LATEST EPISODES

Geoff Donaker has seen every stage of a start-up—from going public to having to close the doors. Now he is on the VC side as founder of Burst Capital, bringing his expertise to investing. Meet this former COO of Yelp and hear his advice for founders and new companies on how to avoid common problems like stagnant prices or becoming untethered from your customers.

Joe Meyer has a long history in tech as an entrepreneur and big thinker. Joe shares with us his perspective on the New York tech scene, and why it just may be better to be in tech in NYC than in Silicon Valley (gasp!). Joe tells about the inspiration for starting ExecThread, the job sharing platform specifically for successful execs looking for those hard-to-find executive positions, and how it opened his eyes to matters of diversity and privilege.

Dr. Tiffani Bright, PhD is the Biomedical Informatician at IBM Watson Health. She describes arriving at this fascinating field which sits at the intersection of several disciplines (mathematics, health/biology, and social science), and in particular how she is looking at Artificial Intelligence as a tool for improving healthcare delivery in the future.

Jim Sterne is widely considered the godfather of digital marketing analytics. In this episode, Jim describes his journey through marketing analytics, why cookies are here to stay, and the one tech innovation that everyone should stop resisting and get on board with.

Philip Rosedale, virtual world entrepreneur and all-around “Starman,” joins the podcast to discuss the biggest themes at the intersection of humanity and technology. He describes building the virtual world “Second Life” and what he believes the future holds for expansive virtual environments and 3D interactions.

A sense of awe runs throughout this episode with Avinash Kaushik, one of the godfathers of web analytics. Avinash is a data visualization expert and Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google and takes a step back with us to wonder at the magic of the Internet while delving into how data can better serve businesses.

Author, coach, speaker, and advocate for inclusive workplaces, Karen Catlin shares stories from her career in Silicon Valley at Adobe and Macromedia, as well as more about her work to encourage us all to be better allies in the workplace.

Tom Peters, best-selling business author, speaker, and “Red Bull of management thinking,” reaches back to his start in Silicon Valley in the 1970s, reflecting on how the Valley has evolved and what work still needs to be done to bring the focus back to the people.

Sian Morson is a start-up founder, a published author, a film producer, creator of a genius beauty app, and an incredibly down-to-earth interviewee. She’s been on both sides of the investor/start-up founder relationship, and is an entrepreneur whose persistence and need to solve nagging problems has served her remarkably well.

Mar Hicks, Associate Professor of  History at Illinois Institute of Technology, drops in to talk about the history of technology and how algorithmic bias has evolved over the years. They discuss topics from how women were purposefully excluded from the tech industry to how transgender algorithmic bias began in the 70’s. Mar shares insights about bias in tech that you have probably experienced but might have only given a passing thought.

Sherry Wei, founder of Aviatrix Systems, talks with Melinda Byerley about how she bootstrapped her company into a $25 million venture-funded startup. Her tips about not giving up too early, putting time into your business, and the role “dumb luck” plays in life and business are refreshing and inspirational.

Paula Buchanan, researcher and self-proclaimed data nerd, brings her passion for education, data, and lifelong learning to this episode. Paula’s goal is to make healthcare data accessible to the public so people are better equipped to make informed decisions. Paula and Melinda explore how conquering the fear of failure and striving to learn more can be a driving force for women and people of color, and really anyone in the tech world.