Neil Parikh disrupted the sleep industry with Casper. Now, he’s using tech to disrupt one of the most pressing crises of our time: mental health.

As co-founder of Slingshot AI, Neil is building tools to close the care gap in behavioral health, expand access to therapy, and still keep human connection at the heart of it all. He joins Sammi to chat about the buzziest topics in AI: ethics, regulation, job replacement, job creation and AI friends. Neil also shares advice for any founder who is thinking about raising capital; he’s raised VC money, bootstrapped a business, taken a company public, and taken a public company private. He’s seen every side of the table, and shares what he thinks is the best route for most early stage founders.

Plus, Sammi and Neil dig into the ethics of AI in wellness, surprising user behavior Slingshot has observed with Ash, and why Neil thinks now is the moment for mission-driven tech.

Follow Sammi on Instagram

Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter

Talk To Ash

Today, Sammi and Neil cover…

00:00 Neil Parikh’s Social Currency

01:02 The Rise of Casper and Revolutionizing Sleep

07:55 Challenges and Lessons from Taking a Company Public

12:59 Transition to Mental Health Tech

25:57 AI, Mental Health and Therapy

27:38 AI Friends and Anthropomorphizing AI

31:05 Surprising Insights From Ash

35:51 Monetization Strategy and Funding

37:15 Raising Venture Capital

41:37 Investing in Startups

43:07 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

44:39 Regulating AI in Mental Health

48:36 Finding the Right Co-Founder

50:33 How to Show Social Currency Some Love

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who We Are Now | Jonathan Payne | August 3

Christ Presbyterian Church | Cool Springs

Habit 1: Put Away Falsehood — Speak Truth in Community

The AI-powered Podcast Player