they’ve set for Maveron, and how his relationship with each founder he works with is different. Dan’s words of wisdom on the importance of giving back and having fun in your career are important lessons everyone can learn from.
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Heather Redman, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Flying Fish Ventures, shares her expertise on early stage startups and investing. Heather admittedly has been affected by imposter syndrome and is inherently an introvert. She reflects on growing up in communes, how her childhood has influenced her to be an out of the box thinker, and her experience attending Reed College and Stanford Law School. Heather has incredible insight on being a VC, advice for entrepreneurs, and thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In addition to being busy with Flying Fish Ventures, she stays busy as an active mentor, board member and advisor. She is fueled by being both “interested and interesting.” Listen to this episode to hear all of this and more.
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Four-time Founder, CEO and investor, Dan Shapiro, shares the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial journey thus far. Though he humbly attributes much of his success to privilege, Dan has worked hard, taken risks and followed an unconventional career path that has led him to become a board game inventor, author and record holder for the most backed 30-day crowdfunding campaign. Today, Dan is focused on building Glowforge, the iconic 3D laser printer company founded in 2014. The idea originated while he was creating Robot Turtles, the board game that teaches programming to kids. Now, his company is nearing 100 employees and has grown 2.5X in the last nine months. Dan discusses his transition from Microsoft to the startup world, how he really appreciates feedback, and how they are intentionally creating a culture of diversity and inclusion at Glowforge. Dan’s enthusiasm for what customers are making with their product is something you won’t want to miss.
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Executive performance coach, Teri Citterman interviewed Fuel Talent’s CEO for the first episode of the What Fuels You podcast. Now, Shauna turns the tables and interviews Teri. Teri is the author of From the CEO’s Perspective. During this episode, Teri shares valuable information on the type of leaders who work with her. She talks about the one trait she believes every leader must have in order to be great, her methodology for coaching, and how she teaches executive presence. She also discusses how she’d wanted to be a writer from a young age, how she’s always been deliberate with her career choices, and how her courageousness comes from her parents, who both survived the Holocaust. Teri has unbelievable experience working with a countless CEOs and has some incredible nuggets of wisdom to share on how to start thinking like one.
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Sharelle Klaus founded DRY Soda Co. in 2005 from her kitchen, noting she’s had an entrepreneurial curiosity from the time she was little. While nursing her fourth child, she was frustrated that there wasn’t a sophisticated non-alcoholic beverage that wasn’t overly sweet or made with artificial flavors, so she decided to create her own. DRY is now in over 9,000 stores and is one of the fastest-growing natural sparking beverage brands in the nation. In addition to her speaking about her experience as a female entrepreneur, Sharelle shares her belief that women should be able to go on and off the working train throughout their lives. She credits learning many skills like time management, multi-tasking and negotiation to her time as a stay at home mom. You’ll also hear about how she’s traveling the world in her Airstream, her involvement with the Aliados Foundation and how her kids are her greatest accomplishment and helping her be more present.
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Andy Liu, Partner at Unlock Venture Partners, knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from a young age. Andy started two companies with his Co-Founder David Niu, who he met while getting his MBA at Wharton. Always intrigued by angel investing, Andy decided to dip his toes in after both NetConversions and BuddyTV.com had successful exits. Today, Andy is an investor in nearly 100 companies. He started his current venture capital firm, Unlock Venture Partners, in late 2017, which focuses on early-stage technology investments in Seattle and Los Angeles. Andy shares helpful tips for entrepreneurs including what to consider when choosing a Co-founder, focusing on customer acquisition and distribution versus building a product, and the traits he looks for as an investor. He also discusses how he learned to cold call after starting his first company, getting the idea for BuddyTV.com while visiting Machu Picchu, and how he’s helping provides education and career opportunities to poverty-stricken communities through technical training with his organization, Future Hope.
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Rahul Sood started his first company when he was just 17 years old. VoodooPC went on to sell to HP in 2006, where he spent four years as their CTO. Rahul then spent a few years at Microsoft, where he says he “learned everything and got a crash course in how the best leaders are created.” In 2014, he started his current company, Unikrn, an esports betting and news company that’s backed by big names like Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban, Elisabeth Murdoch, Shari Redstone and many others. Unikrn has received over 10 million in funding and is on the front lines of regulation in its industry. Rahul shares many valuable lessons he’s learned through his first company’s acquisition and going to work at a large company after never working for anyone but himself. He also talks about the one pager exercise that changed his life, his involvement in the medical industry after his dad’s passing, and his admiration for Elon Musk and Tesla. His “you can reach out to anyone” mentality is a lesson you will want to take with you.
