Giant Ideas

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  "Run Towards Growth" Career Advice From ex-YC COO and Applied Intuition CEO Qasar Younis 06.08.2026 33min

  Today, we're back for our FINAL episode before a 3 week summer break! We're back the first week of September. Today we're joined by Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition and former COO of Y Combinator, to talk about his life lessons & career advice. He speaks about: The rule he got from a Harvard professor: a mediocre person in a high-growth industry beats the best person in a mediocre oneThe most useful advice of his careerOptimising for the people you'll learn from over ...
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  Applied Intuition CEO, Qasar Younis: Why He Raised ~$1B but Never Spent a Dollar 30.07.2026 39min

  Today, we're joined by Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, a physical AI company valued at $15 billion that builds the models and simulation tools behind autonomous vehicles, defence systems, and industrial machines (before this, he was COO of Y Combinator). Tommy Stadlen talks to Qasar about why he thinks physical AI will define the next 25 years, and why Applied's ability to run the same models across cars, drones, and construction equipment is its biggest edge. They als...
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  "I Think of It More as Seduction": CNN Host Fareed Zakaria, on the Art of the Interview 23.07.2026 17min

  Today, we're back with Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, to talk about his lessons about how to do a great interview. Fareed Zakaria has interviewed people from presidents, dictators, and the Dalai Lama over three decades, live on air. Tommy Stadlen and Cameron McLain talk to Zakaria about the craft behind those conversations: why he treats an interview as seduction rather than confrontation, why Lee Kuan Yew is the most impressive guest he's ever had, and why the Dalai La...
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  CNN Host, Fareed Zakaria: Is the Post-War World Order Collapsing? 16.07.2026 24min

  Today, we're joined by Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's flagship foreign affairs show and author of The Post-American World. Cameron McLain and Tommy Stadlen talk to Fareed about what the world could look like in 2040: why he believes the American-led order built in 1945 is dissolving, why he argues liberal democracy's issues are cultural rather than economic, and why he still thinks a coalition of the US, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and India could keep a rules-based order alive. Bui...
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  "We Hire For Default Optimism": Deel Co-founder & CEO, Alex Bouaziz on Arsenal, His Father, and Video Games 09.07.2026 16min

  Today, we're back with Alex Bouaziz, co-founder and CEO of Deel, to talk about his life lessons. Alex Bouaziz is the co-founder and CEO of Deel, the global payroll and HR platform he's grown from zero to a $17 billion business in just a few years. Tommy Stadlen talks to Alex about the mindset behind building Deel, from why he calls himself a "wartime CEO" to how a chance encounter on Reddit led to his first hire. Alex opens up about running the business alongside his father, why he thinks his...
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  Deel Speed: From $1M to $100M in Less Than 2 Years - Deel Co-founder, Alex Bouaziz 02.07.2026 35min

  Today, we're joined by Alex Bouaziz, co-founder and CEO of Deel, the global HR and payroll platform now serving companies across 150+ countries with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Tommy Stadlen talks to Alex about how Deel became the fastest startup to reach $100M in recurring revenue: and why that record came down to one thing: following customers. Alex explains why Deel launched with contractors when everyone else went after employees, how they carried the intensity of Y Combinator...
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  Cityblock Co-Founder, Toyin Ajayi: What Happens When You Treat Healthcare as a Right, Not a Transaction? 25.06.2026 42min

  Today, we're joined by Toyin Ajayi, co-founder and CEO of Cityblock Health and a former doctor who trained in the NHS before taking on the US healthcare. Toyin built Cityblock to serve people on Medicaid. The company is now around $1.5bn in annual revenue, with 150,000 members across 11 states. Tommy Stadlen talks to her about her giant idea, value-based care: why she thinks paying doctors for procedures instead of real outcomes is the root of America's healthcare crisis, why the patients who...
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  iPod & iPhone Inventor, Tony Fadell: Why Saying No Was Steve Jobs' Biggest Skill 18.06.2026 22min

  Today, we're joined by Tony Fadell, the inventor of the iPod and co-inventor of the iPhone. Tony is the founder of Nest (the smart thermostat acquired by Google) and the New York Times best-selling author of Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making. In this second episode, Tommy Stadlen talks to Tony about his years working alongside Steve Jobs and what he's learned about building a career, why he thinks saying "no" is the most underrated skill in product, and why giving credi...
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  "We Had to Kill the Ipod To Save Apple" - iPod & iPhone Inventor, Tony Fadell 11.06.2026 37min

  Today, we're joined by Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod, co-inventor of the iPhone, and founder of Nest, acquired by Google. He's also the New York Times bestselling author of Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, and has invested in over 100 companies working across AI, surgery, textiles, and drug discovery. Tommy Stadlen talks to Tony about why Apple was so close to collapse when it bet on the iPod, why no single AI device will replace the smartphone, and the two-year i...
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  Twilio & Inertia Co-founder, Jeff Lawson: Is Nuclear Fusion The Holy Grail of Energy? 04.06.2026 43min

  Today, we're joined by Jeff Lawson - co-founder of Twilio and now founder of Inertia, a fusion energy company commercialising the Lawrence Livermore fusion breakthrough (the first experiment to produce more energy from fusion than it consumed.) Cameron McLain talks to Jeff about why he thinks the barriers to fusion are manufacturing problems, not physics problems, what a 10-15 year timeline to grid energy actually looks like, and why he thinks SaaS is heading for a structural reckoning. He sp...
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  Lightspeed Co-founder Barry Eggers: Are Billion-Dollar Seed Rounds the New Normal? 28.05.2026 47min

  Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions. In this episode, Cameron McLain sits down with Barry Eggers, co‑founder of Lightspeed Venture Partners (≈$40B AUM), to decode what’s really happening in today’s venture market. From trillion‑dollar IPOs and billion‑dollar seed rounds to AI, robotics, and ...
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  Drama Is Conflict, Brand Is Character: Lessons from Nike, Airbnb and Apple with AKQA & Studio.one's Ajaz Ahmed 21.05.2026 38min

  On this episode of Giant Ideas, Tommy sits down with Ajaz Ahmed, founder of AKQA and now Studio.One, to decode what truly iconic brands have in common — from Nike, Apple and Disney to Gymshark, and how founders can learn from them. Ajaz argues that “great brands are great storytellers” with a clear desire to right a wrong in the world. He shares lessons from two decades with Nike, why authenticity and category focus still win, and how founders racing from zero to billions can build brands tha...
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  “I’m a Pathological Optimist” - Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales' Life Lessons 14.05.2026 18min

  In this episode of Giant Ideas, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, discusses how trust, purpose, and community design shaped one of the world’s most used websites. He reflects on three photographs that define his life, Wikipedia’s core purpose and why transparency, clear purpose, and walking the walk are central to trust. He also shares the trust framework of building trust, and why execution matters more than idea secrecy, and the real‑world costs of living in mistrust. -------------------...
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  Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales: What Can You Trust In The Age of AI? 07.05.2026 35min

  Why did Wikipedia stay donation-funded and ad-free while OpenAI raced toward billions in GPU spend and a hybrid for‑profit model? In this episode, Jimmy Wales joins Tommy and Cameron to unpack how business models factor in truth, trust, and the future of knowledge online. Jimmy explains why he has no regrets about keeping Wikipedia a nonprofit, what he’s learned from two decades of volunteer-driven knowledge creation, and how AI changes the way we’ll all consume information. Key points: Nonpr...
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  "Hard Work, Grit, Tenacity and Not Giving Up" - Robinhood Co-Founder Baiju Bhatt's Life Lessons 30.04.2026 25min

  In this episode of Giant Ideas, Cameron sits down with the co‑founder of Robinhood to talk about where it all began, and what founders today can learn. They discuss: - The origin story & friendship of the co-founders of Robinhood: Growing up as children of immigrant and meeting at Stanford - 75 VC rejections: Why investors said young people would never invest, and what those VCs fundamentally missed - Founder mindset: Changing your mind as a superpower, “gradient descent” as a way to ...
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  Robinhood & Aetherflux Co-Founder Baiju Bhatt: It's Time To Commercialise Space 23.04.2026 34min

  Baiju Bhatt, the co-founder & CEO of Robinhood, has a vision that the Earth will one day be like Saturn - with rings in outer space. Baiju's latest company is Aetherflux: building solar panels in space, with energy harvested continuously from the sun, and transmitting it back to Earth or directly to AI infrastructure in orbit, via laser. The economics of space-based energy are becoming interesting, and the target metric is straightforward: get cost per GPU hour competitive with Eart...
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  Rebuild Your Life Around Friendship (Before It's Too Late): Vivek Murthy's Life Lessons 16.04.2026 26min

  In episode two with former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, he reflects on the hidden epidemic of loneliness through the story of his own life. Moving from a tight‑knit immigrant family, to the healing power of nature, to the weight of taking the oath as Surgeon General, he shares how meaning and resilience are rooted in relationships rather than status or achievement. Vivek shares how forming a Moai (a small, committed circle of friends) transformed his life, why success in any caree...
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  Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Is Technology Fuelling a Loneliness Epidemic? 09.04.2026 33min

  In this episode, former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy explains why loneliness has become a defining problem of modern life. He explains why: - The crucial difference between being alone and feeling lonely, - How mobility, social media, and the decline of traditional communities have eroded our sense of belonging - Why young men are emerging as one of the most vulnerable groups. - How loneliness isn’t just emotionally painful: it carries health risks comparable to smoking and obesity, and ...
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  “Ambition Without Execution is Delusion", Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo on Starting Form Energy 02.04.2026 11min

  Cameron sits down with Mateo Jaramillo, the former Tesla exec building one of the most ambitious climate companies in the world: Form Energy. In this bonus episode, they dive into WHY he started the company, why one challenge coin in West Virginia changed everything, the three photographs that defined his life so far... Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc. Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan ...
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  Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo: Building the Largest Battery System in the World 26.03.2026 34min

  Cameron sits down with Matteo Jaramillo, the former Tesla exec building one of the most ambitious climate companies in the world: Form Energy. They dive into long-duration energy storage, the AI-driven demand boom, and what it takes to scale hard tech from idea to gigawatt-hours. - Why Matteo left a path toward the priesthood after Yale Divinity School - Simple breakdown of iron-air batteries - Why 100-hour duration matters for grid reliability and extreme weather - How iron-air can be ~10x ...