Epic Human Podcast

Mike Sirkin is a father of three amazing children, which makes him a hero in my book. He also happens to be a super successful and accomplished lawyer, but this episode isn’t about all that. In this episode, Mike and I discuss what it means and what it takes to be a dad in the modern era. We talk a bit about our own upbringing and about our joys and challenges of becoming dads ourselves. Mike is an incredible thoughtful and articulate human, and I really enjoyed going deep on this topic! * Follow Mike on Twitter at @SMichaelSirkin

Cam Woodsum is the Founder of Nomad Impact Ventures, an e-commerce startup lab that builds for-profit impact businesses while traveling the world. He believes in living life to the fullest while also making a global impact. The majority of his organization's profits are funneled into an impact fund that invests in mission-oriented companies focused on climate change, healthcare, and education. Cam is also the Founder of both Bill Slasher and FanBump. Cam’s unique lifestyle lets him travel the world continuously AND make a difference. *** Follow Cam on Twitter or Instagram at @CamWoodsum, or check out his blogs at https://camwoodsum.com/ (https://camwoodsum.com/) and https://www.freedomiseverything.com

Sydney Thomas is a venture capital investor and head of operations with Precursor Ventures, a San Francisco-based pre-seed venture firm. Sydney is also the creator and host of the Be About It Podcast, a podcast featuring entrepreneurs who are building companies that serve “real people". In this episode, Syndey tells about growing up in San Diego, her early career in government & public service, and her path to venture capital.   - Follow Sydney at @sydneypaige10 and www.sydneypaigethomas.com (http://www.sydneypaigethomas.com) and her Be About It Podcast @thebeaboutitpod   - And checkout Precursor Ventures at @precursorvc or at https://precursorvc.com/ (https://precursorvc.com/)

Patrick Sagisi is a venture capital investor with DBL Partners, a San Francisco-based venture firm focused on delivering double bottom line returns, both in terms of financial and societal benefits. Patrick is a 3-time Olympic swimmer representing his native birthplace of Guam. In this podcast, Patrick explains how his extraordinary self-discipline has allowed him to excel in athletics, academics, tech, and now venture capital. * Follow Patrick at @PSagisiDBL and visit DBL Partners at www.dblpartners.vc

Ken Harbaugh is running for Congress in Ohio’s 7th district. Ken is a former Navy pilot, Yale Law School graduate, and President of Team Rubicon, an international non-profit that deploys American veterans to provide disaster relief services all over the globe. Ken has dedicated himself to a life of service in a wide range of capacities, and is now seeking to apply his skills and talents to the United States Congress. In this podcast, Ken walks me through his early years as an kid in a military family, discusses his own winding career path, and why he wants to serve Ohio like no one ever has before. His campaign slogan is “Country over Party,” and Ken truly believes - even in these polarized times - that we all have more in common than we may realize.   * Follow Ken’s campaign on Twitter @TeamHarbaugh and online http://www.kenharbaughforcongress.com/ (http://www.kenharbaughforcongress.com/)

Ray Li is a musician and entertainer with Veserium, an electronic music duo that performs a live show unlike any you’ve experienced before. Veserium creates sound from thin air using only motions and gestures, allowing fans to experience the music on an entirely different level, being able to see and hear the sounds as they are being created. Ray is a former engineer and left a white collar career to move to Las Vegas and start Veserium with his best friend Michael. In this podcast, Ray discusses his how he personally developed the core Veserium technology, the difficult decision to leave his white collar engineering career to move to Las Vegas a pursue a life as a musician and entertainer, and what it’s like day-to-day following his dream of reimagining audio and visual entertainment. Ray also graciously provided the intro music for the Epic Human Podcast, so we are super grateful and excited to bring you this episode! * Follow Veserium on Twitter @Veserium (https://twitter.com/veserium) and online at http:

Chris Anderson is Founder and CEO of 3D Robotics, a drone software company digitizing the construction industry. Chris is a New York Times best selling author, former Editor in Chief of WIRED magazine, writer at the Economist, physicist, and research scientist at Los Alamos Labs. Chris walks us through his incredible life, which includes a battle-of-the-bands with REM, managing the most important and influential magazine in the tech world, and accidentally starting the largest US drone company in history, which eventually evolved into a software solution that’s transforming the construction tech industry. * Follow Chris Twitter @chr1sa * And follow @3DRobotics and visit them at 3DR.com (http://3DR.com) * And follow his DIY autonomous car community @DIYRobocars and visit them at DIYrobocars.com (DIYrobocars.com)

Andrew Byrnes is a venture capital investor at Comet Labs, an AI and intelligent machines focused seed investor based in San Francisco. He is a former cleantech startup founder, high school teacher, marketing exec, wildcatter, fiction author, sushi roller, and local TV show host. Andrew’s circuitous life path is as fascinating as it is hilarious! *Follow Andrew’s firm on Twitter @CometLabs and visit cometlabs.io (http://cometlabs.io) to sign up for their newsletter

John Gray is an expert in social media manipulation and “fake news” bots. John is also Co-founder and CEO of Mentionmapp Analytics, a company focused on protecting social profile reputations. In this podcast, John explains how technology is used to deceive and manipulate us, who is behind this activity, and what (if anything) can be done to stop it. *Follow John on Twitter @grayspective *And find Mentionmapp Analytics at http://mentionmapp.com/ (http://mentionmapp.com/) or on Twitter @mentionmapp

Gaurav Jain is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Afore capital, a pre-seed stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Gaurav has proven his unusual ability to succeed as both an entrepreneur and a venture capital investor. In this podcast, Gaurav shares some of the non-intuitive "benefits of short-term thinking" when building your career. *You can follow Gaurav on Twitter @gjain *And you can find Afore Capital at https://afore.vc/ or on Twitter @AforeVC

Claire Coder is CEO & Founder of AuntFlow, an innovative menstrual products company. Claire recounts dropping out of college to follow her dreams while overcoming countless obstacles. Claire is what I call a “Born Hustler," a person who was destined to build companies.

Mike Vernon is Director of Key Accounts for Global One Pet, a leader in the pet nutrition & specialty product industry. He is a sales savant with uncanny emotional intelligence. In this episode, you'll learn about how Mike kickstarted his sales career, the techniques he uses to make a lasting impression, and his advice for the salesperson inside each of us.

This episode will introduce the Epic Human Podcast. It will provide some background on the host Joe Blair, explain the theme and format of the podcast, and tell you where you can find us online.