Future Optimist

Guanhao Wu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Exovolar, a company making personal flying jetpacks (finally!). Exovolar aims to augment our main mobility tool, the legs, to make flying as simple as walking. The combination of jet engines, exoskeleton, and their patented thrust vector nozzle design allows the legs to fulfill their destined duty – to support and move our body – like a certain heavily trademarked action movie franchise character. You know, what’s his face. I love it when someone attempts the truly ridiculous and flying in a suit like Steel Dude (that’s his name, right?) is a bold, audacious, ridiculous concept that is too fun to ignore. ➡️ https://exovolar.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/Guanhao-Wu ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Amber Rivas is the President and CEO at Aviva Family & Children's Services in Los Angeles. She’s dedicated her life to solving the complex housing issues facing major metropolitan areas like LA. Amber has worked for non-profits her entire career, helping women, children, and local communities with mental health and crisis intervention. She’s engaged with the most vulnerable parts of society—tackling issues head on that most of us choose to ignore. Today we’ll learn how her selfless journey has brought her satisfaction, joy, and a connection to her community in ways that are so powerful. She’s proof that while judgment is easy, doing something about it is far more rewarding and noble. I’m excited to share with you a powerful, and moving conversation. ➡️ https://aviva.org/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/amber-rivas ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Have you ever gone from just a few dollars in your bank account to a thriving business? Or maybe you have less than you’d like in the bank right now, and you’re feeling lost, hopeless, or unsure if there’s any way out for you. Well today’s guest Candice Smith was there, just three short years ago. Today? She has a thriving PR business, and she’s been featured in Glamour, Good Morning America, Forbes, and a lot of other places that are a lot cooler and more influential than this show. Umm. But please don’t stop listening. Just… uhh, strike that last remark from the record. I wanted to showcase this story because it represents a very real, practical transformation that so many people who are struggling right now can make, and it’s a prime example of the power of entrepreneurship and determination to change the arc of our life when things aren’t working out the way we want them to. ➡️ https://frenchpresspr.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/candice-smith ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Morgan Mercer is the CEO of Vantage Point, a VR product that’s being used by big companies like Ikea and Hyundai to teach soft skills and also to offer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as Sexual Harassment training. It turns out, Morgan’s major insight is that VR is an unprecedented tool for “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”, which means that it’s an ingenious way to teach empathy. She’s been featured in over 150 major publications and Vantage Point’s tagline “While technology can cause apathy, immersive technology can drive empathy and fundamentally make the world more human” is something I deeply resonate with. ➡️ https://www.tryvantagepoint.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/morgan-mercer ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Martin Schichtel is the CEO of Kraftblock, an energy storage system that is able to decarbonize industries like steel, glass or ceramics. Martin leveraged unique industry insight to build a business that captures the enormous amount of waste that so many industries blast out without giving it a second thought. He patented energy-storing blocks that can store 1.2MWh of thermal energy at a temperature level of up to 1,300 °C. This means that we can store the heat byproducts of tons of heavy industries, which can translate into cost savings, decarbonizing entire industries, and generally making our whole society much more efficient. He had a brilliant idea, he executed on that idea, and he saw near immediate success bringing his brilliance into the world. I love crazy, out of the box solutions like this, and I know you will too. ➡️ https://kraftblock.com/en/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/martin-schichtel ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Johnny Palmer is a tech entrepreneur, the founder/co-founder of companies, and activist in the UK who has accomplished an incredible amount in both business and activism. He’s built a virtuous cycle with his businesses and greater mission, proving that money and resources used well can be the path towards building a better, more sustainable future for us all. His career is at the intersection of money and meaning, and his north star is evident in all of his many ventures. We’ll learn how seemingly different ventures can all be linked by the same guiding principle. ➡️ https://johnnypalmer.co.uk/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/johnny-palmer ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Khatantuul Zorig is an Investor at Innospark investing in AI/Robotics companies. She led/co-led investments in Neurable, Javelin, Encora, and she’s been an MIT-backed CEO/founder herself, all as a 1st generation Mongolian immigrant. In short, Khat is one of the coolest, most inspiring people I’ve ever met. She’s actively shaping neurotech, AR/VR, and even fashion, by merging her native Mongolian culture with the tech of tomorrow. She’s a fashion designer making wild, futuristic east-meets-west clothing, and she envisions an optimistic future where AI will automate all of our mundane, repeatable tasks, leaving our brains and creativity to soar. If you’ve listened to even one episode of this show by now, you’ll know how excited I am about this talk. ➡️ https://gotzorig.com/ ➡️ https://khatzorig.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/khat-zorig ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Pablo Navarro is the co-founder of a $26 million VC fund in Colombia, and his latest project is cocora.io. Pablo's life story is remarkable, coming from a humble beginning to being heavily involved in the start-up scenes of both the US and South America. In this interview, we discuss Pablo's strategy for investing in LatAm startups, his advice for young entrepreneurs, and more. Today he is building Cocora, a platform that connects leaders in Latin America to coaches, and he’s passionate about transforming the business climate of his home country and beyond. ➡️ https://www.cocora.io/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/pablo-navarro ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

Joining us today is Mike McFall, the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of BIGGBY Coffee. Mike’s story is truly fascinating: in 1995, he and his friend decided to make a coffee chain, and their simple agreement has blossomed into one of America’s largest coffee chains, a franchise operation with over 350 locations. It’s clear that Mike is an “entrepreneur’s entrepreneur”, and in this episode, he tells me something I’m truly envious of: that he doesn’t suffer from crippling anxiety at 3am and rather has an innate sense that everything will always work out. I’m sure you’re just like that. No? Must be nice, right? Well, even though his path has been slow and steady, everything has appeared to work out for this remarkable human, and he’s documenting his unique, human-forward approach to business in a series of books. I know I’m about to get schooled in this conversation, and if you and a buddy ever thought about building something cool, you are too. ➡️ https://www.biggby.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/mike-mcfall ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer

John Walsh is the Founder & CEO of Endera, a company pioneering a sector of the electric vehicle market you probably haven’t thought much about: shuttles and buses. No, they’re not JUST for pub crawls, although it is Friday, so why not green up your booze tonight? Rather, it’s a sector with profound implications anywhere short-distance travel is needed. Their EVs have exceptional performance and range, and they represent a huge potential benefit for a wasteful and important part of our society. His company Endera has raised millions in funding, and John has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as on Shark Tank. Buckle up for a fascinating conversation with someone who really has his vision locked on building a better future for us all. ➡️ https://www.enderamotors.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/john-walsh ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer