iinnovate

MP3 File | Subscribe via iTunes | Add to del.icio.us Chris Capossela is the Senior Vice President of the Microsoft Information Worker Product Management Group. Chris is responsible for the worldwide product and business management of the Microsoft Office System of products, which includes desktop applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, server products such as Exchange, and hosted services such as Office Live. Chris has been with Microsoft for over 15 years in various of business positions, including two years as a speech writer for Bill Gates. In this interview, Chris tells us about his experiences and lessons from Microsoft. Notably, he shares his insight on how Microsoft continues to be innovative, the success and future of Office products, and anecdotes from his work with Bill Gates. Chris graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics. Enjoy the interview! - Min Liu

MP3 File | Subscribe via iTunes | Add to del.icio.us Max Ventilla and Rob Spiro are two of four founders of Aardvark, a new social search tool that gets real-time answers from social networks. Max and Rob, along with Nathan Stoll and Damon Horowitz , are carving out the social space with a product that’s a conversation facilitator. In this interview, Max and Rob give an overview of social search, explain their approach in building an innovative product in a burgeoning space, and give insight into Aardvark’s user-centric and research-oriented approach to product and company development. They also packed the interview with some great advice for entrepreneurs and new graduates. Max, Zoo Director, drives strategy and business development. Prior to Aardvark, Max focused on strategy for Adsense at Google and earlier was VP of Business Development for an enterprise data mining tool. Max holds a BS in Math and Physics and a MBA from Yale. Rob, Assistant Curator to Birds, leads all quantitative and qualitative user research initiatives. Previously, Rob co-founded Mifly, a mobile software startup, and Reelblogs, a new media company. Rob holds a BA in History from Yale. - Min Liu

MP3 File | Subscribe via iTunes | Add to del.icio.us Alex Wong is the Director of Products at 23andMe, the popular leader in the personal genome space. As the company’s third employee, he has led product development and design for more than two years, taking the idea of a "personal genome service" from concept to reality. In this interview, Alex explains how 23andMe is making changes in personalized healthcare and genetic research by putting consumers in the driver’s seat and spearheading consumer-driven research. He also explains how the Personal Genome Test, the "spit kit", works, and gives guidance on how to pursue and create an innovative product. Alex brings nine years of technical and entrepreneurial experience from Network Appliance and his own direct-to-consumer digital media software startup. Alex graduated magna cum laude with a combined AB/SM in Computer Science from Harvard University, and has published research in operating systems design. For more information about 23andMe and genetics, check out the 23andMe blog, The Spittoon! - Min Liu

MP3 File YieldBuild is an online service that maximizes publisher ad revenue through layout, ad network and ad placement optimization. YieldBuild also provides consolidated reporting to help publishers identify, on the basis of statistical data, the best performing ad position layout, color and font style on their webpages. Paul Edmondson, YieldBuild's co-founder and CEO, was part of the executive team at MongoMusic, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2000. He help group management positions at MSN Entertainment over product management, quality management, and operations. Paul graduated from California PolyTechnic University Ren Chin, VP of Marketing, most recently comes from Storm Ventures and an EIR. Prior to Storm, Ren was an investor at Partech International where he focused on software and internet investments. Ren holds an MBA degree from the Haas School of Business. - Tristan & Will

MP3 File| Subscribe via iTunes | Add to del.icio.us Alyssa Rapp is the Founder and CEO of Bottlenotes, an online wine retail business that helps individuals discover and learn about wine. Alyssa started the company while at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she headed the school's 500-person wine club. In this interview, Alyssa gives key insights on starting and running a hybrid online retail business, talks about her personal and entrepreneurial story for Bottlenotes, and gives leads to the most amazing wine regions in the world. Her goal for Bottlenotes, she says, is to create the "Pandora of wine". Alyssa earned a B.A. in Political Science and the History of Art from Yale University in 2000 and an M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2005. In between her first and second years in business school, she spearheaded the sales and marketing efforts at RO Imports, an importer of boutique New Zealand wines in New York. Thanks to Julio, iinnovate emeritus, and Roger for contributing to this interview. - Min Liu

MP3 File Morgan Hertzan and Joseph Varet are the founders of LX.TV, a New York-based start-up that produces videos for the Web about high-end entertainment and culture centered around New York and Los Angeles. The company was recently aquired by NBC Universal. LX.TV began distributing its local entertainment content exclusively online and has seen considerable growth since its New York real estate show OpenHouseNYC began airing on NBC's owned-and-operated New York station WNBC in January 2007. Since then, WNBC has also added the New York lifestyle show LX.TV 1st Look to its programming lineup. Prior to founding LXTV Joseph was responsible for all aspects of business development and strategic planning for new television and broadband networks at MTV and Morgan served as Executive Producer for new television and broadband networks at MTV, where he oversaw all aspects of creative development and production for MHD, MTV World, MTV Puerto Rico, and MTV's permanent video billboard in Time Square. Morgan previously created, launched, and supervised production of mtvU, which reaches over 7 million students at 700 US colleges and universities. Enjoy the podcast! - Tristan

Sumir Chadha has invested in Indian technology companies for over a decade. MP3 File Sumir Chadha is a Managing Director with Sequoia Capital India. Formed in 2006, the new entity marks Sequoia’s bold entry into the Indian market and was formed through a merger between Sequoia Capital and WestBridge Capital Partners, the firm Sumir co-founded in 2000. Sumir specializes in offshore services, consumer internet and financial services and has been at the forefront of innovation in India for the past 10 years. Sumir’s investments have included SKS Microfinance, Shaadi.com, Guruji and Times Internet. Sumir is also the co-founder and Chairman of the US-India Venture Capital Association and also a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs. Join us in hearing his views on entrepreneurship in India and its impact on technology investment here in Silicon Valley. - Anu and Nir

Scott Cook is the Founder of Intuit, Inc. and a widely-respected tech veteran for over 25 years. MP3 File Scott Cook began his career at Procter & Gamble as a product manager and later a consultant at Bain & Company. In 1983, he founded Intuit after hearing his wife complain about paying the household bills. Scott leveraged the power of emerging PC technology to help ease the burdens of personal finance and has since created a company worth over $9 billion. While most software companies have difficulty getting just one product right, Intuit has managed to produce a string of successes through great product-market fit. Intuit is now a market dominator in several product categories. Intuit’s Quicken personal finance software holds 70% market share, while QuickBooks, the accounting software for small businesses has an 87% share. Meanwhile, TurboTax, the company’s tax preparation software holds over 80% share and recently set new sales records. Scott has been a director of Intuit since its founding and is currently Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. He also serves on the boards of directors of eBay and Procter & Gamble. Enjoy the podcast! -Nir

Matt Sanchez is CEO of one of Silicon Valley’s hottest new media start-ups, VideoEgg. MP3 File In 2005, Matt Sanchez and his Yale buddies, David Lerman and Kevin Slack, founded VideoEgg. The company’s original goal was to create a new way to upload video to the web. However, the trio soon went in a new direction when the founders saw the potential to leverage their technology in the advertising world. Today, VideoEgg gives brands a new way to reach audiences hooked on viewing online video. The company was the first to develop video overlay ads and has seen interest in the medium skyrocket as more users view content on YouTube and other video sharing sites. VideoEgg has also expanded its product offerings by serving video ads on social networks like Facebook. VideoEgg’s clients include more than 200 brands including Ford, NBC, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s. Collectively, these advertisers pay VideoEgg to broadcast over 500 million video messages per month. Sanchez has led the company through $35 million of VC fundraising and in this podcast discusses the venture process as well as the company’s future goals. Enjoy the podcast! - Nir

Kevin Hartz is a successful San Francisco-based investor and the CEO of Eventbrite. MP3 File Kevin Hartz began his career as a product manager at Silicon Graphics and later co-founded the ConnectGroup, a start-up providing high-speed Internet access to the hotel industry. After Kevin sold ConnectGroup in 1998, he became a well-regarded technology investor and advisor. Kevin joined Outlook Ventures, whose seed investments included Overture and DotBank; both companies have since been acquired by Yahoo!. Kevin’s own investments have included some of the valley’s best known success stories including PayPal, Trulia, Friendster and Flixter. He also co-founded two additional tech companies, Xoom, an international money transfer company and Eventbrite, an online event registration company which he currently runs as CEO. Enjoy the podcast! - Nir