Sabrina Halper Show

Sabrina Halper
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9 snips
Apr 24, 2023 • 1h 8min

Sahil Lavingia on growing Gumroad to $100M, today's AI ecosystem, finding a business idea, an Isaac Asimov future, his 300k Twitter audience + more

In this episode, Sabrina Halper sits down with Sahil Lavingia for an in-depth conversation that goes far and wide. They discuss: -his journey dropping out of USC to join Pinterest as the 2nd employee -founding and scaling Gumroad to $100M -his advice for others looking to build profitable products and companies -the current AI wave: which companies excite him, what he's been building, how the competitive ecosystem might play out -AGI and what our future society may look like -Balaji's Bitcoin bet -whether TikTok should be banned Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to bring the future closer.    Follow Sahil on Twitter or check out his website. Engage with HOF on Twitter or read our March to Utopia. Connect with Sabrina on Twitter. Please follow this show and download episodes to stay up to date on Tomorrow Talk's latest! We have an exciting month ahead.
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Mar 19, 2023 • 35min

Ben Lamm, Colossal Founder & CEO: De-Extinction, Artificial Wombs & the Future of Genetics

In this episode, Sabrina sits down with Ben Lamm, CEO & Founder of the biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal. Ben is a serial entrepreneur who has started several moonshot companies, including AI company Hypergiant. Ben co-founded Colossal alongside renowned geneticist George Church. Together they are working to genetically resurrect key species, such as the wooly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo to mitigate climate change and protect against the loss of biodiversity. Colossal has raised over $225M in funding. They're currently building cutting-edge technologies such as artificial wombs, multiplex editing, and in vitro gametogenesis. You’ll learn about how genetic engineering may allow us to protect our coral reefs, bring back extinct animals, and potentially create radiation-resistant humans. You’ll also get Ben’s advice on fundraising, attracting the best talent, and his framework on moonshot thinking. Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to bring the future closer.       Follow Ben’s work on Twitter and Instagram Engage with HOF on Twitter and read our March to Utopia Connect with Sabrina on Twitter
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Feb 9, 2023 • 32min

Future of Virtual & Augmented Reality, How AI will Disrupt Gaming, Apple’s AR play, Meta’s $36B Rebrand, and How to Approach Building in the Space.

In this episode, host Sabrina Halper sits down with Felix Hartmann (Hartmann Capital), Jonathan Ovadia (founder, AEXLABS), and Dr Doom (founder, LIV). The seasoned guests discuss the biggest limitations to the VR industry to date, Meta’s re-brand and $36B investment, how Apple might enter the space, generative AI's role in increasing productivity and building games more efficiently, how augmented reality will integrate into our lives, and the biggest opportunities for founders to build in the space. Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to bring the future closer. Engage with HOF on Twitter: @HOFCapital and at HOFCapital.com. Connect with Sabrina: @SabrinaHalper. Follow Felix and his podcast: @FelixOHartmann. Follow Dr.Doom’s work: @LIV. Follow Jonathan’s work at @aexlabinc & @playvailvr. 
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Dec 21, 2022 • 36min

Matt Krisiloff & Roon on Turning Stem Cells into Human Eggs, Longevity, OpenAI, AI's Role in Biotech, + More

In this episode, special guest host Roon sits down with Matt Krisiloff, the founder of Conception and SciFounders. The pair discuss Conception's work with in vitro gametogenesis: turning stem cells into human eggs, which could potentially allow for same sex couples or older women to have biological children. They also discuss the fertility crisis, artificial wombs and genetic selection, his early days as a founding team member of OpenAI and Director of Y Combinator Research, the lessons he learned from Sam Altman, and how the rapid advancements in AI are affecting biotech.   Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to bring the future closer.  Engage with HOF on Twitter: @HOFCapital and at HOFCapital.com. Follow Matt's work: @mattkrisiloff. Follow Roon’s journey: @Tszzl. Connect with Sabrina: @SabrinaHalper.
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Nov 21, 2022 • 41min

roon(@TSZZL) on Elon, Growing a Famous Pseudonym, Secret AI Projects, Rahul Ligma, Vitalik + everything else on our minds

Roon is the Twitter pseudonym we all love. You've likely come across @Tszzl on Twitter, where he has grown over 56k followers under his pseudonymous name "roon" for his smart and edgy takes. He's an AI expert, engineer, an SF stan, and overall techno-optimist. On this episode you'll hear about his thoughts on Elon Musk, Twitter, generative AI, which new AI companies will find success, China's AI progress, his prankster friends (Rahul Ligma & Daniel Johnson), the common personality traits he's noticed amongst his most successful and impactful friends like Vitalik, and basically everything else that's on our mind these days. You'll also learn that he doesn't take anything too seriously.  Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to bring the future closer.        Engage with HOF on Twitter: @HOFCapital and at HOFCapital.com.  Follow Roon’s journey: @Tszzl.   Connect with Sabrina: @SabrinaHalper.
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Oct 31, 2022 • 42min

Changing US Law to Build America’s First Federally Regulated Events-Based Exchange, with Kalshi Co-founder & CEO Tarek Mansour.

