Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand

In #142 futurists celebrate Our Future's 1 year anniversary and join a group of Michael’s closest friends, family, and team members to reflect on an idea that went from quarantine podcast to a full-scale media brand producing business content for young people.

A huge thanks to all of you who come out and listen to Our Future every week, you mean the world to me and this brand.

Here are the guests on this episode in order that they appear:

At the end of this episode, everyone shares their favorite episode of the pod, so stay tuned for those recommendations! Here's to one year everyboy!

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In #141, futurists hear from Swish Goswami, CEO & Co-founder of Trufan, an audience engagement platform that helps brands and influencers generate segmented first and third party data. Basically, it's a social intelligence platform that helps identify one's valuable followers by going through the world's largest database of social profiles: Social Rank. Trufan services businesses of all sizes, many of which you've heard of, such as VaynerMedia, NBA, Sony Music, Now This, FC Dallas, and more! By teaming up with large brands, Trufan offers a value exchange to users for their data, such as the ultimate gaming experience from Bud Light or free G Fuel for a year. Swish believes people should be compensated for their data and that Google, Opera, and Mozilla should take note of the way Trufan's customers are being rewarded.

Check out Trufan: https://www.trufan.io/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

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In #140, futurists hear from Sridhar Ramaswamy, Co-founder of Neeva and Venture Partner at Greylock. Sridhar unpacks the need for Neeva, a search engine that scrounges through information in personal files and on the web without showing advertisements or compromising (or profiting off of) user data. His ad-free search engine, as he puts it, aims to "do right by the customer" and offer full security through any searches. Ironically, he is the fomer Google Ad Chief, and he discusses his change in mindset that led him to be the 'ads guy creating an ads-free company'. In this podcast, Sridhar also dives into his position at Greylock and plays a quick-fire round of overrated/underrated where he judges avocado toast, Tesla, Amazon and Bitcoin!

Join Neeva here: https://neeva.com/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

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in #139, futurists hear from Luke Breon, a 20-year-old Nebraska-based entrepreneur who has built a multi-million dollar business flipping sports card packs through social media. Luke, who's been an entrepreneur since he was 11, previously ran a marketing agency which he started in his junior year of high school, helping local Nebraskan businesses target customers and understand social media. In this podcast, Luke discusses why sports cards have made a massive resurgence, unpacking the alternate investments trend, and explains how he makes money on collectibles. He's also expanding his warehouse and plans to recruit a team. Don't miss this one!

Check out Luke's website: https://bangersportscards.com/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

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In #138, futurists tune into an epic conversation with Dr. Mike Barger, a former fighter jet pilot, co-founder of JetBlue Airways, and a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Dr. Barger began his career in the military, recieving his commission as an Officer in the United States Navy and serving for thirteen years, completing three, six-month deployments as a pilot and TOPGUN flight instructor flying the F/A-18 Hornet aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Dwight David Eisenhower. Dr. Barger left the US Navy in 1999 to be founding member of JetBlue Airways. He created JetBlue University, the award-winning corporate training function that provides learning and development to all members of the JetBlue workforce. He received his Master’s Degree in Learning Leadership in 2008 and his Doctor of Education degree in 2009. In this conversation, Mike and I discuss his learnings from flying fighter jets and how they apply to business, his experience helping to start JetBlue and explaining why the airline startup was able to succeed in a crowded market, and his career advice to young people. Don't miss this one!

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

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In #137, futurists learn from Rob Dong, a UCLA junior and the CMO of Duffl, a Y Combinator backed e-scooter delivery company that claims to be the world's fastest delivery service. On college campus, e-scooter riding "racers" deliver their fellow college students everything from gatorades to snacks to vapes in less than ten minutes. Since starting in 2019, Duffl now serves two college campuses (UCLA) and is quickly expanding to a third, leveraging a unique model where the company buys wholesale products and owns a warehouse to delivver them around the local area through their network of racers. Rob and the CEO of Duffl, David Lin, have raised over $1.3 million since starting the business and are now gearing up for another round of funding to beat out the competition. Listen to learn about this crazy student startup, don't miss it

