A Show about the Entrepreneurial Life

Guests

Dan Yates

Co-founder, Opower

Thursday, June 30th, 2016

Dan YatesOpower is a software company focused on energy efficiency. Opower works with utilities to monitor how much energy a consumer uses and gives households and businesses incentives to lower their consumption. The idea is that through the use of behavioral science techniques such as peer proof, people will feel compelled to consume energy more responsibly. Dan started Opower in 2007 with his Harvard classmate Alex Laskey. Opower went public in April, 2014. Prior, Dan launched Edusoft, a software company focused on public school assessments, which was sold to Houghton Mifflin in 2004.

Dan speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched Opower, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Bunker Roy

Founder, Barefoot College

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016

Bunker RoyDespite his elite background in India, Bunker Roy chose an unconventional path dedicating his life to educating India’s impoverished population. Influenced by Ghandi’s approach toward self reliance at the village level, the Barefoot College is an organization that teaches practical skills including solar engineering, architecture and water purification, to mostly illiterate women and men. Upon completion of their six month education at the Barefoot College, students bring their newly
attained skills home to their villages, where they help to improve local living standards. The Barefoot College has expanded its reach beyond India, to Afghanistan, parts of Africa and Latin America.

Jessica Harris speaks to Bunker about his journey of empowering countless poor people across the globe, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Zainab Salbi

Founder, Women for Women International

Thursday, May 19th, 2016

Zainab SalbiZainab Salbi grew up in Iraq with close ties to Saddam Hussein. Her father was Saddam’s personal pilot, causing her family to be victims of psychological abuse by the dictator. When Zainab was living in the United States as a young adult, she was again involved in an abusive relationship. Her understanding of women in extremely harsh conditions eventually led her to start Women for Women International, an organization that provides support to women in war zones worldwide.

Zainab tells Jessica Harris about growing up in the shadow of Saddam Hussein, and how it empowered her to join the fight to help women across the globe, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Fred Swaniker

Co-Founder, African Leadership Academy

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

Fred SwanikerAfrican Leadership Academy (ALA) is an institution focused on developing Africa’s next generation of leaders. ALA provides practical leadership education, networking and mentoring opportunities for its students, as well as financial incentives to remain on the African continent. Fred started ALA when he was 27 years old.

Fred speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched ALA, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Jack Dorsey

Co-Founder, Square and Twitter

Thursday, April 14th, 2016

Twitter founder, Jack DorseyJack is a serial entrepreneur who has started two companies Twitter and Square that, on the face of it, seem entirely different. Twitter is a social networking service; Square is a mobile payments company. But Jack believes that their shared purpose is to make each of their related tasks communicating and transacting easier. Twitter gets messages from point A to point B just as Square gets money from point A to point B.

Twitter has over 500 million users and gained global recognition when it facilitated the Iranian protests of the presidential election in 2009. Users type messages to followers using a maximum of 140 characters.

Square is a financial services company that allows any merchant to accept credit card payments through a device that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack. One of the company’s services, called Square Wallet, allows customers to buy products without having to use their actual credit card.

Jack speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched both Twitter and Square, from scratch.

This interview was conducted before Jack returned to Twitter and became CEO in 2015.

Listen to the interview

Tony Fadell

Founder, Nest Labs

Thursday, March 31st, 2016

Tony FadellNest Labs is focused on helping to create the next-generation home by making energy-saving smart digital assistants. Tony calls Nest’s first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, “a smartphone in disguise.” Prior to launching Nest, Tony worked at Apple where he led the team that developed the iPod and iPhone. He was a special advisor to Steve Jobs until late 2009. Nest was sold to Google in January, 2014 for $3.2 Billion.

Tony speaks with Jessica Harris about his leadership role at Apple, and his vision for Nest, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Vinnie Bharara and Marc Lore

Co-Founders, Diapers.com

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Vinnie Bharara and Marc LoreMarc and Vinnie have been close friends since they were elementary school classmates in New Jersey. Mark and Vinnie spent their earlier careers in finance and law respectively, before becoming business partners in their late twenties. In addition to Diapers.com, the online retail site specializing in baby products, they have started a number of other e-commerce businesses including Soap.com, focused on cleaning supplies, Wag.com, focused on pet products, and Yoyo.com, specializing in toys. Amazon bought the parent company, Quidsi, for $540 Million in 2010. Quidsi is based in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Marc and Vinnie speak with Jessica Harris about how they built their e-commerce businesses, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Brad Katsuyama

Co-founder, IEX

Thursday, February 11th, 2016

Brad KatsuyamaIEX is an alternate trading platform whose mission is to ensure fair trading in the US equity capital market system. IEX was launched specifically to counter the behavior of high frequency traders who take advantage of the information arbitrage made possible by electronic trading. Prior to starting IEX, Brad worked at Royal Bank of Canada where he first discovered the market imbalance generated by certain high frequency traders. Brad and IEX are featured in Michael Lewis’ book, Flash Boys, about high frequency trading.

Brad speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched IEX, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Thomas Keller

Founder, Thomas Keller Restaurant Group

Thursday, January 21st, 2016

Thomas KellerChef and restaurateur Thomas Keller bought the French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa Valley California, and turned it into one of the leading fine dining establishments in the world.  The French Laundry and Per Se, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City, have both been awarded three Michelin Stars.  Thomas has won consecutive “Best Chef” awards from the James Beard Foundation and “Chef of the Year” award by the Culinary Institute of America, among other accolades.  He is the author of multiple cookbooks, including The French Laundry, Bouchon, Under Pressure, and Ad Hoc at Home.

Thomas speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched his collection of restaurants, from scratch.

Listen to the interview

Yancey Strickler

Co-Founder, Kickstarter

Thursday, November 5th, 2015

Yancey StricklerHave you ever had a creative project you were eager to get off the ground but you didn’t have the funding to make it happen? Yancey Strickler, co-founder of Kickstarter, has helped to develop an online solution that involves the crowd’s participation. Kickstarter connects artists and innovators with potential funders who simply learn about projects by visiting the website.

Yancey, a former music critic, tells Jessica Harris the story of how he and a friend hatched their crowd-sourcing idea in a Brooklyn restaurant, from scratch.

Listen to the interview