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#99 Naveen Verma — From Princeton Professor to Venture-Backed CEO, Fundraising Without a Network, and Leading Firmly and Empathetically

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Manage episode 502407106 series 2991408
Content provided by Alisa Cohn. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Alisa Cohn or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Naveen Verma is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton and the co-founder and CEO of EnCharge AI, a startup building radically energy-efficient computers for artificial intelligence. In this episode, Naveen shares how his academic research into in-memory computing evolved over six years into a venture-backed company that’s rethinking the physical limits of AI computers.

Naveen explains why traditional computing models can’t keep up with the energy demands of AI, how in-memory architectures unlock new efficiency, and what it means to transition from professor to startup CEO. He also opens up about how failure shaped his leadership style, why co-founder alignment is more important than titles, and what academia taught him about being an empathetic manager.

Whether you’re in deep tech, academia, or just curious how foundational innovation becomes a company, this episode offers a grounded and honest look at what it takes to build from the lab up.

Where to find Naveen:

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to turn academic research into a real-world company
  • How to find and align with the right co-founders
  • What good conflict looks like in early-stage teams
  • How to fundraise as a professor-turned-founder
  • Why being self-aware matters more than fitting a role
  • How to build culture through actions, not statements
  • What it means to lead with empathy in high-stakes environments

Timestamps:

(00:00) Why Naveen almost quit engineering
(03:50) From PhD to professor to founder
(07:04) What EnCharge actually builds
(10:56) The six-year journey to a spinout
(13:20) Why incubation matters in deep tech
(15:53) Inspiration, practicality, and real-world impact
(17:28) Choosing the right co-founders
(20:33) Why Naveen became CEO
(23:00) Conflict as a strength
(24:21) Vision, perspective, and pushing back
(25:49) Advice on co-founder relationships
(27:59) Fundraising lessons from a first-time founder
(34:19) Growing to 70+ people
(35:51) Hiring for culture and long-term vision
(37:01) Talking about culture without naming it
(38:16) Letting go and empowering the team
(41:41) Hiring non-technical leaders
(43:17) What Naveen found easy and hard as a manager
(45:56) How he learned to give difficult feedback
(48:56) Managing stress through abstraction and presence
(51:23) Academic mentors who shaped his thinking
(53:08) Leadership as enabling others
(55:08) Impostor syndrome and comfort with failure
(58:00) Early rejections and how he bounced back
(01:01:00) What everyone should know about AI
(01:02:43) What Naveen wishes he knew earlier
(01:04:27) Final advice to founders: normalize failure

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better)

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

  continue reading

100 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 502407106 series 2991408
Content provided by Alisa Cohn. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Alisa Cohn or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Naveen Verma is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Princeton and the co-founder and CEO of EnCharge AI, a startup building radically energy-efficient computers for artificial intelligence. In this episode, Naveen shares how his academic research into in-memory computing evolved over six years into a venture-backed company that’s rethinking the physical limits of AI computers.

Naveen explains why traditional computing models can’t keep up with the energy demands of AI, how in-memory architectures unlock new efficiency, and what it means to transition from professor to startup CEO. He also opens up about how failure shaped his leadership style, why co-founder alignment is more important than titles, and what academia taught him about being an empathetic manager.

Whether you’re in deep tech, academia, or just curious how foundational innovation becomes a company, this episode offers a grounded and honest look at what it takes to build from the lab up.

Where to find Naveen:

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to turn academic research into a real-world company
  • How to find and align with the right co-founders
  • What good conflict looks like in early-stage teams
  • How to fundraise as a professor-turned-founder
  • Why being self-aware matters more than fitting a role
  • How to build culture through actions, not statements
  • What it means to lead with empathy in high-stakes environments

Timestamps:

(00:00) Why Naveen almost quit engineering
(03:50) From PhD to professor to founder
(07:04) What EnCharge actually builds
(10:56) The six-year journey to a spinout
(13:20) Why incubation matters in deep tech
(15:53) Inspiration, practicality, and real-world impact
(17:28) Choosing the right co-founders
(20:33) Why Naveen became CEO
(23:00) Conflict as a strength
(24:21) Vision, perspective, and pushing back
(25:49) Advice on co-founder relationships
(27:59) Fundraising lessons from a first-time founder
(34:19) Growing to 70+ people
(35:51) Hiring for culture and long-term vision
(37:01) Talking about culture without naming it
(38:16) Letting go and empowering the team
(41:41) Hiring non-technical leaders
(43:17) What Naveen found easy and hard as a manager
(45:56) How he learned to give difficult feedback
(48:56) Managing stress through abstraction and presence
(51:23) Academic mentors who shaped his thinking
(53:08) Leadership as enabling others
(55:08) Impostor syndrome and comfort with failure
(58:00) Early rejections and how he bounced back
(01:01:00) What everyone should know about AI
(01:02:43) What Naveen wishes he knew earlier
(01:04:27) Final advice to founders: normalize failure

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better)

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

  continue reading

100 episodes

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