Why should intellectuals care about Manifestation? As Stanford professor Dr. Jim Doty shared on this episode of Founder Meditations, manifestation is not pseudoscience and goes beyond the claims made by The Secret and the Law of Attraction. Dr. James Doty is a neurosurgeon, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. He is a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford and the founder of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), of which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the...

Ryan Vaughn is a three-time startup founder turned executive coach at Inside Out Leadership. Ryan discusses the challenges tech people face in accessing spiritual concepts and introduces tools to understand the psychological development process. He shares his journey from aspiring basketball player to founder, his battles with addiction, and the profound identity crisis that led to his exploration of spirituality. Ryan talks about his meditative practices, the importance of...

Stephen Zerfas is the co-founder & CEO of Jhourney, a tech startup scaling life-changing meditation with a data-driven approach.  Jhourney's mission is fascinating. The company helps novices experience "Jhana", a life-changing meditative state akin to MDMA without the drug, in under a week.  Stephen shares his personal journey from a struggling moment in life to mastering Jhanas, and explains how his company aims to make these profound states accessible to millions. Learn about the...

Henry Shukman and Jack Shukman are the co-founders of The Way (thewayapp.com), a meditation app designed for those seeking a deeper meditation experience.Henry Shukman is an authorized Zen Master in the Sanbo Zen lineage. Jack Shukman is the co-founder and CEO of The Way. Together, they embarked on a unique journey to create an app that offers a much more in-depth meditation practice than what is currently available. What happens when a Zen Master starts a tech startup? That’s exactly what...

Evgeny Shadchnev is a founder coach and the founder & ex-CEO of Makers Academy. Evgeny is also the author of Startup CEO Succession: A Founder's Guide to Leadership Transition.  In this Founder Meditations episode, Evgeny shares his work coaching founders to end suffering in the context of a busy startup life. The discussion touches on Evgeny's failed Vipassana retreats, his wild story on psychedelics, and the role of mindfulness in personal well-being and professional development....

James Hu is the co-founder and CEO of Jobscan, a profitable, globally distributed startup. In this episode, James discusses the pressure of startup culture and how this led to a moment of reckoning about what truly matters in life. James’s turning point came with a one-year sabbatical from his own company (!) and a transformative 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, radically changing his approach to life, work, and leadership. James offers insights into the power of meditation, the...

Chandan Lodha is the co-founder of CoinTracker, a top YC company with a $1.3B valuation.  Chandan is a startup founder who exemplifies how incorporating mindfulness practices can lead to significant worldly success. In this episode of Founder Meditations, Chandan delves into his journey through a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, highlighting the pivotal role his mindfulness practice has played in scaling CoinTracker to its status as a unicorn company. (00:00) Introduction  (01:33)...

Michael Shuffett is the founder & CEO of Compose AI, an AI startup backed by Y Combinator, Sequoia, and Craft Ventures. In this episode of Founder Meditations, Michael shares his multifaceted journey from academia and martial arts to the entrepreneurial world, emphasizing how meditation, lucid dreaming, and spirituality profoundly influence his personal and professional life. *Alert* This can be a fairly esoteric episode, as Michael & Weiting, being scientifically minded tech...

Yura Riphyak is the founder of YouTeam and Heart. Yura is a Y Combinator alum and serial entrepreneur who has founded 4 companies since 2010.  In this episode of Founder Meditations, Weiting & Yura discussed the integration of mindful practices into their day-to-day operations and decision-making as founders, investigating how this shifts viewpoints on success, fulfillment, and how they approach challenges.  (00:00) Introduction(01:50) Yura's Entrepreneurial Journey(12:11) Competition...

This is the inaugural episode of Founder Meditations, featuring Weiting the host himself! The purpose of the podcast is to interview startup founders and explore the intersection between entrepreneurship, mindfulness, and spirituality. Weiting shares his own spiritual journey, including his experiences with meditation and the impact it has had on his life. Weiting is a startup founder and spiritual finder.  (00:04) Introduction(01:41) Weiting's Spiritual Journey(02:05) Ray Dalio got me...