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
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#40 Scott Gravelle, CEO of Attabotics
August 12th, 2020 | 18 mins 45 secs
In Episode 40, listeners hear from Scott Gravelle, CEO/CTO of Attabotics, a robotics company reinventing supply chains through high density storage, an idea Scott came up with when watching a nature documentary about Leaf-Cutter Ants. Scott discusses how he started a robotics company with zero experience, how his mini-fulfillment centers work and his vision for distributed supply chain, and his advice to young people going about the world with fresh perspectives.
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#39 David Lee, CFO of Impossible Foods
August 10th, 2020 | 16 mins 53 secs
In Episode 39, listeners hear from David J. Lee, CFO of Impossible Foods, about the role of finance in corporate strategy, the mind-boggling growth of Impossible Foods since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his advice to young people launching into their careers. Check out the Our Future Newsletter - https://bit.ly/ourfuture1
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#38 Steve Miller, CFO of Warby Parker
August 5th, 2020 | 16 mins 52 secs
In Episode 38, listeners hear from Steve Miller, CFO of Warby Parker, about balancing growth and profitability from the perspective of a CFO, the beauty of the direct-to-consumer business model, and his advice to young people launching their careers.
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#37 Kevin Merida, EIC at ESPN's "The Undefeated"
August 3rd, 2020 | 17 mins 28 secs
In Episode 37, listeners hear from Kevin Merida, SVP and Editor-in-Chief at ESPN, about interviewing President Bush on morning jogs while at the Washington Post, getting the opportunity to launch a brand-new media enterprise out of ESPN, and his advice to young people as they embark upon their careers.
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#36 Ian Shapiro, SVP at IPG360
July 31st, 2020 | 16 mins 31 secs
In Episode 36, listeners hear from Ian Shapiro, VP of Valuation and Strategy at IPG360, where he architects a multi-million dollar real estate deal in the sports and entertainment industry and beyond. He discusses the rise of mixed-use developments, the downfall of WeWork, and why he loves working in real estate.
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#35 Jon Glickman, Former President of MGM Studios
July 29th, 2020 | 17 mins 49 secs
In Episode 35, listeners hear from Jon Glickman, former President of MGM Studios and Founder of Glickmania, about how he got his first big movie internship in an elevator pitch, how he turned around one of the most iconic film studios in Hollywood, and his advice to young people going out into the world in these unprecedented times.
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#34 Guy Kawasaki, Startup Guru
July 27th, 2020 | 16 mins 58 secs
In Episode 34, listeners hear from Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva and legendary author, investor, advisor, speaker, and marketing guru. He talks about his two biggest wins in the business world with Canva and Apple, his famous 10/20/30 rule for slide decks, and his advice for young people about to dive head first into their career.
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#33 Lori Sherer, Partner at Bain & Company
July 24th, 2020 | 13 mins 54 secs
In Episode 33, listeners hear from Bain & Company Partner Lori Sherer, who leads Bain’s Advanced Analytics practice, helping companies in verticals like banking, telecom, and healthcare capture more value in their businesses. She discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the consulting industry, the ways in which she makes persuasive recommendations to clients, and her advice to young people interested in recruiting consulting this fall.
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#32 Todd Parsons, Chief Product Officer at OpenX
July 22nd, 2020 | 16 mins 29 secs
In Episode 32, listeners hear from Todd Parsons, Chief Product Officer at OpenX, a leading online advertising exchange. He discusses the rise of first party ad-exchanges on digital platforms, the current dilemma in advertising with negative news content, and his advice to young people interested in advertising and marketing.
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#31 Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat
July 20th, 2020 | 15 mins 27 secs
In Episode 31, listeners hear from Chuck Muth, Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat, about the early pitch that sold him on the company’s mission, the bold move to put plant-based meat alongside animal meat in supermarkets, and his advice for young people who want to excel professionally.
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#30 Chris Murphy, President of the Santa Cruz Warriors
July 17th, 2020 | 15 mins 15 secs
In Episode 30, listeners hear from Chris Murphy, President of the Santa Cruz Warriors, about the relationship between the GSW and the SCW, the evolution of the NBA G-League in recruiting young talent, and his career advice to students who want to work in sports and beyond.
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#29 Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign
July 14th, 2020 | 17 mins 52 secs
In Episode 29, listeners hear from Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign, the e-signature pioneer that has become one of the most successful companies in the post-pandemic economy. He talks about his vision for DocuSign's future with new “agreement cloud” services, the way DocuSign verifies signor identity and looks to contend with its growth, and his advice to future business leaders.
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#28 Angel Rich, Founder of WealthyLife
July 10th, 2020 | 12 mins 33 secs
In Episode 27, listeners hear from Angel Rich, Founder & CEO of Wealthy Life, a Financial Education Technology Company that designs games to increase financial literacy. Angel made waves around the world when she invented CreditStacker, a game resembling Candy Crush that allows users to learn about credit types and improve their credit scores. It was coined the best financial literacy product in the country by The White House, Department of Education, and JP Morgan Chase, and Google named it one of the Top 10 Apps in the world of 2017.
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#27 Scott Alexander, Award-Winning Screenwriter
July 8th, 2020 | 15 mins 19 secs
In Episode 27, listeners hear from Scott Alexander, an acclaimed Hollywood screenwriter who has penned works like "The People vs. Larry Flynt", "Ed Wood", "Man on the Moon", "Dolemite is my Name", and his first TV series, "American Crime Story - The People vs. OJ Simpson" won four Primetime Emmys after airing on FX in 2016. He discusses getting hired by 21st Century Fox as a professional screenwriter at age 22, his upcoming movie with Netflix about Nike founder Phil Knight based on his memoir "Shoe Dog", and his advice to young people who want to notch a career in entertainment.
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#26 Adi Ignatius, EIC of Harvard Business Review
July 6th, 2020 | 16 mins 18 secs
In Episode 26, listeners hear from Adi Ignatius, Editor-in-Chief of Harvard Business Review, about his time as a WSJ Bureau Chief overseas, how he rebranded HBR, and his advice to young people interested in media and journalism.
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#25 Samir Patel, Director of Engineering at Instagram
July 3rd, 2020 | 15 mins 24 secs
careers, engineering, facebook, google, innovation, instagram, internships, jobs, social media, technology
In Episode 25, listeners hear from Samir Patel, Director of Engineering at Instagram, about his experience launching the Google Play Store, the complex challenges in building user trust on social media platforms, and his advice to students who to work in Big Tech. Join Our Future on Instagram @ourfuturerpodcast and Twitter @ourfuturepod.