The VentureFuel Visionaries

As a startup, how do you generate $1m in new revenue within the next 12 months? Can values actually create value? Jonathan Weston leads Salesforce’s Business Builder Program which is building the next revolution of entrepreneurs. We talk about how innovation can benefit larger companies, humanity and why if we all become “borgs” it maybe humanizing.

What will it be like to watch your favorite team in 2030? How will technology enable us to enjoy the sports we love. Vince Gennaro shares his vision of the pervasiveness of block chain, how 5G and VR will globalize and democratize sport and the role data will play in sport decision making. We also talk about the importance of learning agility – continuously seeking new levels of knowledge – and wh...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we welcome Adela Cepeda Chair of Angeles Investors who mission is "To find, fund and grow the most promising Hispanic and Latinx ventures." We talk about the hottest emerging ventures, the importance of diversifying board representation and how you can get involved in angel investing to make a difference, while making a return.

Tiger Teams. Fail Fast and Cheaply. The secrets of Four In A Box. What does shopping look like in 2030? Vinod Suresh shares how he and the team at Walmart+ are driving growth through game changing, innovative products that provide quick, fun and engaging multi-channel customer experience. The new membership program brings together in-store and online benefits like no other retailer can.

Dominic Venturo, the Chief Digital Officer at US Bank, has worked on the product innovation side of banking for more than 20 years and is one of the leading champions of corporate innovation. We talk about nimble processes to seize on seismic shifts, the importance of patience when moving fast, the potential for universal digital IDs and the future of banking and payments. How you will begin to pa...

How do you have a meaningful relationship with Darth Vader? What if you could step inside of Star Wars to find out? Vicki Dobbs Beck has credits on over 24 films, has a special Oscar “in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling” and been named by Variety as “Digital Innovator to Watch”. She is the VP of Immersive Content Innovation for ILMxLab (Lucas Films) and is focused...

https://www.aarpfoundationinnovationprogram.com

How do you copyright a dance? In doing so, can you blaze a new path for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to own and monetize their creations? Does this recognition, representation and resources accelerate the creators and disruptors reinventing music? Learn from Logitech For Creators CMO Erin Chin on how the company is investing in what’s next by empowering the future with programs li...

Bord Bia executives Henry Horkan, the Director of North America and Mossie Power, the VP of Grocery, share their mission of bringing Ireland’s outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce to the world as well as details on Origin Green the world’s only national food and drink sustainability program. We hear individual pitches from 8 Irish companies breaking into the US market. From pure Irish...

If NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard, Giants Running Back Saquon Barkley, Super Bowl Champion Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Top Peloton Instructor Kendall Toole and professional athletes on over 25 pro teams across the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL were using clean ingredient products to increase their energy and endurance – wouldn’t you want to try it? Mark French is the CEO of X2 Performance whic...

Grocery faces unprecedented pressure to accelerate its digital transformation as consumers leapfrog traditional adoption curves to satisfy unmet needs. Everything from e-Commerce, to digital merchandizing and supply chain optimization; to check-out free stores, courier services and facial recognition payments. Hear from top VCs at Silverton Partners and Branch Venture Group plus the Founders of Vo...

Steve is the Program Manager for the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation at NASA where he leads the use of collaborative innovation platforms (crowd-based communities, challenges/prizes) for supporting development projects across the U.S. government. From Space Station Operations to shifting from Mission Control to Mission Connect, Steve has spent 32 Years at NASA and shares his phil...

Lindsey McInerney, the Global Head of Technology & Innovation at Anheuser Busch InBev and Roman Tirone, the Global Head of Partnerships at Virtually Human Studios discuss their first-to-market collaboration on Zed. Run - a virtual horse racing platform which is the talk of the crypto world where steeds are fetching 6 figure sums. The partnership brings the iconic Stella brand front and center in t...

VentureFuel shares notes from their internal innovation meeting, covering the startups and emerging technologies they are most excited about from over 500+ investors, university labs, and venture capitalists. This rapid fire session gives you a glimpse into data privacy, instant shopping, NFTs, microbial probiotics, personalized parallel realities, biometric authentication, holographic co-worker i...

