Summation with Auren Hoffman – Details, episodes & analysis

Eric Ries created the Lean Startup methodology and authored the bestselling book of the same name, which has sold over a million copies. He's also the founder and executive chairman of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, the co-founder of Answer AI (an AI R&D lab), and the author of the upcoming book Incorruptible, releasing May 26th.

In this episode of Summation, Eric and Auren discuss:

• why "bad governance" companies have outperformed "good governance" since 2008
• financial gravity - the invisible force that bends companies away from their mission
• the foundation-controlled blueprint behind Novo Nordisk, IKEA, and Zeiss
• why vibe coding is headed for its Chernobyl moment

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Eric Ries on X at @ericries

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg became Germany's youngest Minister of Defense in history, and previously served as Minister of Economics and Technology. He is the chairman and founder of Spitzberg Partners, an investment and advisory firm, a bestselling author, and co-founder of Open Minds Media, where he produces films and podcasts. He co-hosts one of Germany's most popular podcasts.

In this episode of Summation, KT and Auren discuss:

• Why Germany's defense spending hovered at 1% of GDP for decades and what finally forced a change
• The nuclear exit decision that was driven by a single state election and backfired spectacularly
• How Rheinmetall surpassed Volkswagen in market cap and what it signals about Europe's industrial reorientation
• Why Germany's total stock market cap is less than a single US company like Nvidia

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Linkedin. 

World of DaaS is now Summation with Auren Hoffman. While we’re proud of our roots in the data world, our conversations have evolved. Summation better reflects our obsession with finding the non-obvious ideas that shape our world.

What’s changing? Just the name. You’ll still get the same insights from the world’s most influential founders, investors, and thinkers. 

If you’re already a subscriber, you’re all set. If you’re new here, welcome. Hit subscribe and join us! Our first episode as Summation drops this Wednesday.

Thanks for the support, and welcome to the next chapter. 

Auren is CEO of NQB8, GP at Flex Capital, Chairman of Dialog; former CEO of SafeGraph and LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP).

Michael Walrath is the chairman and CEO of Yext, a publicly traded digital presence platform. Prior to Yext, Michael cofounded Right Media, the first at-scale digital ad exchange, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2007. 

In this episode, Michael and Auren discuss: 

• Software vendor consolidation
• Changing attitudes around growth vs profitability 
• New dynamics of VC funding
• Running board meetings as a CEO

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Michael Walrath on LinkedIn.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Bjorn Lomborg is the president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and has authored several bestselling books including "The Skeptical Environmentalist", "False Alarm" and recently “Best Things First.”    

In this episode of World of DaaS, Bjorn and Auren discuss:

• The most efficient policies to save lives
• Evaluating charitable ROI 
• The real costs of climate change mitigation
• Sweden vs Denmark

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Bjorn Lomborg on X at @BjornLomborg.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Alex Wirth is the cofounder and CEO of Quorum, a public affairs software platform. 

In this episode of World of DaaS, Alex and Auren discuss: 

• How AI is affecting lawmaking 
• The evolution of modern lobbying
• Predicting policy outcomes statistically 
• Building govtech companies

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Alex Wirth on X at @amaliowirth.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Bryan is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He’s also the author of a number of bestselling books, including The Case Against Education, The Myth of the Rational Voter, and recently Build Baby Build.    

In this episode of World of DaaS, Bryan and Auren discuss: 

• Education signaling and ROI
• The myth of involved parenting
• Immigration & diaspora theory
• Social science data access

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Bryan Caplan on X at @bryan_caplan.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Oleg Rogynskyy is the founder and CEO of People.ai, an ai-powered revenue intelligence platform. He’s also an advisor to the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

In this episode of World of DaaS, Oleg and Auren discuss: 

• How AI will transform the sales process
• Sales automation and APIs
• Maximizing data value and differentiation
• Geopolitical implications of the Ukraine war

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Oleg on X at @OlegR.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Alex Tabarrok is a professor of economics at George Mason University and the co-author of Marginal Revolution, one of the most popular and long-running blogs on the internet.    

In this episode of World of DaaS, Alex and Auren discuss: 

• The decline of American dynamism
• Challenges to innovation
• Crime and bail reform
• Preparing for the next pandemic

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Alex Tabarrok on X at @ATabarrok.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Or Lenchner is the CEO of Bright Data, a leading web data collection company.  

In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Or discuss:

• Web data freedom and ethics
• Bright Data's legal battle with Meta 
• Data pricing strategies
• The Israeli tech scene 

Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.  

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Or Lenchner on X at @orlench.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)