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 company public. Now, he's tackling an even bigger challenge with Slingshot, building a foundational AI model specifically designed for psychology and mental health therapy.

In this episode, Neil takes us through his unconventional journey from medical school dropout to D2C pioneer, sharing the serendipitous moments that led to Casper's creation and the harsh realities of going public during a pandemic. We delve into the mental health crisis facing society, the limitations of current AI therapy approaches, and how Slingshot is training models on real-world human therapy data to create more effective interventions. Neil also opens up about his therapy journey, the power of taking nudges when they appear, and why he believes we're entering an era of unprecedented change that will reshape how we think about mental health access and self-actualization.

(04:06) Where did Neil grow up and how has that shaped his view of the world?
(04:54) Did Neil always think he was gonna become a founder?
(06:06) Was entrepreneurship in the water at Brown like it is today at Stanford or Harvard?
(07:38) What led to Neil's decision to drop out of medical school?
(10:52) What did Neil do after dropping out of medical school?
(14:20) What made Neil believe that VC was the right route for a mattress company in 2014?
(16:44) What was the name before Casper?
(18:46) What advice would Neil have for DTC founders during this current climate?
(22:17) What did Neil learn from the later stages of fundraising and preparing for the IPO?
(27:14) How did Slingshot become the idea for Neil's next exciting phase?
(31:40) How did Neil get the confidence to take "the nudge"?
(32:48) How is Neil thinking about data sources, model training, and ethical guardrails for psychology?
(38:53) How is Neil's model specificity even better than using ChatGPT for therapy?
(41:58) Who's the first person to say yes to backing Slingshot?
(43:25) What does Neil think is next for Slingshot and what is he excited for?
(44:55) What's next for Neil personally, and what is he excited for this year?
(46:34) Who is a woman in Neil's life that has had a profound impact on himself and his career?

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Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.*
*Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

WX Productions

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 Cloud 100, Alex has launched his own media company focused on telling the stories of early-stage founders and companies challenging the status quo.

Throughout this conversation, Alex shares insights from his front-row seat to some of tech's most defining moments, including interviews with industry leaders like Sam Altman and Mark Benioff. He discusses the evolution of media in the age of AI, his decision to bootstrap rather than raise venture funding, and his vision for building a community-first media company. Alex also reveals how his upbringing in New York City shaped his no-nonsense approach to tech reporting and why he believes the future of media lies in creating direct, authentic connections with audiences. Tune in for a fascinating look at the changing media landscape and what it takes to build a modern media company from the ground up.

(03:52) Where did Alex grow up and how did that shape his view of the world?
(04:49) Did Alex always think he would become a founder?
(05:35) What was the story as an intern that Alex got printed?
(07:57) When Alex reflects on his Forbes interviews with tech leaders like Satya Nadella and Sam Altman, which ones stand out most?
(10:04) What has Alex learned about power, vision, or vulnerability from being in the room with industry giants?
(12:10) Why has Legacy Media been struggling to build an authentic connection with the startup community?
(13:27) How is Alex thinking about building a foundation with Upstarts that's going to build into a legacy as lasting as Forbes?
(16:03) How is Alex going to be thinking about events as a complement to media?
(17:30) Is Alex seeking venture dollars to get Upstarts off the ground?
(19:52) If Blue Links are dead, how does Alex think building an audience for the future is going to shift with AI?
(23:57) How is Alex using AI in his workflow from editorial decisions to distribution?
(29:05) What's next for Upstarts and for Alex personally?
(40:06) Who is a woman in Alex's life that has had a profound impact on him and his career?

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Check out our guide to podcasting here!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music!

Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.*
*Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

WX Productions

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 models that users collectively own and benefit from, empowering individuals to control their data while earning from its use.

In this enlightening conversation, Anna takes us through her journey from growing up in cold places around the world to her time at MIT's AI lab, and how that led to her vision for data ownership. We explore fascinating concepts like Data DAOs (which Anna compares to labor unions for your data), the emergent "DataFi" category, and how Vana enables users to pool their data to create more powerful AI models than any company could build. Anna shares invaluable insights on fundraising across both crypto and AI spaces, emphasizing the importance of aligning with investors on long-term vision. Tune in for a glimpse into how the future of data ownership could revolutionize our relationship with technology.

(00:00) Introduction
(03:57) Where did Anna grow up, and how has that shaped her view of the world?
(05:25) Did Anna always think she was going to become a founder?
(06:58) How did Anna go from just building in general to building in a tech-forward way at MIT?
(08:44) What research did Anna ultimately do during her time at MIT's CSAIL?
(11:02) How did Anna's insight around the power of data lead to iAmbic, her YC batch 2018 startup?
(14:21) How did Anna's experience at Celo shape her understanding of decentralization and data ownership?
(16:52) How did Anna decide to start something again and commit to a five-to-ten-year journey?
(18:14) Why should users care about Vana creating an alternative to centralized AI monopolies?
(21:56) What kind of compensation models is Anna exploring for users who contribute their data?
(24:30) To what extent does Anna feel big tech companies will start to empower users with their data to compete with the unionization DAO approach?
(27:20) Who was the first person to say yes to investing in Anna?
(31:30) How has Anna navigated constantly evolving her story and telling that to both customers and investors?
(34:41) What are some of the product and company-wide milestones that Anna is excited about looking into 2025 and beyond?
(37:19) What degree of technical feasibility, from a crypto native perspective, is Anna seeing from these builders?
(39:15) What is something Anna is most excited for that Vana will be launching later this year?
(41:13) Who is a woman in Anna's life that has had a profound impact on her and her career?

For The Room Podcast in your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Check out our guide to podcasting here!
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music!

Brought to you by Perkins Coie and Mercury.*
*Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

WX Productions