Why Do It: Purpose, Trust, and Building the Future with Team Stemuli
A Big TECH Energy by Stemuli episode featuring the people who make the mission possible: James Dominguez (Head of Product at Stemuli), Jason Clemente (Head of Games), and Rebecca Colina Neri (Head of Learning & Research).
Access this and more episodes of Big TECH Energy by Stemuli on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Edtech products matter, but the real story is the people building them. In this candid conversation, Taylor Shead guides her team through questions of fear, trust, and resilience. From James’s leap from IC to manager, to Jason’s relationship with growing responsibility, to Rebecca taking on chasms between vision and realism, the team opens up about what it takes to grow together while building products that can change education.
They unpack the moments that forced Stemuli to “burn the boats,” discarding months of work to rebuild from scratch, and why those resets built more trust instead of tearing the team apart. The episode also dives into the breakthrough behind Founders Tycoon, a game that teaches students to ideate, build, and scale their own businesses, and the launch of Or[B], a lifelong learning companion designed to support persistence and motivation.
Whether you’re a founder, team lead, or builder navigating your own doubts, this episode is a masterclass in startup leadership and proof that purpose, vulnerability, and trust are not just values but also survival skills.
Episode Highlights:
[00:09:18] Fears That Shape Leaders – James Dominguez opens up about the challenge of moving from individual contributor to manager, describing the pressure of getting interpersonal leadership right without a playbook. Jason Clemente shares his surprising “fear of success,” explaining how growing responsibility can feel just as daunting as failure. Rebecca Colina Neri addresses the tension between visionary ideas and the realism necessary to make progress. The discussion reveals how navigating uncertainty builds the resilience and connection required for transformative leadership.
[00:14:08] Burning the Boats: Resetting Without Losing Trust – Taylor Shead and the team discuss how Stemuli has scrapped entire product builds and started over, sometimes multiple times in a year. Instead of tearing the team apart, these resets strengthened trust and accelerated iteration. James frames the “burn the boats” approach as both a survival tactic and a trust-builder, showing that resilience isn’t about avoiding failure but learning to rebuild stronger, together.
[00:22:02] The ‘I Gotchu’ Culture – Rebecca describes how her tendency to overthink is balanced by the team’s openness, creating space to admit uncertainty and ask “dumb” questions without fear. Jason highlights how pushing back and clarifying each other’s ideas makes the work sharper and less overwhelming. Taylor reflects on how those moments of support, whether whispered encouragements or big strategic breakthroughs, turn vulnerability into collective strength. For founders and teams, this conversation shows why psychological safety is a strategic move.
[00:24:57] The Breakthrough: Founders Tycoon – The team unpacks how they landed on a core game loop for Founders Tycoon, a simulation where students ideate, build, and scale their own businesses through AI-powered gameplay. Jason explains how his background in game development helped shape an extensible design that can apply to multiple industries, while Taylor shares why this model mirrors the way she herself learned best, by founding and failing forward.
[00:34:40] Or[B], the Learning Companion – Rebecca frames Or[B] as the supportive guide every teacher wishes they could be for 40+ students at once: patient, persistent, and non-judgmental. Instead of just being a math helper, Or[B] acts as a pedagogue who encourages persistence, reframes failure, and connects learning to real aspirations. James adds why focusing on smaller, purpose-built AI models is critical for safe and effective design. This segment shows how Or[B] isn’t just a product; it’s a philosophy of learning that blends technology with humanity.
[00:39:50] Taylor’s Origin Story: Pain to Purpose – Taylor closes by sharing the turning point of losing her athletic scholarship and realizing education systems weren’t preparing students to meet their dreams. That personal setback became the root of Stemuli’s mission: to prevent students from experiencing the same pain by equipping them with the tools, context, and resilience to thrive.
Resources
* James Dominguez LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-dominguez-5b342b226/]
* Jason Clemente LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-clemente-9712b828/]
* Rebecca Colina Neri LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-colina-neri/]
* Taylor Shead LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorshead/]
* Stemuli [https://stemuli.ai/]
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