The Room Podcast

In this season 15 opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Gavriel Cohen, co-founder and CEO of NanoCo and creator of NanoClaw, an open-source framework designed to make powerful AI agents safer and more practical for real-world use.

NanoClaw emerged from Gavriel’s own experience using AI agents to run an AI-native marketing agency. After connecting an agent he called “Andy” to his company’s sales pipeline, Gavriel saw the potential for agents to operate less like chatbots and more like persistent digital coworkers—but also recognized the security challenges that come with giving autonomous agents access to sensitive tools, data, email, and business systems.

In this conversation, Gavriel shares the core idea behind NanoClaw: rather than weakening an AI agent, give it powerful capabilities while putting clear boundaries around what it can access—what he describes as putting the agent “in a box.” He also explains why he believes the future of work will involve humans becoming managers of increasingly capable teams of agents, rather than simply replacing people with AI.

Learn more about Gavriel Cohen on LinkedIn and explore NanoCo.

(04:08) Gavriel’s childhood and how it shaped his worldview
(05:33) Did Gavriel always think he would become a founder?
(06:40) Moving from New York to Israel and studying at Tel Aviv University
(08:08) The aha moment behind NanoClaw and Gavriel’s entry into AI agents
(12:52) Why the AI agent market was getting security wrong
(15:32) What is a “Claw” and how do AI agents fit into everyday work?
(20:03) The most surprising ways people are using NanoClaw
(23:50) Raising $12 million and finding NanoCo’s first investors
(35:20) Why Gavriel turned down acquisition interest and kept building independently
(38:04) NanoClaw’s architecture decisions and what still isn’t ready for primetime
(42:59) A woman who has had a profound impact on Gavriel’s life and career

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Brought to you by: Rippling, Gradial, Ashurst Perkins Coie

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In this season 15 opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Russ d'Sa, co-founder and CEO of LiveKit, a platform for building real-time voice, video, and AI agents. LiveKit began as an open-source project for live audio and video. As developers adopted it, the team built cloud infrastructure to help them scale. A second turning point came when OpenAI used LiveKit to build a voice interface for ChatGPT, revealing how technology built to connect people could also connect people with AI.

Russ traces his path from growing up around computers in Canada and Silicon Valley to founding a startup, working at 23andMe and Twitter, and building LiveKit. He shares the unexpected relationships and product decisions that shaped the company, including why he calls it the “accidental AI company.” In this conversation, Russ explains why speaking with an AI requires a different kind of infrastructure from typing to one. He also looks ahead to physical AI and reflects on how becoming a father has changed the way he thinks about success and his values.

Learn more about Russ on LinkedIn and explore LiveKit.

(03:54) Where did Russ grow up, and how did it shape him?
(06:42) Did Russ always expect to become a founder?
(07:30) What screen did Russ watch the documentary on?
(09:09) Has Russ read *Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow*?
(09:17) What was Russ’s first Y Combinator company?
(09:24) Was Russ's company a gaming company?
(11:13) What year did Russ start that company?
(11:40) Did Russ join Twitter after his first startup?
(11:51) How did Russ make the transition to 23andMe?
(13:22) How did 23andMe eventually lead Russ to Twitter?
(16:51) Was Russ's Twitter role in software or content?
(22:45) What was the original idea behind LiveKit?
(30:17) Did LiveKit finally arrive at the right time?
(30:37) Who was LiveKit’s first investor?
(33:08) What has gone differently than planned while scaling LiveKit?
(35:07) Where does LiveKit fit between AI models and the software built around them?
(40:40) What makes building voice agents different from building text agents?
(45:24) What still prevents AI voice conversations from feeling fully natural?
(49:41) What is Russ excited about on LiveKit’s roadmap, and what can he share?
(53:16) Which woman has had a profound impact on Russ's life and career?

