In this podcast, Natalie Pierce speaks with Joe Green and John Scrudato from Gunderson's practice innovation group. They discuss the evolution of knowledge management and its impact on the legal industry, the role of data and technology in legal innovation, the career path and requirements for legal innovation, and the implications of auto-generative AI in the legal industry.

The ESG standards have seen much attention from the SEC in the last several years. Now, the debate of including an “H” stands in line to extend the framework and consider the well-being of individuals with a more concentrated pillar. In this week’s episode, host Natalie Pierce speaks with Dr. Bonny Forrest, a Principal at FirmLeader. Bonny is a renowned psychologist and former big law litigator and in-house counsel who now serves as a Board Consultant and Advisor. Bonny advises company boards on how to evaluate and implement ESG practices and provides coaching to board members on creating value with ESG for their companies.Natalie and Bonny discuss the importance of incorporating mental health programming as part of companies’ ESG framework.  While some have been slower to buy in, companies that are currently investing in mental health are largely focusing on employee burnout and depression, and allowing flexibility in order to keep everyone engaged and thriving.🗝️ Key Points 🗝️Top takeaways from this episode★   Benefits of Prioritizing Mental Health: When organizations prioritize mental health, it benefits both employer and employee alike–it helps employers retain talent and leads to more progress and bigger profits.★   Successful ESG Initiatives: In order to successfully incorporate mental health into the company culture, organizations must have someone who both manages its initiatives and champions them. While many companies have yet to fully dive into the mental health space, companies that are currently addressing mental health focus on burnout, depression, and flexibility.  ★   How Companies Can Prioritize Mental Health: The best ways to prioritize mental health within your organization are to listen to your employees, start small, identify leaders with healthy habits for success within your company, learn how to resolve conflicts, and embrace difficult conversations.💡 Meet Your Host 💡Name: Natalie PierceOrganization: Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedIn💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Dr. Bonny ForrestOrganization: Firm LeaderConnect: LinkedInContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode.This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

“The term ESG, it's a term that gets applied to a lot of things, but at the end of the day, we're really just talking about looking at the risks and opportunities of investing in a company. And we're making it good data.”In this week’s episode, host Natalie Pierce speaks with Lorraine Wilson, the Chief Sustainability Officer of Novata, to discuss the importance of ESG metrics and how Novata helps companies incorporate them.Novata's goal is to empower private markets to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism. They make it easy for organizations to incorporate ESG metrics so that value is measurable.🗝️ Key Points 🗝️Top takeaways from this episode★     Novata’s ESG Initiatives: Novata's mission is to make it straightforward for companies to incorporate ESG metrics so that value is measurable. This empowers private markets to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism.★    Leveraging ESG Practices to Attract Investors: Novata helps companies report their ESG metrics, offering features like data quality guardrails and benchmarking and analytics to contextualize the data.★    The Future of ESG Reporting and Tracking at Novata: Novata will continue to incorporate more regulatory frameworks as they develop. They’ll also focus on content creation to support growing demand.💡 Meet Your Host 💡Name: Natalie PierceOrganization: Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedIn💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Lorraine WilsonOrganization: Novata   Connect: LinkedInContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode.This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

In this episode, Sarah Milby, the founder and CEO of Valor Performance, joins host Natalie Pierce to discuss the importance of coaching and upskilling in the modern workforce. Valor Performance combines human coaching with technology to provide a personalized coaching experience for leaders while offering data-driven insights to organizations to help make decisions around leading their workforce. We also hear of examples of how Valor's coaching programs have helped brands increase sales, retain top talent, and enhance work engagement, showing the positive impact of investing in human performance. 🗝️ Key Points 🗝️Top takeaways from this episode★   The Power of Personalized Coaching: Sarah emphasizes the power of combining human coaching with technology to provide tailored coaching experiences for leaders. This can lead to better decision-making, improved retention, and higher engagement in the workplace.★   Coaching Fosters Behavior Change and Connection: By focusing on areas such as communication and confidence, coaching can promote behavior change and help remote workforces use digital platforms to grow connections and contribute to company culture.★   Prioritizing Human Performance Sustainability: Sarah envisions a world where brands value the sustainability of human performance alongside financial growth, with coaching as a vital tool to achieve this goal. This focus on human capital can lead to increased sales, retention of top talent, and improved work engagement.💡 Meet Your Host 💡Name: Natalie PierceOrganization: Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedIn💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Sarah MilbyOrganization: Valor PerformanceConnect: LinkedInContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

