Latest Interviews

Talks at GS – David Eagleman: The Neuroscience of Creativity

David Eagleman, David Rockefeller Jr., Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Levine Jr., Dan Coffey Jr., Dan Collins

This analysis redefines human creativity as an evolutionary advantage rooted in the prefrontal cortex's capacity for hypothesis testing rather than physical traits, identifying three universal cognitive operations—break, blend, and bend—as the fundamental drivers of innovation. By shifting educational and economic focus from rote memorization to cognitive flexibility, individuals and organizations can leverage the collective intelligence of 8 billion brains to navigate a transitioning creativity economy. Ultimately, success in this new era requires actively dismantling past successes and tolerating failure to generate novel solutions that artificial intelligence currently cannot replicate.

Gender at Work: Why We’re Still Struggling to Get It Right

Rich Ditizio, Stacey

Drawing on three decades of experience in financial services, a former private bank CEO outlines the strategic shift from corporate tolerance to genuine inclusion, arguing that true progress requires normalizing women in leadership through structural and cultural change rather than isolated interventions. The presentation highlights persistent gendered double standards in workplace perception and calls for men and boys to lead the normalization of female colleagues and leaders to dismantle historical barriers. Participants engaged in this discourse by identifying specific workplace challenges facing women and aggregating actionable insights to shape future programming.

Talks at GS – Eddie Huang: Food, Culture, Identity

Eddie Huang

Executive Producer and author Nahnatchka Khan reflects on her memoir *Fresh Off the Boat* and the television adaptation as pivotal moments in transitioning from defensive survival mechanisms to intentional identity formation. She critiques the show for diluting authentic Asian experiences into universal white narratives while rejecting the "model minority" stereotype through her personal journey of culinary preservation and leadership at her restaurant, Bauhaus. Ultimately, she advocates for a cultural shift that prioritizes shared humanity over differences, utilizing a management philosophy that blends high performance with deep personal care to foster genuine employee loyalty.

10,000 Small Businesses UK Participants Share Experiences of Time on Programme

Launched in 2012, this intensive program guided struggling entrepreneurs through a rigorous diagnostic process that identified critical financial leaks and strategic pivots from B2B to B2C models. By pairing founders with growth experts and fostering a transparent cohort of vetted peers, participants transformed their ventures from loss-making entities into cash-positive businesses generating up to £1.5 million in revenue. The initiative delivered a transformative return on investment, enabling companies to hire strategically, secure major capital projects, and establish a lasting support network that continues to drive long-term operational efficiency.

Q&A with YC at the Female Founders Conference 2016

Jessica Livingston, Kat Manalac, Carolynn Levy, Kirsty Nathoo

Y Combinator partners Jessica Levy and others outline a philosophy that prioritizes founder determination, execution capability, and deep problem ownership over specific stages or demographic profiles, welcoming teams from initial ideas to established companies. Through case studies of Gobble and Airbnb, the discussion illustrates how the accelerator invests in scrappy founders who can clearly articulate their value, while warning against hastening co-founder additions without organic validation. As the program scales to funding approximately 1,000 startups annually, the focus remains on acquiring users and overcoming the "trough of sorrow" to build resilient, domain-expert-led ventures.

The Social and Economic Impact of Evolving Family Dynamics: Talks at GS Session Highlights

Stew Friedman, Betsey Stevenson, Neera Tanden, Betsy, Stu, Claudia Golden

This event analyzes the structural transition from specialized to equal partnership models in family life, highlighting how multi-generational caregiving burdens and shifting fertility trends among Millennials and Gen X are outpacing current U.S. support systems. Speakers detail the economic consequences of these dynamics, demonstrating that closing the gender labor gap could boost GDP by nearly 10% while corporate work-family policies drive market appreciation and long-term wage growth for the next generation. The discussion concludes with a strategic call for a federal paid leave floor and a cultural realignment of corporate expectations to secure sustainable economic growth and social stability.

Elli Sharef at Female Founders Conference 2014

Elli Sharef, Kat Maniolak, Ellie Chareth

Ellie Chareth, founder of the Y Combinator-backed recruiting platform Higher Art, shares lessons on overcoming founder hesitation and navigating near-failure through relentless execution rather than waiting for perfect conditions. Drawing on personal fundraising struggles and Meg Whitman's political career, Chareth emphasizes that deep internal confidence and the willingness to pivot are essential for surviving the constant pressure of startup development. Her journey from securing only two initial users to expanding globally across 150 countries illustrates the necessity of persistence, urging founders to embrace the chaotic process of building a company while maintaining belief in their vision despite external rejection.

Is the US Gathering Steam: Remarks on the Government Shutdown

Harold, Todd Morley, Eric

Driven by a fractured political deadlock between House Speaker Paul Ryan and Tea Party factions, the U.S. faces a projected two-week government shutdown and a looming October debt ceiling crisis that threatens to compromise the nation's credit rating. While these domestic governance failures stem from record-low official approval ratings and unsustainable monetary policies, the economic fallout manifests as frozen corporate capital spending and delayed major infrastructure projects. Concurrently, the economic outlook is further strained by a slowdown in Chinese and European markets that is causing U.S. exports to plummet, leaving the domestic economy vulnerable despite significant historical fiscal interventions.

Perspectives on Mexico's Political and Economic Direction

John Feeley, Arturo Sarucan, Duncan Wood, Jorge Suarez-Velez

During a debate on Mexico's trajectory under President Peña Nieto, State Department official John Feeley and Global Solutions representative Arturo Sarucán highlighted the nation's rising status as the thirteenth-largest global economy and a critical trading partner with extensive free trade agreements. While external observers express optimism regarding Mexico's telecommunication and education reforms, both experts acknowledge that persistent structural challenges, specifically endemic corruption and regional inequality, remain significant hurdles. Sarucán further noted that consistent macroeconomic policies and poverty reduction initiatives like Oportunidades have successfully lifted 40 million citizens out of extreme poverty, signaling a shift toward a more stable demographic and economic future despite historical skepticism.

Jack Andraka Talks About the Bioscience Discovery Process at Milken Institute Global Conference

Jack Andraka

Inspiried by a family tragedy, teenage innovator Jack Andraka developed a prototype cancer sensor that detects pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers with 100% accuracy at a cost of just three cents. His device, constructed from carbon nanotubes and antibodies, delivers results in five minutes and is 26,000 times cheaper and 400 times more sensitive than the current sixty-year-old medical standard. After overcoming two hundred rejections from academic institutions, Andraka validated his findings through rigorous testing, demonstrating a scalable technology capable of revolutionizing early disease detection for a wide range of conditions.