Silicon Valley Impact

S2 E36 - Doctors, Dealmakers & Dungeon Masters: Innovation Without Borders

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Shashi Tripathi, Managing Partner at Nurture Growth Fund; Leah Houston, MD, Founder and Product Owner of Evercred; and Dave Scott is the CEO of Evil Genius Games.
 
Shashi brings over 25 years of global experience in operational leadership, venture capital, and product-driven innovation. He has built, scaled, and advised businesses across enterprise technologies, AI, healthcare, FinTech, and SaaS—delivering measurable value to shareholders, customers, and teams. Shashi currently serves as a board member, investor, and advisor to high-growth companies across the U.S., Europe, India, and APAC. He launched and fully deployed a top-performing venture fund, investing in 42+ companies with a zero-failure record to date. Recognized for his ability to navigate complexity, scale innovation, and unlock enterprise value, Shashi is known as a trusted leader in both boardrooms and executive teams worldwide. He also serves as Chairman for the IIT 2026 Conference in Long Beach, taking place April 22–25, 2026.
 
Dr. Houston, Founder and Product Owner of Evercred, an AI-powered credential data wallet transforming how healthcare credentials are managed. After nearly a decade practicing emergency medicine across the U.S., she experienced the inefficiencies of onboarding and credentialing firsthand. This led her to pursue advanced training in AI and health technology at MIT and launch Evercred, which empowers physicians to own and control their verified credentials while streamlining workforce mobility. Evercred’s beta version is already revenue-generating, with enterprise solutions in development to deliver seamless, perpetual primary source verification across the healthcare ecosystem.
 
Dave, CEO of Evil Genius Games, a leading publisher of tabletop roleplaying games including the flagship Everyday Heroes TTRPG and licensed campaign settings such as Pacific Rim, Kong: Skull Island, Highlander, Escape from New York, Total Recall, Rambo, Universal Soldier, and The Crow. With over 20 years of senior marketing leadership, he has served as Global Head of Marketing Strategy & Operations at AWS and held executive roles at top software companies. Recognized as both “CMO of the Year” and “Marketer of the Year,” Dave is also the author of The New Rules of Lead Generation and The Essentials of Small Business Marketing, both published by Harper Collins. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees from The College of William and Mary and an MBA from the Wharton School, and currently serves on the boards of his alma mater, Goodwill, and Powerful Schools, as well as being an active member of Rotary International.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like TheAgentic, and STAK Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://www.theagentic.ai/ and https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the worlds largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
Event Partnerships:
 
Join us in Napa, October 22nd-24th for the Opal Group Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gjeSSHTP.
 
Join us in San Francisco October 27th-29th, for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Get your tickets here (use promo code: siliconvalley25 to get 25% off your ticket purchase): https://tcrn.ch/41JLNgv
 
Join us October 27th, following Day 1 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, for the "Venture Partner 'Unofficial TechCrunch Disrupt 2025' Afterparty: Silicon Valley's Best!" Get your tickets here while they last: https://luma.com/3w4qt0r2
 
Join us in Long Beach, April 22-25th for the IIT 2026 Conference. Get your tickets and register here: https://www.iit2026.org/register
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.

Build, Rebuild, Scale: Founders Forged in Fire and AI

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Jing Kuang, Founding Partner of Y Plus Ventures; David Sarabia Founder / CEO at inRecovery - Addiction Recovery Platform, serial entrepreneur with an incredible story on how to build and “recover;” and David Menard, Co-Founder & CTO at The Care Connxion, General Partner at Invaluable labs, and investor. Listening as they bring a fresh perspectives on building, “rebuilding," investing, and scaling in the age of AI.
 
Jing, Founding Partner of Y Plus Ventures, is a modern VC fund investing in consumer AI startups at the earliest stages. With 20 years of experience spanning consumer brand-building, entrepreneurship, and global capital markets, Jing brings a rare blend of operating and investment expertise. Her “Radical Duality—Human-Centered, AI-Partnered” philosophy guides Y+ Ventures’ proprietary sourcing and diligence tools, delivering strategic value to both founders and LPs. Previously, she was President & CEO of Yongjia Capital, where she led over $50B in cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions for Fortune 500 and high-growth tech clients. Jing holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, chairs the Stanford GSB VC Alumni Club, and serves on the Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurship investment committee.
 
