As autonomous vehicles continue to evolve, we’re revisiting our 2021 conversation with Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox. At the time, Zoox had recently been acquired by Amazon, and Evans was leading the charge in developing fully autonomous, purpose-built robotaxis. In this discussion with Stanford adjunct lecturer and former Zoox board member Heidi Roizen, Evans shares insights on innovation in a competitive market, overcoming skepticism, and leading a team at the forefront of autonomous mobility. With Zoox now making strides toward real-world deployment, this conversation remains as relevant as ever.

Much has shifted in the landscape of gender representation in STEM fields, with women making gains in recent decades. There is an increased interest among girls in pursuing STEM fields, and a growing awareness of how to support them as men continue to make up a majority of the field. Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO of GoldieBlox, exemplifies this evolution with her inspiring journey from lonely inventor to dynamic entrepreneur. GoldieBlox is a multimedia company focused on transforming the perception of toys in the traditionally "pink aisle" aimed at girls. The founder shares her journey of overcoming gender stereotypes, leading to the creation of a girl engineer character that inspires young girls in STEM. She also addresses the entrepreneurial challenges she has faced, including failure and achieving success with limited resources.

The episode first aired on April 25, 2017

Revisit timeless insights from Alberto Savoia, Google’s first engineering director and the driving force behind the launch of AdWords, in this re-released 2019 ETL episode. As the creator of “pretotyping” and author of The Right It, Savoia tackles one of innovation’s greatest challenges: ensuring you’re building a product the market truly wants. With 80% of innovations failing—even when executed competently—Savoia reframes success as not only building it right, but first building the right “it.” This episode offers powerful strategies for entrepreneurs, product managers, and innovators looking to test ideas quickly and minimize risk in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.

The episode first aired on March 13, 2019

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