S2 E8 - AJ Thomas, Isabelle Johannessen and Michelle Florendo

In this episode, we are joined by AJ Thomas, founder of Good Trouble Ventures, as co-host. Together, we dive into insightful conversations with Isabelle Johannessen, head of the Startup Battlefield Program at TechCrunch, and Michelle Florendo, a Stanford University educated decision engineer and executive coach.

Meet Our Guests:

🔹 Isabelle Johannessen leads TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield Program, the premier early-stage startup competition. She’s on a global search for the most innovative startups to feature at TechCrunch Disrupt (October 27–29), where 200 selected companies will compete for a $100,000 equity-free prize, media exposure, investor attention, and the coveted Disrupt Cup. Before TechCrunch, Isabelle managed a San Francisco-based accelerator, helping international startups from Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain break into Silicon Valley. Passionate about supporting women founders, she was recognized by the World Trade Organization for launching an award-winning program advancing gender equality in trade.

🔹 Michelle Florendo is a decision engineer and executive coach who has spent over a decade helping leaders across tech, healthcare, and finance navigate complex decisions with clarity and confidence. She has worked with executives from Amazon, Google, and Salesforce, teaches at Stanford, and serves as a faculty coach at the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. She also hosts the podcast Ask a Decision Engineer and holds degrees from Stanford (Engineering) and UC Berkeley (MBA).

🔹 AJ Thomas, my co-host for this episode, is a visionary investor and futurist specializing in AI-driven workforce transformation. As the CEO of The Troublemaker Lab and founder of Good Trouble Ventures, she empowers founders and invests in the future of entertainment and digital transformation. Formerly at Google X, AJ now serves as CXO-in-Residence at A.Team, helping companies integrate AI for growth. She is also a Forbes contributor, executive coach, and speaker, advising both startups and Fortune 100 companies on innovation and disruption.

Tune in for a conversation packed with insights on startup acceleration, decision-making strategies, and the future of AI and entrepreneurship.

This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!

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