Art by Mike Sullivan.

Shuo Wang Once Sold Scooters at Flea Markets—Now Her Startup Is Worth $12 Billion

By Annie Goldsmith · March 11, 2023 7:00 AM PST · 2 comments

When Shuo Wang was 16, she got her first sales job and learned what she considers the biggest lesson in business. Despite not speaking English well, Wang sold scooters at flea markets in and around Washington, D.C., an offshoot of her mother’s business of selling motorcycles and scooters wholesale. Decades later, Wang attributes many of... When Shuo Wang was 16, she got her first sales job and learned what she considers the biggest...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Founder Who Wants to Turn Drones Into Crime Fighters

By Margaux MacColl · Feb. 11, 2023 7:00 AM PST · 3 comments

Blake Resnick’s life changed forever on October 1, 2017, when a shooter opened fire on the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest country music festival. While he was safe at his Las Vegas home, his best friend was near the shooting and called Resnick for help. It was a traumatic and sobering moment for Resnick, who at 17 became obsessed with how... Blake Resnick’s life changed forever on October 1, 2017, when a shooter opened fire on the...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Astrophysicist Who Pivoted to AI and Nanotech

By Annie Goldsmith · Jan. 21, 2023 7:00 AM PST · 1 comment

“I always bring an umbrella and sunglasses—hope for the best, plan for the worst,” said Alice Globus, who is building her career on the same philosophy. Globus is the New York–based chief financial officer of Nanotronics, which is bringing artificial intelligence to manufacturing, automating processes for making... “I always bring an umbrella and sunglasses—hope for the best, plan for the...

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photos courtesy Sequel

The Frustrated Athletes Who Reinvented the Tampon in Their Stanford Dorm Room

By Margaux MacColl · Jan. 14, 2023 9:00 AM PST · 6 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photos courtesy Sequel

venture capital

The Frustrated Athletes Who Reinvented the Tampon in Their Stanford Dorm Room

By Margaux MacColl · Jan. 14, 2023 9:00 AM PST · 6 comments

Amanda Calabrese has traveled all over the world as a competitive lifeguard—picture a decathlon, but at the beach—diving into 15-foot waves in South Africa and sprinting across Italian beaches. But she struggled to find a tampon that wouldn’t leak during competitions. During her senior year at Stanford University, she met up... Amanda Calabrese has traveled all over the world as a competitive lifeguard—picture a...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo courtesy of Alexander Gallego.

The Founder Who Turned His Love of Tinkering Into a Data-Processing Gold Mine

By Arielle Pardes · Nov. 26, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 6 comments

When Alexander Gallego started his first company in 2014, he approached it with the same determination he’d used to learn English as a teenager, or to navigate the admissions process as a first-generation college student: “I just had to figure it out,” he said. “I had no backup plan.” Gallego, who was born in... When Alexander Gallego started his first company in 2014, he approached it with the same...

Art by Mike Sullivan. Photo George Sivulka.

The Wunderkind Who Won Over NASA, Stanford and Peter Thiel

By Margaux MacColl · Nov. 12, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 9 comments

When George Sivulka was 12, he was building lasers that could light fires. At 16 he had an internship at NASA. By 22, he was hanging out with Peter Thiel, talking for hours about artificial intelligence and philosophy. Thiel, thoroughly impressed, wrote one of the first checks for Hebbia, Sivulka’s AI-powered search engine. Instead of relying on... When George Sivulka was 12, he was building lasers that could light fires. At 16 he had an...

Photo Sampei Omichi. Art by Clark Miller

The Founder Who Escaped Deportation by Building a Business in 60 Days

By Margaux MacColl · Oct. 1, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 4 comments

It was early 2021 when Sampei Omichi’s deportation countdown started: He had 60 days left on his student visa before he would have to leave the country. The then–21-year-old’s only option was to found a startup to qualify for an international entrepreneur parole, which allows entrepreneurs to stay in the country for over two years— assuming, of... It was early 2021 when Sampei Omichi’s deportation countdown started: He had 60 days left on his...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Founder Who Got High on a Rooftop and Came Down With a Business

By Margaux MacColl · Aug. 13, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

The Founder Who Got High on a Rooftop and Came Down With a Business

By Margaux MacColl · Aug. 13, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

Watching the app you built hit the 10 million-download threshold would be a career high for most founders. But for Ben-Zion Benkhin, it’s just another day at the office. Within the last two years, Benkhin, 26, has launched two wildly popular artificial intelligence–based apps. The first was Wombo.ai, which uses AI to create highly shareable,... Watching the app you built hit the 10 million-download threshold would be a career high for most...

