Latest Interviews

Opening Remarks and Keynote

Diane Helfrey, Michael Klowden, Dan Schnur, Toni Atkins, John Chiang

Hosted by the Milken Institute and Sacramento Bee director Dan Schnur, this conference convened key figures such as State Treasurer John Chung and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins to launch a sustained dialogue on California's critical challenges in housing, workforce development, and climate finance. The event highlighted the urgent need for cross-sector collaboration to bridge the "missing middle" housing gap, address a projected 2030 labor shortage, and mobilize a record $1.75 billion JPMorgan Chase investment alongside a new state Green Bond Pledge. Attendees acknowledged a deep public trust deficit that can only be resolved by uniting public, private, and nonprofit leaders to implement innovative financing mechanisms and streamline legislative priorities for the state's future.

Mariya Nurislamova, Founder of Scentbird at the Female Founders Conference

Mariya Nurislamova, Maria

Sunbird successfully transformed from a failed recommendation algorithm into a subscription fragrance rental service after pivoting to a $15 monthly model inspired by Y Combinator's Michael Seibel. The company overcame early operational hurdles and significant fundraising rejections by leveraging a scarcity strategy to secure $150,000, eventually achieving acceptance into Y Combinator and raising a total of $25 million in capital. This strategic evolution enabled the team to scale operations to 250,000 users and expand internationally while adopting a high-performance hiring philosophy.

Jessica Livingston Shares 9 Things She Learned From Founding YC

Jessica Livingston

Founded in 2005 by Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston, Y Combinator revolutionized early-stage funding by implementing a batch model that supported over 1,800 startups through small equity stakes and an intentional "asshole-free" culture. Livingston, acting as the organization's social radar, prioritized founder dynamics and well-being over technical prowess, a strategy that facilitated unique successes like Reddit and Twitch while establishing a global network free from traditional investor pressure. Their complementary partnership, defined by Graham's technical vision and Livingston's focus on logistics and culture, created a resilient ecosystem that advises founders to pursue non-traditional paths rather than conforming to stereotypical success metrics.

The Results Are In: Predictive Technology and Your DNA Map

Christopher Mason

Led by geneticist Christopher Mason, a global team at the Milken Conference initiated a "metropoleome" project by collecting and sequencing phone swabs from 96 participants to map the genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of public surfaces. The resulting analysis of over 2,000 species and 560 resistance markers revealed that microbial profiles on mobile devices correlate strongly with lifestyle factors such as smoking, household size, and ancestry. With the full dataset of 1,000 samples scheduled for release within two weeks, the study establishes a vital global baseline for tracking antibiotic resistance genes and inferring dietary habits through mobile metagenomics.

Frank Luntz: Words That Work, 2018

Frank Luntz

Frank Luntz presented his "Words That Work 2018" framework at the Milken Institute, using real-time polling to demonstrate how James Comey's credibility collapsed due to factual errors while Stormy Daniels gained trust through specific narrative agency and personal autonomy. Luntz highlighted that extreme political polarization has eroded shared reality and eliminated ticket-splitters, creating a crisis where reputation is now strictly partisan and truth-telling cannot restore cross-aisle trust. The analysis concluded with strategic linguistic recommendations for leaders, such as adopting the "why-therefore-so" formula, replacing "diversity" with "inclusion," and prioritizing active listening to bridge the widening divide between Democrats and Republicans.

Can eco-tourism help save the ocean?

Marit Miner, Ahmad

In Indonesia's Coral Triangle, the Mizzul Marine Protected Area transitioned from a poached wasteland to a thriving ecosystem through a private-enterprise model founded by Andrew and Marit Miners. This initiative employs over 200 locals in conservation and tourism roles, utilizing ocean rangers to enforce a no-take ban that has boosted shark populations by 25 times and increased marine biomass by 600%. By generating revenue that exceeds former fishing income, the project demonstrates a scalable financial argument for biodiversity protection that local communities now control.

Announcing Work at a Startup

Jared Friedman, Matt Long, Craig Cannon

Scheduled for July, the Work at a Startup conference reunites Y Combinator partners Justin Kahn and Sam Altman with over 80% of the accelerator's hiring companies for a scaled event featuring 35 pitches across software, robotics, and deep tech. Attendees will engage directly with startups ranging from unicorns like Instacart to early-stage hardware firms offering roles in AI, DevOps, and co-founder positions, while also viewing live hardware demonstrations from entities such as Starsky Robotics. The gathering addresses critical market trends including remote work expansion, equity transparency, and the shifting definition of startup engineering to counter traditional compensation gaps.

A Conversation With Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall, Brian Sheth, Melissa Stevens

Jane Goodall and Brian Sheth discuss the convergence of private equity capital and global conservation through Goodall's Jane Goodall Institute and Sheth's leadership of Global Wildlife Conservation. They detail the expansion of Goodall's Roots & Shoots program to 150,000 youth groups and the institute's use of satellite technology to protect chimpanzee populations in Gombe and the Republic of Congo. The dialogue concludes with a strategic emphasis on integrating scientific rigor into policy-making and leveraging financial markets to sustain long-term environmental resilience.

When thoughts control machines

Brain-computer interface projects led by entities such as the U.S. Brain Initiative, Kernel, Neuralink, and DARPA are rapidly advancing from controlling prosthetics to decoding entire neural circuits with the goal of restoring motor function for paralyzed patients. As these technologies evolve to read and write neural codes, experts highlight critical ethical imperatives regarding neuroprivacy and the prevention of a societal capability gap between enhanced humans and artificial intelligence. The immediate focus remains on medical recovery, while long-term aspirations address the profound necessity of co-evolving with machines to ensure equitable access and safeguard human autonomy against the rapid pace of technological development.

OCaml All The Way Down

Andy Ray

This presentation outlines a hardware design framework utilizing the OCaml-based HardCAML domain-specific language to generate FPGA logic for custom peripherals like LED drivers, SPI sensors, and CORDIC math cores. The implementation targets the MicroBlaze soft CPU architecture, executing OCaml bytecode via a ZINC interpreter while leveraging standard Xilinx place-and-route tools to manage complex FPGA resources such as LUTs and DSP blocks. Future roadmaps prioritize full native CPU development within HardCAML, expanded formal verification using the Z3 solver, and the open-sourcing of testing infrastructure to reduce reliance on vendor-provided software components.

Avni Patel Thompson at the Seattle Female Founders Conference

Avni Patel Thompson

Seattle-based startup Poppy, founded by Avni Patel-Thompson, connects families with vetted caregivers to recreate a modern village safety net for childcare following the failure of her previous subscription box venture. After validating the concept through a low-cost pilot and recruiting a technical co-founder, the company secured Y Combinator acceptance and over $2 million in seed funding by pivoting from a membership model to a transaction fee structure. Now in a rapid growth phase with a team of ten, Poppy prioritizes mission-driven hiring and founder sustainability while aiming to help hundreds of other entrepreneurs reach validated market traction.

Danny Meyer: Shaking it Up: Stories of Success from a Disruptor

Danny Meyer, Tim O'Neill, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett

Danny Meyer launched Union Square Cafe in 1985 by applying an "enlightened hospitality" philosophy that prioritizes employee well-being over profit, a strategy that transformed a struggling neighborhood eatery into a cultural icon following a pivotal New York Times review. This approach evolved into the Union Square Hospitality Group, which expanded to include Shake Shack and over 100 locations globally by institutionalizing a culture where leaders act as "culture carriers" and growth is driven by a specific stakeholder hierarchy. Meyer's career demonstrates how maintaining core values while aggressively pruning non-performing assets allows an organization to scale without losing its soul or financial stability.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy: Standing Up for Small Businesses

Kevin McCarthy, John F.W. Rogers, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican with deep roots in the state's energy and agricultural sectors, outlines his journey from early entrepreneurial ventures to crafting bipartisan legislation like the Jobs Act. He argues that small businesses are the nation's primary job creators and urges owners to build direct, sustained relationships with lawmakers to overcome capital and training hurdles. Drawing on historical symbolism from the Gettysburg Address and Washington Crossing the Delaware, McCarthy concludes by calling for cross-party collaboration to address long-term challenges and forge a more perfect union.

Startup Investor School Day 3 Live Stream

Elad Gil, Pejman, Jeff Clavier, Andrea, Ali Partovi

Day 3 of the Startup Investor School convened five prominent investors, including Elad Gil, Pejman Nozad, Jeff Clavier, Andrea Zurlo, and Ali Partovi, to dissect critical strategies for market selection, team evaluation, and portfolio construction. The speakers emphasized that successful angel investing requires a 10-year horizon, strict risk discipline regarding net worth allocation, and a service-oriented mindset that prioritizes founder support over immediate financial gains. Key consensus points highlighted the necessity of investing in brilliant founders with big ideas regardless of initial market perceptions, maintaining long-term patience through early-stage losses, and building a personal brand rooted in integrity and operational availability.

Talks at GS – Naval Ravikant: The Capital Play Behind Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Naval Ravikant

The event examines blockchain technology as a novel governance mechanism that solves consensus problems without central authority, highlighting applications ranging from Bitcoin to decentralized identity networks. It details the stringent technical expertise required to navigate high-risk investment environments marred by market manipulation, insider trading, and the complexities of ICOs replacing traditional capital formation models. Finally, the presentation analyzes how national competitiveness is shifting toward reserve currency status and regulatory adaptability as governments confront the legal challenges of enforcing laws on code-based speech and decentralized networks.