Tarek Mansour is the 25 year old co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, America's first federally regulated exchange where you can trade on events, just like you would a stock or a commodity. During his time at Goldman Sachs, Tarek was set to help clients hedge their investments during Brexit, but there was no direct way to do it. In 2018, he started Kalshi with fellow MIT classmate Luana Lopes Lara. After three years of work, they got approved by the CFTC and made history. Kalshi’s list of investors include Y Combinator, Alfred Lin at Sequoia, Charles Schwab, Ali Partovi of Neo, and Co-founder of KKR Henry Kravis. In this episode, Tarek talks to host Sabrina Halper about his experience working to change US legislation to legalize future markets, how different founders in his circle approach fundraising, his advice for other entrepreneurs building in highly regulated areas, and his views on all types of things, including manifesting, receiving advice, and which technological innovations are most exciting.    Please like & subscribe! Reach out to Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to shape the future ❤️ .      Engage with HOF on Twitter: @HOFCapital and at HOFCapital.com. Follow Tarek’s journey: @mansourtarek_.  Connect with Sabrina: @SabrinaHalper.  Timecodes:  0:00 - Intro  0:50 - Early life, MIT, learning CS, working in finance  3:45 - Inception story of Kalshi  6:00 - Pitching YC hackathon & winning  7:58 - What Kalshi does and who its built for  10:00 - Why Kalshi ISN'T a gambling website  10:30 - History of grain futures  11:47 - The events that Kalshi CAN'T put on the platform  12:27 - How to prevent people from manipulating events  14:30 - Why Tarek believes the markets predict better than experts  16:10 - Kalshi's approach to building in a highly regulated industry 19:11 - Advice for other companies building in highly regulated spaces, working with SEC and CFTC  21:42 - Tarek's view into how crypto will be regulated  23:00 - Fundraising from YC, Ali Partovi, Justin Mateen before receiving regulatory approval  25:40 - Competition 27:24 - Putting midterm elections on Kalshi  30:14 - Misconception of being a young founder  32:50 - Best advice Tarek has been given   35:20 - What Tarek would be doing if he wasn't building Kalshi  36:05 - Most surprising thing about Tarek   36:40 - What's most exciting about the future: longevity, nuclear fusion, carbon transformation  39:46 - Who would Tarek like to see on Tomorrow Talk next: Alex from Deel, Tony from DoorDash
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Sep 8, 2022 • 33min

The Robot Lawyer that Helped Consumers Save Over $100M, with DoNotPay Founder Joshua Browder

Today's guest is Joshua Browder, the co-founder and CEO of DoNotPay, the world's first robot lawyer. He has helped consumers win back over $100M in parking tickets, subscriptions, and more. His mission is to use technology to empower consumers to represent themselves and protect their rights. In this episode, Joshua speaks to host Sabrina Halper about his childhood during his father Bill Browder's fight against Russia's human rights violations, teaching himself how to code, moving across the world to attend Stanford, the inception story of DoNotPay, joining the Thiel Fellowship, living in the house that Facebook was built in, helping customers of Celsius, angel investing, the issues with the modern day legal practice, and his insights into the flaws of American bureaucracy. Please follow, subscribe, and let us know what you think! Please like and subscribe!  Connect with Josh on Twitter: @JBrowder1 & Instagram: @JoshuaBrowder12 to follow his journey.  Engage with HOF on Twitter to hear our latest investments & thesis: @HOFCapital & https://hofcapital.com/.  Get to know me, your host, Sabrina on Twitter: @SabrinaHalper & Instagram: @sabloves. Reach out at Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to shape the future ❤️ .    Timecodes:   0:00 - Intro  1:00 - Early life & biggest lessons from his father Bill Browder   3:05 - What he expected to do with his life  3:50 - Experience at Stanford  4:55 - Thiel Fellowship  5:50 - Experience interfacing with Peter Thiel  6:25 - Biggest takeaway from Thiel Fellowship  7:22 - Inception story of DoNotPay  10:30 - Viral Growth   11:10 -  Early days of building the company / Living in the house Facebook was built in  12:25 - Helping consumers sue Celsius  14:15 - Will celsius consumers get their money back  14:37 - The protectionism and inaccessibility of modern day legal practice in the US  16:25 - Using software to empower consumers to represent themselves   16:50 - Future of robot lawyers and which issues will never be autonomous  17:50 - The issues with American bureaucracy today & effects of covid on legal system  19:05 - DoNotPay's new products to combat institutional racism  21:30 - How to adapt and think about changing market conditions and tech cycles 23:40 - Ultimate vision for DoNotPay  24:55 - Do you feel empathy for the business owners?  26:09 - His unique approach to angel investing   28:16 - Current conflict in Ukraine and views on where it will go + Putin  29:35 - What makes him optimistic about the future - Vertical farming & nuclear fission  30:32 - What modern behaviors or practices will be outdated and optimized out of?  31:25 - Views on crypto   32:25 - Outro
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Aug 9, 2022 • 33min

