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.
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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
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