We talk about Christian Ponce’s path from auditor to innovator, and how he leverages design thinking and lean startup principles to LOVE problems and finding solutions to users' pains. How do you balance Horizon 3 Innovations with tangential and tangible innovations that work for public companies? What disruptive strategies build the capabilities for breakthrough innovations? Should you take Moons...

What we eat and drink impacts our digestion, sleep, rejuvenation, gut health, focus, energy, immunity, and strength. Our diet plays a major role in both our performance and our recovery. Hear from industry experts on what’s next now for functional foods including leaders from FoodNavigator, IRI, CMAB, DMI, DairyBusiness News, and Berry on Derry.

Can we inspire the future through innovation? Can each of us choose to be unicorns? Can we put aside the hunt for certainty to seize upon potential? With his design team, Mauro Porcini has won more than 1,100 Design and Innovation awards and has been recognized personally with Fortune’s 40 under 40, Fast Company 50 Most Influential Designers, Most Creative People in Business, GQ 30 Best Dressed Me...

What’s Next Now within data innovation? Can the always-on stream of consumer behavior, market trends and micro insights lead to macro results? Are there startups that can help you make sense of these opportunities for actionable solutions? Learn from Marty Siewert, Insights at Instacart; Cristina Chiesa, US Insights & Analytics Director at Mondelēz International and Dennis Roche, Co-Founder of Bur...

How do you take a legacy business, known for giant yellow boxes with compact discs, transform it to a mobile-first Pokemon Go of Immersive Language? You turn to Public Company Change Agent Matt Hulett. We talk about how to begin a flywheel of net new thinking, how to motivate big changes, and how to create an API translation from corporate governance to/from innovation. Matt also shares his framew...

BMW i Ventures is one of the most successful Corporate Venture Capital groups in the world with over $600m invested across 2 funds, with 12 exits already to date. Principal Samantha Huang focuses on investments across AI, big data, autonomous driving, Industry 4.0, and sustainability. We talk about the role of external innovation for corporations, the future of the auto industry and the impact of...

Goldman Sachs announced their 2021 Entrepreneur Cohort for Launch with GS, a $1 billion investment strategy grounded in their data-driven thesis that diverse teams drive strong returns. These innovative entrepreneurs are building fast-growing companies at the forefront of technology and 2 of the 15 selections are past guests of the VF podcast. So we wanted to showcase highlights from our conversat...

How startups and industry leaders can drive meaningful impact to the planet and the bottom line. How Starbucks, Patagonia and Comcast are tackling water management, circularity and plastic free initiatives. How Diageo made paper spirits bottles and Adidas is helping us run on recycled materials. Then we dive deep with Ralph Lauren and NFW on the innovations to be showcase at the upcoming Olympic G...

In the 60s, the first Riverkeeper patrol boat was launched by military veterans and fishermen who mobilized to challenge polluters on the Hudson River. This inspired nearly 200 autonomous “Waterkeeper” organizations across the world. David Whiteside founded the Tennessee Riverkeeper in 2009 after being introduced to the Waterkeeper Alliance by his Godfather, Robert F Kennedy Jr. Their mission to p...

Is brushing our teeth killing the planet? Plastics toothbrushes, floss, plastic paste tubes discarded on the regular. Why is every toothbrush advertisement of perfect people, with perfect smiles filled with perfect teeth? What about the quirks, flaws and originality? What about diversity? Shouldn’t every smile be celebrated and shouldn’t caring for that smile be less harmful to the planet? Christi...

We all swarmed to remote work and virtual meetings over the past 15 months and now are experiencing “Zoom fatigue” from the debilitating sameness of each meeting. We toggle between so many tools from slack to PowerPoint to calendars and are struggling to authentically collaborate. Meet the Bee Keeper, Filo CMO Jeff Rohrs, who is helping our virtual hives flow. Filo reduces the friction in remote c...