In this week’s episode, host Natalie Pierce speaks with attorneys Alexa Belonick and Andy Thorpe from Gunderson Dettmer's Public Companies and Capital Markets practice. The three discuss the increasing focus on ESG factors in the venture capital landscape and by public companies. 🗝️ Key Points 🗝️Top takeaways from this episode★    The Rising Importance of ESG Initiatives: ESG initiatives have gained significance in recent years. There’s an increased focus from regulators, institutional investors, and the public on the ESG goals and policies of companies. This shift has been driven by high-profile events, the rise of mission-aligned consumers and employees, and the growth of ESG investing portfolios.★   Adopting ESG Frameworks and Investor Considerations: Businesses can adopt and disclose against existing ESG frameworks, like TCFD, SASB, and GRI. These frameworks can help companies better align with stakeholder expectations and report on ESG performance. Investors are also increasingly considering ESG factors in their decision-making processes through methods including impact investing, negative screening, and setting minimum ESG standards.★   Challenges and Controversies in ESG Implementation: There are various challenges and controversies surrounding the focus by companies on ESG initiatives. Some stakeholders express skepticism about the link between ESG initiatives and the capital markets, questioning whether ESG initiatives materially improve business performance or address material risks. There are also concerns about "greenwashing," where brands may exaggerate or misrepresent their commitment to ESG principles. Plus, the pace of regulatory changes, such as the SEC's adoption of climate change rules, adds another layer of complexity to ESG implementation. But despite these challenges, businesses and investors must navigate the evolving ESG landscape to remain competitive and meet the demands of an increasingly socially and environmentally conscious market.💡 Meet Your Host 💡Name: Natalie PierceOrganization: Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedIn💡 Featured Guests 💡Name: Alexa BelonickOrganization:  Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedInName: Andy ThorpeOrganization:  Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedInContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

