Latest Interviews

Elizabeth Iorns at Female Founders Conference 2014

Elizabeth Iorns, Dr. Elizabeth Irons

Dr. Elizabeth Irons founded Science Exchange, a Y Combinator-backed global marketplace connecting researchers with over 800 pre-vetted labs to streamline academic experiment collaboration. Drawing from her personal experience as a former breast cancer researcher, Irons validated the platform's market fit by manually vetting thousands of institutions and adopting a "FORCE" cultural framework to guide operations and investor relations. The company successfully navigated early brand skepticism by pivoting its narrative to emphasize scientific credibility, ultimately establishing a scalable infrastructure that addresses the fragmentation of technical expertise in modern research.

Kathryn Minshew at Female Founders Conference 2014

Kathryn Minshew, Catherine Minshew

The Muse, a career discovery platform founded by CEO Catherine Minshew and co-founders Alex and Melissa, grew from a WordPress MVP to over one million monthly users by prioritizing product-market fit over perfection and securing Y Combinator funding after multiple rejections. The team achieved rapid distribution through zero-cost acquisition tactics, such as manual outreach to niche groups and frictionless referral tools, while maintaining a lean culture where leaders earn less than their employees to emphasize mission over profit. Their strategic shift from vanity metrics like video views to core indicators like job applications allowed them to validate demand with the target demographic and scale from a two-user beta to a sustainable global platform.

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.

Julia Hartz at Female Founders Conference 2014

Julia Hartz

Eventbrite, founded by Julia and Kevin Hartz in San Francisco in 2006, scaled to process over $1 billion in gross ticket sales by leveraging a strategic freemium model that utilizes free events to drive paid organizer growth. The company navigated early organizational challenges by refining its monetization to a 2.5% fee structure and evolving its leadership practices to prioritize aptitude over technical prowess during rapid expansion. Anchored by a culture of "relentless evolution" and a clear vision to unite the world through live experiences, the platform now operates as a global marketplace serving over one million annual events.

Jessica Livingston at Female Founders Conference 2014

Jessica Livingston

Y Combinator co-founder Jessica Livingston launched the organization's first exclusively female-founded conference at the Computer History Museum, reflecting a consistent rise in women-led startups that now comprise 25% of the current batch. The event highlights YC's evolution from an accidental batch-funded experiment into a powerhouse that has supported 632 companies worth over $20 billion, including Airbnb and Stripe. Livingston emphasizes that determination and strategic co-founder selection are critical for navigating early-stage challenges, particularly for non-technical founders facing difficulties in building technical teams.

Unleashing the Second American Century: Four Forces for Economic Dominance

Joel Kurtzman, Tom Nuttall, Skip Reimer

Joel Kurtzman presents a "Second American Century" thesis, asserting that advanced manufacturing, energy independence, and a robust innovation sector are reversing the narrative of U.S. decline. He highlights that $65 billion in new domestic plant investments and a surge in oil production have lowered costs while reducing geopolitical reliance on the Middle East, even as CO2 emissions drop to 1993 levels. To sustain this momentum, Kurtzman advocates for automatic green cards for foreign university graduates and urges policymakers to address wealth inequality through STEM education rather than redistribution, warning that political dysfunction remains the primary obstacle to realizing these economic potentials.

A Hollywood Exit: What California Must Do to Remain Competitive in Entertainment - and Keep Jobs

Fred Baron, Rajiv Dalal, Kathy Garmezy, Joseph Henchman, Kevin Klowden, Larry Mantle, David Rockefeller Jr.

Facing an 11% workforce decline and a 50% drop in feature film production since 2004, California officials and industry leaders are advocating for legislation to replace the state's capped lottery system with a non-tradable, expanded tax credit program. Proposed reforms aim to increase annual funding to $1 billion and extend incentives to large-budget films and visual effects to counter the migration of crews to states offering higher subsidies. While fiscal critics warn of unsustainable "race to the bottom" dynamics citing Michigan's failed 40% credit, panelists argue that preserving the state's dense infrastructure and middle-class jobs justifies the investment to stabilize a shrinking domestic market.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - The Business Case for Public Health

Mike Milken, Mahmoud, Rajiv, Steve Byrd, Bob, Judy, Leisha Hancock, Tom

This event synthesizes perspectives from the CDC, PepsiCo, Fidelity, Safeway, and the pharmaceutical sector to highlight a systemic shift from isolated interventions to cross-sector collaboration for managing chronic disease and innovation. Participants detailed how major corporations are reducing health risks through data-driven strategies, such as PepsiCo's portfolio reformulation and Safeway's biometric incentives, while biotech investors address the funding gap for high-risk scientific breakthroughs. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes that saving lives requires a unified ecosystem where government agencies, private industry, and academic centers align resources to tackle preventable mortality and unsustainable healthcare costs.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Lunch Program

