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  • The Future of AI in Finance: Will AI Replace the CFO? | Pac O'Shea

    The Future of AI in Finance: Will AI Replace the CFO? | Pac O'Shea
    Aug 6 2026
    What happens when AI meets finance, treasury management and the future of the CFO? In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish sits down with Pac O'Shea, CEO and Co-Founder of Round Treasury, to explore how AI is transforming finance teams, startup banking and treasury management. Pac shares how Round Treasury is solving the challenges faced by high-growth and high-risk startups, from banking and liquidity to cash management and financial automation. Together, they discuss: 💰 Why startups often need multiple banks and the trade-off between trust, usability and liquidity 🤖 How AI is changing the finance function and what CFOs should be automating first 🏦 Why Round built treasury infrastructure before AI features 📊 How AI can automate transactional finance and free CFOs to focus on strategy 👤 Why human-in-the-loop AI is still critical for high-risk financial decisions ⚡ The rise of AI workflows, agents and automated finance operations 🔐 Why trust, compliance, auditability and guardrails matter in AI-powered finance 🧠 Whether an AI CFO could ever replace human judgement and experience 🚀 How CFOs can start experimenting with AI without becoming overwhelmed 🔮 Why the future of finance could move beyond traditional SaaS interfaces If you're a CFO, founder, fintech operator, finance professional or startup leader interested in AI, automation, treasury management and the future of financial technology, this episode is essential listening. Find Pac O'Shea online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pac-o-shea/ Twitter: https://x.com/POS_js Round Treasury: https://roundtreasury.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://mailchi.mp/emergeone/email-signup-form Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #AI #CFO #Fintech #Finance #TreasuryManagement #AIinFinance #StartupBanking #FinancialAutomation #FintechStartup #ArtificialIntelligence Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    46 Min.
  • The Future of AI Startups: Ex-Google Leader Explains What Founders Must Build Next | Milena Nikolic

    The Future of AI Startups: Ex-Google Leader Explains What Founders Must Build Next | Milena Nikolic
    Jul 30 2026
    The next generation of billion-dollar startups won't win because they build better AI. They'll win because they build better experiences. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah sits down with Milena Nikolic former Senior Engineering Director at Google, former CTO of Trainline, and Co-Founder of Heighway Labs—to explore how AI is fundamentally changing product design, startup strategy, customer acquisition and the future of search. After more than a decade leading engineering teams across Google Search, Android and Google Play, Milena explains why startups now have a unique opportunity to outpace Big Tech, why distribution is becoming harder than software itself, and how AI-native products need completely new user experiences. In this episode we discuss: - Why AI won't replace great product thinking - The future of Google Search and AI-powered discovery - Why startups can now beat Big Tech - Building products that scale from day one - The rise of Generative UX - Why "vibe coding" changes software—but not entrepreneurship - AI agents, automation and the future of work - Startup product strategy and go-to-market - Building customer-first companies - Why UX is becoming the biggest competitive advantage in AI Whether you're a founder, product manager, software engineer, investor, or anyone building AI products, this episode is packed with practical insights on where technology is heading next. Subscribe to Nothing Ventured for weekly conversations with the founders, investors and operators shaping the future of startups, venture capital and technology. Find Milena Nikolic online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milena-nikolic-015748117/ Heywa Labs: heywalabs.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #AI #Startups #VentureCapital #ProductManagement #Google #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI #StartupFounder #TechPodcast #ProductDesign #UX #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #VC #NothingVentured Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 Std. und 2 Min.
  • AI Bubble, Dead SaaS & Why the UK Needs a Quantum Lane | Ben Prade

