Shows
Disruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 23: MIT Solve Interview On The Gaps Between Ingenuity & Opportunity WorldwideMike had the great privilege of interviewing Hala Hanna for the latest episode of the Disruptive Innovation podcast series. A graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, who previously worked for the World Economic Forum in Geneva, she's currently the Managing Director of Community at Solve - MIT. Between these two roles, she served as co-founder of Huloul, a social impact startup based in Lebanon, where she was born and raised during the devastating 15 year civil war. The social venture was launched to fill the void of accurate journalism during the early days of the Arab Spring.
Solve at MI...2020-03-2240 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 22: Why The FinTech Sandbox Is A Critical Piece of The FinTech Startup Playbook, Part 2 of 2In this episode, the second of a multi-part miniseries on FinTech, I have an
illuminating discussion with two of the leading FinTech thought leaders, practitioners & connectors in the US today. Joining us are David Jegen, Managing Partner of F-Prime Capital and Sarah Biller, Managing Partner of VantageVentures. David is an active early stage investor in Fintech. Sarah, formerly Chief Innovation Officer at State Street, is a serial FinTech entrepreneur.
Both David and Sarah are also co-founders and board members of the FinTech Sandbox. The FinTech Sandbox is a Boston-based nonprofit that is the place for all things data. They started t...2020-03-1623 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 21: We Ask Some FinTech Thought Leaders, What’s Happening in FinTech Today? - Part 1 of 2In this episode, the first of a multi-part miniseries on FinTech, I have an
illuminating discussion with two of the leading FinTech thought leaders, practitioners & connectors in the US today. Joining us are David Jegen, Managing Partner of F-Prime Capital and Sarah Biller, Managing Partner of VantageVentures. David is an active early stage investor in Fintech. Sarah, formerly Chief Innovation officer at State Street, is a serial FinTech entrepreneur. Both David and Sarah are also co-founders and board members of the FinTech Sandbox. The Sandbox grew from an idea to a robust & engaged community of 4500+ FinTech professionals under their leadership.
V...2020-03-0635 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 20: A New Type of VC With Impact Has It’s Eye On Funding 1000 Women & Minority EntrepreneursIn this episode, we speak with Jarrid Tingle, Managing Partner of Harlem Capital Partners. For entrepreneurs raising money, the world of venture capital can feel insular and opaque. It’s as much or more about who you are and who you know than what you’re building. For founders from under-represented groups, the numbers tell the story. Simply stated, the startup industry has a diversity problem. Of the thousands of VC partners practicing today, only 18% are female, and of the VC-backed founders out there, only 9% are female. And when you look at the statistics by race, the picture gets even more...2020-02-2845 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 19: How The USAF Used Innovation Research Programs Like TechStars To Influence Unique Military Funding Approaches To Drive Profound DisruptionIn this episode, Mike has a compelling conversation about how Innovation Research Programs Like The New Small Business Grant Programs Are Transforming Military Funding Approaches & The Result Is Profound Disruption To How We Solve Problems.
Geopolitical tensions abound. Asia. The Middle East. Eastern Europe. Africa. For the US military, business as usual is no longer adequate. Dramatic improvements in agility, speed, costs, etc are vital based on today’s global realities. Programs like the US Airforce AFWERX program drive open collaboration across a global ecosystem to enable #innovation at...2020-02-191h 10Disruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 18: How Reebok Is Using Signals From Other Industries To Innovate & Transform It’s ProductsKaren Korellis Reuther, is VP Creative Design & Futures at Reebok . A woman pioneer in the male-dominated world of industrial design, she spent the formative years of her career working in the Boston high tech sector with early disrupters Digital Equipment Corp & Wang Labs, where she was the first woman to ever be awarded a design patent. After a successful stint as an entrepreneur consulting for clients including Blaupunkt, Braun, Miehle & other iconic European design-centric brands, she spent 12 years as Creative Designer at Nike, and after an interim career step, joined Reebok 19 months ago.
The Reebok brand has a history of i...2020-02-0144 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 17: Piaggio Fast Forward & The Future of Personal MobilityIn this episode, Mike interview’s the polymath Professor Jeffrey Schnapp. Jeffrey is a study in duality. An expert on the romance languages, medieval history AND the digital transformation of society, a long-time resident of both Milan, Italy AND Silicon Valley, an endowed Professor & Research Center Director at Harvard and formerly Stanford, AND a founder-entrepreneur, a former top level motorcycle racer AND a visionary on the future of transportation who extols the importance of walking to reclaim civic space - his fascinating multi-disciplinary career path led him to this moment, when endlessly congested cities & the Climate Crisis re...2020-01-251h 22Disruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 16: A Look At Co-Curricular Entrepreneur Education Through Berkeley’s SkyDeck & Babson’s eTowerIn this episode, part 3 of a 3 part “mini-series” on Entrepreneurship, we discuss two very effective & unique co-curricular entrepreneurial programs affiliated with major universities. The first is open to any UC Berkeley affiliate from current undergraduate and graduate students ( first priority) to faculty and alumni and to select international companies with high potential. The second program is open only to Babson College undergrads. The discussion focused on the Berkeley Skydeck Incubator is a conversation with Caroline Winnett the Executive Drirector and Hayoung Park, an entrepreneur who shares his story about in the Babson eTower. Join us for a very interesting conversation!2019-12-1442 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 15: The Current State Of Entrepreneurship Education At Top Global MBA ProgramsIn this episode, we continue the discuss we began in Episode 14, on Entrepreneurship. Except, we shift the conversation to a discussion about the state of entrepreneurship education at 27 top global MBA programs, based on a credible, recently available new data source that is available for the first time.
This data is combined with Mike’s own observations & experiences as an award winning Professor in the Practice of Entrepreneurship / Senior Lecturer for over 20 years in the US & Europe at schools as diverse as MIT, Rutgers, the Technical University of Denmark & Hult, & as a guest lecturer at Babson College, Boston College, ESADE(Ba...2019-12-0651 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 14: It Turns Out It’s The 40 Year Old Entrepreneurs That Are Building The Most Disruptive CompaniesIn the Episode, we discuss the connection between age and success and the misconception that it’s only the young 20 and 30 years old Entrepreneurs who are destined to build the most disruptive companies. In fact, a newly released definitive study, co-led by the MIT Sloan School Professor Pierre Azoulay, Northwestern Kellogg Business School Professor Benjamin Jones and US Census Bureau, Principal Economist Javier Miranda, makes it irrefutably clear- the most successful founders are middle age – ranging from 42 to 46 years old +.
While there are certainly notable exceptions, and Zuckerberg starting Facebook at age 24 is certainly one, the numbers bear out the fact...2019-11-2944 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 13: How Pace-Setters Like APF & Growth Markets Like India & China Are Forcing The Hand of Automakers Towards An Emissions Free FutureIf you’ve ever wondered about who is helping automaker’s reimagine the environment impact of their products, to focus on 100% EV luxury automobiles with zero tailpipe emissions, then this is the episode for you!
Join us for a fantastic episode, as we take a deep-dive into this topic with pioneer AutomobiliPininfarina Founder & CEO Michael Perschke. APF is the global pace-setter as the creator of the world’s first sustainable, 100% EV luxury automobile with zero tailpipe emissions!2019-11-2252 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 12: From Waffle Iron Soles To 100% Recycled Plastic VaporFly Shoes Nike Shows How Sustainable Innovation Is Possible & ProfitableIf you’ve ever worn the Max +1, the Pegasys, the Tailwind, and the lace-less Kukini, which is on display at the Smithsonian Museum, then you wore the inspirations of Sean McDowell. He’s an award winning designer, who served as Director of Design, Innovation & Sustainability at Nike and then most recently at Converse. At Converse, the recently released Converse Chuck Taylor Renee Canvas, made from 100% recycled P.E.T. bottles, shows us how the future of design can be much less environmentally impactful and still profitable.
In this episode we explore these ideas and the stories behind this iconic brand, and...2019-11-1647 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 11: Xerox Goes After HP, The “Grand-Daddy” of Silicon Valley & Shows Sustained Innovation Is Hard!In this episode of we talk about the historic news that Xerox is trying to acquire HP. This is remarkable on many levels, because HP, founded in 1939, is considered to be the “grand-daddy” of Silicon Valley. The HP garage, located in Palo Alto, considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley, is listed in the “National Register of Historic US Places Countless successful startups, also launched in garages from San Jose to San Francisco, were also created by entrepreneurs who worked at HP, including Apple.
Xerox, 3X smaller than HP in terms of market capitalization and with 5X less revenue in comparison to HP...2019-11-0944 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 10: Celebrating The Rise Of The Female Entrepreneur & The Incredible Ecosystems Supporting Their Explosive GrowthIn this episode of we focus exclusively on enabling boundless female entrepreneurship, along with the formation of female - friendly angel capital & venture capital funds. The progress in this domain has been extraordinary over the past few years and it deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated.
We start off highlighting female entrepreneurial role models, specifically the founders of Eventbrite, Rent the Runway, 23&Me, Stitch Fix & Glossier as beacons to a new generation of female founders, and female investing partners in VC Funds, including Forerunner Ventures, Cowboy Ventures and Backstage Capital.2019-10-1639 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 9: How “The Year Of The Unicorn” & Blockbuster IPOs Went “Poof”This episode is a reflection on what has transpired to date in the world of innovation & entrepreneurship in 2019 year-to-date. The year started off with great optimism. It was the “Year of the Unicorn” and a large number of blockbuster IPOs were eagerly anticipated. Many, including Uber, Lyft, & WeWork had some of the highest valuations of private tech companies in history.