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Liz Dunn started Dunn & Hobbes, her real estate development company, in 1998 after pivoting from her career as a Software Engineer at Microsoft. Over the last 20 years, she’s created several developments that push the envelope of design while maintaining the character and uniqueness of the buildings and neighborhoods where she works. Much of Liz’s inspiration comes from the time she’s spent in older urban cities like Toronto, London and Paris. During this episode, Liz talks about growing up in Canada, her time at Microsoft (including when she asked for a then unheard-of sabbatical), and how she lived in her first project for two years while she was paying off the bank. Liz also shares tips on how to break into the industry, the impact she thinks technology will have on real estate, and how seeing projects well done is what fuels her. Her knowledge of and passion for Seattle’s urban fabric is incredibly interesting to learn from.
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Alissa Leinonen started Gourmondo, Seattle’s leading catering and gourmet box lunch company, 24 years ago. Back in 1996, Alissa had a dream that she turned into a reality by refinancing her car and opening a 470 square-foot, four table café. Gourmondo has now tripled the size of the company in the last three years, serving between 3,000-4,000 guests per day across all divisions (box lunches, catering, and cafes) with more than 250 employees. Alissa is known for building her business around the working parent model, having led by example for many years raising her two children. She shares tips on running a business in a family-first way, how she brought the company back after a near-death mistake in 2006, and how her daughter’s persistence resulted in their number one selling sandwich. Alissa is resilient, thoughtful and fueled by lifting up people who want to work hard and just need someone to give them a shot.
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Liz Pearce and her daughter Lila join us for this episode of What Fuels You. Liz’s resume boasts impressive companies like Sony, Google, and Amazon, COO and CEO of LiquidPlanner, and even her own consulting company. Most recently, Liz was the Chief Revenue Officer at Streem. Since this recording, Liz has left Streem to start her new company, Fresh Chalk, which helps you find “local professionals with a little help from your friends.” Liz is a self-proclaimed “productivity nerd” and shares some of her hacks that will help transform your schedule. She also discusses her involvement as a mentor to women in the tech community, her key takeaways from her career progression, and how she is intentional about taking time to connect with her family away from technology.
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Scilla Andreen’s life lessons and the mission she’s fulfilling through her company, IndieFlix, are compelling and powerful. Scilla shares how she was bullied much of her young childhood and how that has propelled her forward in life in many ways. After high school and a short time at NYU before dropping out, Scilla found herself working on the set of The Wonder Years sorting hangers. She quickly worked her way up, receiving an Emmy nomination for her first episode as the show’s Costume Designer. After years in the industry, she took a crack at filmmaking and her first film received Oscar consideration. Her company, IndieFlix, which she co-founded in 2005, has become one of the most meaningful global screening and subscription streaming services, working to create positive change in the world through film. Scilla shares how she’s fueled through love and relationships, what losing a child was like, how meditation is a part of her daily practice, and how she’s opening up dialogues on difficult topics among children and families through her films. During this episode, you’ll feel as though you’ve been on her life journey with her through her incredible storytelling. Scilla is accomplished, grounded and someone everyone can learn something from.
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Todd Bishop and John Cook both found their careers as journalists very early on. They originally met at the Seattle PI and went on to start the PSBJ TechFlash website together before starting GeekWire in 2011. Today, GeekWire receives millions of monthly page views and hosts several signature events that bring the community together each year. Their platform is the go-to source for technology news, with strong roots in the Seattle region. During this episode, Shauna has a free-flowing, fun conversation with Todd and John. She digs into their upbringings, struggles, and thoughts on the evolution of reporting. These two share how their differences complement each other and have been what’s allowed them to build this successful news empire. You’ll get the inside scoop on the GeekWire name, their favorite events of the ones they host, hopes for the future of their company, and much more. The dynamic of these co-founders will have you laughing while inspiring you at the same time.
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About two years ago, Leslie Feinzaig founded Female Founders Alliance (FFA) after a frustrating experience in the pitching circuit with her own startup, Venture Kits. What started out as a Facebook group for a few female CEOs has grown into a large online network with hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals in just two years. Last year, FFA launched a startup accelerator consciously designed for women and non-binary founders seeking their first round of venture financing. After a runaway success with its first cohort, applications for the 2019 Ready Set Raise program are now open! Leslie is focused on spreading the message that women grow companies at three times the rate of men, but only get two percent of venture capital. Along with how she’s helping change this landscape, hear her talk about growing up in Costa Rica, her interesting journey applying to business school, her tips for staying organized, and how everything touches her more deeply since becoming a mom.