    AI Bubble, Dead SaaS & Why the UK Needs a Quantum Lane | Ben Prade
    Jul 23 2026
    Ben Prade is a Partner at Bullhound Capital (formerly GP Bullhound), where he's spent close to a decade building out the firm's growth investment strategy across frontier tech. In this episode, he joins Aarish to unpack why venture capital still doesn't know how to price AI companies and what that means for founders, funds, and the future of software. 📌 In this episode: 💰 Why SaaS multiples break down for AI companies and the case for usage-based pricing 🪙 Tokenomics: the biggest unsolved problem in AI right now 💀 The "SaaS-pocalypse" — is software really dying, or just changing shape? 📖 Why fundraising is fundamentally a storytelling process ⚛️ The UK's quantum bet: Oxford Quantum Circuits' £260m round and government backing 🌍 Sovereign LPs vs. unrestricted private capital — the trade-off funds can't avoid 📈 Late-stage capital in Europe — concentrate power in a few lead investors, or chase the US model? 🐒 Managing the "inner monkey" — the human side of building, investing, and storytelling 💬 "Fundraising is a storytelling process, always. One of the most wonderful things about humans is that they will ignore facts and figures and always believe a good story." — Ben Prade Find [guest name] online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-prade-182b8513a/ Twitter: https://x.com/Pradey Bullhound Capital: www.bullhoundcapital.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #VentureCapital #DeepTech #QuantumComputing #AI #Tokenomics #StartupFunding #FractionalCFO #NothingVentured #EmergeOne Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 Std. und 18 Min.
  • Building Trust, Chasing Deals, and the Death of the Career Ladder | Samira Sohail

    Building Trust, Chasing Deals, and the Death of the Career Ladder | Samira Sohail
    Jul 16 2026
    Samira Sohail has built products at the BBC, led product at edtech unicorn Newsela, run a venture studio for family offices, and invested in 60+ startups. Her career doesn't follow a straight line and she thinks that's exactly the point. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Samira Sohail and host Aarish cover: 🔹 Why the "career ladder" is giving way to curiosity-led, nonlinear careers 🔹 The real difference between family office capital and venture capital 🔹 How trust, taste, and judgment become the scarce resources as AI commoditizes intelligence 🔹 Why showing up in person still beats a cold LinkedIn message 🔹 What edtech got wrong the first time and where personalised, AI-driven learning is headed 🔹 Hiring for aptitude over credentials, and what "badges" will mean in an AI-saturated world About the Guest: Samira Sohail built digital products at the BBC (iPlayer, BBC News, BBC Sport, BBC Earth) and led product at Newsela, a K-12 curriculum platform used in 90% of US schools. She founded Luxor Beta, a product and venture studio for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and private equity teams, and has invested in 60+ seed startups with 4 exits. She hosts the podcast Samira Stalks. Find Samira Sohail online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/createsandbreaksthings/ Luxo Beta: www.luxobeta.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #NothingVentured #VentureCapital #FamilyOffice #CareerAdvice #EdTech #FutureOfWork #StartupFounders Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 Std. und 21 Min.
  • Why I'd Walk Away From Revenue | Flexzo Ai Jack Henderson

    Why I'd Walk Away From Revenue | Flexzo Ai Jack Henderson
    Jul 9 2026
    Jack Henderson bootstrapped his first healthcare business, KPI Health, to £20M+ revenue with no outside investment before exiting in 2023. Now he's building Flexzo AI an AI-driven workforce infrastructure aiming to break the NHS's dependency on staffing agencies backed by $20M+ in venture funding. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Jack and host Aarish cover: 🔹 The 1 mistake healthcare operators make when moving into tech 🔹 Why Flexzo runs 39 small, hyper-specialised AI agents instead of one large model 🔹 Why Jack would walk away from revenue to protect his product roadmap 🔹 His 3-part test for when AI can safely replace a human decision 🔹 Why the NHS has 100,000 vacancies and 20,000 jobless newly qualified nurses at the same time 🔹 Bootstrapping vs. venture and being honest about the "slog" either way About the Guest: Jack Henderson is founder and CEO of Flexzo AI, building AI-led workforce infrastructure for healthcare. He previously co-founded and exited KPI Health, and is an active angel investor at pre-seed and seed. Find Jack Henderson online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-henderson-18a78b173/ Twitter: https://x.com/FlexzoAi Flexzo AI: https://flexzo.ai This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #NothingVentured #HealthcareAI #VentureCapital #NHS #StartupFounders #HealthTech Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    53 Min.
  • The Skills Crisis No One's Talking About | Drew Allen

