Gazelle is a company that resells used electronic equipment including iPhones, BlackBerries, iPads, and recent Apple computers, among other items. Prior to starting Gazelle, Israel was at eBay where he helped to build the international business and worked with eBay’s M&A team to acquire PayPal, which he subsequently joined. He was formerly a research analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Jessica speaks with Jim Barton, co-founder of Tivo, a product that allows users to digitally record television to a hard drive that can be recalled and watched at anytime. Through the invention of the Digital Video Recorder, or DVR, Tivo effectively changed the business model of television, handing over control from the TV executives to consumers.
Jim speaks with Jessica Harris about how he is helping to transform the television landscape, from scratch.
Netspend was the first prepaid debit card company focused on the “underbanked” population in the United States. Launched in 1999, Netspend targets people who do not have access to credit cards or hold bank accounts. Bertrand and Roy started the company out of their one bedroom apartment in Austin, Texas with $750. They later raised almost $1.5 Billion in an IPO in 2010 and sold the company in early 2013 to Total System Services for approximately $1.4Bn.
Bertrand and Roy are also the co-founders of Mpower Labs, an investment fund focused on financial services for the underbanked. The brothers emigrated from Mexico with their mother when they were teenagers in 1986.
Bertrand and Roy speak with Jessica Harris about how they have helped to pioneer the international financial services landscape, from scratch.
City Year is an organization focused on addressing the national dropout rate; one million American students drop out of high school annually. City Year’s corps members serve as tutors, mentors, and role models in America’s most challenging schools. City Year also played a role in the national service movement, helping to establish youth service programs, such as Americorps. Prior to starting City Year in 1988, Michael clerked for then Judge, later Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Michael speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched City Year, from scratch.
The idea for Paperless Post developed while Alexa was an assistant to Katie Couric at CBS and her brother and co-founder James was still a student at Harvard College.
Paperless Post allows people to send digital cards that have the look of actual stationary. Users can customize around various design elements including font, color, size, pattern, etc, with just a few clicks.
Alexa speaks with Jessica Harris about how she and her brother launched Paperless Post, from scratch.
Infosys is a leading global information, technology and consulting company with more than 150,000 employees and $7 Billion in revenue. Nandan started Infosys in 1981 in Bangalore, India with 6 colleagues. Nandan then served as the Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which through its project Aadhaar is seeking to provide unique identification numbers to close to a billion Indian residents. This biometric ID system aims to revolutionize the distribution of social benefits and financial services. In March, 2014 Nandan resigned from UIDAI to join the Indian National Congress.
Nandan speaks with Jessica Harris about how he helped to transform India’s technological landscape— and India’s social sector— from scratch. This interview was recorded before Nandan joined Congress.
Babies are discriminating about the food they eat. Peas and carrots out of a jar don’t taste as good as the ‘real thing.’ Organic baby food companies are emerging to offer more tasty and nutritious options for babies. HappyBaby, founded by Jessica Rolph and Shazi Visram, is one such company.
Jessica Harris and Shazi explain how they launched their natural food company, from scratch.
Some people might look at a wooden chair as a functional piece of furniture, but others might see it as a work of art, the result of careful craftsmanship. Who are some of the country’s leading woodworkers who emphasize form as well as function? Jessica speaks with one such entrepreneur, Thomas Moser.
Tom is the founder of Thomas Moser, a wooden furniture company recognized worldwide for its clean, simple designs. Tom explains how he built his wood shop into a multi-million dollar company, from scratch.
Since growing up on an American compound in Saudi Arabia, Fadi Jaber developed a sweet tooth for American desserts. He later moved to New York City where he enjoyed gourmet cupcakes from shops such as Magnolia Bakery and Crumbs. Fadi opened his first American-inspired cupcake shop in Jordan, his home country, and has since expanded to other locations throughout the Middle East.
Jessica Harris speaks with Fadi about how he’s exposing American sweets to the Middle East, from scratch.
“Turning life into a game” has always been of interest to Dennis Crowley. Dennis applies game dynamics to Foursquare, a popular social networking application that helps users get to know their city better. Foursquare was launched at South by Southwest in 2009 and has a following of approximately 10 million users.
Dennis speaks to Jessica Harris about how he launched Foursquare, a recent online social phenomenon, from scratch.
