PODCAST · technology
The Room Podcast
by Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain
Welcome to the Room. A series interviewing your favorite tech founders and funders. Our guests were in the room where it happened and they’re sharing their stories.
Episodes
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S15E4: From Starlink to AI Marketing Agents with Doug Tallmadge, Co-Founder and CEO of Gradial
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Doug Tallmadge, co-founder and CEO of Gradial, a company building AI agents to help enterprise marketing teams execute work across their tools and campaigns. Doug traces his path from growing up in Cincinnati and studying physics at Dartmouth to...
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S15E3: Building the Future of Sleep with Hatch Co-Founder & CEO Ann Crady Weiss
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ann Crady Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Hatch, to trace the path from her Silicon Valley upbringing and early career in law and technology to building one of the most recognizable names in sleep. Ann shares how her family’s connection to Intel...
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S15E2: Secure AI Agents for the Future of Work with NanoCo Co-Founder & CEO, Gavriel Cohen
In this season 15 opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Gavriel Cohen, co-founder and CEO of NanoCo and creator of NanoClaw, an open-source framework designed to make powerful AI agents safer and more practical for real-world use. NanoClaw emerged from Gavriel’s own experience using AI agents...
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S15E1: Building the Infrastructure for Voice AI with Russ d'Sa, Co-Founder and CEO of LiveKit
In this season 15 opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Russ d'Sa, co-founder and CEO of LiveKit, a platform for building real-time voice, video, and AI agents. LiveKit began as an open-source project for live audio and video. As developers adopted it, the team built cloud infrastructure to...
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Building an Enterprise VC Firm with Jai Das, President and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures | Founding the Fund 4
In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Jai Das, President, Partner and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures, one of the world's leading enterprise venture capital firms backing category-defining B2B software and AI companies. Sapphire Ventures has invested in companies including...
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Turning Content into Competitive Advantage with Packy McCormick | Founding the Fund 3
In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Packy McCormick, founder of Not Boring and Not Boring Capital, an investment firm focused on backing ambitious technology companies tackling large, complex industries. Through his writing, investing, and storytelling, Packy has built one of...
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Backing Technical Founders with Amplify Partners Founder Sunil Dhaliwal | Founding the Fund 2
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Sunil Dhaliwal, founder and managing partner of Amplify Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on backing technical founders building infrastructure software, developer tools, cybersecurity, AI, and other foundational technologies....
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Investing in Trillion-Dollar Outcomes with Ben Ling of Bling Capital | Founding the Fund 1
In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ben Ling, Founder and General Partner of Bling Capital, an early-stage venture firm that has backed companies including Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, and many others. Before becoming a full-time investor, Ben held leadership roles at...
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S14E8: From a Shark Tank No to Billion-Dollar Exit with Ring Inventor, Jamie Siminoff
In our season finale episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Jamie Siminoff, inventor of Ring, the smart home security company best known for turning the front door into a connected safety platform. Ring builds video doorbells, cameras, alarms, and neighborhood safety tools that help people...
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S14E7: Building the AI Layer for Legal Work with Scott Stevenson, Co-Founder and CEO of Spellbook
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Scott Stevenson, CEO and Co-Founder of Spellbook. Spellbook is an AI-powered platform helping lawyers draft and review contracts faster using generative AI directly within their existing workflows. Spellbook enables legal teams to accelerate...
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S14E6: The End of Waiting for Payday with EarnIn Founder, Ram Palaniappan
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ram Palaniappan, founder and CEO of Earnin, a fintech company reimagining how people get paid by giving employees access to their earnings in real time rather than waiting for traditional payroll cycles. Earnin is building a new kind of payroll...
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S14E5: Building the Red Bull for Relaxation with Ben Witte, Founder and CEO of Recess
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ben Witte, Founder and CEO of Recess, a consumer wellness brand pioneering a new category of functional beverages designed to help people relax, unwind, and feel better in an increasingly high-stress world. Recess blends ingredients like...
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S14E4: Why Usage-Based Billing Is Inevitable with Metronome Co-Founder Scott Woody
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Scott Woody, Co-Founder of Metronome, a platform helping companies implement usage-based billing and modernize how they monetize software. Metronome enables businesses to move beyond rigid subscription pricing and instead charge customers based…
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S14E3: Ryan Daniels, Founder & CEO of Crosby, on Legal Services in the Age of AI
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Ryan Daniels, Founder and CEO of Crosby, an AI-first law firm rethinking how legal work gets delivered. Crosby combines AI systems with human legal expertise to provide faster, more transparent, and more scalable legal services, moving away from...
