Human Unicorn Podcast

Human Unicorn Pod: Anish Agarwal — Building in the AI-Native Era

What does it take to build a company in a world where AI shifts faster than strategy decks can keep up? And how do founders create real leverage when technology lowers the barrier to entry for everyone?

Join host Nihal Mehta for a deep dive with Anish Agarwal, founder of Traversal. Anish is building at the frontier of AI infrastructure, thinking deeply about speed, execution, and how small teams can generate outsized impact in an era of exponential tools.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why velocity is the new moat for AI startups
• The difference between hype-driven AI and durable infrastructure
• How founders should think about leverage in an AI-native stack
• Building with clarity when the tech landscape changes weekly
• The mindset required to stay ahead of compounding innovation
• What separates breakout companies from fast followers

Anish shares candid lessons from operating at the edge of AI transformation—where distribution, product insight, and decision speed matter more than ever. The conversation also unpacks how founders can design companies that compound advantage instead of chasing trends.

This is the episode for builders, operators, and investors who want to understand what it really means to create enduring value in the age of AI.

🎙️ Human Unicorn Pod — Where exceptional humans share the stories behind their extraordinary journeys.

🎙 Human Unicorn Podcast

Episode: Tejpaul Bhatia — The Most Trusted Man in Space

In this episode of Human Unicorn, Nihal Mehta sits down with longtime friend, three-time (now fourth-time) founder, and former CEO of Axiom Space, Tejpaul Bhatia — a man who’s helped take humanity off the planet while staying deeply grounded in community, friendship, and purpose.

Nihal and Tej go way back — New York tech, shared investors, shared runs on the West Side Highway, shared wins, shared heartbreaks. What unfolds is not just a conversation about space, startups, or sales — but a rare, honest look at timing, identity, trust, and what it means to do your life’s work.

Tej opens up about leaving Axiom at a pivotal moment, the Rangers game conversation that changed everything, and the quiet clarity his wife saw before he did. From there, he breaks down how he helped close hundreds of millions of dollars in space contracts, why he considers himself only a B+ salesperson, and how ecosystem management and strategic narrative became his real superpowers.

Along the way, they explore:

• Why founders often fuse their identity with their startups — and why that’s dangerous
• How Tej went from Google to space by being the most trusted person in the room
• The difference between selling a product and mobilizing an entire country
• Why the secret to magic, success, love, and leadership is… practice
• What happens when you stop thinking first — and start feeling first

This is an episode about serendipity without coincidence, about miracles built over decades, and about learning to face yourself when everything changes.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to sell $100M deals, build trust at a planetary scale, or redefine success after you’ve “made it” — this one’s for you.

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The Cultural Architect: Anjula Acharia on Spotting Stars and Building Movements

Anjula Acharia isn’t your typical talent manager or venture capitalist. She’s the visionary who orchestrated Priyanka Chopra’s historic crossover to Hollywood, founded one of the first viral podcasts (DesiHits), and invested early in unicorns like ClassPass and Masterclass. From a six-hour life-changing meeting with music legend Jimmy Iovine to becoming one of the most influential voices in South Asian representation globally, Anjula has spent two decades shaping culture at the intersection of music, entertainment, and technology.

In this episode with host Nihal Mehta, Anjula reveals her philosophy of “no desperation,” why she listens with two ears but speaks with one mouth, and how serendipity—not planning—has guided her extraordinary journey. From telesales in England to pacing the streets of New York City with Priyanka, from working with Lady Gaga to launching ABC’s “Quantico,” Anjula’s career is a masterclass in recognizing talent, building community, and trusting that destiny will find you.

Topics covered:

∙ The untold story of Priyanka Chopra’s American crossover

∙ Life-changing mentorship from Jimmy Iovine and the music industry

∙ How to spot unicorns: tech stars, pop stars, and film stars

∙ The art of listening and seeing around cultural corners

∙ Investing philosophy behind ClassPass and other breakout companies

∙ Advancing South Asian culture and representation globally

∙ Why “no desperation” is the ultimate superpower

∙ Building movements through community over competition

Anjula continues to shape global culture as a talent manager, investor, venture partner, and the force behind the legendary annual Diwali celebration that brings together the most influential voices in tech, entertainment, and business.

Human Unicorn Pod - Conversations with extraordinary humans building the future.

When Joe Marchese founded true[X] and sold it to 21st Century Fox for around $200 million, he was just getting started. As the former President of Advertising Revenue at Fox Networks Group, he oversaw billions in annual revenue for properties like FOX Broadcast, FX, National Geographic, and FOX Sports—including advertising for the Super Bowl and World Series.

But Joe's not about maintaining the status quo. He's about breaking it.

Now as co-founder and General Partner at Human Ventures and Casa Komos Brands Group, and Chairman of corporate philanthropy platform Groundswell, Joe is building the next generation of companies based on a radical idea: technology should make us MORE human, not less.

In this conversation with host Nihal Mehta, Joe shares his vision for "Human First" technology, why he believes the current advertising model is failing high-quality content, and how AI can reshape the attention economy without stealing our humanity. He also leads Human.AI, exploring these intersections at the cutting edge of media and technology innovation.

Joe's insights come from both sides of the table—as a founder who's built and sold companies, and as an executive who's run some of the biggest advertising operations in television history. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement in 2016 and currently serves on the boards of Clear Channel Outdoor, Cox Media Group, National CineMedia, and veteran-led nonprofit Team Rubicon.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the future of media, the attention economy, venture capital, and how we can build technology that enhances rather than diminishes human connection.

Human Unicorn Pod - Extraordinary conversations with exceptional humans.

Jerry Colonna — Leadership, Fear, and the Inner Work of Building Companies

What if the hardest part of building a great company isn’t strategy, fundraising, or product—but confronting yourself?

In this episode of Human Unicorn, we sit down with Jerry Colonna—executive coach to some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic founders, former VC, and author of Reboot—to explore the inner lives of leaders. Jerry shares hard-won lessons from decades of coaching CEOs through growth, breakdowns, and breakthroughs, revealing why unresolved fear, shame, and identity often shape business outcomes more than market forces.

We talk about the myth of the heroic founder, why “bringing your whole self to work” is both necessary and terrifying, and how true leadership begins with radical self-inquiry. This is a conversation about power, vulnerability, and what it really means to build companies—and lives—worth being proud of.

If you’re a founder, operator, or leader navigating pressure, uncertainty, or success that feels strangely hollow, this episode will challenge how you think about ambition, culture, and yourself.

Topics covered:

• Why leadership is an inside job
• The emotional cost of scaling companies
• Coaching founders through fear, ego, and failure
• Redefining success beyond metrics and exits
• How compassion becomes a competitive advantage

🎙️ New Episode: Kass & Mike Lazerow — Building, Selling, and Reinventing in Tech & Life

On this episode of the Human Unicorn Podcast, Nihal Mehta and Yoshi Kondo sit down with power couple Kass & Mike Lazerow—serial entrepreneurs, operators, and investors whose impact spans adtech, social media, and the future of health and wellness.

Mike, founder of Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce for $745M) and veteran early-stage investor, unpacks what it really takes to scale companies that shape culture. Kass, founder of the groundbreaking functional wellness brand Lifelines, shares her journey building mission-driven companies, navigating personal transformation, and redefining what holistic health means in a tech-intense world.

Together, they open up about:

• Lessons learned from multiple exits
• The real emotional cost of entrepreneurship
• How founders can stay resilient through chaos
• The marriage–startup balance that nobody talks about
• Why the next decade of wellness is being built right now

This is one of our most honest, insightful conversations yet—packed with tactical advice, raw stories, and unexpected humor.

Tune in and meet the humans behind the unicorns.

This week on Human Unicorns, Nihal sits down with Brian Distelburger, one of the OGs of New York tech and the co-founder of Yext, the company that took an unsexy problem — digital information chaos — and turned it into a billion-dollar category.

