This week, Usman Hanif is joined by Sapien co-founders Ron Nachum, Pranav Ravella, and Arya Grayeli to talk about their journey from college dropouts to securing $8.7M in seed funding, creating the first fully autonomous "shadow CFO" for enterprise teams, and attempting to revolutionize financial decision-making for major companies using AI.—🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.—RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Unpack PricingDive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg—Highlights from the episode: Sapien is building an AI "shadow CFO" that can proactively analyze company data and surface insights, transforming how financial decisions are made The team has developed proprietary technology to parse and understand complex financial data across multiple sources, creating a unified "company representation" Their early success includes catching a $10M error for a major manufacturer, demonstrating the immediate value their system can provide —SPONSORS:📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at https://carta.com/investors/GiveWellGiveWell spends 50,000 hours every year doing deep-dives into different charitable programs to try to find the ways to do the most good for your dollar. GiveWell has now spent over 17 years researching charitable organizations and only directs funding to a few of the HIGHEST-IMPACT opportunities they’ve found. Visit https://www.givewell.org to find out more or make a donation. Select PODCAST and enter Econ 102 at checkout to make sure they know you heard about them from us.—LINKS:Sapien: https://getsapien.com—FOLLOW ON X:@RonNachum (Ron)@pranavravella (Pranav)@AryaGrayeli (Arya)@getsapien (Sapien)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

This week, Usman Hanif down with Jared Quincy Davis, Co-founder and CEO of Foundry, an AI cloud platform designed to orchestrate the world's compute capacity, to discuss the challenges of GPU utilization, the economics of AI infrastructure, and how Foundry is making cutting-edge AI capabilities more accessible, while also exploring the future of AI democratization and cloud infrastructure. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/d3441594-c9c9-4068-be6e-4ad136aac346—🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.—RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Unpack PricingDive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg—SPONSORS:📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at https://carta.com/investors/—LINKS:Foundry: https://mlfoundry.com—FOLLOW ON X:@jaredq_l (Jared)@mlfoundry (Foundry)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

In this episode of 1 to 100, Usman Hanif speaks again with Ankur Goyal, Founder and CEO of Braintrust, about the company's Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, its product development strategy, and hiring needs. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/75dc81b1-1320-4809-80b0-4b0bb28b085b—🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.—RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Unpack PricingDive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg—SPONSORS:📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at https://carta.com/investors/📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://www.notion.com/product/ai?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=upstreampod  —LINKS:Martin Casado from a16z: Investing in Braintrust: https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-braintrust/Braintrust: https://www.braintrust.dev/—FOLLOW ON X:@ankrgyl (Ankur)@braintrustdata (Braintrust)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

In this episode of 1 to 100, Usman Hanif is joined by Dan Wright, Founder and CEO of Armada, who discusses how his company is revolutionizing edge computing, bridging the digital divide, and building scalable, mission-critical infrastructure for remote data processing and application deployment. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/90adf2d2-cec3-4397-8270-f37f6685d3ac—📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —SPONSORS:🛠️ Building an enterprise-ready SaaS app? WorkOS has got you covered with easy-to-integrate APIs for SAML, SCIM, and more. Join top startups like Vercel, Perplexity, Jasper & Webflow in powering your app with WorkOS. Enjoy a free tier for up to 1M users! Start now at https://bit.ly/WorkOS-Turpentine-Network 📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at carta.com/investors.—LINKS:Armada: https://www.armada.ai/—FOLLOW ON X:@danwrightSF (Dan)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

In this episode of 1 to 100, host Usman Hanif sits down with Matt McKinney, Co-founder and CEO of Loop, a company transforming the $2T freight supply chain industry with AI-powered data solutions that enhance visibility and automate decision-making. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/6b8cd4bb-2d50-4dd1-bf00-08fd97ecfa7d—📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —SPONSORS:🛠️ Building an enterprise-ready SaaS app? WorkOS has got you covered with easy-to-integrate APIs for SAML, SCIM, and more. Join top startups like Vercel, Perplexity, Jasper & Webflow in powering your app with WorkOS. Enjoy a free tier for up to 1M users! Start now at https://bit.ly/WorkOS-Turpentine-Network 📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at carta.com/investors.📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at notion.com/upstreampod  —LINKS:Loop: https://www.loop.com/—FOLLOW ON X:@mattlmckinney (Matt)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

Usman Hanif interviews Neal Jean, founder and CEO of Beacons, discussing the company's journey from a simple link-in-bio tool to a comprehensive platform for creators. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/111595a8-c44e-4b5b-b98f-889678679d44 —📰 Be notified early when Turpentine drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  —SPONSORS:🛠️ Building an enterprise-ready SaaS app? WorkOS has got you covered with easy-to-integrate APIs for SAML, SCIM, and more. Join top startups like Vercel, Perplexity, Jasper & Webflow in powering your app with WorkOS. Enjoy a free tier for up to 1M users! Start now at https://bit.ly/WorkOS-Turpentine-Network 📑Discover Carta, the innovative end-to-end accounting platform revolutionizing private fund management with streamlined operations and on-demand insights. Experience the new standard at carta.com/investors.📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at notion.com/upstreampod  —LINKS:Beacons: https://beacons.ai/ —FOLLOW ON X:@nealjean1 (Neal)@usygoosy (Usman)@why2join (Why You Should Join)@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

Cornelius Schmitt, Co-founder and CEO of Zellerfeld, shares his journey in revolutionizing the footwear industry with 3D-printed shoes. He discusses how his company creates customizable, sustainable footwear while partnering with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton. Cornelius envisions a future where 3D printing transforms not just shoes, but various consumer goods. He also emphasizes the importance of community engagement and innovative design through user feedback, all while navigating the challenges of scaling this groundbreaking technology.

Ankur Goyal, the Founder and CEO of Braintrust, discusses pivotal strategies for product development in the AI landscape. He dives into the unique challenges AI engineering faces and how Braintrust's platform enhances evaluation processes. Goyal emphasizes the importance of robust onboarding features and effective user feedback for continuous improvement. Sharing insights on building strong relationships with customers and investors, he also explores the future of AI, advocating for the essential role of human creativity in this evolving field.

Vignan Velivela, Co-founder and CEO of AtoB, is revolutionizing the fintech landscape for the trucking industry. He delves into how payment innovations are tackling high fuel costs and enhancing transaction efficiency. Vignan shares insights on AtoB's journey, highlighting the evolution of payment systems and the crucial need for specialized tools. The conversation also touches on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building an entrepreneurial team culture to drive future growth. Join him for a glimpse into the future of transportation finance!

Brendan Foody, Co-founder and CEO of Mercor, speaks about revolutionizing the hiring process through AI automation. They delve into the technical challenges and innovations behind Mercor's platform, which utilizes multimodal models for candidate vetting. Brendan shares insights on transforming traditional recruitment methods into efficient, AI-driven processes that benefit both employers and candidates. The discussion also highlights the vast market opportunities Mercor aims to capture in reshaping talent acquisition.