Podcast
Silicon Valley Girl: AI, Tech and Career Growth
Hosted by Marina Mogilko · EN
The world's top CEOs and AI founders explain what's coming next and how you can get ahead.
Silicon Valley Girl is a weekly AI and technology podcast from Silicon Valley hosted by female founder and angel investor Marina Mogilko, covering practical strategies for career growth, mastering AI tools, entrepreneurship and making money with AI.
For startup founders, professionals and creators who want to stay ahead in the AI era.
47episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why You Need to Rethink Your Career Now | Richard Socher
2w ago00:49:41Tap to summarize📌 Head to https://granola.ai/marina and enter the code MARINA for 3 months off.Richard Socher is the fourth most-cited researcher in the history of natural language processing — he invented the word vectors and prompt engineering that run inside almost every chatbot you use. He sold his first startup to Salesforce, built You.com into a $1.5B unicorn, and in May 2026 raised $650M at a $4.65B valuation for Recursive: an AI that runs its own experiments and rewrites itself. In this conversation he explains why he thinks the self-improvement loop arrives within two years, which jobs grow and which disappear, and his hack for seeing the future — look at what only the wealthy can afford today, then ask which of it is bottlenecked on intelligence. Stay till the end for the first question he'd ask a superintelligence.Feeling behind on AI and don't know where to start? Start here.Feeling behind on AI and don't know where to start? Start here.We cover:Reward hacking: why an AI told to raise customer satisfaction will quietly spin up a million bots that rate themselves 5/5 — and the new job of "reward engineering" that comes with itHis two-year timeline for recursive self-improving superintelligence — and why energy, not intelligence, becomes the next bottleneckWhy superintelligence isn't one thing: the "volumetric" view of intelligence, and the one dimension no lab is working on — an AI choosing its own goalsThe elasticity rule for which jobs grow and which vanish — why illustrators got hit hard but software engineers are in more demand than everHis hack for seeing the future: what only the wealthy can afford today — a personal tutor, a private assistant, a full medical team — and which of it is bottlenecked on intelligenceWhy home robots are stuck on a hardware problem, not a software oneHow he recruited co-founders away from DeepMind, OpenAI, and MetaWhether a PhD is still worth it in AI — and what he tells parents to have their kids study insteadWhere he'd invest right now: why "AI is to biology what calculus was to physics"His first question to a superintelligence — and what still gives people meaning in 2035Links:📌 Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and building with AI: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=RichardSocher🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/𝕏 : https://x.com/siliconvalleymm💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Fei-Fei Li: In 10 Years There Will Be Only 2 Kinds of Workers
2w ago00:46:37Tap to summarizeDr. Fei-Fei Li created ImageNet — the dataset that triggered the deep learning revolution. Now she runs World Labs, where she just raised $1 billion to teach AI something it still can't do: understand physical space. She was named Time Person of the Year in 2025 and won the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.David Rogier founded MasterClass in 2015 on the idea that everyone should have access to world-class teachers. He has an MBA from Stanford and now builds all his own work tools with Claude Code instead of buying software — including a to-do list app that auto-deletes anything sitting on the list for more than a day and a half.In this episode, we get into what AI can already do and what it still can't, why the two loudest takes on AI — that it'll save the world, and that it'll take all the jobs — are both wrong, and what your kids' schooling and your own career actually look like in 10 years.We cover:Why Fei-Fei Li says "the cost of intelligence goes to zero" is an irresponsible claim — and what human intelligence actually includes beyond languageSpatial intelligence: the four things AI still can't do (understand, reason about, generate, and interact with 3D space) — and why World Labs is betting $1B on itThe barbell effect in the workforce: why being "decent" at anything isn't enough anymore, and the two roles that will thrive — top 1% specialists and high-agency generalistsWhy AI tutoring delivers the same learning in 60% less time — and why the real obstacle to changing education isn't the technologyDavid's full CEO stack: custom apps he built himself, "Davidify" — his own AI clone he gave his team — and why he stopped buying softwareThe one thing to do when an employee is scared to try AI: sit down with them, not send a YouTube linkWhat the job of product manager looks like today vs. five years ago — and why Fei-Fei only hires PMs who are riding the waveFei-Fei's advice for non-tech professionals: find someone under 25 and let them show you their world for a weekendHow long until AI handles the laundry — Fei-Fei's actual estimateLinks:📌Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and building with AI: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=FeiFeiLi🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ 𝕏 : https://x.com/siliconvalleymm 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko 📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →The 5 Levels of AI-Native: How to Get From Level 1 to Level 5 in 30 days | Peter Yang
