Adriel's Curious City

Okay, the character is entirely satirical. But we take it very seriously, so I'll take the introduction just as seriously. But remember- it's not serious. Dexter Guff is a comedy character teaching business. So don't follow his advice. Unless you want to...

Today on the podcast is Dexter Guff. Dexter is a visionary thought leader, author, and speaker about entrepreneurship and building a successful lifestyle. He also recently launched his own podcast in an effort to be a mentor to more people than ever before.

We talk about building a personal brand, business ideas the Dex has- like a horse friendly space in NYC, or a downhill race track- and the importance of not listening to what other people think.

This episode is sponsored by Pourt in NYC. It’s a coffee shop cowering space and a great place to work, chat, and hang out, and I’ve been spending most of my days here, eating filling power bowls and drinking their Berry 333 tea. You can get 10% off by mentioning Adriel’s Curious City at checkout, and I highly recommend this spot- just check out Pourt (p o u r t) on google maps to find them on 6th street and 3rd avenue.

So please enjoy my conversation with Dexter Guff.

Podcast: Dexter Guff is Smarter Than You, and You Can Be Too.

Twitter: @dexguff

www.dexterguffband.com

Today on the podcast is Jared Matthew Weiss. While still in high school, Jared was giving speeches to audiences ranging from an executive suite at a hedge fund to a room of a few thousand people.

Jared has grown into a kind, thoughtful, and electric personality. He’s one of the most natural speakers I’ve ever met. He’s an entrepreneur who focuses on engagement and experiences above all else. And he’s a community builder who knows how to create environments where people feel safe, excited, and open.

We talk about how to be a great speaker and storyteller - specifically Jared’s own tactics before and after a speech. We discussed how meditation can help us learn more about ourselves. Oh, and there was a point in which Jared turned the tables and asked me about my motivations for this podcast.

This episode is in partnership with New York City Ed Tech Week. StartEd and NYU Steinhardt is on a mission to turn New York into the education technology center of the world. This December, NY Ed Tech week brings together 1500 entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and district leaders using these resources to create the next wave of technologies transforming education today. If you’re an entrepreneur, educator, or investor, then you need to be at the center of what education is going to look like tomorrow. Go to www.nyedtechweek..com and use code CURIOUSEW17 for 10% off your ticket.

So please enjoy my conversation with Jared Matthew Weiss. Here. We. Go.

This was a special podcast. Chris Pedregal joined me for the first every LIVE recording of Adriel’s Curious City, hosted at the Founders Friday event in NYC.

Chris is a serial entrepreneur and brilliant product designer. His current company, Socratic, is in the education technology space and has been the top app in the app store in 2017, has raised over $7 million, and is poised to make a dent in how children all over the world learn.

While there were dozens of subjects we didn’t touch on, we did get pretty deep into what it takes to make great products, how to build a company that makes a big, long term impact, and where Chris turns to learn how to be a good CEO.

This episode is in partnership with New York City Ed Tech Week. StartEd and NYU Steinhardt is on a mission to turn New York into the education technology center of the world. This December, NY Ed Tech week brings together 1500 entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and district leaders using these resources to create the next wave of technologies transforming education today. If you’re an entrepreneur, educator, or investor, then you need to be at the center of what education is going to look like tomorrow. Go to www.nyedtechweek.com and use code CURIOUSEW17 for 10% off your ticket.

Today on the podcast is Paul Zhuravlev. Paul was born and educated in Russia, and provides some great insights into Russian mindset, ecosystem, and startup culture. He has since lived on 2 other continents, has made his career as an engineer-trained salesman. He’s done sales for the biggest companies in the world, from Google to Cisco, as well as for his own startup, Cinemood. Currently, he runs US operations for Cinemood, a well funded mini projector targeted towards kids.

Paul is a sales pro, and gives a lot of insight about his strategies in preparing for a big sales meeting, why he believes the russian education system builds the best entrepreneurs, why raising money DOESN’T always feel as good as you might expect

We recorded this interview 5000 miles apart- he in Moscow, me in NY. Most of the sound is impressively good, but there are a few jumps, for which I apologize.

So it is my pleasure to introduce to you, Paul Zhuravlev.

Today on the podcast is Mat Kaliski. Mat is Polish born, NYC based venture capitalist and a thought leader in the world of esports. I was very curious about what it’s like to move from Poland to the US at a young age and establish oneself in the VC and entrepreneurial worlds basically from nowhere.

