Minus One

What unfolds when those who imagine the future sit across from those building it?

In this special SPC panel, worlds converge. Sci-fi legends Neal Stephenson and Ken Liu join visionary investor Cyan Banister and researcher Joscha Bach to explore how narratives shape reality, how fiction becomes a roadmap, and how builders and dreamers influence each other across time.

Connect with us here:

1. Neal Stephenson- https://x.com/nealstephenson

2. Ken Liu- https://x.com/kyliu99

3. Cyan Banister- https://x.com/cyantist

4. Joscha Bach- https://x.com/Plinz

5. Cristian Cibils Bernardes- https://x.com/life_of_ccb

6. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner

7. South Park Commons- https://x.com/southpkcommons

00:00 Trailer

01:03 Introduction

04:25 AI and nuclear tech parallel

10:26 Progress. Disappointing? Significant?

13:31 The present and the future

17:04 Wrong specifics, right methodology

25:13 Satire and reality

33:14 World building

40:19 Parallels and perpendiculars

44:19 Artificial general intelligence

54:02 Searching for something not forward-looking

57:20 Understanding consciousness

1:04:08 Lightning round

1:14:13 Outro

In conversation with Aditya Agarwal, Adam D’Angelo reflects on his early days at Facebook, the founding of Quora, his early conviction in OpenAI, and why he believes the recursive nature of AI is grounded in a first-principles approach.

Connect with us here:

1. Adam D’Angelo- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangelo/

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

In conversation with Aditya Agarwal, Adam D’Angelo reflects on his early days at Facebook, the founding of Quora, his early conviction in OpenAI, and why he believes the recursive nature of AI is grounded in a first-principles approach.

Connect with us here:

1. Adam D’Angelo- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangelo/

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

00:48 Introduction

02:19 Coding genius

03:51 Synapse Media Player

07:40 Minus one story

11:57 It's all just code

15:03 AI models

19:15 Quora early days

26:12 Highly technical CEO

32:11 Software can do everything

36:39 Quora Poe

41:43 The AI freak-out

44:05 Founder mode

48:33 Natural growth

52:14 LLMs training

55:16 Outro

During his three-decade career in academia, Niall Ferguson has explored the critical inflection points that have shaped the course of history — and the future it continues to inform.

In this conversation, hosted by Aditya Agarwal and Jonathan Brebner, he delves into why we may be living through a civilizational minus one, how history leaves subtle traces of what’s to come, the rise of AI, and much more.

Connect with us here:

1. Niall Ferguson- https://x.com/nfergus

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://x.com/adityaag

3. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner

4. South Park Commons- https://x.com/southpkcommons

00:00 Trailer

00:59 Introduction

02:02 Civilizational -1

05:33 Warfare

08:45 Media and history

13:05 Tech doesn't want the past

17:26 Our awesomeness knows no bounds

19:34 Narrativizing your personal history

26:55 Big moves framework

33:22 Institutions

37:15 Artificial general intelligence

39:52 Vision for the future

45:30 Outro

In this episode of Minus One, Vinod Khosla joins Aditya Agarwal to reflect on his four-decade journey shaping Silicon Valley.

They discuss making high-conviction bets, why the team you build becomes the company you build, Khosla’s first investment in OpenAI, and why he is convinced that AGI sits among us now.

Apply to SPC: https://www.southparkcommons.com/apply

Connect with us here:

1. Vinod Khosla- https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinod-khosla-65387416/
2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/
3. South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

00:00 Trailer

00:58 Introduction

01:53 Aligned values

07:59 The early conviction

11:29 Did Silicon Valley lost its edge?

14:46 10x better

16:21 Top down or bottoms up

19:45 What does a great investor look like

23:17 What's not going well

25:41 AI and a belief system

38:23 AGI and the future generation

40:46 Reasoning model

46:55 Consequences of success

49:24 Questions and answers

55:57 Outro

In this episode of Minus One, Aditya Agarwal and Jonathan Brebner sit down with Blake Scholl, who went from Groupon product leader to founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic, to discuss his pursuit of reviving supersonic travel.

With a vision to make high-speed air travel accessible to millions, Scholl is working to bring back a capability many believed was lost after the Concorde era.

They explore the key factors in building a legacy company (hint: it’s not funding or technology), Boom’s pivotal challenges—and how he continues to push forward, and the “slacker index”.

Connect with us here:

1. Blake Scholl- https://x.com/bscholl

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://x.com/adityaag

3. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner

4. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommons

00:00 Trailer

01:56 Introduction

05:46 From Amazon to supersonic flight

09:39 Overcoming challenges and fear of failure

16:44 The importance of shorter gratification cycles

23:35 Storytelling in hard tech

25:09 Building a dream team

27:42 Lessons learned in progress

29:52 Building our own jet engines

38:53 Challenging conventional wisdom

44:01 Inspiration and legacy

45:55 Future plans

While he hardly needs an introduction, few leaders have shaped the future of technology quite like Satya Nadella.

He stepped into Microsoft’s top job at a catalytic moment—making bold bets on the cloud, embedding AI into the fabric of computing, all while staying true to Microsoft’s vision of becoming a “software factory.”

In this conversation with Aditya Agarwal and Ruchi Sanghvi, Satya discusses:

• his approach to building early at Microsoft and why we all need to continue “refounding”

• the future of AI and why critical thinking will remain at a premium

• Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, his vision for quantum, and more

Connect with us here:

1. Satya Nadella – https://x.com/satyanadella

2. Ruchi Sanghvi – https://x.com/rsanghvi

3. Aditya Agarwal – https://x.com/adityaag

4. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommons

00:00 Trailer

00:57 Introduction

02:03 Joining Microsoft

06:39 Culture and relevance

11:21 Winning and not winning

17:37 Making that turnaround happen

22:30 Contrarian leadership belief

23:35 Investments in startups

27:33 Foundation models

31:07 Artificial intelligence

36:32 The future

40:39 Quantum computing

44:53 Multiverse

45:33 The next generation

50:10 Being competitive

52:34 Outro

Kirsten Green, founder of Forerunner Ventures and 8-time Midas List investor, sees the next wave of breakout brands emerging at the intersection of shifting consumer behavior, novel business models, and technological inflection points.

In this conversation with Ruchi Sanghvi, she unpacks the investment frameworks behind early bets on companies like Warby Parker and Glossier—breaking down structural shifts that fueled their scale. They explore:

• AI’s role in reshaping consumer distribution and brand-building

• the enduring mechanics of advertising and its evolution across platforms

• the biggest misconceptions about early-stage consumer investing

• what defines the next generation of category-defining brands

Connect with us here:

1. Kirsten Green – https://x.com/kirstenagreen

2. Ruchi Sanghvi – https://x.com/rsanghvi

3. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommons

00:00 Trailer

00:56 Introduction

02:25 Humble beginnings

05:12 Vague misconceptions

07:44 Consumer AI direction

11:43 How to win in consumer AI

18:32 Where is distribution now

22:49 "What caught your attention?"

24:45 The problems and the solution

27:35 Consumer traction and engagement

30:50 Giving venture the finger?

34:06 Counterintuitive Traits of Founders

37:03 Effective channels and connections

39:53 Business of saying no

41:49 Agents

43:04 Search experience

44:09 Education and healthcare economy

46:36 Physical personalization

48:31 Healthcare and social

51:55 Key roles

54:51 Outro

From launching Ola as a ride-hailing startup to expanding into EVs, AI, and now a third shot at food delivery, Bhavish Aggarwal has remained in relentless “founder mode.”

He dives into the mental models that shaped his journey, how he processes failure, and his vision for India’s deep-tech future.

Connect with us here:

1. Bhavish Aggarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavishaggarwal/

2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/

3. Prateek Mehta- https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-mehta-a571972/

4. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

(00:00) Trailer

(00:55) Introduction

(01:55) The chaos of building Ola

(06:36) Rebels start companies

(10:21) Leadership and Indian tech

(16:48) Rationale instinct

(21:30) Intelligence, consciousness, philosophies

(25:40) How Krutrim fits in

(33:13) Founders struggles

(36:33) Indian ethos is still growing

(43:13) Impact in business and personal life

(47:46) Authentic execution, zero BS

(55:33) Outro

Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer & EVP of Design & Emerging Products (and previous Co-founder at Behance), joined us in NYC. Find out why Scott believes the intersection of design, technology & business converges on some of the most important problems worth solving today.