As it’s International Women’s Day, I wanted to do something a little different and hand the episode over to some of the amazing women I have had on the show and I will link to each of their original episodes in the notes below.Today, we have Shellye Archambeau, Rana el Kaliouby, Sherrell Dorsey, Soraya Darabi, Eileen Burbidge, Yodit Stanton, Donna Auguste, Megan Smith and Dr Catherine Breslin and what follows is the one piece of advice they’d offer their younger selves.First up is Dr Catherine Breslin - an AI and Machine Learning Scientist who managed the Cambridge-based AI Alexa team that, among other things, worked on technology that enabled the automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding behind Amazon’s Alexa. Full episode here.The next guest is Donna Auguste from episode 16. Donna was the first African-American to enter the PhD program at Carnegie Mellon researching AI before she went on to lead the Newton engineering team at Apple. She then cofounded and sold her own software business for $147 million. In this clip, Donna offers some advice to a Donna in her twenties. Full episode here.Then there is Eileen Burbidge from episode 20 – Eileen is an esteemed early-stage VC, co-founder and Partner at Passion Capital and was awarded an MBE from the Queen in 2015 for services to business. Eileen also was an advisor to both our Prime Minister and London Mayor. In this clip, Eileen revisits the traits instilled in her from a young age. Full episode here.Next up is Megan Smith – an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist who has been at the forefront of pioneering tech for all of her career from General Magic, Google, and as CTO to President Obama. She is currently founder and CEO of Shift7. In episode 13 Megan talks about learning from history and how we can change the structures to allow for a more inclusive and equal world. Full episode here.And then there is Rana el Kaliouby co-founder and CEO of Affectiva - a software company which builds AI to understand human emotions and cognitive states by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. The company was spun out of the MIT Media Lab and was recently sold for over $70 million. In episode 10, Rana and I discuss how to deal with doubt and the importance of believing in yourself as a founder. Full episode here. Buy Rana's book Girl Decoded: A Scientist's Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology here.Next up is Shellye Archambeau from episode 4. Shelly’s career includes a Silicon Valley CEO, Fortune 500 Board Member, Advisor and Author. She was one of Silicon Valley’s first African American female CEO’s and pioneered a path in tech for others to follow. In this clip, she shares some great advice on how to put yourself first. Full episode here. Buy Shellye's book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms here.Then there is Sherrell Dorsey from episode 31. Sherrell is founder and CEO of The Plug – an online news and insights platform covering black tech founders, companies and ecosystems and in this clip, she tells her younger self to relax a little and not be so focused on climbing that ladder we all find ourselves on. Full episode here. Buy Sherrell's book, Upper Hand: The Future of Work for The Rest of Us here.Next up is Soraya Darabi –entrepreneur and investor. Soraya is co-founder and General Partner at TMV – a venture fund which focuses on investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future. And in episode 26, she shared her startup journey before becoming an investor and how having a chip on your shoulder isn’t always a bad thing as a founder. Full episode here.And the final clip is from Yodit Stanton – co-founder and CEO of OpenSensors which is a technology company that provides advanced data-based solutions for workplace optimisation. In this final clip from episode 24, Yodit summarises what I have heard a lot of successful founders say which is the importance of savouring the moment in the crazy, wild ride, of your startup journey. Too many of us are rushing to get to the finish line, wherever that is, without really taking in what we have achieved and why it’s important. A great lesson for us all really. Full episode here. Finally, I wanted to leave you with a quote from Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneer in computer programming as well as United States Navy admiral – it’s an amended version of a quote by John A Shedd in his 1928 book, Salt from My Attic.Hopper’s version reads, “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for.”I think it sums up the entrepreneurial spirit so well. Founders refuse to stay in their comfort zones – they go out and they build, despite the barriers and despite the naysayers and that’s why they inspire me so.Happy International Women's Day!This special episode was hosted by me Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter  and edited by my long-time editor and project collaborator Jolin Cheng.  

Today’s guest is Sherell Dorsey, founder and CEO of The Plug – an online news and insights platform covering black tech founders, companies and ecosystems. She is also author of the book, Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us.In this interview, we discuss what she was like growing up - from having a technophile grandfather who inspired and encouraged her to use tech, to her entrepreneurial spirit which was somewhat shaped when, as a child, she joined her mother in boardrooms. Sherrell was also heavily influenced by the black and brown role models she found herself surrounded by whether they were from church, through programmes like Technology Access Foundation co-founded by Trish Millines Dziko and/or held senior positions in business and her community. Sherrell always had a strong work ethic and started internships at Microsoft as a teenager. To get the internship, she had to pull a computer apart and then put it back together before identifying bugs in the software!We also talk about her book, Upper Hand, how she had the idea for The Plug and what it took to get it off the ground, as well as how persistence, being consistent and a sprinkling of serendipity has shaped her life.I was really inspired by Sherell and know you will be too. ------Sherrell Twitter / The Plug / Instagram Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of UsDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng

"It was hard and we succeeded." This is a quote from David Sacks, entrepreneur, investor and an early PayPal employee and I think it sums up the PayPal story well.PayPal is a unique and pivotal company in our wonderful tech history. Its founders alone include some of the most successful and prolific engineers, entrepreneur and investors from Elon Musk to Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and Reid Hoffman. But the story of PayPal traditionally only tells the PayPal mafia story and not the real, true, gritty story of a group of people, many immigrants, and lots of women, who helped shape the company and each other during one of the most critical times in history.My guest today is Jimmy Soni – author of The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley and he does what many others haven’t. Over five years, he sought out the very people who were there in the early days and not just the founders and big name early employees but all of those who shaped it and made PayPal what it was. He goes back in time to the very inception when Elon was just a young man still showering at the local YMCA and Max Levchin who sought relief from a very hot day by heading to a lecture given by Peter Thiel in a hall gifted with air con.There are so many twists and turns and a huge sprinkling of serendipity, hard work and genius teams that made PayPal what it was and that’s what Jimmy and I dig deep into in this interview which I know you will enjoy.------Jimmy TwitterThe Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon ValleyDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng 

Today’s guest is Brendan Dawes - an award-winning artist whose career has focused on using generative processes involving data, machine learning and algorithms, to create interactive installations, electronic objects, online experiences, data visualisations, motion graphics and screen and print work.His work has been celebrated all over the world including three Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibitions in NY and his Cinema Redux project - which we discuss in this interview – actually became part of the permanent MoMA collection in 2008.Brendan now focuses his time on NFTs with his first being sold within one hour of its launch on the KnownOrigin platform, and was acquired by the legendary NFT collector WhaleShark. Brendan went on to release a collection on Nifty Gateway which sold out in less than a minute! In today’s episode, we discuss NFTs and the impact they have had on the design world, how the tough times in Brendan’s career led to his success, and how being included in Sotheby’s first NFT auction was such a pivotal moment for him, and the industry.I am a huge fan of Brendan and his work and urge you to find him on Twitter and follow him. And if you want to check out his work, he has another drop scheduled on Nifty Gateway for 23rd February so do check it out – it’s called 16Bit Machine Dreams and it’s the third and final part of his machine dreams series, inspired by video games.Enjoy!Mentioned in Episode:The Art of Cyber SecurityBrendan Twitter / Instagram / WebsiteDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng 

What does the future of education look like? This is a question I have pondered for the last ten years or so and today’s guest - Josh Dahn – has the answer. Seven years ago, Josh was teaching Elon Musk’s kids at Mirman– a private school for highly gifted children in LA when Elon approached him about rethinking the traditional education model. Josh jumped at the opportunity and in today’s episode, Josh talks me through that first meeting with Elon and how they worked together to found the Ad Astra school based at SpaceX. Based at the SpaceX site, it was a school where the children weren’t separated out by year group or grades as you say in the US, but instead, the education matched the aptitude of the children, and the education was focused around problem solving and teaching to the problem, as opposed teaching to the tools.Josh went on to co-found Synthesis which is an innovative online school, helping students to prepare for the future by getting them engaged and excited about complexity and solving for the unknown through specially-designed games.Josh is Founder and Executive Director of Astra Nova School (previously Ad Astra) in Los Angeles. Enjoy!Josh Twitter / SynthesisDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng.

Today’s guest is Joe Fernandez – A Cuban American entrepreneur, probably best known for being the co-founder of Klout which launched in August 2008. Klout was years ahead of its time because it measured social media influence years before others started paying attention to it. And the story behind Joe even starting the company and some of the adventures he had whilst building it before its sale for $200 million makes this an incredibly informative and engaging interview with lots of lessons for founders.We also talk about the earlier obstacles Klout faced, how hustle played a big part in Joe’s success and why some Klout users became so attached to their scores that Joe even received death threats! We also look at how prescient Joe’s vision was when it came to social influence and what Klout might look like if it was built now.Joe has a deep-seated passion to see the everyday person win. This is something he really cares about and the thread which links his businesses together.I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Joe and I hope you do too.---------Joe Twitter / BlogDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Episode edited by Jolin Cheng. 