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S14E2: Alex Halliday, Founder of AirOps, on Content Engineering and the AI Marketing Stack
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Alex Halliday, founder and CEO of AirOps, a platform helping companies build AI-powered content workflows and automate complex marketing operations. AirOps enables marketing and growth teams to orchestrate large-scale content generation using...
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S14E1: Nirav Tolia, Nextdoor CEO, on Building Community Platforms, Product-Market Fit, and the Future of AI in Local Networks
In this season opener of The Room Podcast, we speak with Nirav Tolia, the co-founder and CEO of Nextdoor, the neighborhood network designed to connect verified neighbors and strengthen local communities. Nirav shares and refelcts the story behind building Nextdoor, one of the world’s largest...
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From Stitch Fix to AI Search with Daydream Founder Julie Bornstein | Inside Summit 2025 [LIVE]
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Julie Bornstein, founder and CEO of Daydream, a new AI-powered shopping platform reimagining how people discover fashion online. Julie is a two-time founder with deep roots in digital commerce…
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Ethical AI, Iteration Velocity, and the Future of Software with Grant Lee (Gamma), Noah MacCallum (Open AI), Malte Ubl (Vercel), Chris Messina (Product Leader), Ash Kumrah (The AI Collective) | Inside Summit 2025 [LIVE]
In this special live panel episode of The Room Podcast from Inside Summit 2025, host Ash Kumra sits down with an all-star group of AI and product leaders: Noah MacCallum of OpenAI, Grant Lee of Gamma, Malte Ubl of Vercel, and Chris Messina, inventor of the hashtag and longtime product strategist....
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Navigating the New M&A Landscape with Indy Guha (VMG), Jared Roesch (OctoAI), Dan Kang (Mercury), Michelle Edwards (Perkins Coi) | Inside Summit 2025 [LIVE]
In this special Inside Summit episode of The Room Podcast, Claudia moderates a powerhouse panel featuring Michelle Edwards, Partner at Perkins Coie, Indy Guha, GP of VMG, Dan Kang, CFO of Mercury, and Jared Roesch, a founder who recently exited to NVIDIA. When startups challenge incumbents…
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Solving Data Fragmentation at Scale with Michel Tricot, Co-Founder & CEO of Airbyte | Inside Summit 2025 [LIVE]
Welcome back to another LIVE rendition of The Room Podcast! This week, we are back at our live conference, Inside Summit. Listen in as we sit down with Michel Tricot, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbyte — the open-source platform that’s transforming how companies move data across their modern stacks....
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S13E8: Designing Payroll for Small Businesses with Gusto’s Co-Founder, Tomer London
Welcome back to The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Tomer London, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Gusto, the all-in-one people platform that simplifies payroll, benefits, and HR for over 400,000 small businesses across the U.S. From humble beginnings as...
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S13E7: Reimagining Content, Provenance, and AI with Cloudflare’s VP of Product, William Allen
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with William Allen, Head of Emerging Tech and AI at Cloudflare, and previously a key leader at Adobe and Behance. Will has spent his career at the intersection of creativity, technology, and...
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S13E6: How Almost Friday Media is Shaping the Next Era of Entertainment with Jack Barrett
We are back with another live rendition of The Room Podcast! This week, Madison sits down with Jack Barrett, Co-Founder and CEO of Almost Friday Media, the creative force behind the viral comedy brand Friday Beers. After starting and leaving his career in investment banking, Jack followed his...
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S13E5: From Palantir to Hex — How Barry McCardel and Caitlin Colgrove Built the Modern Data Workspace
We are back with another live installment of The Room Podcast! This week, we sit down with Barry McCardel and Caitlin Colgrove, Co-Founders of Hex, the collaborative data workspace trusted by teams around the world. Hex empowers data scientists, analysts, and business operators to explore,...
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S13E4: From Sleeping at AOL to Building Bolt with Eric Simons, Founder and CEO of Bolt.new
Welcome back to The Room Podcast! This week, Claudia and Madison sit down with Eric Simons, Co-Founder and CEO of StackBlitz and creator of Bolt.new, the AI-powered development platform redefining how people build web and mobile apps. From humble beginnings coding in Naperville, Illinois, to...
