Spark of Ages

Rajiv Parikh
  • 5.0 (13)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

The Spark of Ages podcast is about the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence through a marketing lens.  We are living in the middle of the most important "spark for the ages".   Our episodes are either about looking back to teach us what we can learn for this moment, or looking forward for where the next spark might be.We highlight the stories from business leaders at the intersection of marketing, technology and innovation.

  1. 3D AGO

    What to Expect from Agentic AI (aka 2026 Predictions)/Jon Miller, Ashish Aggarwal - B2A, Payments, AI Stack ~ Spark of Ages Ep 55

    Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    58 min

  2. JAN 2

    The Hidden Job Market for Executives in 2026/Andy Mowat - Builders, Whispered, AI Resumes ~ Spark of Ages Ep 54

    Why are management layers thinning?  How does AI change hiring signals? And how can senior leaders break into the hidden market for unposted executive roles? Andy Mowat shares practical playbooks for proof-of-work interviews, CEO diligence, and building a data-first GTM engine that actually ships. • management ranks thinning and the rise of builders • proof-of-work interviews and AI used well • unposted VP and C-level roles and network strategy • clarity of story over keyword stuffing • being a high-impact number two under great leaders • data foundations over tool sprawl in go-to-market • CEO diligence and avoiding toxic cultures • career 2.0, brand resets, and paying it forward Want the truth about senior hiring in an AI-soaked market? Andy Mowat, four-time unicorn operator and founder of Whispered, pulls back the curtain on how VP and C-level roles really get filled, why management layers are thinning, and what it takes to stand out when every résumé looks flawless. We unpack the tactics that actually move the needle: proof-of-work case studies, hands-on demos that beat shiny decks, and a singular narrative that tells a CEO exactly what problem you solve. We dive into the hidden job market for executives—where most roles never get posted—and map practical paths to get in the door without setting off alarms at your current company. Andy lays out a quiet-search playbook built on targeted lists, recruiter and talent partner relationships, and a community-powered network effect that shares live intel on companies, leaders, and backstories. If your experience includes a bump or two, we talk about owning it clearly and moving forward, rather than trying to bury the lead with keyword stuffing that pleases algorithms but confuses humans. On go-to-market, Andy tackles the “GTM engineer” trend and explains why data foundations and real implementation beat tool sprawl and clever slides every time. Think operationalizing product events, smarter routing, and lifecycle triggers that create pipeline—versus busywork alerts that fade in Slack. We also explore why being a high-impact number two under a world-class leader can be a better career accelerator than chasing the top seat at the wrong company, and how to vet CEOs for transparency, delegation, and decision-making. If you’re aiming at a senior move in 2026, this conversation will sharpen your approach: build with AI, don’t hide behind it; ship artifacts that prove your value; pick the right leader and stage; and pay it forward to compound your network. Andy Mowat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amowat/ Andy Mowat, a four-time unicorn executive, is the Founder and CEO of Whispered, a specialized talent network and platform dedicated to helping senior executives find and land high-level roles before they are publicly posted. Andy's extensive executive background includes serving as the Vice President of RevOps at Carta, where he oversaw GTM systems, data, strategy, and enablement for a business exceeding $400 million in ARR. Prior to that, he was instrumental in scaling both Upwork and Culture Amp from approximately $10 million to over $100 million in ARR. Andy is also the host of the How I Hire podcast and an alumnus of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Whispered: https://www.whispered.com/ Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    42 min

  3. 12/19/2025

    Alien Advantage: Pattern-Breaking Innovation/Manan Mehta, Rustam Esanov - Immigrants, Unshackled, mRNA+AI ~ Spark of Ages Ep 53

