Silicon Valley Impact

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E20 With NBA Mental Performance Coach Graham Betchart; and CEO Behrouz Hariri

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with the inspiring Graham Betchart, mental performance coach for top business minds and professional athletes. Listen in as he gives us insight into how top performing NBA stars, and high performing startup founders gain the edge in a competitive landscape. Also joining us is Behrouz Hariri, CEO, Director, and Co-Founder of Smart Nora, a startup solving a very common sleep problem and saving marriages. 
Graham has spent the last 20 years as a leading mental skills coach, shaping the minds of professional athletes, including serving roles with two NBA teams and personally coaching over a dozen NBA All-Stars. Notably, he has been the mental coach behind the success of top NBA draft picks like Ben Simmons, Jaylen Brown, and Aaron Gordon. Recognized as one of the NBA's premier resources, Graham’s expertise in helping athletes master the mental side of the game is unparalleled.In 2023, while coaching with the Sacramento Kings, Graham was invited to speak at a Sequoia Capital event, which led him to a new challenge—coaching growth-stage CEOs. Just like elite athletes, these high-impact leaders operate in high-pressure environments where mental clarity is crucial. Today, Graham continues to work with a select group of NBA clients while leading quarterly cohorts of five CEOs through a personalized program at Capitola Coaching.With a deep understanding of thriving under pressure, Graham empowers both athletes and business leaders to reach their highest potential.
Behrouz Hariri is the CEO, Director, and Co-Founder of Smart Nora, a company on a mission to help 2 billion adults worldwide sleep and breathe better. With over 15 years of experience in product design and strategy, Behrouz has successfully launched products and programs across sectors in seven countries, improving the quality of life, digital health services, and financial mobility globally.Before founding Smart Nora, Behrouz honed his expertise in Toronto at JetCooper (acquired by Shopify) and in San Francisco at IDEO.org, where he led projects that tackled poverty through design. His work at IDEO.org included developing a sustainable franchise model to deliver essential services in D.R. Congo, reproductive health services in Zambia, and an inclusive financial product in the Philippines.Under Behrouz’s leadership, Smart Nora’s products have already transformed millions of lives by enabling better nights of sleep. His vision is to impact global health, happiness, and longevity by ensuring restorative, healthy sleep for half of the adult population worldwide.
This and much more on Silicon Valley!

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E19 Special Edition at Plug and Play, and Founders and Funders Event in Los Gatos

This week on Silicon Valley Impact, we have a special 3-part edition!
First, Brian Bernasconi and I briefly discuss the mission of Silicon Valley Impact—providing the startup ecosystem with access to valuable insights and innovation from those deeply immersed in Silicon Valley.
Next, tune in as we revisit last month’s live panel discussion on AI Innovation and Insights for Startups at Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale. Our esteemed panelists included Bill Reichert, Jenni Wu, Mona Salvi, and Venkat Thiruvengadam. With over 150 AI founders and more than 250 guests in attendance, it was a remarkable event. We were honored to moderate, record, and share this exclusive conversation for our show.
Finally, on this episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we’ll air an interview from the Founders and Funders Series, held at Hapa’s Brewery in Los Gatos. This series of events takes place across the Bay Area, with the Los Gatos edition happening every second Tuesday at Hapa’s Brewery in partnership with IgniteGTM. Join us tonight (August 13th) in Los Gatos

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E19 with Peter Walker & Lindsey Mignano

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact we talk with the legendary Peter Walker, Head of Insights of Carta; and returning guest, Lindsey Mignano Co-Founder & Shareholder at SSM. 
Peter runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. He is a master at weaving data into brand storytelling for the next generation of company owners. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project.
Lindsey counsels national and international startups regarding business formation and expansion into US markets, commercial contracts, venture financing, and M&A. Prior to founding her women-owned law firm in 2016, Lindsey practiced at an international law firm. Originally from Hawaii, she graduated from Iolani School (H.S.D., 2003) before heading to California to attend Stanford University (B.A., 2007), and University of California, San Francisco, fka Hastings College of the Law (J.D., 2010).
Listen in as we talk about the state of venture capital in Q3 2024; and how, after two years of being told to do more with less, venture-funded companies are coming back to the market for their next round and facing an ever increasing competitive landscape where venture firms are deploying more, but only to the select few after lengthy negotiations and heightened due diligence. 

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E17 With Luke Hohmann, Albert Lam, and Daniel Lo

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact we take a look at sustainable profit streams with Luke Hohmann, Chief Innovation Officer of Applied Frameworks. Also in the studio is Albert Lam, Co-Founder & CEO of Novelte Robotic Solutions; and Daniel Lo, CEO and Founder of GoGoChart.
Luke Holmann is a four time author, three time founder, SAFe® Fellow, keynote speaker and internationally recognized expert in Agile Software Development. His passion is sustainably profitable businesses, because it is only through sustainable profits that a business can thrive. 
As Chief Innovation Officer of Applied Frameworks Luke works with executives to fulfill the mission of helping clients create sustainably profitable businesses. His most recent book, Software Profit Solutions, is co-authored with Jason Tanner and shares key insights to help transform businesses through profitable, sustainable software solutions.
Also joining us is Albert Lam, the driving force behind a thriving robotics company out of Hong Kong seeking to disrupt how robots see the world. Albert believes robotics, and the use of AI will bring our world to a new era, resolving the increasing cost of using man-power among repetitive work. With the rise of Ai and computing power, he is devoted to create feasible camera only autonomy solution for indoor mobility including robots and transporter.
Finally, we will meet Daniel Lo, Founder & CEO of GoGoChart. GoGoChart is an award winning company that has helped over 2,000 brands in more than 60 countries optimize and promote their apps. GoGoChart has evolved into an all-rounded digital marketing service provider after winning trust from thousands of brands, and was awarded the 2019 Hong Kong Technology Fast and Rising Star Program organized by Deloitte, the Best Use of Mobile Online Campaign (inaugural season) by Interactive Advertising Bureau Hong Kong (iAB HK) in 2021, and became one of the most awarded agencies in Hong Kong. The company is headquartered in Hong Kong and has additional regional teams situated in the Philippines and mainland China.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM in Los Gatos; and 101.9FM in Santa Cruz Tuesdays at 3pm!
Not in the South Bay or Santa Cruz you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Or, follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show

Silicon Valley Impact: S1 E16 WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP SERIES with Mariane Bekker, Aury Cifuentes, Fannie Wang, and Shoba Viswanath

Today, we continue our WOMAN IN LEADERSHIP series with Mariane Bekker, on Silicon Valley Impact. Listen in as Mariane makes a BIG announcement, and 3 amazing woman investors open up on how to make an impact in the startup ecosystem.
Aury Cifuentes is an early-stage investor at How Women Invest. Prior to joining How Women Invest Aury was an investor at Plug & Play. She leverages her knowledge as a former fintech operator and manager to evaluate startups impacting people, tech, and large enterprises. Before joining the venture capital industry, she was a manager at Bloomberg in New York City. Aury has always been active across several groups supporting young women in their careers, such as her school's Women in Business chapter, Women in VC, and the San Francisco Girls' School. Today, she is actively investing in women-led companies from Seed to Series B across the areas of healthcare, sustainability, and the future of work.
Also in the studio is Fannie Wang, an early-stage Investor at UpHonest Capital, a silicon valley based venture capital with 350 portfolios under management. The earliest backer of Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS), Vicarious Surgical (NYSE: RBOT), Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP), Instacart, Grubmarket, Lime, and Checkr.
Finally, we have Shoba Viswanath, an active angel investor who has invested through numerous syndicates She has a life science, and technology agnostic background Shoba has worked in a range of SAAS for healthcare and biopharma products, to technology for transportation and fin-tech. Through affiliations with leading accelerators like Plug & Play, Alchemist, Viswanath Consulting, LLC, and Appleton & Greene, she provides advisory services on raising money and growing companies. She immersed herself in everything from product development, operations, and dev to strategy and raising venture capital to scale these companies.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact on KPCR 92.9FM in Los Gatos and beyond!
Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E15 with Kevin Jurovich, Rick Spencer, and Christian Masegian (S1E15)

BUCKLE-UP STARTUP AND SPORTS FANS 🏈 🚀On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have Kevin Jurovich, Ex-NFL player turned startup founder; Rick Spencer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at the Growth Factory; and Christian Masegian, Co-Founder & CEO at Modern Football TechnologyKevin is the Co-Founder & CEO of Circles, where they are passionate about transforming how people discover places they love through live video. Circles combines the functionality of TikTok meets Yelp, while offering real-time capacity updates. We’ll discuss how Kevin’s journey into startups began in 2013 while serving as a Private Wealth Manager at Wells Fargo Advisors, where he focused on tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Since then, he’s immersed himself in the startup world, both as a founder and mentor to other entrepreneurs. And, oh ya!, before his transition to finance and tech, he played wide receiver in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Chicago Bears. So we might talk a little about that.Rick Spencer is the Managing Partner of Growth Factory Ventures, est. in 2021. Prior to Co-Founding Growth Factory, Rick was a Founder and startup executive with multiple organizations, with an exit of one company (Briotix) to publicly traded, and Houston based, USPh. As the Managing Partner of Growth Factory, Rick has led the fund team to build an investment portfolio of 50 companies across verticals in the Future of Food, Health, Medicine, Government and Work. Additionally, Rick is a Board Member for Idea Village’s newly launched fund (Momentum). Then, Christian Masegian talks about his background in technology development and management consulting, where he has helped F100 companies design and implement their data strategies. In 2017, he developed a close relationship with the University of Texas football to advise on a program-wide technology strategy to enable coaches, players, and staff to rationalize technology investments, visualize analytics, and identify opportunities to improve player evaluation, performance, and recovery/health.This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: https://lnkd.in/gAi9hz-USpecial Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E14 with Naveen Khugputh, Shelley Kuipers, and Mercedes Korngut

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have Naveen Khugputh, Co-Founder & COO at Werqwise, and Private Equity; Shelley Kuipers, CEO and General Partner at The51; and Mercedes Korngut, Co-Founder and CEO of Small Bits of Happiness (oh, and did I mention, she’s only 16 years old?).
Naveen has over 15 years in business development, private equity, and angel investing. As the co-founder and COO of Werqwise, a pioneering flexible workspace provider. Naveen is as an active angel investor with a wealth of experience in high-growth global operations across emerging and developed markets. Naveen has facilitated over 30 private equity transactions, totaling over $3 billion USD. His expertise in navigating the intricacies of entrepreneurship and investment makes him a valuable asset to any discussion on business development and innovation.
Also joining us is Shelley, co-founder of The51, and serial entrepreneur. She's the Co-founder of @Chaordix; Co-Founder of Stormworks; and Co-founder of IOVIA, based in London, UK. Shelley has been an early-stage investing for more than 20 years. Her investment experience focuses on the tech sector with an emphasis on innovation-driven companies across many sectors. To date their family office has made +30 early-stage investments. Shelley’s most notable investment was Solium, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2019 for $1.1B. Shelley supports many founders, and ventures as an advisor, board observer and director, including Bobbie Racette Founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus.
Meet 16 year old Mercedes Korngut, Co-Founder and CEO of Small Bits of Happiness, a company on mission to help individuals of all ages, especially teenagers, find more happiness daily. She is also the co-host of Hack Your Happiness, a podcast where Mercedes and her younger sister, Anastasia, interview Oscar-winners, Olympic Athletes, and top authors on what brings them happiness, and their life hacks. Mercedes's written work has been featured in publications such as Impact Magazine and Washington Parent magazine, and she has been a guest on national TV news and media.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!
Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: https://lnkd.in/gAi9hz-U
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E13 with Samara Jaffe, Damian Scott, and Mona DeFrawi

