10X Growth Strategies

Hosted by Preethy Padmanabhan

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123

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May 2026

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About the show

The 10X podcast features leadership interviews, growth strategies and key takeaways from business and self-development books. The podcast is hosted by Preethy Padmanabhan (@preepadu). Listen and gain insights to drive 10X growth in your career, business and life. Tweet @preepadu with your comments on books or leaders you recommend to be featured in the podcast. Credits- Kavya Sethu

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May 21, 2026Episode 12244 min

E122: AI Governance for Startups and Enterprises

Are your AI agents truly safe to deploy at scale? In this episode, two founders come together to tackle one of the most urgent questions for every AI startup and enterprise today: how do you build AI systems you can actually trust? Hosted by Preethy Padmanabhan and the 10x Growth Strategies community, this panel brings together Tatyana Mamut (WayFound) and Prukalpa Sankar (Atlan) - two founders redefining how enterprises govern, monitor, and scale AI responsibly. In this episode, we discuss: How supervisor/guardian agents help enterprises reach 3-nines and 5-nines reliability Real-world example: a customer service AI agent secretly offering refunds with perfect guardrails in place Why sampling logs isn't enough and why 100% monitoring is now a legal requirement How the OpenAI and Workday lawsuits are reshaping enterprise AI accountability How to architect AI-ready data systems with lineage, traceability, and explainability built in How enterprises across the US, Germany, and Australia are navigating evolving AI regulation Hybrid deterministic + AI system design for production-grade agents Whether you're an entrepreneur, a corporate executive, or a venture capital investor evaluating AI startup opportunities - this conversation on 10x growth, scaling up, and responsible AI is unmissable. 10X Growth Strategies is a community co-founded by Preethy Padmanabhan, built to bring together founders, investors, and executives for meaningful connection and growth. With thousands of members across LinkedIn, Luma, and Partiful, the community hosts monthly events on timely topics in tech, AI, and entrepreneurship. Chapters 0:00 - 3:32 - Introduction 3:32 - 7:59 - Understanding Enterprise Trust in AI 7:59 - 13:47 - Legal Challenges and Compliance in AI 13:47 - 19:00 - Architecting AI systems for Compliance 19:00 - 21:52 - Benefits of Working with this New Technology 21:25 - 25:21 - Proactive vs Reactive Compliance Strategies 25:21 - 41:35 - Audience Interactions 41:35 - 44:04 - What is your Leadership Principle? Connect: Website: https://grow10x.podbean.com/ Luma: https://lu.ma/10xgrowthstrategies

April 22, 2026Episode 12119 min

🎙️ E121: The Future of Hiring

🎙️ E121: Building From Zero — The Realities of Nearshoring & Global Talent In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Saradha Sriram sits down with Brian Samson, founder of a nearshore staffing firm connecting top Latin American talent with U.S. companies, to explore what it really takes to build a business from nothing — in a country you barely understand. Drawing parallels with Shoe Dog, Brian shares how bold, uncertain decisions — like moving to Argentina with no roadmap — shaped his journey as a founder. From navigating cultural friction and operational chaos to building teams across borders, he explains why founders must adapt to environments instead of forcing familiar systems onto them. The conversation dives into global hiring, nearshoring, and talent arbitrage, unpacking why Latin America is emerging as a powerful alternative to traditional outsourcing markets — and how companies can actually make it work. A grounded, experience-backed look at risk, culture, hiring, and the personal trade-offs behind building something meaningful. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 00:45 • Intro & Brian’s background 00:45 – 02:20 • Taking the leap — moving to Argentina with no plan 02:20 – 04:20 • Building from zero — early uncertainty & first principles 04:20 – 06:00 • Cultural miscalculations — operating outside your home market 06:00 – 08:00 • The reality of doing business in Latin America 08:00 – 09:45 • Hiring missionaries vs mercenaries — building belief-driven teams 09:45 – 11:30 • Why “top talent” is contextual — culture fit over credentials 11:30 – 13:30 • The rise of nearshoring — LATAM’s growing advantage 13:30 – 15:00 • Remote work, time zones & global collaboration 15:00 – 16:30 • Founder trade-offs — risk, pressure & personal cost 16:30 – 18:00 • From 3 people to scale — what changes as you grow 18:00 – 19:00 • Outro — key takeaways & closing thoughts

April 2, 2026Episode 12052 min

🎙️ E120: Who Decides the Future of AI?

