Breaking Precedent

What if talent was never the real differentiator, but access was?

Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise, joins Leah Solivan on Breaking Precedent for a conversation about who gets access to opportunity, who gets trusted with capital, and what it actually takes to change an entrenched system from the inside.

Paige's path runs through education, public service, startups, venture capital, and now All Raise, where she is focused on increasing the power and influence of women and non-binary investors. She traces the throughline from her father's early lesson that relationships shape opportunity, to her years as a Teach For America educator, to her own experience as a founder trying to raise venture capital without understanding the rules of the game.

What emerges is a clear argument about power: venture does not only reward talent. It rewards proximity, pattern matching, trust, and access. Paige and Leah unpack why representation is not enough if decision-making power does not move with it, why titles can obscure who actually controls capital, and why changing venture means changing the stories investors tell themselves about who gets to build the future.

Key Insights

• Access can shape outcomes before talent ever gets seen.
• Relationships are not just networking; they are how people build trust, sponsorship, and opportunity.
• Teaching taught Paige to design with the person in mind, a lesson that later translated directly into startups and systems change.
• Venture capital is a black box for many founders because the rules are rarely made explicit.
• Representation is not the same as power. A title does not tell you who controls capital, leads deals, or wins board seats.
• Structural change requires focus, data, community trust, and the willingness to let go of work that no longer serves the mission.
• The future Paige is building is not just more women in venture, but more women and non-binary investors with real influence, capital, and gravity.
• Breaking precedent sometimes starts with an internal shift. For Paige, that meant allowing creativity to become part of her definition of success.

Timestamps

00:00 Access versus talent
01:34 Welcome to Breaking Precedent
01:48 Paige's early lesson about relationships
03:36 Growing up in a family built on humor, support, and ambition

05:57 Coach Who Changed Everything

06:56 College Curiosity Path

09:39 Teach For America Lessons

12:27 Opportunity Gaps In Schools

16:57 Portland Reset And Service

19:35 Startup Weekend Spark

20:56 Founder Gym And VC Basics

21:39 Pitching Lessons And Narrative

27:43 Underrepresented Founder Patterns

28:41 Spotting Structural Bias

29:01 Bias in Venture

30:26 Network Over Talent

32:07 Choosing to Change

33:50 All Raise and 2 Percent

35:09 Power Beyond Titles

38:26 Big Firms vs New Funds

42:15 Making Change Stick

52:09 Vision for 2035

55:02 Redefining Success

56:52 Creativity and Closing

About the Guest

Paige Hendrix Buckner is the CEO of All Raise, a nonprofit working to accelerate the success of women and non-binary investors and founders in venture capital and technology. Her career spans education, public service, entrepreneurship, founder education, and venture ecosystem building. Before All Raise, Paige worked with Founder Gym, supporting underrepresented founders learning how to raise venture capital. Today, she leads All Raise's work to shift not only representation in venture, but real power, influence, and access to capital.

Paige Hendrix Buckner on LinkedIn
All Raise

Resources

All Raise
Paige Hendrix Buckner on LinkedIn
Founder Gym
Teach For America
Urban League of Portland
TaskRabbit
Floodgate
Stitch Fix
Sunrun
Forbes: All Raise CEO Paige Hendrix Buckner On Why Investors Should Bet On Women

What does it take to chase an impossible dream for sixteen years without becoming someone who cannot let it go?

Dr. Eiman Jahangir has spent his adult life inside two systems that rarely sit beside each other: medicine and spaceflight. A cardiologist, professor, and commercial astronaut, he applied to NASA five times across sixteen years, was rejected each time, and finally flew with Blue Origin in August 2024 when commercial space cracked the door open.

His first book, A Heart for Space, is now available for preorder. You can also preorder through Eiman’s author site and get a free first chapter.

Eiman returns to Breaking Precedent for a follow-up conversation with Leah Solivan, with new updates from his time as an astronaut trainer at Blue Origin and the release of his first book, A Heart for Space.

What emerges is not a story about luck or grit, but a clearer framework for pursuing seemingly impossible goals: be firm on the vision and flexible on the details, treat every rejection as feedback you can act on, and recognize that stability is both the platform that makes risk possible and the gravity that keeps most people from taking it. Eiman and Leah unpack the immigrant calculus of risk, the difference between persistence and delusion, why we are finally returning to the moon, how AI will reshape engineering and deep-space life, and what an astronaut does when the dream he organized his entire adult life around finally happens.

