Christofer and entrepreneur Oliver Edholm speak about his road to becoming CEO of a major AI start-up (Depict) and meditation in this episode of Do Explain. They discuss Minecraft and programming, dropping out of high school, joining Y-combinator, AI-recommendation engines, why Depict is different from larger competitors, the role of emotions in decision-making, the four jhanas, Dzogchen, pointing-out instructions, and other related topics.
Oliver Edholm is a 20-year old high school dropout, and founder & CEO of Depict. Depict has raised $20M in funding, and employs 40 people at the company during the time of writing. He previously lived in Singapore where he conducted AI-research at the age of 16, and before that he worked as a Machine Learning Engineer at Klarna. Oliver is also a Thiel Fellow and is recognized by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 list.
Website: https://depict.ai/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-edholm-ai/
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Preamble and intro
(4:28) - Oliver’s origin story as an AI Entrepreneur
(16:26) - Emerging from a teenage existential crisis
(25:30) - Recommendation engines
(29:40) - Expanding into e-commerce
(34:03) - Dealing with the human aspect of business / Overcoming interpersonal barriers
(42:46) - Differentiating from the tech giants
(50:45) - Where does meditation fit into all of this?
(54:48) - Thoughts on Dzogchen
(1:03:55) - Instructions and teachings on jhanas
(1:08:51) - Breakdown of all the jhanas
(1:23:22) - Comparisons of jhanas with other experiences
(1:28:25) - Oliver reveals the Dzogchen ‘pointing out’ instruction
Support the podcast at:
https://www.patreon.com/doexplain (monthly)
https://ko-fi.com/doexplain (one-time)
Find Christofer on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ReachChristofer
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!