Ideas Elevated

Danish’s Dhamani's vision is to empower people around the world to overcome their fear of public speaking and to become a better communicator.

As a first-generation immigrant, for whom English is a second language, the fear of public speaking haunted Danish throughout his early life. By constant practicing and coaching, he soon realized that people are not born public speakers; instead, public speaking is a learnable skill.

This is what inspired Danish to create Orai, a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence to improve your speaking ability.

In this episode, you'll hear his story firsthand, and learn about his experience taking Orai through the 2018 Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator powered by Techstars.

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Erica Williams Simon is an award-winning host, social critic, entrepreneur and author focused on exploring the truth of who we are and how we want to live. The self-described “professional question asker” and former Head of The Creator’s Lab at Snapchat is the founder and CEO of Sage House, a company that creates spaces, both in-person and online, for a new generation to ask critical questions, share stories and develop wisdom. She is also host of the popular podcast “The Call with Erica” and author of You Deserve the Truth: Change the Stories that Shaped Your World & Live a World-Changing Life.

In this episode, Erica chats with Luke Butler about how growing up as a preacher’s daughter helped her grasp the power of storytelling.

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Even though it’s 2019, the gender gap in the tech industry is still huge. 

So at Philly Startup Leaders Entrepreneur Expo, a flagship event of Philly Tech Week, we sat down with two women who are beating the odds in the tech world.

Jennifer Maher is the CEO over at 1776, a business incubator that has roots in Pennsylvania, DC, and Virginia. 

Kiera Smalls founded City Fit Girls: a citywide fitness club for women in Philadelphia. 

Both Jennifer and Kiera have their hands in Philly Startup Leaders: the largest network of tech startups in Philadelphia. Jennifer is the President of PSL, and Kiera is the Executive Director.

In this conversation, Danielle and Luke chat with Kiera and Jennifer about their journey as women of tech, the challenges and successes they see in underrepresented entrepreneurs, and about how to build a thriving tech ecosystem.

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Scott Kupor is the Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. There, he is responsible for all operational aspects of running the firm. He has been with the firm since its inception in 2009, and has overseen its rapid growth, from three employees to 150+, and from $300 million in assets under management to more than $10 billion.

In this episode, you’ll hear Scott’s best advice on how to obtain venture capital for your startup. He'll also delve a bit into the question of whether you should seek out Venture Capital. Danielle and Scott will also chat about unconscious bias, and how underrepresented founders can access resources and capital.

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Philly Tech Week brings together hundreds of innovators and entrepreneurs from the Philly startup community. It’s one big adrenaline rush for Philadelphia’s tech scene. And it’s impossible to imagine a Philly Tech Week without Christopher Wink, CEO and co-founder of Technically Media.

Chris has been heading Technically Philly for the past decade. He actually co-founded it during the recession ten years ago, and ever since, it has served as a trailblazer for Philly’s tech and journalism communities. 

Live from Philly Startup Leaders Entrepreneur Expo, we’re going to be hearing about Chris’s own professional journey: from a young journalist to a first-time CEO. We’ll be talking about what distinguishes a good CEO from a bad one, and how you can present yourself as an entrepreneur. And, you’ll hear about Chris’s day-to-day: he absorbs a lot of information, from YouTube videos to excel spreadsheets. Because sometimes, you can find inspiration for your startup in the most unexpected places.

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Todd Bonin is a Senior Executive Producer over CNBC. He produces two live shows—Squawk on the Street and Squawk Alley—right on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. For years, he’s been covering up-and-coming companies and technology in the midst of all the action on Wall Street. 

Today, Todd’s going to give us some of the do’s and don'ts of pitching YOUR product to national media. He'll also share a little bit about what his team looks for when selecting which startups and entrepreneurs to feature on their program.

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Kevin O'Leary is an investor, businessman, and author best known as one of the Sharks on Shark Tank.

In this episode, you’ll hear what Shark Tank investors are looking for when they’re pitched.

He'll share lessons in success that he’s learned from his portfolio companies.

And, you’ll even hear how, in its early seasons, he used data to improve and elevate Shark Tank itself.

This discussion was recorded live at Lift Labs in Philadelphia, PA. It is lead by Sam Schwartz, the Chief Business Development Officer at Comcast.

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Nolan Bushnell is best known as the creator of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, though he has founded over 20 companies.

In this episode, you’ll hear the story of how Nolan launched the consumer video game industry with his invention of Pong.

He’ll also provide actionable insight on product iteration and early customer feedback.

This discussion was recorded live at LIFT Labs in Philadelphia, PA. It's lead by Sam Schwartz, the Chief Business Development Officer at Comcast.

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Alex Banayan is a 26-year-old who has spent the past 7 years interviewing some of the most successful people in the world, including Lady Gaga, Larry King, and Bill Gates.

The common theme: every successful person has found a "Third Door," or an alternative path to massive breakthroughs in success.

In this episode, he shares how every entrepreneur can get into the right room, with the right people, who can elevate their idea.

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Michelle Caffrey is a reporter who covers technology and education for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

In this conversation, she’ll share tips and advice for entrepreneurs who are looking to have their company or product featured in the press.

She'll suggest specific ways to really make your product’s story worth telling, she’ll talk about some common mistakes that first time founders make when working with the media.

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