Key Insights

• Playing safe is rarely the conservative choice it pretends to be. For high-performers, it can be the slowest form of opportunity cost.
• Vision and execution are different layers of a goal. The vision should be rigid; the path should be a draft you keep editing.
• Markets create doors that institutions cannot. Commercial space made Eiman’s flight possible because NASA’s gatekeeping no longer defined the category.
• Immigrant stability is double-edged. The same foundation that lets a person take a public risk also makes that risk feel disloyal to the people who built the foundation.
• Persistence without feedback is delusion. Eiman kept applying because he kept evaluating why he was being passed over and adjusting what he could control.
• Achieving the dream is not the end of the work. After the flight, the question becomes who else you can pull through the door behind you.
• The most durable goals braid identity and craft. The book title is not a metaphor. He is a heart doctor with a literal heart for space.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome back to Breaking Precedent
01:00 When playing safe became the bigger risk
03:00 Firm on the vision, flexible on the details
04:30 What A Heart for Space actually means
05:11 Pursuing space wholeheartedly
06:30 Why we are finally going back to the moon
08:00 How AI will accelerate space exploration
10:30 Immigrant stability and the right to risk
13:00 Telling your parents about your dream
14:00 Persistence, stubbornness, or delusion
15:00 The post-flight mission and Blue Origin chapter
17:00 Where to preorder A Heart for Space

About the Guest

Dr. Eiman Jahangir is a cardiologist, professor, and commercial astronaut. After applying to NASA five times across sixteen years, he flew to space with Blue Origin in August 2024 with the endorsement of the MoonDAO community. In 2025, he joined Blue Origin as an astronaut trainer, supporting research projects, payload work, and crew preparation. His first book,

A Heart for Space, is a memoir and field guide for pursuing seemingly impossible goals and includes interviews with eight astronauts, including NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. He speaks internationally on persistence, leadership, and breaking precedent.

Eiman’s Website
Eiman’s LinkedIn
Eiman’s Instagram

Resources

A Heart for Space — Author site preorder, with free first chapter
Blue Origin
NASA
MoonDAO
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Artemis II
Jessica Meir
Jared Isaacman
Scott and Mark Kelly NASA Twins Study

Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah

Website: breakingprecedent.com
Instagram: @leah_solivan
X: @labunleashed

This is a replay of one of our most extraordinary conversations, recorded just before and immediately after Dr. Eiman Jahangir’s journey to space.

What does it mean to pursue a dream so relentlessly that you’re willing to rewrite the path entirely?

Dr. Eiman Jahangir didn’t become an astronaut through NASA. He applied multiple times, made it to the final rounds, and still didn’t get selected.

So he found another way.

In this episode, Leah sits down with Eiman, cardiologist, professor, and one of the few civilians in history to travel to space, just days before his Blue Origin launch, and again immediately after he returns.

The result is something rare. A before-and-after look at a lifelong dream in motion.

You hear the anticipation, the doubt, and the improbable chain of events that led him there, from repeated NASA rejections to Web3 communities, DAOs, and a literal lottery ticket to space. Then you hear what happens after, the physical experience, the emotional impact, and the shift in perspective that follows.

This is not just a story about space travel. It is about persistence, identity, and what happens when you refuse to let the approved path define the outcome.

Key Insights

•  The dream doesn’t always change. The path often has to 
•  Rejection is not always a signal to stop. Sometimes it is a signal to reroute 
•  Systems are built to filter, not necessarily to find the most committed 
•  The “overview effect” is real. It begins the moment you leave Earth 
•  Extreme experiences amplify who you already are 
•  Risk tolerance is often shaped by upbringing, not ambition 
•  Decentralized systems are creating entirely new access pathways 
•  Some of the most meaningful breakthroughs come from non-traditional routes 

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and why this story matters
01:40 Growing up between war and possibility
03:00 The origin of a lifelong obsession with space
03:30 Applying to NASA and getting close multiple times
05:20 Inside the astronaut selection process
08:30 When rejection turns into fuel
09:40 Discovering alternative paths to space
10:30 NFTs, DAOs, and the unexpected opportunity
12:00 The lottery that changed everything
15:40 Getting the call. You’re going to space
17:00 Preparing mentally for the mission
18:30 Writing goodbye messages before launch
21:00 Risk, family, and choosing to go anyway
22:00 Breaking precedent vs maintaining stability