    We explore how removing immigration friction and backing immigrant founders at day zero can produce outsized innovation, through the lens of a VC platform and a biotech founder reprogramming tumors with mRNA and AI. The conversation blends policy, venture economics, and a bold oncology thesis with practical advice and personal stories. • immigrant advantage as resilience, clarity, and risk appetite • Unshackled’s Day Zero model and economics • technical visionaries and system disruptors archetypes • turning tumors into immune allies with mRNA and AI • off the shelf approach across solid tumors • storytelling skills for technical CEOs • curated community as capital and catalyst • immigration policy takes on points systems and talent pipelines • why fear based rules hurt innovation • reflections on curiosity, kindness, and grit What happens when you bet on a founder before there’s a product, revenue, or even a company? We bring together Manan Mehta, founding partner at Unshackled Ventures, and Rustam Esanov, co-founder and CEO of Reprogram Biosciences, to unpack how day‑zero investing meets deep tech ambition—and how that mix can upend cancer therapy. Manan opens the curtain on Unshackled’s model: underwrite immigrant founders when capital and confidence are scarcest, handle immigration legal end‑to‑end, and curate a community that knows when to introduce the next believer. He breaks down their two founder archetypes—technical visionaries and system disruptors—plus the quotients that matter: intelligence, adversity, emotional, and social. We dig into why early belief earns better economics, how consensus‑driven VC misses mispriced opportunities, and what it takes to move a company from a first experiment to a milestone investors can’t ignore. Rustam shares the personal spark behind his mission and the science powering it. Using AI‑guided design and mRNA, his team aims to reprogram tumor cells into immune‑like allies, opening the “fortress” from the inside so the body can attack solid tumors. He explains why an off‑the‑shelf approach beats personalization for scale, how early out‑of‑pocket experiments de‑risked the thesis, and the single most practical lesson he learned transitioning from bench science to CEO: tell a story so clear a teenager can understand it.  Manan Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mananm/ Manan Mehta is the Founding Partner of Unshackled Ventures, the only inception-stage (pre-revenue, pre-product, pre-incorporation) venture fund focused entirely on backing immigrant-founded startups.  For over 11 years, Manan has led the firm, which provides capital, network access, and full immigration support, having sponsored over 300 immigration filings for founders, often before they incorporate their businesses. Rustam Esanov:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rustamesanov/ Rustam Esanov is the CEO and Co-founder of Reprogram Biosciences, a deep-tech company developing mRNA reprogramming therapeutics.  His mission is to turn tumors into immune-like allies to treat solid cancers by leveraging a proprietary AI platform to build a precision cell-reprogramming engine to solve one of the most complex challenges in medicine. Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    55 min

  4. 12/05/2025

    Fighting Climate Change in the Age of AI/Dan Kalafatas - Prices, Scope 3, Green-Hushing ~ Spark of Ages Ep 52

    We confront the collision between AI’s soaring compute needs and a grid unready for 50% peak expansions, then map a practical path to build clean, firm power fast without losing sight of affordability. Dan shares candid insights on markets, permitting, contracts, and how 3Degrees tackles Scope 3 at scale. • AI demand growth outpacing efficiency gains • Wartime mobilization mindset for energy buildout • All-the-above strategy across renewables, storage, and firm power • Price pressures from supply constraints and who pays • Additionality and siting clean power abroad • Permitting and transmission reform progress and limits • Financial governance: minimum revenue commitments and PPA design • Demand response and 24/7 carbon matching incentives • Scope 3 decarbonisation and supplier aggregations • Virtual power plants and flexible load orchestration • Leadership, governance, and resilience in volatile markets Power isn’t a footnote to the AI boom—it’s the bottleneck. We sit down with 3Degrees co-founder and chairman Dan Kalafatas to untangle the thorniest question in tech and climate: how do we deliver massive new capacity, keep prices in check, and still cut emissions on an hourly, 24/7 basis? Dan makes the case for a wartime mobilization mindset and an all-of-the-above strategy, pairing solar and wind with storage and firm clean power like recommissioned nuclear and geothermal, while acknowledging the near-term role of natural gas. He explains why utilities are demanding minimum revenue commitments from hyperscalers, how demand response can unlock tens of gigawatts in the hours that matter most, and why temporal matching in carbon accounting will push buyers toward real around-the-clock decarbonization. We dig into additionality as Big Tech sites data centers in places with hydro and other low-carbon resources. What actually drives new clean energy build instead of reshuffling existing electrons? Dan shares pragmatic contract levers—from accelerated repayment clauses to renewable-only PPAs—that reduce stranded-asset risk and steer capital toward projects that cut emissions when the grid is dirtiest. He also unpacks the friction slowing progress: interconnection queues, permitting delays, water constraints, and a public already feeling price pressure before the big build even begins. On the enterprise side, we explore how 3Degrees approaches Scope 3 decarbonization and the rise of virtual power plants, where orchestration beats brute force. Thousands of suppliers, different load shapes, and new 24/7 reporting expectations create a data problem tailor-made for AI—if governance and audit trails come first. Expect candid takes on “green hushing,” the role of states when federal leadership zigzags, and why empathetic leadership belongs at the center of market design and execution. Dan Kalafatas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dankalafatas/ Dan Kalafatas is the Chairman and Co-Founder of 3Degrees, a leading global decarbonization solutions provider that has spent nearly two decades building the scalable systems necessary for businesses to tackle the existential threat of climate change.  Dan is also a proud alumnus of Dartmouth College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    57 min

