The IVY Podcast

How can we better understand the nuances of U.S. foreign policy in our ever changing world?

From Northern Afghanistan to the halls of the White House, Zalmay Khalilzad has had a front seat view to the tumultuous events of recent times. His steady hand has helped shaped American policy on the international stage, in the United Nations, and as Ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan. His latest book The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World chronicles his experiences under three presidential administrations with candid behind-the-scenes insights.

In this fascinating discussion during an IVY Idea’s Night in Chicago, Khalilzad argues that America needs an intelligent, effective foreign policy, informed by long-term thinking, and supported by bipartisan commitment. 

Please enjoy our conversation with Zalmay Khalilzad, moderated by Mark Leon Goldberg of the Global Dispatches podcast. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

At age 32, Wayne Chang is already one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and renowned for building innovative companies that solve real pain points. His latest venture, Crashlytics, sold to Twitter about a year after it launched—and was valued at ~$300 million at Twitters IPO. But Wayne started his first company much younger: since age 7, he has been building ventures, and he’s played an important role in a wide variety of leading tech companies, including Dropbox, Napster, and i2Hub.

In this fascinating discussion, Wayne shares his unparalleled insights about the evolving art and science of entrepreneurship in a technology-driven society, as well as his advice on how to build game-changing ventures in a notoriously uncertain and competitive landscape.

Besides entrepreneurship, Wayne is also an avid angel investor. He has early investments in companies like DraftKings, Tablelist, SoFi, ZenPayroll, Planet Labs, JetSmarter, and Slash Keyboard. He is a limited partner in several prominent venture funds. Wayne originally dropped out of UMass Amherst as an undergraduate, and he was recently awarded an honorary PhD from his alma mater, recognizing him as a leader who stands to transform the world.

We hope you enjoy this fascinating discussion with Wayne Chang! And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

Lisa Sugar is the Founder and CEO of POPSUGAR, the #1 independent media company for women. Lisa started POPSUGAR in 2005, taking her passion for pop culture and transforming it into a successful business that has a global reach of over 100 million consumers and 500 employees. POPSUGAR covers categories such as entertainment, fashion, beauty, fitness, and more. Lisa’s recent novel, Power Your Happy, focuses on how we can best navigate our most overwhelming and confusing days to end up in a place where we can combine your passions and talents for success.

Lisa shared insights from her journey with the IVY Community in San Francisco in a fireside chat with IVY’s Sarah Zapp. We hope you enjoy these invaluable lessons on how to harness hard work, patience, and experience to craft our dream jobs, accomplish our goals, and grow a company with employees who love what they do.

Please enjoy our conversation with Lisa Sugar. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

There is a common misconception that most great entrepreneurs are college dropouts. On the contrary, many of the greatest entrepreneurs start their businesses after years of invaluable experience at existing organizations. In this fascinating episode of The IVY Podcast, Eric Koester enables us to explore how we can take an entrepreneurial path within our existing companies, and how to lead colleagues in a way that enables them to hustle and succeed in an entrepreneurial way.

Currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Georgetown University, Eric Koester has built and exited multiple companies including Learn that Name which was acquired by Blackberry in 2010. One of his earlier ventures, Zaarly, was named by Fast Company as one of the Fifty Most Innovative Companies in the World. Koester’s latest company is Main Street Genome, a new technology startup developing tools for the small business economy. Koester was named one of Washington DC’s “40 under 40” and has written several books on startups and technology, including The Green Entrepreneur Handbook and Starting a High Tech Business Venture. Eric also devotes considerable time to building the startup community, including as a board member of UP Global, Startup Weekend and the DC co-chair of Enstitute.

Please enjoy our conversation with Eric Koester. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

Live from Blender Workspace

In 1999, Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban co-founded Broadcast.com, which they eventually sold to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion. On top of being a legendary entrepreneur and businesses man, he's now one of the most impactful and forward-thinking philanthropists in the country. He recently founded The Charity Network, the parent company to three leading digital fundraising platforms: Chideo, Prizeo, and Charitybuzz.

What makes him so special is that he's brilliantly led a variety of successful ventures in a diverse range of fields--from tech to entertainment to philanthropy, and has done so with a keen eye for what makes some ideas last, while others fail.