24:20 Launch and liftoff
25:30 Returning to Earth
26:00 Training and preparation for the flight
28:00 Emergency scenarios and safety protocols
30:00 Zero gravity and what actually happens inside the capsule
32:00 The reality of space vs expectations
35:00 Crew dynamics and the “Blue Steel” team
38:00 The emotional weight of liftoff
41:00 Seeing Earth from space
44:00 The darkness of space and the intensity of the sun
46:00 The overview effect and perspective shift
48:00 What the crew experienced differently
50:00 Re-entry and physical forces
52:00 Landing and returning to Earth
53:00 Gratitude and emotional processing
54:30 Would he do it again?

About the Guest

Dr. Eiman Jahangir is a cardiologist, professor at Vanderbilt University, and one of the few civilians to travel to space. After applying multiple times to NASA and reaching the final rounds, he ultimately found a non-traditional path through decentralized communities and a lottery-based selection tied to a Blue Origin flight.

He is also the author of A Heart for Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible, a memoir and practical guide that traces his journey from immigrant beginnings to spaceflight, offering a framework for pursuing ambitious goals despite rejection, uncertainty, and unconventional paths. 

Resources

Get the book: A Heart for Space
Eiman's Website

Space for Humanity
Moondao

About the Host

Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast exploring the stories of innovators who are pushing boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. She is a General Partner at Fuel Capital and the founder of TaskRabbit.

Connect with Leah

Website: breakingprecedent.com
 Instagram: @leah_solivan
 X: @labunleashed

What does it take to build institutions that scale without flattening the people inside them?

Stacy Brown-Philpot has spent her career inside systems that shape markets, culture, and opportunity, from Goldman Sachs and Google to TaskRabbit, SoftBank, and now Cherry Rock Capital. In this conversation, she traces the throughline from her upbringing in Detroit to leading one of the defining companies of the gig economy and then stepping into venture as an investor focused on underinvested founders. 

What emerges is not a career retrospective but a leadership framework: resilience is built by doing hard things before you have language for them, trust must be designed into both culture and product, and capital still misreads too many founders by treating them as impact stories instead of return engines. Stacy and Leah unpack the painful TaskRabbit model shift that saved the company, the difference between scale and commoditization, and why the next generation of leaders should reject burnout as a badge of seriousness.

Key Insights

•  Resilience is not abstract. It is formed by repeated exposure to difficulty and learning you can survive it. 
•  In rooms where you are underestimated, legitimacy comes less from approval and more from contribution. 
•  Strong culture is not perks alone. It is shared rituals that create trust across teams. 
•  Platform businesses built on human trust break when efficiency starts erasing uniqueness and accountability. 
•  The harder strategic decision is often the one that preserves the company’s future, not the one that feels best in the moment. 
•  The gap for underrepresented founders is not a pipeline problem. It is a market structure problem, especially at Series A. 
•  Great investors do more than allocate capital. They provide candor, accountability, and operating judgment. 
•  Leadership should not require self-destruction. Burnout is not proof of seriousness. 

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Breaking Precedent

01:44 Boardroom karaoke and Detroit energy

03:29 Detroit Roots And Family

05:42 Owning Your Seat

08:49 Love Of Learning

11:24 Choosing Wharton

12:44 Goldman Vs Google Culture

14:59 Resilience Meets Perspective

17:03 Dont Shortchange Students

19:36 Leadership Before CEO

21:06 Scaling TaskRabbit Early Days

23:03 Culture Building With Food

25:53 Trust In The Gig Economy

29:07 Rebuilding the Model

30:10 London Launch Gamble

31:11 Conviction Under Fire

32:43 TaskRabbit 3.0 Vision

35:09 IKEA Sale Vote

38:59 Operator to Investor

41:06 SoftBank Opportunity Fund

45:10 Cherry Rock Strategy

47:02 Investing With Values

50:36 Backing Great Founders

54:49 Leadership and Legacy

56:53 Closing Reflections

About the Guest

Stacy Brown-Philpot is a trailblazing tech executive and investor. Raised in Detroit, she earned degrees from The Wharton School and Stanford GSB before building her early career at Goldman Sachs and Google. She is best known for her leadership at the gig-economy pioneer TaskRabbit; joining initially as COO and later becoming CEO, she guided the company through a critical business model pivot and its ultimate acquisition by IKEA.

Stacy's LinkedIn

Cherryrock Capital Website

Resources

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

TaskRabbit

SoftBank Opportunity Fund

Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 

Instagram: @leah_solivan

X: @labunleashed

What happens when the systems that define ownership are designed to exclude most people from participating?

Austin Allison, founder of Pacaso and former co-founder of Dotloop, has spent his career inside one of the most entrenched and resistant industries: real estate. From growing up in a household where ownership was aspirational but constrained, to building and exiting a $100M+ proptech company, his perspective is shaped by both lived experience and system-level insight.

This episode explores the structural barriers that make real estate slow to change, from incentive misalignment to regulatory friction and cultural inertia. It also examines what it actually takes to shift an industry where participants are independent, resistant to control, and deeply tied to legacy processes.

At the center is a deeper tension: ownership as both a wealth-building engine and a gated system. Austin unpacks how Pacaso emerged from this tension, aiming to expand access without eroding value. The discussion moves beyond entrepreneurship into power, incentives, and the hidden mechanics that determine who gets to participate in wealth creation.

References & Resources
• Books: Switch by Chip and Dan Heath
• Companies: Dotloop, Pacaso, Zillow, Keller Williams
• Concepts: Network effects, change management, ownership as wealth creation, independent contractor incentives
• Platforms: DocuSign

Show Notes 

00:00 Introduction to breaking precedent

03:16 Ohio Roots and First Deal

05:56 Ownership and Second Home Epiphany

08:45 Ambition and Vulnerability

12:50 Selling Homes at 18 Lessons

16:34 Dotloop Breakthrough and Passion

19:34 Changing Real Estate Adoption

29:28 Zillow Exit and Picasso Calling

32:40 Retirement Reality Check

33:40 Eleven Month Problem Study

35:01 Beating Timeshare Stigma

36:35 Venn Diagram Conviction

41:10 Second Home Magic

43:32 Fixing Underuse And Hassle

45:11 NetJets For Houses

46:16 Housing Affordability Impact

49:43 Reframing The Ownership Dream

54:26 Policy Fixes For Mobility

58:22 Ownership And ROE

Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 

Instagram: @labunleashed

X: @labunleashed

What does it take to build something meaningful when the system is designed for most efforts to fail?

Rachel Sussman is a Broadway producer known for bringing socially driven, culturally relevant work to the stage, including the Tony Award winning musical Suffs and the play Liberation. Raised in a family immersed in the arts, she developed an early fascination with storytelling, eventually shifting from performance to producing after discovering the power of shaping creative work behind the scenes.

This conversation explores producing as a systems discipline. Rachel breaks down Broadway as a high-risk startup model where only about 10 percent of shows recoup their investment. She shares how meaningful art is built at the intersection of storytelling, capital, and cultural timing, and why hope is not passive optimism but a strategic choice that requires action. The episode reveals how great producers do more than create shows. They design systems that influence how audiences think, feel, and engage with the world.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Breaking Precedent!

02:11 Books That Shaped Her

03:53 Family Theater Roots

07:05 Competitive Dance Years

08:37 From Performer to Dramaturg

11:05 NYU and Finding Producing

13:03 Producer as Show CEO

16:08 Broadway Risk and Recoup

17:47 Suffs Origin Story

22:16 History That Haunts

24:25 Great American Bitch

26:56 Truth Over Whitewash

28:00 Ida B Wells Spotlight

29:22 Breadcrumbs For Research

31:18 Designing For Action

33:16 Art Shapes Politics

35:38 Clinton And Malala

37:54 Liberation On Broadway

40:29 Motherhood And Rights

43:01 Hope Requires Action

43:55 Broadway Money Pressures

49:50 Audience As Participants

51:48 Stories Still Missing

52:50 Next Gen Engagement

55:30 Beyond Female Labels

56:44 Closing Reflections

What happens when the identity that defined your life suddenly ends?

Ryan Nece grew up surrounded by greatness. As the son of NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, competition, discipline, and excellence were part of everyday life. But living in the shadow of one of football’s greatest players came with its own pressures. In this episode, Ryan shares how those early experiences shaped his perspective on leadership, resilience, and personal responsibility.

