# ICONS — Melanie Uno

> Long-form video conversations with the builders, investors, and creators shaping tech, AI, and the new creative economy. Hosted by Melanie Uno. Every episode has a dedicated page with a full transcript, chapters, key takeaways, and pull quotes.

ICONS is a podcast and events brand by Melanie Uno, connecting AI, venture, and Hollywood, and featured in Forbes. Guests include founders, investors, and operators such as Emmett Shear (Twitch, OpenAI), Jeremy Liew (Lightspeed), Fiona Ma (California State Treasurer), Carter Reum (M13), and Chris Messina (inventor of the hashtag).

## Podcast episodes
- [Emmett Shear Masterclass: Founder of Twitch, CEO of OpenAI, Tech Entrepreneurship Advice](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-01-emmett-shear/): Twitch founder Emmett Shear on building Justin.tv and Twitch, what makes founders and teams succeed, his three days as interim CEO of OpenAI, and betting on AI.
- [Homeless to Selling to Billionaires: Alexandra Rubow, Top Luxury Realtor at The Altman Brothers](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-02-alexandra-rubow/): Altman Brothers realtor Alexandra Rubow on going from homelessness to $70M in listings, her door-knocking and cold-call playbook, and saying no to Selling Sunset.
- [Jeremy Liew: 1st Investor in Snap, Affirm, and 9x Forbes Midas List GP at Lightspeed](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-03-jeremy-liew/): Lightspeed's Jeremy Liew, first investor in Snap and Affirm, on his consumer-unicorn playbook, why "home ground advantage" wins deals, and breaking into VC.
- [Jeff Evans x Chainsmokers: The $100M Rise of Mantis VC](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-04-jeff-evans/): Mantis VC co-founder Jeff Evans on building a $100M fund with the Chainsmokers, backing Underdog Fantasy, and what makes a founder truly backable.
- [Carter Reum: Investor in 14 Unicorns, Founder of M13](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-05-carter-reum/): M13 co-founder Carter Reum on building Veev out of his car trunk, backing 14 unicorns at seed and Series A, his operator-led VC model, AI, and Paris Hilton.
- [Erin Harkless Moore: Managing Director, Pivotal Ventures (Melinda French Gates)](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-06-erin-harkless-moore/): Pivotal Ventures Managing Director Erin Harkless Moore on mission-driven investing, the index-card moment that led her to Melinda French Gates, and the care economy.
- [Kevin Jiang: From Founding SoftBank's $100B Vision Fund to Launching Mangusta Capital at 32](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-07-kevin-jiang/): Kevin Jiang on building SoftBank's $100B Vision Fund alongside Masa, his vertical AI thesis, the "four M's," and launching Mangusta Capital at 32.
- [Fiona Ma: Treasurer of the World's 4th Largest Economy](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-08-fiona-ma/): California Treasurer Fiona Ma on managing $3 trillion a year, the laws that freed women and stopped trafficking, fundraising's gender gap, AI, and never quitting.
- [Founder of the Hashtag: Chris Messina on How to Set Trends](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-09-chris-messina/): Hashtag inventor Chris Messina on creating the hashtag at SXSW 2007, why Twitter rejected it, the "drunk test" for good ideas, open source, and the AI agent future.
- [Aditri Bhagirath: Ex-Meta, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-10-aditri-bhagirath/): AI researcher Aditri Bhagirath on her path from Carnegie Mellon to Meta, Stanford, and Anton, plus AGI, world models, quantum computing, and why anyone can build with AI.
- [Billion-Dollar VC: The 4 Hidden Signs A Brand Will Be Worth Billions](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-11-nicole-quinn/): Lightspeed partner Nicole Quinn on backing Lady Gaga's Haus Labs and Goop, the leading indicators of an iconic consumer brand, and how AI will reshape consumer.

## Full transcripts
- [Emmett Shear — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-01-emmett-shear/transcript/)
- [Alexandra Rubow — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-02-alexandra-rubow/transcript/)
- [Jeremy Liew — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-03-jeremy-liew/transcript/)
- [Jeff Evans — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-04-jeff-evans/transcript/)
- [Carter Reum — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-05-carter-reum/transcript/)
- [Erin Harkless Moore — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-06-erin-harkless-moore/transcript/)
- [Kevin Jiang — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-07-kevin-jiang/transcript/)
- [Fiona Ma — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-08-fiona-ma/transcript/)
- [Chris Messina — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-09-chris-messina/transcript/)
- [Aditri Bhagirath — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-10-aditri-bhagirath/transcript/)
- [Nicole Quinn — full transcript](https://melanieuno.com/podcast/ep-11-nicole-quinn/transcript/)

## Guests
- [Aditri Bhagirath](https://melanieuno.com/guests/aditri-bhagirath/): Consumer AI Builder · Ex-Meta
- [Alexandra Rubow](https://melanieuno.com/guests/alexandra-rubow/): Luxury Realtor, The Altman Brothers
- [Carter Reum](https://melanieuno.com/guests/carter-reum/): Co-Founder, M13
- [Chris Messina](https://melanieuno.com/guests/chris-messina/): Inventor of the Hashtag
- [Emmett Shear](https://melanieuno.com/guests/emmett-shear/): Founder of Twitch · Founder of Supermax
- [Erin Harkless Moore](https://melanieuno.com/guests/erin-harkless-moore/): Managing Director, Pivotal Ventures
- [Fiona Ma](https://melanieuno.com/guests/fiona-ma/): California State Treasurer
- [Jeff Evans](https://melanieuno.com/guests/jeff-evans/): General Partner, Mantis VC
- [Jeremy Liew](https://melanieuno.com/guests/jeremy-liew/): Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
- [Kevin Jiang](https://melanieuno.com/guests/kevin-jiang/): Founder & Managing Partner, Mangusta Capital
- [Nicole Quinn](https://melanieuno.com/guests/nicole-quinn/): Venture Partner, Lightspeed · Managing Partner, Connect Ventures

## Topics
- [Artificial Intelligence](https://melanieuno.com/topics/ai/): Conversations with the builders, investors, and operators shaping the AI economy — from frontier model research to applied consumer product work.
- [Founders & Operators](https://melanieuno.com/topics/founders/): Long-form interviews with founders and operators who've built category-defining companies, on the playbooks that worked and the ones that didn't.
- [Fundraising & Venture](https://melanieuno.com/topics/fundraising/): Inside the venture business from the people who allocate the capital — raising funds, picking investors, and spotting outlier companies early.

## Optional
- [About Melanie Uno](https://melanieuno.com/about/): host bio and background
- [In-person events](https://melanieuno.com/events/): the ICONS gatherings, covered in Forbes
- [The Sunday newsletter](https://melanieuno.com/newsletter/): weekly playbooks from guests