All Episodes
Future Optimist — 240 episodes · page 1 of 3
$112 Million for Water from Thin Air with Brian Sheng of Aquaria - Ep. 233
An AI Founder/Investor's Take on Raising $70M with Amir Barsoum - Ep. 232
[LIVE] Electrify Expo: Lightship EV RVs, Crazy Electric Unicycles & More - Ep.231
Millions of Followers for AI Art with James Gerde - Ep.230
A "Body Doubling" App That Ends Procrastination with Taylor Jacobson - Ep.229
[LIVE] The Future of 3-Wheel Electric Scooters with Tim Huntzinger of XOTO - Ep.228
A Brilliant Alternative to Unsustainable Precious Metals Mining with Don Weatherbee - Ep. 227
Tens of Millions Raised for Enlightening Neurotech with Valentin Randon of Muse - Ep. 226
$10 Million for Breakthrough Health-tech AI with Eirini Schlosser [Live in Las Vegas] - Ep. 225
3 Million TikTok Followers Gamifying Beach Clean-up with Felix Krainer of Planet Matters [Live in Boston] - Ep. 224
Mind-bending Ecotech Ideas from 5 Brilliant Founders - Ep. 223
The Future of Electric Super Cars with Nikita Bridan [Live in Long Beach] - Ep. 222
Sustainable Ammonia is Vital for Our Future with Suzanne Zamany Andersen of Nitrovolt - Ep. 221
Julie Bliss Mullen: What are PFAS (forever chemicals) and how is Aclarity solving this massive problem? - Ep. 220
Lab-Grown Meat: Is This the Future of Food? - Ep. 219
Dr. Masachs Boungou: How REAL Adversity Leads to Stronger Entrepreneurs - Ep. 218
$20MM for Futuristic Houseplants That Fight Indoor Air Pollution with Lionel Mora - Ep. 217
Ross & Maru Face the Future: How We Built a 7-Figure Agency - Ep. 216
Niccolò Ferrari: A Brilliant Business to Handle the Looming EV Battery Crisis - Ep. 215
Ross & Maru Face the Future: Are We Optimistic After 200+ Interviews With Successful Entrepreneurs? - Ep. 214
Andriy & Sergiy Lyubchyk: Game-Changing Tech That Generates Energy from Thin (Humid) Air! - Ep. 213
Daniel Carcillo: From Stanley Cup Winner to Psychedelic Therapy Pioneer - Ep. 212
Mark Atkeson: ByteDyance, TikTok, and Three Decades of Entrepreneurship in China - Ep. 211
David Wakerley: Insane Tech Turning Carbon Emissions into Usable Plastic - Ep. 210
David Brown: Cyber Threats, Ethical Hacking, and the Future of Digital Security - Ep. 209
Chris Tolles: Raising $12 Million for Ingenious Soil Carbon Tech - Ep. 208
Nik Ershov: Creating Mind-Tracking Brain control Interfaces that De-Stress - Ep. 207
Dr. Gordon Chiu: Winner of Harvard Tough Tech Prize, Graphene Expert & Entrepreneur - Ep. 206
Jon Hacker: Mind-Blowing, Zen-Inducing Neurotech Headphones - Ep. 205
Alan Liu: Touch-Based, Sweat-Sensing Tech for Diabetes and Beyond - Ep. 204
Brooke Harris: Creating a Plant-Based Milk Empire from Scratch - Ep. 203
Massimo Portincaso: Pioneering Bio Manufacturing (Star Trek is Here?) - Ep. 202
Greg Johnson: Ingenious Water-Permeable Sustainable Concrete - Ep. 201
Welcome to the Future Optimist Podcast!
Introducing Future Optimist (Thanks for 200 Interviews!)
Ep. 200 – Deniz Kent: CEO of a Mind-blowing $80mm+ BioTech Company
Ep. 199 – Lin Kayser: The Insane World of AI-assisted “Computational Engineering”
Ep. 198 – Gastón Paladini: Turning Soy Into Pork at a Molecular Level (This is nuts!)
Ep. 197 – Niklas Kluger: Ingenious Rock Powder that Regenerates Soil and Removes CO₂ from the Atmosphere
Ep. 196 – Saman Farid: Legendary AI Investor/CEO on the Future of Robotic Automation
Ep. 195 – Paul Shapiro: Best-Selling Author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World”
Ep. 194 – Why Ramiro Velasco Thinks Amazon Latin America Is the Next Big Gold Rush
Ep. 193 – Matt Rogers: From Selling Nest for $3.2 Billion to Founding Mill, A Truly Brilliant In-Home Solution for Reducing Food Waste
Ep. 192 – Fabian de La Fuente: How a Serial Entrepreneur is Reshaping Solar Tech
Ep. 191 – Ryan Field: Ingenious Tech Revolutionizing Neuroscience and Neuromedicine (Raised Over $150 Million)
Ep. 190 – Mike Loos: How AI and "Virtual Twins" Will Make Better Medicine, Faster
Ep. 189 – Tom Frazier: Why We All Need to Care about Sustainable Edge Computing
Ep. 188 – Travis Rosbach: Building a 600% Growth Company In Hydro Flask
Ep. 187 – Robin Simsa: The Genius of 3D-Printed, Fungi-Based “Salmon” Filets
Ep. 186 – Nicki Driscoll, PhD: Brain Implants as Thin as a Human Hair
Ep. 185 – Viraj Mane, PhD: Can We Cure Disease with Human Breast Milk?
