Building with Carnelian

In this episode of Building with Carnelian, host Lauren Chuhta sits down with Dr. Jenny Aker, Professor of Development Economics at Cornell University and co-chair of MIT's Poverty Action Lab, whose 25 years of fieldwork across 21 countries in Africa and Latin America has taken her deep into the question of what it actually means to measure impact.Dr. Aker breaks down what development economics really is, what impact evaluation requires in practice, and why drawing a true causal relationship between a policy and its outcomes is harder and more important than most people realize.

Welcome to the Carnelian Ventures podcast, hosted by Lauren Chuhta. This show explores the powerful intersection of venture operations and social impact. Join us as we dive into how storytelling and data can be mobilized as evidence to empower your pitches, investment evaluations, and everyday decision-making in the venture capital space.Drawing on her background in global development and research into how language shapes decision-making across various global institutions, Lauren investigates how to scale good intentions into tangible, widespread impact. By bringing together diverse perspectives and breaking down the gates to resources and data, this podcast aims to benefit the community and help stakeholders make confident moves.Tune in for a variety of engaging episodes, including:Guest interviews with founders, investors, and operators sharing real-life lessons from the field.Solo thought leadership covering market trends, data-informed decision-making, and what makes a founder backable.Panel discussions where investors and operators debate strategy and exchange valuable perspectives.Deep-dive case studies exploring growth journeys and analyzing deals that closed phenomenally or didn't close at all.Industry news reacting to current headlines and policy shifts.Interactive Q&A sessions driven directly by your questions and feedback.New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Subscribe to join the conversation, and let your input shape the topics and guests we bring on the show!