Human Unicorn Podcast

Human Unicorn Pod: Anish Agarwal — Building in the AI-Native Era What does it take to build a company in a world where AI shifts faster than strategy decks can keep up? And how do founders create real leverage when technology lowers the barrier to entry for everyone? Join host Nihal Mehta for a deep dive with Anish Agarwal, founder of Traversal. Anish is building at the frontier of AI infrastructu...

🎙 Human Unicorn Podcast Episode: Tejpaul Bhatia — The Most Trusted Man in Space In this episode of Human Unicorn , Nihal Mehta sits down with longtime friend, three-time (now fourth-time) founder, and former CEO of Axiom Space , Tejpaul Bhatia — a man who’s helped take humanity off the planet while staying deeply grounded in community, friendship, and purpose. Nihal and Tej go way back — New York...

I swapped it out to this description The Cultural Architect: Anjula Acharia on Spotting Stars and Building Movements Anjula Acharia isn’t your typical talent manager or venture capitalist. She’s the visionary who orchestrated Priyanka Chopra’s historic crossover to Hollywood, founded one of the first viral podcasts (DesiHits), and invested early in unicorns like ClassPass and Masterclass. From a s...

When Joe Marchese founded true[X] and sold it to 21st Century Fox for around $200 million, he was just getting started. As the former President of Advertising Revenue at Fox Networks Group, he oversaw billions in annual revenue for properties like FOX Broadcast, FX, National Geographic, and FOX Sports—including advertising for the Super Bowl and World Series. But Joe's not about maintaining the st...

Jerry Colonna — Leadership, Fear, and the Inner Work of Building Companies What if the hardest part of building a great company isn’t strategy, fundraising, or product—but confronting yourself? In this episode of Human Unicorn , we sit down with Jerry Colonna —executive coach to some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic founders, former VC, and author of Reboot —to explore the inner lives of leaders. J...

🎙️ New Episode: Kass & Mike Lazerow — Building, Selling, and Reinventing in Tech & Life On this episode of the Human Unicorn Podcast , Nihal Mehta and Yoshi Kondo sit down with power couple Kass & Mike Lazerow —serial entrepreneurs, operators, and investors whose impact spans adtech, social media, and the future of health and wellness. Mike, founder of Buddy Media (acquired by Salesfor...

This week on Human Unicorns , Nihal sits down with Brian Distelburger , one of the OGs of New York tech and the co-founder of Yext , the company that took an unsexy problem — digital information chaos — and turned it into a billion-dollar category. Brian isn’t just a founder; he’s a repeat builder with real operator scars . He helped scale Yext from a scrappy NYC startup into a publicly traded glo...

In this episode, Nihal Mehta sits down with Chris Fralic — legendary VC, connector, and one of the most influential relationship-builders in the modern tech ecosystem. Chris shares the real story behind his trajectory: from early days in enterprise software to helping shape companies like LinkedIn, Yammer, and Roblox through his work at First Round Capital. He breaks down the patterns he’s seen ac...

🎙️ The Human Unicorn Podcast — Episode: Hadley Harris (ENIAC Ventures) In this episode, Nihal Mehta sit down with Hadley Harris , Founding General Partner at ENIAC Ventures , one of New York’s most respected seed-stage investors backing transformational founders from zero to one. Before becoming a VC, Hadley was a builder himself — leading at Vlingo , an MIT-born AI startup that sold to Nuance for...

Episode: Building, Pitching & Running – The Kevin Weatherman Playbook In this episode of The Human Unicorn Podcast, Nihal Mehta sits down with Kevin Weatherman — a founder and operator who lives at the intersection of product, pitch, and relentless execution. Kevin shares how he built his tech platform from the ground up, not just to raise capital, but to win trust, land customers, and scale w...

On this episode of the Human Unicorn Podcast, Nihal Mehta sits down with Amar Varma — co-founder of Mantle, Autonomic (acquired by Ford), Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal), father of 4, and longtime builder of Toronto’s tech ecosystem. From pioneering mobile app development before the iPhone App Store existed, to scaling two of Canada’s most successful exits, Amar shares what it really takes to bu...

🎙️ Human Unicorn Podcast with Nihal Mehta | Guest: Jenny Fielding In this episode of the Human Unicorn Podcast , host Nihal Mehta sits down with Jenny Fielding — a pioneering venture capitalist, tech founder, and educator shaping the future of innovation. Jenny Fielding is the Managing Partner at Everywhere Ventures , a globally trusted early-stage fund with a portfolio valued at over $10 billion...