David S. is a serial entrepreneur with three successful exits, including UPrinting (acquired by Insight Partners, now valued at $1.4B) and eMobileCart (sold to Magento). He also held leadership roles at US Auto Parts (NASDAQ: PRTS) and advised early on at Tradesy, which went on to raise $75M. After overcoming his own battle with addiction, David founded inRecovery in 2017 — a health-tech platform using blockchain, machine learning, and data-driven care to modernize addiction treatment. Backed by StartupHealth and multiple funding rounds, inRecovery serves as an operating system for treatment centers and individuals, offering personalized therapy, engagement tools, and long-term support for recovery.
 
David M. is a patented inventor, software engineer, and business developer focused on digital assets, agentic workflows, and decentralized systems. A builder at the intersection of AI, Web3, and fintech, he drives innovation where automation meets ownership. After a successful startup exit, David is now scaling new ventures that are redefining how we interact with technology, assets, and legal frameworks.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like TheAgentic, and STAK Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://www.theagentic.ai/ and https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the worlds largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Event Partnerships:
Join us in Napa, October 22nd-24th for the Opal Group Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gjeSSHTP.
 
Join us in San Francisco October 27th-29th, for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Get your tickets here (use promo code: siliconvalley25 to get 25% off your ticket purchase): https://tcrn.ch/41JLNgv
 
Join us October 27th, following Day 1 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, for the "Venture Partner 'Unofficial TechCrunch Disrupt 2025' Afterparty: Silicon Valley's Best!" Get you tickets here while they last: https://luma.com/3w4qt0r2
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.

S2 E34 - Inside the Minds of the VCs Shaping Health and Manufacturing

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Dr. Preetha Ram, Managing Partner at Pier 70 Ventures; and Simon Lancaster is the Founding General Partner of Omni Ventures. Together, they share how they’re shaping the future of health and manufacturing while backing the next generation of groundbreaking founders.
 
Dr. Preetha Ram is an award-winning thought leader, entrepreneur, and investor recognized for driving innovation toward measurable outcomes in health, education, and technology. She is Managing Partner at Pier 70 Ventures, investing in startups shaping the future of health, where she oversees portfolio management, deal flow, and founder development.
 
As cofounder and CEO of OpenStudy, a peer-to-peer social learning platform, she raised multimillion-dollar funding from the National Science Foundation, NIH, Gates Foundation, Hewlett Packard Foundation, and Learn Capital. Under her leadership, OpenStudy scaled to 60M+ learners worldwide, became a multimillion-dollar business, earned recognition from Fast Company and TechCrunch, and led to a successful exit.
 
Her career spans academia and entrepreneurship. She served as Associate Dean at Emory University, Executive Dean at Alliant University, and Associate Provost at Harrisburg University, and has been honored with the Andrew Heiskell Award for Study Abroad, Emory’s Winship Award of Excellence for Teaching, and the Innovators Spotlight Award sponsored by Melinda Gates.
 
A committed supporter of #womeninSTEM and #femalefounders, Dr. Ram advises startups globally and serves on the boards of Emote, Hereafter.ai, and ASEI. She is a frequent international speaker, TEDx presenter, and mentor with the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship.
 
Her education includes a PhD in Chemistry from Yale University, an MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School, and an undergraduate degree from IIT India.
 
Simon Lancaster is the Founding General Partner of Omni Ventures — The Manufacturing Tech VC, a first-check fund backing founders reimagining the future of manufacturing. Omni invests $500K–$1M at pre-seed in companies building breakthroughs in Manufacturing AI, robotics, and automation to digitize trillion-dollar supply chains.
 
Before launching Omni, Simon spent 15+ years driving product innovation at Apple, Google, and BlackBerry, where he developed breakthrough materials, advanced automation processes, and award-winning designs. His work earned 54+ patents as well as Red Dot and Good Design Awards.
 
At Omni, Simon works shoulder-to-shoulder with founders from day one — helping refine product vision, build world-class teams, and unlock follow-on capital from leading firms including Khosla Ventures, Eclipse, and Kleiner Perkins.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
 
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like TheAgentic, and STAK Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://www.theagentic.ai/ and https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.
 

How Empathy Shapes AI, Global Investment, and the Future of Human Potential

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Prof. PK Prasanna Kumar and Tallulah Le Merle about pioneering AI innovation, global investment, and the strategies shaping the next era of technology and business.
 
PK is a distinguished serial entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author, and C-level executive with over 25 years of leadership experience in scaling businesses, driving digital transformation, and securing strategic capital. A trusted board advisor and visionary leader, PK has pioneered AI- and cloud-driven innovations across multiple industries, including healthcare, insurance, capital markets, edtech, medico-legal, and energy.
 
Tallulah is both a technologist and a humanist. An AI advisor, investor, and Partner at Fifth Era, she has spent over a decade in artificial intelligence, beginning as a consultant for FTSE 100 companies before serving as a fractional COO for AI scale-ups. She speaks globally on AI, hosts Fresh AI—the world’s first fully AI-generated daily news podcast—and is passionate about the intersection of AI with human psychology, wellbeing, and human potential. A dual U.S./U.K. citizen, she splits her time between the Bay Area, London, and Paris.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like Stak Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.

S2 E32 - Valuable insights from industry leaders shaping capital markets, global ventures, AI, and founder tools

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we’re bringing you a full house of insights from leaders shaping capital markets, global ventures, AI, and founder tools.
🌟 Mohammad Hasham – Partner & West Region Leader for Capital Markets and IPO at CohnReznick. With 17+ years in financial leadership, capital markets, and IPO advisory, he’s guided domestic and international companies through complex public transactions. He also founded the American Founders & Leaders Community, best known for its exclusive FounderFuel dinners connecting top executives, founders, and VCs.
🌟 Naveen Kumar – CEO of Nityo Infotech and Founder of KFC Ventures. With 25+ years in IT services and venture building, Naveen has scaled Nityo into a global powerhouse spanning consulting, technology, and training. Through KFC Ventures, he’s backing early and growth-stage startups worldwide, with a vision of taking Nityo public in the near future.
🌟 William Reid – CEO of ShoeboxIQ, the first AI platform built to cut audit burdens by up to 85% while boosting accuracy and margins. His leadership journey includes roles at PayPal, Visa, American Express, and Protiviti Consulting, where he delivered transformative fintech solutions. He’s also been a founder and advisor to startups in BNPL, credit scoring, expense management, and fractional assets.
🌟 Abdul Mukati – Founder of Master Inbox, the AI-powered inbox designed for lead gen agencies and SaaS founders. Master Inbox unifies email and LinkedIn into a smart workspace that sorts by client, drafts replies, summarizes conversations, and tracks every follow-up — giving founders their unfair advantage in scaling.
🎧 This episode dives deep into IPO readiness, global scaling, AI transformation, and founder tools that remove chaos from growth.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like Stak Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.

S2 E31 - Live recording from STEP San Francisco 2025, a two-day startup and technology conference held at The Midway in San Francisco

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we give you the live recording from STEP San Francisco 2025, a two-day startup and technology conference held August 20–21 at The Midway in San Francisco. STEP SF brought together founders, investors, and tech leaders to explore the future of artificial intelligence, deep tech, and global scaling strategies.
 
Brian Sparkes moderates a powerhouse panel of four leading venture capitalists in a conversation titled: “Investing in Real AI, Not Just Hype: Agents, Models, and the Apps Built on Them.” The discussion dives into what separates breakthrough AI companies from the noise, and how investors are thinking about long-term value creation in one of the most transformative markets of our time.
The panel features:
SC Moatti (Mighty Capital) – Founding Managing Partner at Mighty Capital, SC is a renowned product leader turned investor, celebrated for building products used by billions at Meta and Siebel Systems. Today, she backs companies shaping the enterprise future, including Amplitude and Groq, and is recognized as one of the top venture capitalists in Silicon Valley.
Jon Chu (Khosla Ventures) – Partner at Khosla Ventures, Jon leads the firm’s AI investments with a sharp focus on infrastructure, applications, and developer tools. His journey from Palantir engineer to founder (Koality, acquired by Docker) to investor gives him a rare operator-investor perspective on what it takes to scale the next generation of AI companies.
Eric Anderson (Scale Venture Partners) – Partner at Scale, Eric specializes in early-stage investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, and security. A former Google Cloud and AWS product leader, he helped launch foundational data and ML products before turning to venture, where he now backs and advises some of the most innovative enterprise startups.
Allen Taylor (Endeavor Catalyst) – Managing Partner of Endeavor Catalyst, Allen brings two decades of experience supporting high-growth companies in emerging markets. He has helped raise and deploy over $500M across 360+ investments globally, with a mission to empower founders building category-defining companies far beyond Silicon Valley.
Tune in for a rare inside look at how top venture capitalists are navigating the AI wave—and what it means for the future of startups worldwide.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like Stak Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.
 

