Inspired with Alexa von Tobel

In 2020, the idea of attending an event virtually became commonplace. But Johnny Boufarhat came up with the idea for Hopin, the online platform that's redefining virtual events, years prior. After becoming immunocompromised in 2015, Johnny was searching for a way to enable networking digitally. He started Hopin in 2019, and in less than a year, scaled the company to over 3.5 million users and 50,000+ organizations hosting events. Johnny shares the moment he realized he'd created a viral product, why he wants to build something as impactful as Google, and how he manages his time to fit in an extra day of work each week.

What if every American were an investor? At Robinhood, Vlad Tenev is on a mission to make the financial system work for everyone. He co-founded the company in 2013, and the fast-growing brokerage has become an investing giant. With over 13 million users and $1 billion in funding, it's no surprise incumbents have been influenced by Robinhood's model, which drove an industry-wide shift toward commission-free trades. Vlad shares why he decided to build Robinhood as a mobile-first platform, how Covid helped to accelerate user growth, and why waking up to an analog alarm clock is a critical part of his routine.

Most startups set out to tackle massive problems, but working to develop a low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that will enable the electric system to be 100% renewably powered? That's a big one by any standard. At Form Energy, Mateo Jaramillo and his co-founders are working to bring that very vision to life, leveraging the smartest minds in the energy storage space. Mateo shares why he bet his career on the climate tech industry after attending Yale Divinity School, how his time at Tesla taught him the importance of top-quality talent, and what it was like to step into the shoes of a founder at age 40.

What if you could perform like a superhuman at work? That's the idea behind Forethought, the AI company on a mission to bring intelligence to every single workflow. Co-Founder Deon Nicholas is building technology to augment—not replace—workers, starting with an AI for customer support. Since launch, Forethought has resolved over 500,000 customer support claims automatically, won TechCrunch Disrupt's startup contest, and received funding from the likes of Ashton Kutcher and LL Cool J. Deon shares how he learned to be true to himself as a leader, how to identify your business's customer profile, and why technical founders need to spend more time on go-to-market.

Topping the app store charts is a once-in-a-lifetime experience—unless you're a mobile entrepreneurship genius, like Prerna Gupta. She and her husband created hit music apps, like AutoRap, that have been downloaded by 350 million people. Now, Prerna is at the helm of Hooked, building a new television network for Gen Z that has already reached an astronomical number of viewers around the world. Hooked uses data to upend the traditional model, rewriting how content is created and distributed. Prerna shares how her idea for Hooked was inspired by a year of travel, what three rules every mobile app creator should follow, and why TV will look fundamentally different in a decade.

Upon reading that most successful founders start their companies by age 37, David Rubenstein decided to join them. A lawyer who worked in the Carter administration, David set out to start a private equity firm based in Washington DC. He co-founded Carlyle in 1987, and the firm has grown to become an industry giant that manages over $221 billion. David is an avid reader-turned-author who interviewed icons like Jeff Bezos and Oprah for his new book, How to Lead. David shares how he built a strong brand through recruiting top talent, why the most elusive thing in life is the pursuit of happiness, and why the best leaders share humility and a desire to give back to society.

The story behind Slack—the communication platform used by millions around the globe—is almost a happy accident. Cal Henderson and his co-founders had been toiling away on a gaming startup, Glitch, when they realized the product of most value within their organization were the tools they'd hacked together to collaborate across locations. That collaboration tool spun off into Slack, which IPOed in 2019 and now has a market cap of over $16 billion. Slack has become more vital than ever in 2020, standing in as our "digital office." Cal shares how to scale an engineering organization, why the role of the office is forever changed, and how to master personal time management.

What if you could get a life insurance policy in just 3 minutes, 24/7? That's now a reality, thanks to Peter Colis and his digital-forward life insurance startup, Ethos. Ethos is a next-gen InsureTech company that puts accessibility front and center, underwriting applicants in real-time via proprietary algorithms. To date, the company has raised $100M in venture capital and serves people ages 18-85 across 49 states. Peter shares how his experience as a boxer helps him stay calm in the face of adversity, how Covid accelerated the adoption of financial technology, and how he overcame imposter syndrome as a student at Stanford

Parts of our financial system are so deeply ingrained that innovation seems impossible. But after realizing how archaic the credit score was, Jason Gross set out to fix it. He launched Petal to reinvent the credit card and leverage banking data to democratize credit scoring. He's long been committed to fairness in financial services, having served on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board. Now, with tens of thousands of customers, Petal is rising to combat the financial inequity that Covid has exacerbated. Jason shares how being a lawyer has made him a stronger founder, how to hire a low-ego team, and the importance of prioritizing sleep.

Building a business is a team sport. No one understands that better than Josh Reeves and his co-founders at Gusto. Since 2012, they have been hard at work building the leading people platform that empowers small businesses to take care of their hard-working teams. With a valuation of nearly 4 billion, Gusto now helps over 100,000 companies with payroll, health insurance, HR, and more. Josh shares why he focused on the small business segment, why it's critical to put employees first, and why raising venture capital is just like hiring.