Neil Parikh (Casper, Slingshot AI) on Using AI for Emotional Wellbeing, Lessons from Cofounding Casper and Finding Winning Angel Investments

Neil Parikh disrupted the sleep industry with Casper. Now, he’s using tech to disrupt one of the most pressing crises of our time: mental health. As co-founder of Slingshot AI, Neil is building tools to close the care gap in behavioral health, expand access to therapy, and still keep human connection at the heart of it all. He joins Sammi to chat about the buzziest topics in AI: ethics, regulation, job replacement, job creation and AI friends. Neil also shares advice for any founder who is thinking about raising capital; he’s raised VC money, bootstrapped a business, taken a company public, and taken a public company private. He’s seen every side of the table, and shares what he thinks is the best route for most early stage founders. Plus, Sammi and Neil dig into the ethics of AI in wellness, surprising user behavior Slingshot has observed with Ash, and why Neil thinks now is the moment for mission-driven tech. Follow Sammi on Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter  Talk To Ash Today, Sammi and Neil cover… 00:00 Neil Parikh’s Social Currency  01:02 The Rise of Casper and Revolutionizing Sleep 07:55 Challenges and Lessons from Taking a Company Public 12:59 Transition to Mental Health Tech 25:57 AI, Mental Health and Therapy 27:38 AI Friends and Anthropomorphizing AI 31:05 Surprising Insights From Ash 35:51 Monetization Strategy and Funding 37:15 Raising Venture Capital 41:37 Investing in Startups 43:07 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 44:39 Regulating AI in Mental Health 48:36 Finding the Right Co-Founder 50:33 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices