Into the Singleverse SingleStore

Tech innovations have the power to transform our world. But how can we focus technology to help everyone?
In our kickoff episode of season two of Into the Singleverse, Raj sits down with Van Jones, an activist, CNN political commentator, and world-class changemaker.
Listen to Van share his story of how growing up in a rural community in Tennessee inspired him to dedicate his life to activism and how his foundation, Dream Machine, is using AI to drive for social change. 

This week, Raj welcomes Lonne Jaffe and Teddie Wardi. Lonne and Teddie are managing directors at Insight Partners, one of the most active global venture capital and private equity firms. Having come up through the tech world themselves as operators and founders, Lonne and Teddie provide unique perspectives on what investors look for in startup founders and leadership teams. Tune in to hear them discuss the top mistakes entrepreneurs make when pitching VCs, the difference between thinking like an operator versus an investor, and what single quality they look for above all else when evaluating a potential investment. The two also give their hot takes on the hype around generative AI and share insights into the future of the technology from an investor’s point of view. Whether you’re an aspiring founder or just interested in how VCs think, this episode offers rare access to the minds of two managing directors at the top firm, Insight Partners.About Lonne Jaffe: Lonne is a technology enthusiast who started his journey with a Commodore VIC-20 computer at age 4. He grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, and attended the local public schools until junior high school. He then went to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where he learned computer programming. He graduated from Harvard with both undergraduate and graduate degrees and interned at Microsoft during the summers. Lonne joined Insight Partners in 2017 as a managing director, after serving as the CEO of an Insight portfolio company, now called Precisely (formerly known as Syncsort), a global leader in data integrity software for over 12,000 customers in more than 100 countries. Lonne’s earlier career involved serving as the senior vice president of corporate strategy at CA Technologies and spending 13 years at IBM. At IBM, he was vice president of strategy for a multi-billion-dollar IBM software division and before that the director of mergers & acquisitions for another IBM software division, where he led a number of sizable software acquisitions. Previously, he was director of IBM’s software solutions business catering to the healthcare, life sciences, government, and education industries. At Insight, Lonne has been working in the deeper tech domains of applied artificial intelligence software, data and machine learning infrastructure software, healthcare software, fintech software, cybersecurity software, software development tooling, and some frontier tech areas like quantum computing.About Teddie Wardi: Teddie joined Insight in 2017 and focuses on high-growth software and internet companies. Teddie works with several Insight portfolio companies and helps lead new investments across both Enterprise and SMB software. Prior to joining Insight, Teddie was a Partner at Atomico, one of the largest European venture funds based in London. He sourced and led multiple growth investments in SaaS companies, being active at both the board and company level supporting rapid growth and international expansion. Previously Teddie worked at Dawn Capital, a SaaS focused early stage fund based in London, where he sourced and led investments in Automile and Showpad among others. Before moving to venture investing, Teddie was the co-founder and CTO of Nervogrid, a leading cloud service marketplace platform. Nervogrid was acquired by ALSO, Europe’s largest IT distributor that is listed on the Swiss stock exchange. Teddie holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. from Aalto University in Helsinki, where he focused on Finance and Computer Science.

What does it take to lead one of the world's largest technology companies into the future? Raj sits down with his longtime friend Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant, for an inside look at his leadership journey. Tracing his early days as a nuclear scientist in India to ascending Cognizant's ranks to become CEO, Ravi shares the triumphs and challenges that shaped his vision for delivering innovative solutions while empowering 350,000 employees. From grassroots innovation to generative AI's promise and pitfalls, Ravi offers wisdom on fostering an entrepreneurial culture, the integration of emerging tech, and vulnerable leadership. Tune in for an uplifting and insightful chat between two industry titans at the helm of building a better future powered by technology and human ingenuity.

This week on Into The Singleverse, host Raj Verma is joined by pioneering entrepreneur and investor Vinod Khosla. Vinod is the founder of Khosla Ventures, where he focuses on investing in bold technology ideas that can disrupt massive industries. He was previously a co-founder of Daisy Systems and founding CEO of Sun Microsystems, where he pioneered open systems and commercial RISC processors. Vinod is not just a successful entrepreneur and investor. At his core, he is a mentor and advisor driven by a desire to create positive change through technology. He has a passion for empowering entrepreneurs and believes business can be a force for good. On the show, Raj and Vinod will discuss Vinod's journey from electrical engineer to legendary Silicon Valley investor, his guiding principles for spotting winning startups, and his vision for using technology to tackle society's biggest challenges. Tune in for an inspiring conversation with one of tech's most influential personalities.

In this inspiring episode of "Into the Singleverse" from June, Raj Verma is joined by actor and entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher. They dive into Ashton's journey in philanthropy, specifically his non-profit Thorn, which aims to defend children from sexual exploitation. Ashton shares his personal motivations for starting Thorn and the importance of their mission to identify and eliminate child sexual abuse material online through innovative technology partnerships, like their collaboration with Singlestore. They discuss the positive impact Thorn has already made in protecting children worldwide and what's next for the organization. Ashton also provides perspective on the ethical responsibilities of technology leaders when it comes to prioritizing child safety and well-being over profits. Other topics include mental health challenges faced by teenage girls today and how the tech industry can make a difference. Join Raj and Ashton for an inspiring conversation on using technology for good and making a lasting impact in the lives of children.

Raj and Dr. Neha Sangwan conclude their exploration into how to heal burnout and reclaim your power, passion, and purpose. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to live a more empowered, passionate, and fulfilling life. Raj and Neha discuss how our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses when we overuse them or misuse them. They challenge us to rethink the corporate culture that rewards over-delivering and doing more with less, and to recognize the signs of burnout before it’s too late. Neha explains how balance and self-care are essential for tapping into our full potential and sharing our gifts with the world. She encourages us to learn our limits and to respect them, not as a sign of weakness, but as a sign of wisdom and self-love. Raj and Neha remind us that we are not machines, but human beings who need to care for ourselves first before we can care for others. They inspire us to be mindful of our boundaries and to honor them as a way of honoring ourselves. By doing so, we can create a sustainable lifestyle that allows us to shine our light brightly and authentically.