Photo courtesy of Atoms. Art by Clark Miller

How an Invite and a Pivot Changed Everything for the Founders of Sneaker Brand Atoms

By Margaux MacColl · July 16, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 3 comments

In 2015, when married founders Waqas Ali and Sidra Qasim arrived at Y Combinator, they weren’t yet fluent in English. The pair had traveled from Pakistan, where their handmade leather shoe business had become a viral sensation. But at Y Combinator’s famous Demo Day, they looked at all the rival entrepreneurs wearing fashionable sneakers, and... In 2015, when married founders Waqas Ali and Sidra Qasim arrived at Y Combinator, they weren’t...

Art by Clark Miller.

As a Kid, Samantha John Recoiled From Videogames. Now She’s Teaching Kids to Code Them

By Annie Goldsmith · June 25, 2022 7:00 AM PDT

This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers of tech founders and executives. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. For the past decade, Samantha John, 35, and her co-founder, Jocelyn Leavitt, have been helping kids learn to code. Their app, Hopscotch, teaches children... This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers...

Photo Sheridan Clayborne. Art by Mike Sullivan.

The Child Prodigy Turned Founder Who Wants to Loan You Some 401(k) Cash

By Margaux MacColl · May 28, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 8 comments

Sheridan Clayborne is used to being the youngest person in the room. He was 15 when he got into Northwestern University, 17 when he made his first million, and 19 when he landed a job at Dropbox. Now, at 22, he’s raised $24 million for his startup, Lendtable, which helps people fulfill their employer’s 401(k) matches. Founded in 2020, Lendtable... Sheridan Clayborne is used to being the youngest person in the room. He was 15 when he got into...

Photograph courtesy of Shashank Samala. Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Childhood in India Inspired His Fight Against Climate Change

By Annie Goldsmith · March 18, 2022 12:00 PM PDT · 5 comments

Photograph courtesy of Shashank Samala. Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Childhood in India Inspired His Fight Against Climate Change

By Annie Goldsmith · March 18, 2022 12:00 PM PDT · 5 comments

This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers of tech founders and executives. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. After reading the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, Shashank Samala saw a need to not only reduce carbon emissions, but remove... This is “My Life’s Work,” a series about the unique life experiences that influenced the careers...

Art by Haejin Park.

venture capital

How a Venture Founder’s Aesthetics Obsession Influences How She Picks Companies

By Malique Morris · March 4, 2022 2:00 PM PST · 1 comment

This isMy Life’s Work, a column about the unique life experiencesthat influenced the careers of tech founders and executives. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. Sarah Kunst’s venture fund, Cleo Capital, which she founded in 2018, has invested in culture-shifting media companies like Cameo and MasterClass, cryptocurrency... This isMy Life’s Work, a column about the unique life experiencesthat influenced the careers of...

Art by Haejin Park.

How a Founder’s Family of Surgeons Inspired ‘The Match.com of Hospitals and Nurses’

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb. 25, 2022 12:00 PM PST

In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life experiences influenced their careers. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. When Dr. Iman Abuzeid founded Incredible Health, a staffing engine for nurses, in 2017, she didn’t anticipate that a pandemic would soon make hiring healthcare... In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life...

Art by Haejin Park. Photo courtesy Hilary Coles.

startups culture

The Founder Who Went Up a Mountain in Nepal and Came Down a Better Leader

By Annie Goldsmith · Feb. 11, 2022 12:00 PM PST · 1 comment

In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life experiences influenced their careers. Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. When Hilary Coles co-founded Hims in 2017, the company focused on two key areas: men’s hair loss and erectile dysfunction, offering telehealth solutions and... In our new column, My Life’s Work, we ask tech founders and executives how their unique life...

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