After building his own career in the NFL, Nece faced a challenge that many athletes struggle with: redefining identity after the game ends. Drawing on lessons from his father, his upbringing, and a life-altering car accident at seventeen, Ryan developed the mindset he now calls the “Next Play.” Today he brings that philosophy into the world of entrepreneurship, venture capital, and mentoring athletes transitioning into life after sports. 

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction

03:12 Growing Up Ronnie Lott’s Son

05:31 Embracing the Legacy

08:27 Betting on Yourself Early

09:24 Wisdom From Strong Women

12:12 Kickball Leadership Lesson

16:54 Serious Teen to Team Leader

17:52 UCLA Setbacks and Breakthrough

20:39 Car Crash Perspective Shift

23:10 Calling Dad for Football Advice

24:58 Next Play Mindset

26:18 Processing Between Whistles

27:15 Injuries And Mental Rehab

29:59 Life After Football

32:15 Building A Startup

35:23 Founding Next Play

38:03 Venture Reality Check

42:00 Spotting Great Founders

47:26 Next Play U Program

49:46 Legacy Plus Sign

51:12 Next Decade Vision

53:16 Final Takeaways

How do you change the narrative when the system was never designed to include you?

In this episode of Breaking Precedent, Soledad O'Brien joins the show to discuss her illustrious career in journalism, covering critical events from wars to hurricanes, and sharing the humorous contrast between her on-screen cooking segments and her real-life kitchen skills. O'Brien delves into her upbringing as the daughter of an interracial couple in a time when such marriages were illegal, shaping her perspective on education and resilience. Her journey from a production assistant to starting the Starfish Media Group highlights her commitment to centering authentic stories and challenging traditional narratives in media. The conversation covers the impact of storytelling in crises like Hurricane Katrina, the shifts needed in journalistic practices, and the importance of representation in media.

Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning journalist, producer, and media entrepreneur known for centering truth, context, and underreported voices in American storytelling. A former CNN anchor and correspondent, she led groundbreaking documentary series including Black in America, Latino in America, and In America, reshaping how media covers race, policy, and power.

Listeners can learn more about Soledad O’Brien at SoledadProductions and on Instagram @soledadobrien and LinkedIn @Soledadproduction

Resources:

Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien

Show Notes: 

00:00 Welcome to Breaking Precedent + Introducing Soledad O’Brien

01:38 Icebreaker: Myth and Mom Life

03:17 Growing Up in the 60s

06:17 Early Storytelling Instincts

07:36 Dual Identity as a Reporting Superpower

11:10 Outworking Everyone: First Jobs, Low Pay, and Learning Fast

14:37 2005 (Katrina) and Re-Centering Crisis Coverage

18:09 Why People Don’t Trust the News Anymore (Opinion, Clicks, AI)

21:31 CNN ‘Black in America’ Clash

24:43 How to Push Back on Leadership Without Losing the War

25:58 Finding Your Voice: Standing Firm as You Rise

27:07 Handling Disrespect on Assignment: ‘Get Out There and Kill It’

30:10 Starting Starfish Media: Breaking the Gatekeeping of Stories

33:21 Reinvention, Motherhood, and Building a Life You Want

36:02 Work, Guilt, and Raising Awesome Teens (and Twentysomethings)

39:38 Owning Your Schedule: From CNN Chaos to Horseback Riding & Ballroom

41:31 Why Conflict-Driven News Wins: Cheap Panels, No Context

44:13 A Better Future for News: Streamers, Deep Dives, and Expertise Over Opinion

46:58 Docs as Policy Storytelling: Stand Your Ground, Roe, and Creative Structure

48:59 Representation Matters: The Legacy She Hopes to Leave + Final Wrapd

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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 

Instagram: @leah_solivan

X: @labunleashed

What would it take to make healthcare massively better?

In this episode of Breaking Precedent, Leah Solivan sits down with Halle Tecco, founder of Rock Health, to unpack why the U.S. healthcare system remains so hard to change—and what it will actually take to fix it.

Drawing from her upbringing in the Midwest, decades of experience across healthcare, investing, public health, and education, and her new book Massively Better Healthcare, Halle explains how incentives, power dynamics, and regulatory capture shape outcomes far more than technology alone. From Medicaid disparities and data misuse to venture capital timelines and the myth of “innovation solves everything,” she challenges founders and leaders to see healthcare as a system—not just a product opportunity.

Together, Leah and Halle explore why healthcare resists scale, how evidence differs from proof of impact, and why founders must often become advocates—not just builders. Halle shares lessons from Rock Health, insights from teaching at Columbia and Harvard, and hard truths about incumbents, misaligned incentives, and what meaningful progress actually looks like.

Halle Tecco is a healthcare investor, educator, and author focused on improving outcomes, access, and equity across the healthcare system. She is the founder of Rock Health, an early-stage venture firm supporting digital health startups, and the author of Massively Better Healthcare: The Innovator’s Guide to Tackling Healthcare’s Biggest Challenges. Her work spans investing, public health, teaching, and policy advocacy, with a mission to make healthcare meaningfully better for more people.

Massively Better Healthcare (Book): https://www.halletecco.com/book
Rock Health: https://rockhealth.com
Cost Plus Drugs (Mark Cuban): https://costplusdrugs.com
Epic Systems (EHR): https://www.epic.com
Cleveland Clinic: https://my.clevelandclinic.org
National Academy of Medicine (Social Determinants of Health context): https://nam.edu
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): https://www.cms.gov
Menlo Ventures – AI in Healthcare Report: https://menlovc.com/perspective/ai-in-healthcare/

Shownotes
00:00 Welcome to Breaking Precedent
02:10 Icebreaker: A Personal Moment That Changed Halle’s View on Healthcare
06:30 Growing Up in the Midwest and Early Healthcare Experiences
10:45 Fairness, Access, and Social Determinants of Health
15:20 Questioning Systems from the Inside and Outside
19:40 Founding Rock Health and Early Digital Health Investing
24:10 Why Healthcare Resists Scale
28:30 Data, AI, and the Future of Healthcare
33:10 Incentives, Power, and Misalignment
37:20 Writing Massively Better Healthcare
41:00 What Needs to Change and What Innovators Can Do Next
44:30 Final Thoughts

Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 
Instagram: leah_solivan
X: @labunleashed

What happens when difference becomes a competitive advantage?

In this episode of Breaking Precedent, Leah Solivan sits down with Samara Hernandez, founder of Chingona Ventures, to explore how identity, constraint, and culture can shape leadership in venture capital. From growing up in Mexico to building a venture fund in the United States, Samara reflects on how limited resources, discipline, and an early love of math forged resilience and clarity—and how being underestimated became a source of strength.

Tracing her path from engineering at the University of Michigan to finance at Goldman Sachs, and ultimately to launching her own fund, Samara shares how she learned to turn difference into a competitive edge. Now a venture capitalist and engineer backing bold founders, she brings a philosophy of doing more with less—working to close access gaps, expand opportunity, and redefine leadership in an industry built on pattern-matching.

Samara Hernandez is a venture capitalist and engineer focused on backing bold founders building the future. Born in Mexico and raised in Chicago, her career spans engineering, finance, and early-stage investing, shaped by a philosophy of doing more with less. Through Chingona Ventures, she works to close capital gaps and expand opportunity for underrepresented founders across the innovation economy.

Learn more at chingonaventures.com, and follow Samara on Instagram @chingonaventures and LinkedIn.

Resources

National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)

Venture Forward

SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)

Show Notes 
00:00 Welcome to Breaking Precedent!
02:03 Icebreaker: Turning Differences into Superpowers

03:43 Samara's Childhood and Education

06:59 From Mexico to Chicago: A Family's Journey

07:21 The Significance of Qana Ventures

08:32 Celebrating Hispanic Heritage

09:59 The Power of Community and Upbringing

11:48 Discovering a Passion for Math

13:30 Navigating Education as an Immigrant

17:39 Choosing Engineering and University Life

24:13 From Engineering to Wall Street

26:08 Learning and Growing at Goldman Sachs

30:39 The Intensity of Sales and Moving On

31:12 Mentorship and Business School Journey

32:18 Discovering Venture Capital by Accident

34:13 First Steps in Venture Capital

35:37 Building a Venture Firm from Scratch

36:48 Challenges and Opportunities in Venture Capital

40:31 Scaling Chingona Ventures

44:44 The Power of Representation and Impact

51:07 Investing in the New Majority

57:01 Redefining Success in Venture Capital

01:03:16 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders

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Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Connect with Leah:

Website: breakingprecedent.com/ 
Instagram: leah_solivan
X: @labunleashed