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Immigration status shouldn’t depend on a paperwork nightmare. But for many immigrants, navigating the US immigration system means months of uncertainty, complicated filings, and life-changing consequences when something goes wrong. Aizada Marat knows this firsthand. After experiencing the system’s challenges herself, she founded Alma to transform how immigration legal services are delivered. Aizada joins me on the pod to discuss how Alma combines AI, technology, and experienced attorneys to make immigration law more efficient, transparent, and predictable. We explore: → Why AI could make legal services more human → Where AI will - and won’t - disrupt the legal industry → How companies are rethinking immigration as they compete for talent → Why skilled immigration matters to America’s innovation economy Special thank you to Aizada for joining the pod and to Alma for all of the amazing work they’re doing. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 — Introduction: Meet Aizada Marat and Alma 00:51 — What Is Alma? Rethinking Immigration Law 02:15 — From Cooley to Alma: A Founder’s Personal Immigration Journey 05:14 — Why Immigration Is a Systemic Challenge 06:15 — The Problem With Traditional Immigration Legal Services 06:46 — How AI Makes Legal Services More Human 10:26 — Alma’s Model: Technology Meets Experienced Attorneys 13:03 — Measuring Success: Quality, Speed, and Transparency 16:21 — Which Parts of the Legal Industry Are Most Vulnerable to AI? 20:41 — Why AI Will Augment Lawyers Rather Than Replace Them 24:18 — Immigration as a Competitive Advantage in the AI Talent Race 28:15 — Rethinking the Debate Around Skilled Immigration 29:56 — The Connection Between Immigration, STEM, and Innovation 38:32 — Aizada’s Policy Priorities: Digitizing USCIS 40:42 — Closing Thoughts LINKS Aizada Marat: LinkedInAlma: WebsiteInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, XMPD: LinkedIn, X

Building something great is hard. The question is: which hard are you willing to choose? That’s something David Weisburd and I dug into on the latest episode. David chose podcasting as his hard. Three years ago, he committed to building How I Invest for at least a decade - before he knew whether it would work. There were no guarantees. Just the grind of booking guests, navigating compliance, building credibility, and showing up episode after episode. That commitment eventually turned the podcast into something much bigger: a network of investors, entrepreneurs, relationships, and venture deal flow. And that’s what I found most interesting about our conversation... The podcast wasn't just building David’s network. It was building David. We talked about: → The power of “information alpha” and “relationship alpha” → Why some emerging managers have a winner mindset—and others don't → Why founder-product fit matters → How relationships compound over time → And why the best opportunities often come from playing the infinite game My biggest takeaway: You can’t make building something great easy. But you can choose a hard worth doing. Then you have to stay in the game long enough for the compounding to begin. Big thanks to David for joining the pod. Listen to the full convo here: ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 — Intro — why this convo is meta 01:02 — Meet David Weisburd and How I Invest 03:15 — Origin story: dinner with Eric Torenberg; launching the pod 07:45 — Network effects and early marquee guests 10:40 — The grind: LP compliance and identity risk 12:10 — When it “clicked”: letting the podcast work on you 16:50 — Skill-building, humility, and editing your own transcripts 19:50 — Podcast as mentorship; testing yourself with elite minds 22:40 — The infinite game of investing; a 10-year commitment 24:35 — Information alpha, relationship alpha, parasocial effects 28:10 — Why podcast convos deepen relationships; “mock podcasts” 30:20 — From founder to podcaster; values-first firm-building 34:30 — Weisburd Pierce: partnering on sensitive pro rata rights 37:40 — Media as access: why companies want creators on cap tables 39:45 — What makes a great GP: the winner vs. victim mindset 43:00 — Tactics to be default-alive; example from Hustle Fund 46:20 — Founder–product fit, psychology, and productizing yourself 49:10 — Long-term relationships > short-term fees in private markets 52:00 — Closing thoughts and thanks LINKS David Weisburd: LinkedInHow I Invest Podcast: WebsiteInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, XMPD: LinkedIn, X

