A Seat at the Table – Details, episodes & analysis

Jaiya is the cofounder of Tydra Labs, which is making the textile industry more sustainable by creating organic stretchy fibers as an alternative to petrol-containing Spandex.

In this episode, Jaiya talks about her journey to founding Tydra Labs, and how she’s scaling it - including conducting customer interviews and crushing pitch competitions. 

We also discuss why petrol-containing Spandex poses such a big problem, and the impacts of fast fashion.

Jaiya also shares insights from her trip to Kenya as part of UBC’s Sauder School of Business, where she taught entrepreneurship in Nairobi.

Where to find Jaiya:

LinkedIn
Tydra Labs
Eco Odyssey Challenge

Thaleia Dimitra Doudali is an assistant research professor at the IMDEA Software Institute, where she researches computers and machine learning, focusing on resource management. She is also an executive member of Greek Women in STEM, where she’s helping create inclusion in academia.
Thaleia’s notable distinctions include winning the Cesar Nombela grant and the Juan de la Cierva fellowship and being invited to attend the Rising Starts in EECS workshop.
In this episode, Thaleia shares her journey in electrical engineering and computer science and walks us through her pioneering research on leveraging AI to maximize the efficiency and sustainability of computer systems.
Thaleia also talks about the importance of mentorship and fostering intentional relationships while discussing how her educational journey in different continents and involvement in Greek women in STEM led her to that realization.

Links:
Personal Website
LinkedIn
Greek Women in STEM - Website

In our 10th episode, we spoke with Miranda Nover, a cell product developer at Tesla. What this means is that she’s working on product development on the 4680 cells, which are the ones that are in the Tesla EVs!

Previously, Miranda studied Mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, and was a research assistant working on generative AI.

In this episode, we discussed first principles thinking: why it's important and how to do it. We also talked about Miranda's experience at Tesla, and what makes it such an innovative company. And finally, we dove quite deep into the battery tech that powers it all. We covered different chemistries, the tab-less design, dry cell manufacturing, and different form factors.

Where to find Miranda:

LinkedIn

For the 9th episode of A Seat at the Table, we spoke with Mia Rath, the CTO and cofounder of Lumindt, an energy storage startup based in the heart of San Francisco. They are currently in their Seed stage, and they’re using hydrogen to help balance out the intermittency of renewables to empower the clean energy transition.

In this conversation, we dove into the technicalities behind hydrogen as an energy storage medium, as well as what Lumindt is doing differently. We also discussed the process of taking an idea from paper to reality, and what it’s like to be right in the heart of the startup world. We touched briefly on how to find your cofounder, and it was amazing to hear Mia share many stories from their journey so far! 🚀

Where to find Mia:

LinkedIn

Lumindt

In this episode, we sat down with Kristina Arriaga, a human rights advocator particularly interested in free speech, freedom of religion or belief, and international human rights for girls and women.

The U.S. Congress appointed her to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2016, and during her 3-year tenure, she met with high ranking government officials to advocate for human rights in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, and many other countries.

Kristina is on the board of trustees on the Oversight Board at Meta, and this will be the first time she’s spoken about her work there publicly!

In this conversation, we talk about various mindsets that have helped Kristina, as well as her work on the Oversight Board, and discuss what it means to have ethical artificial intelligence.

Join us as we sit down with Danielle Strachman, a VC and founder! Danielle is on the founding team of the Thiel Fellowship, which is a two-year program that gives one hundred thousand dollar grants to young people wanting to skip or stop school to build new things.

She is also the co-founder of the 1517 fund, a venture capitalist firm that backs dropouts, renegade students & sci-fi scientists at the earliest stages of their companies. They’ve funded companies like Loom, Luminar, and Lambda. And if that wasn’t enough, Danielle has also founded Innovations Academy, which is an innovative school based in San Diego.

In this episode we discuss Danielle’s journey into the VC world as well as her experience working with both the 1517 fund and the Thiel Fellowship. Danielle shares stories of young founders, as well as actionable advice, in her easy-going, engaging way.

Useful links:

- 1517 fund - ⁠Paper belt on fire

Join us as we talk to Chandhana, a TKS alumnus who has explored a variety of fields ranging from bioplastics to BCIs. Chandhana is currently working on scaling her bioplastic (that costs less than one dollar!) but is also following her curiosity through university.

Chandhana sheds light on how to decide what projects to work on, and the benefits of trying different things. She explains how the point of projects is to litmus test - if you aren’t learning and you aren’t enjoying it, maybe it’s time to move on. She also talks about the importance of working on things you are genuinely curious about and following what excites you.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the done > perfect mindset. Chandhana completely embodies this mindset, and she shares some specific advice for people on how to develop it. From creating artificial deadlines to the concept that it is never too late to start, this conversation will inspire you to just start. Just start on that project you’ve had in mind for a while. Publish that article, ask that person for a warm intro. Just do it.

Where to find Chandhana:

LinkedIn: Chandhana Sathishkumar | LinkedIn

Personal Website: chandhanas.com

Noel is a Las Vegas based intrapreneur who worked at Zappos, and scaled a company they acquired, 6pm.com, to 1 billion dollars in revenue per year. Crazy, right?! She is also a past TKS director (just keeps getting better 🤩). Noel is now working on a software company called CodingScape.

In this episode we discuss scaling, building brands by creating emotion, being an intrapreneur, and being ok with breaking things. Noel shares tons of actionable advice that goes right to the root of what being an intrapreneur and scaling means. She also explains who should be an intrapreneur. Finally, we talk about “paths,” and intentionality of choosing where you are going.

Where to find Noel:
LinkedIn: Noel (Cusimano) Hurst | LinkedIn
Slack: @Noel Hurst

Helen is the head of school at Holy Trinity School (HTS), which is a K-12 independent school based in the Toronto area. As the head of school, Helen is focused on creating innovation in the school system, transforming it from the industrialized system that we see into a place that will empower young people to tackle the problems in our future world.

In this episode, we talk about Helen’s view on education, as well as what should be changed - the “ideal day.” One of our favourite things about Helen is how in touch she is with the students: her vision for the future of education is centered around what would be best for the learners themselves.

Where to find Helen:

HTS: Home - Holy Trinity School (HTS)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-pereira-raso-a5814918

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hts_headofschool?igshid=NzZhOTFlYzFmZQ==

Dr. Shini is a podcaster, youtuber, author, tedX speaker, and much more. She is sharing her knowledge and passion in STEM through various forms of media to make it accessible to others. Previously, she worked in Computational Fluid Dynamics during her doctorate in mechanical engineering.

All her life, she has been working towards becoming an engineer, overcoming challenges such as stereotypes, mathematics, and external pressures.

In this episode we discuss Shini’s journey of seeking her authentic self, and pursing the path that felt “right” to her. We discuss work life balance and working smart, as well as strategies Shini has found to have helped her, including meditation. We also discuss Shini’s method for communicating clearly, and how to make knowledge accessible for everyone. This episode is filled with mindsets and insights that are sure to resonate with anyone trying to become more authentic to themselves.

Where to find Dr. Shini:

Crash Course Physics: Crash Course Physics Preview - YouTube

Latest Book: Engineers Making a Difference: 9781804660270: Books - Amazon.ca || Engineers Making a Difference (engineers-making-a-difference.com)

Personal Website: Dr. Shini Somara - Home (drshinisomara.com)