The Impact Agenda

In Season 5, we had conversations that took us from the frontlines of aerospace innovation to the boardrooms of VC firms, healthtech startups, and African entrepreneurship hubs. In today’s recap, we’re revisiting some of our favorite moments.

00:44 Sassie Duggleby, CEO and Co-Founder of Venus Aerospace

04:47 Irene Ochem, CEO and Founder of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum

08:19 Lu Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner of Fusion Fund

11:29 Karen Tay, Founder of Inherent

16:09 Maria Salamanca, General Partner of Ulu Ventures

20:09 Brendan Hellwig and Cherie Chung, Co-founders of Holly

25:10 Christina LaMontagne, CEO and Co-Founder of Clarity Pediatrics

28:26 Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise

In this episode, we’re joined by Sassie Duggleby, the CEO and Co-Founder of Venus Aerospace, a groundbreaking deep-tech startup developing reusable hypersonic aircraft for revolutionary one-hour global transport. With Venus’s innovative technologies like the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE), Sassie is leading the charge in making one-hour global transport a reality. Under her leadership, Venus has raised over $60M in venture capital, and she’s earned a spot on Inc.’s Female Founders 200 list.

Sassie shares her journey of founding Venus Aerospace, the unique challenges of the deep-tech space, and how she’s navigating the capital-intensive world of aerospace innovation. We also chat about Sassie’s work in empowering women in aerospace through her network, "Bada$$ Women in Aerospace," and balancing her ambitious career with having a family. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on leadership, resilience, and shaping the future of global transportation. Join us as Sassie shares her bold vision for the future of aerospace, how she’s shattering industry norms by empowering women from the ground up.

In this episode, we're joined by Lu Zhang, a powerhouse in Silicon Valley’s venture capital scene. As the Founder and Managing Partner of Fusion Fund, Lu has dedicated herself to empowering early-stage startups that are overcoming technology barriers. With investments spanning industries like AI, robotics, digital health, and network technologies, Lu’s expertise is reshaping the landscape for the next generation of high-impact companies. Lu shares insights from her entrepreneurial journey, what it takes to stand out as a VC, and her technical investing strategy.

We’ll chat with Lu about her background in materials science and serial entrepreneurship, the unique qualities she looks for in startups, and her thoughts on the current state of venture capital. She also opens up about her role in co-leading Orbifold AI’s recent $5M seed round and what made the company’s approach to transforming raw data so compelling. Finally, we chat about what it takes to enter the VC space early in one's career and how to make an impact once you’re there.

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Tay, founder of Inherent, a leadership coaching firm dedicated to helping executives navigate change and adversities in their professional journeys. With an impressive background spanning government, tech, and consulting, Karen has worked with global organizations like Google, Airbnb, and OpenAI. She has also contributed to Singapore’s transformation into a tech hub, and played a pivotal role in scaling a computer vision start-up. Now, through Inherent, Karen helps leaders unlock their potential with research-backed coaching programs, collaborating with Princeton University on workplace-first aid for women facing professional adversity.

Karen shares insights from her unique career journey, offering valuable advice on leadership, workplace transformation, and empowering women to succeed at the top. She discusses her approach to coaching, the challenges women face in leadership, and the importance of designing career paths based on women’s life cycles. With a passion for helping women reclaim power in the workplace, Karen explores how women can redefine strength and create high-impact, flexible career opportunities. Join us as we hone in on long-term career advancement for women! 

In this episode, we’re joined by Maria Salamanca, General Partner at Ulu Ventures, the largest Latina-led venture fund in the U.S. With an impressive background in both venture capital and public policy, Maria has spent her career supporting underrepresented founders and advocating for systemic change. As the former Partner at Unshackled Ventures, Maria focused on empowering immigrant entrepreneurs, funding teams that often get overlooked in traditional VC. Maria was named Forbes 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital and has been recognized as one of the 2022 NVCA Venture Forward Rising Stars for her impact in the industry.

We’ll chat about Maria’s work with SomosVC, an organization she founded to increase Latino representation in venture capital, and her role as an elected board member in Orange County Public Schools. Maria opens up about how she drives impact, the challenges immigrant founders face, and how she sees venture capital as a powerful tool for social advocacy. She also shares her vision for a more inclusive future in the venture capital ecosystem and offers advice for those looking to make an impact across multiple sectors at once.

In this episode, we’re joined by Irene Ochem, the Founder and CEO of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), an organization dedicated to advancing women’s economic inclusion through entrepreneurial support. With over 30 years of experience in international development and gender equity, Irene has led AWIEF in supporting over 5,000 businesses across Africa. She’s also behind the AWIEF Conference, Africa’s largest platform for women entrepreneurs. Irene shares her journey from academia and consulting to founding AWIEF, and how empowering women entrepreneurs can create ripple effects that go beyond business, impacting social and political change across Africa.

Irene discusses the challenges facing female entrepreneurs in Africa, especially those in the informal sector, and how AWIEF’s programs, like the Growth Accelerator and Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, help break down barriers. She also explores how entrepreneurship can drive sustainable development in Africa, addressing key issues like poverty, education, and gender equality. Finally, Irene offers valuable advice for young women looking to make an impact through entrepreneurship, and gives us a glimpse into the future of AWIEF’s work and its role in shaping Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape.

In this episode, we’re joined by Brendan and Cherie, the dynamic co-founders of Holly, a startup leveraging AI to help local governments recruit the workforce of tomorrow. Holly is tackling public sector hiring at its core, aiming to reduce the $86bn overtime costs and lengthy average hiring time of 135 days. 

Brendan and Cherie while doing joint degrees at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, and co-founded Holly in 2023, driven by their shared experiences in public service. Brendan’s career started as a data scientist in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office and Cherie began her career in Venture for America before joining Propel, where she played a key role in launching the app serving five million Americans using government benefits. 

Fast forward to Holly, Cherie and Brendan are focused on streamlining the hiring process for the 24 million public sector positions. Holly has raised $2.2M in pre-seed funding and is already live in Long Beach, California, with more public sector clients on the horizon. Join us for our conversation focused on applying transformative tech to the public sector!

Join us for an insightful conversation with Christina, CEO and Co-Founder of Clarity Pediatrics, a company that’s re-imagining pediatric chronic care. Christina is an accomplished digital health executive with a track record of growing two venture-backed start-ups—Pill Club and NerdWallet—each reaching over $100M in annual recurring revenue and profitability. She’s also an active angel investor and advisor to more than fifteen health technology startups, including Curology and Kit (acquired by Ro). Christina’s extensive background includes leading digital M&A at Johnson & Johnson and earning an MBA from Harvard, a BA from Dartmouth, and a Fulbright Scholarship in China.

In this episode, Christina shares her inspiring journey from public health and venture capital to launching Clarity Pediatrics. She discusses the unique challenges in pediatric chronic care, particularly around ADHD, and the mission behind Clarity’s tech-enabled clinical model. We’ll also learn about her experiences in the healthcare and tech industries, what excites her about the future of healthtech, and her advice for early-stage founders eager to make an impact in healthcare.

In this episode, we’re joined by Paige Hendrix Buckner, the CEO of All Raise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to propelling the success of female and non-binary venture capitalists by changing the culture and composition of the venture capital ecosystem. Prior to leading All Raise, Paige served as the COO of Founder Gym, the largest online program training underrepresented founders on how to raise venture capital. Paige has been featured in top publications such as Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, and TechCrunch, where she shares her insights on the state of venture capital & diversity in tech.

Paige shares her experiences as Chief of Staff and current CEO of All Raise, and offers advice on how women can break into leadership roles in the founder, operator, and investment roles. We’ll chat about what’s next for All Raise and how women can get involved in shaping the future of VC. Don’t miss this insightful conversation with one of the most influential leaders in the intersection of entrepreneurship, diversity, and venture capital.

As we wrap up another incredible season, we’re reflecting on the powerful conversations that shaped Season 4 of the Impact Agenda Podcast. From groundbreaking innovation to social entrepreneurship and personal resilience, here are the top 8 takeaways from our inspiring guests:

🎙️ 0:17 Jackie Carmel – Managing Director at Endeavor Catalyst, on funding high-impact entrepreneurs globally.
🎙️ 1:30 Wendy Kopp – Founder of Teach For America & Teach For All, on building movements that transform education systems worldwide.
🎙️ 2:50 Angela Sheffield – Director at SAIC, on leveraging technology for mission-critical solutions in national security.
🎙️ 3:55 Ben Hoffman & Robert Ravanshenas – Founder of House Numbers and Investment Partner at Maven Ventures, on scaling early-stage startups for success.
🎙️ 4:48 Yvette Kong – Hong Kong Olympic Swimmer and Performance Psychologist, on mental health and achieving peak performance.
🎙️ 6:00 Ilaria Chan – Chairperson of Tech for Good Institute, on harnessing technology for sustainable impact in Asia.
🎙️ 6:54 Chris Greig – Senior Research Scientist at Princeton’s Andlinger Center, on advancing clean energy and tackling climate change.
🎙️ 7:56 Marcus D. Stroud – Co-Founder of TXV Partners, on investing in the next generation of diverse founders.