Saving Millions of Lives Using Blood to Catch Cancer Early, with BillionToOne founder Oguzhan Atay

Oguzhan Atay is the founder & CEO of BillionToOne, a molecular diagnostics company that is redefining cancer care and pre-natal genetic testing. Oguzhan developed a liquid biopsy tool to test DNA through blood, rather than tissue samples. His approach is way less invasive and way more accurate. The company has raised over $210M. In this episode, Oguzhan speaks to Host Sabrina Halper and Co-host & partner at HOF Victor Wang about the ways this technology will save millions of lives and billions in healthcare spending. He also goes deep into the issues with America's healthcare and insurance system, and opens up about his own philosophy around relentless learning and curiosity. Q&A with Oghuzan: One book you’d recommend? I read many, many books (both fiction & non-fiction), so this is a difficult question for me. Zero to One, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, Hot Seat, and Martian are appropriate for seed-stage & problem solving; Hard Thing about Hard Things is appropriate for downturns, recessions, and dealing with difficult situations; Amp It Up is good for setting the right culture of high performance; The Great CEO Within is a great guide for concise, actionable, tactical improvements. If I have to select one book, and also choose it based on our company's current stage and how we want to build a generational, category-defining company, it would be "Great by Choice" by Jim Collins and Morten Hansen. A question you always ask during an interview? What is the one thing in your past that you are most proud of achieving, either because it is truly impactful or rarely achieved outcome, or because you had to overcome significant challenges in attaining it? The reason I like this question is that it identifies superstars & overachievers in a way that does not discriminate against people who have not had the same opportunities as everyone. Email me at Shalper@hofcapital.com with any feedback, requests for guests, or if you're building something to shape the future. This episode covers: - What BillionToOne is developing with their liquid biopsy technology - How Gene therapies are innovating to reverse genetic disorders 06:08 - How Gene therapies are re-defining cancer diagnostic and mitigation 09:00 - CRISPR - How to measure the success of BillionToOne's molecular diagnostic tool - Health and economic impact of superior diagnostics - Issues with insurance companies and reimbursement in the healthcare system + the opportunity for disruption - Missteps of early days of COVID - Transition from being an academic to a founder - Keys to Oghuzan's personal & professional success - How innovation is accelerating
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Jul 8, 2022 • 35min

Tom Brady’s Co-Founder on Building an Enduring NFT Platform, His Outlook on Crypto Winter, & Earning the Support Icons and Leaders in Crypto & Sports (Katie Haun, Tiger Woods, SVP of Apple, etc.)

Autograph’s Co-founder Tom Brady is widely known. The other co-founder, and CEO, is Dillon Rosenblatt, a 24 year old, second time founder. Dillon first began his entrepreneurial journey when he started Tutors, a company to connect tutors and students, at age 15. After attending USC’s Iovine and Young Academy for entrepreneurship, he explored the idea of starting a crypto hedge fund which began a deep dive exploration into the space that eventually led him to build Autograph. In this episode, host Sabrina Halper and Dillon Rosenblatt discuss Inception of Autograph: -What first drew Dillon into the NFT space -How he got Tom Brady and DraftKings on board -Who he sees as the consumer & user of Autograph Differentiated Approach: -Dillon’s plans to expand  -Why he wouldn’t bring Autograph into the NFT-tooling space -Dillon’s approach to building out collections that would keep users engaged with the product and brand -How he thinks about virality and shareability within the collections Putting the Autograph board together: -Dillon’s reflections on building a board of moguls and earning the support of industry leaders (crypto: Sam Bankman-Fried, Katie Haun, etc.) (Sports: Tiger Woods, Tony Hawk, Simone Biles etc.) (Entertainment; The Weeknd, Head of Lionsgate, COO of Spotify) -When to ask for advice vs when to trust your gut Future of NFTs: -Web2 vs Web3 -Autograph’s plan to enter the metaverse and offer crypto-native products -His views on what role “passion” NFTs will play in the future ecosystem -Dillon responds to: “Are NFT’s a bubble?” and “Will people spend money on NFTs during a recession?” -Dillon’s opinion on Ethereum as a long term base for NFTs Personal reflections: -His reflections on how to learn quickly and act as a young CEO -Why he’s optimistic about the future If you have an idea to pitch HOF on or feedback on the pod, tweet at us at @HOFCapital and @SabrinaHalper!
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Jun 3, 2022 • 48min

Henrique Dubugras, Co-founder & CEO of Fintech Unicorn Brex

In this debut episode, host Sabrina Halper sits down with Henrique Dubugras, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brex, a credit card and financial toolkit for startups, valued at $12.3B. As a 16 year old living in the middle of Brazil, Henrique founded Pagar.me, which did over $1.5B in sales. He then went on to attend Stanford University for 6 months, until dropping out to join Y Combinator and start Brex with his co-founder Pedro Franceschi. At 26 years old, he’s a second time founder who runs one of the most prominent fintech companies in Silicon Valley. In this conversation, he discusses his personal motivations, his views on crypto, and why he’s extremely optimistic about the future.

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