Perception Paradox with Zivile (Zivi) Ein

At tech conferences, everyone loves AI. Outside them, many people fear it. So who’s telling the truth? In this episode of Perception Paradox, I sit down with two veteran tech journalists and longtime friends: Ron Miller, founder and editor of FastForward and a former TechCrunch enterprise reporter, and Rob Pegoraro, who covers tech for Fast Company and PCMag and wrote the Washington Post’s consume...

Meet Axel Löwenhoff and Allan Zimmermann, co-founders of KineDB, the company building database infrastructure designed to work wherever software runs. Just days after announcing their €850K pre-seed round led by Superhero Capital, they join Founders Corner. In this episode, they share how they met through Antler, why they chose to tackle one of the harder problems in software engineering, and how...

AI lets teams ship new features every day. But does anyone actually know what they're selling? Ola Piętka is the Founder & CEO of Specsight, a product observability platform for teams building with AI. Specsight reads a company's code and turns it into a living map of features and scenarios, so sales, support and business teams always know what the product does today. Ola joins Zivile...

What if the best connections in business weren't left to chance? Zach Butler, EMEA General Manager at HumanX, joins Zivile to explore engineered serendipity, the power of in-person events, and how to create experiences where the right people, ideas and opportunities meet. With nearly 15 years of experience launching and scaling technology events around the world, Zach shares the thinking behin...

What happens when intelligence becomes abundant — but judgment remains scarce? After three days hosting the Prism Stage at HumanX in Amsterdam, I started noticing a story connecting conversations about AI agents, enterprise adoption, creative work, cybersecurity and European technological sovereignty. The biggest takeaway? Intelligence is cheap. Judgment isn’t. In this solo episode of Perception P...

What happens when technology makes warfare, sabotage and disinformation cheaper, faster and easier to scale? For this special Perception Paradox collaboration, recorded in partnership with Bits & Pretzels, Gabrielė Poteliūnaitė — host of Red Room Conversations — steps in as co-host to speak with investigative journalist and documentary maker Greta Buschhaus. Greta has reported on climate, AI,...

This week Zivile sits down with Uku, co-founder of bilt.me, the Estonian startup that just raised a €615K pre-seed round led by Superhero Capital. bilt.me helps anyone turn an idea into a live mobile app, publish it to the App Store and Google Play, and get it in front of users.  Uku covers how a failed menopause app led to the product, why they bet on mobile over web, how a team with an average a...

How does a professional MC prepare for a live event? In episode 154 of Perception Paradox, host Zivile goes behind the scenes of event hosting ahead of Humanix AI in Amsterdam, where she hosts the main stage with a teleprompter. You'll learn her step-by-step MC preparation process: how to research speakers, write transitions, rehearse a Plan B, visualize your performance, and read the room. Sh...

After a major pivot, Teemu went from building a standalone customer success tool to creating AI agents that bring product-led growth directly into the developer environment. Teemu Kinos shares what they learned about pivoting fast, building with an experienced founding team, finding product-market fit, and staying ahead in an AI market that changes every six months. In partnership with Superhero C...

What if the next leap in computing isn’t about building bigger chips, but rethinking how CPUs work? Timo Valtonen, CEO & co-founder of Flow Computing, is tackling one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern computing — CPU performance. We talk about deep tech, semiconductors, building technology that takes years to mature, and what it takes to turn a radically different idea into a company. In pa...

Why does renting a car still feel like 2005? In Portfolio Spotlight #151, I’m joined by Darius Verseckas, Chief Growth Officer at Sigvi , the latest addition to the Superhero Capital portfolio. We talk about why car rental has been slower to digitise, how Sigvi is building an AI-powered infrastructure layer for independent rental companies, why Poland is the first expansion market, and how a child...

What begins as evenings and weekends can become something much bigger. Guideless co-founder and CEO Evaldas Bieliūnas shares how he and his best friend of 18 years, Dovydas Remeika, turned a shared frustration with outdated software training into a platform already used by 3,000+ people across 15 markets. We discuss finding their first customers, building trust between co-founders, choosing the ve...

In this episode of Perception Paradox , created in partnership with Superhero Capital , I speak with the team behind Zenniz , a sports tech company bringing data, intelligence, and real-time insights to racquet sports. We talk with Zenniz co-founder Eero Kuusi about smart courts, product validation, partnerships, and what it takes to build technology that works in real sporting environments — incl...

In this episode of Perception Paradox , created in partnership with Superhero Capital , I sit down with Markku Vuorinen, co-founder and CEO of Homie . We talk about why cold outreach is broken, why warm introductions still work, and how Homie is building a systematic way for B2B teams to use trust as a growth channel. Markku also shares what early PMF signals look like, how he thinks about buildin...

Natalini became CEO of a global nonprofit before 30. She found herself in Davos with Tony Blair, surrounded by heads of state, celebrities and some of the world’s most influential people. From the outside, she had made it. But her body was telling her something completely different. In this deeply personal episode of Perception Paradox , Natalini shares what happened when she began questioning a l...

Naomie Amzallag Halioua spent years training to become a technical specialist - then watched AI make that specialization nearly worthless overnight. As co-founder and CEO of Cleo Labs, she's building an AI-powered product compliance company in a world where technical skill alone is no longer a moat. In this episode, she explains why she believes generalists - not specialists - will win the nex...

Opportunities often look like luck from the outside. But usually, there is intention, preparation and a lot of invisible work behind them. Anne-Maria Salmela shares how she built communities across continents, approached relationships through value, and deliberately positioned herself for the opportunities she wanted - including joining Resolve AI in San Francisco. How can you expand your surface...

How do you build a life where opportunities keep finding you? In this episode of Perception Paradox , Zivile sit down with Anne Maria Salmela - former Finnish Math Olympian, competitive dancer, community builder, venture investor, and now part of Resolve AI , one of Silicon Valley's fastest-growing AI companies. But this conversation isn't just about AI. It's about designing a life wit...

Most founders obsess over the pitch deck. Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz — venture capitalist who has seen 15,000 startups — says the real filter is something most people overlook entirely. In this clip he breaks down the three non-negotiables he looks for in every founder: ambition, integrity, and groundedness. And why in the age of AI, soft skills are the only thing that truly can't be replaced. W...

Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz has lived five careers in one lifetime. Born in Chile, raised in Thailand, 36 years in Paris, now Madrid. He's been a management consultant, a serial entrepreneur, a venture capitalist who screened 15,000 startups and backed 50, a broadcaster with hundreds of episodes, and today the CEO of a European AI company he believes is genuinely worth fighting for. In this episo...

But what if uncertainty isn't the problem? In this Paradox Byte, innovation strategist and technology leader Bas Wouterse shares why embracing uncertainty has shaped both his career and his life - and why the things we fear often become less intimidating once we understand them. Would you rather have certainty - or possibility? Full conversation with Bas is available on Perception Paradox podc...

What if success isn't about becoming a unicorn - but simply making the world a little better? In this episode of Perception Paradox , Zivile sit down with Bas Wouterse - technology leader, innovation strategist, magician, and one of the most thoughtful people she met through the startup ecosystem. Over the past two decades, Bas has built technologies that save lives - from augmented reality sy...

Can you ever truly observe a culture without changing it? In this Paradox Byte, anthropologist, entrepreneur, and author Valerie Won Lee shares the story of spending a month living with a remote Pacific Island community - and the unexpected lesson that completely changed the way she thinks about people, leadership, and human behavior. What began as a journey to understand another culture became a...

Most of us think we're observing reality. In reality, we're observing our own assumptions. In this episode of Perception Paradox , Zivile sit down with Valerie Won Lee to explore why observation may be one of the most valuable skills for founders, leaders, and anyone trying to navigate an increasingly complex world. Growing up across cultures and studying human behavior, Valerie shares how...

Is the food industry underestimating the GLP-1 shift? In this Paradox Byte from The GLP-1 Food Shock , recorded live at TUTTOFOOD 2026 in Milan, Johan Jorgensen, Giancarlo Addario, and Matteo Wagner explore how GLP-1 drugs could affect much more than weight loss. From appetite and cravings to restaurant portions, food startups, wellness products, supplements, supply chains, and investment decision...