The Founder Spirit | Podcast Episodes

Sari Tolvanen: Protecting Marine Biodiversity with Ocean Eye

Dec 2024

Sari Tolvanen is a Finnish marine biologist, a former ocean campaigner at Greenpeace, and Founder and CEO of Ocean Eye, the world’s first ecosystem service payments solution targeted for the global marine tourism sector.

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Andres Ruzo: Love, Faith and Higher Purpose

Episode

Dec 2024

Andres Ruzo is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a visionary leader. Author of the bestselling book, The Human iOS, he founded LinkAmerica, the fastest-growing privately-held Hispanic company in the US, and the Lumen WeDoBelieve Foundation to improve the human condition.

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Professor Klaus Schwab: Leadership For The Intelligence Age

Episode

Nov 2024

Professor Klaus Schwab is the Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum, the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation based on the Stakeholder Concept he pioneered in 1971.

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Jaideep Bansal: Delivering Sustainable Development Across Remote Communities in India

Episode

Nov 2024

Jaideep Bansal is the CEO of GHE Impact Ventures, an award-winning social enterprise that has brought clean energy and sustainable development to over half a million people across the remotest communities in India.

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Rhett Butler: Nature’s Advocate, Scaling Mongabay and Driving Global Impact Through Environmental Journalism

Episode

Oct 2024

Rhett Butler is the Founder and CEO of Mongabay, a leading nonprofit media organization dedicated to environmental journalism.

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Krithi Karanth: From Conflict to Coexistence, the Human Dimension in Wildlife Conservation

Episode

Sep 2024

Dr. Krithi Karanth is the CEO and Chief Conservation Scientist at the Centre for Wildlife Studies in India. A conservation biologist, her research spanning 25 years encompasses many issues in the human dimensions of wildlife conservation.

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Tom Crowther: Biodiversity, the Interconnectedness of Nature and Empowering Local Stewards of Land

Episode

Sep 2024

Professor Tom Crowther is a leading ecologist and founder of Crowther Lab and Restor. He serves on the advisory board of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration as founding co-chair and is the Chief Scientific Advisor to UN's Trillion Trees Campaign.

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Season 2 Wrap Up: Evolution of The Founder Spirit Podcast

Episode

Jul 2024

An entrepreneur at heart, Jennifer Wu is a business executive with over 20 years of experience in financial services, strategic consulting and startups across the United States, Europe and Asia. She is also a curious explorer of spirituality, self-discovery and human transformation, and believes that the meaning of life is to constantly improve yourself.

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Atossa Soltani: Amazonia Calling, the Gaia Hypothesis and an Urgent Message From the Rainforest

Episode

Jul 2024

Atossa Soltani is Founder and Board President of Amazon Watch, and the Director of Global Strategy at Amazon Sacred Headwaters, an alliance of 30 Indigenous nations to permanently protect 86 million acres of rainforests in the most biologically diverse ecosystem on Earth.

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David Obura: Coral Reef Conservation and Addressing Climate Challenges Through Equity and Trust

Episode

Jun 2024

Based in Kenya, David Obura is a prominent coral reef ecologist and Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, whose extensive research focuses on coral reef ecosystems, impacts of climate change and engagement with local communities in sustainable practices. (Photo: NYT Magazine)

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Fabiola Gianotti: CERN, Big Bang and Unraveling Mysteries of the Universe

Episode

Jun 2024

Fabiola Gianotti is an Italian particle physicist and the first female Director General of the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (aka CERN), home to the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider.

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Patrick Odier: Building Bridges and Advancing Sustainable Finance

Episode

May 2024

Patrick Odier, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Lombard Odier, President of Swiss Sustainable Finance and Chairman of Building Bridges, underscores the role of financial services in our transition to a sustainable economy.

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Benjamin von Wong: Catalyzing Hope and Imagination for a Solarpunk Future

Episode

May 2024

Benjamin von Wong is a world-class photographer, multi-disciplinary artist and environmental activist, known for his visually stunning and impactful projects that highlight critical issues around social justice and climate change.

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Loic Le Meur: Consciousness, Self-Transformation and Exploring the Mysterious

Episode

Apr 2024

Loic Le Meur is a serial entrepreneur, founder of LeWeb, and recognized as one of “25 Most Influential People on the Web” by BusinessWeek. Deeply immersed in spirituality and consciousness work, Loic recently launched PAUA, a community and event organization bridging ancient wisdom and modern technologies.

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Peter Nyeko: A Mission of Joy and Hope Through Clean Energy

Episode

Mar 2024

Peter Nyeko is a clean tech entrepreneur, Founder and Managing Director of Mandulis Energy, a social enterprise in Uganda focused on delivering affordable and reliable clean energy. An aeronautical engineer by training, Peter developed new technologies and approaches to generate very low-cost electricity, cooking and heating fuel as well as fertilizer from agricultural waste.

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Tracey Chang: Confidence, Happiness and Beauty with Power

Episode

Mar 2024

The genuine Tracey Chang is a former TV journalist turned entrepreneur and lifestyle blogger with over 4 million followers. Crowned as Miss New York 2009, she became the first woman of Chinese descent and first foreign-born contestant to win the pageant in U.S. history.

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Subra Suresh: Global Learning Council and Impact of Artificial Intelligence

Episode

Feb 2024

Professor Subra Suresh is the Founder and President of the Global Learning Council, a platform committed to advancing the use of technology to improve the outcomes for learners. As the former Director of the National Science Foundation. Subra was recently awarded the National Medal of Science by President Biden, the highest honor accorded to a U.S. scientist.

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Jaeson Ma: The Power of Forgiveness and Re-defining Success

Episode

Feb 2024

The unconventional Jaeson Ma is a serial entrepreneur, hip-hop artist and venture capitalist in the media, entertainment and technology industry. Before launching his career in Hollywood, he was mentored by MC Hammer and served as a minister and a church planter.

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Sofia de Meyer and Sofi Khwaja: Disrupting Industries and Systems-Based Approach to Regenerative Economies

Episode

Jan 2024

Sofia de Meyer and Sofi Khwaja are two female entrepreneurs who have separately built successful businesses that positively impact people and the planet at every stage of its value chain.

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Desh Deshpande: On Entrepreneurship and Impact

Episode

Jan 2024

Desh Deshpande is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and philanthropist. Best known for founding Cascade Communications and Sycamore Networks, Desh is a pioneering figure in the early days of the Internet. Recognizing the wealth gap, he co-founded the Deshpande Foundation with his wife to create sustainable, scalable social and economic impact.

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Barney Swan: Growing Up Off-Grid, Polar Explorations and Restoring the World’s Oldest Rainforest

Episode

Dec 2023

Barney Swan is an explorer, a gifted keynote speaker and the Founder of ClimateForce. Raised off-grid, he skied 1,000 kilometers over 65 days to the South Pole to launch the ClimateForce challenge, a collaborative mission to clean up 360 million tons of CO2 before the year 2025.

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Zainab Salbi: A Journey of Hope and Resilience, From Conflict Zones To Climate Activism

Episode

Dec 2023

Zainab Salbi is a celebrated Iraqi-American women’s rights activist, award-winning humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and one of People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing the World.

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Meagan Fallone: From Empowering Illiterate Women To Championing Climate Justice

Episode

Nov 2023

Meagan Fallone is the Founder of Step Up Advisors and Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Director of Climate Justice at CARE, as well as the former CEO and now Board Member of Barefoot College International, which she tripled in size and scaled to 93 countries over a decade.

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Ahmad Joudeh: Dance or Die, From Stateless Refugee To International Ballet Star

Episode

Nov 2023

Ahmad Joudeh is a dancer and choreographer who overcame immense obstacles. Born and raised in Syria as a stateless refugee, his life story is a true testament to the power of art and the human spirit.

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Bill Shufelt: Crafting Fulfillment with Non-Alcoholic Brew

Episode

Oct 2023

A former hedge fund trader, Bill left a financially rewarding job to pursue a more meaningful venture with positive societal impact, even when no one in the industry saw the market potential.

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Venerable Monk Burin: Wisdom From the Silent Mind and World Peace Through Inner Peace

Episode

Oct 2023

The Venerable Monk Burin is a Thai Buddhist Monk and the Executive Director of The Middle Way Meditation Institute, a New York-based global non-profit educational organization that converges timeless wisdom and evidence-based science to tackle key problems facing humanity.

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Karen Tse: International Bridges To Justice and Ending Torture as an Investigative Tool

Episode

Apr 2024

Karen Tse is a human rights lawyer, an ordained minister, and Founder and CEO of the global non-profit, International Bridges to Justice, with the mission to end torture as an investigative tool and ensure due process rights.

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Professor Elaine Pagels: The Gnostic Gospels and the Divine Within

Episode

Sep 2023

Professor Elaine Pagels is a historian of religion at Princeton University and a Trustee of the Aspen Institute, who dedicated her life to researching the Gnostic Gospels, also known as the Nag Hammadi Library. These ancients texts were unearthed in Upper Egypt in 1945 and are believed to be the secret teachings of Jesus.

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Season 1 Wrap Up: Overcoming Fear and Finding Flow - My Personal Journey of Launching The Founder Spirit Podcast

Episode

Jul 2023

An entrepreneur at heart, Jennifer is also a curious explorer of spirituality, self-discovery and human transformation, and believes that the meaning of life is to constantly improve yourself.

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Sara Jane Ho: Transforming Lives Through the Power of Etiquette

Episode

Jun 2023

Sara is an entrepreneur, a renowned international etiquette expert and star of her Emmy-nominated reality makeover show on Netflix, “Mind Your Manners”.