In this week’s episode, host Natalie Pierce interviews Alberto Yépez, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Forgepoint Capital, a leading cybersecurity-focused venture capital firm, about incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives into all they do, including the firm’s investing principles.Our first episode of the year highlights the growing importance of ESG considerations in the venture capital industry and the steps that firms like Forgepoint Capital are taking to integrate these principles and initiatives into their investment strategies and operations. Forgepoint also provides examples in its portfolio like CyberCube, which is taking actionable steps towards ESG goals.To learn more, check out Forgepoint’s blog on ESG and get a copy of Forgepoint’s ESG Handbook. 💡 Meet Your Host 💡Name: Natalie PierceWhat she does: Natalie is the Chair of Gunderson Dettmer’s labor and employment practice. Her practices focuses on the needs of start-ups, emerging growth companies, venture capital firms and private equity funds. She also counsels companies developing and/or incorporating robotics, telepresence, generative AI, and other enhancement technologies into the workplace.Organization: Gunderson DettmerConnect: LinkedIn💡 Featured Guest 💡Name: Alberto YépezWhat he does: Alberto is Co-Founder & Managing Director of Forgepoint Capital, the largest and most active sector-focused cybersecurity venture capital firm with over $1B AUM and forty portfolio companies. A serial entrepreneur, executive, and investor in cybersecurity, Alberto has a track record of building global businesses and leading them to successful exits. At Forgepoint, he led investments in Attivo Networks (acquired by SentinelOne) Area 1 (acquired by Cloudflare), BehavioSec (acquired by LexisNexis Risk Solutions/RELX) and currently serves on the boards of Constella Intelligence, Huntress, NowSecure, ReversingLabs, and Uptycs.  Organization: Forgepoint Capital Connect: LinkedIn | TwitterContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Last year, VTEX went public on the New York Stock Exchange and became the first Latin American company in its niche to do so. On a mission to show other Latin American companies that it’s possible, they accomplished their goal — but not without adequate preparation. Going public is not as easy as setting a date and expecting it to happen. The team at VTEX was preparing years in advance. For co-founder Alex Soncini and General Counsel Juliana Lopes, going public came with its share of challenges and changes in their respective fields. In this season finale episode of the FutureWork Playbook, Alex and Juliana join host Natalie Pierce to talk about company growth, personal improvement and achieving your biggest goals. They discuss how their company, VTEX, went public on the New York Stock Exchange and how they prepared for the shift. They also share expert tips on seeking new opportunities, building a stable company, and growing in your personal and professional life. 💡 Meet Your Host 💡Natalie Pierce | Gunderson Dettmer | LinkedIn 💡 Featured Guests 💡 Name: Alex SonciniWhat he does: Alex Soncini brings over 20 years of experience in the digital commerce industry and a passion and appreciation for the accelerated transformation of brands and retailers. With a Computer Engineering, Master's Degree in Project Management, and part of the alumni network of Harvard Business School graduated in the GMP, Alex has participated in hundreds of digital commerce projects spearheading the digital transformation of Fortune 500 companies across diverse industries.A co-founder of VTEX, the enterprise digital commerce platform, he has successfully propelled the company’s expansion and dominance in Latin America, currently serving over 3,200 online stores in more than 38 countries.Alex has also coordinated the E-commerce Platform Committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Electronic E-commerce for two years and is an international speaker and subject matter expert for main emerging markets digital commerce events. He also gave digital commerce classes at the most prestigious universities and higher learning institutions in Latin America.Organization: VTEXConnect: LinkedInName: Juliana Tavares LopesWhat she does: Juliana is the Head of Legal and Data Privacy at VTEX, and for the past few years, she has assisted VTEX in the IPO, fundraisings, and multiple M&As. Ms. Lopes has held various legal positions in Maritime Business dealing with corporate affairs. She holds a law degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a Master of Laws Degree (LLM) in Business Law from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). She is a member of "CAJE", the Commission on the Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship and Startups of the Brazil Bar Association (OAB/RJ).   Organization: VTEXContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

In just two short years, Treinta and its co-founders raised over $60M in funding and is bringing its already 5 million small business customers to the digital age. On this episode of the FutureWork Playbook, Lluís Canadell, founder and CEO of Treinta, joins host Natalie Pierce to discuss the opportunity to build impact with small businesses in Latin America by creating a digital platform for a more connected global market. Lluis brings his insights on finding a great co-founder, someone he trusted and with skills that complement his own, getting into Y Combinator, and overcoming one of the most difficult challenges in closing a big Series A round.Lluís’s passion for helping small Latin American businesses drove him to take the leap. He felt there was a gap in fintech where he could make his mark while simultaneously helping people and businesses. “We have focused on [customer service] since day one,” said Lluís. “For example, one of the metrics that we have for customer experience teams is that we need to have an answer to a WhatsApp message from our users in less than a minute, which is challenging sometimes because the inflow can be more than expected. That is something that we want to maintain, always.” From the beta phase and fundraising to maintaining an edge in an extremely competitive market, Lluís and Natalie discuss best practices and how Treinta has managed to be so successful. 💡 Meet Your Host 💡 Natalie Pierce | Gunderson Dettmer | LinkedIn  💡 Featured Guest 💡 Name: Lluís Cañadell What he does: Lluís is the co-founder of Treinta, where he fulfills his passion for helping small Latin American businesses become more efficient. Organization: TreintaConnect: LinkedIn 🗝️ Key Points 🗝️ Top takeaways from this episode★    Start off strong. When trying to get a startup off the ground, Lluís says the beta phase is incredibly important. Having benchmark competitors to look to for valuation and qualified numbers can really help founders understand where they stand and what they need to do. ★     Maintain your focus. There are many twists and turns when starting a business, but keeping a tight focus on the company’s core values and mission is pivotal for any young company.  ★     Hire the right people. Maintaining a positive company culture is also a crucial ingredient to a business’s success. Lluís discusses the importance of hiring people that you feel embody the culture and values you want to promote.ContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