Today’s guest is entrepreneur and investor Soraya Darabi.Soraya started her career as the New York Times’ first-ever Manager of Digital Partnerships and Social Media, right at the dawn of social media’s first wave. There, she positioned the global news leader on fast-growing social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, and partnered with startups and to establish award-winning campaigns.Soraya went on to co-found the application Foodspotting, which was name App of the Year by Apple and Wired Magazine and was later acquired by OpenTable. She also co-founded Zady - a shopping platform focused on sustainable fashion in 2013 which was named by Fast Company as one of “The World’s Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Retail.”She is now co-founder and General Partner at TMV – a venture fund which focuses on investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future.Soraya is also the founder of Transact Global - a virtual community for diverse emerging fund managers. She has also given great talks all over the world and was host of the podcast “Business Schooled.”In this interview, Soraya opens up about her background from riding around in her father’s yellow cab as a child in New York to how and why her focus now is to empower more underrepresented founders and investors in the tech space.Soraya is an absolute force to be reckoned with and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and I hope you do too.Enjoy!Soraya  Twitter / Instagram / TMV website / Transact Global websiteDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter 

Today’s guest Adam Wiggins, probably most well known for being co-founder of Heroku – a platform as a service that enables developers to build, run, and operate applications in the cloud.On his website, Adam describes himself as someone who is working to improve computers in service of human creativity and prosperity which I love and this is very much a theme that weaves its way throughout our conversation. Adam’s current focus is on Muse - a tool for thought app that was spun out of his research lab – Ink And Switch. Currently for iPad, Adam tells me it will be launching on Mac soon and then mobile.Adam is also a startup investor and advisor and co-hosts the Metamuse podcast with Muse co-founder Mark McGranaghan.In our interview today, Adam and I discuss his childhood fascination with computers, how, as an introvert, he fell in love with designing software products and how we should all be asking ourselves how can we put more effort into making computers and the internet somewhere that really improves humanity's most important noble pursuits such as art and science, as well as our mental and physical health?Adam was humble and generous with his time for which I am grateful and I think there are lots of lessons we can all learn from this conversation.I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.----------Adam Twitter / website / Ink & Switch / Muse / Metamuse Podcast / HerokuDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter 

Welcome to the Danielle Newnham Podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human, stories behind the game-changing tech we use every day. I am so excited to be back and I have another incredible lineup of guests this year which I can’t wait to share with you so don’t forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts so you don’t miss out.Just so you know, I am changing things a little bit this year and trialling weekly episodes vs different series so let me know what you think.And as always, I will be talking to really inspiring founders, innovators and investors about a myriad of topics from reimagining education to NFTs, impact investing, accessible tech and the highs and lows of building game-changing products. There’s also a big focus on the human side of these stories this year so do hit the subscribe button to be the first to hear each one.Finally, I hope you all had a wonderful break and are raring to go in 2022 – I cannot wait to share these really special episodes with you.

To end Series 3, my guest today is Yodit Stanton, co-founder and CEO of OpenSensors which is a technology company that provides advanced data-based solutions for workplace optimisation. It essentially uses internet of things data points to learn how your office building is being utilised and how that usage could be better optimised - something which is especially useful in the time of Covid where workplaces are doing their best to keep their staff safe.In this interview, Yodit and I talk about her background and growing up on a cargo ship, what it was like to be at Lehman Brothers when it collapsed, how she became excited about big data, and how her daughter’s asthma led to the birth of OpenSensors.Yodit is an Ethiopian founder who spends her work days helping businesses to optimise their space for health and wealth whilst a chunk of her time at the weekend is spent dedicated to helping black and brown founders with their startups.I couldn’t think of a more inspiring woman to close Series 3.As it is the end of the series, I would like to thank my incredible guests - Alvy Ray Smith of Pixar, John Couch of Apple, Guy Kawasaki, Eileen Burbidge of Passion Capital, Nicolas Cary of Blockchain.com, serial entrepreneur Clarence Wooten, historian of Innovation Dr Anton Howes, and of course, the fantastic Yodit Stanton.I will be taking a short break before I return in the new year with a whole new series of incredibly inspiring guests.In the meantime, you can revisit some of the previous 24 episodes and let me know which are your favourites. I can be found on Twitter @daniellenewnham.Until then, have a wonderful remainder of the year and I look forward to sharing 2022 with you.-----As it's the end of the first year of this podcast,  please do let me know what you think of it and what you want to hear more of in 2022 by reviewing the podcast - it also means the world to me and will help others to find it too.-----Yodit on Twitter @yoditstanton and LinkedIn Yodit Stantonhttps://www.opensensors.com/Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham-----This episode was hosted by me - Danielle Newnham, a recovering founder, author and writer who has been interviewing tech founders and innovators for ten years - and produced by Jolin Cheng.