Odds on Open

For founder and technologist Daniel Mika, the idea of building the future is as ordinary as the everyday. No surprise, then, that his first foray into the world of artificial intelligence started long before GPT and Grok were en vogue: In 2018, Daniel became co-founded GetDressed, an computer vision-powered fashion stylist, (at the time of launch, he was only 17).Daniel’s work in the startup world continues today, though his exact role has pivoted slightly. Rather than building startups of his own, he’s actively at the forefront of the scene all together. He’s an angel investor in several stealth startups and a partner at the MBA Fund, a VC fund investing in students, dropouts, and alumni founders from UPenn, Harvard, and Stanford. He also helps pre-seed founders find high-quality off-shore engineers in Poland with his new company, Descope, and he’s also a computer vision researcher at UPenn’s GRASP Lab.On the Build to Last podcast with Ethan, Daniel shares his journey from founder to investor, his expert opinion on recent AI developments, and the importance of actively reaching out to people we can learn from.

While many bright minds have their sights set on Silicon Valley, founder Earl Valencia’s vision is set elsewhere: emerging markets, regions like Southeast Asia or Africa where the population is young, where standard national GDP growth is between 5-10%, and where there’s “ so much opportunity still to make change,” he says. Plentina, Earl’s last venture, did exactly that. He raised $5 million for the buy-now-pay later startup servicing emerging markets, and exited successfully in 2024. Before his work as a startup founder, he’s worked at places like Bridgewater Associates, Charles Scwab, and Cisco. The lessons from all these experiences come together in his latest book, Startup Mindsets (Random House SEA). On the Build to Last podcast, Earl shares with Ethan how—and why—he built a career around emerging markets and what it takes to succeed in a region where the only way is up. You can find Earl on LinkedIn, or purchase his book here.

For Kirk McKinney, the idea for starting a business “was an accident.” One a bicycle trip to the dump in his hometown of Westwood, MA led to the business concept for Junk Teens, a youth-led junk removal business he founded at age 15. Five years after their launch, Junk Teens is now making over $1.3 million in annual revenue, and Kirk has been featured in places like the Boston Globe, CBS News, and Entrepreneur Magazine. On the Build to Last podcast, Kirk shares his junk-to-riches story. He also talks about his long-term vision for Junk Teens, the values that propel his business forward, and (as a student at Babson College) the dilemmas and challenges of a student-entrepreneur. Find Junk Teens on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.