Mat was one of my first friends in the NYC startup community, so it was a pleasure to be able to sit down with him and go into depth. I got to ask him what it takes to be a great investor as he learns from some of the top VCs in NYC. We go deep on esports and gaming- one of his passions and investment theses. And we discuss the importance of fiction and storytelling to diversifying the inputs in our lives and understanding the complicated world we live in.

Mat and I sort of just got right into the meat of things without a traditional introduction. What we talk about first is a company that Mat’s VC firm, Rubicon Venture Capital, recently invested in. Mat makes a great and valuable point- the importance of taking breaks to reset, rethink, meditate, and get back to work energized and creative. So please enjoy this not quite seamless transition to my conversation with Mat Kaliski.

Thank you very much to Pourt, a new coffeeshop/coworking space in NYC. It’s a great place to work, chat, and hang out, and I spend most of my days in their beautiful coworking space, eating filling power bowls and drinking their Berry 333 tea. You can get 10% off by mentioning Adriel’s Curious City at checkout. Find them on 6th street and 3rd avenue.

As always, if you like this podcast and others, check out Adriel’s Curious City on Facebook, where I post articles, interviews, and updates about our guests and topics of the future. See you next time.

Today on the podcast is Oliver Mitchel. Oliver is a visionary about the future of robotics and artificial intelligence. He’s been blogging about the topic since 2011 via robotrabbi.com, which is as brilliant of a blog as it is funny a name, and is the currently founder and principle of the VC firm Autonomy Ventures.

Oliver has an amazing career as an entrepreneur and investor. In his early 20s, he cofounded an ATM company and sold it to American Express in less than 3 years. Since then, he’s been starting and investing in companies that run the gamut of robotics.

Oliver is a very thoughtful historian and futurist. We talk about the future of jobs and why they’re important to people beyond a salary. He gives his thoughts as an investor about the industries where AI will have its biggest impact. And he goes into what he considers one of his most poignant failures.

We get pretty into robots and AI here, so I hope you enjoy. It is my pleasure to introduce to you, Oliver Mitchell.

Today on the podcast is Sam Ruiz. Sam started her career as a focused media and ad tech worker, confident that her graduate degree in Public Relations and interest in data will lead to a great career. Though after a few years and a couple of job changes, Sam was less convinced. She left the US almost on a whim for some extended travel, where she learned to code, found a creative spirit, became an Instagram micro-influencer, and met the man who would join her to cofound her first-ever startup.

Sam came back to the US and along with Isaac, her mentor from coding camp, founded Well Travelled, a company using big data and machine learning to track a traveler online path to purchase. With this information, they hope to revolutionize how bloggers, travel startups, and huge public companies interact with their customers.

We talk about what it’s like to be a first time founder—and how scary it can be. Sam jumped off a cliff with this whole ‘startup’ thing, and is very honest about how simultaneously nerve-wracking and exciting it can be.

Please enjoy my conversation with Sam Ruiz.

Today on the podcast is Stas Tushinskiy. Stas a Russian born, educated, and trained entrepreneur. After starting his voice advertising company, Instreamatic, in Russia in 2014, he grew it to 8 employees before deciding that it was time to move his company to San Francisco- the admitted tech capital of the world.

This conversation with Stas ranges from what it’s like to be an entrepreneur in Russia to why voice will take over the communications industry, perhaps entirely replacing messaging in the next 5-10 years. This was a particularly interesting episode because of my own Russian background, which I describe at the beginning, and because Stas really is on the forefront of how we will interact with our devices.

Today on the podcast is Adam Huttler. 20 years ago, while still in studying theater in college, Adam founded a theater production company called ‘Fractured Atlas’. That’s grown and changed and evolved to be one of the largest arts-related on the planet, and has impacted what art and culture have become. Since that time, Adam has thought a lot about the future of art. This has culminated in the recent formation of the Exponential Creativity Fund, an investment fund all about the ways we will be creating art in the future. We’ll talk more about that.

This conversation with Adam goes from the importance of the arts in identifying and connecting with the human condition, to the types of technologies that will define artists in the future. It was fun for me, fun for Adam, and fun for left handed pickles everywhere. Yep, left handed pickles. We’ll get into that oddity soon.

Please enjoy Adam Huttler!

Today on the podcast I have Jes Averhart @jesaverhart on twitter. Jes Averhart understands leadership and building networks better than most. Jes’s career takes her from doing event work with the biggest professional sports teams, to helping build corporate partnerships at Durham’s American Underground, to her current role as the Executive Director at Leadership Triangle. We get into a lot around work, but also talk about relationships, being a good parent, and the importance of seeking out people who contradict you.

Enjoy!