Upfront Ventures

Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond speaks about why geography is still relevant in a connected world: how geography impacts global wealth and why wealth inequality is a global concern (including health, security, and immigration); how geography and climate change are interlinked; and how geographic disunity aids in innovation and leadership.

Note: background noise in this video due to high winds outside the theater where this was filmed.

Former Director of the NSA and Commander of Cyber Command Admiral Michael Rogers talks with Niloofar Razi Howe about nationstate activity in cyberspace as a tool for attacking money, systems or information; why it's important for the United States to be active in cyber engagement; the roles for public and private sector collaboration; and how to build a technology-backed cyber system that reflects American values.

Marc Merrill (Co-founder of Riot Games) talks with Upfront partner Kevin Zhang about the founding of Riot Games and development of League of Legends in 2006; what the company's acquisition by Tencent has meant to the company; his perspective on e-sports ecosystem development and fan engagement; and his predictions for cloud and mobile gaming.

For a recap of the 2019 LoL Championships: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PswnONyX23I

James Rogers (Founder & CEO, Apeel Sciences), Walter Robb (Stonewall Robb Advisors & former CEO of Whole Foods), and Yves Sisteron (founder & Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures) talk with Upfront Ventures partner Aditi Maliwal about the genesis of Apeel Sciences; the benefit of Apeel to retailers and the food supplies; the coming transformation in our food supply and food systems; and the growing opportunities for environmental tech investing.

Founder of Forerunner Ventures Kirsten Green talks with Upfront Ventures partner Michael Carney about her path to starting and building a consumer-focused firm; how her investing process and thesis has evolved; building a diverse investing team; the challenges of building and acquiring consumer businesses; and how the environment is improving for female founders and funders.

Eva Longoria Bastón and Zoe Saldana discuss the 60 million strong and growing Latino demographic, and why this demographic matters in entertainment, politics, and the workforce. They discuss Zoe's startup Bese, and why she wanted to create more content for underrepresented people; how culture can impact public policy; the Eva Longoria Foundation and her work creating the next generation workforce; and why it's literally and figuratively important for technology to have diverse voices around the table.

Geopolitical strategist and author Peter Zeihan explains how we got to the current state of geopolitics and the changing demographics across the global superpowers that will impact our coming economy.

CEO of Land O'Lakes Beth Ford talks with #NewsNotNoise 's Jessica Yellin about the Fortune 200 company's structure and work with farmers; how technology plays a role in the business; sustainability and the "barn to biogas"; and why she believes that "rural America is the new inner city" and what all Americans can do about it.

Nick Kokonas (CEO, Tock) talks with Connie Loizos (StrictlyVC) about building and scaling software for traditional markets. Topics include:

- How restaurants are operating with opaque information and how he's capitalizing on that need

- The process and decisions behind building software from scratch

- The opportunities in dynamic pricing and the psychology of pre-paying for experiences

- The emotional resonance of restaurants and why you won't see a lot of Tock branding in the user experience

Ted Sarandos (Chief Content Officer, Netflix) talks with REDEF's Jason Hirschhorn about the business of global storytelling; the changing nature of the content medium; Netflix's strategy of original content and animation; the consumer lifespan strategy for Netflix; and the prognosis of growth moving forward.