Dr. Nicole Paulk is the CEO, Founder, and President of Siren Biotechnology and has dedicated her career to advancing the field of gene therapy. With nearly two decades of expertise, Nicole has been at the forefront of developing cutting-edge advances to propel the field of gene therapy forward for a wide range of diseases. Nicole has held various leadership positions in academia and industry and most notably was an Assistant Professor of AAV Gene Therapy in the UCSF Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics before leaving to found Siren. Nicole has a B.S. in Medical Microbiology, a Ph.D. in Viral Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine from OHSU and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship and Instructorship in Human Gene Therapy at Stanford University prior to starting her lab at UCSF. Nicole is a pioneer in the development of next-generation AAV platforms for gene repair, gene transfer and gene editing, directed evolution for novel engineered capsid evolution, and comparative multi-omic approaches to interrogate translational AAV biology.
Mark Klein is the Chairman, President, and CEO of SuRo Capital, a publicly traded investment fund that seeks to invest in high-growth, venture-backed private companies. A director of Learneo (formerly Course Hero) since 2020, Mr. Klein is also a current board member of a New York Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”), Churchill Capital Corp VII, for which he has served since February 2021. Additionally, since 2012, he has been Managing Member and Majority Partner at M. Klein & Company, LLC, an investment banking and advisory firm. Before joining SuRo, Mark held positions including Chairman and CEO at several public and private companies and served on a variety of corporate boards. He earned a bachelor’s degree with high distinction in Business Administration from Emory University and an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Blake Hughes is currently Managing Director at InfraHub Compute and Vice President of Investment Sales at NexGen Cloud.
Originally recorded on 4/22/25Slava Rubin of Vincent, Josh Kampel of Worth Media, and Jan-Erik Asplund, co-founder of Sacra, discussed how investors should approach the emerging AI ecosystem and its most promising companies.
Atish Davda is the co-founder and CEO of EquityZen, a marketplace for private investments, where he has driven product development, built the leadership team, and led operations since its founding 12 years ago. Previously, he was VP of Product at Ampush, launching its New York office, and began his career at AQR Capital Management, helping manage the firm’s $4B Global Stock Selection strategy.
Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Marcelo Ballvé of Sacra discuss the evolution and current state of Stripe, the $90 billion payments company. They explore Stripe's business model, revenue streams, competitive landscape, and future growth potential, including the impact of stablecoins and AI on its operations. The discussion also includes Christine Healey of Healey Pre-IPO who discusses investment opportunities in Stripe and the dynamics of accessing shares in the company.
Christine Healey is the Founder of HEALEY PRE-IPO, a concierge Pre-IPO broker service helping people invest in private tech stocks – the simple, personal way. Previously, Christine was the Head of Private Markets at Destiny and the Portfolio Manager of Destiny’s Pre-IPO fund (NYSE:DXYZ), as well as early employee and Senior Director at Forge (NYSE:FRGE), working in both San Francisco and Hong Kong. Christine has closed ~$600m+ of private tech unicorn transactions to date and has spent close to a decade specializing in Pre-IPO investments. See healeypreipo.com for more information or to sign up for mailing list.This discussion is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an affiliation with or endorsement of any company, and does not constitute a recommendation, offer to sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. Investments in private companies are offered only through appropriate offering materials and accreditation requirements apply as defined under SEC Regulation D. Investments in private companies involve high risk, including the risk of complete loss of capital. These investments are illiquid, through a variety of structures including SPVs, may be difficult or impossible to resell, and may not ever result in an IPO or other liquidity event. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The speaker may receive compensation in connection with certain transactions discussed. There is no guarantee these private companies will achieve any specific valuation, and returns can vary widely and may underperform public markets. They may also involve additional risks not present in public market investments.
Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund discuss Klarna, a leading buy now, pay later (BNPL) company, exploring its business model, revenue streams, competitive landscape, and future outlook as it approaches a potential IPO.
Recorded 3/18/25Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund break down CoreWeave, the AI infrastructure powerhouse about to IPO at a $35B valuation. They discuss that upcoming IPO, the competitive landscape, and CoreWeave’s future prospects. They also analyze the company's rapid growth, its relationship with NVIDIA and its unique market position.Since the discussion CoreWeave has gone public and seen its share price rise by 160% as of August 4.
James Altucher is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, angel investor, and podcaster who has founded or co-founded over 20 companies and advises or invests in more than 30. After losing his fortune—plummeting from $15 million to $143 in months—he rebuilt his life by embracing a "choose yourself" philosophy, rejecting conventional paths to success. A chess master and host of The James Altucher Show, Altucher shares raw, actionable insights on entrepreneurship, investing, and personal growth. His bestselling books, including Choose Yourself and Skip the Line, reflect his unconventional approach, blending hard-earned lessons from failures and triumphs.
Nicholas Tommarello is the Founder and CEO of Wefunder, a pioneering crowdfunding platform that allows individuals to invest in startups. He co-founded Wefunder in 2012, leveraging provisions from the 2012 JOBS Act to enable unaccredited investors to purchase equity in early-stage companies, thereby democratizing access to investment opportunities that were traditionally available only to wealthy individuals. Tommarello holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College and participated in the prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator in 2013.
Mike Silvestrini is a seasoned renewable energy professional with a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability. He has played a central role in developing over 500 solar projects across the United States, Brazil, and Africa—contributing meaningfully to the global transition to clean energy.Prior to Energea, Mike co-founded and served as CEO of Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC. What began with a desk in a basement and a $25,000 check grew into one of the country’s largest commercial and industrial solar firms before his exit in 2016.As Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Energea, Mike draws on his deep industry experience to expand access to renewable energy investments worldwide. His proven leadership and focus on sustainable infrastructure position him as a key voice in the fight against climate change.Outside of Energea, Mike serves on the board of the Big Life Foundation, which protects 1.6 million acres of wilderness in East Africa. His work supports community-based conservation and initiatives that preserve biodiversity through sustainable practices.
In this conversation, Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra founder Jan-Erik Asplund discuss the rise of Anduril, the defense technology startup that has disrupted traditional defense contracting with innovative products and a unique business model. They explore the evolution of Anduril's offerings, and how the company has positioned itself as a potential sixth prime contractor in the defense sector. The discussion also covers Anduril's revenue growth, competition with established defense primes, and the opportunities and risks it faces in the global market, as well as its IPO prospects.
Bob Elliott is the Co-Founder/CEO of Unlimited Funds, a firm disrupting the investment landscape by empowering everyday investors with sophisticated tools reserved for the world’s financial elite.Unlimited uses machine learning to replicate the returns of 2&20 style high-cost alternative investments like hedge funds, venture capital, and private equity, at a low cost. Under Bob’s leadership, Unlimited has democratized access to sophisticated returns through cost-effective and liquid ETFs like the $HFND, one of the fastest-growing active ETF launches of 2022.A Harvard graduate, his expertise in decoding complex financial systems is transforming the way investors and advisors approach alternative investments, making him an invaluable voice in today's economic discourse. He speaks frequently on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business.
In this episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin interviews Harold Hofer, co-founder and CEO of Alture Funds.Harold Hofer was a crowdfunding pioneer when he launched Rich Uncles in 2012, featuring the first digitally delivered investment offering available to non-accredited, non-millionaire investors. Through its NYSE listing in 2019 (NYSE: MDV), Rich Uncles grew to thousands of investors and hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate acquired and managed.Harold brings this pioneering knowledge and experience to Alture Funds. Alture Funds offers self-managed investment capital the opportunity to purchase shares in large, existing alternative investment funds that historically limited capital raising to "human" wealth managers. For the first time, these Alts are now available on a digital platform dedicated to connecting digital native, self-managed investors with large, legacy Alts sponsors, starting with $2,500.Harold attended UCLA, where he holds undergraduate, Masters (Economics) and Juris Doctor degrees.
Louisa Klouda is the CEO and Founder of Fenchurch Legal, and is responsible for overseeing all business operations. Louisa founded Fenchurch Legal in 2020 after an interest in the litigation finance market sparked an idea to apply a secured lending model to litigation finance. She discovered a market largely dominated by funders focusing on high-value, complex cases such as class actions, however, there was a lack of support for smaller claims. This insight led to the creation of Fenchurch Legal. Before launching Fenchurch Legal, Louisa operated the broking and dealing desk for a corporate brokerage and finance firm in London. In this role, she gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and investment product structuring.
Charles Clinton is the CEO and co-founder of EquityMultiple, an online platform that enables individuals to invest in institutional-grade commercial real estate. Before launching EquityMultiple in 2015, Charles was a real estate attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, where he advised major private equity clients such as Blackstone and KKR on transactions exceeding $10 billion, including Blackstone’s acquisitions of the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Motel 6, and Hilton’s restructuring ahead of its IPO. Charles earned his JD and Business Law Certificate from Berkeley Law and holds a BA from Amherst College, where he captained the swimming and water polo teams. He is FINRA Series 7 and 66 certified and resides in New York City with his wife and two daughters.
Alan Feld is the founder and managing partner of Vintage Investment Partners. Prior to founding Vintage, Alan Feld was a General Partner at Israel Seed Partners and at Vertex Ventures. Prior to Vertex, Alan was the Managing Director of Evergreen Capital Markets/Robertson Stephens Israel. Alan received an MBA from York University in Toronto, an L.L.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and a B.A. in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto.
Kyle Reidhead is Co-Owner & Head of Research at Milk Road, a leading crypto investing media company, and Founder of Impact3, a crypto-native marketing agency helping top protocols and brands in crypto grow.
Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra co-founder Jan-Erik Asplund did a deep dive into Glean, the multi-billion dollar AI startup helping to companies get the most out of their enterprise data. They looked at Glean’s growth trajectory, the competitive landscape and a possible IPO timeline.