

Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand
Michael Sikand
Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand is a time capsule for Michael's early years of building his brand, Our Future, through a series of high-energy interviews he conducted with business executives and startup founders as a 20-year-old University of Michigan student. Michael ended up pivoting to becoming a short video content creator and built Our Future into a media company he sold to Morning Brew at age 22. In 2022, Michael was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list in media.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 8, 2020 • 22min
#81 Dr. Rao Mulpuri, Chairman & CEO of View Inc., on the Future of Smart Glass
In Episode 81, listeners hear from Dr. Rao Mulpuri, the CEO & Chairman of View Inc., the world’s leading smart glass manafacturer and a company I was lucky enough to intern at in high school. The company has raised over a billion dollars to date, and Rao explains why the company is going public via the Cantor Fitzgerald SPAC to unlock a trillion dollar market, mitigate climate change, and create new human experiences.
Check out View's amazing website: https://view.com/
Subscribe to our newsletter sharing digestible business stories at https://www.ourfuturehq.com/
Follow our new TikTok: @ourfuturehq
No way you're not following us on IG for our daily business polls: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/

Dec 3, 2020 • 11min
#80 Our Future Careers in Business of Tech: Joseph Choi, former Business Operations Intern, Incoming Technical Writer at Salesforce and Co-Founder of Tech Pod
In Episode 80, listeners hear from Joseph Choi, an incoming Technical Writer at Salesforce and the co-founder of Tech Pod, a media platform designed for young people interested in careers in tech that don't have a CS degree or coding knowledge. Joseph and I had an awesome conversation about how over 4/10 roles at the biggest tech companies are non-technical positions and why if you're an economics, business, or comms student you should know working in the tech industry is an option for you. I have a great deal of admiration for the platform Joseph has created through Tech Pod, sharing resources and his passion for career education at scale.
Join Tech Pod to learn how to recruit tech without tech skills: https://techpod.substack.com/
Connect with Joseph on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/choi-joseph/
Subscribe to Our Future newsletter so you can solve the hidden puzzle to get some awesome TikTok merchandise. Email us back or DM us on social to redeem your prize! Subscribe at https://www.ourfuturehq.com/
No way you're not following us on IG for our daily business polls: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/
Follow our new TikTok: @ourfuturehq

Dec 2, 2020 • 17min
#79 Kayla Dixon, Brand Marketing Manager at TikTok, on Authenticity and Activating Advocates
In Episode 79, listeners hear from Kayla Dixon, Brand Marketing Manager at TikTok, about the platform's evolution from lip syncing to becoming the epicenter of culture, the winning strategy behind the company's college ambassador program (+ how you can join), what the "ocean spray guy" video meant to the platform, and her career advice to young people looking to launch their careers.
GIVEAWAY: Subscribe to our newsletter so you can solve the hidden puzzle this Sunday to get some sweet TikTok merch. Email us back or DM us on social to redeem your prize! Subscribe at https://www.ourfuturehq.com/
No way you're not following us on IG for our daily business polls: https://www.instagram.com/ourfuturehq/
Follow our new TikTok @ourfuturehq to see us FaceTime business leaders!

Nov 27, 2020 • 14min
#78 Our Future Careers in Tech: Shekar Ramaswamy, Machine Learning Intern at Nuro, SWE Intern at Instagram, and Co-Founder of Orbyt
Our Future Careers is a series where students who have landed the coolest jobs and internships share the tips, tricks, and strategies so you can do the same. In today's episode, listeners hear from Shekar Ramaswamy, a CS student at Brown University, a former Machine Learning Intern at Nuro and SWE Intern at Instagram, and the Co-Founder of networking startup Orbyt.
Join Orbyt's Waitlist: https://alpha.orbyt.cc/
Connect with Shekar on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shekar-ramaswamy/

Nov 25, 2020 • 12min
#77 (Pt. 2) Chris Brandt, CMO of Chipotle on Thinking Bigger
In Episode 77 (Cont.), listeners hear Pt. 2 of my conversation with Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer of Chipotle, about the company's adaptation to crises, the importance of thinking bigger and borrowing from other industries, and why you need to find what you're good at to thrive in your career.

Nov 24, 2020 • 14min
#77 (Pt. 1) Chris Brandt, CMO of Chipotle on Social Marketing
In Episode 77, listeners hear Pt. 1 of my conversation with Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer of Chipotle, about the company's massive victories in digital marketing to unlock young audiences, the keys for brands to excel on social channels , and how Chipotle's loyalty program grew to 17M members in less than two years.

Nov 20, 2020 • 17min
#76 Akshaya Dinesh & Andrew Tan, Co-Founders of Ladder on Building Community
Nothing fuels my fire more than learning from the student founders shaping our future. In Episode 76, listeners hear from Stanford students Akshaya Dinesh & Andrew Tan, Co-Founders of Ladder (formerly Remote Students), a professional community platform for the next generation to find opportunities, get advice, and grow their careers together.
Here's the Link to Join Ladder: https://ladder.to/signup?access_code=rwAKZCvxUbNLGMfT5AMLzkUKWL72

Nov 18, 2020 • 14min
#75 Our Future Careers in Consulting: A.J. Eckstein, Former Intern at Disney, Incoming Strategy Analyst at Accenture, Founder of Career Coaching Company
Our Future Careers is a mini-series where students who have landed their dream jobs share the tips, tricks, and strategies so you can do the same. In today's episode, listeners hear from A.J. Eckstein, an former intern at Disney's Business Leader Rotational Program, an Incoming Strategy Analyst at Accenture, and Founder/CEO of the Career Coaching Company. You will learn the importance of a powerful leadership experience, the value of indirect networking, how to craft your personal story in recruiting, and why A.J. decided to launch a company teaching these strategies.
Check out The Career Coaching Company: https://www.careercoachingcompany.com/
Check out A.J.'s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-aj-eckstein/

Nov 17, 2020 • 16min
#74 Dilbagh Gill, CEO of Mahindra Racing Formula-E Team on the Future of Motorsports
In Episode 74, listeners hear from Dilbagh Gill, CEO & Team Principal of Mahindra Racing, a cutting-edge motorsports team that competes in Formula E which is the highest level of competition for electric vehicles and a proving ground for the future of mobility. Gill discusses what it took to launch a race team from scratch, the importance of Formula E from a sustainability and innovation perspective, and why you should celebrate your successes.
Learn more about Mahindra Racing: https://www.mahindraracing.com/

Nov 14, 2020 • 16min
#73 Saturday Special: Entrepreneurship During COVID-19 with Wade Fletcher, Creator of Covintern.com and Founder of UndercoverVC
So much amazing entrepreneurship has come out of COVID-19. Nothing fills me with more passion than learning from people who have built movements and unlocked exponential opportunities during this crazy time. Wade Fletcher is a student at Indiana University, the recipient of the 2019 South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the creator of Covintern.com, a jobs board he started in March for students looking for internships during COVID-19 which was featured in major publications and was visited over 100k times. Now, he's looking to democratize venture funding for student founders through Undercover VC, a social network which aims to connect college entrepreneurs with funding outside of the top five campuses.
If you're a student looking to raise money or want to become a venture fellow on your campus, email Wade at team@undercover.vc !
Check out their website too: https://undercover.vc/
Learn more about Wade on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadefletch/