The afternoon sessions of the first day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 will feature NBA superstar, philanthropist and entrepreneur Shaquille O’Neal; Kyle Wallgren, CEO of Edsoma; It took place with the participation of Reed Jobs from Yosemite and many other speakers. Our founder Hakkı Alkan told us what happened at the event we attended as ShiftDelete.Net.
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At the event, Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and CEO of Robinhood, discussed the changing nature of business. Accordingly, individuals no longer want to work traditional 9-5 jobs, but they still want to have a retirement plan such as a 401K. Robinhood offers entrepreneurs the freedom of a retirement plan without having their employers offer them one. Additionally, Tenev hinted at Robinhood’s upcoming products – the launch of a credit card and expanding their product line outside the US.
Panelists examined the importance of technology companies collaborating with local and national governments and emphasized that complex transportation ecosystems must be ensured in a way that conflicting interests of all stakeholders are minimized.
Shaquille O’Neal, NBA Superstar, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur, and Kyle Wallgren, CEO of Edsoma, shared how they changed the lives of one million children by teaching them how to read with AI. The discussion offered an insight into what O’Neal was looking for when getting to know the founders, as he shared what was the first thing he noticed about Wallgren’s passion for education.
Wallgren explained that he developed a reading assistant tool that will help children from all backgrounds learn how to read with voice recognition, and that this tool gives teachers valuable time to focus on identifying solutions rather than problems.
The commercial space force in a conversation with industry leaders including Ryan Evans, CEO of Bedrock Learning, John Plumb, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Mandy Vaughn, CEO and Founder of GXO, Inc., and General James Dickinson of U.S. Space Command. and future space age topics were discussed (link to clip).
Checkout.com CFO and COO Celine Dufetel shared sustainable growth drivers, activities in fast-growing markets and the future of Checkout.com. Celine noted that Checkout.com has European roots and strong relationships in Asia Pacific. She explained that they are focusing on growth in the USA and are working on new business agreements.
When asked about the possibility of an IPO, Celine said that the IPO is not about the wedding, it is about the marriage and that Checkout.com does not feel pressure to go public in the near future.
Zach Perret, Plaid’s Co-Founder and CEO, talked about Plaid’s $5.3 billion acquisition process with Visa and the difficult decisions he made during this process. When asked about his decision to accept Visa’s $5.3 billion offer, Zach shared the challenges of making the decision as an entrepreneur to accept and then back out of the acquisition deal with Visa.
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, explained how the company plans to achieve its 2030 carbon neutrality goal. Lisa explained why the company started with the Apple Watch and emphasized the importance of working closely with suppliers to achieve 2030 carbon neutrality goals.