Innovators + Entrepreneurs

In this episode, Jim Barrood sits down with Craig Arnold, ViceDean for Innovation and University Innovation Officer at Princeton University, to discuss the evolving role of academia in entrepreneurship, commercialization, and innovation.

Craig shares his journey from professor to entrepreneur,explains why innovation is much bigger than startups, and discusses how Princeton is building bridges between researchers, industry, government, and the broader innovation ecosystem. They also explore why collaboration - not competition - is the key to translating ideas into meaningful societal impact.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, researcher, investor, oruniversity leader, this conversation offers valuable insights into the future of academic innovation.

Inside the AI Infrastructure Race features Corey Sanders, Senior Vice President of Product at CoreWeave and former Microsoft executive, in a wide-ranging conversation with Jim Barrood about the technology powering today's AI revolution.

Corey shares his journey from growing up in New Jersey and spending more than two decades helping build Microsoft Azure to leading product strategy at one of the world's fastest-growing AI cloud companies. Together they explore how CoreWeave became a critical infrastructure provider for many of the world's leading AI model builders, why enterprise AI adoption is still in its early innings, and what it will take to power the next generation of AI applications.

The discussion also tackles the future of AI infrastructure, the reality behind data center concerns, open-source versus frontier models, the rise of AI agents, the New Jersey AI Hub, and whether Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is closer than many believe. If you want to understand the technology behind today's AI boom—and where it's headed next—this episode offers a rare insider's perspective from one of the industry's key leaders.

The conversation explores why investors are once again prioritizing fundamentals over hype, where the biggest opportunities are emerging across food, agriculture, ingredients, and sustainable technologies, how founders can successfully raise capital in today's market, and why New Jersey has become one of the country's premier FoodTech innovation ecosystems.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, corporate innovator, or simply fascinated by the future of food, this episode delivers practical insights from investors who have collectively backed hundreds of startups and helped build some of the industry's most successful companies.Moderator Jim Barrood is joined by Tom Mastrobuoni (Chief Investment Officer, Big Idea Ventures), Jay Bhatti (Food & CPG Investor), Robert Grey (Plug and Play), and Steven Finn (Siddhi Capital).

In this conversation with Jim Barrood, Tom Szaky shares his remarkable journey from a Princeton student selling worm-casting fertilizer in used soda bottles to leading a global recycling and reuse company operating in 20 countries. We explore the future of the circular economy, why most recycling systems fail, how TerraCycle created groundbreaking programs like Loop, and what it takes to build a purpose-driven company that balances profit, innovation, and environmental impact.

Plus, Tom discusses fundraising, acquisitions, sustainability entrepreneurship, and why the waste industry may be one of the biggest innovation opportunities hiding in plain sight.

Jonathon Dambrot, cofounder and CEO of Cranium AI, shares his journey from teenage magician and chocolatier to cybersecurity entrepreneur. He explains how Cranium secures enterprise AI systems, why AI security is now a top priority, and why he’s bullish on AI’s future, new jobs, and founders building meaningful, scalable ventures today.

This episode brings together Judith Sheft (NJ Commissionon Science, Innovation & Technology), Medina Citi (Equal Space), and David Stengle (Startup Grind Princeton) to take stock of New Jersey’s rapidly maturing startup ecosystem—from non-dilutive R&D grants and growing innovation hubs to stronger statewide collaboration. They discuss wins(strategic innovation centers, AI momentum, policy tailwinds like tax credits), ongoing challenges (uneven access to capital, federal funding uncertainty), and 2026 predictions with Jim Barrood.

Mellie Chow and Hamza Shad trace their winding paths into venture capital. Talking to Jim Barrood, they unpack today’s funding reality: AI-driven “haves vs. have-nots,” concentrated capital, longer fund cycles, booming secondaries, and offer founders practical fundraising advice on targeting the right investors and leading with curiosity, data, and relationships.

NetElixir founder and CEO Udayan Bose and Rutgers professor Jim Samuel join host Jim Barrood to discuss AI’s transformative impact on business and society. They explore NetElixir’s evolution into an AI-first e-commerce agency, Rutgers’ pioneering public informatics program, and their joint research on how generative AI can create economic value while enhancing - not replacing - human potential.

Entrepreneurs Paul Lam (Bot Auto) and Ali Arab (General Autonomy) discuss building safer, more practical autonomous vehicles—Bot Auto focusing on full-service L4 autonomoustrucking and General Autonomy advancing AI safety systems for edge-case control. They share with Jim Barrood candid startup lessons on responsibility, capital discipline, and the balance between innovation, commercialization, and safety in real-world autonomy.

Founders Steve Jones and DeSean Brown explain pocstock, acontent and responsible-AI data company delivering inclusive, culturally accurate visuals and datasets. They talk to Jim Barrood about their careers bridging tech, agencies, and entrepreneurship; clients across brands and agencies; worldwide guidance/production services; and efforts to fix AI bias via better metadata and global datasets.