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The consistent theme in Matt Oppenheimer’s life has been people and relationships. When asked what he was ‘into’ in high school, he shares how he started a non-profit called the Youth Lobbying Organization to give people under the age of 18 a voice in the political process. Matt went on to attend Dartmouth and Harvard Business School. During his time working in banking, he lived in London and in Kenya and realized how important remittances are for giving people in developing countries more opportunity. As a result, Matt started Remitly in 2011, which is now the largest private digital remittance company in the US. They’ve raised over $175 million and have quickly grown to have over 800 employees in four different countries. Matt discusses how he gets to know his employees on a deeper level, the impact his family has had on him and his hopes for his daughter, Alice. Even with his impressive career and his successful efforts to make the world a better place, Matt remains incredibly humble. His kind heart is something everyone will feel from this podcast.
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If you asked anyone who grew up with Robbie Cape in Montreal, they would all say they knew he was going to run his own business someday. He was constantly learning as a child from the family business and from his parents, who believed he should grow up understanding the value of a single dollar. In 2014, Robbie sold his first company, Cozi, and now is building his second company, 98point6, which is revolutionizing primary care and making healthcare more affordable and accessible to everyone. Robbie shares how he always starts with the ‘who’ before the ‘what’ when building businesses, why Time Inc was the perfect company to purchase Cozi, and important insight on the primary care crisis we’re facing. He also discusses his thoughts on Microsoft and Amazon, how he and his wife decide which organizations they are going to support, and the three key factors that have translated to good parenting for them.
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Nicole Maddox shares her knowledge and expertise on scaling a startup on the What Fuels You podcast. Nicole stumbled into tech recruiting with her engineering background post-graduation, and since then has recruited for a range of companies. Most notably, Nicole was the Head of Talent Acquisition at high-growth startup, Convoy, until recently starting her own business to consult companies on all things hiring. This conversation has powerful insights for everyone from startup CEOs to candidates wanting to understand how to value stock. In this episode, Nicole and Shauna share an open dialogue on strategy for the first key hires, how startups can manage the offer stage against big giants like Amazon, and the importance of addressing diversity and inclusion early on.
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Kabir Shahani, rightfully so, was recently recognized as one of the “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” by Goldman Sachs. As a child, he got to travel the world playing violin and began attending summer college classes when he was only in sixth grade. Kabir co-founded his first company, Appature, at the age of 24 and successfully sold it in 2013. He is now the Co-founder and CEO of Amperity, which has received $37 million in funding in just three years. Kabir discusses Amperity’s values, how they hire, and the important role philanthropy plays in the company and his life. You’ll also hear about his experiences growing up in Kansas, how selling Appature made him “a much more diligent, rigorous operator,” and how he’s now focused on building a company that outlasts him.
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Fran Dunaway, Co-founder and CEO of TomboyX, is an incredible advocate for women and the LGBTQ community. She was raised in a military family from the deep south, and has had many unique pivots in her career. Fran started TomboyX as a clothing company with her wife, Naomi, in 2013. They quickly found success and transformed solely into an underwear company based off of feedback from their customers. In just a few years, they’ve received $6.3 million in funding and have an incredible presence on social media. Fran and her wife are making an astounding impact on their mission to represent all people and encourage everyone to be unapologetically themselves.
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Brent Frei credits his success to hard work and dedication, which he learned from his parents and from growing up on his family’s farm in Idaho. Though he never felt the need to be in charge, his desire to be in an environment where everyone is sinking or swimming on their own merit, including himself, led him to become the founder of three companies. Brent’s first, Onyx, IPOed in 1999, and his second, Smartsheet, IPOed in 2018. Brent reflects on the early days at Smartsheet, including the time they were almost out of money and the business model they bet on to be successful. He’s now hyper-focused on transforming the farming industry with technology and being the best dad to his five children. Find out what influenced him to start his current company, TerraClear, and what fuels him in business and in life.
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Raja Mukerji, Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of ExtraHop Networks, learned empathy at a young age. His yearning for a sense of belonging while growing up in the UK and India taught him to understand the nature and meaning of connection, which he channels into everything he does today. During this episode, Fuel Talent’s Senior Tech Recruiter, Byron, joins Shauna to dig deep into the technology behind ExtraHop, the types of employees they look for, and the emphasis they place on culture. Beyond discussing his childhood and the early days of starting a company, Raja shares why early childhood education is so important to him and emphasizes the importance of “intentional presence.” His intellect will captivate you.
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Scott Swerland was born to be an entrepreneur. He incorporated his first business at age 15, and ever since, continues to build and add more companies to his portfolio. He currently is the Founder and CEO of Seattle Sun Tan, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Urban Float and Washington Co-founder and CEO of TruFusion. You may have even seen him on a recent episode of Shark Tank! During this special episode, Shauna sits down with her big brother, Scott, to discuss their childhood, the biggest challenges he faces running several companies, and his “out of body experience” on Shark Tank. His passion and dedication to his work and family will motivate you to look at life in the same way he does.