🦄 Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) on the Human Unicorn Podcast with Nihal Mehta From taking his family wine business online to building media juggernaut VaynerMedia, Gary Vee has redefined what’s possible in entrepreneurship—using unfiltered honesty, relentless ambition, and heart. Millions turn to him for real talk on brand building, innovation, and living with purpose. In this exclusive, in-person H...

From Serial Founder to AI Super Connector — Andrew D’Souza on Building Boardy Andrew D’Souza has launched and scaled companies through market booms and busts — but his newest venture, Boardy, could change the way opportunity flows forever. This AI-driven “Super Connector” helps you get the right introduction at the right time — and investors are betting big, with $11M raised in under a year. In th...

🎙️ Scott Belsky — From Adobe to A24: Designing the Future of Creativity and Storytelling In this episode of The Human Unicorn , Nihal Mehta sit down with Scott Belsky , one of the defining minds at the intersection of technology, design, and culture. Scott is the founder of Behance , which was acquired by Adobe in 2012. After a stint at Benchmark Capital, he returned to Adobe as Chief Product Offi...

🎙️ Human Unicorn Podcast — Episode Title: "Conviction Over Consensus: Rebecca Kaden on Backing What Others Miss" 📄 Episode Description: In this episode of Human Unicorn , Nihal Mehta talks with Rebecca Kaden , General Partner at Union Square Ventures , about how to spot — and stick with — breakthrough ideas before they’re obvious. Rebecca shares how her path from journalism to VC shaped her inves...

🎙️ The Human Unicorn Podcast | Episode: Mike Mignano — Building the Future of Creativity with AI This week, Nihal Mehta welcomes Mike Mignano — co-founder of Anchor , former Head of Talk Audio at Spotify , partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners , and now co-founder of Oboe , a groundbreaking new company reimagining how we create using AI. Mike shares his unique perspective as both a repeat founder...

On this episode of The Human Unicorn, we sit down with Farhan Thawar, Head of Engineering at Shopify, where he leads thousands of engineers powering one of the world’s biggest commerce platforms. Farhan shares how he scales teams without losing speed, the real-world impact of AI coding tools, and why Claude, OpenAI, and other LLMs are changing how software gets built. Tune in for practical hacks,...

In this episode, Nihal Mehta welcomes Brian Stempeck , former Chief Strategy Officer at The Trade Desk and now Co-Founder & CEO of Evertune , for a candid conversation on scaling category-defining companies, building enduring cultures, and navigating the next wave of AI innovation. Brian shares his journey from being employee #8 at The Trade Desk—where he helped take the company from pre-reven...

Oisin Hanrahan (Co-Founder, Handy & Keychain CEO) From founding Handy to leading one of the biggest players in home services—this journey’s been all about vision, grit, and execution. I joined @Nihal Mehta on The Human Unicorn Podcast to talk about scaling startups, navigating tough markets, and what I’ve learned from building and leading at the intersection of tech and operations. If you’re a...

Payal Kadakia (Founder & CEO, ClassPass) – Reinventing Wellness & Building Billion-Dollar Grit How do you turn a passion for dance into a global fitness platform? Payal Kadakia, founder and CEO of ClassPass, shares her journey from corporate life to creating one of the most influential wellness brands in the world. In this episode, she opens up about the pivots that changed everything, sta...

Josh Wolfe (Co-Founder, Lux Capital) – Investing in the Impossible What if the best investments sound crazy at first? Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, breaks down why he bets on frontier tech—AI, deep science, and the next wave of world-changing innovation. From navigating venture downturns to spotting the future before it happens, this episode is a goldmine for founders and investors alike....

Andrew Yang – The Future of Work, AI & Universal Basic Income: Entrepreneur, political disruptor, and big-ideas guy Andrew Yang sits down to talk about what’s next—AI, Universal Basic Income, and why the system needs a reboot. Whether you're a founder, investor, or just trying to navigate the future of work, this episode is packed with insights you won’t hear anywhere else. 🔹 The case for Uni...

Reshma Saujani (Founder, Girls Who Code & Moms First) – Changing the Game for Women How do you challenge the system and actually win? Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, talks about breaking barriers in tech, why the "girlboss" era failed, and how we can redesign work for women. From politics to policy, she’s shaping the future—one bold move at a time. 🔹 Why closing the...

Dee Murthy (Co-Founder, Five Four Group & Menlo Club) – Scaling Hype & Building Brands What does it take to build a fashion empire? Dee Murthy, co-founder of Five Four Group (behind brands like Young & Reckless and Menlo Club), talks about the intersection of culture, commerce, and community. From navigating retail shifts to scaling hype-driven brands, this episode is a must-listen for...