Brian isn’t just a founder; he’s a repeat builder with real operator scars. He helped scale Yext from a scrappy NYC startup into a publicly traded global platform powering the world’s biggest brands. Enterprise sales before you have a category name? He’s lived it. Hypergrowth hiring? Done it. Taking a company public while keeping the culture intact? Survived it.

Now Brian brings that same energy forward as an investor, advisor, and ecosystem multiplier — helping founders navigate the messy middle, build real revenue engines, and avoid the expensive mistakes he already paid the tuition for.

He’s one of the rare people who built and scaled a unicorn from zero to NYSE, all while staying relentlessly curious, humble, and addicted to the craft of building.

If you want a masterclass in resilience, enterprise GTM, founder psychology, and how to create a new category out of thin air — Brian is the definition of a Human Unicorn.

In this episode, Nihal Mehta sits down with Chris Fralic — legendary VC, connector, and one of the most influential relationship-builders in the modern tech ecosystem.

Chris shares the real story behind his trajectory: from early days in enterprise software to helping shape companies like LinkedIn, Yammer, and Roblox through his work at First Round Capital. He breaks down the patterns he’s seen across hundreds of founders — and the behaviors that consistently separate breakout companies from the rest.

We dive into:

• The compounding power of generosity and how Chris built one of the strongest networks in tech
• How great founders communicate, pitch, and create momentum around their ideas
• Why relationship-building is a skill, not a personality type — and how anyone can learn it
• What Chris looks for when meeting a founder for the first time
• Where today’s AI and consumer markets are heading, and which founder traits matter most in 2025

This is a masterclass in relationships, founder psychology, and long-term thinking — packed with practical advice for operators, builders, and investors.

🎙️ The Human Unicorn Podcast — Episode: Hadley Harris (ENIAC Ventures)

In this episode, Nihal Mehta sit down with Hadley Harris, Founding General Partner at ENIAC Ventures, one of New York’s most respected seed-stage investors backing transformational founders from zero to one.

Before becoming a VC, Hadley was a builder himself — leading at Vlingo, an MIT-born AI startup that sold to Nuance for $225M, and serving as Chief Business Officer at Thumb, a social app once ranked just behind Facebook in engagement. That builder DNA defines his work today, where he invests across AI, developer tools, SaaS, and healthcare — and helps founders avoid the traps of scaling too fast before product-market fit.

We explore:

• The mindset shift from operator to investor (and why most VCs don’t really understand startups)
• The AI wave beyond the hype — what’s truly investable vs. what’s just “agentic theater”
• The early lessons from Vlingo and Thumb that shaped his approach to founder support
• Why discipline, humility, and iteration matter more than valuation in the seed stage
• And a personal side of Hadley — from yoga and music to his advocacy for individuals with intellectual disabilities inspired by his brother Traves

Hadley also shares why ENIAC’s founding team went four years without taking a paycheck, how fake parking tickets helped him start his first company at 13, and how he occasionally manages to beat Nihal in tennis.

This is a conversation about longevity in venture capital, the craft of early-stage investing, and the human side of building — from startups to family to purpose.

🎧 Listen now to hear what makes Hadley Harris a true Human Unicorn.

Episode: Building, Pitching & Running – The Kevin Weatherman Playbook

In this episode of The Human Unicorn Podcast, Nihal Mehta sits down with Kevin Weatherman — a founder and operator who lives at the intersection of product, pitch, and relentless execution. Kevin shares how he built his tech platform from the ground up, not just to raise capital, but to win trust, land customers, and scale with purpose.

From engineering the early prototype to refining the pitch deck that caught investors’ attention, Kevin walks through the gritty reality of creating something people will run with, not just invest in. He and Nihal dive deep into:

• Turning product vision into a movement

• Crafting a pitch that drives action, not just applause

• Why founders must be both storyteller and operator

• Building teams that run at your pace — or faster

This is a masterclass in momentum — how to build it, hold it, and never lose it.