);

Month: March 2020

SMAJI: USING AI TO ENSURE WATER AVAILABILITY

Posted on by foundersunfound

 

Listen from yourfavorite podcast spots or read the full transcript  here.

OUR SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE: Founders Live

 

HAVE YOU GOT AI?
JUST ADD WATER

 

Dr. Kala Fleming has a passion to bring technology to the places and people where it can have a dramatic impact. All the way back to her time with IBM, she’s pursued projects that help solve healthcare, food security…and water. These fundamental needs lead Dr. Fleming to found Diaspora.ai as a vehicle to tackle these challenges head-on It’s this last essential, water, that preoccupies her current startup,  SMAJI, which is using AI to address water scarcity. The company employs a combination of technology and human feedback to accurately assess and validate water levels for property managers, in near real-time.

 

What else did they cover? Listen in and find out!

 

“water scarcity and shortages…invade lives every day ”
~ Dr. Kala Fleming

Kala and Dan talked about her startup journey, as well as:

  • Growing up in Antigua, a water-challenged island
  • Going from the Virgin Islands to Wisconsin – brrrrrr!
  • A Ph.D. dissertation on…you guessed it…water.
  • AfroTech and Founders Gym
  • Resisting pre-conceived notions

 

“…how do you make AI visible to everyone?”
~ Dr. Kala Fleming

MORE on KALA AND SMAJI

KALA:
https://twitter.com/thekalafleming
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalafleming/
TED talk

SMAJI and DIASPORA:
https://twitter.com/SMAJIcloud
https://www.smaji.ai/
https://twitter.com/diasporatech
https://diasporaai.com/

“…get to having 1 million properties, in the next five years…it’s just
scratching the surface”
~Dr. Kala Fleming

 

 

 

WESHOWUP: SOLVING THE PAY-UP-FRONT PROBLEM

Posted on by foundersunfound

 

Listen from your favorite podcast spots or read the full transcript  here.

OUR SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE: Founders Live

 

transforming entertainment
with Pay-what-you-want

 

Kahlil Ashanti has one amazing and unique journey. Starting with a challenging childhood, to the Air Force, to performing in Caesar’s Palace, to an award-winning show on Broadway…and even to Hollywood.

In this episode Dan spoke with Kahlil about his startup weshowup – a company that works with venues and artists to serve event audiences the option to “pay what you want.” The conversation ranged across many topics, including the origin story of weshowup, which includes an experiment with Kahlil’s own show – netting 82% more revenue than with a fixed price!

What else did they cover? Listen in and find out!

 

“So I rolled into Iowa at age eleven and people are like, where did this brother come from? ”
~ Kahlil Ashanti

Kahlil and Dan talked about his startup journey, as well as:

  • The Air Force as “the family business”
  • A military version of American Idol
  • Doing a one-man show on Broadway
  • His adventures in Hollywood
  • Leveraging the network

 

“There was nothing online, nothing like that. And so I built it.”
~ Kahlil Ashanti

 

MORE on KAHLIL AND WESHOWUP

Kahlil:
twitter.com/kahlilashanti
kahlilashanti.com
TED talk

weshowup company site:
weshowup.io

 

“…comparison is the thief of joy”
~Kahlil Ashanti