The {Closed} Session
Episodes
How auction theory is reshaping finance and compute trading
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most financial markets still run on one-to-one matching when optimization engines could unlock trillions. Kelly Littlepage co-founded OneChronos after...
How to systematically remove yourself as your business's biggest bottleneck
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most founders think scaling means hiring more people, but 66% of Inc. 5000 companies fail within eight years because growth without systems is just ex...
The Path to Funding Your Next Great AI Startup Idea
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most AI fundraising advice is performative gibberish disconnected from capital reality. Arjun Dev Arora, managing partner at Format One, breaks down w...
4 Part Framework to Secure Startup Funding
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most founders pitch the wrong metrics while $200 billion flows into AI startups annually. Vijay Rajendran, author of #1 Amazon bestseller "The Funding...
Institutional CRM AI deployment strategies
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most enterprise AI pilots die in the sandbox trap. Miguel Milano, President & CRO at Salesforce with $40B in revenue operations, explains why 95% ...
How to craft messages people remember
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most founders think storytelling is fluff that distracts from product metrics. Terry Szuplat, Obama's longest-serving speechwriter who crafted eight y...
Building startups and wealth with purpose
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most VCs chase momentum while missing systematic market dislocations worth billions. Sean Mendy, co-founding partner at Westbound Equity Partners, bui...
Building a Billion-Dollar AI Startup
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most AI 'innovation' is just workflow automation disguised as intelligence. Benjamin Shapiro, founder of I Hear Everything and creator of AI-powered p...
How to build a global AI infrastructure company
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most enterprises burn millions on idle GPUs while developers wait weeks for access. Haseeb Budhani, CEO of Rafay Systems, built a global GPU orchestra...
How operator scars build defensible AI startups
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most operators fail as investors because they can't scale their expertise beyond one-on-one advice calls. Leyla D. Seka, former Salesforce EVP who bui...
Behind Finix’s self‑serve payment platform
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most payment startups treat compliance like a checkbox instead of survival strategy. Richie Serna, CEO of Finix, sold his previous payments company to...
How AI accelerates enterprise software development
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most enterprise AI pilots fail because companies treat agent development like legacy software projects. Woodson Martin, CEO of OutSystems and former S...
How AI is rewriting startup growth playbooks
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most AI pilots fail because founders are retrofitting old playbooks instead of rebuilding revenue architecture. Mark Roberge, founding CRO at HubSpot ...
Growth lessons from consumer tech operator‑investor
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most vertical AI companies fail because they're building features, not businesses. Rachel ten Brink, GP at Red Bike Capital and former Scentbird co-fo...
Is AI in Investment Banking a Replacement or Revolution?
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most AI adoption in finance is just automation theater—real transformation requires rethinking entire workflows. George Lee, former CTO and M&A ...
How AI Transforms Different Corners of Earth
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most AI investment flows to infrastructure while founders ignore energy constraints that will determine who survives. George Lee, Co-Head of Goldman S...
Common threads through 25 years of VC investing
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI startups fail because founders obsess over models, not company building. Harrison Miller is a former VP/GM from Amazon.com’s early years, an...
The Brothers Chavez In Conversation: Tom & Marty Chavez on AI, Investing, + More
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Chavez, Founding General Partner at super{set}, in conversation with his brother - R. Martin Chavez, Partner and Vice Chairman, Sixth Street, Bo...
super{set} Celebrates First Exit: LiveRamp Acquires Habu for $200M
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
super{set} Celebrates First Exit: LiveRamp to Acquire Data Collaboration Software Startup Habu for $200M!Joining Tom and Vivek in the studio today are...
super{set} Fund II: Intensifying Our Serial Focus on Data+AI Company Building
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Announcing super{set} Fund II!The world has tilted in our favor. We’ve been building companies in the data+AI space for 25 years, mostly while it wa...
Creating a People-First Performance Culture for Startups
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Talent and career development in startups is typically nonexistent - so at super{set}, we're changing that. While a startup’s opportunities for rapi...
Rachel Gollub on Engineering, Entrepreneurship & Leading Healthcare AI
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Gollub is a distinguished engineer, programmer, and entrepreneur with a storied career in Silicon Valley: she started her career as part of the...
How OpenAI Can Build an Ethical and Effective Board
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone’s talking about what went down at OpenAI - but what does it mean for ethical and responsible AI, and what are the lessons for entrepreneurs...
What Consumers Think of AI and Their Privacy
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone’s talking about AI - so The Ethical Tech Project decided to listen. Joining forces with programmatic privacy and data+AI governance platfor...
Spotlight Series: Lindsey Meyl, Co-founder of RevAmp
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The {Closed} Session Spotlight Series showcases a different co-founder from the super{set} portfolio in every episode. Today's guest is Lindsey Meyl, ...
Ringside Tales from Serial Startup Champion Omar Tawakol
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, the fiercest competitors can sometimes become friends. Omar Tawakol is a prime example. As the founder and CEO of ...
Philosophy, Data, and AI Ethics with NYT Best-selling Author + Data Scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does Google search data reveal hidden human truths and behaviors? What philosophical challenges arise when interpreting big data? In what ways doe...
Spotlight Series: Andrew Marshak, Co-founder of Headlamp Health
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Headlamp makes it easy for clinicians and their patients to access their universal medical records, while also providing advanced AI tools to support ...
Marketing in the Age of AI with Rex Briggs
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Marketing has always been about connection, but what happens when AI becomes the mediator? With vast strides in AI-driven campaigns, how do marketers ...
Spotlight Series: Gal Vered, Co-founder of Checksum.ai
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Checksum automatically generates and maintains end-to-end tests based on user sessions so you can move fast without breaking things. Learn more about ...