Judith, Trevor, Mike, Carmen, Frida, Tom

This event examines the century-long strategic evolution of major philanthropies like the Rockefeller Foundation, detailing their pivot from medical cures to integrated public health systems and the resulting cross-disciplinary fields. It highlights modern innovations such as geospatial data integration for polio eradication and the rise of non-traditional partnerships between governments, pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, and patient advocacy groups to address both infectious and non-communicable diseases. The discussion further underscores global health security challenges, including antimicrobial resistance and pandemic preparedness, while showcasing how mobile technology and crowdsourcing enable developing nations to leapfrog infrastructure barriers.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Government, Industry and a Healthier Future: A Leadership Forum

Mike Milken, Tom Frieden, Vince, Representative Kinston, Representative Bishop, Sue Siegel, Bob Hugin, Steve Knapp, Jack

Industry leaders from GE and Beckman Coulter, joined by Congressional representatives Sanford Bishop and Mike Kingston, convened to align public-private strategies for leveraging CDC data in pandemic preparedness and chronic disease management. Discussions highlighted a critical shift toward subscription-based surveillance funding and point-of-care diagnostic innovations, driven by the economic imperative to address the projected $1 trillion annual cost of chronic illnesses. Participants concluded by urging a reframing of public health as a driver of economic competitiveness, calling for rigorous data monetization to secure congressional support for prevention initiatives.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease: Preventing the Preventable

Ross DeVol, Margaret Anderson, Steve Bird, David Heber, Ken Thorpe

Milken Institute's Ross Duvall, Safeway's Steve Bird, UCLA's David Heber, and Emory's Ken Thorpe presented a unified analysis revealing that rising chronic disease prevalence, particularly in diabetes and stroke, is the primary driver of escalating healthcare costs despite controlled medical inflation. The panel highlighted successful private-sector interventions, such as Safeway's biometric wellness programs and social network strategies for obesity, which achieved significant cost reductions by targeting visceral fat and behavioral incentives rather than relying solely on traditional medical treatment. To scale these proven models, the speakers urged policymakers to reframe Medicare reform as a proactive health strategy, overcome Congressional Budget Office scoring constraints, and replace fee-for-service payment structures with value-based incentives that prioritize prevention and early disease management.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Race We Can't Afford to Lose: Outsmarting Superbugs

Larry Brilliant, Beth Bell, Victoria Nahum, Lance Price, Andy von Eschenbach

Public health leaders convened to address the critical obsolescence of U.S. disease surveillance technology, which currently lags behind the rapid, cost-effective capabilities of Advanced Molecular Detection required to combat antimicrobial resistance and food-borne threats. Panelists detailed the catastrophic societal costs of preventable infections, including specific cases where delayed diagnostics contributed to mortality, while arguing that federal inaction represents the single greatest immediate risk to national security and public safety. The discussion concluded with a unified call for mandatory antibiotic stewardship, standardized genomic testing, and medical diplomacy to secure global health infrastructure before emerging pathogens outpace current diagnostic limitations.

The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters

Gregory Zuckerman, Joel Kurtzman, Conrad Kieschel, Greg Zuckerman, David J., Eric Schmidt, John McCutchan, David Freeman, David Sanger

At a Milken Institute forum, author Greg Zuckerman and moderator Joel Kurtzman analyzed how unconventional entrepreneurs like George Mitchell and Harold Hamm drove a U.S. energy revolution, slashing import dependence from 40% to 14.5% through hydraulic fracturing innovations. This technological surge, powered by horizontal drilling and "slick water" fracking, transformed the nation into the world's top energy producer while generating millions of jobs and reshaping global geopolitical dynamics. Despite ongoing debates regarding environmental safety and seismic activity, the discussion emphasizes that these breakthroughs have provided a critical economic bridge toward future renewable energy adoption.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Welcome Remarks

Addressing critical global health threats like drug-resistant infections and synthetic biology risks, the summit underscored the necessity of sustained U.S. bioscience investment despite current funding declines. Governor Nathan Deal, absent due to a winter storm, formally pledged state support to maintain the CDC's role as the world's first line of defense against emerging pathogens and intentional outbreaks. The event highlighted how technological advancements, such as rapid genome sequencing, have enabled faster responses to crises like H7N9 while calling for renewed bipartisan commitment to secure the agency's future and the nation's economic stability.

The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - The Art of Alignment: Nonprofit Strategies for Improving Public Health

Charlie, Dr. Jim Marks, Dr. Anna Barker, John Lang, Dr. Lynn Goldman, Dr. Larry Jamison

Discussions among academic institutions, government agencies, and foundations highlight how strategic cross-sector partnerships can overcome resource constraints to achieve scalable health outcomes. Case studies demonstrate these principles through successful initiatives like the measles vaccination campaign and the YMCA's policy advocacy, which leveraged diverse networks to drive significant reductions in child mortality and chronic disease. Experts conclude that while the CDC's convening power is vital for national impact, sustained investment is required to shift the agency's focus from immediate threats to long-term solutions for obesity and behavioral health.