Iconic Conversations with Tanaka Tava

Joan Zhang is the CEO and co-founder of Arise, a leading virtual eating disorder program that aims to shatter the stereotype of what eating disorders “look like” and break down barriers and stigma to bring people care that works for them. Like millions of people, Joan experienced barriers to accessing eating disorder care that truly met her needs. Arise is built by and for people who have been the...

Dr. Hanna Aliashkevich  is a neuroscientist and former neurosurgeon with a decade of expertise spanning clinical and research domains, including neuro-oncology, reconstructive and spine neurosurgery. As a renowned neurosurgeon in Eastern Europe and internationally recognized scientist Hanna has contributed to pioneering research on antiviral treatment for glial brain tumors. This work has led to s...

Paige Finn Doherty is the Founding Partner at Behind Genius Ventures, a fund investing in early-stage product-led growth companies in the future of work & the future of play. Paige is also the author of Seed to Harvest, a book demystifying VC for children and adults. Until recently she was also a Developer Success Engineer at WorkOS. Takeaways Event planning is an art that requires attention t...

Spencer Carey is a recent graduate from NYU, a research fellow at Contrary, and an investment banker at Wells Fargo During his time at NYU, he helped run NYU Stern’s first Venture Capital organization, the Strategic Venture Society. Here, he built out the club’s external partnerships initiative to work with VCs, co-hosted the club’s podcast, Founder Friendly, led NYU’s Venture Capital Investment C...

Nick Spiller is the host of the Austinpreneur podcast and Principal at Capital Factory, discusses his investment philosophy and the importance of investing in oneself before investing in companies. He shares insights on finding an information advantage in venture capital and the challenges of identifying genuine founders. Nick also talks about the changing landscape of venture capital and the rise...

Adie Akuffo-Afful is the Managing Partner at The SpiltMilk Company, where they ideate, test, build, and fundraise for concepts the group thinks of. Prior to this venture, Adie was the head of venture programming for Wefunder, a Regulation Crowdfunding platform, and currently sits as an advisor and syndicate lead for a few external ventures. Takeaways Art has the power to showcase different perspec...

Discover the Power of Positivity Our journey through life is often about seeking truth, peace, and alignment with our inner selves. This quest is beautifully reflected in the words of the latest podcast episode, a heartfelt exploration of our divine connection and personal empowerment. Tune in for an uplifting experience: The Power Within Us In this episode, the focus shifts to an introspective an...

Carl Grant III lives in Austin, TX and is the married father of five adult children. He’s the Author of “How to Live the Abundant Life,” available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Carl is CEO of Capital Raise and Connexa Holdings, LLC, is Chairman of Cationic Mineral Formulations, Inc., and is a partner in Super Connector, LLC. Previously, Carl served as global head of business development for Cool...

Jonathan Chang is an startup ambassador at Brex where he meets early stage founders & investors all across the country along with throwing 100+ events. He is also the founder of GenZScouts, a program to help students break in to startups/venture and SF IRL, the top newsletter in the Bay Area showcasing the top tech & startup events. Previously, Jonathan was a VC at GSV. He also invests int...

In my first solo podcast episode in over four years, I will share the depths of my soul of where I am in life, an honest and transparent view. How I am feeling embarking on a quarter century, along with hopefully an inspiring nugget of wisdom if one is to take away from it. In this episode, Tanaka Tava reflects on his 25th birthday and shares the lessons he has learned in 2023 and throughout his l...

Josh Cliffords⁠  is the founder and CEO of  ⁠FreeWater⁠ , the world’s first free beverage company. Josh has founded numerous companies, but in 2018, he decided to tackle the world’s water crisis and hasn’t looked back. Josh’s ‘negatively-priced’ business model leverages advertising to make goods and services pay for themselves, and while he is currently focused on growing FreeWater, he has plans t...

Blake Weissman is a venture capital associate with 2+ years of experience in venture capital. He has analyzed and facilitated startup investment opportunities that received $600,000 of funding. Then transitioned to director of a new initiative within the fund where he conceptualized and instituted a venture capital scout training program that trained underrepresented professionals and accelerated...