  5. 11/21/2025

    The Security Gap When AI Agents Have Access/Chithra Rajagopalan, Vamshi Sriperumbudur - Governance, NRR, Buyer Groups ~ Spark of Ages Ep 51

    We weigh the promise and peril of the AI agent economy, pressing into how overprovisioned non-human identities, shadow AI, and SaaS integrations expand risk while go-to-market teams push for speed. A CMO and a CFO align on governance-first pilots, PLG trials, buyer groups, and the adoption metrics that sustain value beyond the sale. • AI adoption surge matched by adversary AI • Overprovisioned agents and shadow AI in SaaS • Governance thresholds before budget scale • PLG trials, sandbox, and POV sequencing • Visualization to reach the aha moment • Buying groups, ICP, and economic buyer alignment • Post‑sales usage, QBRs, NRR and churn signals • Zero trust limits and non-human identities • Breach disclosures as industry standards • Co-sourcing MSSP with in-house oversight Security isn’t slowing AI down; it’s the unlock that makes enterprise AI valuable. We dive into the AI agent economy with a CMO and a CFO who meet in the messy middle. The result is a practical blueprint for moving from hype to governed production without killing momentum. We start by mapping where controls fail: once users pass SSO and MFA, agents often operate beyond traditional identity and network guardrails. That’s how prompts pull sensitive deal data across Salesforce and Gmail, and how third‑party API links expand the attack surface. From there, we lay out an adoption sequence that balances trust and speed. Think frictionless free trials and sandboxes that reach an immediate “aha” visualization of shadow AI and permissions, then progress to a scoped POV inside the customer’s environment with clear policies and measurable outcomes. Along the way, we detail the buying group: economic buyers who sign and practitioners who live in the UI, plus the finance lens that sets pilot capital, milestones, and time-to-value expectations. We also challenge sacred cows. Zero trust is essential, but attackers increasingly log in with valid credentials and pivot through integrations, so verification must include non-human identities and agent-to-agent controls. Breach disclosures, far from being a greater threat than breaches, are foundational to ecosystem trust and faster remediation. And while MSSPs add critical scale, co-sourcing—retaining strategic oversight and compliance ownership—keeps accountability inside. If you care about ICP, PLG motions, PQLs, NRR, or simply reducing AI risk while driving growth, this conversation turns buzzwords into a playbook you can run. Vamshi Sriperumbudur: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vamsri Vamshi Sriperumbudur was recently the CMO for Prisma SASE at Palo Alto Networks, where he led a complete marketing transformation, driving an impact of $1.3 billion in ARR in 2025 (up 35%) and establishing it as the platform leader.  Chithra Rajagopalan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chithra-rajagopalan-mba/ Chithra Rajagopalan is the Head of Finance at Obsidian Security and former Head of Finance at Glue, and she is recognized as a leader in scaling businesses. Chithra is also an Investor and Advisory Board member for Campfire, serving as the President and Treasurer of Blossom Projects. Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    1h 3m

  6. 11/07/2025

    Why You Can't Build Sovereign AI Alone/David Keane, Akash Agarwal, Abhi Ingle - SCX.ai, SambaNova, Australia ~ Spark of Ages Ep 50

