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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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6 months ago

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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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🧩 Watch Forethought AI’s TechCrunch Startup Battlefield pitch:

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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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CNET

Visiting the World’s Largest Artificial Sun Gave Me Hope

Take a look inside ITER, the world’s largest fusion reactor, to see how scientists from around the world are working tirelessly to re-create the sun’s superpower on Earth and fuel a clean energy revolution. Read more about the Fusion Reactor on CNET.com Inside the World’s Biggest Bet on Fusion Energy 0:00 Welcome to ITER 1:21…

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May 24, 2026

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Take a look inside ITER, the world’s largest fusion reactor, to see how scientists from around the world are working tirelessly to re-create the sun’s superpower on Earth and fuel a clean energy revolution.

Read more about the Fusion Reactor on CNET.com
Inside the World’s Biggest Bet on Fusion Energy

0:00 Welcome to ITER
1:21 Meet Plasma
1:38 ITER’s Magnets
2:28 ITER’s Goals
3:31 Hotter than the sun
3:57 Setbacks
4:46 International collaboration
5:18 ITER’s Tokamak Hall
5:38 The heart of ITER
6:08 ITER’s fuel
6:38 The walls of the tokamak
7:00 Tritium breeding
7:20 “The knowledge of the world”

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#Fusion #Energy #WTF

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Science & Technology

Why Humans Should Merge with AI | D. Scott Phoenix | TED

Deep tech entrepreneur D. Scott Phoenix spent years building AI — now, he believes we’re on the cusp of a profound merger between humans and machines. Reframing the AI debate through the lens of evolutionary biology, he shifts the question from whether we should fear or embrace AI to whether we understand what’s at stake…

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2 days ago

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May 23, 2026

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Deep tech entrepreneur D. Scott Phoenix spent years building AI — now, he believes we’re on the cusp of a profound merger between humans and machines. Reframing the AI debate through the lens of evolutionary biology, he shifts the question from whether we should fear or embrace AI to whether we understand what’s at stake if we get it wrong. Hear his provocative case for why we need to “eat the AI.” (Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026)

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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 #AI

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CNET

Embarrassing Gmail Name? You Can Now Change It | HTDIA #google #gmail #googleaccount

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May 23, 2026

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