Warm Intro

Nick Tommarello has probably helped fund more American founders than almost anyone alive.

But Nick’s not a businessman — he’s a founder. That distinction matters a lot to him and it defines everything about him. 

See, Nick loves risk and he thrives on uncertainty and chaos. He’s good at helping founders because he literally can’t imagine having a regular job.

Join us for a loose conversation about Nick’s childhood working at his dad’s nightclub, how his dad became a millionaire and went broke over and over, how Nick got congress and President Obama to sign a bill and what Nick wants his tombstone to read.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

Ethan Agarwal is the youngest and strangest candidate running for Governor.

Ethan’s not a politician, he’s a founder. And a very successful one. He grew his first company to $100M in revenue, and then sold it. He then raised $50M for a second company — which he then also sold in 2025

Within months of that exit, he launched a run for governor as a proud capitalist and meritocrat (his words) to restore the entrepreneurial dream of California.

Join us for a freewheelin’ conversation about how what went wrong in CA, Katie Porter’s mashed potato controversy,  how Ethan raised millions, and what it takes to succeed as a founder.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

Todd Masonis makes the best chocolate in America—but he took an unexpected path to get there.

Todd co-founded a startup with Sean Parker (yes, that Sean Parker from The Social Network). After selling it for over $150 million, he walked away from Silicon Valley to make chocolate in his friend’s garage.

Seventeen years later, that experiment became Dandelion Chocolate—considered by many to be America’s best chocolate maker (not just a chocolatier, mind you).

In this conversation, we talk about:
– Building fast vs. crafting slow
– What makes good chocolate truly good
– Chocolatiers Vs Chocolate Makers
– Why Chai thinks that Dandelion is the "Mike Tyson of chocolate makers"
– Why thinking in centuries, not weeks, might be the secret to building truly big things

If you love stories about craftsmanship, purpose, and the pursuit of excellence—this one’s for you.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

fnnch is San Francisco's Banksy; the most loved and hated artist in the city. 

People who love him believe that he made the city a more joyous, beautiful place to be. His haters think he is an outsider who helped gentrify the city.

One thing is for sure — fnnch is opinionated and controversial. He is also thoughtful, whip-smart and incredibly prolific.

Join us for a whirlwind conversation about the purpose of art, getting death threats for painting honey bears, and how he might just be the Andy Warhol of his generation.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

How do you find a mission actually worth spending your life on? Are most startup “mission statements” complete BS?

Niles Lichtenstein wants everyone to own a home and he’s dedicating his career to making it possible.

Niles lost his dad at 13. His mom rented out rooms to make ends meet. As a result, he grew up with a revolving circus of people living in his home, with his family.

Decades later (and after several successful startups) Niles has turned that experience into an incredible company.

Join us for a sentimental conversation about why everyone needs a home (not just a house), how to design a good life and the note that Niles’ dad wrote to him before he passed.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

What is the point of a business? Is it exclusively to make money? Or could there be more variables in this equation?

Sana Javeri Kadri is on a mission. 

She started a company at 22 to build an entirely new model for one of the oldest trades in the world. Her company, Diaspora Co is building a new Silk Route for spices.

Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about what someone’s pantry tells you about them, the sheer insanity of the modern spice trade and if you were a spice, which one you’d be.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

Harrison Cheney might be the best chef of his generation.

His restaurant (Sons and Daughters) recently earned its second Michelin star and a green star, and Harrison himself won the Michelin Guide’s Young Chef of the Year award. He has worked in some of the world’s greatest kitchens, from Gastrologik to Quince.

And he has done all of this in record time. Harrison is just 32. At 16, he sold his Xbox to work in a fine dining restaurant. In the 16 years since, he has risen to the top of the industry.

Join us for an open conversation about why so many chefs are jerks, how to give feedback in a Michelin-starred kitchen, how to get hired by your favorite chef (or startup), and how to raise kids who aren’t afraid of risks, what to do when you don't know how to pronounce a dish at a nice restaurant and why you should probably order pizza after you have a fancy meal.

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

What should you work on as a young person? The smaller, achievable thing that builds your track record? Or the big bold thing that probably won't work?

Saikat Chakrabarti is running to unseat Nancy Pelosi — the most powerful, feared, and respected democrat in the country. Saikat is less than half of Pelosi's age but he has big ideas and a track record to back them up.

Before this, Saikat recruited AOC to run for congress, wrote the Green New Deal, ran tech for Bernie's presidential campaign and was the founding engineer at one of Silicon Valley's most legendary companies, Stripe.

In this free-flowing conversation, he talks about growing up Indian-American in Texas, Going to Harvard, working on Wall Street, making millions in Silicon Valley, leaving it all behind to join Bernie, recruiting AOC, trying to recruit an entirely new Congress, writing the Green New Deal, challenging Nancy Pelosi, getting cancelled, learning from Zohran and his grand philosophy of what America needs and why more young people must run for office.

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement or a fundraiser. We host interesting people doing important things. Saikat matches both criteria. He’s a compelling person with a vision for the country and tech and he might well end up representing San Francisco in Congress.

Visit Saikat's Website Here
Saikat's Instagram

Key Moments

• 0:00 Why are Indian Americans so political?
• 1:02 The Bengali concept of "adda"
• 3:27 How Saikat's dad got to America
• 8:38 How immigrants think about America
• 11:44 Saikat's childhood and upbringing
• 14:22 Getting to Harvard
• 17:16 Experiencing extreme wealth on Wall Street & Silicon Valley
• 22:54 Joining Bernie Sander's 2016 presidential campaign
• 25:59 How the DNC sabotaged Bernie
• 27:38 Starting Justice Democrats
• 28:57 Building a brand new congress
• 29:33 Recruiting AOC
• 33:17 The reaction to AOC
• 37:51 Legislators Vs Influencers
• 38:40 The Green New Deal
• 41:27 Did the Green New Deal actually work?
• 42:37 Saikat's favorite president of all time
• 46:02 Deciding to challenge Nancy Pelosi
• 49:37 Funny internet comments
• 51:09 A big-picture view of America's biggest challenges
• 55:57 The great misunderstanding of China
• 56:56 Tracking American decline through our airports
• 1:00:00 Why take on Nancy Pelosi?
• 1:03:20 Can he actually beat Pelosi?
• 1:06:06 Zohran's victory and effect on American politics
• 1:09:55 The t-shirt controversy
• 1:14:04 Why should young people run for office?

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.

Hey! This is Chai. 

I'm a founder in Silicon Valley and I've spent a third of my life running my company. 

In all those years, I found that the only cure for the pain of building something big is talking to others who are doing the same thing. I've been lucky to have a lot of these conversations and I wanted to find a way to bring them to more builders. 

That's how we came up with Warm Intro. These are honest conversations with interesting people who are building big things — from entrepreneurs to artists, politicians and chefs. 

As you listen, I hope you'll see how these incredible folks think. But I also hope you'll feel a little more seen yourself — less alone as you're out building.

Thank you for listening,
Chai

Warm Intro
A conversation, not an interview. Warm, sometimes weird, conversations with interesting people doing big things. 

Warm Intro is a video podcast. We're available on every major podcast app and YouTube.

YouTube: @warmintro
Instagram: @warm.intro

Hosted by Chai Mishra
Chai is the Founder of The Essential, an ethical commerce company funded by the leading lights of Silicon Valley.

Chai served on the board of UNICEF, and has advised cities, universities, national sports teams and Fortune 500 corporations. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Chai’s work has also been covered in publications ranging from the SF Chronicle to Business Insider.

Presented by Wefunder
Wefunder created The Community Round.
— allowing founders to raise funds directly from their communities 
— allowing anyone to support their favorite founders and join their success.

Raise on Wefunder

Views here are those of the host and the guest. Wefunder makes the show possible but doesn't control who we have on or what we say.