    Australia needs control over its intelligence layer, not just its data. We explore SCX’s sovereign AI cloud, Project Magpie’s cultural reasoning, and why inference economics and time-to-market beat hype-driven buildouts. • sovereign AI as control and context, not just security • SCX’s inference cloud and partnership with SambaNova • Project Magpie fine-tuning the reasoning layer for Australia • training vs inference split to optimize cost and speed • tokens per kilowatt as the core unit economics • open source vs closed models in enterprise adoption • retrofitting existing data centers with pre-assembled racks • moving pilots to production through cost, control, and confidence • regional strategy across Southeast Asia and exportable tokens • agents shifting work to domain teams, doing more not just cutting costs • candid MBA debate on value, narrative, and people skills • playful Spark Tank on pickleball and rapid-fire personal insights What if a nation’s most critical asset isn’t oil, power, or spectrum—but intelligence? We sit down with Southern Cross AI (SCX) founder David Keane, co-founder and CSO Akash Agrawal, and SambaNova’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer Abhi Ingle to unpack how a sovereign AI cloud can protect context, culture, and control while still competing on cost and speed. From Australia’s national needs to regional demand across Southeast Asia, we chart a pragmatic route from vision to working systems. David explains why SCX is built around inference as a service and how Project Magpie fine-tunes the reasoning layer so models “think like an Australian,” reflecting local law, language, and norms. Abhi breaks down training vs inference in plain English, clarifying why pretraining might live on massive GPU clusters while high-throughput, energy-efficient inference thrives on SambaNova’s ASIC-based systems. Akash digs into enterprise realities—data sovereignty, runaway costs, and integration roadblocks—and makes the case for open source models you can fork, fine-tune, and operate within your perimeter. We get practical about tokens per kilowatt as the new ROI, pre-assembled racks that drop into existing data centers, and managed services that cut time-to-market from years to months. We explore why most buyers don’t care which chip is under the hood—they care about latency, reliability, and price—and how that shifts competition from hardware logos to delivered outcomes. Go to SCX.ai to experience the future of sovereign AI. Remember, in order to win the “$1,000 token credit" you'll have to explain what a magpie is in the comments, and the team at SCX will judge the winner! David Keane - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakeane/ David serves as the Founder & CEO of SouthernCrossAI (SCX.ai), an Inference-as-a-Service platform dedicated to establishing sovereign, scalable, and cost-efficient AI infrastructure tailored for Australian requirements. Akash Agarwal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagarwal/ Currently, Akash serves as the Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of SouthernCrossAI (SCX.ai). Abhi Ingle - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingle-abhi/ Abhi Ingle - Currently, Abhi serves as the Chief Product & Strategy Officer (CPSO) at S Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    1h 9m

  7. 10/24/2025

    Revenue Culture That Survives the Boom/Jeff Perry - Carta, Cap Tables, Private Capital ~ Spark of Ages Ep 49

    We sit down with Jeff Perry, CRO at Carta, to explore how growth leaders redefine success when capital tightens, buyers get smarter, and AI reshapes cost structures.  We unpack how growth has changed, why IPO-ready now means post-IPO durable, and how Carta scaled from a cap table tool to an ERP-like platform for private capital while staying efficient and customer-first. Jeff shares concrete tactics for moving upmarket, using AI wisely, and building teams that perform under pressure. • redefining fast growth and IPO readiness in private markets • evolving from SMB velocity to enterprise endurance • expanding from cap tables to fund admin and private credit • measuring meetings as a leading productivity indicator • using curated events and customer proofs over vanity metrics • aligning sales, marketing and product around shared pipeline • adding K-1 tax and LP data products to deepen value • AI as a force for 10x productivity, not headcount cuts • disciplined acquisitions to accelerate the CFO ERP vision • leadership choices: pausing sales, saying no when not ready IPO dreams used to hinge on hitting 100 million ARR. That world is gone.  Jeff takes us from Carta’s earliest days digitizing stock certificates to building a networked platform that now powers cap tables, fund administration, LP data, and private credit—an evolving ERP for the office of the private capital CFO. We dig into the hard pivots after the 2021 surge: why “more capacity” stopped working, how meetings per AE became a reliable leading indicator, and where curated events and customer-led storytelling outperform saturated digital tactics. Jeff explains the move upmarket into venture and private equity, the new enterprise seller profile it requires, and the partnership with marketing to identify real switching intent. He also shares how acquisitions like Accelex and Sirvatus support an end-to-end vision across funds, LPs, and loan servicing. AI looms large throughout. Jeff contrasts application-layer SaaS with AI-native companies carrying heavy compute costs, and why that bifurcation changes CAC, payback, and headcount plans. Rather than using AI to cut roles, he shows how Carta uses it to 10x productivity—accelerating RFPs, territory coverage, and performance workflows—while standardizing experiments so wins become reusable process. Along the way, we unpack bold leadership choices: pausing sales to protect implementation quality, and walking away from a marquee IPO transition when the product wasn’t ready. If you care about efficient growth, enterprise GTM, and building products that compound value across a connected market, this conversation delivers practical playbooks and memorable lessons on performing under pressure. Follow, share with a teammate, and leave a quick review to help more operators find the show. Jeff Perry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-perry-380233/ Jeff is a proven revenue superstar, whose career journey spans Oracle and DocuSign.  Under his leadership as CRO at Carta, Carta’s annual recurring revenue scaled from approximately $20 million ARR to $450 million ARR. Jeff attended Santa Clara University where he received a B.S. in Political Science and where he also played NCAA baseball. Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    1h 2m