In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Preethy Padmanabhan brings together a diverse panel of experts to explore one of the most important questions of our time — who decides what AI becomes? Featuring Natalia (Strategic Foresight), Denise Umubyeyi (Head of Partnerships, AGI), and Jonathan Azoff (Co-Founder & GP, SNOCAP), the conversation unpacks how artificial intelligence is not shaped by a single entity, but by a complex ecosystem of builders, investors, users, and institutions. The discussion moves through how early-stage AI is influenced by those building models, but increasingly shaped by users, startups, capital, and global governance. The panel examines the role of startups as the interface between technology and everyday users, and how they translate complex systems into usable products. A major focus is on ethics and control — from the values embedded in AI systems to the challenge of governing technologies we don’t fully understand. The conversation also explores the importance of open-source models, the role of global partnerships, and the need to ensure access beyond developed markets. From infrastructure and cost barriers to questions of power, incentives, and long-term impact, this episode looks at AI not just as a technological shift — but as a societal transformation shaped by multiple competing forces. A sharp, multi-perspective conversation on the future of AI — and the forces quietly shaping it. ⸻ ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 01:50 • Introduction & Panel Overview 01:50 – 04:30 • Who Decides What AI Becomes? 04:30 – 07:30 • Builders, Investors & the Power of Ecosystems 07:30 – 10:30 • Role of Startups in Shaping AI Products 10:30 – 14:30 • Ethics, Values & AI Governance 14:30 – 18:30 • Can We Control What We Don’t Fully Understand? 18:30 – 22:00 • Access, Infrastructure & Global Inequality in AI 22:00 – 26:30 • Capital, Compute & Who Holds Power 26:30 – 30:30 • Incentives: Profit vs Transformation 30:30 – 36:00 • Open Source vs Closed AI Systems 36:00 – 42:00 • Future of AI: Efficiency or Transformation? 42:00 – 52:00 • Audience Q&A & Closing Thoughts

March 11, 2026Episode 11938 min

🎙️ E119: Achieving Meaningful Success

In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Preethy Padmanabhan sits down with Dr.Vivek Mansingh — technologist, entrepreneur, author, and former Silicon Valley leader — to unpack what meaningful success truly looks like beyond titles, money, and conventional achievement. Drawing from a career that spans Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, startups, and leadership roles alongside icons such as Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Michael Dell, Dr. Vivek reflects on the principles that shaped his journey — from aspiring big and becoming number one in his field, to understanding why professional success alone is never enough. The conversation centers around ideas from his award-winning book Achieving Meaningful Success, where he introduces frameworks such as the “Wheel of Goals” and the importance of balancing professional ambition with health, relationships, spirituality, and inner growth. Through personal stories, he explains how some of life’s most defining decisions came not from career milestones, but from choosing family, purpose, and long-term fulfillment. The episode also explores the power of mentors, books, role models, and lifelong learning — including lessons drawn from leaders such as Ratan Tata, N. R. Narayana Murthy, Rahul Dravid, and John Chambers, all featured in Dr. Vivek’s interviews on excellence, leadership, and grounded success. A thoughtful conversation for anyone trying to build ambition without losing balance — and success without regret. ⸻ 00:00 – Introduction & Dr. Vivek’s Career Journey 02:00 – From India to Silicon Valley 05:00 – What “Meaningful Success” Really Means 08:30 – The Wheel of Goals: Beyond Career Alone 11:00 – Mentors, Role Models & Becoming Your Best Self 16:30 – Books, Learning & Continuous Growth 19:00 – Thinking Big: Setting Bold Goals 23:00 – Steve Jobs, Excellence & Professional Achievement 25:00 – Family, Relationships & Life Priorities 30:30 – Why Goals Matter in Life 31:30 – Lessons from Extraordinary Leaders 34:30 – Book Awards, Giving Back & Final Advice 37:00 – Closing Thoughts

