The BreakLine Arena

Join us in The BreakLine Arena for an action-packed conversation with John Vrionis, Co-Founder and Partner at Unusual Ventures. In this episode, John shares valuable insights gained across the course of a tremendously successful career as a venture capitalist, as well as the epiphany which lead him to reimagine the industry and create Unusual Ventures. Originally from Georgia, John attended Harvard where he studied economics and played soccer. His drive to learn pushed him to earn his master’s degree in computer science from the University of Chicago, while helping with technical diligence and sourcing at a venture capital firm. Inspired by successful entrepreneurs, John arrived in Silicon Valley in 2002 and worked in product management and sales before completing his MBA at Stanford. In John’s words, “I believe that you learn by doing and the most by overcoming adversity. For me, whether it was sports, school, or in my personal and professional life, that’s been the truth. I gravitate to people who have an immense drive to overcome and the humility to keep learning.” Prior to founding Unusual Ventures, John was a General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. He’s been an early investor in several billion dollar plus companies, including: AppDynamics, Mulesoft, Nicira, Nimble Storage, Arctic Wolf Networks, Affirmed Networks, DataStax, Harness, and Heptio.If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, follow, and rate our show! To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for an incredible conversation with Ahron Oddman. He shares how his immigrant roots raised him in a culture of generosity, how he uses those very principles to shape the organization he runs as well as the schools they serve, and how we can all better support the educational institutions that will create the next generation of leaders.Ahron is currently the CEO of PSS. PSS partners with educators to create meaningful and effective learning experiences. PSS provides curriculum centered content to our 2,000 school partners. Ahron was shaped by several influential educators at every stage of his life. He enjoys working closely with educators and students. Prior to PSS, Ahron helped scale the US sales organization at nCino ahead of a $7B IPO in 2020. nCino is a multinational fintech company based in Wilmington, NC. Before joining nCino, Ahron served nine years in the Marine Corps as an MV-22 Osprey Instructor Pilot, both in the US and overseas. In this role, he combined his love for country, aviation, and teaching. Ahron holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the US Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He’s an avid runner, reader and pilot. He most enjoys spending time with his wife and four kids, under the age of 8.

Join us in The BreakLine Arena for a thoughtful and compelling conversation with Hasani Caraway, General Counsel at Notion. In this episode, Hasani shares how receiving a childhood gift sparked an insatiable curiosity which inspired him to study Computer Science at Prairie View A&M University prior to entering the tech industry.Intrigued by various aspects of the industry, Hasani would later masterfully pivot, deciding to study law at KU Leuven in Belgium, ultimately earning his JD from NYU. His specialties are Venture Capital, Corporate Finance, Corporate Law & Governance, Mergers & Acquisitions.Before joining Notion, he served as an Associate for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati as well as the General Counsel at Zendesk. In those respective roles he counseled senior management and boards of directors on fiduciary duties, corporate governance, risk management and employment matters.If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, follow, and rate our show! To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org.

Join us in The BreakLine Arena for a fascinating conversation with Monika Fahlbusch, the Chief People Officer at Epic Games. In this episode, Monika shares insights gained from shaping work cultures, tips for identifying talent as well as her journey rising to the highest levels of leadership as a woman within the tech industry.She is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience leading the People function for companies such as BMC Software and Salesforce. Monika was named one of the Silicon Valley Women of Influence for 2016 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Economics from St. Mary’s College of California and has served as an advisory board member to the School of Business and Economics at her alma mater.If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, follow, and rate our show! To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena in celebration of Women’s History Month with BreakLine alum Mandy Birch. Mandy describes her journey from rural Indiana to her now passionate pursuit of quantum computing solutions at Rigetti Computing. She attended the Air Force Academy, where she majored in Mechanical Engineering and French, and was an Air Force Athlete Hall of Fame swimmer. She transitioned into leading teams of over 2,000 people in the Air Force, and earned Master's Degrees from MIT in Mechanical Engineering and Tufts University in International Relations. She now is the Senior Vice President of Technology Partnerships at Rigetti Computing. Welcome, Mandy, to the BreakLine Arena!

