Is Public School Broken Beyond Repair? Karen Kirchner Explains (Ep.18)

Can Camera Glasses Democratize the Human Experience? Chris Samra on Building Waves (Ep.22)

Join Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer as they sit down with Chris Samra, co-founder of Waves [https://www.waveglasses.com/], the viral camera glasses built for creators. We explore how Waves went from a Black Mirror-inspired idea to a launch video with 30M+ views, the privacy debate, and why Chris wants Waves to be more like Ray-Ban than “smart glasses.” 𝕏 Follow Chris: https://x.com/crsamra [https://x.com/crsamra] 🔗 Waves: https://www.waveglasses.com/ [https://www.waveglasses.com/] 🎧 Subscribe to Out of Office: X – https://x.com/outofofficepodx [https://x.com/outofofficepodx] Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD] Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920] YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX [https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX] 𝕏 Follow Kartik: https://x.com/sathaxe [https://x.com/sathaxe] 𝕏 Follow Jack: https://x.com/jackndwyer [https://x.com/jackndwyer] Sponsored by Families Fund — backing founders rebuilding education and health for American families. https://www.families.fund [https://www.families.fund] CHAPTERS: * 00:00 Meet Chris & Waves * 05:37 Design that looks good * 10:45 Privacy debate * 20:46 From Black Mirror to clips IRL * 25:25 Capturing human moments * 30:44 Brand > hardware * 35:03 Creators as GTM

Can Healthy Fast Food Add Years to Your Life? Clayton Mooney on Building Clayton Farms (Ep.21)

Join us on this inspiring episode of Out of Office, where Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer sit down with Clayton Mooney, founder of Clayton Farms [https://claytonfarms.com], to explore the future of healthy fast food and the fight against the lifespan crisis caused by America’s eating habits. Clayton shares his unlikely journey—from growing up on an Iowa farm, to a career in professional poker, to building indoor farms that now power a profitable restaurant model. His mission? To give back millions of years of life to humanity by changing the way we eat, one healthy fast food meal at a time. We cover how Clayton is competing with giants like Sweetgreen, why transparency and open-source food systems matter, and the bold vision of scaling to a thousand restaurants over the next two decades. 🌱 Check out Clayton Farms: claytonfarms.com [https://claytonfarms.com] 🎧 Subscribe and listen to new episodes of Out of Office: X - https://x.com/outofofficepodx [https://x.com/outofofficepodx] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD] Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920] YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX [https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX] 𝕏 Follow Kartik: @sathaxe [https://x.com/sathaxe] 𝕏 Follow Jack: @jackndwyer [https://x.com/jackndwyer] 𝕏 Follow Clayton: @MooneyMillions [https://x.com/MooneyMillions] Sponsored by Families Fund — Backing founders rebuilding education and health for American families. https://www.families.fund [https://www.families.fund] Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share to stay updated with future conversations! Chapters: 00:00 From Iowa Farm to Poker Pro 06:02 Tackling Food Waste with Kinosol 08:46 Building Clayton Farms: Indoor Farming Innovations 11:26 From Delivery Service to Restaurant Model 19:53 Competing with Sweetgreen & Scaling Healthy Fast Food 30:49 Health, Entrepreneurship & Building a Mission-Driven Brand 44:33 Fundraising, Transparency, and Open Sourcing the Farm 59:21 The Future of Nutrition & Adding 70 Million Years of Life

Can a Cute Computer Fix Your Phone Addiction? Sarv on Building Origami (Ep.20)

Out of Office — Ep.20 Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer sit down with Sarv, founder of Origami Computing — a playful “sidekick computer” aiming to make our relationship with tech healthier. We cover the journey from scrappy, screenless prototypes to a colorful device that feels human, why phones exhaust us, and what it really takes to learn hardware, raise a round, and build something people love. 🧭 Links: 𝕏 Follow Sarv: https://x.com/SarvasvKulpati [https://x.com/SarvasvKulpati] 🔗 Learn more about Origami: https://origamicomputing.com/ [https://origamicomputing.com/] 🎧 Subscribe and follow: X — https://x.com/outofofficepodx [https://x.com/outofofficepodx] Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD] Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920] YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX [https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX] 👤 Hosts: 𝕏 Follow Kartik: https://x.com/sathaxe [https://x.com/sathaxe] 𝕏 Follow Jack: https://x.com/jackndwyer [https://x.com/jackndwyer] 💡 Sponsor: Sponsored by Families Fund — the first VC fund backing founders rebuilding education and health for American families. https://www.families.fund [https://www.families.fund] CHAPTERS 1. 00:00 Meet Sarv and the birth of Origami Computing 2. 02:35 What makes a device “healthy” 3. 05:12 The digicam prototype and retro tech’s comeback 4. 07:46 A silent rebellion against social media 5. 10:50 From screenless experiments to sidekick computers 6. 12:57 Why cute eyes went viral 7. 15:00 AI as self-actualization, not autocomplete 8. 19:59 Moving to SF: from scarcity to abundance 9. 22:27 Teaching himself hardware and PCB design 10. 26:29 Mentors, suffering, and the hard truths of hardware 11. 28:18 Staying true in a hype-driven Silicon Valley 12. 30:56 GTM, social media virality, and the weight of followers 13. 33:38 Building a tiny but mighty team 14. 34:11 Berkeley lessons: liberal arts, CogSci, and POV 15. 39:11 Almost dropping out, Tech Twitter, and finding direction 16. 43:27 Early curiosity: clubs, skateboards, and coding hands 17. 44:53 Creativity beyond tech: music, writing, and art 18. 45:34 Social media, hermits, and healthier online spaces 19. 47:41 Origami’s vision: a phone that feels human 20. 49:09 The future of AI-native devices

