Inspired in 15

As financial technology continues to evolve at breakneck speed, how will consumers benefit from new products and services? Jess Turner is the EVP and Global Head of Open Banking & API at Mastercard, enabling a future where consumers and businesses can safely share their financial data in service of accessing innovative financial experiences. In this episode, we cover how alternative uses of data can u...

On this episode of Inspired in 15, we are joined by our four partners—Alexa von Tobel, Penny Pritzker, Mark Batsyian, and Lucy Deland—for an exciting announcement: introducing Inspired III, a $330M fund committed to backing fearless founders solving the hardest challenges facing humanity. We cover why we founded Inspired Capital five years ago, our view of where venture is headed, and how venture...

What lies ahead for the landscape of aesthetic dermatology in the coming decade? Praveen Ramineni, the Founder and CEO of Portrait, is revolutionizing the field by streamlining back-office operations for individual practitioners, allowing them to dedicate their energy to providing top-notch clinical care. In our discussion, we delve into the pivotal role mid-level providers are poised to play in h...

For many, Scholastic is synonymous with education as the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books with a reach of 54 million students. As Chief Academic Officer, Amanda Alexander leads Scholastic’s research and validation efforts to ensure that their products are impacting learning outcomes positively. We cover the human capital shortages in school districts, how technology will have...

Sandra Clarke, the COO of Blue Shield of California, has taken on the ambitious task of overhauling the healthcare system to cater to the needs of everyone involved. Health Reimagined by Blue Shield is revolutionizing every facet of the flawed health system, from rethinking pharmacy care to streamlining real-time claims and integrating electronic health records. In this episode, we dive into the d...

The idea of the fifth generation of mobile technology (or 5G) is familiar to most consumers who own a smartphone. However, how do enterprises benefit from the lightning-fast speed of 5G networks? Rajeev Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Celona, is on a journey to make 5G technology as accessible to enterprises and industrial organizations as Wi-Fi. In this episode, we cover why the unlock for broader 5G...

Physical security often goes unnoticed in the tech landscape. Dave Selinger is driven to revolutionize this industry by bringing in cutting-edge technology and innovation. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Sentinel, he combines human capabilities with AI technology to combat crime effectively. In this conversation, we cover the importance of addressing consumers' primary concerns, the crucial role...

As Chief Executive Officer of Folx Health, Liana Douillet Guzmán is leading the movement to bring a technology-driven, innovative care model tailored specifically to the LGBTQIA+ community's needs. After having been founded a mere two years ago, Folx Health is already at the forefront of serving the LGBTQIA+ community in a variety of ways. We cover the challenges in the regulatory landscape, why F...

When Formic emerged in the realm of automation and robotics for manufacturing, the concept of seamlessly integrating cutting-edge robotics technology into small businesses appeared ambitious. However, Formic's Co-Founder and CEO, Saman Farid, has played a pivotal role in democratizing robotics by significantly enhancing accessibility and user-friendliness. We delve into the factors driving the rap...

Paul Appleby, the Chief Revenue Officer of Spring Health, is leading the charge in advancing precision mental healthcare into the mainstream. In this discussion, we delve into strategies for retaining the next generation of workers, the significance of fostering a healthy workforce community, and the initial deployment of generative AI as a tool to access additional therapeutic resources.

Justin Barad, the CEO and Founder of Osso VR, stands at the forefront of integrating virtual reality into the healthcare industry. He embarked on his journey as a video game developer before pursuing a degree in Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA Medical School. Following his medical education, he founded Osso VR with the mission of enhancing surgical training. In this discussion, we explore the various a...

Every company building generative artificial intelligence today shares a major question: what data can be used to train these models? Kristin Leavy has unique expertise in this topic as Special Counsel and copyright law expert at Cooley, the #1 most active law firm representing VC-backed companies since 2005. We cover who should be responsible for generative artificial intelligence model outputs,...

What does the next decade hold for retail? Andrew Blackmon has been at the forefront of bringing technology to the antiquated formalwear industry as the visionary behind The Black Tux, an online provider of men's tuxedo and formalwear rentals. We cover why weddings are recession-proof, what successful experiential retail looks like, and how to build distribution through partnerships.

How do you organize all of the different customer data across multi channel brands? Meet mParticle. Michael Katz has spent the past twenty years problem-solving in all things mar-tech, and he co-founded mParticle to integrate and orchestrate customer data for businesses. We cover the future of SEO in a generative AI-driven world, why influencers are the future of social media marketing, and how to...

The US energy market is changing, with more and more electric vehicles on the road each year. Enter Wallbox, where Enric Asuncion is propelling this change to electric vehicles and supporting the industry. We cover how your car can power your home for four days, the place for software systems in the energy ecosystem, and why people will be far more aware of their energy usage going forward.

How do you scale people? Claire has spent the past two decades problem-solving in all things management and company building. Previously, she was a core member of Stripe's early executive team as COO and went on to write the book "Scaling People". We cover the mindset to approach reading her book, why smart operating is more important now than ever, and why early structural decisions are so import...

From a $1.8 trillion student debt load to significant decreases in college enrollment, there are tailwinds behind new models of higher education. Tade Oyerinde, the Founder & Chancellor at Campus, believes that community college is moving online. His company, Campus, powers an online-first community college experience where young people can complete the first two years of college. We cover why 'ea...

Why is prompt engineering undoubtedly the career of the future? Vijay Karunamurthy, the Field CTO at Scale, is at the center of a groundbreaking company that assists organizations in transforming their raw data into exceptional training data. We cover example applications of reinforcement learning through human feedback, advice for today's computer science students, and what the future of search w...

Overnight, the pandemic dramatically reshaped people's relationships with restaurants, leading to a surge in the utilization of delivery technologies like Doordash. George Jacobs, whose upbringing revolved around his father's pizzeria, has dedicated his entire career to contemplating the essence of restaurants. We cover the profound challenges confronting the industry, the enduring significance of...

What if renovating your home could be a seamless experience? Julie Kheyfets, the Chief Operating Officer at Block Renovation, works to help homeowners and contractors collaborate and renovate better together. With housing supply at a 25-year low, people's investment in their current homes has only increased. We delve into why software can’t fix everything, why the Joint Center for Housing Studies...

How can one develop AI responsibly? Navrina shares her expertise from her extensive experience in tackling various aspects of artificial intelligence governance and regulation. She led Qualcomm Innovation for an extended period, played a significant role in the advancement of Microsoft AI's virtual agents, and presently holds a position on Biden's National AI Advisory Committee. Our discussion del...

Have you ever considered the impact of digital fashion on virtual communities? Platforms like Roblox have demonstrated the importance of expressing oneself in a digital environment. Mishi McDuff recognized this opportunity and established House of Blueberry to introduce fashion and design into virtual spaces. Our discussion delves into the dynamic relationship between creators, brands, and platfor...

Historically, medical infertility has had a specific and limited definition. But today's definition of fertility healthcare has expanded to include everything from egg freezing to surrogacy to IVF. Tammy Sun started Carrot in 2016 to make fertility care accessible to all as part of the core healthcare stack offered by employers. We cover how fertility care varies in the 120 countries Carrot serves...

While most companies today want to implement AI, scaling is historically complex and costly. As a result, 85% of AI projects fail to make it to production. As a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, Robert Nishihara set out to solve that problem and has since started Anyscale to help companies reduce compute costs and accelerate time to market. We cover why machine learning is so computationally intensive...

If you've ever tried an Impossible or Beyond burger and wondered what's next for food science, the answer may be found in precision fermentation. Laura Katz is a food scientist and entrepreneur who started Helaina to create human proteins that provide the same immunity benefits of breast milk. We cover how technology can create food as medicine and why fermentation can be a powerful tool in combat...