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Ambika Singh is the Founder and CEO of Armoire, a high-end clothing rental service that’s evolving the way women shop and dress. The idea was born during her time getting an MBA at MIT and the company launched in 2016 after she spent time at impressive companies like Microsoft, The Boston Consulting Group and Rover. Ambika shares her thoughts on mentors, molding your definition of success as you progress in your career and the importance of family. She’s been recognized on the 40 Under 40 List and is extraordinarily humble and relatable. Listen to her discuss what it’s like to build a company from the ground up and how she’s continuing to learn and iterate as the company plans to 10X in the next 12 months.
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Incredible storyteller, Richard Tait, shares unforgettable moments from his lifetime as a connector and inventor. Born and raised in Scotland, he came to the US for entrepreneurial opportunities, and it didn’t take long for him to see unbelievable amounts of success, particularly with his popular board game, Cranium. As a result of Richard’s tenacity, Cranium became the first game sold at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks. He talks about both of these stories and several others where “a door that closed resulted in another door that opened.” His positive outlook on life, his love for his children and desire to put smiles on people’s faces will leave you energized and inspired to be a better person.
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Greg Gottesman, a major influencer in the Seattle startup community, sits down and shares his knowledge about entrepreneurship, his passion for the early stage of building companies, and the story behind what sparked the idea for Rover, where Greg is a co-founder. Greg serves as a Managing Director and co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, both its studio and fund. He was a partner of Madrona Venture Group for 20 years and founder of Madrona Venture Labs. In this episode, he also discusses the entrepreneurship class he teaches at the University of Washington, what he looks for in entrepreneurs’ pitches, and why he would choose Seattle “if you could choose one place in the world to start a company now.
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Amy Nelson founded the co-working space, The Riveter, under two years ago and already has five offices with eight more on the horizon across the US. Before The Riveter, Amy grew up in the Midwest and then became a lawyer in New York City for many years. Find out why Amy pivoted from her law career to get behind supporting female entrepreneurs, what the interesting twist in her love story is, and hear about the fascinating work she’s done in politics and with The Carter Center. Amy is a powerhouse supporter of women, a super mom, a great friend and someone you will definitely want to hear and learn from.
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Chad Robins is the CEO of Adaptive Biotechnologies. His company, which he co-founded with his brother Harlan, has received over $400 million in funding as it drives ground-breaking research in cancer and other immune-mediated diseases. Chad simplifies his role as a CEO into three categories and breaks down this complex industry for everyone to understand. Listen to this riveting episode and hear how he moved from investment banking to biotech, what working with his brother is like and how 100 days spent in the wilderness is what influences his leadership style to this day.
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From being the daughter of an orphan immigrant, to getting into Princeton because a stranger paid for her SATs, to proposing to her husband, Jane Park’s narrative is unlike any other. Every bit as passionate as she is sweet, Jane founded nail salon turned beauty empire, Julep, because of an experience (or lack thereof) with her girlfriends. Listen as she shares how she built this multimillion-dollar business, what the process of being acquired was like and what this new phase means for her.
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Serial entrepreneur, Jonathan Sposato, was the first person in history to sell two companies to Google. Since then, he's become chairman of Geekwire and PicMonkey and has recently made waves in the Seattle community by announcing he will only invest in female-founded companies moving forward. Hear from Jonathan firsthand on how he’s always felt like an outsider but hasn’t let it stop him from achieving incredible success. His unique childhood and growing up as an Asian-American in a predominately white community shaped him to become, in his words, “more of a Nick Carraway than a Jay Gatsby.” Jonathan's wisdom on family, business and life in general is something everyone needs to hear.
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On the first episode of What Fuels You, Shauna is interviewed by executive coach, author and friend, Teri Citterman. Shauna Swerland, a Seattle native, is the CEO and Founder of recruiting firm, Fuel Talent. In just five years, Fuel Talent has been recognized as one of the Fastest-Growing Companies, Largest Women-Owned Companies and Best Places to Work in Washington, among many others awards. Hear how her recruiting career came to be, how it’s evolved and her process on finally deciding to become an entrepreneur. You’ll learn about her passion and desire for creating this podcast, and it will set the tone for what you’ll hear the rest of this season when she does the interviewing moving forward.
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The What Fuels You podcast launches on Tuesday, January 22nd featuring the following guests. Shauna Swerland Greg Gottesman Jane Park Brent Frei Richard Tait Amy Nelson Jonathan Sposato Scott Swerland Fran Dunaway Chad Robins Raja Mukerji Ambika Singh
Here’s a teaser of Shauna's conversations from the Season One episodes. Be sure to share, subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts or Spotify, and follow us on social media for the latest news and updates!
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