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S13E3: Creating Longevity Drugs for Dogs with Celine Halioua, Founder of Loyal
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we sit down with Celine Halioua, Founder and CEO of Loyal, a biotech company pioneering FDA-approved longevity drugs for dogs. From a childhood surrounded by rescue animals to an academic journey through neuroscience, health…
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S13E2: Scaling Warp and Supercharging Developers with AI with Founder Zach Lloyd
This week on The Room Podcast, Claudia and Madison sit down with Zach Lloyd, Founder and CEO of Warp. Before founding Warp, Zach spent nearly a decade at Google, where he led engineering on Google Sheets and Docs, and later co-founded the startup Self-Made before launching Warp in 2020. Warp is a...
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S13E1: Reinventing Work Through AI-Native Communication with Craig Walker, Founder & CEO of Dialpad
In this episode of The Room Podcast, hosts Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain sit down with serial entrepreneur Craig Walker, founder and CEO of Dialpad. Craig’s story begins in Cupertino, back when apricot orchards defined the neighborhood and a young Steve Jobs lived just a few houses down.…
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New York Tech Week Special: Live Recording with Partiful Co-Founder and CEO, Shreya Murthy
Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Room Podcast, recorded live at New York Tech Week! This week, we're thrilled to chat with Shreya Murthy, Co-Founder and CEO of Partiful, the modern social events platform that is revolutionizing how we make plans and build real-world relationships. Since...
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S12E8: Direct-to-Consumer Pioneer to AI Psychology with Neil Parikh, Co-Founder of Casper and Slingshot
In this season’s finale of The Room Podcast, we're thrilled to chat with Neil Parikh, Co-Founder of Casper and current Co-Founder of Slingshot. Neil first disrupted the mattress industry by building Casper into a household name, pioneering the direct-to-consumer sleep revolution before taking the...
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S12E7: From Tech Reporter to Media Founder with Alex Konrad, Founder of Upstarts Media
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, Madison and Claudia sit down with Alex Konrad, former Senior Editor at Forbes and now Founder of Upstarts Media. After a decade covering technology and venture capital at Forbes, where he pioneered coverage from the Midas List to the...
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S12E6: Data Ownership in the AI Era with Anna Kazlauskas, Founder of Vana
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we're excited to chat with Anna Kazlauskas, Co-Founder of Vana, a pioneering company creating an alternative to centralized AI monopolies. Vana uses crypto principles like ownership, incentives, and decentralization to build AI…
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S12E5: Bootstrapping to Billions in Corporate Travel with Elia Wallen, Founder and CEO of Engine
In this episode, we are joined by Elia Wallen, Founder and CEO of Engine (formerly Hotel Engine), the B2B travel booking platform that's streamlining how businesses manage their travel needs. From its origins as an internal tool for Elia's previous company, Travelers Haven, to becoming a $2.1...
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S12E4: The New Developer Experience with Factory Co-Founders, Matan Grinberg & Eno Reyes
Welcome back to The Room Podcast! In this episode, we sit down with Matan Grinberg and Eno Reyes, co-founders of Factory, a company building the command center for software development. With backgrounds in physics and computer science, this dynamic duo is unifying all engineering contexts from...
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S12E3: The Road to Driverless Vehicles with Tiancheng Lou, Co-Founder of Pony AI
This week, we're excited to speak with Tiancheng Lou, Co-Founder and CTO of Pony AI, a leading autonomous vehicle technology company that went public in November 2024. As a two-time Google Code Jam champion and former engineer at both Google X and Baidu's Autonomous Driving Division, Tiancheng...
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S12E2: Supercharging Sales Teams Using AI with Alexa Grabell, Co-Founder of Pocus
In this episode, we're joined by Alexa Grabell, Co-Founder and CEO of Pocus, a company revolutionizing how sales teams work by creating AI agents that supercharge sales representatives. Pocus has developed a suite of tools that combine internal and external data to help sales teams identify...
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S12E1: Building Global Trade Infrastructure with Ryan Petersen, Founder and CEO of Flexport
Welcome back to another season of The Room Podcast! To kick off season 12, we are joined by Ryan Petersen, Founder and CEO of Flexport, the revolutionary digital freight forwarder transforming how goods move around the world. Launched in 2013, Flexport combines technology and logistics expertise…
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S11E9: A Law Firm for Founders with Agatha Kluk and Sonia Farber, Co-Founders of Kluk Farber Law, Now Part of Perkins Coie (Bonus Holiday Episode)
In this special holiday episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Agatha Kluk and Sonia Farber, the co-founders of Kluk Farber Law (now part of Perkins Coie), a specialized law firm dedicated to supporting innovative founders and startups. Their firm provides strategic legal guidance to...