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Brought to you by: Rippling, Gradial, Ashurst Perkins Coie

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In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Jai Das, President, Partner and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures, one of the world's leading enterprise venture capital firms backing category-defining B2B software and AI companies.

Sapphire Ventures has invested in companies including monday.com, Box, Square, MuleSoft, Fitbit, ExactTarget, and many others, while building one of the industry's most recognized enterprise-focused venture platforms. Before co-founding Sapphire Ventures, Jai's career spanned software engineering at Oracle, founding startups during the dot-com era, corporate venture investing, and leading the transformation of SAP Ventures into the independent firm it is today.

In this conversation, Jai reflects on the lessons learned across multiple technology cycles, from the early internet to today's AI revolution, sharing how his experiences as an engineer, founder, and investor shaped Sapphire's long-term strategy and investment philosophy.

Learn more about Jai on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaidas

(05:38) Jai's upbringing in India and journey to Silicon Valley

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In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Packy McCormick, founder of Not Boring and Not Boring Capital, an investment firm focused on backing ambitious technology companies tackling large, complex industries. Through his writing, investing, and storytelling, Packy has built one of the most influential platforms in venture capital, helping founders explain difficult technical businesses to customers, talent, and investors.

Not Boring began as a newsletter during the early months of the pandemic and has since grown into a media platform reaching hundreds of thousands of readers, alongside an early-stage venture fund investing in companies across energy, aerospace, infrastructure, AI, and enterprise software. Rather than chasing trends, Packy focuses on founders building category-defining businesses that require deep conviction and long-term thinking.

In this conversation, Packy shares how storytelling became his competitive edge as an investor, why the best founders think several moves ahead of everyone else, and how developing a unique perspective can create opportunities that traditional venture firms often overlook.

Learn more about Packy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/packymccormick/

(04:11) Packy's upbringing and entrepreneurial family

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In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Sunil Dhaliwal, founder and managing partner of Amplify Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on backing technical founders building infrastructure software, developer tools, cybersecurity, AI, and other foundational technologies. Before founding Amplify, Sunil spent 14 years at Battery Ventures, where he invested through both the dot-com boom and bust before launching Amplify in 2012, which today manages more than $2.7 billion in assets.

In this conversation, Sunil reflects on the entrepreneurial influence of his parents, lessons learned investing through multiple technology cycles, and the conviction that led him to build Amplify around technical founders long before the rest of the venture industry caught on. We also discuss why venture firms need a clear reason to exist, how long-term relationships become your greatest fundraising advantage, what separates durable investors from emerging managers, why founder "fit" matters more than pattern matching, how technological shifts create entirely new categories of entrepreneurs, and the importance of staying early to transformational markets even when the timing isn't immediately obvious.

Learn more about Sunil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilnagaraj/

(05:52) Sunil's childhood and growing up in Rochester, New York

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In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ben Ling, Founder and General Partner of Bling Capital, an early-stage venture firm that has backed companies including Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, and many others. Before becoming a full-time investor, Ben held leadership roles at Google, Facebook, and YouTube, where he helped build products at massive scale and gained a front-row seat to some of the most important technology platforms of the last two decades.

In this rendition of Founding the fund, Ben shares lessons from moving between operating and investing, what he learned working alongside leaders like Vinod Khosla and Marissa Mayer, and why distribution often matters more than product. We also discuss how Ben built Bling Capital around founder experience, why seed investing has structural advantages over multi-stage funds, how venture investors should think about trillion-dollar outcomes instead of billion-dollar outcomes, and the framework he uses to evaluate both founders and aspiring fund managers.

Learn more about Ben on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminling

(06:12) Ben Ling's upbringing between Taiwan and the United States

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In our season finale episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Jamie Siminoff, inventor of Ring, the smart home security company best known for turning the front door into a connected safety platform. Ring builds video doorbells, cameras, alarms, and neighborhood safety tools that help people monitor and protect what matters most.