Can this Alpha School student fix teen mental health? Alex Mathew on Building Berry (Ep.19)

In this inspiring episode of Out of Office, Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer sit down with Alex Mathew, a high school student at the experimental Alpha School and the teenage founder of Berry, an AI-powered stuffed animal that teens can talk to for mental health support. Alex shares how his own struggles with therapy and school stress led him to build Berry, why he believes AI will replace traditional therapy, and how a cuddly plushie could help millions of young people reflect and build self-awareness. We dive into the science behind “transitional objects,” what’s wrong with online therapy, and why he’s designing Berry to push back instead of just validate. We also explore Alpha School’s radical education model: three hours of AI-powered academics, no teachers, and afternoons spent launching real-world ventures. Alex explains how he balances building a startup with being a student and how Alpha helps teens find their passion and develop it to Olympic-level standards. 🐻 Learn more about Berry: https://berryplush.com/ [https://berryplush.com/] 🏫 Learn more about Alpha School: https://alpha.school [https://alpha.school] 𝕏 Follow Alex: https://x.com/alxmthew [https://x.com/alxmthew] 🎧 Subscribe and listen to new episodes of Out of Office: X - https://x.com/outofofficepodx [https://x.com/outofofficepodx] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD] Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920] 𝕏 Follow Kartik: https://x.com/sathaxe [https://x.com/sathaxe] 𝕏 Follow Jack: https://x.com/jackndwyer [https://x.com/jackndwyer] Sponsored by Families Fund: The first VC fund backing founders rebuilding education and health for American families. https://www.families.fund [https://www.families.fund] ---------------------------------------- Chapters: * 00:00 Meet Alex Mathew: Teen Founder of Berry and Student at Alpha * 01:13 Why He Built an AI Plushie for Teen Mental Health * 04:17 Gaps in Therapy and the Problem with ChatGPT as Support * 07:33 How Berry Works: Reflection, Voice, and Personalization * 11:28 Why a Plushie? Science, Nostalgia, and Virality * 18:42 Go-To-Market Strategy: Teens, Parents, Schools, and TikTok * 22:45 Data Privacy, Memory, and Ethical AI in Mental Health * 25:17 Building a Startup Inside High School * 27:41 Inside Alpha School: AI Learning, No Teachers, Big Projects * 39:04 Rethinking Focus, ADHD, and the Future of Learning * 48:31 Life at Alpha vs Traditional School * 51:39 Should You Still Go to College After Alpha? * 59:48 Real Role of Guides and How They Motivate Students * 01:01:11 Screens, SEL, and Defeating Brainrot * 01:06:50 What's Next for Berry and How to Get Involved

Is Public School Broken Beyond Repair? Karen Kirchner Explains (Ep.18)

Join us on this special episode of Out of Office brought to you by Families Fund, where Kartik Sathappan and Jack Dwyer sit down with Karen Kirchner — a California elementary school teacher — to break down what’s really happening inside public schools today. Karen shares how COVID, politics, and outdated literacy methods have collided to leave kids behind — and what it will take to turn things around. We explore why teachers get so little respect, how the “science of reading” can transform classrooms, and what parents should look for when evaluating their children’s education. From the rise of AI tutors to the false promise of endless tech in the classroom, this conversation cuts through the noise to spotlight what strong schools actually do right. 𝕏 Follow Karen: https://www.instagram.com/karenkirchnr/ [https://www.instagram.com/karenkirchnr/] 🔗 Learn more about Families Fund: https://www.families.fund [https://www.families.fund] 🎧 Subscribe and listen to new episodes of Out of Office ASAP: X - https://x.com/outofofficepodx [https://x.com/outofofficepodx] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oDg9z0aCNyS6L0YVbEIMD] Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-office/id1789052920] YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX [https://www.youtube.com/@OutOfOfficePodcastX] Sponsored by Noots — Enjoy 25% off your order! https://sendnoots.com/discount/OUTOFOFFICEPOD [https://sendnoots.com/discount/OUTOFOFFICEPOD] Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share to stay updated with future conversations! Chapters: 00:00 The State of Reading Scores and Education Systems 21:25 Science of Reading vs. Balanced Literacy + Teacher Training 29:55 Multi-Sensory Learning, Parent Roles, and Cultural Attitudes 38:19 Education Policy, Teacher Quality, and Curriculum Gaps 45:05 Classroom Management, Tech Hype, and AI Tutors 53:44 Alternative Models, Community, and What Traditional Schools Get Right