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S11E8: From Bootstrapping to SaaS Industry Leader with Wade Foster, Co-Founder of Zapier
Welcome back to another episode of The Room Podcast! This week, we’re thrilled to chat with Wade Foster, CEO and Co-Founder of Zapier, the tool that’s revolutionized workflows by making automation accessible to anyone. Zapier helps businesses and individuals connect the apps they rely on…
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S11E7: The Future of Fintech for Founders with Mercury Co-Founder and CEO, Immad Akhund [LIVE]
In this LIVE version of The Room Podcast, we’re thrilled to chat with Immad Akhund, Co-Founder and CEO of Mercury, a fintech company built specifically for startups and tech companies. Immad walks us through his journey from founder to industry leader, and how Mercury is reimagining banking with...
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S11E6: Building the Unified API with Merge Co-Founder, Shensi Ding
Welcome back to The Room Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to explore the fast-evolving world of B2B tech innovation with Shensi Ding, co-founder of Merge. Merge has become a leader in unified APIs, creating a category that addresses the challenges many companies face with complex integrations....
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S11E5: Innovating Financial Inclusion and Pay Flexibility with Jason Lee, Founder of Salt Labs and DailyPay
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Jason Lee, the founder of Salt Labs and DailyPay, to explore his journey from finance to fintech entrepreneurship. Salt Labs, Jason’s latest venture, focuses on empowering workers to maximize their earnings potential, while DailyPay...
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S11E4: Transforming Sweet Treats using Clean Ingredients with Kevin McCarthy, CEO of Unreal
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Kevin McCarthy, the CEO of Unreal, a company dedicated to creating healthier alternatives to classic candy. Unreal is known for creating delicious, better-for-you snacks that ditch artificial ingredients, offering cleaner, more natural options...
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S11E3: Reversing Type 2 Diabetes using Tech and Nutrition with Sami Inkinen, Founder of Virta Health
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we’re joined by Sami Inkinen, co-founder of Virta Health, a company transforming the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Virta Health’s mission is to not just manage, but reverse diabetes using personalized nutrition plans backed by clinical research. Sami also…
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S11E2: Branding, Bedding, and Wellness Innovation with Ariel Kaye, Founder of Parachute
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we sit down with Ariel Kaye, the founder of Parachute, a brand known for elevating the home essentials industry with a focus on comfort and wellness. Ariel shares her journey from a creative upbringing to her path through advertising, where she discovered her...
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S11E1: Empowering The Future of Generative AI Search with Johnny Ho, Co-Founder of Perplexity
Welcome back to a new season of The Room Podcast! To kick off Season 11, we're joined by Johnny Ho, co-founder of Perplexity, an AI-powered platform transforming the way everyday consumers interact with search. Johnny shares his path from competitive programming to entrepreneurship and offers...
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Special Season: Inside Summit 2024 The Future of DTC ft. Nik Sharma, Coterie, De Soi, and TYB
In this episode, we dive into the Future of DTC panel from this summer’s Inside Summit. This panel was moderated by our very own Claudia Laurie, who is also the founder of Prive, a leading eCommerce billing platform. In this discussion, the panelists explore the future of DTC, how to build...
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Special Season: Inside Summit 2024 The Future of Platforms Panel ft. Beli, Saturn, Landing, and Diem
In this episode, we dive into the Future of Platforms panel from this summer’s Inside Summit. This panel was moderated by Alexandra York, Associate Editor at Forbes and a key figure behind the 30 Under 30 lists. Alexandra brings her expertise in covering young entrepreneurs and emerging brands to...
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Special Season: Inside Summit 2024 Next Gen GenAI Panel ft. Tavus, Multimodal, Dynamo AI, Canapi Ventures, and GenAI Collective
In this episode of The Room Podcast, we recap the Inside Summit x Gen AI Collective panel, moderated by Sriram Ramakrishnan. The panel featured Vaikkunth Mugunthan (Dynamo AI), Hassaan Raza (Tavus), Ankur Patel (Multimodal), and Lulu Chang (Canapi Ventures), who shared their insights on the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to the Room. A series interviewing your favorite tech founders and funders. Our guests were in the room where it happened and they’re sharing their stories.
HOSTED BY
Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Room Podcast have?
The Room Podcast currently has 147 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Room Podcast about?
Welcome to the Room. A series interviewing your favorite tech founders and funders. Our guests were in the room where it happened and they’re sharing their stories.
How often does The Room Podcast release new episodes?
The Room Podcast publishes regularly with 147 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Room Podcast?
You can listen to The Room Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Room Podcast?
The Room Podcast is created and hosted by Claudia Laurie and Madison McIlwain.
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