However, most recently we’ve seen that has gone sideways for a number of these companies! Tune in to the discussion.2019-10-1235 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 8: How Data Science, ML & AI Are Making InsureTech RelevantIn this episode, we do a deep dive into a focused branch of FinTech, InsuranceTech. Our guest is Alex Shyr, who leads the Data Science & analytics team at disruptor, Next Insurance, based in Silicon Valley. There are now hundreds of InsureTech companies that have been funded, often by large insurance company incumbents, and they are disrupting every imaginable sector of the market. Join us for this interesting conversation.2019-10-0439 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 9: Bonus: MIT Event with Hurst Lin & Rebecca FanningMike recently organized and led the first of MIT's four "Innovation Series" events for this academic year, "Preparing For and Competing with the Tech Titans of China", in collaboration with the MIT Enterprise Forum. In this bonus episode, Mike share’s his 15 minute opening keynote talk, and conducts a 10 minute fireside chat with author and Forbes and MSNBC contributor Rebecca Fannin.2019-09-2930 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 7: HBS Online & Other MOOCs Are Changing How We LearnIn this episode, Mike and Nakiso speak with #PatrickMullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online. HBS Online, which offers non-degree certificate programs, is at the forefront of online learning and the “MOOC” movement that is now part of many of the world’s best educational institutions. Often talked about as EdTech, the disruption caused by programs like HBS online, also includes corporations like 2U, who in 2017 spent $103 million to purchase GetSmarter.com. What does this mean for the future of learning? Take a listen.2019-09-2447 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 6: AeroFarms Is Transforming Agriculture To Save Humanity Urban Vertical FarmingIn this episode, we invited David Rosenberg, Founder & CEO of AeroFarms, the leading US vertical farm, and a certified B Corporation to discuss what is happening in the world of sustainable agriculture. AeroFarms was named one of the world's most Innovative companies by FastCompany Magazine.2019-09-1941 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 5: Using Voice Recordings & Machine Learning To Predict IllnessIn this episode, we invited WinterLight Labs Co-Founder & CEO Liam Kaufman to join us to discuss what is happening in next generation Health Tech. We look at a new class of solutions known as “Digital Therapeutics” which are mobile apps being used by doctors to diagnose illnesses. We also discuss how #MachineLearning & statistical learning are being used in diagnosing and managing a wide range of chronic illnesses & diseases. WinterLight is using voice recording data to predict the onset of mental & cognitive illnesses.2019-09-1646 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 4: Bonus: We Are Living In A Software EconomyIn this Bonus episode, we hear from our featured guest: Lee Edwards, Partner with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Root Ventures talk about where his firm is investing in this Software Economy.2019-09-1610 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 4: What is Hard Tech or Deep Tech, and Why Are Companies Investing In It?In Episode 4, we build on discussions in previous episodes about massive sociable change caused by disruptive innovation, and Industry 4 technology enablers like AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Autonomous Vehicles, and VR. Featured Guest: Lee Edwards, Partner with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Root Ventures joined us for an extended discussion on “ Hard Technology”.2019-09-0935 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 3: Here Comes China! How China Is Betting The Farm On Disrupting Every Industry On The Planet.Nakiso and Mike do a deep dive on China. Chinese “entrepreneurs” are no longer copying leading US platforms, and instead are building dominant juggernauts that one day, if US companies are not paying attention, will become the leaders. Baidu (Google knock-off), Alibaba (Amazon knock-off), early Xiaomi (Apple iPhone knock-off), pay close attention. China has emerged into an innovation powerhouse over the past decade. Under President Xi, China has made clear their intention to become a technological powerhouse superior to the US. Many government policies have supported this.2019-08-3040 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 2: Bonus: Future Watching The Technologies Driving Disruption - AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, VR/AR.Mike & Nakiso discuss the unprecedented disruptive power of industry 4 technologies like AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, VR / AR and others, and their already significant effect on a multitude of industries from Financial Services, Insurance, Mobility and Transportation, Health Care, Food and Urban Farming to Gaming, Music, Movies and Professional Sports. In addition, we discuss how AI & ML are totally changing the game for sales, marketing and customer service and support professionals.2019-08-3041 minDisruptive Innovation Podcast (D.I.P.)Episode 1: What Is Disruptive Innovation & Who Is Getting It Right!In Episode 1, Nakiso and Mike set the context for their new podcast series on Disruptive Innovation. In today’s increasingly fast-paced digital economy, both the life-span of organizations and the average tenure of C-Suite executives has collapsed. Why? Simply because the majority of leadership teams are ill-prepared to keep their core businesses competitive while simultaneously redefining and reinventing their business models and offerings to remain relevant. There are a number of fundamental reasons, which are covered. Distinctions between invention, innovation and disruptive, societal changing innovations are drawn. The discussion centers on best practices in future-proofing your organization, regardless of industry, si...2019-08-2329 min