Silicon Valley Girl: AI, Tech and Career Growth

Esther Wojcicki is the "Godmother of Silicon Valley." She raised three daughters: Susan, who ran YouTube; Anne, who founded 23andMe; and Janet, a professor and anthropologist. Her parenting advice got me through the hardest parts of new motherhood, and YouTube, which Susan built, is the reason I have a career at all.In this episode we cover:The one rule that decides whether AI makes a kid smarter or just lets them cheat themselves: do the work first, then ask AI to grade it like a teacherWhy she's against banning phones, social media, or AI for kids, and what she'd teach insteadTRICK: the five-part system (Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, Kindness) she used to raise three founders, and how to run it on yourself as an adultHow to rebuild trust in yourself if you were raised to chase everyone else's approvalThe three sentences she told Anne when 23andMe was falling apartThe billion-dollar bet Susan almost didn't make, the one that became YouTubeWhy she still tells parents to push for college in the AI ageWhat she says to every mom who's afraid AI will take her kid's jobLinks:Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and parenting in the AI age: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=EstherWojcicki🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/𝕏 : https://x.com/siliconvalleymm💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co

Grant Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Gamma — the $2.1B AI tool that turns one prompt into a finished presentation, now used by 100 million people.We covered:How Gamma hit $100M in revenue with a team of just 50 — profitably, on only $23M of fundingThe two signs you have product-market fit before the money shows up, and why "your friends will lie to you" about your productHow to run a full fundraise in two weeks — Grant did 100+ pitches and how he turned a wall of no's into yes'sHow to tell if an idea is worth a year of your life (he picks by energy, not spreadsheets)Why a top investor called Gamma "the worst idea I've ever heard" — and what that investor actually got rightThe exact first-30-days plan he gives any founder starting today Links: Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=GrantLee Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/siliconvalleymm⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko⁠⁠⁠My Companies & Products: ⁠⁠https://partnerships.marinamogilko.co

📌 Head to https://granola.ai/marina and enter the code MARINA for 3 months off.Chris Pedregal built a $1.5 billion AI app in 3 years, in a category where Zoom and Google already had similar features before he launched.In this conversation he hands over the exact playbook for breaking out of a crowded market with a tiny team and a small marketing budget — a playbook anyone can use to win in the AI era.We cover:Why Chris kept Granola in closed beta for a full year before launching — and how 150 users taught him more than any public launch wouldThe 2x2 matrix he uses to decide if a startup idea can survive in a market with big competitorsHow Granola grew virally with zero built-in growth loops — no automated emails, no forced sharingThe dot plot: the early-stage retention tool that replaced usage graphs for Chris's teamWhy he doesn't use AI for product decisions — and what he uses it for insteadHow to turn 2,500 meeting recordings into a virtual chief of staffThe one thing small teams can do that Google and Zoom structurally can'tLinks: Subscribe to my newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=ChrisPedregalInstagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X: ⁠https://x.com/siliconvalleymm⁠LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko⁠My Companies & Products: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Marinamogilko.co⁠⁠