Conductive Conversations

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai sits down with his father, John Lai, to explore a life story that spans from rural Taiwan in the 1940s to helping build some of America's most advanced aerospace technology. Most people today have never experienced a world without electricity, refrigerators, or indoor plumbing. John did. Born in 1943 during Japanese rule in Taiwan, John g...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai sits down with Ben Choi to unpack the reality behind venture capital and what LPs actually look for when backing funds. Most founders think VC fundraising is about pitching. It’s not. Ben shares a rare inside perspective from over 20 years across startups, venture capital, and now as a Limited Partner. From growing up as the son of Chines...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai brings together two leaders whose lives followed parallel paths long before they ever spoke about business. For Juan Jaysingh, tennis was not a side pursuit. Starting in India at age 10 and continuing after moving to the U.S. at 14, the sport became a decision-making framework. It earned him a full scholarship, shaped his years at America...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai sits down with Laura Huang, Distinguished Professor of Management and Organizational Development at Northeastern University and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of EDGE: Turning Adversity into Advantage and You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition . A leading thinker on bias, entrepreneurship, and intuition, Laura...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Carey Lai, co-founder and managing director of Conductive Ventures, speaks with Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author and former Silicon Valley dealmaker at Intel Capital. Abigail shares her unique journey from clerking at the DC Circuit Court to working at Intel on AI investments, and becoming a celebrated author and Hollywood filmmaker....

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Carey Lai, Founder & General Partner of Conductive Ventures, sits down with Joshua Lee, the comics-loving entrepreneur and former CEO of Ardius. Joshua opens up about his leap from a 14 year tax career at Ernst & Young to building and investing in startups, an inspiring path shaped by his single mom upbringing and experiences as an Asian America...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Carey Lai, founder and managing director of Conductive Ventures, speaks with Kevin Chou, the Founder and CEO of Kabam and a five-time entrepreneur. He shares about the struggles of fundraising and competing against Facebook, why venture capital wasn't for him, and how AI is transforming the world. Join us as Kevin candidly discusses his unique career jo...

In this episode, Carey Lai and Robin Chan from Conductive Ventures speak with Scott Kincaid, CFO of Zingtree. They dive deep into the evolving role of CFOs, the dynamic relationship between CEOs, CFOs and board members, and Scott's journey from Wall Street to the startup world. Discover the critical skills and experiences that shape a successful CFO and gain unique perspectives on corporate strate...

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Conductive Ventures founding member and managing director Paul Yeh speaks with Steven Hong, the co-founder and CEO of Oculii, about his fascinating story growing up an “accidental entrepreneur” from Ohio, building a company with his father and his “oh crap” moment before he sold Oculii to Ambarella for $400M. 00:00 Introduction to Conductive Conversatio...

Carey Lai is founding member and managing director of Conductive Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm he founded with Paul Yeh in 2017. In this episode, Carey discusses his path into venture capital and the challenges of starting his own firm, why he likes investing in capital efficient companies and unconventional founders and what's next for the firm, seven years in. Conductive Conversa...