Giant Ideas

Today on the podcast we have Narayana Murthy - Founder and former CEO of Infosys - a giant which reached $100BN, one of the largest companies in history, and transformed India’s economy.Infosys - founded in 1981 - offers consulting, IT, and outsourcing services across the globe. Starting with a small loan, 18 years later it became the first ever Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ. Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has akso been described as the "Father of the Indian IT sector" by TIME.Murthy is also the father-in-law of Rishi Sunak, the former UK Prime Minister.In this episode, we talk about Narayana Murthy’s early life and values, how Infosys grew from $40,000 to a multi-billion dollar global enterprise, why he believes in hard work, and the role of entrepreneurship and capitalism in India.Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Today on the podcast we welcome Jeremy Chan. Jeremy is a British-Canadian chef who grew up between London and Hong Kong, and is the Co-founder of Ikoyi restaurant. In 2017, Chan joined forces with Iré Hassan-Odukale – a friend who had just left a career in insurance - and together they decided to build Ikoyi.Ikoyi is now a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in London, and it has recently been voted one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. But Chan has not always been a chef. In fact he studied Philosophy with Cameron at Princeton, and worked briefly in finance. After leaving, he wrote to lots of restaurants asking them to take him on for some experience. He ended up working at restaurants like the two-starred Hibiscus, Dinner by Heston, and in one of the best restaurants in the world: Noma. He’s known for his creativity, innovation, and originality.In this episode we talk about:- The need for obsession and relentless drive when creating something new- The importance of staying true to your creative vision and maintaining integrity in the face of external pressures- The restaurant’s focus on creating meaningful, lasting experiences for guests and fostering a strong, values-driven team culture- The challenges, discipline, and daily routines required to operate at the highest level- The personal sacrifices required for success, and the reality of building a new business - from empty restaurants to finding new dishesBuilding a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Sebastian Thrun, a pioneer in self-driving technology and co-founder of Udacity and Kitty Hawk, shares insights from his incredible journey. He discusses the critical safety and cost benefits of autonomous vehicles, and his early inspirations following a personal tragedy. Thrun compares the competitive landscape of self-driving cars, emphasizing the need for hybrid machine learning. He also delves into air mobility, the potential of AI to transform basic needs, and his mission to democratize education through innovative tech.

Today on the podcast we have Synthesia Co-founder and COO Steffen Tjerrild.Synthesia is an AI company that allows you to create professional videos with just a few lines of text. It’s now used by over 1 million customers, including +80% of Fortune 100 companies. Synthesia is a UK unicorn, recently valued at $2 billion.At the heart of Synthesia's exponential growth is Steffen. As the company’s COO, Steffen has seen the company through its inception to the latest funding round. Today we talk about text-to-video, product market fit, the future of deep fakes and how quickly you will be able to create your own Netflix shows... Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Today on the podcast we are joined by Floyd Steadman OBE.Floyd Steadman’s journey began in North-West London as a 10-year-old runaway, surviving alone after escaping an abusive home. Rejected by his own father and placed into care, Floyd's early life was marked by hardship, racism, and resilience.After discovering rugby, Floyd became the first Black captain of Saracens rugby club, rising through a sport where no one looked like him. Later, he became a respected headteacher (including of Tommy Stadlen & Cameron McLain's school!) an advocate for inclusion, and the man who first spotted the talent of a young Maro Itoje.This conversation discusses:Growing up in care and rough sleeping Breaking racial barriers in elite rugbyNurturing the next generation including England captain Maro ItojeWhy representation still mattersWhat it means to lead, and how you can be kind and decisive as a leaderFloyd was awarded an OBE for his services to education, rugby, and charity, but his real legacy lives in the lives he’s changed.Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

General David Petraeus, a former CIA Director and influential military leader, shares his insights on the complex landscape of modern geopolitics. He discusses the shift from soft power to hard power amid rising nationalism and security challenges. Petraeus highlights the divides within U.S. foreign policy, particularly between isolationism and internationalism, and examines the evolving dynamics of military strategies, including the role of technology in warfare. His reflections on leadership and adaptability provide valuable lessons for navigating today's global tensions.

Welcome back to Giant Ideas! Today we are joined by Trip Adler, the Co-founder of Scribd - a company he co-founded with Jared Friedman, now Partner at Y Combinator. Scribd is a digital document library that hosts over 195 million documents, with billions of views a year.Today we talk about Trip’s next act: Created By Humans, where he is Co-Founder and CEO, on a huge mission to champion AI rights for authors. Giant proudly led the seed round of Created by Humans, and we invited Trip on to talk about this giant idea that affects so many people: how can creativity thrive in the AI era?In this episode, we talk about: what happens if we live in a world where only machines create art? Is AI the next IP frontier? We also talk about his early days pivoting at YC, why persistence matters, and the unusual way he earnt his first revenue…Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Today on the podcast we are joined by tech titan ​Reid Hoffman. As the founder of LinkedIn, which Microsoft acquired for $26 billion, Reid is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.He broke through as a founding board member of PayPal, one of the so-called PayPal mafia alongside Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Reid went on to become a legendary investor both as an angel and partner at Greylock. He invested in Facebook’s first round and led Airbnb’s Series A.Reid operates right at the cutting edge of AI. He was one of the first backers and board members of OpenAI. He’s also on the board of Microsoft, which did a $650M+ deal with Reid’s startup, Inflection AI. You’ll remember Inflection from our interview with Deepmind’s Mustafa Suleyman, Reid’s co-founder.Alongside all of this, Reid has forged a path as one of Silicon Valley’s public intellectuals. Following startup bibles like Blitzscaling, his latest book is "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With Our AI Future.” Welcome Reid!Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Alain de Botton, philosopher, author, and founder of The School of Life, joins the Giant Ideas show today. The School of Life provides emotional education to help people lead more fulfilled lives.Alain is a world-renowned philosopher and public speaker, and has shaped much of the discourse of 21st century philosophy and emotional introspection. He is the author of over 20 books - from novels like Essays in Love, to non-fiction books like Religion for Atheists, Art as Therapy, and Status Anxiety. Today we’re talking about status and success - what is it? Why does it drive us? Can we be happy and want success? And is it ok to be... ordinary?Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING. Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Join tech analyst Benedict Evans, former partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of Benedict's Newsletter, as he decodes the current AI landscape. He draws intriguing parallels between AI and the mid-90s internet boom, highlighting the uncertainties ahead. Evans dives into the swift adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT and discusses the challenges organizations face in strategy building. He also shares insights on aligning personal skills with market demands, and offers stark reflections on AI's practical use in everyday tasks, especially in creative sectors.