Gokul Rajaram is a founding partner at Marathon Management Partners and former product leader who helped build Google AdSense and Facebook's advertising platform. He serves on the boards of Pinterest, Coinbase, and The Trade Desk, and previously led product teams at Square and DoorDash. In this episode of World of DaaS, Gokul and Auren discuss: Building massive advertising platforms at Google and FacebookHow AI is transforming content recommendations and adsThe transition from operator to ven...
This week’s World of DaaS LM Brief explores the evolving role of synthetic data in AI. Synthetic datasets are increasingly used to safeguard privacy, cut costs, and speed up model training, particularly in testing rare scenarios. But challenges remain, including risks of carrying over biases from real-world data and the need for careful validation to ensure reliable outcomes. Listen to this short podcast summary, powered by NotebookLM.
Patrick Lencioni is one of the founders of The Table Group and is the pioneer of the organizational health movement. He is the author of 13 books, which have sold over 9 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. As President of the Table Group, Pat spends his time speaking and writing about leadership, teamwork, and organizational health and consulting with executives and their teams. After more than twenty years in print, his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of...
This week’s World of DaaS LM Brief covers Anthropic’s settlement with a group of authors over copyright claims. The case centered on the use of copyrighted works in training AI systems and reflects the mounting legal and IP challenges shaping generative AI. Listen to this short podcast summary, powered by NotebookLM.
This episode is a rebroadcast of host Auren Hoffman's appearance on the CMO Confidential Podcast. Auren shares why he believes vendor management is the #1 skill for future executives—and why most companies should rent world-class capabilities rather than hire executives they can’t fully utilize. From “scaffolding” young talent to his provocative views on procurement’s negative value, Booz Allen, MBAs, and the transformation of private equity, this episode is packed with contrarian insights fo...
This week’s World of DaaS LM Brief looks at new research from MIT, which finds that 95% of generative AI pilot programs inside companies are failing to deliver meaningful financial impact. The issue is not model quality but enterprise integration and a steep organizational learning gap. The report shows ROI is strongest in back-office automation even as most budgets flow to sales and marketing, and that success comes from buying specialized solutions and forming strategic partnerships rather ...
Rujul Zaparde is the co-founder and CEO of Zip, the $2.2 billion AI platform for procurement trusted by OpenAI, Anthropic, Snowflake, and hundreds of leading enterprises. He previously co-founded FlightCar, which raised over $40 million and was acquired by Mercedes-Benz. A former Airbnb product manager and Y Combinator visiting partner, Rujul has built Zip into the category-defining leader in procurement orchestration. In this episode of World of DaaS, Rujul and Auren discuss: Why everyone ha...
This week’s World of DaaS LM Brief looks at a recent piece by Auren Hoffman, co-authored with Sushant Bhardwaj and Lily Petherick from Flex Capital, on a little-known but impactful clause in VC term sheets that can strip founders of their voting rights when they leave their company. We cover how this “employment-tied voting rights” provision, often overlooked until it is too late, can leave founders as shareholders without a voice and why Flex Capital advocates for its removal to foster trust...
Brian Potter is a structural engineer and author of Construction Physics, a weekly Substack about the economics, technology, and productivity of building and infrastructure. He's also a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Progress. In this episode of World of DaaS, Brian and Auren discuss: Why construction productivity has flatlined for decadesThe failure of modular construction and automation barriersThe unprecedented innovation at Bell Labs and modern research comparisonsWhy America do...
Howie Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Airtable, the AI-native app platform which has raised over $1.3 billion in funding and is valued at more than $11 billion. Howie sold his first startup, Etacts, to Salesforce when he was just 21 years old. In this episode of World of DaaS, Howie and Auren discuss: The evolution of the no-code/low-code movementHow AI is transforming software developmentPricing strategies for SaaS productsThe importance of founder mode and hands-on leadershipThe future of ...
