The VentureFuel Visionaries

In this special re-release of VentureFuel Visionaries, we’re excited to welcome Bob Carroll, Vice President of Business Development at the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB). As we count down to the 6th year of the Real California Exceleator on November 14th, Bob shares insights on how CMAB—backed by California’s pioneering dairy farm families—leads the way in sustainable dairy farming practice...

Marlene Orozco, lead research analyst at the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, joins us to discuss the unique challenges faced by Hispanic entrepreneurs, particularly in accessing capital. With her background in sociology, Marlene highlights the initiative's role in advancing Latino entrepreneurship, shares key insights from impactful research projects, and emphasizes the importance of...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are re-releasing this episode featuring Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Valiente Fund, a collaborative focused on increasing philanthropic investment in Latine leaders, organizations, and communities. Maria shares insights on the importance of innovation in critical moments, scaling bold solutions, and the power of microecosystems. We also discuss...

Former NFL star (one of the top 50 wide receivers in NFL history and the New Orleans Saints’ all-time leader in every major statistical category for his position) and entrepreneur Marques Colston joins us to discuss the future of sports and the new value chain in sports. As the Founder of Champion Venture Partners, Marques has created a new investment model which unites everyone from casual fans t...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we're re-releasing this insightful episode with Natalia Rodriguez-Hilt, Senior Director at Raza Development Fund (RDF). Natalia discusses how RDF unlocks the $2.1 trillion revenue potential of Latino-owned businesses through creative financing solutions, including equity-like revenue-based loans. She also highlights the crucial role of Community Development Fin...

What Needs to Be Done? Is Better Possible? Where do the seeds of change begin, and can entrepreneurs really solve society’s biggest challenges? Paolo Narciso is a Build Fellow at Stand Together Ventures Lab. STVL invests and builds to change society with founders and teams who are obsessed with showing that better is possible. Today, we talk about how he is re-imagining healthcare as well as his b...

“Further, Faster.” Rachel Shepphard, Director of Ventures for Mars Pet Care, shares how the Leap Venture Studio & Academy ignites impactful growth for pet care startups.7 out of 10 US households have a pet, with 97% considering the pet a part of the family - which explains the $320+ billion global pet care market (predicted to get to $500bn by 2030). In this episode, we discuss the future of pet c...

Dan Kihanya is the Director of REI’s Path Ahead Ventures, a $30 million fund aimed at supporting founders of color in the outdoor industry. Launched in 2021, this program focuses on providing resources, mentorship, and funding to help diverse entrepreneurs start and scale their businesses. They have multiple programs like Embark (for early-stage founders), Navigate (for enterprise-ready founders t...

Marcelo De Santis is a seasoned C-suite leader (former executive at Thoughtworks, Pirelli, and Mondelēz International), and his new book, Figure Eight, unlocks the secrets of leadership in our rapidly evolving world where technology and humanity converge. We talk about leadership in fast times, accelerating time to market, executive mountaineering through humility and empathy, and having more ques...

In this special re-release, we dive into the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence with Rudina Seseri, Managing Partner at Glasswing Ventures, as she reflects on AI investment and innovation. Rudina provides an analysis of the AI industry, addressing pressing questions on the technology's evolution and her assessment of its long-term potential to impact the enterprise.

Natalia Rodriguez-Hilt is the Senior Director of UnidosUS Affiliate Development and Small Business Strategies at Raza Development Fund. Natalia is a seasoned expert in economic and community development, with a passion for driving economic opportunity for entrepreneurs in underrepresented communities. We discuss how RDF unleashes unleash the power, potential and promise of Latino and other under-r...

Elizabeth Bieniek, author of Cake on Tuesdays: 25 Lessons To Unlock Corporate Innovation, shares her blueprint for executing change within complex organizations. She co-founded Webex Hologram, the industry’s first holographic collaboration system, while at Cisco and here explores the intricacies of innovation and leadership, offering valuable insights for aspiring innovators inside and outside of...

We are thrilled to announce the re-release of one of our more popular podcast episodes, featuring a captivating conversation on collaboration and growth with industry leaders from PepsiCo and the California Milk Advisory Board. Hosted by Fred Schonenberg, founder and CEO of VentureFuel, this episode delves deep into innovative strategies and real-world examples of successful partnerships.

GlobalWafers is a global leader in semiconductor technology, providing innovative, advanced silicon wafer solutions to integrated chip manufacturers worldwide. Brent Omdahl, Executive Vice President for Government Affairs, has over 20 years of deep experience counseling U.S. firms on international market entry strategies and advising foreign firms on U.S. greenfield investment. We talk about Silic...

In this episode, Vanessa Rosato sits down with Kylan Gibbs, CEO and Co-founder of Inworld AI. They delve into the groundbreaking work of Inworld AI, a platform that's transforming gaming and media by making virtual characters more lifelike and interactive. Kylan shares insights on the unique value proposition of Inworld, their innovative approach to AI in gaming, and what the future holds for the...

The Roberts Innovation Fund was launched in 2022 to provide funding, mentoring, and strategic support for Yale faculty-led projects to assist in the commercialization of breakthrough inventions that solve real-world problems. New methods to purify our water, advance quantum computing, democratize artificial intelligence, and deliver life-saving drugs are just some of the projects funded by the 202...

Corporate Venture Capital to Corporate Venture Partnerships, we examine the evolving role of CVC, why it matters for startups and investors + trade secrets on sourcing and vetting the best startup investment opportunities. Featuring: Elias Chavarria of TDK Ventures, Min Park of J.P. Morgan Sustainable Growth Equity, and Joshua Di Frances of LG Electronics

Mike Jackson, Managing Partner of Earthshot Ventures. Earthshot Ventures invests in entrepreneurs making a dent in climate change. Collectively, their team has invested in 200+ startups over the last fourteen years and Mike’s investments have collectively raised over $1.1 billion in follow-on funding from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, BlackRock, Microsoft, Google, Patagonia, and the like. We talk ab...

Ben Colman is the founder of Reality Defender, the leading deepfake detection platform helping enterprises flag fraudulent users and content. In this episode, join us as we dive deep into the world of AI, cybersecurity, and the innovative solutions being developed to protect our reality in an increasingly digital age.

Originally recorded at our 2024 Rogue Women event earlier this spring, Fred Schonenberg, VentureFuel’s Founder and CEO dived into the heart of Gotham FC’s remarkable comeback story with Yael Averbuch West, the General Manager and Head of Soccer Operations; and Nan Vogel, Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Game Day at Gotham FC. Hear how a mix of resilience, strategic foresight, and unwaveri...

At our 2024 Rogue Women event earlier this spring, Yao Huang, founder of The Hatchery, moderated a panel discussion with venture capitalists. The panel included Caroline Lewis, Managing Partner of Rogue Women's Fund; Sydney Paige Thomas, Founder and General Partner of Symphonic Capital; and McKeever "Mac" Conwell II, Managing Partner of RareBreed Ventures. Understand the strategies that enabled th...

Thoughts: 5 years from now, grocery stores will be half the size and entirely stocked with fresh products served by subject matter experts (the baker, the monger, the butcher). The back half of the store will be mini-fulfillment centers with autonomous robots packing personalized orders of your non-emotional staples and customizing your outputs based on Gen AI and personalized dietary preferences....

At our 2024 Rogue Women event earlier this spring, Danielle Cohn, Founding Partner and CEO of The Wave Ventures, hosted a panel discussion with executives from corporate companies. The panel included Limor Schafman, Director of Operations and Programs at LG NOVA, a division of LG Electronics that collaborates with startups to develop businesses; Lizzie Naylor, Global Platform Manager for Start Pat...

Last week, we had an 'Ask Me Anything' session with Danielle Cohn, CEO and Founding Partner of Wave Ventures, on Building an Innovation Ecosystem for Enterprise Organizations. The discussion centers on Danielle’s leadership in a top Fortune 30 innovation function. Danielle shared insights on founding an award-winning startup platform and emphasized creating innovation spaces in large organizations...

A fireside chat originally recorded at our 2024 Rogue Women event earlier this spring, The theme Advocacy Access and Acceleration features a wonderful discussion with Charlotte Newman, Global Head of underrepresented founder and investor startup business development. Charlotte is a global business development leader for Amazon Web Services, and a former entrepreneur who leads the AWS startup strat...