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The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder Deon Nicholas

Forethought AI co-founder Deon Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. In this episode of Build Mode, he unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors. 00:00 Intro 01:23 The Founder Journey:…

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Forethought AI co-founder Deon Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. In this episode of Build Mode, he unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors.

00:00 Intro
01:23 The Founder Journey: Adapting Every 6-9 Months
05:33 From AI Research to Solving Business Problems
11:12 Finding Your Customer: The Importance of User Conversations
18:22 Building Demos and Landing First Paying Customers
25:12 The Seven Failure Rule for Product Market Fit
30:38 Preparing for and Winning TechCrunch Disrupt
35:16 The Reality of Fundraising and Chasing Metrics
39:07 Navigating Competition in Customer Service AI
43:03 Stepping into Chairman and What’s Next
44:57 Outro

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New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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Science & Technology

How to Make Transportation Quieter, Cleaner and Cheaper | Doreen Orishaba | TED

When Doreen Orishaba helped build Africa’s first electric car in 2011, skeptics dismissed it as a “toy for the Western world.” Now she’s running dozens of electric buses across Kenya and Rwanda, moving thousands of passengers to work every day on zero-exhaust vehicles powered by near-silent engines. She breaks down what it actually takes to…

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When Doreen Orishaba helped build Africa’s first electric car in 2011, skeptics dismissed it as a “toy for the Western world.” Now she’s running dozens of electric buses across Kenya and Rwanda, moving thousands of passengers to work every day on zero-exhaust vehicles powered by near-silent engines. She breaks down what it actually takes to scale clean transport — and why skipping the gas station pit stop is closer than you may think. (Recorded at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025)

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The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

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CNET

I Tried the Motorola Razr Fold and Was Amazed It’s a 1st-Gen Foldable | All Things Mobile

Motorola’s Razr Fold is a polished and powerful competitor to other book-style foldables.  You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 | Unlocked Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Cell Phone Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold *Cnet may get commission on this offer. Read more at CNET.com Motorola Razr Fold…

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Motorola’s Razr Fold is a polished and powerful competitor to other book-style foldables. 

You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 | Unlocked
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Cell Phone
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold
*Cnet may get commission on this offer.

Read more at CNET.com
Motorola Razr Fold Hands-On: Watch Out Samsung, This Phone Has an Edge

0:00 Meet the Motorola Razr Fold (2026)
0:11 Entering the Book-Style Foldable Market
0:30 Motorola’s Foldable Expertise: From Flip to Book
0:47 Display & Brightness: Beating the Competition
0:56 Durability: IP48 & IP49 Ratings
1:05 Battery Beast: 6,000-mAh & 80W Charging
1:35 Pro-Grade Camera Specs (Triple 50-MP)
1:58 Performance: Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 & 16GB RAM
2:15 Price Comparison: Razr Fold vs. Z Fold 7 vs. Pixel 10 Pro Fold

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Science & Technology

The Nurse Who Can Smell Parkinson’s | Joy Milne | TED

What does Parkinson’s smell like? Ask nurse Joy Milne. Born with a hypersensitive nose, she spent a lifetime learning to recognize diseases through their scents. When she smelled Parkinson’s on her husband years before his diagnosis, she decided to put her gift to the test. Today, her extraordinary nose has been translated into a non-invasive…

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What does Parkinson’s smell like? Ask nurse Joy Milne. Born with a hypersensitive nose, she spent a lifetime learning to recognize diseases through their scents. When she smelled Parkinson’s on her husband years before his diagnosis, she decided to put her gift to the test. Today, her extraordinary nose has been translated into a non-invasive test — helping researchers diagnose what was right under their noses all along. (Recorded at TEDxManchester on March 4, 2023)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

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TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Health

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