February 26, 2026Episode 11858 min

🎙️ E118: Code Breakers — Decoding Life

In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Arthi Vijayaraghavan sits down with Lakshmi Nair — drug development scientist and genetic engineering researcher — to unpack the science, promise, and responsibility behind CRISPR and gene editing. Drawing from her journey across academia and biomedical research, Lakshmi explains how CRISPR transformed genetic engineering from slow, uncertain experimentation into precise DNA editing — and why that leap could reshape medicine, cancer treatment, and hereditary disease forever. From transgenic models and drug development to the realities of scientific failure and perseverance, the conversation reveals what modern biomedical innovation truly looks like behind the scenes. The episode explores the ethical frontier of gene editing — germline modification, designer traits, disability vs identity, and who gets to decide what should be “fixed” in humans. The discussion also connects CRISPR with AI-driven research, data-intensive clinical trials, and the global scientific ecosystem that turns basic research into life-saving therapies. From biohacking and scientific curiosity to regulation, responsibility, and the future of humanity, this is a thoughtful, deeply grounded conversation on what it means to hold the power to rewrite life itself. A fascinating listen for technologists, policymakers, investors, and anyone curious about where biology, AI, and human evolution intersect. ⸻ 00:00 – Introduction & Lakshmi’s Background 02:00 – Why CRISPR Changed Genetic Engineering 06:00 – Scientific Journeys, Curiosity & Upbringing 12:00 – CRISPR Explained for Non-Biologists 18:30 – Medical Applications: Cancer & Genetic Disease 23:30 – Scientific Collaboration & Peer Review 26:30 – Biohacking & Democratizing Biology 30:00 – Gene Editing Ethics & Germline Debate 36:00 – Identity, Disability & Human Choice 40:00 – From Lab Research to Drug Development 45:00 – AI in Clinical Trials & Biomedical Data 50:00 – Future of Gene Editing & Responsibility 54:00 – Closing Reflections

February 11, 2026Episode 11734 min

🎙️ E117: Building AI Rocketships — From Idea to Exit

🎙️ E117: Building AI Rocketships — From Idea to Exit In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Pretty Padmanabhan sits down with Omer Gottlieb, CEO & Co-Founder of Sale Speak.AI (formerly Co-Founder of Totango), and Guy Yalif, Chief Evangelist at Webflow , to unpack what it really takes to build, scale, and exit AI-driven companies. Drawing from decades of combined experience raising over $150M+, leading global teams, and navigating acquisitions, Omri and Guy go beyond startup clichés to discuss the realities of product-market fit, hiring, fundraising, and scaling in an AI-first world. From building MVPs earlier than you’re comfortable with, to running relentless customer validation, to learning when not to hire — this conversation is packed with operator-level insight. The episode dives deep into the evolving go-to-market playbooks in the age of AI, why experimentation beats rigid frameworks, and how founders must “know the game they’re playing” before choosing between bootstrapping and venture capital. The guests also share candid lessons on hiring mistakes, investor-founder alignment, scaling sales too early, and why raising from the wrong fund can define your company’s destiny. From culture design and blind references to timing, luck, and the uncomfortable truth that founders control the odds — not the outcome — this episode offers a grounded, experience-driven view of how real companies go from idea to exit. A thoughtful, practical conversation for founders building in the AI era — and trying to do it without burning out, blowing up, or playing the wrong game. ⸻ 00:00 – Introduction & Speaker Backgrounds 02:00 – Origin Stories: Why Start Again? 06:30 – MVP Strategy & Customer Validation 09:00 – Hiring the Right Team (Culture or Pedigree) 12:30 – Remote Teams & Building Culture Intentionally 16:00 – Scaling Mistakes: Hiring Sales Too Early 18:30 – Why There Is No Universal GTM Playbook 21:00 – Funding Decisions: Bootstrapping vs VC 24:30 – Investor–Founder Fit & “Know the Game You’re Playing” 28:00 – Building Toward Exit: Timing, Luck & Controlling the Odds 32:00 – Final Lessons for Founders

