Running Through Walls

Todd and Ed Park, serial entrepreneurs in health IT, sit down with Venrock partner Bryan Roberts to discuss their early experiences founding athenahealth. Todd and Ed look back at how the company evolved from a women's health clinic to a provider of practice management services. Tune in to find out their advice for new entrepreneurs, the mistakes that shaped their path, and the core team that helped them get to where they are today.

Kathleen Sebelius joins Venrock partner Bob Kocher for this episode of Running Through Walls. Kathleen is a former Governor of Kansas and was Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama. They discuss her upbringing in a political family, what led her to pursue a career in public service herself, and lessons learned from the implementation and subsequent fix of Healthcare.gov, following the unveiling of the Affordable Care Act.

Todd Brinton, cardiologist and co-founder of Shockwave, spoke with Venrock's Colin Cahill to discuss his journey from studying bioengineering to starting medical device company Shockwave. He shares the ups and downs of applying to medical school, how he decided to veer off the traditional medical path, and why he values mentorship. They also discuss bringing Shockwave to market and the tremendous impact it's had on patients' lives so far.

Venrock partner David Pakman speaks with CoinFund's Jake Brukhman and Aleksandr (Alex) Bulkin about their path to the crypto space, projects they have worked on, as well as the challenges they have faced. The crypto ecosystem is still early in its evolution and there is a lot of room for improvement, but what will catalyze widespread adoption? David, Jake and Alex also discuss opportunities for investors and what projects excite them.

Jessica Neal, Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, joined Partner Tom Willerer for a special event at Venrock's office to discuss culture, hiring and what early-stage founders need to think about when building their teams. Tom and Jessica discuss some of the unique features of Netflix's culture and share their advice on all things HR/culture with the audience.

Hamilton Helmer, strategy expert and author of "7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy" joins Venrock partner Tom Willerer for part two of their conversation, applying the 7 Powers framework to three iconic organizations: Tesla, Stanford University and Netflix.

Hamilton Helmer, strategy expert and author of "7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy" joins Venrock partner Tom Willerer for part one of their discussion about business strategy and Helmer's book. They discuss each power, why it matters, and how much attention early-stage founders should be paying to strategy.

Venrock's Megan Blewett speaks with Harvard chemistry professor EJ Corey about his childhood growing up in the Great Depression, what led him to pursue chemistry as a career, and how he became interested in human health. They discuss the day Professor Corey found out he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1990, and he shares his perspective on mentorship, having mentored more than 700 students over the years.

Daphne Koller, co-founder of Coursera and professor of Computer Science at Stanford, joins Venrock's Tom Willerer to discuss her experience as a first-time founder. Daphne shares how her desire to make the world a better place led her to found Coursera, providing broader access to education for millions of users. She also discusses the decision to create a for-profit company vs. non-profit and why knowing your weaknesses helps when hiring a diverse team.

Dr. Bob Harrington, an interventional cardiologist and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University, speaks with Venrock's Dr. Bob Kocher about his passion for coagulation and thrombosis (seriously, he loves it) and his involvement with Gusto, a clinical trial that changed the way doctors treat heart attack patients. Bob also talks about working with an executive coach to develop new skills, when he found himself managing teams at Duke Clinical Research Institute.