In this episode of Superhuman AI: Decoding the Future, Zain and Hassan are joined by Steve Woods, Partner and CTO of iNovia Capital. Steve shares his unique path from academia to founding startups and scaling Google Canada from a small team of 10 to 2,000 employees. Steve reflects on his early work with Quack.com in the late 90s, and shares the importance of adding a human touch to technology.
Steve also discusses his years at Google, where he focused on nurturing internal talent over external hires, fostering a team-oriented culture and identifying key drivers within the organization, which he believes was essential for scalable growth and innovation, underscoring the value of team investment in building strong company foundations.
We also learn about Steve’s venture capital work and his investments in foundational AI models like Cohere and applications like Spellbook. Plus, Steve offers his advice to founders, encouraging openness, adaptability, and focus on team dynamics.
What we talk about:
- (1:28) – What’s it like working with Nobel Prize winner, Geoff Hinton?
- (3:20) – What made Steve swap academia for entrepreneurship?
- (5:22) – How did Steve develop the idea for Quack.com?
- (9:12) – What have been some similarities between the dot com, cloud and AI waves?
- (11:44) – Why Steve hired a Hollywood director.
- (14:08) – The importance of intensity.
- (17:55) – Why did Steve swap working on startups for working at Google?
- (21:18) – What are some tips Steve has for founders looking to scale aggressively?
- (24:48) – How does Steve manage working with different founders with different approaches?
- (27:46) – Can the app layer retain value, or will model builders dominate instead?
- (30:26) – Has product lost value to brand and distribution in app growth?
- (32:12) – What advice does Steve have for new founders and what industries is he excited by?
What is Superhuman AI: Decoding the Future?
AI is exploding. Every day, new intelligent tools are emerging, and they're becoming more powerful, more helpful, and more convenient to use than ever before. Artificial intelligence isn't just a handy tool for those in IT — the data science and application of AI tools spans across sectors. But how do you keep up with the latest developments? How do you make sure you don't fall behind in deep learning and automation? And where can you learn how to use these tools for productivity?
This is Superhuman AI: Decoding the Future - your source for the latest news and insights in artificial intelligence, brought to you by Zain Kahn (Superhuman.ai) and Hassan Bhatti (technology entrepreneur and investor). Each week, listen in as Zain and Hassan speak to AI industry pioneers and innovators to find out how smart technologies are transforming business and how you can apply these tools to enhance your productivity.
Along with interviews with some special guests, tune in for our weekly AI news show where we keep you in the loop with all the biggest stories and developments on AI ethics, AI marketing, and more. So, join Zain and Hassan as they break down machine learning, neural networks, and smart technologies to give you the tips you need to harness automation, boost your productivity, and let the AI tech do the heavy lifting for you.
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For more information, visit www.superhuman.ai.