January 21, 2026Episode 11645 min

🎙️ E116: How AI Is Reshaping Healthcare

🎙️ E116: When AI Meets Healthcare — Promise, Proof & the Human-in-the-Loop In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Arthi Vijayaraghavan sits down with Faisal Mushtaq — author of Transforming Healthcare: The Role and Impact of Artificial Intelligence — to unpack how AI is actually changing healthcare beyond buzzwords, demos, and exaggerated claims. Drawing from over a decade of hands-on experience building AI systems across wellness, medtech, and large enterprises, Faisal explains where AI is genuinely delivering impact today — from early disease detection and AI-assisted diagnostics to reducing false negatives in mammography — and where human judgment remains non-negotiable. The conversation dives deep into the idea of augmented intelligence, why “human-in-the-loop” is the most realistic path forward, and how guardrails, regulation, and explainability will decide whether AI earns trust inside hospitals and clinical workflows. Faisal also breaks down why healthcare adoption must be methodical, how AI can relieve clinician overload through back-office automation, and why fully autonomous diagnosis is still a long way off. From generative AI and agent-based systems to regulation, training future clinicians, and the parallels between healthcare AI and self-driving cars, this episode offers a grounded, experience-driven view of what’s possible — and what’s premature. A thoughtful, no-hype conversation on how AI can make healthcare faster, safer, and smarter — without replacing the humans who matter most. 00:00 – First chapter: Why now & motivations for the book 06:50 – Human-in-the-loop AI & guardrails design 13:00 – Impact of AI on training new clinicians 19:07 – Agentic AI in healthcare 35:00 – Investment areas of focus for the author 👉 Links & Resources TechCon Global: https://www.techconglobal.com • iExchange: https://iexchange.co • iExchange Newsletter: https://iexchange.substack.com • Faisal Mushtaq (website): https://faisalmushtaq.co/ • Books by Faisal Mushtaq: https://faisalmushtaq.co/books/

January 7, 2026Episode 11545 min

🎙️ E115: The New Rules of Venture Capital

🎙️ E115: Where the Smart Money Is Going — VC Investment Trends & the 2026 Outlook In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Preethy Padmanabhan sits down with Dawn DeBruyn Novarina to decode what’s really happening inside the venture capital ecosystem — beyond headlines, hype, and surface-level optimism. Drawing from funding intelligence, market data, and decades inside Silicon Valley, Dawn explains how AI infrastructure and applied AI now capture nearly 75% of venture funding, why deal sizes are exploding even as the number of deals is shrinking, and how a small group of mega-funds is quietly reshaping the startup economy. From $100M+ AI rounds and the return of M&A, to the shadow world of secondaries, dry powder, and reverse-acqui-hires, this conversation reveals why liquidity — not innovation — is the real bottleneck in 2025, and why 2026 will likely be a year of slow recovery rather than a blockbuster IPO cycle. 👉 Download the Venture Market Report 2025 Q3 (Link Silicon Valley): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uWePI7o6lgm6FPdIkTUYXvI3PSnHuvzc/view A data-rich, brutally honest look at what it now takes to raise, deploy, and return capital in the age of applied AI. ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 00:45 • Intro & the new funding reality 00:45 – 02:30 • Why this venture market report exists 02:30 – 03:55 • What surprised Dawn in the 2025 funding data 03:55 – 05:30 • The funding rebound — why capital is flowing again 05:30 – 07:10 • AI infrastructure & applied AI — the era of mega-rounds 07:10 – 09:40 • Why most non-AI startups are struggling to raise 09:40 – 11:10 • Median deal sizes, shrinking deal volume & valuation divergence 11:10 – 12:45 • The return of exits — M&A over IPOs 12:45 – 15:10 • Reverse acqui-hires & why big tech avoids buying companies 15:10 – 17:40 • The hidden human cost of these deals 17:40 – 19:25 • IPOs in 2025 — why none were breakout successes 19:25 – 21:00 • Biotech vs AI — what public markets really want 21:00 – 23:30 • Why unicorn-class companies are staying private 23:30 – 25:30 • Secondaries explained — the hidden liquidity engine 25:30 – 27:40 • VC concentration — why a few firms now control most capital 27:40 – 29:15 • Fundraising in 2025 — abundance for some, starvation for most 29:15 – 33:20 • Dry powder, barbell economics & the future of early-stage 33:20 – 45:14 • Outro — Final audience insights, closing advice & what founders must do next