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Sarah Cameron Sunde: Galvanizing Climate Action with 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea

Episode

Jul 2023

Sarah Cameron Sunde is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of visual art and climate activism. Best known for masterminding 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea, she works with scale and duration to explore the profound connections between humans and the natural world.

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Coach Leighroy: Thriving Through Growth, Structure, and Overcoming Burnout - Insights from Peak Performance Sport

Episode

Jun 2023

Coach Leighroy is an elite athlete, a tech founder and a startup coach helping founders build a more efficient path to growth and reach scale-up before running out of steam.

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Tom Szaky: TerraCycle and Unlocking the Value of Waste

Episode

May 2023

Tom Szaky is the Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a leader in sustainability solutions that creates and operates platforms in recycling and reuse. He dropped out of Princeton at age 19 to pursue his passion based on something that most of us overlook - garbage.

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Tristan Lecomte: Revolutionizing Supply Chain Sustainability & Climate Change

Episode

May 2023

Tristan Lecomte is a serial social entrepreneur, a pioneer in the fields of supply chain sustainability and climate change, and a public figure in the environmental space. Founder of Alter Eco, PUR Projet, Second Life and IPI, he has been recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

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Masha Gordon: The Explorer's Grand Slam & Conquering Personal Mountains

Episode

Apr 2023

After a successful investing career at Goldman Sachs and PIMCO, at the age of 42, Masha Gordon embarked on an extraordinary journey to become the fastest woman to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam, an endurance challenge that entails ascending to the highest peak in each continent and skiing the last degree on both the North and South Pole.

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Amit Munshi: The Secrets of His Success in Biotechnology

Episode

Apr 2023

Amit is a serial entrepreneur and a turnaround expert with over 30 years of remarkable experience in biotech. From founding Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (sold to Allergan for $2.1 billion) and successfully turning around Arena Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer for $6.7 billion), Amit truly knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in this industry.

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Claudia Romo Edelman: The Modern-Day Mafalda & We Are All Human

Episode

Mar 2023

Claudia is a social entrepreneur, an advocate, a catalyst for social change, and one of People Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Latinas. She is also the Founder of We Are All Human Foundation, a New York-based non-profit dedicated to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity. Claudia has been in the driving seat of successful global campaigns, such as launching the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations.

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Mike Ang: The Pursuit of Happiness Across His Land of Dreams

Episode

Mar 2023

Mike is a creative writer, a producer and a serial entrepreneur in the lifestyle and entertainment industry. Trained as a civil engineer, Mike never gave up pursuing his dreams on the journey of self-discovery and limitless creativity. He is the Founder of Planet X, a multimedia production and product marketing agency, as well as the screenwriter and co-producer of a romantic comedy, Asian Persuasion.

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Max Frieder: Uplifting Communities in Crisis with the Power of Art

Episode

Feb 2023

Max is a public artist, a social entrepreneur, and a humanitarian whose work ranges across seven continents, from community building in refugee camps, abuse and addiction support, to resilience building and conflict resolution. He is the Co-Founder of Artolution and recipient of the International Crisis Award from UNICEF and the World of Children in 2018.

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Gabi Schenkel: Solo Crossing of the Atlantic, Ultra-Running & the Power of Loneliness

Episode

Feb 2022

At the age of 43, Gabi Schenkel became the first Swiss woman to row solo across the Atlantic, a trip which took her 75 days and over 5,000 km, making her the 17th woman in the world to ever finish an ocean crossing alone. Known as the "Swiss Ultra Princess", Gabi had never rowed until a year before her departure. Her book, "Solo auf See", details her borderline experience at sea.

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Nicole Schwab: The Sacred Feminine, Gender Equality and Earth-Centered Wisdom from the Heart of Her Labyrinth

Episode

Dec 2022

Nicole Schwab is an author and a social entrepreneur dedicating her work to the planet. She founded EDGE Certified Foundation with a vision to create equal opportunities in the workplace. Her award-winning novel, The Heart of the Labyrinth, is a spiritual parable offering a message of earth-centered wisdom.

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Nathan J. Anderson: Building Successful Startups by Adopting the Player’s Mindset

Episode

Nov 2022

Nathan J. Anderson is the CEO of ScanTrust, an enterprise software scale-up that he founded in early 2014. After playing NCAA basketball and making a living from poker, the Vermont native joined a Chinese company as the only foreign employee and successfully took it public on the NASDAQ in his early twenties.

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Heather Ibrahim Leathers: How I Built the World's Largest NGO Dedicated to Widows

Episode

Nov 2022

Heather Ibrahim Leathers is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and a successful social entrepreneur. After over a decade on Wall Street, she founded the Global Fund for Widows, the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to economically empowering widows.

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