Podcast
Candid conversations with founders, investors and operators building what comes next. Hosted by Brian Sparkes and recorded in the campus podcast studio at STAK Space in Oakland.
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Christine Heckart
CEO & Founder, Xapa
Christine has led teams at Microsoft and Cisco, built and exited companies and served on public company boards. She explains why soft skills are the hardest skills, the brain science behind real behavior change, and why judgment and critical thinking now matter for everyone who works alongside AI.
Watch on YouTubeEvery Episode
Sandra Sertel
Founder & CEO, Soon
After two decades scaling teams at Oracle and LinkedIn, Sandra built Soon to act as the receipt for AI decisions. She walks through model lineage, human oversight and the accountability enterprises need when AI touches hiring, code and research.
Watch on YouTubeMichelle Masek
Founder, Honey Jar
Michelle led communications at high-growth brands including Eventbrite and Lookout. She shares how AI is reshaping comms and PR, and how founders can build the brand infrastructure that earns attention.
Watch on YouTubeHans Sandhu
Chief Business Officer, The Agentic
A Silicon Valley native and veteran operator with more than 1,800 enterprise deployments behind him, Hans breaks down how AI gets commercialized and why private models are changing what companies can build.
Watch on YouTubeEd Coady
Director of Revenue, TriNet
Ed has spent decades leading revenue teams at ADP and TriNet. He explains how great revenue starts with great people, plus his view on AI in healthcare, human advocacy and building customer loyalty.
Watch on YouTubeVedran Rasic
Co-Founder & CEO, Lead Delta
A three-time founder who has lived in five countries, Vedran built and sold a bootstrapped startup. He explains the seedstrapped model: raising a small round, then growing on revenue instead of chasing the next raise.
Watch on YouTubeAlex Dantas
Founder & CEO, Circuit Launch
Circuit Launch pioneered co-factoring: shared hardware spaces where more than 120 companies take products from prototype to production. Alex talks about why hardware is having a moment and the rise of the one-person company.
Watch on YouTubeEd Giansante
Head of Community, Persona
Ed has led community at Zynga, Dropbox, Wix and now Persona. He breaks down two decades of community building: event funnels, earning trust, and turning members into advocates who drive real pipeline.
Watch on YouTubeAleks Gollu
Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor & Northeastern University Professor
With 30 years across three tech startups, an early career at Oracle and years teaching entrepreneurship, Aleks shares how founders can stay steady through the chaos of building a company.
Watch on YouTubeConnor Sattely
CEO, Founder Institute
Recorded during the FounderX conference on the 1900 Broadway campus, Connor gives an inside look at bringing together 200+ global chapter leaders and explains VC Lab and the Mensarius Oath for ethical investing.
Watch on YouTubeEthan Puzarne
Co-Founder, Refold Languages & Founder, Growstack AI
Ethan went from engineering leadership to launching two companies while building in public as a STAK Space member. He covers bootstrapping, the AI tools he relies on and what he has learned running Refold.
Watch on YouTubeColin Behring
Founder & CEO, Behring Co. & STAK Ventures
Colin explains full-stack real estate on the 1900 Broadway campus in Uptown Oakland, and how bringing space, technology and community together helps startups build, scale and get funded in the AI era.
Watch on YouTubeFelipe Levi Gurgel
Early-Stage Venture Investor
Felipe opens up the inner workings of early-stage venture capital: how funds source and prioritize deals, the math behind every check, and why a founder's narrative can matter more than past performance.
Watch on YouTubeJohann Sathianathen
Co-Founder, Cyndra
Skipping the hype and the doom, Johann shares what it really takes to deploy AI agents in day-to-day operations, and why the best automation buys back your team's time instead of replacing it.
Watch on YouTubeMichelle Dhansinghani
VP of Investment, Cherryrock Capital
Martin Lima
Scout, Cubo Itaú & Founder, Emerging VC Fellows
Two investors unpack the real mechanics of venture capital, ecosystem building and corporate partnerships, including why giving back is one of the strongest go-to-market strategies a founder has.
Watch on YouTubeAndres Campo
Co-Founder & CEO, Humanolab
Our pilot episode. Andres talks through the bottlenecks facing AI healthcare in Latin America, why data-driven biomarkers outperform standard wearables, and how a founder's environment affects stamina and resilience.
Watch on YouTubeYour Host
Brian is Head of Strategic Ventures & Activation at STAK Ventures and CEO of Silicon Valley Venture. He builds partnerships where innovation, real estate and venture capital meet, and has worked with more than 1,400 startups, investors and accelerators. On the podcast he brings that network into the studio, one honest conversation at a time.
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