Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Invites – Détails, épisodes et analyse

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this unique episode taking us to Latin America, Denise Silber interviews HBS alumna Christine Kenna,  Partner at a leading early-stage VC fund in Mexico,  in order to explore and amplify the often overlooked opportunities for venture capital investment in the region. Drawing from her experience as a former Silicon Valley executive, operational manager in LatAm, and board member, Christine Kenna shares insights on identifying innovative business models and supporting entrepreneurs in this emerging market.

Listeners will gain valuable takeaways on the region’s tech landscape, the importance of local partnerships, and the evolving role of women in venture capital. Christine Kenna also discusses her initiatives to empower women in VC, the necessary balance between personal values and profess

GUEST BIO:

Christine Kenna, an alumna of the Harvard Business School, is Partner at IGNIA, a leading venture capital fund investing in global technology companies reinventing the way to do business across Latin America. Christine, a trailblazer in the investor and entrepreneurial ecosystems, co-founded Mujeres Invirtiendo and MBA Mujeres de México to accelerate the careers of professional women in LatAm. With 15+ years of VC experience, she serves on IGNIA´s boards and is an independent Board Member of ALSEA and the Kauffman Fellows. Recognized as one of Latin America’s top female investors, Christine’s background includes leadership roles at Google, EF Education First, and EY Parthenon and The Guggenheim Foundation.  Christine did her undergraduate degree at Duke University and is a Kauffman Fellow.

IN THIS EPISODE:

This exciting episode features Jon Down,  HBS MBA, professor at the University of Portland and AI entrepreneur who founded two AI companies.  He is interviewed by host Denise Silber about the top AI business use cases supported by  emerging research, best practices for implementing AI and the key ethical considerations raised by business’s use of  AI. The conversation also covers how AI can improve productivity, how companies can navigate the challenges of AI adoption, why you might need to spend more time with AI, the need for responsible AI use, and the significance of ongoing education in AI.

GUEST BIO:

Jon Down, HBS MBA, is a recognized thought leader in the practical and ethical use of artificial intelligence. As a Professor at the University of Portland and founder of two AI-focused companies, he merges academic rigor with real-world application in his teaching, research, and in helping organizations implement the use of AI effectively and responsibly. He is acutely aware of AI’s potential risks and the imperative for widespread understanding of AI to mitigate these risks. With a PhD in Strategy from the University of Washington, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a BSME from Oregon State he takes a multidisciplinary approach to problems.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Jahn Karsybaev, a Managing Partner at Big Sky Capital, a VC for B2B enterprises in emerging markets. Together they discuss Jahn’s journey as an immigrant from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, his firm’s unique focus on emerging markets and how founders can best navigate the challenging funding environment.

In this installment, Jahn sheds light on what he looks for in founders and how the right venture capital firm, board and advisors can play a crucial role in accelerating growth. Jahn discusses the importance of a right product-market fit and go-to-market strategy, the value of networking and how entrepreneurs can best future-proof their operations to propel long-term success.

GUEST BIO:

Jahn Karsybaev is a Managing Partner at Big Sky Capital, an early-stage fund investing enterprise SaaS companies. He is a former Technology Executive for Fortune 100 companies and a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits. Jahn is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, University of Montana and NSU. He holds multiple Board positions at various companies like mgBasePay, Cerebra AI, HBS Alumni Angels, Tarlan Payments and many more. Jahn is also a founder and executive host on Ivy Podcast: Interviewing Top Global Executives. Jahn Is a published author and his most recent book “The PM Imperative: Guide for Leading and Managing Projects & Delivering Value” is on Top 50 Amazon's Global Business Books. He is originally from Kazakhstan and currently resides in South Florida with his wife and three children. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Jenny Woo, alumna of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founder/CEO of Mind Brain Emotion, a company that was born at the renowned Harvard Innovation Lab. Together they discuss how Jenny Woo designed and built her company to not only generate income but also, and amazingly so, to solve many of the pain points she identified in her own  life and in the business world.

How did Jenny Woo achieve what seems to be impossible? What does it mean for you? Incredible as it sounds, Jenny Woo created her business and evergreen product line, while completing her PhD.  By identifying a major 21st century market need, and through an astute use of Kickstarter, she was able to simultaneously raise the necessary cash and get all the  market feedback she needed to launch. 

And there’s much more to learn from this episode,  whether you are seeking to rethink your current venture or  to come up with a new one. This  episode will provide you with the inspiration and knowledge to build a profitable business that aligns with your values and, most importantly, allows you to thrive.Tune in and embark on a transformative journey towards a more fulfilling business and life.

GUEST BIO:

Dr. Jenny Woo, the Founder/CEO of Mind Brain Emotion , is an alumna of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is the creator of award-winning card games and mental health tools to help children and adults build emotional intelligence and social mastery. Her bestselling games, 52 Essential Conversations and 52 Essential Coping Skills for families, schools, and workplaces, have been featured by The Harvard Gazette, Business Insider, and Forbes. She is passionate about helping people realize their potential from classroom to boardroom. She has worked as a School Director, Cognitive Science Researcher, MBA Career Coach, Management Consultant, and HR professional in Talent & Succession Planning.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Vanessa Westphal, the co-founder of

Choosy. Together they talk about the trends in food consumption, sustainability and

biodiversity, and how artificial intelligence can help us make better decisions for our health

and that of the planet.

Consumers are paying more attention to what they eat. Although this isn’t a new trend, with

the food industry responsible for over 1/3 of CO2 emissions, consumers are more conscious

than ever of the environmental impact of what we eat. There is a shift towards consuming

more plant-based, organic and sustainable foods. Yet making good decisions can still be

complex, with opaque labeling and heavy industry marketing. Choosy is a novel solution, an

AI-powered app that learns from our personal tastes and nudges us to eat better and

sustainably.

GUEST BIO:

Vanessa  is an entrepreneur, innovator and thought leader. She studied electrical engineering and holds an MLA in Management with focus on Organizational Behavior from Harvard University. After nearly 10 years in the corporate environment, she has (co-)founded two companies and combines knowledge from the corporate & startup world. She has built an incubator, led an intrapreneurship program and coached founders.

As co-founder of the German Tech Startup Choosy, Vanessa aims to make healthy, planet-friendly eating enjoyable for everyone. Choosy leverages AI to help individuals improve eating habits and tackling two of the most significant topics of our time with tech: planetary & human health.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by David Kusin, Harvard MBA, a man whose passions for art and capital markets, led him to found Kusin & Company, the first ever established art economics firm. Together they discuss how his company is  bringing liquidity and transparency to the art market, by painstakingly collecting millions of data points on valuable art assets and building a 21st century trading platform.

The global art market is traditionally known for its opacity, innumeracy, and lack of data. And although they said it couldn’t be done, David undertook, over a decade,  with the help of connoisseurs and quants, to make possible the sorting of some of the most valuable works of art in the world.  These unique art-price observations led to the identification of 150 art submarkets, a revolution for the art market. Learn how he did this, what it means for the world of art, and how you might use this model to identify other untapped opportunities.

GUEST BIO:

David Kusin, Harvard MBA, former curator and investment banker, has devoted the past two decades to decoding the buying and selling of art. As David Kusin observes, “Stagnant since 2014 and barely profitable, the global sector of art as a financial asset can revive only with the adoption of IP and a newly envisioned definition of asset trading platforms that did not exist 20 years ago.” His business, the first art economics firm, Kusin & Company has developed unique datasets and competency that underpin his new book, Art as an Asset in the 21st Century. The centrality of art and the daily collaboration of art connoisseurs and mathematicians set his firm, and this book, apart.

IN THIS EPISODE:

 In this episode, our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Juan Betancourt, the CEO of Humantelligence, an HR enterprise software solution. They discuss how the pandemic has greatly affected how employees think and behave amidst a significant rise in employee dissatisfaction with work. The rise of work from home and hybrid work and an increased reliance on technology has provided many opportunities but it also poses new challenges. How can leaders encourage engagement and improve productivity in an increasingly diverse and virtual workforce?

 Humantelligence aims to bridge those gaps by using psychometric tools that sync to different organizational platforms. By acknowledging that there is no universal way of managing people and teams, Humantelligence helps team members gain a better understanding of their co-worker's personalities. This new technology is paving the way for leaders to drive inclusivity and productivity by knowing what motivates their people and how they prefer to engage with one another.

GUEST BIO:

Juan Betancourt is the CEO of Humantelligence, an HR enterprise software solution like Grammarly, but instead of writing tips, it surfaces tips for communicating and collaborating. This major innovation, impacting the way distributed knowledge workers collaborate, earned HRO Today's Top HR Tech for Collaboration and TalentCulture’s Top HR Tech for Employee Collaboration awards. Juan also founded Gonza Executive Search and served as a client partner for both Korn Ferry International and Heidrick & Struggles. He was an executive at Procter & Gamble, Decathlon, Siebel Systems, Reebok, and Puma. Recently named a Top 30 HR Tech Influencer, Juan is an expert in helping organizations build high-performing teams, while operationalizing inclusion & belonging. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Harvard Law School alumna Heidi Messer, a serial entrepreneur who successively co-founded Linkshare and Collective [i]™, and made successes of them despite the critics who said it could not be done. Together they discuss the benefit of using AI-powered software to significantly reduce the time that sales people devote to data entry and forecasting and not actually selling.

By re-allocating this valuable 70% of work-time previously spent on data entry and forecasting, Heidi’s technology allows businesses and sales people to focus on revenue generation and automate tedious tasks. Tune in to hear why AI isn’t going to take people’s jobs… but companies who work with AI will replace those who don’t.

GUEST BIO:

Heidi Messer is the co-Founder and Chairperson of Collective[i]™.  Prior to Collective[i], Ms. Messer co-founded and served as President of LinkShare, host to one of the world’s largest online affiliate networks until its sale to Rakuten for USD $425m. She received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. 

Collective[i] uses AI to help businesses forecast, manage, and grow revenue. By leveraging data, human talent, and social connections, Collective[i] empowers sales and other revenue-generating functions, to optimize their activities and processes, driving global prosperity for companies and sales professionals alike.

IN THIS EPISODE:

There has been an increasing level of attention paid to the negative environmental impact of the fashion industry. And as consumers increasingly seek out brands that are environmentally conscious, change is in the making. In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Stephanie Sarka CEO & Co-Founder of 1 Atelier. Together they talk about these trends and how her innovative handbag company is addressing this increasing opportunity- and delighting customers.

1Atelier’s is out to build a stronger connection with their market by extending the joy of creation. Their customers are able to design a one of a kind bag made from sustainable materials and methods. With the fight against global warming, consumers are now more conscious of how products are made and how they can decrease their carbon footprint. It's no wonder that business models and value chains are evolving to meet these demands. Tune in to hear from this retail expert and entrepreneur on the pathway to making your venture more sustainable — and how to attract customers while you do it!

GUEST BIO:

Stephanie Sarka is the Co-Founder & CEO of 1 Atelier, where they are leveraging technology to reinvent luxury.Graduating from Stanford, Stephanie started in M&A at Goldman Sachs. Realizing that she is a builder, not a banker, she spent a year running marketing for IFF in Paris before getting her MBA at HBS. She then worked at Coach for 7 years as Handbag Product Manager and GM of Mark Cross, the American luxury goods brand. Stephanie co-founded GoTo.com in 1998, where they invented the “Paid Search” business model. They took the company public in 1999 and grew it to ~$1 billion in revenue before selling it to Yahoo for $1.6 billion in 2003.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Denise Silber is joined by Françoise Bouyer, a Harvard Business School Amp alumna,  a self-described gender-free entrepreneur, with expertise in the luxury industry and in HR. Together they discuss how gender inclusivity and understanding in the workplace has become crucial for the entrepreneur interested in  building a richer sense of self, engaging a more fulfilled and successful team, and  producing relevant goods and services for the customer of today

As CEO of BeThe1, an international consulting firm in human relations and recruitment of middle and senior managers, Françoise is an expert on all things diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity in the workplace. Françoise reminds us  that the binary gender identity is a cultural convention, that  sexual orientation and gender are distinct, and that a gender savvy leader will foster a richer company culture and brand following. With new generations becoming more engaged in the societal evolution regarding gender, value-driven, inclusive companies are being rewarded with more loyal customers. Tune in to find out how your business can join the global shift towards creating a more inclusive workplace and innovative products and services.

GUEST BIO:

Françoise Bouyer is CEO of BeThe1, an international consulting firm in human relations and recruitment of middle and senior managers. She has two complementary expertise: extensive managerial experience in the fashion, luxury, beauty and retail industries with brands including Celine, Christian Lacroix, Nina Ricci, and  as an HR consultant in recruitment, gender and gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion. Freed from the binary feminine/masculine norm of gender identity, Françoise is engaged with the public and organizations to share her understanding of what gender is, and advocate for a more open and inclusive culture, attitude and behavior towards gender.”  HBS AMP 156 (’99), Françoise Bouyer leads the HBS Club of France Career Commission, supporting HBS alumni with career advice.