Dwarkesh Patel is the host of the Dwarkesh Podcast, where he interviews leading scientists, founders, and economists about AI, science, and progress. In this episode of World of DaaS, Dwarkesh and Auren discuss: Why experts overestimate AI capabilities The continual learning bottleneck in current models Japan's economic crash and global productivity stagnation Spaced repetition and effective learning strategies Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head...
Michael Ramlet is the co-founder and CEO of Morning Consult, a global decision intelligence company with more than $100 million in annual revenue. Morning Consult conducts 30,000 daily interviews across 40+ countries and serves more than half of the Fortune 500. In this episode of World of DaaS, Michael and Auren discuss: The evolution from telephone to online polling Building representative polling samples in the modern era Real-time data collection and economic indicators AI ...
Prukalpa Sankar is the co-founder and CEO of Atlan, a data platform used by organizations like Plaid, NASDAQ and the UN to manage data collaboration at scale. Atlan has raised over $200 million and grown revenue 7x in the last two years. In this episode of World of DaaS, Prukalpa and Auren discuss: AI native company transformationsContext as the foundation for enterprise AIBuilding remote-first cultures globallyThe future of metadata for enterprise Looking for more tech, data and venture...
Amit Gupta is the CEO of Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX), a global commerce media platform that powers rewards programs with card-linked offers and enables brands to strengthen customer loyalty. In this episode of World of DaaS, Amit and Auren discuss: How card-linked offers strengthen customer loyalty Identity resolution and retail mediaCardlytics' view into $5.8 trillion of annual consumer spendingThe limitations of traditional loyalty programs Looking for more tech, data and venture capita...
Fabrice Grinda is the co-founder and managing partner of FJ Labs, a venture capital firm that has invested in over 1,200 startups with more than 350 exits, including early investments in Alibaba, Flexport, and Delivery Hero. He previously built and sold three companies as CEO: Aucland (one of Europe's largest auction sites), Zingy (mobile media startup sold for $80M), and OLX (global classifieds platform operating in 90+ countries with 150M+ monthly users, acquired by Naspers). In this episod...
Rabbi David Wolpe is the emeritus rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, one of the largest synagogues in the United States. He is a bestselling author of eight books on faith and spirituality and has been named one of the most influential rabbis in America. In this episode of World of DaaS, David and Auren discuss: AI rabbis and digital therapyLab grown meat and kosher lawsConsciousness uploading and digital soulsFertility rates and collective meaning Looking for more tech, data and venture ...
Max Marchione is the founder and President of Superpower, a digital healthcare platform that recently raised a $30 million Series A to make preventative and personalized medicine accessible to consumers. In this episode of World of DaaS, Max and Auren discuss: Billionaire-level health protocols and testingWhy AI will replace expensive doctorsPeptides, toxins, and human enhancementThe future of personalized medicine Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.co...
Jager McConnell is the CEO of Crunchbase, a leading business intelligence platform for startup and investment data, serving over 80 million users. In this episode of World of DaaS, Jager and Auren discuss: The polarized venture funding landscapeWhy 'religion' beats 'truth' in data companiesFinding defensible moats in the AI eraPredicting acquisition targets at scale Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and foll...
Russ d'Sa is the founder and CEO of LiveKit, the infrastructure company powering real-time voice for OpenAI's ChatGPT, Character.ai, and numerous AI applications. In this episode of World of DaaS, Russ and Auren discuss: The evolution of voice AITurn detection and conversational dynamicsReal-time infrastructure for AICopilots vs autopilots for the future Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @...
Dan Driscoll is the current Secretary of the U.S. Army, overseeing a military branch with approximately one million soldiers, 250,000 civilians, and an annual budget of $185 billion. In this episode of World of DaaS, Dan and Auren discuss: The Army Transformation InitiativeRapid defense innovation with Silicon ValleyModernizing obsolete military equipmentFixing Pentagon procurement Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newslette...