Wagner joined us in New York City for an IVY Ideas moderated by IVY’s Co-Founder Beri Meric. He shared  his personal journey, then some really valuable pieces of advice for any entrepreneur--or, more broadly, for anyone who wants to build anything.

Please enjoy our conversation with Todd Wagner.

Melanie Whelan is the CEO of SoulCycle, the leading lifestyle fitness brand that is sweeping the nation. It’s hard enough creating a lifestyle brand that people want to follow — let alone growing it into a household name. Melanie has done just that.

During an unforgettable IVY Entrepreneur Night, Melanie shared her leadership and life lessons with Beri Meric and the IVY community. In this fascinating discussion, we dive into everything from Melanie’s extensive background in scaling multi-million dollar companies, to tips on building a loyal brand following.

Please enjoy our conversation with Melanie Whelan. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

As the Founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club, Michael Dubin has build a billion-dollar grooming empire in under five years. And on top of that, he is one of the funniest CEOs of our time. 

Little over a year after starting his company, Mike uploaded a hilarious 90-second video to YouTube. The video went viral, prompting 12,000 orders in a two-day span after it was released, and garnering nearly 24 million views as of the recording of this podcast. Harnessing the reach of their marketing campaign, Michael grew his start-up into an enormously successful grooming empire that recently sold to Unilever for a reported $1 billion.

In an intimate fireside discussion, Michael shared his key lessons and reflections with IVY’s co-founder Beri Meric. When asked what makes for a viral marketing campaign, Michael responded: “Resonant ideas, based on our shared experience of humanity.

Please enjoy our conversation with Mike Dubin. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

Lauren Bush Lauren is the founder of FEED Projects, a global fashion movement designed to fight world hunger. Proceeds from FEED products help provide lunch to school children worldwide. Since 2007, FEED has donated over 95 million meals to underserved communities. In 2014, Lauren was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs and one of Crain’s 40 Under 40.

We dive into everything from what makes a powerhouse brand to how we can eradicate world hunger. Lauren illuminates the links between entrepreneurship and social responsibility and shares key insights for anyone who wants to change the world.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with Lauren Bush Lauren. Check out IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions. For more information on FEED and to see how you can help end world hunger, visit www.feedprojects.com

As a mastermind and brand-builder, Troy Carter is the brains behind launching some of the world’s most recognizable celebrities, including Lady Gaga, John Legend, & Meghan Trainor. He also has over 80 holdings in top startups, including Uber, Spotify, Dropbox, and Warby Parker.

Carter began his career working for Will Smith and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment and joined Bad Boy Entertainment in 1995, where he worked with groundbreaking artists such as Notorious B.I.G.

In all of his endeavors, Troy has shown an incredible ability to understand people. He knows what people are thinking, what they’re feeling, and how to translate these feelings into successful business strategies.

When asked what key factors he attributes to the success of these superstars, Carter acknowledged their ability to rise to the challenges of their circumstances.

Troy Carter is the Founder and CEO of Atom Factory, an entertainment management company defining popular culture globally. On top of that, Carter is the Global Head of Creator Services at Spotify.

Please enjoy our conversation with Troy Carter. And remember to visit IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.

Dov Seidman is a world-renowned New York Times best-selling author and CEO of LRN. Praised by Fortune Magazine as the “hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit,” Dov has built a career around the idea that the most principled businesses are the most profitable and sustainable. In this illuminating discussion, Dov shares surprising insights from his research on the role trust, purpose and values play in a world where machines can now out-think, out-process and out-perform us. 

According to Dov, the world is being reshaped and faster than we’ve been able to reshape ourselves, including our institutions, our businesses, and our leadership. The implications are profound and the imperatives are moral in nature. This episode is an amazing opportunity for rising leaders and entrepreneurs to learn how to survive and thrive in what Dov calls a "More Human Economy". The technological revolution of the 21st century is as consequential as the scientific revolution, he argues, and it is “forcing us to answer a most profound question — one we’ve never had to ask before: ‘What does it mean to be human in the age of intelligent machines?’” The answer, according to Dov, evolves around the one thing machines will never have: “a heart.” 

Please enjoy our conversation with Dov Seidman. And remember to visit www.IVY.com to enjoy access to a lifetime of learning, growth, and impact through in-person collaborations with world-class leaders, thinkers, and institutions.