In 2018, Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton was on the cover of Fast Company magazine. The headline was irresistible: homeless, gay, Black woman becomes hot-shot Silicon Valley investor. But the reality is that Black female founders still get token amounts of funding, despite being the fastest growing demographic in the startup world. On this episode, Arlan reflects on whether she's improved the plight of “underestimated and underrepresented” founders and how she explains privilege to white, male investors who don't understand the point of her investment fund. Plus, Manoush's daughter weighs in on entrepreneurship.

This is the second episode of Season 5 which explains six systemic problems and profiles six amazing people working to fix them.

Tell Manoush what’s going on with your career or company during these strange times @ZigZagPod on Twitter and Instagram or send a voice memo to [email protected]. You can also just say hi @ManoushZ.

When Eric Ries wrote The Lean StartUp he had no idea his book would inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs to ‘pivot’ and ‘iterate.’ Now Eric is 'disrupting' how we do business again. His Long Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) requires companies to change their measurements of success. Rather than live and die by quarterly earnings reports that require inhumane management tactics, companies on the LTSE have to do right by their employees, customers, and communities. Is that really so radical?

This is the first episode of Season 5 which explains six systemic problems and profiles six amazing people working to fix them.

ZigZag, the business podcast about being human, returns as a member of the TED family of podcasts. 

Two years ago, Jen and Manoush quit their jobs and became business partners. Today their adventure comes to an end. Hear how financial and parenting pressures in the age of COVID-19 forced them to make a hard choice. And what happens to this podcast.

The newsletter company Mailchimp made an impressive $700 million dollars in revenue in 2019 and, after 20 years, it’s still owned and operated by co-founders, Ben Chestnut and Dan Kurzius. On this episode, Ben shares his tactics for staying focused and calm through market crashes, tech disruptions, and now playing role model for CEOs who think success requires treating employees poorly. Manoush and Jen aren’t so sure about Ben’s advice regarding “scaling.” But as they play voice memos from listeners going through professional zigs zigs, they realize a serious truth about their own small business.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @benchestnut (CEO and cofounder of Mailchimp)

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, GooglePodcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.

As co-host of NPR’s Code Switch, Shereen Marisol Meraji combines groundbreaking reporting on race and culture with her own personal experience as a half-Puerto Rican, half-Persian American. On this episode, she and Manoush discuss why the push for inclusion makes some people uncomfortable and how the diversity discussion can get even more delicate when people don’t clearly identify as white or black—like Manoush, who only recently realized her co-workers considered her a woman of color.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @RadioMirage (Shereen Marisol Meraji, cohost of NPR’s Code Switch Podcast).

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, GooglePodcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.

Valerie Jarrett‘s fascinating family defied racism to become some of the most influential African-Americans you’ve likely never heard of, including one of Louisiana’s first black legislators and MIT’s first black student. But Jarrett also shares how, despite a law degree and supportive parents, she struggled to find her own career path. Hear what jolted Jarrett out of a professional stupor to find work that mattered to her. Plus, the revolutionary ways she dealt with staffing and “women’s issues” in the White House, including making paternity leave mandatory and letting the President know when menopause was getting her down. Whatever your politics, this is an extremely inspiring listen.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @ValerieJarrett (Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama and author of* Finding My Voice*)

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

For millions of us, air travel comes with the job. NASA physicist Peter Kalmus was no different; he frequently flew to prestigious conferences around the globe to present his research. But then, on a routine flight in 2012, Kalmus had a personal reckoning. Disgusted at how his travel contributed to global warming, he decided to quit airplanes, switch careers, and start an online community for people who’ve changed their flying habits. On this episode, Kalmus shares how he handles invitations to speak at far-flung conferences, why he thinks people deny climate change, and what we can do to slow global warming, whether we give up flying or not.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @ClimateHuman (Peter Kalmus, Climate Activist)

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, GooglePodcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.

After an onerous cancer diagnosis, Kate Pickert nearly skipped an interview for a job she desperately wanted. Her husband encouraged her to go, saying, "You never know. Maybe you won't die!" Pickert got the job...and she lived. Now she's a journalism professor and author of Radical: The Science, Culture and History of Breast Cancer in America. On this episode, she tells Jen how investigating her diagnosis like a reporter helped her realize how little people know about the latest cancer treatment options...and that working (and keeping your hair) through chemotherapy is even possible.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @KatePickert (Kate Pickert, author of Radical: The Science, Culture and History of Breast Cancer in America)

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, GooglePodcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.

Double-career couples are the norm these days. But when organizational behaviorist Jennifer Petriglieri looked for studies on how these couples manage their professional and personal responsibilities, she found little research. So Petriglieri did her own five-year study, talking to dozens of couples, and compiling what she learned into the book Couples That Work. On this episode, Petriglieri walks us through the three phases she discovered a couple must navigate to keep their relationship and career intact. Later, ZigZag’s own Jen Poyant shares how Petriglieri’s analysis helps her better understand why her own marriage failed.

**Who You’ll Hear: **@manoushz (Manoush Zomorodi, host of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), @jpoyant (Jen Poyant, cohost of ZigZag and cofounder of Stable Genius Productions), Jennifer Petriglieri, author of Couples That Work.

ZigZag is the business show about being human.

Join a community of listeners riding the twists and turns of late-capitalism, searching for a kinder, more sustainable way. Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant investigate how work and business impact our wellbeing and the planet we live on. On Seasons 4 and 5, hear from rebels and visionaries with radical ideas on how we can build stable lives, careers, and companies. 

If you’re also interested in Jen and Manoush’s personal story and their adventures in starting their own business with a little help from blockchain technology, listen to the first three seasons, starting with Season 1, Chapter 1.

Thank you for supporting us by using special offer codes from our sponsors, signing up for our free newsletter, and subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, or Breaker.