Neal Hansch - CEO & Managing Partner of Silicon Foundry

Neal Hansch is CEO and Managing Partner at Silicon Foundry, a membership-based innovation platform for corporations, enabling them to connect, learn and invest in the innovation ecosystem, such as in startups and with each other.  He and his team have helped advise and drive forward many corporate venture capital, venture studio and other innovation activities.  He’s been very active in connecting corporations to startups and innovative thinking, which we discussed on the show.

Additionally, we spent a lot of time talking about how corporations and startups translate their different languages, and how companies need multiple strategies to be innovative.  Neal and I could talk for hours!

Before Silicon Foundry, Neal ran an incubator for Meltwater Group, which included building bridges between high tech entrepreneurs in emerging markets like Africa with Silicon Valley.  He trained over 200 entrepreneurs, and invested in a couple dozen startups, including helping them access accelerator programs like Y Combinator and 500 Startups.

He was also a venture capitalist at Rustic Canyon Partners, which was a longstanding LA-based VC with several funds.  Neal has been a great friend for a long time – it was so fun to have him on the show!