3w ago00:28:49Tap to summarizePeter Yang spent 10+ years building products at Roblox, Reddit, Amazon (Twitch), and Meta. Then he walked away from a high-paying job at Roblox to go all-in as a solo builder. His newsletter Behind the Craft has 140K+ readers, and his podcast has deep conversations with 30+ AI leaders from Anthropic, Google, Cursor, and Replit. In this episode he breaks down how: how to move from using AI like a search engine to building systems that run your work, how to build a personal AI that knows your strategy, and the one thing to do this week to get ahead.We cover:The 5 layers of AI adoption, from "I ask ChatGPT questions" to "AI runs my whole operation," and how to find which layer you're actually onWhy you should stop using ChatGPT and Claude chat and switch to Codex or Claude Code, even if you've never written a line of codeThe one-day reset: cancel every meeting, brain-dump your real workflows out loud, and let AI turn them into skills that save hours every weekTRICK: the personal advisor skill — a one-page Google Doc with your goal, your principles, and what gives vs. drains your energy, so your AI checks your decisions before you make themHow he uses learnings.md so his AI remembers the right things about him and gets smarter every conversationThe "last 10%" rule that keeps AI content from becoming slop, and why human taste is the whole job nowHow he builds a working personal app (a fitness tracker, a scam-email blocker for his parents) in a couple of hoursHis honest fears: getting dumber on a flight with no wifi, and what he's doing differently to raise kids who still learn the fundamentalsThe exact action plan for your next 7 days to go from consumer to builderLinks: Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and building with AI: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=PeterYang 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ 𝕏 : https://x.com/siliconvalleymm 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko 📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Godmother of Silicon Valley: How to Raise a CEO | Esther Wojcicki
3w ago00:42:16Tap to summarizeEsther Wojcicki is the "Godmother of Silicon Valley." She raised three daughters: Susan, who ran YouTube; Anne, who founded 23andMe; and Janet, a professor and anthropologist. Her parenting advice got me through the hardest parts of new motherhood, and YouTube, which Susan built, is the reason I have a career at all.In this episode we cover:The one rule that decides whether AI makes a kid smarter or just lets them cheat themselves: do the work first, then ask AI to grade it like a teacherWhy she's against banning phones, social media, or AI for kids, and what she'd teach insteadTRICK: the five-part system (Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, Kindness) she used to raise three founders, and how to run it on yourself as an adultHow to rebuild trust in yourself if you were raised to chase everyone else's approvalThe three sentences she told Anne when 23andMe was falling apartThe billion-dollar bet Susan almost didn't make, the one that became YouTubeWhy she still tells parents to push for college in the AI ageWhat she says to every mom who's afraid AI will take her kid's jobLinks:Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and parenting in the AI age: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=EstherWojcicki🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/𝕏 : https://x.com/siliconvalleymm💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilko📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Grant Lee : From "The Worst Idea" to a $2.1B Company | Gamma
4w ago00:44:03Tap to summarizeGrant Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Gamma — the $2.1B AI tool that turns one prompt into a finished presentation, now used by 100 million people.We covered:How Gamma hit $100M in revenue with a team of just 50 — profitably, on only $23M of fundingThe two signs you have product-market fit before the money shows up, and why "your friends will lie to you" about your productHow to run a full fundraise in two weeks — Grant did 100+ pitches and how he turned a wall of no's into yes'sHow to tell if an idea is worth a year of your life (he picks by energy, not spreadsheets)Why a top investor called Gamma "the worst idea I've ever heard" — and what that investor actually got rightThe exact first-30-days plan he gives any founder starting today Links: Subscribe to my newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=GrantLee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ X: https://x.com/siliconvalleymmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilkoMy Companies & Products: https://partnerships.marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Your Next Cofounder Is an AI | Edward Kim, Co-Founder & CTO of Gusto ($10B)
4w ago00:34:34Tap to summarizeEddie Kim is the co-founder and CTO of Gusto — the $10B payroll and HR platform that millions of small businesses run on.Gusto just launched Gusto Cofounder — an AI teammate for small businesses: payroll, compliance, and daily ops handled before they become problems.Learn more about cofounder here -> https://gusto.com/cofounder?idgm=2mm6b6i2 We covered:The two levels of using AI in a business, and why almost everyone is still stuck on the first oneHow Gusto's AI found $70M in tax credits owners had no idea they qualified for, including one pool company now collecting $50K a yearHow to hand off the "work before the work" so payroll runs itself two days early and all you do is tap approveHow to run your whole back office from a text message, with your Notion and spreadsheets plugged straight inHow to stay ahead of tens of thousands of changing tax rules without reading a single oneLinks: Subscribe to my newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=Edward KimInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ X: https://x.com/siliconvalleymmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilkoMy Companies & Products: https://partnerships.marinamogilko.co #GustoPartner
