The Innovators & Investors Podcast

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sven Harmsen, Director of External Ventures at NOVA by Saint-Gobain, the corporate venture arm of a 360-year-old multinational materials company. Sven shares the evolution and investment thesis of NOVA, emphasizing their strategic focus on early-stage startups that align with Saint-Gobain’s c...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Cyril Shtabtsovsky, founder of AlphaSemantic and an associate and advisor at Aloniq. Cyril shares his journey from banking to venture capital and how his passion for AI led him to create AlphaSemantic, an AI-powered tool designed to help venture capitalists discover and connect with the most...

In the latest episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sam Huang, Principal at BMW iVentures, for a candid conversation to explore the dynamic intersection of venture capital, artificial intelligence, robotics, and manufacturing innovation. Sam shares BMW iVentures’ investment thesis, focusing on Series A and B startups across the US, Europe, and...

In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Joe Alalou, co-founder and managing director of Daring Ventures, to explore the firm’s unique investment thesis focused on scaling “human moats”—the critical interplay between human judgment and emerging AI technologies in B2B software. Joe shares his inspiring, non-traditional journey from communi...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Tom Kluz, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Niterra Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of a leading global automotive supplier. Tom shares Niterra’s unique investment thesis focused on three key verticals: automotive adjacencies, healthcare—particularly respiratory and adva...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jenna Anderson, CEO of KiHealth, to explore groundbreaking advancements in preventive diagnostics. Jenna shares how KiHealth is revolutionizing healthcare with the first portfolio of tests designed to detect diseases like diabetes years before symptoms appear by measuring novel biomarkers at...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast hosted by Kristian Marquez, we welcome Sriram Sundararajan, founder and managing partner of Hyper Growth Labs Capital and marketing faculty at Santa Clara University. Sriram shares his extensive journey from engineer to management consultant, angel investor, and venture capitalist, emphasizing his passion for empowering...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Anastasia Slivker, partner at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, to explore the evolving landscape of venture capital and growth equity investments. Anastasia shares her unique global perspective on the challenges and opportunities companies and investors face amid shifting macroecon...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast  hosted by Kristian Marquez, we sit down with Greg Martin, CEO and co-founder of Ghost Security, to explore groundbreaking advancements in application security. Greg shares how Ghost Security’s innovative AI-driven agentic model is revolutionizing risk management by continuously identifying and remediating software vul...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Dr. Matt Keener, co-founder of Blackbird Health, to explore innovative solutions in pediatric mental health care. Dr. Keener discusses the fragmented and confusing landscape families face when seeking mental health support for their children, highlighting Blackbird Health’s hybrid virtual-fir...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Alex Burch, partner at Veritas Equity Partners, to explore multifamily real estate investing in Washington state. Alex shares the firm’s strategic focus on workforce housing in tertiary markets near Seattle, emphasizing direct ownership in specific, visible assets rather than blind funds or R...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Maggie Vo, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Fuel Venture Capital, to explore a groundbreaking approach to venture investing called “hedge venture.” Maggie shares her unique journey from a global hedge fund manager to a venture capitalist who integrates sophisticated ris...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Amit Patel, Managing Director at Owl Ventures, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of education technology. Amit shares Owl Ventures’ unique investment thesis focused exclusively on EdTech companies spanning early learning, K-12, higher education, and adult or corporate learning globall...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with John Glushik, Managing Director at HG Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of The Heritage Group. John shares the unique investment thesis that blends the discipline of traditional venture capital with the strategic advantages of a 95-year-old family-owned enterprise. They explo...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jay Crone, Managing Director and Venture Capitalist at Deloitte Ventures, to explore the firm’s strategic approach to corporate venture capital. Jay shares Deloitte Ventures’ investment thesis, focusing on supporting innovative Canadian startups at Series A and B stages across key sector...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sarah Applebaum, partner at Pangaea Ventures, a leading hard-tech-focused venture capital firm dedicated to investing in groundbreaking companies that advance planetary health. Sarah shares Pangaea’s unique investment thesis, emphasizing technologies in industrial decarbonization, ener...

In this compelling episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Keong Chan, Managing Director of Out the Back Ventures, to explore the unique world of early-stage investing in university research and deep tech startups. Keong shares the surfing-inspired origin story behind Out the Back Ventures, symbolizing a strategic approach to seeking second and...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Adam Rubenstein, co-founder and CEO of Traq.ai, to explore how AI-powered conversational intelligence is transforming sales enablement. Adam shares his entrepreneurial journey, from early ventures through building and selling companies, leading to the founding of Traq.ai—a pl...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Harry "Hale" Bullen, investment manager at PS27 Ventures, to explore the evolving landscape of venture capital focused on AI-driven investments. Hale shares PS27’s unique thesis emphasizing “sticky plumbing” software embedded deeply within B2B SaaS, FinTech, and health tech sectors, particula...

In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Ryan Falvey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Restive Ventures, to explore early-stage fintech investing. Ryan shares insights on how Restive Ventures focuses on being the first institutional capital source for technically skilled founders, helping them navigate the complexities of the financial servi...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Vikram Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of  Needl.ai, to explore how AI-driven search technology is transforming enterprise decision-making. Vikram shares the origin story of  Needl.ai  and its mission to help CXOs, CFOs, and CEOs cut through the overwhelming noise of disparate a...

In this insightful episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with Aaron Stachel, partner at FirstMile Ventures, to explore the emerging startup ecosystems beyond traditional coastal hubs, focusing particularly on Colorado and Texas. Aaron shares the origin story and investment thesis of FirstMile Ventures, a seed-stage fund dedicated to being the “fi...

In this episode of  The Innovators & Investors Podcast , host Kristian Marquez sits down with AJ Dye, COO of Vertex Innovations and venture partner at Unifi Ventures, to explore the intersection of operations and investment in the technology sector. AJ shares insights on Vertex’s focus on quality management and project execution within the telecom and data center industries, highlighting...

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Justin Ramsaran, co-founder and CEO of the R Group and VP of Digital Health Solutions at Fukuda Denshi, to explore critical challenges and innovations in healthcare technology. Justin shares his deep expertise on the persistent problem of medical device fragmentation and interoperability with...

In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with David Brem, Managing Director of the University of Michigan’s Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund. David offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a student-led endowment fund focused on early-stage, sector-agnostic investments primarily in the Michigan ecosystem. He shares insights on their unique...