Rupak Doshi is a scientist-turned-entrepreneur and the co-founder & CEO of OmniSync, creators of the flagship platform TurboInnovate. With a background spanning research at Cambridge, Scripps Research, and UCSD, as well as industry experience in biotech drug development, Rupak has spent the last decade helping deep tech ideas move from lab benches to global markets. Through OmniSync, he has helped unlock more than $4 billion in federal innovation capital for startups and built tools that streamline commercialization pathways using AI.

In this episode, Rupak shares how his journey from academia to entrepreneurship shaped his vision for democratizing innovation. He discusses the challenges of bridging science with business, his unconventional approach to hiring, and why OmniSync is creating a category-defining platform to accelerate deep tech commercialization.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:01 – Introduction to Rupak and OmniSync’s mission

00:52 – Growing up in India, early love for biology, and pivot to biotech

02:00 – Research journey: UK master’s and PhD at Cambridge, postdoc in San Diego

03:07 – Moving into biotech industry and the importance of partnerships

04:30 – Founding OmniSync and the aha moment that shaped their mission

06:19 – Building company culture: hiring for drive, not resumes

08:01 – Signals of hustle and how OmniSync identifies talent

12:51 – Biggest lessons transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship

16:16 – The origin and evolution of TurboInnovate

20:28 – End-to-end user journey for startups on the platform

22:26 – Customers: universities, startups, Fortune 1000, and government

24:09 – Defining a new category of innovation intelligence

25:10 – Personal story: tattoo, family, and passions outside of work

26:24 – Competing in a crowded “AI for research” market

29:27 – OmniSync’s diverse cap table: blending venture, government, and academia

31:21 – Go-to-market: why conferences are OmniSync’s highest-ROI strategy

34:01 – A hard pivot: moving from human experts to fully automated AI workflows

37:04 – What’s next: building autonomous commercialization feedback loops

42:01 – Looking ahead with AI

44:52 – Transition to rapid fire

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Anthony Chiaravallo is the Founder and CEO of Vallo Media, a performance marketing agency that’s helped brands from startups to Fortune 500s—including Nike, Amazon, and FedEx—turn ad spend into measurable growth. With 16+ years of experience and more than $100M in media spend managed, Anthony is a recognized thought leader and PR Week 40 Under 40 honoree, known for cutting through vanity metrics to focus on real business outcomes.

With deep expertise in paid media, performance strategy, and scaling growth engines, he offers insights into how startups and established companies alike can avoid costly mistakes, build full-funnel systems, and leverage AI to stay competitive in today’s fast-changing landscape.

In this episode, he discusses the philosophy behind performance marketing, the myths that frustrate him most, and the future of paid media in the age of AI.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:00 – Anthony’s background: from sales to launching Vallo Media

01:24 – Breaking into digital marketing and moving from sales to strategy

03:20 – From big agencies to starting his own firm during COVID

05:30 – The freedom and growth potential of entrepreneurship

06:43 – Defining performance marketing and why it still matters today

07:52 – The biggest mistakes startups make with paid ads

10:31 – When startups should turn on performance marketing

12:39 – Why outsourcing to experts often saves time and money

14:20 – Case study: scaling Playa Bowls from a sidewalk stand to a $100M+ acquisition

20:58 – Why clicks and impressions don’t equal results

22:29 – KPIs that actually matter for growth

25:59 – How to know when to scale or move on from a channel

28:03 – Best starter channels and the rise of AI-driven discovery

30:48 – How AI is reshaping paid media campaigns

34:07 – The future of search with ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI assistants

37:15 – The importance of creative in performance marketing

41:46 – Why you should start at the top of the funnel

43:40 – Balancing the art and science of marketing

45:45 – The most frustrating performance marketing myth

47:11 – The most misunderstood part of campaign attribution

49:48 – The future of paid media in the next 3–5 years

52:36 – Rapid fire wrap-up: metrics to kill, favorite brands, overrated platforms, and more

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Dr. Matthew Jones is a licensed psychologist turned startup co-founder coach and cofounder of Co-Founder Clarity. With six years of experience working with hundreds of entrepreneurs—from YC to Sequoia-backed teams—he specializes in helping founders prevent burnout, resolve conflict, and build stronger, more resilient partnerships. His work has been featured in TIME, Business Insider, and Inc., and his new book The Co-Founder Effect dives into the psychology of what makes or breaks founding teams. In this episode, he unpacks the hidden dynamics that shape co-founder relationships and offers practical tools founders can use to scale both their companies and their partnerships.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:01 – Introduction: Dr. Matthew Jones’ background as a psychologist turned co-founder coach

01:00 – From clinical psychology to startups: helping friends navigate co-founder conflict

02:15 – Couples therapy lessons applied to co-founder relationships

05:15 – The “Co-Founder Effect”: why co-founder dynamics make or break startups

07:20 – Overlooked dysfunctions during company formation and founding with friends

10:40 – Defining co-founder conflict: the three languages all teams speak

13:00 – Why surface-level disagreements often mask deeper relational issues

15:40 – Equity splits, unequal contributions, and renegotiating fairness over time

18:20 – Attachment styles and how they shape co-founder interactions

22:30 – Are startups or marriages more “saveable” with equal dysfunction?

25:40 – Recognizing burnout in founders and its impact on relationships

29:00 – Sustainable work-life balance and recalibrating founder energy

32:20 – Why what got you from 0→1 will break you at 1→100

34:30 – Turning conflict into progress: containers, reflective dialogue, and frameworks

38:40 – Preventing messy breakups: co-founder syncs and co-founder dates

40:30 – Traits of great co-founder duos vs. subtle signs of trouble

42:00 – What VCs often miss when evaluating co-founder dynamics

46:00 – Under-researched realities of co-founder breakups and the need for better data

47:30 – Surprises and lessons learned while writing The Co-Founder Effect

50:53 – Sequencing, editing, and advice for first-time authors

The Cofounder Effect (on Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH7LM9FR

Free Book Excerpt (and bonus tools): https://cofounderclarity.com/excerpt-tools

Main website: https://cofounderclarity.com

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🔥 Club Ignite is booking fast — our next gathering of top founders, investors, and operators will be our biggest yet. Apply now before spots fill: https://teamignite.decilehub.com/e/club-ignite-25