Growing a company is a marathon, not a sprint. Every task from leading a company and developing your team to scaling your culture and building partnerships take time. And for one CEO, Kadu Monguilhott, the marathon led to one great acquisition.Working with Neoway for nearly 10 years, Kadu saw the ups and downs of building a business. Working his way up from the sales team to executive roles, Kadu became close with the customers and employees, and he understood the vision of the company. Now, as the CEO, Kadu is taking Neoway to even greater heights. In late 2021, the company was acquired by the Brazilian stock exchange for 1.8 billion Brazilian reais. But it didn’t happen overnight.  Great things — like the Brazilian stock exchange acquisition — take time. For leaders, this means dedicating time to really understand the company’s needs and shape yourself around the company. And don’t just focus on the short-term goals. Plan a strategy for how you’re going to scale, adapt, and continue evolving.When it comes to partnerships, the same rule applies. Great partnerships (and mergers) don’t happen instantly. You need to keep your connections open, decide on the right path, and develop a collaborative strategy that aligns with each partner’s goals. When you invest time into your plan, you’ll see significant growth and reach incredible achievements.  In this episode of the FutureWork Playbook, Kadu joins host Natalie Pierce to discuss how his company, Neoway, was acquired by the Brazilian stock exchange. Kadu also details his leadership journey, the secrets to a great partnership and growth-centered organization, and how Neoway is working to improve economic growth in Brazil.     💡 Meet Your Host 💡 Natalie Pierce | Gunderson Dettmer | LinkedIn  💡 Featured Guest 💡 Name: Kadu MonguilhottWhat he does: Kadu is the CEO of Neoway, a Brazil-based company that develops big data analytics and AI solutions that generate precision for decision-making and productivity. Their efforts are focused on areas including marketing, compliance, fraud prevention, legal analysis, and credit management. Kadu studied economics at the University of California, Davis before joining Neoway’s sales team in 2013. Organization: NeowayConnect: LinkedIn ContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.

With fearless energy, a little luck, and great connections, Matias Muchnick was able to pitch to top-tier investors and take his business to new heights. However, Matias says that there’s more to building a sustainable business than your investors and revenue.Getting in front of high-level investors and achieving unicorn status are great accomplishments, but they shouldn’t be your end goal. Your business should always be looking for ways to change the world.That’s exactly what Matias is doing with his company, NotCo. Although he’s achieved unicorn status and has been backed by top investors like the Bezos Expedition, Matias cares more about how his products are disrupting the industry and bringing positive change.NotCo combines AI technology and human knowledge to develop and scale plant-based foods. Instead of asking why plant-based, they’re asking why not? While catering to consumers’ needs, NotCo is reinventing the food industry by avoiding animal products and protecting the planet without compromising flavor.And it doesn’t stop there. Matias and his team are constantly looking for ways to improve and expand their reach. They’re continuing to train their algorithm and ensure that it meets consumers’ changing needs. Their brand has launched in seven countries, with its most recent launch in the North American market. Through the challenges, they’ve kept two key things in mind to succeed: the consumer and their vision.In this episode of the FutureWork Playbook, Matias joins host Natalie Pierce to talk about how he took his company, NotCo, from startup to successful venture. He discusses the mindset that every founder should have, how he scaled NotCo and continues to disrupt the industry, and the must-read book for founders in any industry.  💡 Meet Your Host 💡 Natalie Pierce | Gunderson Dettmer | LinkedIn 💡 Featured Guest 💡 Name: Matias MuchnickWhat he does: Matias is the Founder and CEO of NotCo, a food tech company that combines AI and human knowledge to quickly and accurately develop and scale plant-based foods that appeal to the mass market. Previously, Matias founded Eggless Company, which developed plant-based foods, and Chooz, an app created to incentivize healthy living. Matias received his bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Chile and went on to further his education at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and Harvard Business School.Organization: NotCoConnect: LinkedInContactConnect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Subscribe to FutureWork Playbook in your preferred podcast app so that you never miss an episode. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.