In this episode, Jeremy Toeman talks with Michael Stern, Managing Director at Kintegral Asset Management, about his journey from a programmer in a Los Alamos chemistry lab to being a startup founder to socially driven investor.

• How early work in chemical modeling led to DE Shaw, startups, and eventually socially responsible investing

• What happened when Michael had to choose between product market fit and personal values

• How he helped expose corporate fraud and turned it into one of his biggest trades

• Why he invests in story driven startups like Pi-Lit and Street Smarts VR• Why investing in stories matters more to him than spreadsheets and how he finds purpose driven startups with real world impact

• How his firm uses data and algorithms to generate market outperformance while maintaining strict environmental and social standards

You’ll also hear what climbing Mount McKinley taught him about discomfort, drive, and decision making and why he believes success means doing work you never have to apologize for.

Get full access to Founder@50 at founderat50.substack.com/subscribe