December 17, 2025Episode 11428 min

🎙️ E114: The Art of seducing your customers

In this episode of 10X Growth Strategies, host Saradha Sriram sits down with John Boccuzzi — author of The Art of Seducing Your Customers and President of Research at ISG — to unpack why the best businesses don’t sell harder, they build emotional connection, trust, and clarity. Drawing from decades of research and real-world experience, John reframes sales and customer experience through an unconventional but powerful lens: seduction over manipulation. From the origins of his TEDx talk to stories spanning Uber, Kodak, UPS, and Zappos, he explains how storytelling, friction reduction, and employee empowerment quietly separate companies that retain customers for decades from those that lose them overnight. A sharp, experience-backed conversation on why sales is a job of rejection, why cost-cutting often destroys customer experience, and how leaders can immediately diagnose friction inside their own organizations. ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 00:45 • Intro 00:45 – 01:30 • Saradha introduces John Boccuzzi & his work 01:30 – 02:40 • Why “Seduction” — The TEDx origin behind the book’s title 02:40 – 04:30 • The Frame Store Story — Confidence, storytelling & 27 years of loyalty 04:30 – 05:50 • Seduction vs Manipulation — Emotional appeal, trust & value creation 05:50 – 08:35 • Sales Is Dating — Listening, timing & relationship-building 08:35 – 10:40 • The Seduction Framework — Empowering employees & retention-first design 10:40 – 12:25 • Friction Hunting — How Uber exposed broken customer experiences 12:25 – 13:45 • Operational Insight — UPS, right-hand turns & invisible efficiency 13:45 – 14:45 • Kodak’s Failure — Fear, disruption & missed opportunity 14:45 – 16:15 • Hiring the Wrong Way — Jobs vs careers & the EQ gap 16:15 – 17:25 • The Cost-Cutting Trap — Why CX isn’t a savings exercise 17:25 – 18:55 • Handling Rejection — Knowing when to walk away 18:55 – 20:00 • Storytelling That Endures — The Budweiser Super Bowl lesson 20:00 – 21:40 • B2B vs B2C — Why customer principles don’t change 21:40 – 23:45 • Losing $300M Deals — The 500-page contract mistake 23:45 – 25:40 • Immediate Action — Running a friction audit 25:40 – 26:55 • The Missing Chapter — AI & the future of customer experience 26:55 – 28:45 • What’s Next — Keynotes, research & closing thoughts

December 4, 2025Episode 11324 min

🎙️ E113: The Hard Truth About Winning in Startups

In this special 10X Growth Strategies panel, host Preethy Padmanabhan brings together three top voices from venture capital and private equity to decode how investors really evaluate startups today — beyond hype, beyond flashy demos, and beyond the AI noise. Kayvan Baroumand (Founder, SignalRank), Patti Pan (General Partner, Solaris Venture Partners), and Aditya Naganath (Partner, Kleiner Perkins) share how the power-law plays out in real portfolios, what deep engagement metrics actually look like, why later-stage PE is shifting toward infrastructure and robotics, and how world-class funds pressure-test founders. A fast, sharp conversation on what separates companies that scale — from those that stall. ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – 00:24 • Host Welcome – Preethy sets the stage 00:24 – 02:03 • Kayvan’s Intro – Power-law VC & AI-driven fund scoring 02:03 – 03:27 • New Venture Hub & Founder Support 03:27 – 04:36 • Patti’s Intro – PE, Data Centers & Robotics 04:36 – 06:03 • Founder Mindset & Why Artistry Matters 06:03 – 07:54 • Aditya’s Intro – Kleiner Perkins, History & Focus 07:54 – 09:20 • Investing in Early Enterprise & AI Trends 09:20 – 12:00 • Power Law in Action – Doubling Down & Pattern Recognition 12:00 – 15:00 • Picking Winners: What Real Signals Look Like 15:00 – 17:30 • Case Study: Sigma & Deep Engagement Metrics 17:30 – 19:40 • Evaluating Founders, Teams & Due Diligence 19:40 – 21:22 • High-Steam Companies & Early Red Flags 21:22 – 22:10 • What VCs Look for in AI Products 22:10 – 23:20 • Lightning Advice for Founders 23:20 – 24:00 • Closing & Next Session Transition