Mike 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...

In 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...

In 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...

In 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...

In 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...

Karen 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...

In 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...

In 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...

In 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 &...

In 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...

If 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!

If 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...

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,...

In 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...

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...

In 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.

Mike 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.

In 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...

In 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.

In 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...

In 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.

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”.

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...

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...