Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Invites

IN THIS EPISODE: Philip Guarino speaks with Paris-based executive coach Jon Passaro about the hidden pressures leaders face in high-performance environments. They explore how self-awareness, reflection, and coaching help professionals navigate uncertainty, improve decision-making, and sustain growth over time. GUEST BIO: Jon Passaro is a Paris-based executive and team coach working with emerging a...

IN THIS EPISODE: Every organization begins by serving customers. Not all of them get it right — or keep it that way. So where does the customer  relationship break down? In this episode, Denise Silber speaks with HBS MBA Caroline Evans de Gantes, a transformation leader who has spent more than two decades helping companies design strategy, culture, and operations around customer love as an organiz...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, Denise Silber HBS MBA welcomes Professor Daniel Elfenbein,  a triple Harvard alumnus and entrepreneurship researcher at Olin Business School. Together, they explore the delicate balance entrepreneurs must strike between confidence and overconfidence, commitment and detachment, and the hard truth of knowing when to pivot—or when to quit. Dan shares insights drawn f...

Meet Our Co-host: Philip Guarino An interim executive and growth consultant to technology firms, Philip Guarino has over 25 years of experience as an executive and entrepreneur, having worked in over 50 countries and traveled to more than 120.  Philip is the Chair of HarvardAE's Paris Chapter. Fluent in five languages, he is a graduate of Harvard College and holds an MBA from the Wharton School of...

Meet Our Co-host: Denise Silber Denise Silber, a digital health pioneer and opinion leader, is the founder of Basil Strategies consultancy, of Doctors 2.0 & You conferences, and a new venture in Virtual Reality, VRforHealth. A multi-cultural American in Paris, Denise's contributions to the development of digital health globally led her to receive France's highest civil award, the Legion of Honor....

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of the HAE Podcast, host Philip Guarino sits down with James Sutherland, Founder & CEO of Autonomo Technologies, to discuss the rise of autonomous retail, the convergence of AI and consumer behavior, and how automation is reshaping global retail economics—from labor shortages to dynamic pricing and customer experience. GUEST BIO: James Sutherland is Founder & CEO o...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host Denise Silber sits down with Shannon Lundgren — HBS MBA, entrepreneur, and founder of Shannon's Circle — to explore what it means to build a business in one of the most personal industries: love. Shannon's path didn't follow the usual arc. After the Business School and a pivotal chapter working directly for Warren Buffett — where what impressed her most w...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Denise Silber sits down with Michaela Horvathova, co-founder of Beyond Education and alumna of Harvard's Graduate School of Education, to explore how building an innovative company demands more than a great product — it requires becoming a thought leader.  Michaela's journey is as global as it is inspiring. Despite not fitting into the traditional school syst...

IN THIS EPISODE: Scaling a startup brings exciting opportunities—but also the challenge of increased complexity, slower decision-making, and the creeping risk of bureaucracy. In this episode, Artus de Longuemar joins host Philip Guarino to reveal how founders can delegate with confidence, maintain agility, and empower teams without losing control. They explore the psychological barriers to delegat...

IN THIS EPISODE: In a change of pace, host Denise Silber delves into her professional field, digital health, as she  invites fellow Harvard alumna Dr. Ariel Dora Stern. Together they  explore Dr. Stern's extensive and unique, research-based findings on what drives successful business models in healthtech. Dr. Stern combines her Harvard PhD, insights from her decade on the HBS faculty, and her pres...

IN THIS EPISODE: Host Denise Silber sits down with Harvard alumna Dr. Merritt Moore, who is a quantum physicist, ballet dancer, educator and entrepreneur all at once! They explore her unique multi-disciplinary journey at the intersection of dance and robotics. Dr Moore reveals the challenges and triumphs of merging her two passions, and how her work offers deeper insights into human-machine intera...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of the Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs podcast, host Philip Guarino speaks with Bede Moore, an HBS alumnus and the Chief Commercial Officer at Antler, a global leader in pre-seed venture investment. Moore shares his entrepreneurial journey, from his successful e-commerce venture to his current role at Antler, where he leads a team operating in 27 cities worldwide. The...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this unique episode taking us to Latin America, Denise Silber interviews HBS alumna Christine Kenna,  Partner at a leading early-stage VC fund in Mexico,  in order to explore and amplify the often overlooked opportunities for venture capital investment in the region. Drawing from her experience as a former Silicon Valley executive, operational manager in LatAm, and board member...

IN THIS EPISODE: This exciting episode features Jon Down,  HBS MBA, professor at the University of Portland and AI entrepreneur who founded two AI companies.  He is interviewed by host Denise Silber about the top AI business use cases supported by  emerging research, best practices for implementing AI and the key ethical considerations raised by business's use of  AI. The conversation also covers...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this podcast episode, host Philip Guarino speaks with Andrew Lo, a distinguished professor at MIT and an entrepreneur with a focus on healthcare and deep tech ventures. Andrew shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, detailing his transition from economics to founding a quantitative investment firm and later exploring the financial challenges of drug development. H...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host Denise Silber welcomes recent HBS MBA, Kai-Tai Chang, General Partner at a quantitative crypto fund.  Kai-Tai Chang explains, step by step, how cryptocurrency works and  presents the key components and stakeholders in a session sure to interest crypto beginners and enthusiasts alike. Specialized in Alpha research, or detecting opportunities that offer ret...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this podcast episode, Anthony Soohoo, an entrepreneur with experience in both startups and Fortune 100 companies, shares his insights on the value of corporate skills for entrepreneurs and vice versa. He discusses the differences between startup and corporate work environments, emphasizing the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset in large organizations for innovation and ni...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this inspiring episode, host Denise Silber sits down with HBS MBA  Pankaj Agarwal,  an EdTech entrepreneur who was born in an Indian village  and developed  a deep desire to pay it forward.  Today he and his team are  optimizing the education process in  thousands of Indian and Korean classrooms thanks to the  low-tech invention from Taghive,  his Samsung-backed startup headqua...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host Philip Guarino is joined by Dr. Eric Dawson, CEO of RIVET, a company which channels the economic power of young people to fund their work as social innovators. Representing over three trillion dollars in consumer spending, today's youth are a powerful economic force that is ever more committed to social causes. They don't lack ideas- they lack resources....

IN THIS EPISODE: Listen in on this week's episode, as host Denise Silber sits down with HBS MBA and world class entrepreneur, CEO Deborah Yang, to discuss the new world of finance  in which GenAI-driven innovation helps us instantly visualize the characteristics of  our  investment portfolios as never before.   Deborah Yang heads up Daizy, a revolutionary AI-powered platform for advisors and wealt...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Maik Taro Wehmeyer, Co-Founder & CEO at Taktile. Maik shares his journey from engineering and statistical optimization to pioneering machine learning in finance. In this segment, Maik explains the gap in decision infrastructure for platforms used in accounting, banking and other industries. This gap led to the creation of Tak...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host Denise Silber sits down with Matheus Riolfi HBS MBA and YC alum,  the very grounded and yet visionary Co-founder and CEO of Tint. Matheus Riolfi  who hails from a small city in Brazil, has developed an ability to observe, analyze and put into practice which has enabled him to build a success story, step by step through the learnings from his past failures...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Jahn Karsybaev, a Managing Partner at Big Sky Capital, a VC for B2B enterprises in emerging markets. Together they discuss Jahn's journey as an immigrant from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, his firm's unique focus on emerging markets and how founders can best navigate the challenging funding environment. In this installme...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Jenny Woo, alumna of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founder/CEO of Mind Brain Emotion, a company that was born at the renowned Harvard Innovation Lab. Together they discuss how Jenny Woo designed and built her company to not only generate income but also, and amazingly so, to solve many of the pain points she iden...

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode, our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Vanessa Westphal, the co-founder of Choosy. Together they talk about the trends in food consumption, sustainability and biodiversity, and how artificial intelligence can help us make better decisions for our health and that of the planet. Consumers are paying more attention to what they eat. Although this isn't a new trend, w...