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

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In #136 futurists tune into an Our Future social impact episode, co-hosted with Jess Schmitt, featuring Sarah Goody, a 16-year-old climate activist and the founder of Climate Now. Sarah gained national attention from outlets like NBC, LA Times, and Good Morning America when in 8th grade, she protested in front of San Francisco City Hall for 50 consecutive Fridays to raise awareness for climate change. Since her initial campaign, Sarah has founded Climate Now, an organization focused on providing young people an introductory experience into the issue of climate change and the ways in which they can participate in reversing the planet's trajectory toward increased temperatures and natural disasters. Jess and I were blown away by Sarah's poise, professionalism, and incredible confidence as just a 16-year-old, and it's absolutley unreal the work she's doing to raise awareness for an issue she feels endlessly passionate about. Don't miss this powerful and inspirational episode.

Check out Climate Now's website: https://www.climatenow.solutions/

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You, the Our Future listener, can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

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In #135, futurists tune into an epic conversation with legendary entrepreneur, Marc Randolph, the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix who walks us through the origin story of one of the most legendary startup stories in Silicon Valley history. When Marc and his co-founder, Reed Hastings, wanted to start a business in the late 90's they didn't have a clue where to start, and even thought they might do a shampoo or dog food company! In fact, Netflix's first name was Kibble.com (not kidding) until five months in, the team knew they would need a better name, with Randolph selecting the moniker that now defines modern entertainment. Marc scaled Netflix from a crazy idea into one of the most disruptive businesses in history, being responsible for the company's early user interface, branding, and data analytics system. After guiding the company through its 2002 IPO, Marc left the company, claiming to have been more interested in the startup phase. Since then, he's founded several successful companies, one of which is Looker, a multi-billion dollar data analytics company that was acquired by Google. In this podcast, Marc shares some incredible startup advice, participates in an underrated/overrated segment on hot business topics, and laughs remembering that Blockbuster rejected their offer to merge with the company for a mere $50M. Don't miss this crazy episode.

Get 50% off Verb Energy's caffeinated energy bars, which have just 90 calories and pack the same punch as a cup of coffee, coming in delicious flavors like Vanilla Latte, Double Chocolate, and Peppermint Mocha. You the Our Future listener can get 16 Verb energy bars for just $12 by purchasing through our unique link here: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

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In #134, futurists learn from Arvid Ali, a 27-year-old entrepreneur and celebrity startup advisor, who claims to be financially retired at the age of 26. In middle school, Arvid was a coding prodigy, and in high school, he took college classes alongside his schoolwork, graduating at age 17 and going onto UCLA to study math and getting his bachelor's degree at age 19. After college, Arvid worked at several Fortune 500 companies before starting a recruiting consulting firm, helping venture-backed startups hire the right talent to their business, and in his early twenties, he served as Global Head of Talent for unicorn pharmacy startup: Alto. Arvid's next professional adventure was in the celebrity startup management space, and he landed his first role with Olympic gold-medalist Shaun White's portfolio of businesses, and later with Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street. In this podcast, Arvid drops some insane networking advice and some fascinating information about trends towards celebrity startups, as well as his financial advice for young professionals.

Get 50% off Verb Energy's Starter Pack: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

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In #133, futurists tap into an electric conversation with Irene Wu, a 21-year-old venture capitalist investing with Blue Collective, Harvard student, and Founder at The YX Foundation. Irene trained for half her life being the coxswain for Men's rowing teams, committing to Harvard as a student athlete before suffering a concussion that resulted in her taking a gap year. It was Irene's interest in rowing that led her to become obsessed with a streetwear startup called Rowing Blazers, and she ended up cold-emailing the CEO and moving to NYC before she had completed her first year of college to work full-time at a startup. Following her three-year stint at Rowing Blazers, Irene became an investor at Blue Collective, and she's invested in several companies including Doola, Parlor, and Teleportal. In 2019, Irene founded The YX Foundation, a hybrid coalition-design lab dedicated to prototyping at the intersection of deep technology (AI/ML) and critical race theory. On this episode, Irene and Michael discuss her journey in the startup world, lessons learned, and then dive headfirst into a conversation about the intersection of race and startups. Don't miss this one.

Get 50% off Verb Energy's Starter Pack: https://www.verbenergy.com/ourfuture

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2htIc3-njRI5BKTJ2QqNfA

Subscribe to Our Future Newsletter: https://www.ourfuturehq.com/

Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

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