Immad Akhund, CEO of Mercury and prolific angel investor, shares insights on the chaotic aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. He discusses how Mercury managed over $2 billion in new deposits, enhancing customer trust during turbulent times. The conversation delves into the evolving banking landscape, highlighting the benefits of innovative banks over traditional models. Akhund also explores the dual role of founders as investors and the importance of community-driven capital raising in startups, showcasing the vibrant San Francisco fintech culture.

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud was the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Directorate for 24 years. He also served as the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the UK, Ireland, and the United States, and he’s the author of The Afghanistan File. Auren and Prince Turki discuss the complex history of Afghanistan and Middle East geopolitics. Prince Turki shares his thoughts on the mistakes made by the U.S. in Afghanistan, the consequences of negotiating with the Taliban, and how the U.S. could have made a better strategic exit from the country.They also delve into the failure of Israeli peace talks, the rise of Chinese diplomacy, and the nature of Iran’s nuclear program. Finally, Prince Turki provides insights into the changing landscape of the oil market, the impact of fracking on OPEC+, and the plateau that frackers have reached in the industry.World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren. 

Dmitri Alperovitch is the co-founder and former CTO of CrowdStrike and the founder of Silverado Policy Accelerator. Dmitri and Auren delve into the complexities of cyber warfare, geopolitics, and their intersections. Dmitri explains the intricacies of the 'vulnerabilities equities process' and the challenges in making software safer. The conversation also explores the realm of cyber weapons and Ukraine's resilience in combating cyber attacks. Shifting to geopolitics, they discuss the implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's strategic objectives, and the changing communication dynamics due to Starlink satellites. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts. You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Dmitri on Twitter at @DAlperovitch

Nick Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic. Prior to that, he was editor-in-chief of Wired and a senior editor at The New Yorker.Nick and Auren discuss the evolving relationship between tech and media and the impact of social media platforms like Twitter on these industries. Nick shares insights into the tech industry's self-narratives and its influence on politics. They also delve into the world of AI and its implications for journalism, from generating news stories to creating children's books. Nick discusses advertising challenges in the journalism industry, the dynamics of tech billionaires owning media companies, and the potential of conversation platforms like Speak Easy AI to foster positive conversations and political diversity.World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Nick on Twitter at @nxthompson

Hadi Partovi is the founder and CEO of Code.org. He also founded Tellme Networks and ILike, held leadership roles at Microsoft and Myspace, and angel invested in a number of incredible companies, including Facebook, DropBox, Airbnb, and Uber. Hadi and Auren discuss making computer science as part of the core curriculum in public education. Hadi explains the importance of learning basic computer science and explores how AI will change software development and education. Hadi also shares insights and anecdotes from his experiences with some of the most powerful leaders in tech, (like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs) and what their management styles all had in common. Hadi also talks about the thought processes that lead him to make early investments in amazing companies like Facebook and Uber. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Hadi Partovi on Twitter at @hadip.

David Sinclair is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and the founder of the Sinclair Lab. He’s the author of the bestselling book Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To, as well as a founder of several biotech companies. Auren and David discuss the potential to expand the average human lifespan by decades. David challenges traditional notions of aging and emphasizes the need to embrace new technologies. They also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of common anti-aging practices like interval training, fasting, and stress reduction. David shares his thoughts on what longevity medicines and supplements are most beneficial, and how to talk to your doctor about them. He breaks down which health metrics to monitor in treating and preventing aging. Overall, David offers an incredibly optimistic vision for what the future of aging could look like, and the science it will take to get there. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and David Sinclair on Twitter at @davidasinclair 

Matt Kaminski is the Editor in Chief of Politico and the founding editor of Politico Europe. Auren and Matt discuss the challenges of restoring trust in journalism and navigating politics in the digital age. Matt highlights the complicated nuances of getting a story right, the role of bias in journalism, and the need to protect free speech. He also discusses how Politico approached breaking the story of the leaked decision in the Supreme Court’s Dobbs case.  Matt and Auren also explore the evolving landscape of media coverage, and whether or not there’s a conspiracy against Gen X people. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Matt Kaminski on Twitter at @KaminskiMK

Marissa Mayer was the CEO of Yahoo and the 20th employee at Google, where she held key leadership roles in major Google products including Search, Maps, and Gmail. She’s currently the co-founder and CEO of Sunshine. Marissa and Auren discuss the unexpected turn AI has taken towards creativity and expression, and its impact on coding and software engineering. They also explore how AI can improve software engineering and potentially affect the business models of tech giants like Google.Marissa shares insights from her experiences at Google and Yahoo, focusing on bureaucracy and efficiency within tech companies, as well as the origin of Google’s famous APM program and her insights for developing talent. They also talk about Marissa’s startup Sunshine Contacts, building a personal relationship manager, and managing contacts in the age of AI.World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Marissa Mayer on Twitter at @marissamayer.

Tom Tugendhat is the UK’s Minister of State for Security and a British Member of Parliament. He was previously the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, and before that he served multiple tours in the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. Auren and Tom discuss the role of the UK's Minister of State for Security and Tom’s work with cybersecurity, intelligence gathering, and defense. Tom highlights some of the most overlooked factors in security and what government and private actors should be doing to improve their resilience against cyber threats. Tom and Auren also dive into the changing world of intelligence gathering and open source intelligence (OSINT). They discuss the role of OSINT in understanding the environment and context of situations, how organizations like Bellincat operate, and using OSINT for making predictions. World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Tom Tugendhat on Twitter at @TomTugendhat.

Jack Abraham is the founder of Atomic, a startup studio that has launched several dozen companies including Hims & Hers, Openstore, and Bungalow. Before starting Atomic, Jack co-founded Milo, which he sold to eBay.Auren and Jack discuss how the studio fund model works and what’s allowed Atomic to be successful in a space where many other studios have failed. Jack breaks down the process of finding scalable ideas and deciding which ones to allocate resources to. Auren and Jack also dive into the history of the startup studio model and highlight the success stories of companies like Uber, Twitter, and Moderna that originated from studios. They also discuss the benefits of starting a company during a downturn, scaling companies quickly, and the art of branding for both DTC and B2B companies. Jack also shares his thoughts on what’s made Miami a tech hub and where the city will be going in the future.  World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Jack Abraham on Twitter at @jackabraham.