Best Reimagining the Economy Project Podcasts (2025)

1
Abhay Parasnis on Creating Moats, AI Strategy, and Selling to Enterprise 47:45

2M ago47:45

47:45

Abhay Parasnis is founder and CEO of Typeface, is former CTO/CPO at Adobe, and sits on the board of Dropbox and Schneider Electric. He joined Ben Casnocha, co-founder and partner at Village Global, for a live masterclass for Village Global founders. Takeaways: If you can break into the top tier of the enterprise market, it’s hard to dislodge you. B…

1
Fundraising in AI with Aaron Harris 46:26

3M ago46:26

46:26

Aaron Harris was a partner at YC for 7.5 years where he funded Deel, OpenSea, Scale AI, Rappi, Lattice, and others. He also built YC's Series A program where he worked with founders on over 200 Series As and Bs that raised in excess of $3B in capital. He joined Sam Kirschner, VP at Village Global, to give Village Global founders helpful tips on fun…

1
Reimagining Sustainable Food Systems through Circular Economy with Sandra Vijn of Kipster 25:46

4M ago25:46

25:46

Our latest episode is with Sandra Vijn, US Managing Director of Kipster, which is dedicated to offering the first carbon-neutral egg by revolutionizing sustainable food production with circular economy. If you’ve ever wondered about circular economy and regenerative agriculture, this episode is for you! Sandra will provide an overview of circular e…

1
Hiring Technical Talent with Kathy Copic and Lindsay Pettingill 57:37

4M ago57:37

57:37

Kathy Copic is founder of Fieldwork Partners, where she works closely with early stage companies on scoping technical projects, getting early ML models into production, and helping them hire. She was interviewed by Lindsay Pettingill, Investment Partner at Village Global, during this masterclass for Village Global founders. Takeaways: Maintain at l…

1
Speedrunners push their limits to set records on the BART system 38:55

4M ago38:55

38:55

There's a new sport gaining popularity across the globe, transit speedrunning, and today we'll take a deep dive into what it takes to speedrun BART. On the latest edition of BART's podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost speaks with three guests who have set records speedrunning BART.A speedrun is…

1
Eynat Guez of Papaya Global on Mastering Enterprise Sales and Building Long-Term Partnerships 55:36

5M ago55:36

55:36

Eynat Guez, founder and CEO of Papaya Global, was interviewed by Ben Casnocha, co-founder and partner at Village Global, during this masterclass for Village Global founders. Takeaways: Show up to key meetings as the founder or executive team — don’t just send the sales team. It signals to the client that you’re personally invested and committed to …

1
How Food Processing Can Reduce FLW with Vivian Maduekeh 19:07

5M ago19:07

19:07

Our latest episode is with Vivian Maduekeh, Program Director at Partners in Food Solutions and Managing Principal of Food Health Systems Advisory. Together, we discuss the negative connotations around food processing and the important role food processing can play in reducing food loss and waste. We’ll dive deeper into the context in Africa and dis…

1
Nourishing our Neighbors: Feds Feed Families with Marie Bucko 16:22

6M ago16:22

16:22

Our latest episode is with Marie Bucko, National Chair of the 2024 Feds Feed Families Campaign, which collected over 12 million pounds of food donations in order to tackle food insecurity and nourish our neighbors. Feds Feed Families helps food pantries and food banks stay stocked during the summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in d…

1
How BART’s Art Program uplifts community, culture, and the economy 29:43

6M ago29:43

29:43

BART's innovative Art Program is making a huge difference in the transit experience of our riders. Since its inception in the 1960s, BART has prioritized bringing art and cultural experiences to stations. On our latest edition of “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART,” BART Art Program Manager Jennifer Easton discusses the wide range of projects her on…

1
Auren Hoffman and Ben Casnocha on Career Strategy, Undiscovered Talent, Networks, and more 58:01

6M ago58:01

58:01

Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph and GP of Flex Capital, interviewed Ben Casnocha, Village Global co-founder and partner, on Auren's World of DaaS podcast. They are longtime friends and had a wide-ranging discussion on career strategy, evaluating founders, serendipity, wealth, and much more. We've cross-posted that conversation here. Highlights: The…

1
Howie Liu on Airtable's Early Days, Scaling, and AI 1:01:18

6M ago1:01:18

1:01:18

Howie Liu, founder and CEO of Airtable, was interviewed by Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha live in downtown San Francisco in front of an audience of Village Global founders and friends of the firm. Highlights: - Embracing discomfort is part of the founder's journey. Learning to tolerate and even appreciate this discomfort is impo…

1
Future Leaders Fuel Food Access: Locally Driven, National Impact with Regina Harmon of Food Recovery Network 30:44

7M ago30:44

30:44

Our latest episode is with Regina Harmon, Executive Director of Food Recovery Network, one of the largest student-driven movements against food waste and hunger that recovers and donates perishable food that would otherwise go to waste. Regina shares the story of Food Recovery Network and how they’ve successfully engaged with college students. Toge…

1
The Power of Abundance: The Farmlink Project’s Vision to End Hunger with Ben Collier 16:22

7M ago16:22

16:22

Our latest episode is with Ben Collier, CEO of Farmlink, which connects farms with surplus to food banks to feed people in need and reduce carbon emissions. Ben shares the history of Farmlink and how they are rebranding food waste as “abundance,” which is explored in their short film by the same name: “Abundance: The Farmlink Story.” Together, Ben …

1
Lessons from Switzerland could improve your ride on Bay Area transit 23:39

8M ago23:39

23:39

The accuracy of Swiss timing is well known across the globe. But it’s the precision, coordination, and prioritization of their transit system that has the potential to benefit riders here in the Bay Area. On the latest edition of our podcast series, “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART.” Chris Filippi, speaks with BART Manager of Strategic and Policy …

1
From Excess to Access: Community-Driven Waste Solutions with Ken Baker of Rethink Food 23:47

9M ago23:47

23:47

Our latest episode is with Ken Baker, Culinary Director for Rethink Food, which aims to bridge the gap between excess food and food insecure communities by preparing restaurant-quality meals from food that has been rescued from going to waste. Together, Ken and Nika share their experiences in the restaurant industry and the important decisions rest…

1
Guillermo Rauch on AI, Scaling Vercel, and The Future of Web Apps 56:11

9M ago56:11

56:11

Guillermo Rauch is founder and CEO of Vercel, a company that provides the developer tools and cloud infrastructure to build, scale, and secure a faster, more personalized web. He was interviewed by Ben Casnocha, co-founder and general partner at Village Global, an early stage venture capital firm backed by some of the world’s most successful entrep…

1
Food Rescue and Food Banks with Feeding America’s Diane Letson 17:41

10M ago17:41

17:41

Our latest episode is with Diane Letson, Vice President of Food Industry Partnerships for Feeding America, a US–based non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. Diane shares how Feeding Amer…

1
What BART's biggest rebuilding project means for your ride 27:23

11M ago27:23

27:23

When it comes to rebuilding the backbone of BART, the upcoming track work in the heart of Oakland is the main event. Welcome to “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART.” Years of planning have gone into the track replacement work that’s going to be happening on select weekends over the next three years in the core of the BART system. Organizers are calli…

1
World Food Safety Day 2024 37:09

11M ago37:09

37:09

Each year, USAID joins our partners in celebrating World Food Safety Day on June 7th with a month-long focus on the importance of food safety and the work, resources and tools carried out by our food safety partners. In a world where 735 million people go to bed hungry every night and 420,000 die from unsafe food every year, we simply can’t afford …

1
Encore: Secrets of Public Speaking and Oral Communication from Renowned Speaking Coach 42:20

11M ago42:20

42:20

Michael Balaoing, founder of Candlelion, joins Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha on this episode to discuss: - The importance of the acronym WTF (what’s the feeling?) when you’re giving a presentation. - The four roles that you take on as a speaker: captain, pilot, guide, and game show host. - The five questions to ask when seeking…

1
Food Rescue with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine’s Robert Lee 16:35

12M ago16:35

16:35

Our latest episode is with Robert Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, which redistributes excess food to people experiencing food insecurity. Robert shares what food rescue is and the impact it can have on reducing food waste. Additionally, we discuss how policies and regulations have shaped Rescuing Leftover Cuisine’s work and th…

1
Encore: Brad Feld on What Nietzsche Can Teach Entrepreneurs 50:09

12M ago50:09

50:09

Brad Feld (@bfeld), VC at Foundry Group and co-author with Dave Jilk of The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche, joined Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha to discuss: - Common misconceptions about Nietzsche and why being misunderstood makes him an especially interesting philosopher. - What Nietzsche can teach entrepreneurs deciding whet…

1
How to Nail Product-Market Fit and Scale a B2B Company with Thejo Kote of Airbase 57:45

1y ago57:45

57:45

Thejo Kote (@thejo) talks to Village partner Ben Casnocha. Thejo is a two-time founder and CEO. His current company, Airbase, is a spend management platform serving companies with 100 and 5,000 employees like Coda, 15Five, Front, Marqueta, CaptivateIQ, Abnormal, and more. Airbase has raised over $200 million, has tens of millions in ARR, and is con…

1
Encore: Cloudflare Co-Founder Michelle Zatlyn’s Advice on Hiring, Fundraising, Scaling, and more 50:26

1y ago50:26

50:26

Michelle Zatlyn (@zatlyn), co-founder, president, and COO of Cloudflare, joined Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha for a masterclass with our founders in late 2020. They discussed: - The origin story of Cloudflare, including how the co-founders met, and how Michelle realized that she too could start a company. - Her advice on fundra…

1
Can SmartLabels Help Us Reduce Waste? With Rishi Banerjee of the Consumer Brands Association 18:11

1y ago18:11

18:11

Our latest episode is with Rishi Banerjee, Senior Director of SmartLabel at the Consumer Brands Association. Rishi shares the type of information that SmartLabel can provide to increase transparency and how this can benefit consumers. Together, we discuss the role SmartLabel might play in reducing FLW, including information on food safety and recyc…

1
Lessons from the Early Days at Uber and Advice for Founders with Kevin Novak 46:37

1y ago46:37

46:37

We're excited to launch a new EIR program for data science founders in partnership with Rackhouse Ventures, founded by Kevin Novak. Learn more about the program: https://www.villageglobal.vc/rackhouse-village-global-eir-program Kevin Novak (@novakkm), an early Uber employee, was instrumental in developing their data science program and was the crea…

1
Encore Episode: John Donahoe’s Lessons on Leadership and Being a Better CEO 54:14

1y ago54:14

54:14

This encore episode is a recording of a special masterclass roundtable session for our founders with John Donahoe. John is CEO of Nike and was previously CEO of ServiceNow and eBay. He is known as one of the most inspirational leaders in Silicon Valley and is a highly sought-after mentor to CEOs including Brian Chesky at Airbnb, Drew Houston at Dro…

1
Reducing Household Food Waste with BudgEAT’s Adam Fry 15:19

1y ago15:19

15:19

Our latest episode is with Adam Fry, the Co-Founder and COO of BudgEAT. We’ve all heard the statistic that 30-40% of food produced is either lost or wasted, and consumer food waste is a large contributor to that number. The average US household wastes 32% of its food, an estimated $1,866 annually per household. During this episode, Adam and I discu…

1
Identifying 275M Unreported Genetic Variations To Improve Healthcare with NIH All of Us Program CTO Chris Lunt 49:08

1y ago49:08

49:08

Chris Lunt is a technology executive with more than 25 years of experience building web services and data platforms. He is in his seventh year as the CTO for the NIH's All of Us Research Program. He joined the NIH from GetInsured, where he worked to improve health insurance shopping and enrollment systems. Previously Chris ran VC-backed internet st…

1
Upcycling and Sustainability with Kendra Stallings of Novozymes 18:42

1y ago18:42

18:42

Our latest episode is with Kendra Stallings, Senior Scientist in the Technical Service, Food and Beverage Division at Novozymes. During this episode, we discuss what upcycling is, the impacts on sustainability and FLW, and the role of biosolutions. If you have an idea for an episode topic you’d like to see featured or if you would like to participa…

