Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (ETL)

Eric Volmar (Stanford University) - A New Entrepreneurship Playbook

Eric Volmar is teaching lead at the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford. His work focuses on connecting defense, academia, and entrepreneurship to accelerate innovation for national security, supporting new ventures at the intersection of technology and policy. In this presentation – followed by a conversation with Tina Seelig, executive director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars and director emerita of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program – Volmar advises entrepreneurs about how to navigate a new landscape shaped by a shift to deep tech, blended capital, and governments reengaging with technology innovation. 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. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner [https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner]   X: https://x.com/ECorner [https://x.com/ECorner]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/]   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social]    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/]  eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner [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/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/].

Steve Cousins (Stanford University) - Real-World Robotics

Steve Cousins is the executive director of the Stanford Robotics Center and founder of Relay Robotics (formerly Savioke), which builds autonomous service robots for hotels and healthcare. Cousins’ career reflects a commitment to advancing robotics from research to real-world applications. In this presentation, he shares stories of his time in research, startups, and academia to illustrate practical advice about hiring, developing robotics products, and bringing robotics into new industries. 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. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner [https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner]   X: https://x.com/ECorner [https://x.com/ECorner]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/]   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social]    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/]  eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner [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/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/].

Jane Chen (Embrace Global) - Doing the Inner Work

Jane Chen is the co-founder of Embrace Global, which created a low-cost infant warmer that has helped more than one million babies in low-resource settings. Her new book, Like a Wave We Break: a Memoir of Falling Apart and Finding Myself, tells the story of her globe-spanning journey to break free of the narratives that once defined her and confront the long-buried truths of a traumatic past. In this conversation with Adjunct Lecturer Emily Ma, Chen encourages entrepreneurs to focus on journeys instead of outcomes, sharing her experiences with burnout and healing to illustrate the importance of self-compassion and finding the worthiness within. 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. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner [https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner]   X: https://x.com/ECorner [https://x.com/ECorner]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/]   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social]    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/]  eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner [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/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/].

Sanjit Biswas (Samsara) - Making a Real-World Impact

Sanjit Biswas is the co-founder and CEO of Samsara, a global leader in allowing physical operations organizations to harness data, AI, and the Internet of Things. He started the company with the mission to increase the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the operations that power the global economy. In this presentation, Biswas tells the story of how he co-founded his first company as a graduate student and pivoted to a new industry to found Samsara, sharing advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on finding meaningful problems to solve, building a team, and running feedback loops to understand what customers need. 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. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner [https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner]   X: https://x.com/ECorner [https://x.com/ECorner]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/]   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social]    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/]  eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner [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/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/].

Drew Endy (Stanford University) - A Synthetic Biology Dream

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. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner [https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner]   X: https://x.com/ECorner [https://x.com/ECorner]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/]   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social]    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/]  eCorner by STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/ecorner [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/ [https://stvp.stanford.edu/giving-to-stvp/].