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have Samara Jaffe of Transform Media, Damian Scott, Co Founder of Fynch; and Mona DeFrawi, CEO & Founder of Radivision.
Samara Jaffe is a dynamic entrepreneur and executive renowned for her ability to bridge connections and build strategic visions. As Co-Founder and General Manager of Transform Media, she brings leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors together to foster innovation. She is also a Strategic Advisor for SemperVirens Venture Capital leading their HR advisory network. With a history of leadership roles at various influential organizations, Samara excels in fast-paced environments, quickly identifying new opportunities. She serves on the board of Horizons at San Francisco Friends School and is passionate about their mission to provide access to enriching summer academic experiences for public school students in the Mission District.
We’ll also hear from Damian Scott, who has over 20 years experience driving digital transformation and customer-focused growth in the marketing technology and grocery retail sectors. He’s passionate about leveraging innovation to deliver real-world results. Formerly EVP of Retail Media & CCO at Giant Eagle, Inc., he is now partners with CPG brands and Retailers as a marketing consultant and a co-founder of Fynch (www.getfynch.com), an AI-powered email productivity startup poised to revolutionize the way we work.
Also with us is Mona DeFrawi, Founder and CEO of Radivision. Radivision is the new private market platform for retail investors connecting $72T of US AUM to startups, IPOs, and soon to GPs, angel syndicates, and more. Mona has been a member of 12 startup teams over 3 decades, serving as Founder & CEO of the last 4. She pioneered the first private market platform for institutional investors to restore venture liquidity and IPOs. (acquired twice; spun-out as the standalone Nasdaq Private Market).  Mona has been recognized as one of Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women in Technology,” and one of the “Top 100 Women in Fintech."
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!
Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E12 with Mariane Bekker, Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, Heather Hochrein, and Janet Gehrmann

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, our “Women in Leadership” series is back with Mariane Bekker, and we have a packed house of insight.
In the studio is Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, author of the new book, Beyond Eureka: The Rocky Roads to innovating, Foreword by Guy Kawasaki. Marylene is one of the first European women to have founded (with Guy Kawasaki) a technology company in Silicon Valley, and later went on to be the CEO of three additional companies in succession; and has helped over 30 companies as a "shadow" CEO, board member, and strategy advisor. She holds a PhD and earned minors in mathematical logic and history of sciences. In 2018, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, and in 2023, she received the Woman Leadership Award Woman Leadership Award, issued by French-American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco.
We will also hear from Heather Hochrein, Founder and CEO of EVmatch. Heather brings 14 years of clean energy deployment, workforce development, and policy experience. Heather is deeply committed to creating an equitable and accessible clean energy economy. She’s held senior level roles as an energy efficiency program implementer with Oakland-based Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Also with us is Janet Gehrmann, Co-founder of Scoop Analytics, who just completed a $3.5M seed raise. At Scoop Analytics Janet is on a mission is to eliminate the technical barriers that hinder folks in revenue operations, marketing operations, and finance operations, enabling them to seamlessly gather, manipulate, and analyze core business data without the need for IT support or advanced technical skills. Their innovative solutions empower non-technical users to tell compelling data stories and make data-driven decisions with ease. Janet holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Biochemistry degree from Middlebury College.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!
Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: 
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.

Silicon Valley Impact S1 E11 with Donna Griffit, Mohammed Aljasser, and Ahmed Bukhamseen.

On this weeks episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have “The Pitch Alcheist,” Donna Griffit; and two amazing founders from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Aljasser, and Ahmed Bukhamseen.
Donna Griffit is a world renowned Corporate Storyteller, Pitch Alchemist, and Best-Selling Author of “Sticking to My Story” – The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups. Donna has worked globally for 2 decades in over 30 countries with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and investors in a wide variety of industries, helping them create, edit, and deliver powerful presentations, pitches, and messages. She magically spins raw data into compelling stories that captivate audiences and drive results. Through her guidance, clients have raised over $2 Billion.
Mohammed is a software engineer who specializes in blockchain technology. He and his team have created Oumla, a blockchain infrastructure startup that allows governments and businesses to connect, build, and innovate on top blockchain networks using our APIs and SDKs.
Ahmed is an innovative CEO and Co-founder of Quant, a pioneering data and AI company in Saudi Arabia specializing in Real Estate & Retail. With a robust background in Actuarial Science & Financial Mathematics, Ahmed excels in leveraging data visualization and spatial analytics to develop cutting-edge prop-tech solutions. Committed to transforming the real estate sector through AI-driven insights and analytics.
Listen in as Mohammed and Ahmed give their pitch, and Donna gives them insights on how to best pitch their ideas to get results.
This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM with Lisa Helfrick, Brian Bernasconi, and myself!
Not in the South Bay (Los Gatos, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Fremont, etc.) you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/
Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: 
https://open.spotify.com/show/68L4RPfMizjxnKBsmcFb1J
Special Thanks to Jeanette Blacy for your support of the show.