Ep. 184 – Guanhao Wu: Building a Personal Flying Jetpack Suit
Ep. 183 – Amber Rivas: Solving the Housing Crisis in Los Angeles
Ep. 182 – Candice Smith: From $6 to a Thriving PR Business in 3 Years
Ep. 181 – Morgan Mercer: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Empathy
Ep. 180 – Martin Schichtel: A Genuinely Brilliant Solution for Sustainable Energy
Ep. 179 – Johnny Palmer: Where Entrepreneurship Meets Activism and Art
Ep. 178 - Khat Zorig: The Intersection of Business, AI, Fashion, and Filmmaking
Ep. 177 – Pablo Navarro: Co-Founding a $26 Million VC Fund in Colombia
Ep. 176 – Mike McFall: The Secret to Building One of America’s Largest Coffee Chains
Ep. 175 – John Walsh: Revolutionary Electric Shuttles & Buses
Ep. 174 - Jhillika Kumar: Activating the Neurodiverse Workforce of Tomorrow
Ep. 173 – Alison Hirukawa: The Insane Future of Gene Editing [Live in Boston]
Ep. 172 - Sharon Kan: On the Hard Decision to Shut Down Your Start-up [Live in Boston]
Ep. 171 – Adam Molnar: Headphones That Read Your Mind [Live in Boston]
Ep. 170 – Sridhar Iyengar: Life After a $260 Million Exit [Live in Boston]
Ep. 169 – Bolis Ibrahim: Building the DC-Powered Future of Electricity
Ep. 168 – Maeve Wang: Awesome AI-Powered, Fully Custom Shoes
Ep. 167 – Michael Johnson: Is the Green Rush Over in a Maturing Cannabis Market?
Ep. 166 – Jo Norris: A Truly Brilliant 3-in-1 Solution for Carbon Capture
Ep. 165 – Nicholas Grundish: Sustainable Batteries That Charge Faster and Last Longer
Ep. 164 – Ahmed ‘Eddie’ Qureshi - Building Digital Health 2.0 to Create Access to Healthcare for Underserved Communities
Ep. 163 – Phnam Bagley: Her Agency Turns Science Fiction into Reality
Ep. 162 – Audrey Wisch: Raised Millions for Her College Mentorship Business
Ep. 161 – Charlie May: The Man Behind ‘Xpander’ — A Song That Changed My Life Forever
Ep. 160 – Zak Lefevre: Raising $30 Million for EV Charging Software
Ep. 159 - Tommy Linstroth: Building a $ Multi-Million Co. in Eco-Construction
Ep. 158 - Tony Selvaggio: Recycling Old Tech to Make Computer Labs for Kids
Ep. 157 - Carlos Meza: The Road to a Multi-Million-Dollar Content Marketing Company
Ep. 156 - Paige Peters: Turning Raw Sewage into a Multi-Million-Dollar Business
Ep. 155 - Alexander Olesen: Raising $8 Million for Self-Contained Vertical Farming
Ep. 154 - Masachs Boungou: Fleeing Civil War in the Republic of the Congo and Getting a Ph.D. in the U.S.
Ep. 153 - Eleonore Eisath: Using the Power of Nature to Recycle the World’s Most-Used Plastics
Ep. 152 - Jacob Foss: Eradicating Extreme Rural Poverty
Ep. 151 - Omar Abudayyeh & Jonathan Gootenberg: Manipulating DNA, RNA, and Cellular States to Cure Genetic Disease and Prevent Aging
Ep. 150 - Anieke Lamers: Create Meaningful Memories with Loved Ones Around the World
Ep. 149 - Mai Shimada M.D.: Using Ketamine for Treating Depression and PTSD
Ep. 148 - Brian Cook: Growing Local Produce with 90% Less Water
Ep. 147 - David Dellal: Solving the Yearly $9.5 Billion Worth of Ice Damage to Rooftops
Ep. 146 - Brett Thompson: Africa's First Cell-Based Meat Company
Ep. 145 - Angela Wilson: Enabling Travel for People with Short-term and Long-term Disabilities
Ep. 144 - Michiel Vos: Why All Pallets Should be Made from Coconuts
Ep. 143 - Beau Wangtrakuldee: Creating Inclusive, Sustainable PPE
Ep. 142 - Darius Mora: Creator of A.I. That Detects Burnout
Ep. 141 - Andrew Amann: Scaling a Multi-Million Dollar App Development Agency
Ep. 140 - Olugbenga Olubanjo: Bringing Electricity to Countries with No Access to Power
Ep. 139 - Saoud Khalifah: Using AI to Detect Fake Online Reviews
Ep. 138 - Kathy Hannun: Why Every Home Should Use Geothermal Heat/Cooling
Ep. 137 - Mike Pappas: Using AI to Make In-Game Voice Chat Safer (Stop the trolls!)
Ep. 136 - Anna Luísa Beserra Santos: Inventing Brilliant Clean Water Tech at 15!