From Scratch With Jessica Harris

From joining gyms to taking Yoga classes, finding a workout that was both effective and satisfying did not come easily to Elizabeth and Julie. Unable to discover a cardio program that motivated and inspired (as well as burned calories), Julie and Elizabeth set out to create a new kind of routine. Fusing elements of indoor […]

MongoDB—an open source database company that focuses on helping companies manage their data—is just one of the several companies that Dwight has successfully launched. He is also the co-founder of Doubleclick, the ad serving platform (acquired by Google for $3.1Bn); Gilt Groupe, the online fashion company; Business Insider, the news web platform, among others. Dwight […]

Bonobos is an e-commerce company that sells men’s clothing. Bonobos started off with the goal of selling better fitting pants for men in 2007 and has expanded to include all type’s of men’s apparel. Bonobos was acquired by Walmart in 2017, after this interview was recorded. Andy speaks with Jessica Harris about how he built […]

Coursera offers online courses to the public through partnerships with leading universities internationally. Coursera was launched in 2012 and reached its first one million users faster than Facebook or Twitter. Coursera is one of a number of companies offering massive open online courses– or MOOCs– to address a growing global population and the rising costs […]

Arianna launched the Huffington Post, the online media platform, in 2005. The company was acquired by AOL in 2011 and was the first online-only news organization to win the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2012. Arianna has written more than a dozen books on topics including feminism, Maria Callas, Picasso, and Greek mythology. Her […]

SolarCity is a clean energy company that sells solar energy to consumers.  SolarCity has installed solar panels for companies including Walmart, Intel, and eBay, among others. Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind PayPal, Tesla electric cars and SpaceX, is Lyndon’s cousin and the company’s chairman.  Lyndon founded the company with his brother, Pete, in 2006. SolarCty went […]

Opower is a software company focused on energy efficiency. Opower works with utilities to monitor how much energy a consumer uses and gives households and businesses incentives to lower their consumption. The idea is that through the use of behavioral science techniques such as peer proof, people will feel compelled to consume energy more responsibly. […]

Despite his elite background in India, Bunker Roy chose an unconventional path dedicating his life to educating India’s impoverished population. Influenced by Ghandi’s approach toward self reliance at the village level, the Barefoot College is an organization that teaches practical skills including solar engineering, architecture and water purification, to mostly illiterate women and men. Upon […]

Zainab Salbi grew up in Iraq with close ties to Saddam Hussein. Her father was Saddam’s personal pilot, causing her family to be victims of psychological abuse by the dictator. When Zainab was living in the United States as a young adult, she was again involved in an abusive relationship. Her understanding of women in […]

African Leadership Academy (ALA) is an institution focused on developing Africa’s next generation of leaders. ALA provides practical leadership education, networking and mentoring opportunities for its students, as well as financial incentives to remain on the African continent. Fred started ALA when he was 27 years old. Fred speaks with Jessica Harris about how he […]

Jack is a serial entrepreneur who has started two companies — Twitter and Square — that, on the face of it, seem entirely different. Twitter is a social networking service; Square is a mobile payments company. But Jack believes that their shared purpose is to make each of their related tasks — communicating and transacting […]

Nest Labs is focused on helping to create the next-generation home by making energy-saving smart digital assistants. Tony calls Nest’s first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, “a smartphone in disguise.” Prior to launching Nest, Tony worked at Apple where he led the team that developed the iPod and iPhone. He was a special advisor to […]

Marc and Vinnie have been close friends since they were elementary school classmates in New Jersey. Mark and Vinnie spent their earlier careers in finance and law respectively, before becoming business partners in their late twenties. In addition to Diapers.com, the online retail site specializing in baby products, they have started a number of other […]

IEX is an alternate trading platform whose mission is to ensure fair trading in the US equity capital market system. IEX was launched specifically to counter the behavior of high frequency traders who take advantage of the information arbitrage made possible by electronic trading. Prior to starting IEX, Brad worked at Royal Bank of Canada […]

Chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller bought the French Laundry, a restaurant in Napa Valley California, and turned it into one of the leading fine dining establishments in the world.  The French Laundry and Per Se, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City, have both been awarded three Michelin Stars.  Thomas has won […]

Have you ever had a creative project you were eager to get off the ground but you didn’t have the funding to make it happen? Yancey Strickler, co-founder of Kickstarter, has helped to develop an online solution that involves the crowd’s participation. Kickstarter connects artists and innovators with potential funders who simply learn about projects […]

“Hands which help are better than the lips that pray” are the words that hang in Dr. Devi Shetty’s office with a picture of Mother Theresa, a former patient of his. Dr. Shetty is a cardiac surgeon who pioneered low cost cardiac surgery for India’s poor population. Dr. Shetty founded the Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in […]

Bre co-founded Makerbot Industries in 2009 after working as a public school teacher in Seattle, Washington. Makerbot makes 3-D printers that make actual objects. Instead of producing ink on paper, a Makerbot makes items ranging from bottle openers and toys to homes for hermit crabs(!). Bre talks to Jessica Harris about how he launched Makerbot […]

Yelp provides user-generated reviews of local businesses through its website and mobile app. Its contributors provide their opinions on a variety of businesses, ranging from clothing stores to restaurants. Prior to launching Yelp, Jeremy worked at Paypal. Yelp went public in 2012. Jeremy speaks with Jessica Harris about how he launched Yelp, from scratch. Listen […]

Rob Kalin initially started Etsy—the online marketplace for handmade goods—as a way to sell his own furniture in 2005. The company has become a vehicle for more than one million artisans who sell their products—ranging from knit-wear to musical instruments to clocks—through the site. Rob speaks with Jessica Harris about how he built Etsy, from […]