Iconic Conversations with Beverly Ntagu - Motivational Speaker, Podcast Host, & Wellness Advocate American-born and Nigerian-raised, Beverly is a multi-hyphenate who aims to close healthy equity gaps in underserved communities in America and Nigeria as an aspiring healthcare professional while creating generational opportunities for youth and young adults through her gifts of motivational spea...

Throughout his four decades of practice, Gregory Ibañez, FAIA, has become a recognized design leader and a passionate advocate for progressive architecture within both the profession and the community. In an era of ever-increasing specialization, Greg practices architecture as a generalist. His projects are highly varied in type and scale, and include projects in Europe, Asia and Mexico. A graduat...

Chandler Malone has been focused on helping people reach their economic potential throughout his entire career via his work at Bootup and The Family. In Chandler’s 3 years as the CEO of Bootup, the company helped thousands of people get their first jobs in tech for over $200M in annualized salaries at companies like JP Morgan Chase, Home Depot, Mailchimp, Cerner, and more. Chandler is also the fou...

Reggie Singletary is a full-time Pisces, a dreamer, a curious cat, lover of emotions and what accesses them, a R&B fanatic, an aspirational collector of Black art, potatoes' #1 supporter, who moonlights as a Creative Strategist who's worked for a good bit of the biggest brands in the world. Above all else, he's manifesting a life filled with bringing ideas...to life. TIMESTAMPS:
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Joshua Taylor is a Venture Capital Investor & Founder of The Texas Black Founder's Network. He is passionate about investing in the future, marginalized communities. In addition he is a former 400 Meter Hurdle NCAA All-American Track and Field Athlete for Stephen F. Austin University and on the conquest raising $5M for Run From The Heart Charity. [00:00:16] Kingdom builder, heart full, Afr...

Basti Hansen is a German director / photographer, living in Tel Aviv, working around the globe. In the last 9 years he directed, shot and edited over 450 global ad-campaigns, music videos, commercials, adventure films and passion projects. Basti worked with people like Lewis Hamilton, Will. I.Am, Valtteri Bottas, Devin Supertramp and Noa Kirel while shooting international campaigns for clients lik...

Marquise Bell is currently a 4th year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Rice University in Houston, TX. His research investigates the mechanical and thermal properties of smart textile (clothing-like) materials for wearable assistive devices. NASA funds his research, and he also has work experience interning with BNSF Railway, ExxonMobil, and Disney Imagineering. Prior to graduate school, M...

James Cobb is a Communications and Sustainability expert. After spending 3 years in the entertainment industry, he went back to school to make positive change off-camera. He recently graduated from Arizona State University with his Master of Sustainability Solutions. In his time at school, he created sustainability educational videos that are used by Starbucks’s Greener Apron Program and helped bu...

Tim Salau, is the co-founder of Guide App, A Future of Work thought leader, and a Nigerian American artist. His work and impact have been featured on Forbes, at SXSW, and highlighted by trillion dollar companies like Google, Microsoft, and WeWork. Today, he leads Guide, a bite-size video training platform for freelance workers who want to gain set-ready skills and make more money.

Wen Zhang is the founder and CEO of INNW Institute, a global accelerator for tech startups, supporting entrepreneurs who are challenged to secure funding, to get yes from investors and customers.  She is a serial entrepreneur who has launched businesses, increased their presence in the global market, and managed a large-scale enterprise at a Fortune 100 company. Through her pitching and storytelli...

Michael is a 2-time founder and currently the CEO of Entre. He started his career as a civil engineer and real estate investor, then started his first company by connecting and helping other entrepreneurs. He started hosting events for entrepreneurs and partnered with all the major co-working spaces throughout the country. As the community grew, he then created Entre in 2019 to scale and start bui...

Interested in merging private and public art sectors and her commitment to making art more accessible to a wider audience, Bailey H. Summers, Director of the Green Family Art Foundation (Dallas, TX) has emerged as a driving force within the Dallas arts ecosystem. Summers is an ardent advocate for the transformative potential and power of art; possessing a profound appreciation for the ability of a...

Grace Casper is the Host of Divorce: What I Wish My Parents Knew & Author of Dear Parents: Notes From a Child of Divorce. She became a child of divorce at age eight. By age 10, Grace had already written her first manuscript draft for her book. Ever since then, she’s wanted to help families through the process of divorce. She is now 24 years old and runs Divorce Tips from Kids. This includes po...