Ramya Swaminathan led Malta Inc. as founding CEO after spinning the company out of Alphabet's Moonshot Factory, raising $120M+ to commercialize grid-scale thermal energy storage. She shares 30+ years of lessons on pivots, hard tech commercialization, and the transformative moment facing the electricity grid.
Highlights
- Pivot Sooner - Why founders resist change even when they know it's necessary
- Beyond the Technology - What actually determines whether good tech gets commercialized
- Grid at an Inflection Point - The twin crisis of reliability and affordability creating opportunity
- Non-Traditional Advantage - How anthropology shaped 30+ years of infrastructure leadership
Highlights
- Pivot Sooner - Why founders resist change even when they know it's necessary
- Beyond the Technology - What actually determines whether good tech gets commercialized
- Grid at an Inflection Point - The twin crisis of reliability and affordability creating opportunity
- Non-Traditional Advantage - How anthropology shaped 30+ years of infrastructure leadership
Meet Your Hosts
Terrance Orr
A dynamic startup coach and advisor with a passion for mentoring, Terrance has played key roles in various venture firms,
accelerators, and as an EIR at SAP.iO. His experience spans from intrapreneurial ventures at Dell Technologies to being a venture partner, showcasing his broad expertise in driving entrepreneurial success.
Ilya Tabakh
A visionary at the convergence of computing, energy, and innovation, he translates AI's exponential ambitions into real physical infrastructure constraints, most recently as VP of Innovation at TensorWave. With five ventures, 5+ years as EIR at Black & Veatch, and two podcasts, Ilya brings clarity to the infrastructure and innovation challenges defining AI's future.
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