Most people only see the front end of fintech. The app. The card. The payment. But underneath that experience is an enormous amount of infrastructure and some of fintech’s biggest opportunities are hiding there. Rory O’Reilly, cofounder and CEO of Knot, joined me on the pod to talk about how Knot is rewiring fintech and transforming financial connectivity. We dive into: Why keeping a card “top of wallet” is harder than it sounds.The infrastructure required to connect financial institutions with thousands of merchants.Why security and compliance are foundational, not afterthoughts, in fintech.Where blockchain and stablecoins could fit into the financial stack.Rory’s unconventional path from selling shoes with his family to building fintech companies with his brother. What I particularly enjoyed about this conversation is that Knot is tackling a problem most consumers don't even realize exists. The biggest innovations in fintech may not be the products we see, they may be the infrastructure quietly making everything work. 🎙️ Listen to the full conversation with Rory O’Reilly here: ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 01:12 — What Knot does: card-on-file updates, top-of-wallet 04:08 — The consumer pain: lost/expired cards and sticky subscriptions 06:20 — Why issuers/fintechs care: interchange and activation 09:05 — Go-to-market: selling to issuers; merchant API approach; 100M calls 12:44 — Security/compliance first: fractional CISO Brian Costello (ex-Yodlee) 16:18 — The fintech iceberg: why infra disruption is a long game 19:45 — Blockchain at the gate: stablecoins, Cash App's Lightning, backend use cases 24:58 — Founder origins: family hustle and resilience 30:36 — Harvard, Thiel Fellowship, gifs.com virality 35:52 — ICOs, ETH windfall and crash, and hard lessons 41:07 — Building with his brother: roles, trust, zero drama 45:30 — Closing takeaways LINKS Rory O'Reilly: LinkedIn, XKnot: Website, LinkedIn, XInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, XMPD: LinkedIn, X

Every founder I know is asking the same question: "How should we actually implement AI across our company?" The reality is that every playbook will require customization, but there are clear patterns beginning to emerge. In this episode, Chetan Narain, Cofounder of Pepper, joins me and my colleague, Interplay Senior Partner Kevin Tung, to share how Pepper is integrating AI across its products and organization - and the lessons they've learned along the way. We discuss: • Where vertical SaaS ends and vertical AI begins • AI agents and guardrails • Organizational redesign • How to move fast without creating chaos If you're building a company and thinking beyond AI features toward AI transformation, I think you'll enjoy this conversation. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 — Intro — Implementing AI across your company and why it matters now 01:23 — Where vertical SaaS ends and vertical AI begins: dashboards → autonomous agents 03:36 — Pepper 101: the $1T food distribution opportunity 05:37 — Pricing agents: moving from recommendations to action 08:42 — Trust, autonomy, and guardrails for mission-critical workflows 09:33 — ROI you can prove: GP lift and attribution clarity 11:25 — Experiments that broke: letting non-tech teams ship code 14:21 — Pepper's "product build system": AI-reviewed PRDs and prototypes 19:22 — Organizational design: single-threaded ownership vs. diffusion 23:03 — Speed traps: building 4 prototypes ≠ faster outcomes 24:22 — Kevin Tung on logging mistakes and compounding intelligence 26:10 — A/B testing as a sandboxed guardrail 27:02 — Chetan's path: Google PM to first PM of Uber Eats 29:37 — COVID pivot: Pepper Pantry hits $10M run rate in a week 32:57 — Distributor-first model: white-labeled apps and trust 34:33 — If king for a day: accelerating tech adoption in food 36:31 — Early adopters and tailwinds across 20k+ distributors 38:11 — Wrap and takeaways Links: • Chetan Narain: LinkedIn • Pepper: Website, LinkedIn • Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, X • MPD: LinkedIn, X

What happens when technology evolves faster than the venture capital model built to fund it? In this episode, I sit down with my longtime friend Jenny Fielding, Cofounder and General Partner of Everywhere Ventures, to explore how venture capital is adapting to a world where competitive advantages can disappear faster than ever. We discuss what it takes to raise a pre-seed round in today’s market, why traditional assumptions around defensibility are being challenged, and how AI is reshaping the economics of software companies. Jenny also shares lessons from her time as a Managing Director at Techstars and explains why Everywhere Ventures built a community-driven approach to investing — leveraging founder networks and real-time market insight to identify breakout companies at the earliest stages. Whether you’re a founder raising capital, an investor navigating a changing market, or simply curious about where technology is headed, this conversation offers a practical look at how venture is evolving for the next generation of companies. Special thanks to Jenny for joining the show and sharing her perspective on the future of venture. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 - Introduction and studio acoustics 01:05 - Generalist investing shift 02:09 - Redefining modern pre-seed criteria 04:26 - Global Slack diligence network 06:31 - Check sizing and syndicate structures 07:20 - Conviction-led turnaround speeds 09:21 - Venture capital's existential model crisis 11:48 - Defensibility against quantum technology 13:17 - Sourcing wisdom from international founders 16:01 - Evaluating the accelerator landscape 17:26 - Clear milestones for founder success 19:39 - Moving targets in the Series A gap 21:05 - Evolution of emerging tech hubs 23:32 - Retaining global talent via immigration reform Links: Jenny Fielding: LinkedIn, XEverywhere Ventures: Website, LinkedIn, XInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, XMPD: LinkedIn, X

Socks are the #1 most requested item at homeless shelters. Dave Heath turned that single fact into Bombas — a one-for-one apparel brand that's donated over 200 million items of clothing and built a billion-dollar business along the way. What makes Dave a builder worth studying isn't just the scale; it's the discipline behind it: reverse-engineering an exceptional product from a mission, learning to test before betting, and protecting a brand as it grows. In this episode, I sit down with Dave to break down: • How he reverse-engineered an "exceptional product" from a donation mission — and brought athletic-sock innovation to the mass market • The Shark Tank breakout: from $800K to $2M in revenue in the six weeks after airing — and why ~20% of customers still affiliate Bombas with the show • The expensive lesson of expanding into adjacent products too fast — and the MVP-testing discipline that replaced it • Why the "obvious" extensions (underwear, t-shirts) underperformed while a sleeper bet (slippers) became 20% of the business • Radical-ish transparency: telling the whole company about a planned IPO and trusting adults to keep it quiet — and they did • The mark of a great founder: the self-awareness to evolve his own role as the company scaled, and how he screened his successor for humility • How Bombas is approaching AI — getting the whole company trained on Claude and Claude Code, and why building AI as a competency beat chasing shiny enterprise tools Big thanks to Dave for coming on the pod and sharing the playbook — and the mindset — behind Bombas. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 — Intro. An epic New York brand story 01:05 — What is Bombas? The one-for-one mission and 200M+ items donated 02:37 — Reverse-engineering an exceptional product. Athletic-sock innovation goes mass market 04:49 — The story before the story. An entrepreneurial upbringing and the "candy dealer" founder type 09:00 — The Shark Tank breakout. From $800K to $2M and the deal with Daymond 11:48 — Expanding beyond socks. The costly lesson of adding complexity too fast 14:27 — How to filter adjacent products. The slipper sleeper hit and MVP-testing over big bets 18:00 — Radical(-ish) transparency. Trusting the team with the data and a planned IPO 19:39 — Evolving the founder's role. Screening a successor for humility as the company scales 24:03 — Life beyond the day-to-day. Family. Hobbies. And a retreat full of founder regrets 26:14 — Staying a united front. Backing the team without undermining them 27:50 — AI as a tidal wave. Training the whole company on Claude. Competency over shiny objects 31:20 — The pace of change. Why this revolution moves in months not centuries 31:56 — The wand question. Cutting waste out of fashion and apparel 34:35 — MPD's closing thoughts. The discipline behind a brand built to last Links: Dave Heath: LinkedIn Bombas: Website, LinkedIn, X Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, X MPD: LinkedIn, X

Cats are 40% of the pet market, but are somehow still chronically overlooked. Every innovation goes to dogs first. Even your vet's office is built for dogs first. Matt Michaelson, cofounder and CEO of Smalls, and his team have built an incredible cat-first brand precisely because of that blind spot. In this episode, I sit down with Matt to break down: • Why the cat industry is structurally underinvested (which includes VCs simply saying "I don't really like cats") • What "human-grade" actually means for pet food — and the sustainability trade-offs nobody talks about • Ingredient splitting: the regulatory hack that lets pet brands disguise what's actually in the bag • "Wrestling in the mud": a feedback culture where every hire is expected to disagree • Founders Pledge, and why committing 5% early changes the giving conversation later Big thanks to Matt for coming on the pod and sharing the playbook behind Smalls. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 — Why cats keep getting overlooked 01:05 — What is Smalls? Cat-first brand, human-grade nutrition 02:09 — What "human-grade" actually means (and the sustainability trade-off) 04:26 — Health impact: allergies, ingredient splitting, and the regulatory hack 06:31 — Why Matt chose cats: the market psychology nobody's pricing in 07:20 — Why every VC and pet brand defaults to dogs first 09:21 — From growth marketing to founder: building demand in a commoditized stack 11:48 — Emerging channels worth watching (and why DTC is just a channel, not a model) 13:17 — AI-native orgs: how the team uses AI without becoming a tech company 16:01 — Human-supervised AI teams and what entry-level jobs look like now 17:26 — "Wrestling in the mud": the air-grievances feedback culture 19:39 — Founders Pledge: committing 5% early changes the whole conversation 21:05 — Ingredient transparency: percentages on the label, fixing the labeling game 23:32 — MPD's closing thoughts on the cat opportunity Links: Matt Michaelson: LinkedIn Smalls: Website, LinkedIn, X Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, XMPD: LinkedIn, X

Venture studios are quietly becoming one of the most effective models for company creation, but most people still don't understand what happens inside one. For this podcast episode I sat down with Andy Bilinsky, Partner at Interplay leading our Studio, to break down exactly how we build companies from the ground up. During our conversation, we covered: What a venture studio actually is and how it differs from traditional VCWhy do we research industries deeply before ever writing a business planThe role of operating partners as true co-foundersWhy second- and third-time founders are choosing to build with a studio instead of going soloHow Interplay went from 3 new companies in Q4 2025 to targeting 10+ in 2026 Big thanks to Andy for pulling back the curtain on how we build. We’re grateful to have him here at Interplay. ⏱️ Chapter Markers: 00:00 Introduction to Andy Bilinsky 01:15 Andy's Entrepreneurial Background 03:30 Early Career: Hyper-Growth at Haute Look 05:45 BeachMint, Science Incubator & Chirp Ads 08:00 Launching Lensable From Scratch 09:30 Why Andy Joined Interplay 13:00 What Is a Venture Studio? 15:30 Interplay's Thesis-Driven Approach 18:00 The Role of Operating Partners 20:30 What Makes a Great Studio CEO 24:00 Why Successful Founders Don't Go Solo 27:30 The Value of a Firm as Co-Founder 30:00 Administrative Support & De-Risking 33:00 Distributed Teams & Geographic Flexibility 35:00 Studio Growth: From 3 Companies to 10+ Links: Andy Blinsky: LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Private credit has exploded into a trillion-dollar asset class, but most people outside finance still don’t understand how it works. I sat down with Ivan Zinn, founder of Atalaya Capital Management and now part of Blue Owl Capital, to unpack the real mechanics behind the private credit market. Few people have a clearer view of how capital flows through the economy. During our chat we unpack: What private credit actually isWhy banks pulled back after the Global Financial CrisisHow private lenders stepped in to finance everything from consumer loans to equipment, infrastructure, and fintech platformsWhere entrepreneurs could build meaningful companies by modernizing the infrastructure behind asset management. Big thanks to Ivan for sharing such a thoughtful and practical perspective on the evolving capital markets ecosystem. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 Introduction to Ivan Zinn 01:40 What Private Credit Actually Is 03:05 Asset-Based Lending Explained 04:36 Why Banks Don’t Make These Loans 08:11 How Private Credit Filled the Financing Gap 09:19 Ivan’s Journey into Credit Investing 11:49 Why Scale Matters in Private Credit 16:32 Is There Still Room for Small Credit Managers? 18:35 The Rise of Fintech-Driven Lending Models 19:29 Biggest Mistakes New Credit Managers Make 24:46 What CEOs Get Wrong When Raising Debt 29:08 Aligning Expectations Between Lenders and Founders 31:16 Why Private Credit Is Still Technologically Behind 35:30 Massive Opportunities for Fintech Builders 40:06 Selling Atalaya Capital Management to Blue Owl 42:30 Should Asset Managers Go Public? 44:58 Final Advice for Fintech Entrepreneurs Links: Ivan Zinn: LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Is the global economy stronger than it looks or more fragile beneath the surface? If you’re trying to reconcile booming markets with rising geopolitical risk, this week’s episode brings an important perspective. I sat down with Chris Zhang, Partner & CIO of Ascend Interplay, to break down the real forces shaping 2026: How AI is shifting from a narrative to a measurable economic impactWhy labor markets may determine where we go nextGlobal structural shifts that are underway - from escalating Middle East tensions to the rise of protectionism - and what they imply for supply chains, inflation dynamics, and U.S. debt sustainability. Big thanks to Chris for a thoughtful, data-driven discussion. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Welcome & Why 2025 Defied Gravity 02:00 – Global GDP Surprise & Market Performance 03:30 – The Structural Bull Market in Gold & Silver 07:45 – When Would Gold Actually Fall? 10:00 – 2026 Outlook: Cautiously Constructive 11:45 – AI’s Real Impact on Productivity & Labor 14:30 – Middle East Conflict & Oil Markets 17:15 – Are Trade Wars Really Over? 19:30 – Structural Protectionism & Supply Chains 22:00 – The Americas Strategy & Regional Integration 26:30 – U.S. Debt: Is There a Real Solution? 29:45 – The Fed, Growth & Kevin Warsh’s Role 32:45 – Final Takeaways for 2026 Links: Chris Zhang: LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Why is U.S. healthcare so broken? If you're not sure why it’s so expensive or dysfunctional, this week’s podcast may illuminate the answers for you. I sat down with Alex Barrett, Cofounder & CEO of Meroka, who's tackling one of the root problems: Consolidation that strips doctors of autonomyMisaligned incentives across the systemOutdated models that sacrifice care for throughput 70% of doctors now work for big systems but Alex is charting a new path by giving independent practices scale, liquidity, and ownership without the need to sell out. Special thanks to Alex for joining the pod - this is one of the smartest takes I’ve heard on how to fix healthcare from the inside. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Welcome & Guest Intro 01:20 – What is Meroka? 03:30 – Why Independence Matters in Healthcare 05:30 – The Trade-Off Between Scale & Patient Experience 07:20 – Breaking Down Reimbursement Rates 10:30 – Why Scale Has Meant Consolidation—Until Now 14:50 – How Independent Practices Survive 17:00 – The Myth That Doctors Are Bad at Business 20:30 – Meroka’s Employee Ownership Model 23:50 – Comparing to Private Equity Models 26:00 – The Future of Healthcare as a Real Market 28:30 – Final Thoughts & Gratitude Links: Alex Barrett: LinkedInMeroka: Website, LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

This conversation blew me away. I sat down with Lydia Fenet, an auctioneer who’s raised over a billion dollars, and what started as a chat about charity auctions quickly turned into one of the most insightful masterclasses on sales, persuasion, and audience psychology I’ve ever heard. Lydia isn’t just good on stage, she’s world-class at reading people, building trust instantly, and closing with confidence. What’s wild is how much of what she does applies directly to startup life: pitching investors, closing enterprise deals, selling your vision. If you’re a founder, operator, or anyone in business, this episode is packed with tactics that’ll shift how you think about selling anything to anyone. ⏱ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Intro: Why Auctioneering Matters To Entrepreneurs 01:15 – Lydia’s Unconventional Path Into Auctioneering 04:00 – The High-Stakes World Of Charity Auctions 06:15 – Launching The First Auctioneer Talent Agency 08:00 – What Makes A Great Charity Auctioneer? 11:00 – Sales Psychology On Stage 13:45 – Audience Dynamics And Identifying Your “Auction Foil” 17:30 – Anchoring Luxury With Impact: Values-Based Selling 20:00 – The Power Of The Underbidder 22:00 – Auction Tactics That Apply To Enterprise Sales 25:00 – Selling With Empathy, Not A Script 27:30 – The Power Of Suggestion And Painting The Picture 31:00 – Closing Thoughts & Key Takeaways Links: Lyndia Fenet: Website, LinkedInBook (Written by Lyndia Fenet): The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You: Command an Audience and Sell Your Way to SuccessBook (Written by Lyndia Fenet): Claim Your Confidence: Unlock Your Superpower and Create the Life You WantInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Brad Svrluga has been a mentor and a close friend of mine for years. Watching him build Primary - one of the most respected firms in the industry - has been a masterclass in itself, so sitting down with him for this episode was a highlight I've been looking forward to and a great way to kick off the year. We went deep on an often overlooked topic in VC: How do you actually scale a firm's infrastructure? Whether you're a GP or a founder, Brad’s perspective on building a modern, institutional-grade firm is unmatched. ⏱ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Intro & Brad's Background 01:00 – What Primary Ventures Does Differently 03:20 – Incubation and Building Companies from Scratch 05:00 – Why Founders Pick Primary 07:00 – Inside the Operational Support Team 09:00 – Is There a Downside to Scaling a VC Firm? 10:30 – Culture and Structure at Primary 12:15 – Aligning Operational Teams with MOIC Goals 14:00 – Ben & Brad: cofounder Dynamics 17:30 – Why Brad Became a VC 21:00 – The Challenge of Scaling Venture Itself 24:00 – The Downfall of Venture Networks 26:00 – Scaling with Specialized Partners 30:00 – Rebranding and Starting Primary 31:30 – Advice for Emerging VCs: Sourcing, Picking, and LPs 38:50 – Wrap-Up and Reflections Links: Brad Svrluga: LinkedInPrimary: Website, LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Our 2026 predictions are in. From IPOs to AI to robots - check out what we think is actually coming in 2026. To wrap up 2025, I regroup with Mike and Phuong for our annual end-of-year episode, where we look back at last year's predictions (they passed with flying colors) and set our sights on what’s ahead. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the topics covered: ✅ AI’s real impact on blue and white collar jobs. 📈 The slow thaw of the IPO market. 💸 The maturing of venture capital into a robust capital market ecosystem. 🤖 Why humanoid robots might finally enter the chat. 🚀 How seed-stage startups have fundamentally changed - and what will make or break them next year. If you're a founder, investor, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this one’s packed with insight. 🎧 Listen & let us know what YOU think is coming in 2026? Drop your predictions in the comments. 👇 ⏱ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Intro: 2025 Recap & Predictions for 2026 01:00 – Michael’s 2025 Prediction Scorecard: AI, Jobs & Valuations 06:30 – IPO Market Outlook & The Tale of Two Venture Markets 12:00 – AI Foundational Models vs. Application Layer 16:45 – 2026 Exit Landscape & The Rise of Secondaries 21:00 – Will Big Tech Pull Back from the Application Layer? 25:00 – AI Enterprise Adoption & Salesforce’s Big Bet 28:00 – The Robotics Curve: Consumer vs. Construction Use Cases 33:00 – Phuong’s 2025 Prediction Debrief: Tariffs & CX 38:00 – AI at Home? Why Consumers Aren’t Adopting (Yet) 41:00 – How Seed-Stage Startups Have Changed in 2025 46:00 – Labor Mismatch & The Talent Problem in AI Startups 49:00 – Who Wins in 2026: Full Workflow Automation 52:00 – Who Loses: Commoditized Content, Support & Legal Tools 55:00 – The Real Risk: Obsolescence & Distribution Moats 57:00 – Wrap Up & 2026 Outlook Links: Book: AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World OrderBook: The Lean StartupBook: The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of DisruptionInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, TwitterMichael Rogers: LinkedIn, TwitterPhuong Ireland: LinkedIn, Twitter

What if you approached philanthropy like a startup? The results might shock you and completely rewire how you think about giving. I sit down with Mark Gerson, Cofounder of GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) and Cofounder and Chair of 3i Members, to dive deep into how you can treat generosity like a capital allocation decision. We unpack a framework for ROI-driven giving that prioritizes measurable impact over emotional check-writing. Whether you give already or you’re just starting to think about it, this is a practical, purpose-driven guide to doing the most good in a faster and smarter way Special thanks to Mark for joining me on the pod and for all the amazing work he does. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Introduction to Mark Gerson & GLG Origins 02:45 – The Accidental Start of a $650M Business 06:00 – Lessons in Entrepreneurship from GLG’s Growth 08:50 – Why Business Advice is Often Useless 09:30 – The Life-Saving Problem in Global Emergency Response 11:00 – United Hatzalah: Crowdsourcing First Response in Israel 13:30 – Politics, Union Challenges & US Expansion 15:00 – How an Orange Jacket Saves Lives 16:45 – ROI-Driven Philanthropy: Measuring Cost per Life Saved 18:30 – African Mission Healthcare: Saving Lives with $350 C-Sections 21:00 – Partnering with Christian Missionary Doctors 25:00 – Effective Philanthropy vs. Emotional or Prestige Giving 29:00 – The True Definition of Charity & ROI vs. Emotion 32:30 – When and How Much Should You Give? 36:00 – Why Giving Never Makes You Poor 37:45 – Books, Content & Torah as Self-Help 40:00 – 3i: A Crowdsourced Investment + Community Platform 43:00 – How Business & Charity Reinforce Each Other Links Mark Gerson 3i Members, United Hatzalah of Israel, African Mission Healthcare, GLG, Twitter, LinkedInBooks: God Was Right: How Modern Social Science Proves the Torah Is True, The Telling: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of LifeMPD: LinkedIn, TwitterInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter