From Scratch with Jessica Harris

By Jessica HarrisBusiness Entrepreneurship Marketing Careers

From Scratch with Jessica Harris episodes

May 12, 2016 Fred Swaniker
African Leadership Academy (ALA) is an institution focused on developing Africa’s next generation of leaders. ALA provides practical leadership education, networking and mentoring opportunities for its students, as well as financial incentives to remain on the African continent. Fred started ALA when he was 27 years old.
Fred speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched ALA, from scratch.
Listen to the interview
19 min
May 12, 2016 Nolan Bushnell
Nolan is considered one of the pioneers of the video game industry. Nolan developed the first coin operated game (Computer Space), as well as Atari’s popular debut game, Pong. Nolan also founded Chuck E. Cheese’s, a game centric restaurant chain. He is the author of Finding the Next Steve Jobs. He and his partner Al […]
32 min
May 05, 2016 Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice
From joining gyms to taking Yoga classes, finding a workout that was both effective and satisfying did not come easily to Elizabeth and Julie. Unable to discover a cardio program that motivated and inspired (as well as burned calories), Julie and Elizabeth set out to create a new kind of routine. Fusing elements of indoor […]
19 min
May 05, 2016 Mark Morris
Mark started the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) in 1980. Headquartered in Fort Green, Brooklyn, the company is on tour more than 20 weeks per year. MMDG collaborates with leading artists, including the cellist Yo Yo Ma, the pianist Emanuel Ax, the designer Isaac Mizrahi, and the dancer Baryshnikov. Mark speaks with Jessica about how […]
32 min
April 28, 2016 Jonathan Bush
athenahealth is helping to build the internet architecture for the healthcare industry. It is a cloud based software enabled company that helps physicians manage patients’ electronic medical records, among other services. The company was initially focused on childbirth services in San Diego before transitioning into a digital management company for the healthcare industry. Jonathan speaks […]
32 min
April 28, 2016 Mario Schlosser
Oscar Health is focused on keeping health insurance simple. The company helps users connect directly to doctors, get prescriptions, and find insurance plans that are easier to navigate. Mario speaks with Jessica about how he is bringing innovation to health insurance, from scratch. Listen to the interview
19 min
April 21, 2016 Peter Diamandis
The XPrize Foundation drives innovation through competitions with the hopes of improving the human experience. Its prizes are focused on bold yet achievable projects, ranging from space exploration to the human genome. The first prize of $10 Million was awarded in 2004 to creators of the first piloted space craft. Peter is the co-author of […]
32 min
April 21, 2016 Scott Moody
AuthenTec makes fingerprint sensors that could unlock mobile phones and computers. AuthenTec was sold to Apple in 2012 for $356 million, and the fingerprint sensor first appeared on the iPhone 5s in 2013. Scott speaks with Jessica about how he launched AuthenTec, from scratch. Listen to the interview
19 min
April 14, 2016 Jack Dorsey
Jack is a serial entrepreneur who has started two companies — Twitter and Square — that, on the face of it, seem entirely different. Twitter is a social networking service; Square is a mobile payments company. But Jack believes that their shared purpose is to make each of their related tasks — communicating and transacting — easier. Twitter gets messages from point A to point B just as Square gets money from point A to point B.
Twitter has over 500 million users and gained global recognition when it facilitated the Iranian protests of the presidential election in 2009. Users type messages to followers using a maximum of 140 characters.
Square is a financial services company that allows any merchant to accept credit card payments through a device that plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack. One of the company’s services, called Square Wallet, allows customers to buy products without having to use their actual credit card.
Jack speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched both Twitter and Square, from scratch.
This interview was conducted before Jack returned to Twitter and became CEO in 2015.
Listen to the interview
32 min
April 14, 2016 AB Short
MedShare is an organization that redistributes surplus medical equipment to hospitals in the developing world. These supplies include surgical instruments, gloves, stethoscopes, sutures, x-ray machines, wheelchairs, etc. AB started MedShare in 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is originally from Mississippi. AB speaks with Jessica about how he built MedShare, from scratch. Listen to the interview
19 min