    The Skills Crisis No One's Talking About | Drew Allen
    Jul 2 2026
    What if the future of manufacturing is actually a return to the past? In this episode, Aarish sits down with Drew Allen, CEO of Grace Technologies, to explore why American and Chinese manufacturing dominance came from operators who also designed the machines and what happened when we lost that craft. They dig into: - How the PLC dumbed down the factory floor operator - Why creativity needs to be democratised beyond the R&D lab - Why hard technology has finally become a serious investable asset class - The skills gap threatening Western industrial resurgence - Why the UK keeps building world-class companies and then losing them - How adventure lies on the other side of yes Drew leads Grace Technologies, an electrical safety and predictive maintenance company operating across 60 countries, sits on the advisory board of Atom Power Inc., and hosts his own podcast, The Factory Futurist. Find Drew Allen online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allendrew/ Twitter: https://x.com/GraceTechIA Grace Technologies: https://gracetechnologies.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #Manufacturing #HardTech #VentureCapital #NothingVentured #Industrial #Startups #Entrepreneurship #FactoryFuturist #GraceTechnologies Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 Std. und 6 Min.
  • June 2026 Venture Capital & AI Market Breakdown | The SpaceX IPO Changes Everything?

    June 2026 Venture Capital & AI Market Breakdown | The SpaceX IPO Changes Everything?
    Jun 25 2026
    June 2026 Venture Capital & AI Market Breakdown | The SpaceX IPO Changes Everything? June wasn't just another AI news cycle. It was the month the venture capital concentration story finally spilled into the public markets. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we break down the biggest developments shaping venture capital, startups, AI, and deep tech. From SpaceX's record-breaking IPO and the return of public market liquidity to the rise of AI infrastructure, fusion energy, world models, and enterprise AI, we explore where capital is really flowing—and who is actually getting paid. We discuss: 🚀 SpaceX's historic IPO and what it means for startup exits 💰 Why liquidity remains the biggest challenge in venture capital 📈 The barbell effect reshaping the VC market 🤖 Enterprise AI, productivity tools, and AI infrastructure investments ⚡ Helion's fusion energy breakthrough and the future of physical AI 🧠 Odyssey, world models, and the next frontier of AI 🔄 Why secondaries are becoming a critical source of liquidity 🏗️ The growing importance of chips, compute, power, and AI infrastructure While the headlines focus on mega-rounds and trillion-dollar valuations, the reality is more nuanced. June 2026 revealed a venture market where the biggest winners continue to attract capital and liquidity, while much of the ecosystem still faces a difficult fundraising and exit environment. 🎙️ Subscribe for weekly conversations on venture capital, startups, technology, innovation, and the future of business. This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #VentureCapital #AI #SpaceX #Startups #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #DeepTech #FusionEnergy #VC #PrivateMarkets #IPO #Innovation #NothingVentured #Technology #Investing Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    17 Min.
  • Are We Raising a Generation That Can't Think? | Rahim Hirji

    Are We Raising a Generation That Can't Think? | Rahim Hirji
    Jun 18 2026
    In a world where anyone can prompt an LLM, what actually makes you valuable? Rahim Hirji author of SuperSkills, founder of Box of Amazing, and former international growth lead at Quizlet joins Aarish on Nothing Ventured to explore the skills that will define the next decade of work, learning and leadership. In this episode: - The SuperSkills ladder every person and immigrant family goes through - Why synthetic seniority is quietly breaking organisations - Should kids use AI? Raheem's hard line at age 14 explained - How companies are becoming "reverse pyramids" and why it'll backfire - Why human at the start matters as much as human in the loop - The truth about edtech: scale vs. efficacy and what founders get wrong - Why accessibility beats rigor when teaching AI strategy to leaders Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction: Who is Rahim Hirji? 01:30 – The SuperSkills ladder explained 04:20 – Why the immigrant mindset fuels better entrepreneurs 12:00 – Why "soft skills" is the worst name for the hardest skills 14:15 – The danger of replacing juniors with AI 24:00 – Synthetic seniority: the illusion of experience 31:00 – Should kids use AI? The case for waiting until 14 43:30 – Protection vs agency: the parenting trade off 50:15 – Truth, Trust & Taste: the three T's AI can't replace 54:00 – Why reverse pyramids will backfire on corporates 01:01:00 – Human at the start vs human in the loop 01:08:00 – What edtech got wrong 01:25:30 – The beach bar that perfectly summed up human + AI 01:34:00 – Contrarian take: ask what AI shouldn't do 01:37:00 – What moves Rahim emotionally 01:41:00 – Where to find Rahim & the Superskills book Find Rahim Hirji online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahimhirji/ Book Superskills: https://superskills.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 Std. und 25 Min.