Silicon Valley Impact

100 episodes. Hundreds of conversations. Countless lessons from the entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators shaping the future. Thank you for being part of the Silicon Valley Impact journey.

AI is changing how we work—but who is building the systems, communities, and infrastructure that will shape what's next?

To celebrate our 100th episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with two remarkable leaders driving innovation from different angles: Dr. Anna Zakowska, Managing Partner at Dragons and Angels Fund and a nine-time founder, and Qi Diaz, Executive Director of Hacker Dojo.

Dr. Anna Zakowska is an...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with three remarkable innovators shaping the future of fashion, entrepreneurship, accessibility, and technology: Azadeh Riaz, Founder and CEO of House of Azadeh; Ella Shukho, a venture ecosystem leader and startup growth strategist; and Zain Samdani, co-founder of Exoheal and Please Touch This Art.

Azadeh is an internationally recognized fashion designer, entrepreneur, and creative visionary with more than 35 years of experience in luxury fashion. After beginning her career designing couture for the Saudi Royal Family, she became the original designer behind Bebe's signature aesthetic, helping transform the...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with Darnell Adler, Founder and CEO of Lifeline AI and Red Bull Basement World Champion 2026; Felipe Gurgel, Principal at Actions Capital; and Ziv Lautman, PhD, a researcher, entrepreneur, and educator working at the intersection of human physiology, wearable technology, and artificial intelligence.

Darnell Adler is the Founder and CEO of Lifeline AI and the Red Bull Basement World Champion 2026. His mission is bold but simple: to become the global standard for how people call for help.

Through Lifeline AI, Darnell is reimagining emergency reporting...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we bring together three exceptional leaders at the forefront of sales, partnerships, growth, AI, and executive performance.

Nicole Ward is Senior Vice President of Sales at Aon, founder of the Executive Athlete platform, author of Biohacking for the Sales Athlete, and host of both the Aon at the Top and Executive Athlete podcasts. Nicole helps executives, board members, and C-suite leaders optimize their performance by exploring the intersection of leadership, physiology, and resilience. Her work challenges traditional thinking by positioning the body as a critical component of strategy, decision-making...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with Tess Robinson, Managing Partner at FTB Capital Group, where she leads the Longevity Fund — investing in startups at the intersection of innovation, inclusion, impact, and human wellbeing.

Tess believes the best companies are built by founders who prioritize longevity over burnout.

Based in the Bay Area, Tess creates spaces for honest conversations around entrepreneurship and sustainable company building. Through HER Connections, she provides fractional COO and CMO support to founders seeking scalable operational systems without the overhead of full-time executives.

Her...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we have Mala Ramakrishnan, Managing Partner of Progressive Ventures; and Manan Mehta, Co-Founder and General Partner of Unshackled Ventures.

Mala is a founder, venture capitalist, and product executive focused on AI, enterprise SaaS, and emerging technologies. As Founder and Managing Partner of Progressive Ventures, she invests in high-growth startups across ecosystems including YC, StartX, and SkyDeck, with portfolio companies such as Anthropic, xAI, and Perplexity AI.

A multi-exit entrepreneur and operator, Mala has spent more than two decades building and scaling products and companies from 0-to-1 and 1...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with Naeem Zafar, CEO Coach, Board Advisor, entrepreneur, professor, an angel investor; Ryan Green, Principle at Antler; and Stephanie El-Chakieh, Pharm.D., M.Sc., Founder/CEO of WellVerve, and Author, for a conversation at the intersection of venture, innovation, and human performance.

Naeem is a seasoned CEO advisor and board leader with deep experience building, scaling, and exiting high-tech companies. He has led five ventures as CEO and supported dozens more as a board member and strategic advisor, including TeleSense.

He is also a...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Sobhan Khani, President and Partner at Plug and Play Tech Center, and one of the earliest team members who helped scale the company from a 20-person Bay Area startup into a global innovation platform with over 800 employees worldwide.

Over the past decade, Sobhan has played a key role in expanding Plug and Play across multiple industries, including mobility, energy, fintech, and real estate. He has launched new verticals, opened international hubs, and partnered with some of the world’s largest corporations to help them adopt and in...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with three leaders shaping the future of AI, security, and venture: Eugene Malobrodsky (General Partner, One Way Ventures), Anna Kovaleva (Omnissa), and Irina Tagintseva (AI Architect, Apple).

Eugene Malobrodsky is a General Partner at One Way Ventures and a serial founder behind AnchorFree, the company behind Hotspot Shield with over 650M downloads. He later co-founded Pango, scaling consumer cybersecurity products globally and incubating Twingate, a zero-trust enterprise security company that has raised over $40M. Today, Eugene brings a founder-first lens to investing and has helped bu...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with Benny Liao, Principal at Acorn Pacific Ventures, and Ryan Wang, General Partner at Solaris Venture Partners, for a conversation on AI infrastructure, frontier technology, and the evolving landscape of global venture capital.

Benny Liao is a Principal at Acorn Pacific Ventures, a Silicon Valley–based venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in AI infrastructure and enterprise software.

Before entering venture capital, Benny was the founder and CEO of a fintech startup in Southeast Asia, where he raised more than $10 million in equi...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Bryce Gilleland, General Partner of Cal Innovation Fund II; and Chima Osuka, Senior Partner at Suncoast Ventures.

Bryce is the General Partner of Cal Innovation Fund II, a venture fund investing in startups founded by entrepreneurs from UC Berkeley and the University of California ecosystem. His mission is to tenaciously support founders in achieving performance with purpose—building companies that deliver both strong returns and meaningful impact.

Bryce previously operated the #1 performing hedge fund in the world in 2020, generating 846% net retu...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Marcus Sawyerr, Founder & CEO of EQ.app, and Mike Lee, a Silicon Valley native and entrepreneur making a meaningful impact through business and community.

Marcus is a pioneering force in AI-driven sales and staffing recruitment, with more than 19 years of experience leading innovation. As Founder & CEO of EQ.app—an AI productivity platform built for agents in sales and recruitment—Marcus is on a mission of “Zero Admin,” leveraging AI to eliminate administrative burdens and unlock human potential. He also writes weekly to more than 130,000 subscriber...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, AJ Thomas joins us back in studio as guest co-host as Brian Bernasconi and I sit down with Richard Hua, Chief EQ Officer and global keynote speaker, and Elena Beloshapkova, two-time founder, CEO of inspace, and EY Businesswoman of the Year—exploring the intersection of emotional intelligence and autonomous AI.

Rich is a global authority on building emotionally intelligent cultures of innovation at scale. As Chief EQ Evangelist and Worldwide Head of EPIC at Amazon, he built the world’s largest corporate EQ community—70,000 members strong—scaling emotional intelligen...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we sit down with Danil Kislinskiy, Founder & CEO of Go Global World, and Jonathan Padilla, Founder & CEO of Exonome.

Danil built Go Global World into an international venture platform connecting startups, investors, and mentors across Silicon Valley, Europe, and emerging markets. Through global community-building and hands-on ecosystem design, Danil helps founders achieve product–market fit, expand into the U.S., and raise capital with confidence.

Go Global World supports international teams entering the U.S. market with incorporation, tax, accounting, and direct access...

🚀 Operator Energy

🎙️ This week on Silicon Valley Impact, we’re joined by three leaders shaping the future of technology, capital, and innovation:

🔹 Faisal Mushtaq — Founder & CEO of TechCon Global, best-selling author, investor
🔹 Ellen Damaso — Venture & Capital Partner at Plus Ultra Capital Partners
🔹 Kunal Chandiramani — Co-Founder & CEO of ZeroToIP

Faisal Mushtaq is a visionary C-suite executive, board member, and entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience leading digital transformation and scaling global organizations across startups and Fortune 500 companies. Former CTO of Sleep Number, he helped transform the company into a health & wellness leader—scaling the AI-powered SleepIQ™ platform to 3M use...

🎙️ This week on Silicon Valley Impact — we’re bringing together builders, investors, and connectors shaping the startup ecosystem from multiple angles.

Joining me on the show:

🔹 Sam Wong — CEO of FundableStartups.com, serial startup operator, and author of 21 Secrets of Successful Startups. Sam has led multiple venture-backed companies through scale and acquisition and now helps founders become truly fundable before they raise—focusing on execution, pitch readiness, capital strategy, and long-term value creation.

🔹 Lisa Yu — General Partner at 99VC, former Microsoft and Silicon Valley executive, founder, angel investor, and advisor. Lisa brings 20+ years of experience launchi...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we kickoff Season 3 with Keith Kaplan, CEO of Maykr Inc.; and San Jose entrepreneurial legend, Mauricio Mejia.

Keith is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and executive with deep experience across capital, technology, and media. He leads Maykr’s integrated ecosystem, directing investment toward AI, robotics, sustainable and nuclear energy, and advanced data infrastructure to help build a more technologically sophisticated and environmentally conscious future. Recognized as an early voice on “The Autonomous Age,” he has advised the White House, the State of California, and the City of Los Angeles on innova...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Anshu Agarwal, General Partner at Converge; and Amar Flora, General Partner at Solaris Venture Partners. We talking  about Scaling the Future: Where Veteran Operators Meet Multi-Agent AI.

Anshu has spent 20+ years founding, scaling, and exiting venture-backed B2B tech companies in Silicon Valley. She has helped build four startups as a founder or early executive—each acquired by public companies including Akamai, Juniper Networks, HP, and Citrix. In 2018, she co-founded Nimbella, a pioneer in serverless computing, and led it as CEO from ideation to acquisition by Dig...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Kamal Hassan, Managing Partner at Loyal VC, and Baron Cannon, educator and angel investor with Sand Hill Angels.

Kamal is a Managing Partner at Loyal VC, a diversified evergreen venture fund that offers investors the flexibility to buy or sell units quarterly. Loyal invests early in top founders from three global networks and earns loyalty for preferred access to follow-on deals.

Kamal's 20-year career as an entrepreneurial CEO and 15 years as an angel investor inspired the creation of Loyal. He draws upon his ex...

🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT — Silicon Valley Impact
This week, we sat down with two powerhouse innovators: Jackie Wu and Alan Malon.

Jackie’s story is one of extraordinary transformation.
From escaping war-torn Vietnam and arriving in the U.S. barely speaking English… to building a career that spans Stanford University, Nvidia, and becoming a Top 1% nationwide Enterprise Sales Professional across multiple Fortune 500 companies.

During the pandemic, Jackie launched Treasure Life’s Journey from scratch—and within a year, was serving clients across multiple continents. Today, she coaches...

🎙️ This Week on Silicon Valley Impact

We’re coming to you from beautiful Napa Valley, California, where we hosted an Opal Spotlight episode at the Family Office & Private Wealth Forum West (October 22–24).

Over three incredible days, we connected with some of the smartest—and kindest—leaders shaping the future of family offices, private wealth, and innovation.

A huge thank you to David Liebowitz and the entire Opal Group team for inviting Silicon Valley Impact to capture insights and stories from some truly remarkable individuals, including:

✨ Jacqueline (Jackie) Mirkopoulos
✨ Skip Coomber
✨ Bobby Conso...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we’re talking health and startups with Dr. Ashish Atreja, Dr. Luke Blauch, Ph.D., and Nick Larson — Founder of Silicon Zombies Live Show & Podcast and Co-Founder of the Ageless Evolution Longevity Summit.

Dr. Ashish Atreja, known as “The App Doctor,” is a nationally recognized physician executive, entrepreneur, and founder of GVX Venture Accelerator and GenServe.AI. A pioneer in evidence-based digital medicine (EBDM), he has led digital transformation at leading institutions including UC Davis Health, where he served as Chief Information and Digital Health Officer, and Mount S...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact my good friend, Founder and General Partner of  GoodTrouble Ventures, AJ Thomas is back on the set to help me guide the conversation with Kelly Steven-Waiss, Chief Transformation Officer at ServiceNow, and Shelly Morales, Founder and CEO at MoralesHR. Today we’re talking about talent, enterprise AI strategy and so much more.

