The VentureFuel Visionaries

Steve is the Program Manager for the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation at NASA where he leads the use of collaborative innovation platforms (crowd-based communities, challenges/prizes) for supporting development projects across the U.S. government. From Space Station Operations to shifting from Mission Control to Mission Connect, Steve has spent 32 Years at NASA and shares his philosophy on success in exponentially advancing world in which we live.

Lindsey McInerney, the Global Head of Technology & Innovation at Anheuser Busch InBev and Roman Tirone, the Global Head of Partnerships at Virtually Human Studios discuss their first-to-market collaboration on Zed.Run - a virtual horse racing platform which is the talk of the crypto world where steeds are fetching 6 figure sums. The partnership brings the iconic Stella brand front and center in the virtual economy and places them atop of the NFT mania. It’s a masterclass in embracing what’s next now and combines the best of crypto, NFTs, esports, streaming and brand sponsorship.

VentureFuel shares notes from their internal innovation meeting, covering the startups and emerging technologies they are most excited about from over 500+ investors, university labs, and venture capitalists. This rapid fire session gives you a glimpse into data privacy, instant shopping, NFTs, microbial probiotics, personalized parallel realities, biometric authentication, holographic co-worker interactions, noninvasive neuroscience and Lamelo Ball.

We talk about Christian Ponce’s path from auditor to innovator, and how he leverages design thinking and lean startup principles to LOVE problems and finding solutions to users' pains. How do you balance Horizon 3 Innovations with tangential and tangible innovations that work for public companies? What disruptive strategies build the capabilities for breakthrough innovations? Should you take Moonshots or Jump Shots?

What we eat and drink impacts our digestion, sleep, rejuvenation, gut health, focus, energy, immunity, and strength. Our diet plays a major role in both our performance and our recovery. Hear from industry experts on what’s next now for functional foods including leaders from FoodNavigator, IRI, CMAB, DMI, DairyBusiness News, and Berry on Derry.

Can we inspire the future through innovation? Can each of us choose to be unicorns? Can we put aside the hunt for certainty to seize upon potential? With his design team, Mauro Porcini has won more than 1,100 Design and Innovation awards and has been recognized personally with Fortune’s 40 under 40, Fast Company 50 Most Influential Designers, Most Creative People in Business, GQ 30 Best Dressed Men and with Knighthood by the President of the Italian Republic. He infuses design and innovation into PepsiCo’s culture to keep the $70bn-a-year company and its 300,000 employees creating within the magic and energy of the unexpected.

What’s Next Now within data innovation? Can the always-on stream of consumer behavior, market trends and micro insights lead to macro results? Are there startups that can help you make sense of these opportunities for actionable solutions? Learn from Marty Siewert, Insights at Instacart; Cristina Chiesa, US Insights & Analytics Director at Mondelēz International and Dennis Roche, Co-Founder of Burbio.

How do you take a legacy business, known for giant yellow boxes with compact discs, transform it to a mobile-first Pokemon Go of Immersive Language? You turn to Public Company Change Agent Matt Hulett. We talk about how to begin a flywheel of net new thinking, how to motivate big changes, and how to create an API translation from corporate governance to/from innovation. Matt also shares his framework for success T3PM to help you unlock growth for your business.

BMW i Ventures is one of the most successful Corporate Venture Capital groups in the world with over $600m invested across 2 funds, with 12 exits already to date. Principal Samantha Huang focuses on investments across AI, big data, autonomous driving, Industry 4.0, and sustainability. We talk about the role of external innovation for corporations, the future of the auto industry and the impact of digitization and automation on the world.

Goldman Sachs announced their 2021 Entrepreneur Cohort for Launch with GS, a $1 billion investment strategy grounded in their data-driven thesis that diverse teams drive strong returns. These innovative entrepreneurs are building fast-growing companies at the forefront of technology and 2 of the 15 selections are past guests of the VF podcast. So we wanted to showcase highlights from our conversations with Stephen Wolfe Pereira of Encantos who asks us to rethink education with “Storyteching” and Travis Montaque, the founder of Holler, who teaches us about the future of chat.