Opal Spotlight Part 3: AI, Investing & Impact in Real Time | SVI S2 Ep 30

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we have Part 3, of “Opal Spotlight” from San Francisco, California, at the Opal Group AI/Tech Investing Forum. Join us for the third and final part of "Opal Spotlight" as we share the stories from Opal speakers who are making an impact!
 
In order of appearance:
 
Olivier Viatour is the founder of TableCoin. Olivier created a Web TV before Youtube, published 20+ books and produced over 1000 shows with 300+ Michelin star chefs around the World. He made half a billion prime time TV viewers in China. He will now bring the TableCoin mainstream while making cooking become a sport all over the globe.
 
Hamlet Yousef is the Managing Partner at IronGate Capital Advisors. Investing in early stage technology that enhances the National Defense. With over 20 years of sales, business development, and strategic growth expertise, Hamlet has worked with companies ranging from early-stage ventures to Fortune 100 enterprises across disruptive and emerging technologies. His experience spans leading a 600+ person sales force, driving international business development across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, and conducting extensive operational and financial due diligence on behalf of investors and private stakeholders. He brings a proven track record in P&L management, cultivating global markets, and building long-term strategic growth opportunities across diverse industries.
 
Marty Sprinzen is the CEO of Vantiq Corporation (automate AI in real time), a platform for building real-time, AI-driven business applications. With a career spanning systems management, relational databases, and internet application development, I’ve focused on creating technologies that help organizations harness data while keeping people at the center of decision-making. At Vantiq, we integrate legacy systems, IoT, and AI to reduce inefficiencies and enable scalable, intelligent systems that respond instantly to events.
 
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
We’re grateful to our amazing partners — Withum (Accounting and Advisory professionals), and Salesbricks 🧱 — for their continued support and commitment to our shared vision. Your partnership helps fuel our growth and impact.”
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like Stak Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.
 

S2 E29 - OPAL GROUP AI/Tech Investing Forum 2025: SAN FRANCISCO - PART 2

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact we have Part 2, of “Opal Spotlight” from San Francisco, California, at the Opal Group AI/Tech Investing Forum. Joining us for the second of a 3-part series of "Opal Spotlight" as we share the stories from Opal speakers who are making an impact!
In order of appearance:
Matthew Houston – Mighty CapitalTech sales leader with 7+ years of quota-smashing success, ex-US Navy submariner, and global project manager. Now heads Early Engagement at Hawk Ridge Systems and invests actively while serving on the Students Rising Above board. When not closing deals, he’s racing superbikes or cooking for friends.
Deborah Magid – NextStarCo-Founder of NextStar Venture Partners, investing in early-stage AI-enabled startups. Former IBM Ventures Director of Strategy with global responsibility for VC relationships, sourcing acquisitions, and strategic alliances. Advisor on AI, climate, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurial ecosystems worldwide.
Lisa Carmen Wang – Bad Bitch EmpireHall of Fame gymnast turned 3x entrepreneur, best-selling author, and Forbes 30 Under 30 in VC. Founder of Bad Bitch Empire®, she’s helped women raise $50M+, spoken on 100+ global stages, and is redefining feminine leadership and wealth-building for the next generation.
Dan Goldin – Former NASA AdministratorNASA’s longest-serving Administrator, appointed by President George H.W. Bush. Revitalized the agency post–Cold War, launched the “Faster, Better, Cheaper” initiative, fostered international space cooperation, and led the Mars Sojourner rover mission. Member of the National Academy of Engineering.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
 
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
📺 Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
 
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies, like Stak Ventures, and 1900 Broadway Tower - Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world largest full stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go; everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent needs to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions.

S2 E23 - OPAL GROUP AI/Tech Investing Forum 2025: SAN FRANCISCO - PART 1

On this week's special edition of Silicon Valley Impact, we give you “Opal Spotlight” from San Francisco, California, at the Opal Group’s AI/Tech Investing Forum. Joining us on today's show for the first of a 3-part series, we have some incredibly talented and insightful guests.
In order of appearance, we have:
David Leibowitz, SVP of Investor Relations, who is responsible for initiating and cultivating relationships with both private wealth and institutional allocators; leads the production of some of the company's largest and most impactful events; and manages a high-performing sales team of six members and an audience development team of 10 members, fostering collaboration, ensuring engagement, and supporting the company’s growth.
Walid Mando, Founder of FORMA Development Design Management
Alan Smithson, Private Investor at 6ix Ventures, author, and Advisory Board Member at the Global Family Office Investment Summit
Kelli Richards – Director of Music & Entertainment Markets, developed and drove Apple's strategies in the music and entertainment markets. Trusted advisor to visionary founders, leaders & teams, creatives & innovators. Growth strategist, business development super-connector, music/media tech innovator & thought leader.
LeAnita Ragland-Brooks – Global Keynote Speaker | Advisory Board Member | Leader known for business development and revenue growth with purpose and passion | CHIEF | Enterprise Relationship Management | Sales | Community Advocate
Rikki Ragland at Rikki Ragland Media – Investor Communications | Healthcare AI | Public Speaker
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
Follow us and listen to all our episodes on: 🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@siliconvalleyimpact
We’re grateful to our amazing partners — Withum (Accounting and Advisory professionals) and Salesbricks 🧱 — for their continued support and commitment to our shared vision. Your partnership helps fuel our growth and impact.
Silicon Valley Venture, LLC, the parent company of Silicon Valley Impact, is a proud global venture partner to great companies like Stak Ventures and 1900 Broadway Tower – Oakland. Check out https://stakspace.com/ to gain access to the world’s largest full-stack venture ecosystem. It's over 1.2 million square feet of Live, Work, Play, Go — everything innovators, investors, ecosystem influencers, institutional partners, and global talent need to gain a global advantage, access, alignment, and accelerate your venture.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or a solicitation.

S2 E28 - Michael Hoy and Clay Minor, Co-Founders at Atlas; Daniel Idzkowski, Founder of SKUNKLOCK and Sidepocket Financial

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Daniel Idzkowski, a Founder, Funder, Inventor; and inventor of SKUNKLOCK, a $1B+ deterrent lock industry for carbon neutrality. He is also working toward precision portfolio hedging for the 99% to help reduce economic inequality. Daniel also invented in-bottle aging to stop deforestation. Also on the show are Michael Hoy and Clay Minor, Co-Founders at Atlas. Atlas makes it easy to own your monetization—no more patching together tools or hiring pricey consultants. Atlas combines product analytics and billing data so you can launch pricing models fast, track what’s working, and turn revenue into a real growth engine. Pricing shouldn’t be an afterthought—it should lead the way.
Daniel Idzkowski, an entrepreneur, investor, and inventor, measures success by millions of people positively impacted, focusing primarily on supporting deep tech companies tackling existential challenges. Sidepocket Financial, one of his largest portfolio companies, developed new foundational models for asset allocation, replacing 70-year-old antiquated models available to retail investors. His invention, SKUNKLOCK—the first bike lock that fights back—sparked a billion-dollar industry and prevented over 1 million tons of carbon emissions. As a family office investor via the IDIT Family Office, he supports dozens of innovative entrepreneurs. He lives by simple but powerful principles: lead with value, take on hard problems, and when in doubt, get more data.
Michael Hoy is a repeat founder and former early Pendo executive who helped scale the company from under $1M in revenue to a $2B+ valuation. During his decade at Pendo, he built core functions including ops, enablement, EMEA GTM, and Pendo for Startups. Before that, he launched several startups—one of which, BoomboxFM, grew to 200,000 active users. Today, he’s building Atlas, a monetization copilot for AI founders. Atlas helps product builders launch pricing models, paywalls, and strategy—fast—so they don’t lose momentum figuring out how to make money.
Clay Minor is the Co-Founder of Atlas, a platform reimagining software monetization for the AI era. With over a decade of experience leading sales engineering and go-to-market teams at high-growth SaaS companies—including a key leadership role at Pendo—Clay has helped scale product-led growth from startup to global enterprise. Before co-founding Atlas, he built and led GTM strategy, sales enablement, and value engineering at Pendo as it grew into a multi-billion-dollar company. A former engineer turned revenue leader, Clay blends deep technical insight with a sharp focus on customer value. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is based in Santa Barbara, CA.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!
Follow us on and listen to all our episodes on:
🎙️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silicon-valley-impact/id1776876823
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We’re grateful to our amazing partners — Withum (Accounting and Advisory professionals), and Salesbricks 🧱 — for their continued support and commitment to our shared vision. Your partnership helps fuel our growth and impact.”
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