Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand

Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand features the host's early years of building his brand, Our Future, through a series of high-energy interviews he conducted with business executives and startup founders as a 20-year-old college student. Michael ended up pivoting to becoming a short video content creator and sold his company at age 22 to Morning Brew.

About the show

Looking Beyond With Michael Sikand is a time capsule for Michael's early years of building his brand, Our Future, through a series of high-energy interviews he conducted with business executives and startup founders as a 20-year-old University of Michigan student. Michael ended up pivoting to becoming a short video content creator and built Our Future into a media company he sold to Morning Brew at age 22. In 2022, Michael was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list in media.

Episodes

  • #8 Shadi Mere Founder of Bedestrian

    May 22nd, 2020  |  13 mins 30 secs
    autonomous, biotech, business, disruption, electric vehicle, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, hopsitals, medicaltech, nurses, robots, startups, technology

    Will hospitals soon be run by robots? In Episode 8, listeners hear from Shadi Mere, Founder & CEO of Bedestrian, a startup building robots for hospitals to improve efficiencies in patient care.

  • #7 Josh Dzurlikowski, Controller of the NFL Buffalo Bills

    May 20th, 2020  |  12 mins 20 secs
    athletes, athletics, business, digital, draft, entrepreneurship, fans, football, nfl, players, sports, technology

    What's it like to be an executive in the NFL? In today’s episode, listeners learn from Josh Dzurlikowski, controller of the Buffalo Bills, about the NFL during COVID-19, the Josh Allen draft pick, the infectious energy at a winning sports team, and advice to students who want to get into sports business.

  • #6 Chris Bierly, Senior Partner at Bain & Company

    May 18th, 2020  |  15 mins 51 secs
    bain, business, career, career advice, cloudkitchens, companies, consulting, delivery, digital, entrepreneurship, internships, mckinsey, restaurants, robotics, startups, technology

    How will you land a consulting internship this fall? On this episode, listeners get insider advice from Bain Partner, Chris Bierly, about business strategy during COVID-19 and tips on landing a prestigious consulting internship.

  • #5 G. Craig Vachon, Founder of Chowdahead Growth Fund

    May 15th, 2020  |  12 mins 13 secs
    business, disruption, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, investing, money, novel, startups, technology, thriller, vc, venturecapital

    In today's episode, Michael Sikand talks business with G. Craig Vachon, Founder at Chowdahead Growth Fund and Author of Best-Selling Spy Thriller “The Knucklehead of Silicon Valley”. We discuss Vachon’s hilarious take on Silicon Valley culture, the five core areas he uses to evaluate startup ideas, and his famous Ted Talk that pissed off Google.

  • #4 Ben Hassing, Chief of E-Commerce at Coles

    May 13th, 2020  |  13 mins 37 secs
    business, china, delivery, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, global, international, retail, technology, walmart

    In Episode 4: The Future of Retail & E-Commerce , Michael Sikand and guest co-host Matt Kocsis pick the brain of Ben Hassing, former SVP of Cross Border Trade at Walmart and Chief Executive of E-Commerce at Coles, Australia's largest retail and grocery chain. Hassing grew Walmart's presence in China from $30 million to $1.3 billion dollars, and we discuss the velocity of Chinese retail, the power of global partnerships, and the trends powering the future of e-commerce and delivery. Hassing has a B.A. from Temple University and an M.B.A from the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

  • #3 Peter Jaysen, Hollywood Producer

    May 10th, 2020  |  17 mins 37 secs
    business, disruption, entrepreneurship, hollywood, hugh hefner, innovation, mansion, playboy, producer, streaming, technology

    In Episode 3: Hollywood in the 2020s, Michael Sikand talks Movies & TV with Peter Jaysen, producer of American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017), Fahrenheit 451 (2018) with Michael B. Jordan, Dublin Murders (2019) and much more. We discuss Jaysen's incredible career in entertainment, the streaming wars, and his memories at the Playboy mansion. Peter Jaysen has a B.A. from the University of Michigan and lives in Los Angeles with his family.

  • #2 Shiv Sikand, Founder of Drako Motors

    May 6th, 2020  |  15 mins 36 secs
    business, car, disruption, drakogte, drakomotors, electric, electric vehicle, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, ev, startup, startups, supercar, technology

    On today's episode Michael Sikand talks shop with Shiv Sikand, co-founder of Drako Motors, to discuss why he launched a supercar startup, the ludicrous specs of the 2020 Drako GTE, and the importance of electric cars in society. Before building an electric supercar, Shiv co-founded IC Manage, an enterprise software company that works with the largest technology companies in the world. He has a B.S. in Physics and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manchester in England.

  • #1 Susan Dworak, CEO of Real I.D.

    April 30th, 2020  |  21 mins 44 secs
    business, disruption, entrepreneurship, policy, technology

    On today's episode, Michael Sikand chats with Susan Dworak, Founder and CEO of Real Identities LLC, a disruptive Silicon Valley startup that uses technology to help businesses and government agencies verify identity. They discuss Susan's product, journey, and the biometric technologies that are changing the way we prove who people are. Before starting her own company, Susan worked for some of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the country including Cooley, Fenwick, and Pillsbury. She has a B.A. from the University of California–Los Angeles and a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.

    Susan is currently offering remote summer internships for college students interested in the legal tech space. Send me a DM on Instagram @MichaelSikand if you are interested.