Before Ring became one of the most recognizable home security brands in the world, Jamie was an inventor building things in his basement, launching companies like PhoneTag and Unsubscribe.com, and learning firsthand that a great product does not always equal a great business. His career has spanned consumer hardware, software, home security, AI-enabled safety tools, and one of the most memorable startup journeys from Shark Tank rejection to Amazon acquisition.

In this conversation, Jamie shares the core insight behind Ring: the company was never really about doorbells; it was about making neighborhoods safer. What started as a personal frustration in his garage became a mission-driven company after his wife said the prototype made her feel safer at home.

We also discuss:

(05:30) Jamie’s childhood and early inventor mindset

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Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie.

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In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Scott Stevenson, CEO and Co-Founder of Spellbook. Spellbook is an AI-powered platform helping lawyers draft and review contracts faster using generative AI directly within their existing workflows.

Spellbook enables legal teams to accelerate contract creation and negotiation by embedding AI into workflow tools allowing for real-time drafting, editing, and comparison against market data. The company sits at the intersection of legal tech and AI infrastructure, transforming how contracts are created by shifting from slow, manual workflows to intelligent, data-driven systems. This conversation explores how startups are fundamentally a pursuit of truth, how AI is reshaping legal work, and why building enduring companies requires deep conviction in a problem over many years.

Scott shares the core insight behind Spellbook: lawyers don’t need entirely new tools. Rather, they need dramatically better versions of what they already use, seamlessly integrated into their workflow.

We also discuss:

Learn more about Scott on LinkedIn and explore Spellbook at https://www.spellbook.legal/

(03:13) Scott’s background growing up in Newfoundland

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Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie.

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In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ram Palaniappan, founder and CEO of Earnin, a fintech company reimagining how people get paid by giving employees access to their earnings in real time rather than waiting for traditional payroll cycles.

Earnin is building a new kind of payroll system—one that shifts power from employers to employees by enabling on-demand and continuous pay. Instead of the outdated two-week batch system, Earnin is pioneering a streaming model for income, where workers can access wages as they earn them, improving financial stability and reducing reliance on overdrafts and late fees.

Ram’s journey into founding Earnin didn’t begin with the intention to start a company—it began by manually helping employees avoid overdraft fees by advancing their earned wages. That scrappy, human-first solution evolved into a scaled fintech platform now used by millions, reshaping how payroll is experienced across the U.S.

In this conversation, Ram shares the core insight behind Earnin: payroll is fundamentally a broken digital product, and like all digital systems, it should evolve from batch processing to real-time streaming.

We also discuss:

Learn more about Ram on LinkedIn and explore Earnin at https://www.earnin.com/

(04:55) Ram’s childhood and early experiences growing up in India

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In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ben Witte, Founder and CEO of Recess, a consumer wellness brand pioneering a new category of functional beverages designed to help people relax, unwind, and feel better in an increasingly high-stress world. Recess blends ingredients like magnesium, adaptogens, and other functional compounds into beautifully branded drinks that position themselves as the “Red Bull for relaxation.” 

Before launching Recess, Ben built his career in early-stage startups and hypergrowth companies like AdRoll, where he developed a deep understanding of digital marketing, brand building, and emerging consumer trends.

In this conversation, Ben shares the core insight behind Recess: that relaxation would define the next major consumer category, driven by rising anxiety, changing alcohol consumption habits, and a cultural shift toward mental wellness. We dive into lessons on identifying non-obvious trends early, building a lifestyle brand in a crowded CPG market, and navigating major challenges like regulatory uncertainty and COVID-driven disruption. Ben also unpacks his philosophy on category creation, why great brands market outcomes instead of ingredients, and how founders should think about fundraising, timing, and long-term vision when building enduring companies.

We also discuss:

Learn more about Ben on LinkedIn and explore Recess at https://takearecess.com/

(04:59) Ben Witte’s childhood and early influences

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Brought to you by Rippling and Perkins Coie.

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