Connect with us

Science & Technology

AI-driven hiring and the science of compatibility

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time. This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mapa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60…

Published

on

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time.

This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mapa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60 seconds. After rebuilding teams over and over again early in her career, Sarah set out to answer the question: why do “great on paper” candidates fail to flourish after their hired?

In this episode, she explains how Mapa analyzes thousands of voice biomarkers, from speech patterns to linguistic signals, to build behavioral profiles and match candidates based on compatibility, not just the on-paper credentials. They help their clients make the right hired the first time, saving crucial time and money.

She breaks down:

• Why most hiring decisions are still a gamble
• Compatibility vs. similarity (and why it matters)
• How voice biomarkers reveal behavioral traits
• How to reduce bias without lowering the bar
• How founders should think about building aligned teams

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling a fast-growing startup, this episode will change the way you think about talent, team dynamics, and what it really means to be a “fit.”

Chapters:

00:00 – Why great hires still fail
00:47 – Meet Sarah Lucena (Founder & CEO, Mapa)
01:39 – What Mapa does: voice → behavioral intelligence
04:22 – Why voice (not video) is the best signal
06:03 – The proprietary dataset & real-life outcomes
12:30 – Mapping companies, not just candidates
14:27 – Compatibility vs. similarity
16:10 – Bias, diversity & better hiring signals
23:53 – Expanding beyond hiring (VCs, finance, insurance)
30:16 – Using Mapa to evaluate investors
33:02 – Building Mapa’s own team
35:49 – Founder advice: patience, compatibility & lawyers
39:16 – Startup Battlefield experience
41:29 – Outro

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. @عليموحان-س5ع

    March 3, 2026 at 1:46 pm

    علي موحان💙💙💙💛💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💚💛💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💛💚💛💚💛💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚

  2. @TheNarrowPathGarage

    March 3, 2026 at 9:27 pm

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular Science

The Experiment That Tried to Weigh the Human Soul

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death. He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he…

Published

on

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death.

He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he thought.

Read more about the cultural legacy of MacDougall’s flawed but influential experiment:

Continue Reading

CNET

NASA’s Artemis II Moon Flyby Livestream

Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled. Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day Add CNET as a trusted news source Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s…

Published

on

Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled.

Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com
NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#nasa #artemis #moon #space #moonmission #artemismission

Continue Reading

CNET

NASA’s Artemis II Successfully Slingshots Around the Moon

See all the highlights from NASA’s Artemis II Moon flyby, which broke the Apollo 13 record for space travel, taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen farther from Earth than any human in history. Read more about NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission on CNET.com NASA Artemis II Day 6: Artemis II…

Published

on

See all the highlights from NASA’s Artemis II Moon flyby, which broke the Apollo 13 record for space travel, taking astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen farther from Earth than any human in history.

Read more about NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission on CNET.com
NASA Artemis II Day 6: Artemis II Breaks Apollo 13 Record for Space Travel

0:00 Intro
0:25 Orion Capsule’s Go_Pro Camera View
0:39 View Inside the Orion Capsule
0:56 Comms Check with NASA Science Team
1:19 Integrity Breaks the Record for Space Travel Distance from Earth
3:03 The Artemis II Crew Names New Craters Observed on the Moon
5:59 Artemis II’s Lunar Flyby Approach
6:22 Artemis II Crew Observations from the Moon
9:18 First Live Look Back at the Moon and the Earth
9:20 Moments Before Loss of Signal (LOS)
12:24 Communication Returns After Crossing the Dark Side of the Moon
15:15 Visualization of Artemis II Returning to Earth

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#nasa #space #spaceexploration #artemis #moon #moonmission #flyby #orion

Continue Reading

Trending