Forward Thinking Founders – Details, episodes & analysis

In this conversation, Mat Sherman interviews Simp4Satoshi of Truffle. Topics covered include:

• Discussion of Truffle, a device for local inference tied to humanoid robotics and personal intelligence.
• Insights from a unique upbringing in the Middle East and its impact on a technology journey.
• Future of AI agents surpassing human economies and using cryptocurrency primarily.
• Criticism of Sam Altman and OpenAI, calling him the “Antichrist” of Silicon Valley.
• Critique of Y Combinator and the tech industry’s meritocracy, highlighting self-dealing.
• Emphasis on the need for a catalyst to disrupt the current landscape and foster true innovation.

In this conversation, Mat Sherman and Vidy Thatte discuss the journey of building various products, the challenges faced in startups, and the impact of AI on creativity and storytelling. Vidy shares insights on his experiences with different projects, the evolution of his ideas, and the importance of learning to code in the age of AI. They also explore the future of AI in creative industries and the potential shift in how we perceive characters in storytelling.

Peter Costa is the cofounder of Baltu. Their mission is to empower workers in the modern economy by upskilling the worker, and accelerate the development of a skilled workforce.

Katelyn's Bio

Katelyn is an investor and entrepreneur. Katelyn is the founder and Managing Director of Avalanche VC, an early-stage venture firm investing early in companies enabling decentralization and empowerment, focusing on how people earn, learn, and own.  

She is also a founder and board member of Delivery Associates, the leading public sector advisory firm implementing technology and large-scale reform worldwide. 

Constantly curious, she has invested in and advised funds, companies, and entrepreneurs who are building companies behind trends that are obviously the future. She has lived and worked globally, including in London, San Francisco, Lagos, and Lahore. Katelyn grew up in Minneapolis and now can frequently be found in New York City and Seattle.

Previously, she co-founded and served as the Managing Director of Pearson Ventures (prior PALF), a $65M venture fund that invests in global EdTech companies. At Pearson, Katelyn served on the board of SPARK schools, APEC schools, Avanti, HarukaEDU, and Omega Schools. She also co-founded the Global Schools Forum, a trade organization for private schools in emerging markets. Katelyn also led the strategy and implementation of Pearson’s global efficacy agenda and was on the founding team of the FT125 Club, a division of the Financial Times. 

Katelyn is a member of Duke University's Learning Innovation Advisory Council, helping Duke imagine the future of learning both on-campus and online.

Katelyn started as a consultant at McKinsey in San Francisco, serving technology companies and large financial institutions. She worked on credit market sustainability with the World Economic Forum and presented at the Annual Meeting in Davos in 2011.

Amy Cheetham is a partner at Costanoa Ventures.

Amy's Bio
Before joining Costanoa, I ran North American sales strategy and operations at Zuora, a public enterprise software company. Prior to that, I spent three years investing in growth stage technology companies at Summit Partners, where my investments included Podium, InfoArmor (acq. AllState), and onXmaps. I began my career on Wall Street, working at JP Morgan where I spent time as a technology investment banker and as a cash equities trader focused on biotechnology and financial services.

David Paul is the CEO and a founding member of DWP Capital. For more than seven years, Mr. Paul has been actively engaged in growth equity and venture capital investing, primarily in software and tech-enabled services.

In 2016, he joined Canal Partners (2016-2020), a multi-family office specializing in growth capital opportunities, after working at seed-stage venture fund Tallwave Capital as an Associate (2015-2016). During his five-year tenure at Canal Partners, he was jointly responsible for software investing. In addition, he was one of two lead partners for seven investments, serving on the board of directors of 6 companies. Mr. Paul left Canal Partners in 2020 to focus his time on his other investment interests, including DWP Capital.

David started DWP Capital in January of 2021. This investment vehicle focuses on investing in Seed and early Series A stage companies technology companies.

David received his B.A. from Springfield College in 2009 (Cum Laude) and his MBA from Northeastern University in 2013. He is a Trustee of the Linda Tuero Foundation and a Board Member of Social Venture Partners Phoenix. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Stacy.

 Amy Ouzoonian is the cofounder of MoodConnect. MoodConnect's vision is to create healthy, enjoyable work environments where employees and businesses can grow as a team, together.

Chris Bakke is the founder of Laskie. Laskie runs the job search for you. Apply once and get matched with jobs that meet your requirements at companies that want to interview you.

Graham & Walker were two unstoppable leaders that made history, and with us, exponentially more will do the same. In 1963, Katharine Graham was the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And sixty years before, Madam C.J. Walker went from founder to the first-ever self-made female millionaire. Like our inspirations taught us: underrepresented doesn’t mean unworthy. It just means underestimated. Learn more here --> https://grahamwalker.com/

Leslie Omaña Begert is the cofounder of FabuLingua. FabuLingua is a language learning app for kids that combines the latest advancements in language acquisition sciences to teach your child Spanish or other languages (coming soon!) in a way that is fun, interactive, captivating and inspirational.