Transcribe →The 5-Layer System to Make Your Business Run on AI
4w ago00:14:37Tap to summarizeIn 5 years the most valuable companies will run as a closed AI loop — every call, email, and content metric feeding back into one system that acts faster than any human team. In this video I walk through the 5 levels we're building inside my own company, from the foundation layer to the part most founders skip. If you're a founder, creator, or operator trying to make this real in your own business, this is the playbook.Links: Subscribe to my newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=5layers-systemInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ X: https://x.com/siliconvalleymmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilkoMy Companies & Products: https://partnerships.marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Granola CEO: How to Build in a Crowded AI Market Without Marketing | Christopher Pedregal
May 2900:44:55Tap to summarize📌 Head to https://granola.ai/marina and enter the code MARINA for 3 months off.Chris Pedregal built a $1.5 billion AI app in 3 years, in a category where Zoom and Google already had similar features before he launched.In this conversation he hands over the exact playbook for breaking out of a crowded market with a tiny team and a small marketing budget — a playbook anyone can use to win in the AI era.We cover:Why Chris kept Granola in closed beta for a full year before launching — and how 150 users taught him more than any public launch wouldThe 2x2 matrix he uses to decide if a startup idea can survive in a market with big competitorsHow Granola grew virally with zero built-in growth loops — no automated emails, no forced sharingThe dot plot: the early-stage retention tool that replaced usage graphs for Chris's teamWhy he doesn't use AI for product decisions — and what he uses it for insteadHow to turn 2,500 meeting recordings into a virtual chief of staffThe one thing small teams can do that Google and Zoom structurally can'tLinks: Subscribe to my newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=ChrisPedregalInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ X: https://x.com/siliconvalleymmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilkoMy Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Airtable CEO: AI Will Make You Almost Superhuman | Howie Liu
May 2700:30:45Tap to summarizeHowie Liu co-founded Airtable in 2012, the no-code app builder used by over 80% of Fortune 100 companies. After scaling Airtable into one of the biggest software businesses on the planet, he's now building HyperAgent: a platform where anyone can deploy AI agents into their team chats, email, and calendar without writing code.In this conversation, Howie asked me a question I couldn't answer: if you could hire as many people as you wanted for almost zero cost, what roles would you fill first? That's the question agents force you to answer in 2026.We covered:The two skills that separate the people who become almost superhuman from everyone elseHow to build a virtual twin of yourself so you stop being the bottleneck in your own companyWhy builders win the next few years and what the "tinker mindset" actually meansHow to choose between Claude, ChatGPT, and HyperAgent (Howie maps the full landscape)A live demo of his real productivity setup, including an agent that watches X 24/7 and only pings him when something actually mattersHe also walked me through a billboard campaign his agents ran end-to-end (sourcing locations, cross-referencing Google Street View, generating mockups with NanoBanana), and shared his three steps for anyone who's been reading about agents but hasn't deployed one yet.If you've ever felt like the bottleneck in your own work, this one's for you.Links: Subscribe to my newsletter: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=HowieLiuInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ X: https://x.com/siliconvalleymmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinamogilkoMy Companies & Products: https://partnerships.marinamogilko.co
Transcribe →Head of ChatGPT & Codex: AI Agents for Everyone Are HERE | Thibault Sottiaux OpenAI
May 2500:29:21Tap to summarizeThibault Sottiaux is the head of ChatGPT and Codex at OpenAI. He told me that in a few months, people who don't use AI at all will get the same benefits as those who've spent two years figuring it out. So what's actually going to be your edge in a market this competitive? Thibault opened up and shared a few of his secrets — he showed me how his own agents work and how anyone can set them up. We covered the must-have files everyone should create, the one file you should never write yourself, and the new skill that replaces prompting entirely. If you work with a computer for a living, this is the one to watch this week.Links: Subscribe to my free newsletter where I go deeper on AI tools, career strategies, and everything I can't fit into a 30-minute podcast: https://siliconvalleygirl.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=futureproof-sub&utm_content=Tibo🔗 My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconvalleygirl/ 📌 My Companies & Products: https://Marinamogilko.co
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