I sat down with Mark Straub, co-founder and CEO of SmileID, for an eye-opening conversation about his journey from Silicon Valley VC to building identity verification technology across Africa. Mark walked me through the unique challenges of operating in Africa's diverse markets and how digital infrastructure is driving economic development across the continent. What really struck me was his emphasis on localized strategies rather than one-size-fits-all approaches, and the massive growth potentia...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 183
I had an incredible conversation with Enrique Perezalonso, founder and CEO of Palla, a fintech startup that just closed their Series A funding round. We dove deep into his company's remarkable growth trajectory and what it's really like building a fintech company in today's market. Enrique opened up about their hiring strategies and how they're scaling their team, plus he walked me through their entire fundraising journey - the highs, the lows, and everything in between. What really caught my at...
Jun 27, 2025•29 min•Ep. 182
I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Vernon O'Donnell, CEO of Voxel AI, where we dive deep into how AI is revolutionizing workplace safety. Vernon shares his incredible journey from military service in Iraq to leading a company that's tackling a $175 billion problem - workplace injuries and deaths that are largely preventable. What fascinated me most was learning how Voxel transforms existing security cameras into intelligent safety monitors, catching dangerous violations in real-time a...
Jun 24, 2025•37 min•Ep. 181
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kira Radinsky, a remarkable AI pioneer whose journey from escaping the USSR as a child to predicting global crises is absolutely fascinating. Kira tells me how she successfully predicted the first cholera outbreak in Cuba in 130 years using AI, helping save countless lives by getting clean water there in time. We dive deep into her current company, Diagnostic Robotics, which has raised $70 million and is tackling a massive healthcare crisis - by 2030, nearly ...
Jun 17, 2025•40 min•Ep. 180
I'm excited to bring you my conversation with Mike Conover, co-founder and CEO of BrightWave. Here's what we cover: Mike's Background: - From studying complex systems to creating Dolly at Databricks - His journey into AI-powered investment tools The Problem: - Investment pros drowning in 600-800 page data rooms - Traditional due diligence hitting human limits BrightWave's Solution: - AI that reads entire documents simultaneously, not snippets - Customer feedback: "Identified risks I wish I'd see...
Jun 12, 2025•47 min•Ep. 179
In this episode, I sit down with Page Schult, co-founder and CEO of Topanga, who's tackling one of the food industry's biggest problems: massive waste and inefficiency. What started as a sustainable packaging company has evolved into an AI-powered kitchen intelligence platform that's helping colleges, hotels, and healthcare systems save millions by automating food waste tracking. Page walks me through her fascinating pivot from launching movies at Fox Film Studios to building technology that use...
Jun 10, 2025•30 min•Ep. 178
In this episode, host Jake Aaron Villarreal sits down with Stan Sthanunathan, co-founder and CEO of iGenie.ai. The conversation explores Stan’s fascinating journey, from his extensive career in consumer insights to his bold leap into entrepreneurship. Stan shares the critical role consumer insights play in driving brand success and how technology is revolutionizing the insights industry. He opens up about the challenges faced moving from a corporate world to running a startup, reflecting on his ...
Jun 05, 2025•33 min•Ep. 177
In an engaging episode, Alex Gajiego, Redpanda’s founder and CEO, recounts his path from a curious builder in Colombia, dismantling motorcycle engines, to spearheading a tech company revolutionizing real-time data streaming. He shares insights on creating Redpanda to address unmet needs in high-performance data systems, highlighting its impact on mission-critical applications for major global companies. Gajiego explores the vital role of data streaming in powering AI applications, emphasizing lo...
Jun 03, 2025•54 min•Ep. 176
Join us for an inspiring episode with Darryl Hicks, the founder of FlexPay, who traces his journey from a childhood shadowed by bullying to becoming a leader in the payments industry. He dives into the critical need for trust and transparency in the payments ecosystem, spotlighting the challenges businesses face with failed payments, especially in subscription-based models. Hicks highlights how recovering these payments can significantly boost customer lifetime value and tackles the issue of fal...
May 28, 2025•52 min•Ep. 175
In this conversation, Marty Kausas, co-founder and CEO of Pylon, shares his journey from working at Airbnb to founding his own startup. He discusses the challenges he faced in identifying market needs, the evolution of Pylon, and the strategies he employed to raise capital and build a strong company culture. Marty emphasizes the importance of product development and the need for a dedicated sales team to drive customer acquisition. He also reflects on his growth as a leader and the future vision...
May 22, 2025•24 min•Ep. 174
James Pham, Opsin’s co-founder and CEO, recounts his journey from Vietnam to Silicon Valley, honed by his MIT experience, as he dives into the world of generative AI data security. Leading Opsin, James champions a bold approach to safeguarding enterprise data, prioritizing privacy and governance. Facing fierce market challenges, James leans on a relentless growth mindset and masterful storytelling to steer his startup forward. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Sil...
May 20, 2025•33 min•Ep. 173
Join Jake Aaron Villarreal as he chats with Suman Kanuganti, CEO of Personal AI. They explore Suman’s background in tech and robotics, and how Personal AI addresses the challenge of scaling human expertise. Suman explains their approach to creating tailored AI models for industries like legal and finance, enabling digital twins to enhance productivity. He covers rapid deployment, cost-effectiveness, and standing out in the AI market, while touching on persona managers and navigating industry cha...
May 16, 2025•45 min•Ep. 172
In this episode, we interviewed Mike Pappas, co-founder and CEO of Modulate, an AI-driven voice moderation company for online gaming. Mike discusses his path from MIT to founding Modulate, the challenges of raising capital, and the need to address toxicity in gaming communities. He explains how Modulate’s technology improves player experiences, supports mental health, and strengthens digital communities. Mike also covers applications in call centers, AI’s role in brand safety, and startup challe...
May 14, 2025•47 min•Ep. 171
Hey there, listeners! Welcome back to the show! Today, we’ve got an incredible episode lined up for you. Host Jake Aaron Villarreal sits down with Gennady Pihimenko, the co-founder and CEO of CentML, for a deep dive into the wild world of AI and machine learning. Gennady takes us on his fascinating journey—from a math and programming whiz in Russia to a trailblazer in the AI industry. He breaks down the evolution of AI, spills the tea on why optimizing machine learning workloads is a game-change...
May 08, 2025•52 min•Ep. 170
In this episode, we sit down with Dorna Moini, founder and CEO of Gavel, who shares her journey from litigator to launching a legal tech startup that uses AI to streamline legal processes. Dorna opens up about her journey and how Gavel’s platform works, and the legal fields—like litigation and family law—that benefit from their suite of tools. She highlights the value of efficiency and revenue growth for lawyers while making legal services more accessible. Dorna also gets into the importance of ...
May 06, 2025•39 min•Ep. 169
Podcast Episode Summary: Dylan Fox on Building Assembly AI & Navigating the AI Frontier In this episode, I sit down with Dylan Fox, founder of Assembly AI, to unpack the incredible journey of creating a leading speech AI company. We dive into the entrepreneurial hustle, from finding product-market fit to tackling the challenges of a crowded AI landscape. Dylan shares how Assembly AI’s cutting-edge technology is powering real-world applications, the rise of AI agents, and why a customer-first...
May 01, 2025•42 min•Ep. 168
In this episode, Guillaume Luccisano, founder of Yuma AI, shares his journey of building his third startup. Yuma AI is revolutionizing customer service automation for ecommerce businesses, specifically large Shopify merchants, by leveraging cutting-edge AI technology. Before launching Yuma, Guillaume was an early member of Twitch (formerly Justin.tv) and went on to co-found Socialcam, which was later acquired by Autodesk. From 2015 to 2021, he was the co-founder and CTO of Triplebyte, a company ...
Apr 29, 2025•34 min•Ep. 167
Today we talk with Leo Patching, executive and entrepreneur with experience in building fast-growing businesses across various industries. Former senior leader in private companies and PLCs, founder of multiple businesses, and active investor, non-exec director, and board advisor, focused on strategy, performance, and growth. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Silicon Valley www.matchrelevant.com , uncovering stories of funded startups and goes behinds to scenes to...
Apr 22, 2025•43 min•Ep. 166
Angie Westbrock, CEO of Standard AI, shares her journey from a non-traditional background in chemical engineering to leading a billion-dollar startup focused on retail analytics. The discussion covers the evolution of Standard AI, the technology behind their solutions, and the insights they provide to retailers. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Silicon Valley www.matchrelevant.com , uncovering stories of funded startups and goes behinds to scenes to tell their fo...
Apr 15, 2025•47 min•Ep. 165
In this episode, Jason Smith, cofounder of https://klue.com and investor of multiple startups, discusses his journey and how he's revolutionizing competitive intelligence with Klue. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Silicon Valley www.matchrelevant.com , uncovering stories of funded startups and goes behinds to scenes to tell their founders journey. If you are growing AI Startup or have a great story to tell, email us at: jake.villarreal@matchrelevant.com...
Apr 09, 2025•58 min•Ep. 164
In this episode, we sit down with Kavitta Ghai, founder of Nectir, as she shares her inspiring journey from struggling with learning disabilities to revolutionizing education through AI. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Silicon Valley www.matchrelevant.com , uncovering stories of funded startups and goes behinds to scenes to tell their founders journey. If you are growing AI Startup or have a great story to tell, email us at: jake.villarreal@matchrelevant.com...
Mar 28, 2025•52 min•Ep. 163
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of data decentralization with Zhamak Dehghani, founder of Data Mesh and CEO of Next Data. Zhamak, a pioneer in the field, shares her vast experience and insights into how data mesh is reshaping the way organizations manage and leverage their data. Zhamak explains the key concepts behind data mesh and its importance in solving data scalability challenges. With her expertise in designing data-driven solutions, she walks us through real-world use cases a...
Feb 24, 2025•52 min•Ep. 162
In this episode, Christina Lopes, Founder and CEO of FidoCure and the One Health Company, shares insights into how FidoCure is transforming cancer care for both dogs and humans. By leveraging precision medicine, FidoCure's innovative approach uses genetic similarities between human and canine cancers to offer targeted therapies that extend dogs' lives by up to 3x. Christina discusses the groundbreaking work FidoCure is doing in canine oncology and the power of precision treatments in the fight a...
Feb 20, 2025•47 min•Ep. 161
In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Joyce, CEO of GenLogs, a cutting-edge Freight Intelligence platform revolutionizing the logistics industry. GenLogs uses AI and a nationwide network of sensors, commercial, and open-source datasets to track commercial truck patterns and unlock hidden capacity. Ryan dives deep into how the company is combating fraud, theft, and inefficiencies within supply chains, while building unbreakable freight networks across America. With Ryan’s extensive background in...
Feb 03, 2025•38 min•Ep. 160
Join us as we dive deep into the world of entrepreneurship and innovation with Daniel Saks, the CEO and co-founder of Landbase. Daniel shares his journey from co-founding AppDirect, the leading subscription commerce platform, to building Landbase, a company that transforms businesses’ go-to-market strategies by harnessing machine intelligence and human performance. Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal, leads the top AI Recruitment Firm in Silicon Valley www.matchrelevant.com, uncovering stories of funded...
Jan 30, 2025•44 min•Ep. 159
In this episode, we sit down with John Tabis, Partner and Head of Launchpad at M13 Venture Studio. John shares his journey from founding and scaling The Bouqs Company to becoming a key leader at M13, where he helps visionary founders create companies that define the future of business. We dive into John's unique approach to entrepreneurship, the lessons learned from his time at The Walt Disney Company and Bain & Co., and his current role as an educator at UCLA Anderson, teaching the next gen...
Jan 21, 2025•47 min•Ep. 158
In this episode, we sit down with Matt Darrow, Co-Founder and CEO of Vivun, to discuss his journey from Deloitte technology consultant to revolutionizing the world of technical sales. Matt shares his early exposure to enterprise software and how it sparked his passion for blending technical expertise with business acumen in the role of Sales Engineering. With over a decade of experience in technical sales leadership, Matt reveals the challenges and rewards of his career and how it led to co-foun...
Jan 16, 2025•35 min•Ep. 157
Join us for an insightful conversation with Neha Mittal, Co-founder and CEO of justwords.ai, as she shares her journey from leading growth initiatives at tech giants like Twitter and Pinterest to launching a groundbreaking platform that’s redefining content personalization with AI. In this episode, Neha dives deep into her career highlights, including managing retention strategies, scaling growth platforms, and spearheading data product development. Discover how her passion for data and machine ...
Jan 08, 2025•36 min•Ep. 156
In this episode, we sit down with Bob Miles, the visionary founder of Salad, to explore how his innovative platform is reshaping the cloud computing landscape. From securing the perfect domain name to leveraging a global GPU shortage, Bob shares the secrets behind his bold mission to challenge tech giants like AWS and Google Cloud. Discover how Salad connects 400 million unused consumer-grade GPUs to companies in desperate need of affordable AI/ML compute power. With SaladCloud 1.0, Bob is bring...
Jan 06, 2025•40 min•Ep. 155
In this episode, we dive into the world of productivity and AI-driven meeting tools with Aydin Mirzaee, the co-founder and CEO of Fellow.app. Aydin shares his journey from founding and scaling Fluidware to creating Fellow, a groundbreaking app designed to transform how teams collaborate and manage meetings. Discover how Fellow.auto-joins your video calls to provide accurate transcripts, actionable summaries, and key insights. Learn how the app integrates seamlessly with tools like Slack, Google ...
Dec 20, 2024•52 min•Ep. 154
