PreVetted Podcast

Shira Krishnan charts her path from hands-on engineer to product leader at Fivetran, the global leader in data movement. Shira explains why she traded pull requests for product briefs, how she rewired her mindset from “how do we build it?” to “why does it matter?”, and the frameworks she now uses to make hard trade-offs between reliability, speed, and business impact. We dig into the nuts and bolts of “just-works” data pipelines, t...

Makoto Kern, Founder of IIIMPACT, joins Federico Ramallo on the Prevetted Podcast to share his journey from robotics engineering to becoming a product strategy and UX design leader helping enterprises de-risk complex software development. With more than 21 years of experience across cybersecurity, energy, healthcare, and SaaS, Makoto has guided Fortune 500 executives and high-growth startups to launch market-ready products while bu...

Franca Comparetto is the CEO and co-founder of Cigar Sense Inc., a pioneering platform that delivers unbiased, personalized cigar recommendations based on sensory science and consumer preferences—not marketing hype. In this conversation, Franca shares her remarkable journey from her early career in Brussels at the European Commission, through a decade at Cisco leading business operations and data governance, to co-founding Cigar Se...

Jose Herrera is a creative force whose journey spans cultures, industries, and decades of storytelling. Born in Eureka, California, raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, and later building his career in San Jose, Jose embodies the spirit of bridging worlds. From his early days producing at Telemundo, Univision, and CBS, to founding MiO Productions, he has spent over 25 years telling powerful stories through video, events, and digital medi...

Jonathan Collazo is an inventor, relentless builder, and the mission-driven founder and CEO of Ostrich Air and FireBot Labs—two pioneering deep-tech companies redefining the role of autonomous robotics in public safety, defense, and critical infrastructure. In this episode of the PreVetted Podcast, host Federico Ramallo dives deep into Jonathan’s fascinating and unorthodox path—from a teenage computer repair business in Florida to ...

Stephen Klein, Founder & CEO of Curiouser.AI, Harvard MBA, and Berkeley instructor, joins the PreVetted Podcast to challenge the way we think about artificial intelligence and its role in shaping our future. Recognized as a LinkedIn Top 1% Voice in AI, Klein is on a mission to flip the script: instead of humans prompting AI, his vision is AI prompting humans: What he calls Reflective AI™.

In this conversation, Klein shares how h...

Phi Pham is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Building Beats, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people through DJing, digital music production, and creative workshops that integrate entrepreneurial, leadership, and life skills. Since its founding in 2009, Building Beats has reached thousands of youth across New York, Los Angeles, and beyond, helping them discover their creative voice while preparing them for success ...

Mustafa Qutub is the co-founder and CEO of PaloBio, a Silicon Valley startup using AI to unlock human resilience and improve neurological health. In this thought-provoking conversation, Mustafa shares how his journey through law, philosophy, and technology led him to focus on one of humanity’s biggest challenges: helping individuals and organizations thrive in the age of AI.

We explore the roots of resilience—what it really mean...

In this episode of the PreVetted Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Tanguy Chau, Founder and CEO of Paxton, the AI-powered legal platform making waves in the industry by helping lawyers work 10x more efficiently.

With a PhD from MIT and a background in engineering, venture capital, and early-stage investments in groundbreaking companies like Ironclad, Tanguy brings a rare blend of technical precision and business insight to the world of ...

Tara Maddala, Founder & CEO of Pandora Bio, joins us to explore how smartphone signals, wearables, and emoji-simple check-ins can spot early shifts in student mental health and nudge the right next step. We talk privacy-first design (individual data stays with the student), campus-level insights, and why limiting recommendations to three clinically vetted options prevents overwhelm. Tara explains how a biostatistician’s rigor—s...

Narasimha Krishnakumar explains how QuantMomo translates institutional-grade factor models into simple, rules-based portfolios that everyday investors can follow. He breaks down the “why” behind momentum, all-weather, and value strategies, emphasizing process over hunches: position sizing, risk controls, and a clear rebalance cadence. By connecting directly to a user’s brokerage, QuantMomo helps investors execute consistently and r...

Linda Baker has guided hundreds of devoted clients since 2003 through the biggest financial milestones of their lives—always with a blend of genuine care and strategic, forward-thinking execution. A former director of finance who oversaw marketing events at the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Linda brings uncommon rigor to every transaction: innovative marketing, design sense, and tech savvy on the sell side; a visionary, collabor...

Bilal Asif—founder of ConnectGenie AI and Kikbits, full-stack developer, and long-time Upwork Top-Rated-Plus freelancer—shares how he stepped beyond marketplace dependence to build a durable personal brand and a product that helps others do the same. He traces the origin of ConnectGenie from a simple Chrome extension into an AI assistant that personalizes LinkedIn connection notes, comments, and posts at scale—born from his own rea...

Gidi Cohen joins the PreVetted Podcast to share his remarkable journey as a serial entrepreneur, cybersecurity veteran, and now Co-founder & CEO of Bonfy.AI. With over two decades of experience building Skybox Security into a global enterprise and advising leading security companies like OTORIO and Octarine, Gidi has spent his career at the intersection of technology, risk, and trust. Today, he’s channeling that expertise into ...

Badri Varadarajan shares how HitWit “brings a product expert to every customer interaction,” moving learning out of the classroom and into the workflow so sales and channel partners can deliver precise product answers in real time. He walks through HitWit’s 2023 origin, the pivot from L&D to revenue use cases, and why mental maps and a realistic sales simulator help reps learn by doing. We discuss the real startup bottleneck—at...

Christa Guglielmelli is the powerhouse CEO of Magnetic Magnificent Events & Incentives. With over two decades of experience in hospitality, event planning, and sales, Christa has built a thriving business specializing in unforgettable weddings, impactful corporate events, and exclusive incentive travel.

In this episode of the PreVetted Podcast, Christa shares the origin story of her company, the lessons learned from her most...

In this episode, you’ll learn why proactive hormone testing can be life-changing for women — and how it can give you more options, clarity, and peace of mind for your future.

Svetlana Grinchenko, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Strawberry Health, shares her journey from a corporate career at PwC and leading a successful community startup for tech professionals to building a mission-driven health-tech company focused on ...

Ben Seidl, CEO of AutoLane, delve into the transformative world of autonomous vehicles. Discover how these innovations are set to revolutionize mobility and logistics, reshaping our cities and daily lives. From the challenges of integrating autonomous technology with existing infrastructure to the potential for cars to become personal assistants, explore the exciting future of transportation and its profound implications for societ...

Saumya Bhatnagar is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, Co-founder and CPO of involve.ai, and one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech. She has built her career at the intersection of product, engineering, and AI—helping companies scale smarter and predict customer needs through data-driven insights. Saumya is also a Stevie Gold Entrepreneur of the Year award winner and a two-time honoree among the Top 50 Women CPOs in the U.S.

In this ...