Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Ali Ghodsi, CEO and co-founder of Databricks, observes that an academic mindset can lead founders to fail because they expect everyone to approach problems the same way they would. He encourages founders to work with people with different backgrounds and ways of thinking.
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Ali Ghodsi, CEO and co-founder of Databricks, observes that an academic mindset can lead founders to fail because they expect everyone to approach problems the same way they would. He encourages founders to work with people with different backgrounds and ways of thinking.
—-----------------------------------
Stanford eCorner content is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. At STVP, we empower aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations.
CONNECT WITH US
Twitter: twitter.com/ECorner
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram
Facebook: facebook.com/StanfordTechnologyVenturesProgram
YouTube: youtube.com/user/ecorner
LEARN MORE
eCorner Website: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/
STVP Website: https://stvp.stanford.edu/
Support our mission of providing students and educators around the world with free access to Stanford University’s network of entrepreneurial thought leaders: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/give.
![Brendan Foody (Mercor) - Agentic Data and the Future of AI [Entire Talk]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NUNyK6P6q8s/mqdefault.jpg "Brendan Foody (Mercor) - Agentic Data and the Future of AI [Entire Talk]
Brendan Foody co-founded Mercor, a recruiting startup that helps Silicon Valleys top AI labs train their models to do professional-level reasoning by matching skilled workers with enterprise projects. Foody and his co-founders, Surya Midha and Adarsh Hiremath, became the worlds three youngest self-made billionaires in October 2025. In this conversation with Adjunct Lecturer Emily Ma, Foody shares how he and his co-founders identified agentic data as the next leap in AI training and benchmarking and built Mercor around it; predicts how the AI revolution will reshape work and the economy; and gives advice to aspiring entrepreneurs looking for a way into the AI market.
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at the Stanford School of Engineering, and published on eCorner by STVP. STVP empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations.
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![Tina Seelig (Stanford University) - Catching the Winds of Luck [Entire Talk]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P9rqjxLaQOY/mqdefault.jpg "Tina Seelig (Stanford University) - Catching the Winds of Luck [Entire Talk]
Tina Seelig is an educator, entrepreneur, and bestselling author who has spent decades teaching creativity, innovation, and leadership at Stanford. She is the executive director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars and director emerita of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. In this presentation, inspired by her forthcoming book What I Wish I Knew about Luck, Seelig gives practical and encouraging advice – illustrated by real-life stories – designed to help young people see and seize lucky opportunities.
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders and other Stanford eCorner content is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at the Stanford School of Engineering. STVP empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations.
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eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner
Support our mission of providing students and educators around the world with free access to Stanford University’s network of entrepreneurial thought leaders: https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/.")
![Drew Endy (Stanford University) - A Synthetic Biology Dream [Entire Talk]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PROX8gg7pSc/mqdefault.jpg "Drew Endy (Stanford University) - A Synthetic Biology Dream [Entire Talk]
Drew Endy is an associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University and a pioneer of synthetic biology. A co-founder of the BioBricks Foundation, Endy helped launch the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition to democratize biotechnology for student innovators worldwide. In this presentation, Endy gives a primer on synthetic biology and the obstacles it has encountered in the United States, shares where he hopes the field is going, and explains how aspiring entrepreneurs can adapt his framework to imagine their own futures.
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders and other eCorner content is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at the Stanford School of Engineering. STVP empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations.
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner
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Support our mission of providing students and educators around the world with free access to Stanford University’s network of entrepreneurial thought leaders: https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/.")