Join us in the BreakLine Arena in celebration of Women’s History Month with BreakLine alum Onai Gwachiwa. Onai chronicles the bold move from her hometown of Harare, Zimbabwe to the UK, where she attended the University of Gloucestershire and studied English literature. She then served in the British Army for 12 years, and earned a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Southampton, and another from King’s College London in Military and Security Studies. She  now is a Customer Success Manager at Cisco Meraki. She highlights how powerful women can uplift other women and open doors for the next generation. She also underlines the importance of creating spaces that are welcoming and inclusive, and even shares what she’d do if she could fly for a day.Welcome, Onai, to the BreakLine Arena!

Join us in the BreakLine Arena in celebration of Women’s History Month with BreakLine alum Haley Wilson. Haley shares her path from Grapevine, Texas to the Air Force Academy, where she studied Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. She then led several teams across the Air Force and in the Pentagon, and earned a Master’s in Human Factors and Industrial Organizational Psychology from Wright State. She now is the Chief of Staff to VP Product & Sales Activation at Google. Haley dives into her work-life as a recovering perfectionist, the importance of setting boundaries and sticking to them, and how teams are emboldened and ultimately more successful when they represent people from a multitude of backgrounds. Welcome, Haley, to the BreakLine Arena!

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for an authentic and insightful conversation with Matthew Prince, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloudflare. In this episode, Matthew shares his love for his hometown of Park City, Utah, the entrepreneurial journey which led to the creation of Cloudflare, as well as the challenges associated with leading in a complex and ambiguous environment.Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world's largest networks, which spans more than 200 cities in over 100 countries. Matthew is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, winner of the 2011 Tech Fellow Award, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law. Matthew holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a George F. Baker Scholar and awarded the Dubilier Prize for Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Illinois Bar, and earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago and B.A. in English Literature and Computer Science from Trinity College. He’s also the co-creator of Project Honey Pot, the largest community of webmasters tracking online fraud and abuse.If you like what you've heard, please subscribe, follow, and rate our show! To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Nima Ghamsari. From being a globally renowned online-poker player, to co-founding Blend, and to being named to Fortune’s 2020 Finance 40 under 40, Nima’s story is testament to the power of betting on yourself. Nima Ghamsari is the CEO and co-founder of Blend, a Silicon Valley technology company transforming the $40+ trillion consumer lending industry. Blend’s cloud-based technology, currently specific to mortgages, delivers speed and efficiency to lenders so they can serve the modern borrower and safely navigate the industry’s changing rules and regulations. Prior to Blend, Nima was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, where he co-founded its commercial group solving major data challenges for the financial sector. After the 2008 financial crisis, Nima worked directly with major banks and agencies to develop and implement software enabling underwater borrowers to avoid foreclosures while saving financial institutions billions of dollars.If you like what you’ve heard, please subscribe, follow, and rate our show! To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org. 

Join us in The BreakLine Arena for an intimate conversation with BreakLine Alum, Audrey Stewart.Audrey is a member of the BreakLine Alumni Council, where she played a critical role in the successful launch of Apex, our vertical hyper-focused on closing the diversity gap in tech by helping high-performing people of color pivot into compelling careers within the industry.In this episode, Audrey thoughtfully shares her reflections on leadership as well as the state of diversity within the tech industry.Before joining Google, she earned her MBA from Columbia Business School, was a United States Military Academy at West Point graduate, & a nationally-ranked juniors tennis player. She is also a phenomenal chess player & a Cajun & Creole cook.Audrey spent 7 years in the US Army in the Air Defense Artillery, earning a Bronze Star. She held strategic roles collaborating cross-functionally with the Air Force & Marine Corps & deployed to Qatar, the UAE, & Iraq.After transitioning out of the Army, Audrey spent 3 years in consulting with Deloitte before BreakLine Education helped her pivot into a career at Google, leading employee engagement initiatives, including working as a Program Manager for the Annual Diversity Report.Credits: Music for this episode was provided by fellow BreakLine Alum, Gabby Allong, courtesy of Valery Kingdom Records. Featured selections include: Gift, Stuck in My Head (Remix), and Rose.