Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (ETL)

Brendan Foody co-founded Mercor, a recruiting startup that helps Silicon Valley's top AI labs train their models to do professional-level reasoning by matching skilled workers with enterprise projects. Foody and his co-founders, Surya Midha and Adarsh Hiremath, became the world's three youngest self-made billionaires in October 2025. In this conversation with Adjunct Lecturer Emily Ma, Foody shares how he and his co-founders identified agentic data as the next leap in AI training and benchmarking and built Mercor around it; predicts how the AI revolution will reshape work and the economy; and gives advice to aspiring entrepreneurs looking for a way into the AI market. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders is produced by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at the Stanford School of Engineering, and published on eCorner by STVP. STVP empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to become global citizens who create and scale responsible innovations. CONNECT WITH US YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ecorner   X: https://x.com/ECorner   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StanfordTechnologyVenturesProgram  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stanford_stvp    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/  eCorner by STVP: 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/.

Recorded live at the capstone celebration of the Stanford School of Engineering Centennial, this ETL episode features Sergey Brin, the American computer scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded Google with Larry Page and revolutionized global information access. Brin remains an active co-founder and board member of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and he has been involved in Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence efforts. In this conversation with Stanford President Jonathan Levin and School of Engineering Dean Jennifer Widom, Brin tells stories from his Stanford years, shares insights from throughout Google’s history, and gives advice for students and aspiring entrepreneurs – including his perspective on the AI landscape. 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   X: https://x.com/ECorner   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/  eCorner by STVP: 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/.

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   X: https://x.com/ECorner   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/  eCorner by STVP: 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/.

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   X: https://x.com/ECorner   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/  eCorner by STVP: 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/.

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   X: https://x.com/ECorner   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stanfordtechnologyventuresprogram/   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stanfordstvp.bsky.social    LEARN MORE STVP: https://stvp.stanford.edu/  eCorner by STVP: 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/.