ICYMI: Ramya Swaminathan on spinning out of Google X, raising $120M+ for hard tech, and why every pivot comes too late.
One of our most packed episodes yet.
Full conversation β
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"By being there, by observing, you are yourself a participant. You are changing the nature of the interaction."
Ramya Swaminathan on how anthropology shaped her infrastructure leadership.
Participant observation applies everywhere.
@LiveEIR
"There are many more good technologies than get commercialized. Some of the reasons are heartbreaking."
Ramya Swaminathan on why great tech fails.
Hint: it's rarely the technology.
@LiveEIR β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"Balance of plant is more than 50% of the cost. People are experts in the widget, not what it plugs into."
This blind spot kills hard tech companies.
@LiveEIR co-host @IlyaTabakh on the hidden costs founders miss.
Full ep with Ramya Swaminathan β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"I've never been educated for anything I've done professionally. I say that as a statement of hope for everybody."
Anthropology β Investment banking β Hydropower CEO β Google X spinout β Board member
Ramya Swaminathan on why credentials matter less than learning.
@LiveEIR
"For the first time in decades, we have load growth. That's placing a twin crisis of reliability and affordability."
Ramya Swaminathan on why the grid urgency creates opportunity for innovation.
Full episode β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
@LiveEIR@engineventures
NEW EPISODE
"There is no pivot I've made that I shouldn't have made sooner." Ramya Swaminathan spun Malta out of Google X and learned the hard way why founders resist change.
Her Gollum analogy is unforgettable.
Full episode β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
@LiveEIR@engineventures
ICYMI: Our last episode of 2025 with @Vic_Muchiri
Kenya β Construction β Fintech β VC β one of the only EIRs in construction β @BuildVisionTech
π§ Apple: https://t.co/tHQHksK6EY
π§ Spotify: https://t.co/qmCh6xtMIT
Leave us a review if you enjoy @LiveEIR!
"EIR roles, you really can't apply for them... they are really created."
@Vic_Muchiri wrote a memo proposing his own EIR position at Barton Malow. That experience now fuels his work at @BuildVisiontech.
@LiveEIR Episode 15: https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"It's a bit of a Rorschach test... you see a bunny and I see a duck."
Same data. Different conclusions. @Vic_Muchiri on why the best EIRs are translators, not advocates. He now brings this skill to @Buildvisiontech@LiveEIR Episode 15: https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"I am not going to be that superintendent... that just did not come natural to me."
@Vic_Muchiri 's career took off when he stopped forcing a bad fit. Honest self-assessment is underrated.
@LiveEIR Episode 15: https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"I can't create a new ASML. That's just too hard."
@Vic_Muchiri isn't chasing moonshots. He's building where he can actually win.
That's not small thinking. That's strategic thinking.
Full episode with @LiveEIR: https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
Tomorrow on @LiveEIR: @Vic_Muchiri went from Kenya to construction sites to fintech to venture capital to becoming one of the rarest EIRs in the industry.
His path? Completely unconventional.
New episode drops 8 AM CT.
ICYMI: Episode 14 is live.
Peter Winton on 50+ years of manufacturing experience, becoming an "accidental" EIR, and why universities need to rethink commercialization.
@LiveEIR β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
95% of startups fail.
So why are universities afraid of matching the existing track record?
Peter Winton on why fear of failure kills innovation.
@LiveEIR Episode 14 β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
After 2 years as an EIR, Peter Winton thought he'd accomplished "not a lot."
Year 3 changed everything.
Why EIR terms need to be longer than most programs allow.
@LiveEIR Episode 14 β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
At Rolls-Royce, the competitor was GE.
At universities, it's the professor next door.
Peter Winton on the insight that changed his EIR approach.
@LiveEIR Episode 14 β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"The most powerful three words in the English language: I don't know."
Peter Winton on why intellectual honesty matters more than having all the answers.
@LiveEIR Episode 14 β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
"The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth."
Peter Winton chose breadth over height. That decision shaped everything about his EIR approach.
@LiveEIR Episode 14 β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9
NEW EPISODE: Peter Winton spent 50+ years in manufacturing before becoming an "accidental" EIR.
Watch him transform dense academic language into a pitch anyone gets.
Full episode with @LiveEIR β https://t.co/psH8KS03P9