Kelley is Chief Transformation Officer at ServiceNow, where she helps global enterprises drive digital and workforce innovation. Formerly Founder & CEO of Hitch Works (acquired by ServiceNow), Kelley brings 30+ years of executive experience, including 13 as CHRO in t...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Kelli Richards: Founder, President & Chief Connections Officer of The All Access Group LLC; Ivan Linn, CEO of Wavv, and Filip Orth, Principal at ZAKA Venture Capital, and Head of North America at Cleevio.

Kelli is a recognized leader where Silicon Valley meets Hollywood. A longtime Apple executive overseeing music and entertainment, she has worked with top tech and media innovators, celebrities, and entrepreneurs to reimagine how content is created, monetized, and distributed. A strategist, visionary, and super-connector, Kelli thrives at the intersection of innovation and cr...

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...

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...

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 flo...

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.

Tall...

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 i...

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...

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...

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 Capital
Tech 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 cl...

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 member...

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 work...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Blake Beltram, former founder of Mindbody and current founder of OffyO; Guy Horowitz of 33N Ventures; and Meg McWilliams, Founder and COO of Gossip Goblin.

Blake is the co-founder of Mindbody, the global leader in wellness business software that helped transform the fitness industry and ultimately sold for nearly $2B. He introduced online class booking—pioneering a new era in Fit-Tech. Having thrived through the dotcom boom and helped lead the wellness tech revolution, Blake is now stepping into the AI era with OffyO: an AI S...

On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we speak with Akash Saraf, Founder of TheAgentic—builders of the best large reasoning models for AI agents; Hans Sandhu, Chief Business Officer at TheAgentic with a focus on strategy and revenue; and Iddo Tal, Founder of Raise The Round.

Akash is a serial entrepreneur with over $600M in acquisitions and a track record of building and scaling transformative companies. Inspired by his father, a pioneer in India’s tech revolution, Akash grew up immersed in technology and innovation. TheAgentic is the culmination of Akash’s lifelong journey of entre...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Christopher Peralta, Founder & CEO of Silicon Valley HQ, and Saurabh Bhatia Co-founder of FuturePath AI, and global investor. Join us as we talk about acceleration, investing, and building.

Christopher Peralta is a seasoned business development executive with over 30 years of experience closing strategic and tactical deals across 50+ tech companies worldwide. His passion for building meaningful relationships is matched by his commitment to empowering what he calls "the 99%" — individuals who deserve access to quality education and employment opportunities.

Since 2015, Christopher has focu...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with  Aytakin Aliyeva, Founder of Femigrants Foundation; Iryna Voskerician, Founder and Managing Partner of MachX; and Randy Marsden, CEO of Skidattl.

Aytakin is the Founder of the Femigrants Foundation, a global community dedicated to empowering diverse female immigrants through connection, mentorship, and visibility. Featured in Forbes and Yahoo Business, Ika is a recognized social entrepreneur who transformed a group of 10 women into a thriving network of over 5,500 in just three years.

She curates high-impact events in the Bay Area and London tha...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Allison Paz, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer at Nicklpass, and Partner at Reign Ventures; Arnaud Saint-Paul, founder and CEO of the Heart Leadership Institute Tapuat; and also on the show Jonathan Festejo, Co-Founder and CEO at Salesbricks.

Allison Paz is a Partner at Reign Ventures. With over 15 years of experience as an operator and investor, she has co-founded and scaled multiple companies, raised venture funding, and led go-to-market, product, and financial operations across SaaS, fintech, and emerging tech. Prior to Reign, she held leadership roles at Nicklpass...

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Svetlana Kamyshanskaya, startup advisor, and Founding Partner at Primum Law Group PC; and LouAnn Conner, Founder & CEO of Sagacious Think LLC.

Svetlana is the powerhouse behind Primum Law Group, where she helps international startups land, launch, and scale in the U.S. With a sharp legal mind and a global business lens, she guides tech founders through venture deals, equity structuring, and market entry with clarity and confidence. Known for translating complex legal hurdles into practical strategy, Svetlana is the go-to advisor for startups r...