Harvard Computer Scientist James Mickens on The Ethical Tech Project
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are we walking a tightrope with AI, jeopardizing humanity's ethical core? Is AI more than just algorithms, acting as a mirror to our moral values? And...
AI Hot Takes: Deepfakes, The Big Stakes, and What to Make
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is AI our salvation or is it going to kill us all? Tom and Vivek roam widely on others’ takes about artificial intelligence, adding their insight an...
AI Alignment with Brian Christian of 'The Alignment Problem'
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does ‘AI alignment mean? Can philosophy help make AI less biased? How does reinforcement learning influence AI's unpredictability? How does AI'...
The Future of Work and Talent in Tech
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Does it matter where you go to college? Should the SAT be abolished? Do you have to have a degree in computer science to work in tech? What are the di...
MIT Professor Rama Ramakrishnan on How ChatGPT Works
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few technologies have captured the attention of the general public as well as seasoned software engineers and entrepreneurs like ChatGPT. But how does...
Generative AI + Creative Work with Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Kantrowitz, journalist and author of Big Technology, joins Tom and Vivek in the studio to discuss his road to journalism, ad tech, and the busi...
Building the Creator Platform for Music Makers at Boombox.io
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the heels of boombox.io's $7M seed fundraise led by Forerunner, Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya sit down with boombox co-founders India Lossman and Max...
Privacy & Data Security Law with Alysa Hutnik, Chief Privacy and Data Security Architect @ Ketch
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are delighted to share our new episode of the {Closed} Session podcast with guest Alyssa Hutnik. Alyssa looms large in the privacy world, and she’...
AI and Bias in Hiring with Frida Polli, CEO and co-founder of pymetrics
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The {closed} session - Season 4, Episode 1Kicking off the fourth season of the {Closed} Session podcast with a great topic and guest: Frida Polli, CEO...
Arthur Patterson on Company Building
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twice a month, the super{set} community comes together for a weekly call - often featuring fireside chats with outside speakers and friends of the sup...
Arthur Patterson on Venture Investing
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twice a month, the super{set} community comes together for a weekly call - often featuring fireside chats with outside speakers and friends of the sup...
Startup Boards 101
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As serial founders, we’ve seen a lot of board meetings.Tom has even been in board meetings where the board has referred to him in the third person, ...
When and Why to Bring on VCs
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have a venture fund at super{set} but aren’t Venture Capitalists. What’s the difference? We’re operators, while the VCs are helpers. The best...
Calling BULLSHIT
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A core value at super{set} is passion. Life is too short to phone it in. We bring our authentic selves to work and give our employees the opportunity ...
The super{set} CEO
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At super{set}, the money from our venture fund exists exclusively to fund the companies emerging from our studio at inception and give the early team ...
Early Stage Customers
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
super{set} is in the business of solving real-world problems, meaning disentangling actual customer problems - not building a product in a vacuum beca...
The Product Heist
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
super{set} is unabashedly all about building great products. We have to be: all the low-hanging fruit has been plucked, and the easy things in tech ha...
People, First: Co-founding at super{set}
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Everything we do, every company we build is based on a philosophy of “People, Product, Customers” - in that order. We mean it: people first. We do...
New Venture Ideation
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Good ideas are hard work.Nobody plucks tech startup ideas out of the air like butterflies. Ideas actualize over time. It takes hard work and persisten...
The Studio Model
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's a startup studio? Is it just "venture capital" with another name?It's still early for the studio model - case in point, people still are asking...
To SPAC or not to SPAC
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Harpal Sandhu, a Silicon Valley veteran and friend of super{set}, joins Vivek and Tom and explains what the excitement about SPAC's is all about. How ...
Back to the Office, Kinda Sorta
10 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With vaccines on the horizon, the idea of getting back to the workplace doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. In this episode of The Closed Session, To...
Big Tech and Regulation
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The drums are beating for Big Tech, and for good reason. In this episode, Tom and Vivek break it all down and explain why you need to watch your walle...
Equity and Inclusion
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tom and Vivek talk about inclusion and reflect on their personal experiences as brown guys in tech. Inclusion feels like a moral imperative, but does ...
Quarantine Edition: Let the Rants Unfurl
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you came to this edition for deep company-building wisdom, prepare to be disappointed. Being cooped up in a pandemic has turned Tom and Vivek into ...
To Sell or Not to Sell
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Should you sell your company—or keep building? In this episode, Tom and Vivek break down the timeless founder’s dilemma with lessons from their ow...
And, we’re live at super{set}!
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season 2 of The Closed Session! In this first episode of 2020, Tom and Vivek talk about the five companies super{set} launched in 2019 and ...
Is Tech Stingy? The Case for Doing Well *and* Doing Good
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode of this season, Tom and Vivek take up the question of philanthropy and giving back in the context of tech. Are tech companies stin...
How to Interview for a Startup
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Women in Tech
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Building a Kickass Product & Technology Engine
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Creating a Winning Culture: Must-Haves, Memes, and Tips
02 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Early Team Formation
05 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Now that you've written the business plan and raised money, it's time to recruit your early team. In this episode, Tom and Vivek cover the do's and do...
Early-Stage Funding Do’s and Dont’s
03 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Closed Session, Tom and Vivek talk about dilution, methods, mindset, benchmarks and best practices for raising investment capit...
The Business Plan – Why, What, and How
05 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Starting From Scratch
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 2 of The Closed Session, Tom and Vivek discuss the framework for starting your own company from scratch. Within this framework, there are t...
Introduction to The Closed Session
01 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas