Human creativity and AI are often characterized as being at odds with each other. But as the capabilities of AI grow, so too grow the possibilities for empowering humans in creative endeavors.

This week on Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano speaks with Etsy CEO Josh Silverman about the integration and impact of AI technologies in enhancing the consumer and seller experiences. He shares insights into his journey of scaling technology companies and the evolution of internet technologies, starting with founding Evite. Michael asks Josh how Etsy uses generative AI to keep human connection in commerce and empowering sellers and consumers. Josh shares the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in creative marketplaces, Etsy’s engineering culture, and the future of AI in enhancing online shopping experiences.

Josh Silverman previously served as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Josh also co-founded Evite, Inc. where he also served as the company's CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack.

Episode Chapters
(00:00) Introduction
(01:24) Josh Silverman’s Career Spanning The Evolution of Technology: from Internet to AI
(06:16) Etsy’s Mission and AI Integration
(08:36) Enhancing Etsy’s Search and Discovery with AI
(15:27) Empowering Creative Entrepreneurs & SMBs with AI
(16:10) Balancing AI Innovation with Etsy’s Human-Centric Mission
(20:51) Etsy's Engineering Culture and Democratizing Machine Learning
(25:26) Audience Q&A: Creativity, AI Challenges, and Consumer Expectations
(32:57) Closing remarks

Stay in touch:

• ⁠www.lsvp.com⁠

• X: ⁠https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp⁠

• LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/⁠

• Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/⁠

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: ⁠generativenow.co⁠

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see ⁠lsvp.com/legal⁠.

This week on Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano talks to Lisha Li, Founder and CEO of Rosebud AI. Rosebud AI allows users to generate video with a few simple prompts by leveraging AI for every aspect of game design. Lisha shares her diverse background from academia to venture capital and acting, leading up to the inception of Rosebud. Michael and Lisha talk about lessons learned when developing consumer AI products and the different iterations of Rosebud AI and its evolution including stock photos and the viral app TokkingHeads.

Lisha is the Founder and CEO of Rosebud AI. She is a former principal at Amplify Partners. Lisha completed her PhD at UC Berkeley focusing on deep learning and probability applied to the problem of clustering in graphs. While at Berkeley she also did statistical consulting, advising on methods and analysis for experimentation and interpretation, and interned as a data scientist at Pinterest and Stitch Fix. She earned her Master of Science in Mathematics at the University of Toronto, with Highest Distinction advised by Prof. Balazs Szegedy in the area of Graph Limits.

Episode Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to Lisha Li and Rosebud AI

(00:47) Lisha Li’s Career: Academia, Acting, VC, and AI

(07:54) The Genesis of Rosebud AI: Creating a Creative Consumer AI Product

(12:14) Navigating Game Development with AI

(17:43) Democratizing Game Creation with Rosebud

(31:20) Building Rosebud's AI-Powered Platform

(35:56) Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Gaming

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

One could argue that the model for the news business is broken. So can AI help fix it? This week on Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner and host Michael Mignano talks to Sara Beykpour, CEO and Co-founder of Particle. Particle is an AI-driven news platform designed to help people learn exactly what they want to know about what's going on in the world in the most efficient way possible. Michael and Sara talk about the central product role she played for groundbreaking products like Twitter, Vine, Secret, and Periscope, as well as why she started Particle and how AI could help make new business models work for publishers.

Sara has been on the forefront of creating novel media platforms throughout her entire career. She has built and launched three apps that set the stage for today’s multimedia social landscape online: Vine, Secret, and Periscope. She previously worked as Twitter’s Senior Director of Product Management, leading Twitter Blue, Twitter Video, and conversations.

Episode Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to Sara Beykpour

(00:58) Sara's Journey Through Silicon Valley's Startups

(02:43) The Early Days at Twitter and the Birth of Vine

(06:42) Vine's Impact, Decline, and Shutdown

(12:21) From Vine to Secret (Anonymous Social Media)

(14:45) The Periscope Era: Live Streaming's Rise

(21:47) Exploring the Evolution of Social Media and News Consumption

(22:26) The Impact of Twitter on News and Journalism

(27:57) Challenges and Innovations in News Consumption

(32:14) The Rise of Generative AI and Its Effects on News Publishing

(33:26) Leveraging AI in Particle for a New News Experience

(46:15) Exploring New Business Models for Journalism with AI

(49:28) Opportunities With Particle

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.