  8. 10/10/2025

    How to Finance a Law That Saves Women's Lives/Bhairavi Parikh, Richard Arney - 2%, WHIC, Voter Initiative ~ Spark of Ages Ep 48

    We map the data, policy, and funding failures that created the women’s health gap and lay out a California-led plan to fix it with research built for women, agile AI governance, and voter-backed capital. The goal: better outcomes, lower costs, and a template to repair healthcare at large. • two percent venture funding and underpowered trials • AI amplifying bias without sex-specific datasets • misdiagnosis, adverse drug reactions, and cost burden • why subgroup analysis must be mandated • ballot initiatives as a research funding engine • learning from California’s stem cell model • WHIC’s scope: basic science to real‑world translation • agile governance for AI and data privacy • workforce constraints versus knowledge deficits • value‑based care’s attribution math problem • women’s health as a system-wide blueprint • tangible moonshot: closing the measured gap If anyone is out there is interested in becoming the part of future healthcare for women in California, we welcome your input. We welcome your views, your time, and your treasure to be part of this campaign that's going to change the course of history for women's health in California, if not the United States.  Please reach out to Bhairavi or Rick on Linkedin The numbers are brutal: women receive a fraction of research attention, a sliver of venture funding, and face later diagnoses with higher adverse drug reactions—then AI threatens to accelerate the bias baked into that history. We take this on head‑first with Bhairavi Parikh, a serial medtech founder behind the proposed Women’s Health Institute of California (WHIC), and Rick Arney, co-author of California’s landmark privacy laws and a strategist who knows how to turn public will into policy. We unpack why clinical trials still fail to power for sex differences, how underrepresentation turns into misdiagnosis and higher costs, and what it will take to build datasets and decision tools that actually work for women. From agile AI governance to rigorous privacy protections, we explore how to enable research without sacrificing trust, and why California’s ballot initiative model—proven in the state’s stem cell program—offers a practical way to fund the missing science and speed real-world translation.   Bhairavi Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhairavi-parikh-9732071/ Founder of the Women’s Health Institute of California (WHIC), a proposed statewide research initiative which we’ll be discussing in depth today.  She is also the Founder and CEO of Clarity Health Alliance.  Previously Bhairavi served as COO at Health Rhythms and Wildflower Health. As a serial founder, Bhairavi has built multiple med tech companies, including CellScape and Apieron, collectively raising over $75 million Richard Arney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-arney-3a23731a/ A recognized authority on privacy, having co-authored the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Rick previously served as BlackRock’s Global Head of Alternatives Distribution and led BlackRock’s hedge fund product strategy and served as Head of Investment Strategy for the Global Market Strategies Group, which managed BlackRock’s largest ($10B AUM) hedge fund.   Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/ Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/ Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/ Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

    1 hr
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13 Ratings

About

The Spark of Ages podcast is about the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence through a marketing lens.  We are living in the middle of the most important "spark for the ages".   Our episodes are either about looking back to teach us what we can learn for this moment, or looking forward for where the next spark might be.We highlight the stories from business leaders at the intersection of marketing, technology and innovation.

Information

  • Creator
    Rajiv Parikh
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Spark of Ages
  • Show Website
    Spark of Ages