Summer Break: The Break Before the Leap - Finding Strength in Stillness

During our summer break, we revisit an episode about resilience, pivots, and transformation. Hear Pete Flint on startup survival, Aaron Holiday on breaking into venture capital, Julie Rice on building SoulCycle, Tamara on her ballet breakthrough, Matteo Franceschetti on sleep innovation, Beverly Parenti on coding in prison, and Windy Chien on creativity through daily practice. Each story reveals how uncertainty can become the catalyst for growth.

Listen to the full episodes here:

• House Broken: Pete Flint on Disrupting Real Estate and Building Trulia
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Breaking the Bank: Aaron Holiday on 645 ventures' data-driven approach to sourcing deals and bringing the invisible to life
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Break A Sweat: Building Magic On and Off the Bike with Julie Rice of SoulCycle
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Breaking Pointe: San Francisco Ballet’s Tamara Rojo with Her Bold Vision for a Vibrant Future
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Take a Break: Matteo Franceschetti on Breaking Sleep Cycles and Turning Rest into a Competitive Advantage with Eight Sleep
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Prison Break: The Last Mile's Chris and Beverly Share a Blueprint for Change, Born at San Quentin, Scaling Nationwide
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 

• Broken Records: Windy Chien on changing paths, tying stories into knots, and designing a new language of possibilities
  Listen here: Apple | Spotify 
  
  

Pete Flint
Pete Flint is a serial entrepreneur and investor who co-founded Trulia, steering the company through its IPO and a multi-billion-dollar merger with Zillow. Today, he's a General Partner at NFX, investing in early-stage companies that leverage network effects and cutting-edge technologies.

Listeners can learn more about Pete Flint at NFX, and on LinkedIn @PeteFlint

Aaron Holiday
Aaron Holiday is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 645 Ventures, a venture capital firm backing early-stage startups led by visionary, often underestimated founders. With a background that bridges entrepreneurship, systems thinking, and institutional investing, Aaron takes a high-conviction, hands-on approach to venture capital.

Explore 645 Ventures
Connect with Aaron Holiday on LinkedIn

Julie Rice
Julie Rice is a serial entrepreneur and community-builder best known as the co-founder of SoulCycle and now Peoplehood, a platform for relational fitness and guided group conversation. Her work centers on designing experiences that build human connection at scale.

Listeners can learn more about Julie Rice through LinkedIn @julierice

Check out Julie’s latest venture Peoplehood, and learn more about Soulcycle   

Tamara Rojo

Tamara Rojo is a renowned ballerina and artistic director celebrated for her passion, discipline, and vision in the world of dance. Known for breaking traditional molds, Tamara believes that true achievement in the art form isn’t reserved for the most gifted—but for those who are most honest and disciplined with themselves. In this episode, she reflects on the sacrifices required to be “first” and the inspiration she draws from other art forms, powerful friendships, and exhibitions that remind her of the woman she aspires to be. Her story is a masterclass in resilience, artistry, and leading with heart.

Learn more about Tamara Rojo and explore her work at San Francisco Ballet.

Matteo Franceschetti

Matteo Franceschetti is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, the sleep fitness company.Eight Sleep developed a proprietary technology which is redesigning sleep by developing cutting-edge AI and machine learning models to track bio signals during the night and optimizing body recovery and rest while asleep. The end goal of the Pod is to compress sleep and scan your body while asleep to monitor your health. Eight Sleep is currently used by pro athletes and top performers across multiple industries and was recognized as one of TIME’s “Best Inventions” in 2018 and 2019, was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in 2018, and has raised over $150M in funding from leading investors, including Founders Fund, Softbank, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Valor Equity Partners, General Catalyst, Naval Ravikant, and Patrick Collison.

Discover your perfect sleep set up - Take Quiz

Connect with Matteo Franceschetti on X @m_franceschetti 

Beverly Parenti

Beverly Parenti is a veteran tech entrepreneur and innovator who co-founded The Last Mile to empower incarcerated individuals, particularly women, with marketable skills. As the first-generation daughter of Holocaust survivors, Beverly's life has been profoundly shaped by her father's experiences during World War II. Her father's story of survival became a guiding light in her life, instilling in her the values of resourcefulness, resilience, and relentless perseverance.

Learn more about The Last Mile at their website  

Connect with Beverly Parenti on LinkedIn @BeverlyParenti and on X @thebev     

Windy Chien

Windy Chien is an artist best known for The Year of Knots, a daily practice in 2016 ...