Exponential Ventures Podcast

Today on the Scaling Impact Podcast James talks with Jason Silva. Jason is an Emmy-nominated TV personality, filmmaker, keynote speaker and futurist. He is best known as the host of the TV series “Brain Games” on the National Geographic Channel, as well as for his wildly successful Youtube show “Shots of Awe”. In this episode JT and Jason deep dive into the inner workings of flow state. What it is, unique and reliable ways to access it, and how it can have profound effects on the mind of an entrepreneur. They also cover the power of being able to hold two seemingly opposing views in mind at the same time, as well as how looking to nature can give us the deepest understanding of the latest evolving technologies.

Welcome to episode 1 of the Scaling Impact Podcast. In this brief overview episode our host, James Tonn, walks you through what this podcast is about, who it's for, and what you can expect in the episodes to come.

Today on the podcast, James is joined by Salim Ismail. Salim is the best-selling author of “Exponential Organizations” and a serial tech entrepreneur whose previous company Ångströ was purchased by Google in 2010. He led Yahoo!’s internal incubator, is an XPRIZE Foundation Board member, is the Founding Executive Director of Singularity University and the Chairman of OpenExO. In this episode, JT and Salim talk about cryptocurrencies, Moore's Law of technological advancement, and hugely disruptive technologies that currently exist that the average person doesn’t know about. They also cover how Elon Musk creates new companies, masculine and feminine archetypes of emerging technology, and the anatomy of exponential companies with specific examples from around the world.

Today on the podcast we’re bringing you our first Foundational Knowledge episode. These episodes are designed to give founders and entrepreneurs practical knowledge and actionable steps to scale both their business and impact. In this episode JT is joined by his Exponential Ventures co-founder, James Wallace (JW). JW is a serial entrepreneur who has created over a dozen successful startups, a 3rd generation marketer, and an exponential technology specialist who started his first tech company in the early 90’s. In this episode JT and JW talk about the 3Ps: Passion, Purpose, and Proficiency. Specifically, what they are, why they matter, and why they won’t invest in founders who don’t have them–regardless of how lucrative the project is. They also explain how traditional accelerators are broken and neglect 95% of companies they accept if they don't feel they have “unicorn DNA”. Finally, they look at how to get a founder to uncover and connect with the deeper “why” behind their business and how powerfully that serves them in the long run.

Today on the podcast we’re bringing you another Foundational Knowledge episode with James Tonn and James Wallace. In this episode JT and JW talk about how new technologies, like Blockchain, are allowing us to create ‘trustless environments’ that empower individuals and challenge central authorities. They also dive deep into the tokenization of the economy and how just about anything from works of art to music rights can be broken into tokens and sold for value. They also give some predictions about how in the near future customers will become the investors and how startups who use the full features of blockchain will win, while the ones trying to use 50% or less will lose.

Today on the podcast, JT is joined by Philip McKernan. Philip is an author, filmmaker, and inspirational speaker who has shared stages with Richard Branson, Steven Covey, and the Dalai Lama to name a few. He is the founder of the One Last Talk movement and his pioneering philosophy, SoulSet™, equips and empowers people to uncover their gifts and impact the world. Philip has worked with everyone from Olympic athletes to billionaire entrepreneurs and everyone in between. In this episode JT and Philip talk about practical steps to uncovering your personal ‘why’, the reason it’s critically important to know it clearly, and how you can build a business around it. They also cover the importance of having a personal vision, uncovering your unique superpower (that you probably didn’t realize you have), and the self-imposed handicap most entrepreneurs apply to themselves that holds them back from achieving the life they truly want.

Today on the podcast, JT is joined by Dr. Shefali. Recognized as one of Oprah’s Supersoul 100 teachers, Dr. Shefali is a clinical psychologist and wisdom teach who blends Eastern mysticism with Western psychology. Her mission is to help people live liberated lives, free from pain and inner conflicts. Her teachings help people release old patterns, false self beliefs, and step into living their most authentic lives and truest self. In this episode JT and Dr. Shefali deep dive into the conversation of consciousness and how it impacts every entrepreneur, whether they’re aware of it or not. Dr. Shefali walks us through the different levels on consciousness and how we operate at each level–from what we think about to how we make decisions and even how we see ourselves. JT shares about his own experience of having a dramatic “consciousness upgrade” when he was younger and they both discuss the concept of the “Ego Crack” and why it’s such an important moment for founders.

Today on the podcast, JT is joined by Dandapani. Dandapani is a Hindu priest, entrepreneur and a former monk of 10 years. His mission is to help people live a life of purpose and joy by empowering them with tools and teachings that have been used by Hindu monks for thousands of years. He works with entrepreneurs globally and companies such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Nike, Trivago, and Xero in cultivating focus and managing energy. He and his wife are also passionately creating a 33-acre spiritual sanctuary and botanical garden in Costa Rica to further their mission. In this episode JT and Dandapani cover the topic of focus from many different angles. Dandapani shares the hidden pitfalls of splitting your energy among too many things, the key to unlocking unshakable focus, and his unique perspective on why the life of an entrepreneur and a monk aren’t that different. He also speaks into a troubling trend he’s noticed that is robbing ‘successful’ people from living a fulfilled life and why growing your consciousness is a requirement for scaling your business in today’s world.

Today on the Scaling Impact Podcast Jason Silva makes his second appearance on the show. Jason is an Emmy-nominated TV personality, filmmaker, keynote speaker and futurist. He is best known as the host of the TV series “Brain Games” on the National Geographic Channel, as well as for his wildly successful Youtube show “Shots of Awe”. In this episode Jason and JT dive into exploring the very edges of where known science ends and flow state picks up. They discuss the different brain states humans cycle through and what superpowers lay within each level. They look at the potential and implications for emerging virtual reality technology, micro PTSD, and how we are on the cusp of our next jump in conscious evolution– which might even be more profound for us than the invention of language.

Today on the podcast we’re bringing you another Foundational Knowledge episode. These episodes are designed to give founders and entrepreneurs practical knowledge and actionable steps to scale both their business and impact. In this episode JT and JW deep dive into exponential companies – what are they, what makes them different, and why they dramatically outperform traditional companies. They look at the crucial role of data in startups and practical steps for how a founder can make use of the data they already have (and probably haven’t been using). They also explore the evolution of the internet from Web 1.0 to 3.0 and how the new ‘gig economy’ is providing far more security than traditional jobs.

Today on the podcast we’re bringing you another Foundational Knowledge episode. These episodes are designed to give founders and entrepreneurs practical knowledge and actionable steps to scale both their business and impact. In our last episode JT + JW explained the principles of an exponential organization and why they’re able to dramatically outperform traditional organizations. In this episode JT + JW give you the practical instructions on how to implement exponential principles and tools directly into your organization. From leveraged assets and staff-on-demand to the benefits of OKR reporting and how to get to the ONE metric that truly matters in your organization–– we’ve got you covered. Grab a notebook and let’s get started!