1
Building Hardware Companies and Choosing Co-Founders with Michael Hochberg 57:04

1y ago57:04

57:04

Michael Hochberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hochberg/) is a physicist and a founder of four successful startup companies in semiconductors and telecommunications, including Luxtera, acquired by Cisco in 2019, and Elenion, acquired by Nokia in 2020. He won the highest awards for young scientists in Singapore (NRF Fellowship) and the United States …

1
Secondaries with Matt Pellini of Hamilton Lane 40:19

1y ago40:19

40:19

Matt Pellini, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane, joins Olga Serhiyevich on this episode. Highlights: - Matt says the secondaries market has grown over 5x from 15 years ago to now. - Selling in the secondary market used to be a sign of distress but is no longer. There are many different reasons for doing so and it’s mostly a sign of a manager being…

1
Lessons Learned From Running CalSTRS with Chris Ailman 52:38

1+ y ago52:38

52:38

Christopher Ailman (@CJAtheCIO), Chief Investment Officer at CalSTRS, joins Olga Serhiyevich on this episode. Highlights: - CalSTRS, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, was created in 1913 and is actually older than Social Security. It has over 400 members who are over 100 years old who are still receiving their pension. - Chris says …

1
Encore: Mark Pincus on Product Management, Raising Capital, and Building Zynga 1:10:17

1+ y ago1:10:17

1:10:17

This encore episode is a recording of a special event where Mark Pincus (@markpinc) was interviewed by Ben Casnocha in San Francisco in front of a live audience of portfolio founders, friends of the firm, and LPs. Mark is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Zynga, and is an angel investor in Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and other companies. He tal…

1
Private Sector Partnership to Reduce FLW with Kentaste’s Joanne Muchai Murunga 25:25

1+ y ago25:25

25:25

Our latest episode is with Joanne Muchai Murunga, the Chief Operating Officer at Kentaste, a leading producer of coconut products in Kenya. Kentaste supports economic development by connecting rural farmers to an international supply chain. Moreover, Kentaste has a focus on women’s empowerment, with women representing over 50% of their senior manag…

1
Encore: Bill Gates on Advice For Founders, Mistakes, and Philanthropy 59:58

1+ y ago59:58

59:58

This encore episode is a recording of a special event where Bill Gates was interviewed in San Francisco by Julia Hartz, co-founder of Eventbrite. It originally took place in 2018 in front of a live audience of Village Global founders and friends of the firm. We are honored to count Bill Gates among our luminary LPs whose financial capital and engag…

1
Encore: Jerry Yang on Yahoo!, Early-Stage Investing, and China 56:18

1+ y ago56:18

56:18

Jerry originally joined us on the podcast in 2019. He is co-founder of Yahoo! and founding partner of AME Cloud Ventures. He was interviewed in front of a live audience in San Francisco by Village Global co-founder and partner, Ben Casnocha. Jerry told stories from the early days of Yahoo! and explained his lessons learned from the experience. He a…

1
The future is now; the journey of the Fleet of the Future from blueprint to backbone of BART 30:33

1+ y ago30:33

30:33

BART’s base train schedule now consists of all new Fleet of the Future trains, a major milestone for a project that’s been more than a decade in the making. On our latest edition of “Hidden Tracks: Stories From BART,” Project Manager John Garnham reveals how fast the new cars speed along BART’s test track, explains why the process of building the o…

1
How Superplastic Built a Social Media-Native Character Universe 44:00

1+ y ago44:00

44:00

Paul Budnitz, founder of Superplastic, and Jennifer van Dijk, CEO of Superplastic, join Christina Des Vaux, head of marketing and platform at Village Global, on this episode. Takeaways: Superplastic is a creatively-led company that has managed to maintain its unique identity and artistic integrity while nevertheless running a thriving business. The…

1
Food Waste Prevention and Measurement with Leanpath’s Andrew Shakman 24:47

1+ y ago24:47

24:47

Our latest episode is with Andrew Shakman, CEO of Leanpath, an industry leading food waste prevention platform. Together, we discuss the importance of food waste prevention, the need for improved and affordable measurement methods, and how to change kitchen culture to drive companies and consumers to recognize the value of food. If you have an idea…

1
Cold Chain Innovation with EverCase’s Chris Somogyi 15:29

1+ y ago15:29

15:29

Our latest episode is with Chris Somogyi, CEO of EverCase, a novel technology to reduce FLW by improving cold chain technology. Together, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in climate-smart cold chain and how to catalyze innovation and new technologies to reduce FLW. If you have an idea for an episode topic you’d like to see featured or if…

1
A lifelong passion for transit inspires a BART Supervisor to improve your ride 38:09

1+ y ago38:09

38:09

On this edition of our podcast, "Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART", we'll hear from Casey Unger, who is a Transportation Supervisor based in our Daly City Yard. As a Transportation Supervisor, Casey plays a critical role in BART's daily ability to implement its service plan. But before he got a promotion, Unger was a Train Operator and a very popul…

1
Opportunities in Climate-Smart Cold Chain with GCCA’s Amanda Brondy 15:56

1+ y ago15:56

15:56

Our latest episode is with Amanda Brondy, Vice President of International Projects at the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). Together, we discuss how the work of GCCA contributes to FLW reduction, the importance of investing in climate-smart cold chain in emerging countries, and the opportunities for collaboration between cold chain companies and f…

1
The Economic Case for FLW with FAO’s Maximo Torero 21:54

1+ y ago21:54

21:54

As we celebrate the fourth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste today, it is important to highlight the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) theme “Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Taking Action to Transform Agrifood Systems.” Today’s special episode of the USAID Kitchen Sink FLW Podcast explores the economic case for FLW: what are…

1
Addressing sexual harassment and gender-based violence on BART through Not One More Girl Initiative 43:49

1+ y ago43:49

43:49

Not One More Girl is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at stopping gender-based violence and sexual harassment on public transportation. BART has been a partner in the campaign that first launched in April of 2021. Not One More Girl just launched its second phase, which places an emphasis on enabling people to have a greater sense of empowerment in…

1
Reference Checking and Personality Assessments with Investor Graham Duncan 51:26

1+ y ago51:26

51:26

Graham Duncan (@GrahamDuncanNYC) is a longtime investor and author of a legendary essay on reference checking: https://grahamduncan.blog/whats-going-on-here/ He was interviewed by Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha (@bencasnocha) during a special masterclass for Village Global founders and friends of the firm. Takeaways: - Be aware …

1
Celebrating FLW Month with ReFED’s Dana Gunders 17:37

1+ y ago17:37

17:37

This month, USAID is hosting a Food Loss and Waste Theme Month on Agrilinks to recognize the fourth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and elevate the global conversation on FLW. To celebrate FLW Month, the USAID Kitchen Sink Podcast is publishing two special episodes in September. Our first episode is with Dana Gunders, Ex…

1
Insights on Capital Power Brokers from Hedge Funds to Venture Capital with Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Power Law 51:29

1+ y ago51:29

51:29

Sebastian Mallaby (@scmallaby) is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. He is the author of five books, including most recently The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future. He joined Olga Serhiyevich, head of investo…

1
Learn what BART’s new, reimagined schedule means for your ride 29:58

1+ y ago29:58

29:58

On September 11, BART will roll out a reimagined service plan that will eliminate 30-minute wait times on nights and weekends. That means no BART rider will have to wait more than 20 minutes for a scheduled train no matter the hour or day of the week. This new schedule is responsive to post-pandemic commute patterns and opens new opportunities for …

1
LatAm Digital Transformation Report from Atlantico 49:16

1+ y ago49:16

49:16

Julio Vasconcellos (@JulioV), managing partner at Atlantico, and Ana Martins (@martinsg_ana), partner at Atlantico, join Anne Dwane (@adwane), co-founder and partner at Village Global, to discuss Atlantico’s 2023 report on digital transformation in Latin America. Takeaways: - If Latin America was its own country it would be #3 in the world in terms…

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