Ventures from The Valley

About Ventures from The Valley

Ventures from the Valley brings you inside the rooms where billion-dollar decisions get made. Hosted by R136 Ventures, each episode features candid conversations with the founders, operators, and investors shaping the future of technology; from AI infrastructure to global fintech to the companies redefining how we build.

Publisher

R136 Ventures

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Mar 2024

Latest episode

8 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Jul 2026

   Stablecoins, Africa & the Future of Moving Money | With Josiah Senu

   What if sending money across borders could become instant, reliable, and almost free? In this episode of Ventures from the Valley, host Victor Orlovski sits down with Josiah Senu, founder of Zuba a fintech company building what Josiah describes as the world’s most reliable bank. Josiah shares his journey from a British-Nigerian upbringing to Harvard Law School, fintech, payments, and building financial infrastructure for emerging markets. He explains why cross-border payments remain broken, why remittance fees are still too high, and how stablecoins can fundamentally change the cost of moving money around the world. In this conversation, we discuss: • Why sending money home can be a life-or-death issue • What founders should understand about Africa and Nigeria • Why Nigeria is one of the most important fintech markets • How stablecoins reduce the cost of cross-border payments • Why Zuba is focused on affordability, speed, and reliability • How AI and blockchain can help fight financial fraud • Why customer care still matters in the age of AI • What it takes to build a global fintech company • How Josiah thinks about talent, focus, discipline, and obsession This episode is brought to you by R136 Ventures, supporting visionary founders building the next generation of fintech, B2B, and AI-driven companies. 🌐 Learn more: https://www.r136.vc/ 💬 Would you trust a stablecoin-powered bank to move your money across borders? ___________________________________________________________________________ R136 Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based multi-stage VC firm with a focus on scaling mid and late-stage B2B and fintech startups. Our mission is to propel creative entrepreneurs to a faster growth trajectory. We help founders scale their mid-to-late stage startups, bringing with us a distinctive fusion of expertise and past experiences that are key in unlocking their true potential. With many of our team having previously held CEO, CTO and other c-level positions, we understand the challenges and opportunities of both startups and major corporations. Our contribution doesn't just stop at vision and strategy; we actively shape your execution and help in talent acquisition. With a legacy of managing assets exceeding $400 million and having financially backed more than  30 innovative companies, our record speaks for itself. 🌐 Learn more: https://www.r136.vc/ #venturecapital #startups #R136 #fintech #stablecoins

2. 

   3 Jun 2026

   How Losing Her Best Friend Led Eugenia Kuyda to Build the World's First AI Companion

   What happens when AI stops being just a tool… and becomes a relationship? In this episode of Ventures from the Valley, host Victor Orlovski speaks with Eugenia Kuyda — founder of Replika and Wabi — about the future of emotional AI, AI companions, consumer technology, and the next wave of human-computer interaction. Eugenia shares the deeply personal story behind Replika, how the loss of her best friend inspired one of the world’s first AI companion platforms, and why millions of users formed emotional connections with AI long before ChatGPT existed. They also discuss: • The early days of conversational AI before transformers • Building emotional intelligence into software • Why Replika had 1.5M users on the waitlist before launch • The rise of ChatGPT and OpenAI • Why emotional AI may become bigger than assistants • The future of AI relationships and digital companions • Why AI could replace millions of jobs • The next generation of AI interfaces through Wabi • Consumer AI vs enterprise AI • The future battle between Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and startups This conversation explores one of the biggest questions of our time: can AI truly understand humans — and what happens if it does? Watch the full episode and subscribe for more conversations with world-class founders, investors, and AI pioneers. Learn more about  R136 Ventures What do you think — will emotional AI help humanity or make people more isolated? #venturecapital #R136 #AI #Replika #EugeniaKuyda

3. 

   6 May 2026

   How HighLevel Won 70,000 Marketing Agencies Without a Sales Team - with Robin Alex

   What if you could build a multi-million dollar SaaS company… without a sales team or paid ads? In this episode of Ventures from the Valley, host Victor Orlovski sits down with Robin Alex, co-founder of HighLevel — an AI-powered business platform serving 70,000+ agencies and over 1 million businesses worldwide. Robin shares how HighLevel scaled from early struggles and high churn to becoming one of the fastest-growing SaaS platforms — by focusing on agencies instead of SMBs, building strong community-driven growth, and aligning incentives at scale. ⸻ 💡 What you’ll learn: • Why selling directly to SMBs failed — and what worked instead • The real reason agencies became the growth engine • How a simple pivot changed everything • Why HighLevel never relied on a traditional sales team • The strategy behind 40% lifetime affiliate commissions • How to scale a SaaS company profitably from day one • The truth about product-market fit most founders misunderstand • How AI is changing (but not replacing) service businesses ⸻ This episode is brought to you by R136 Ventures, backing the next generation of B2B and AI-driven companies. 🌐 Learn more: https://www.r136.vc/ 💬  Would you rather build a startup with VC funding or stay fully profitable from day one?

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

5,555

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

32

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

32

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.