In this Karma School of Business crossover episode, Sean Mooney is joined by Lloyd Metz, Managing Partner of ICV Partners; Doug McCormick, Managing Partner of Oridian Capital Partners; James Aylward, Chief Product and Technology Officer at BluWave; and Nathan Plummer, Co-Executive Director of Venture Café Global Institute. The group explains how AI moved from long-running concept to practical business tool, and what that means for private equity firms and portfolio company leaders right now. They cover agentic AI, data readiness, applied AI use cases, internal tooling, security concerns, and the leadership challenge of getting teams to adopt new ways of working. This is a practical conversation for business builders who want to move past AI hype and start creating real value—hit play.
Episode Highlights
- 2:13 - James Aylward's path from Fidelity's AI incubator to BluWave's technology strategy
- 5:08 - Nathan Plummer on Venture Café's role in connecting startups, investors, and innovators
- 9:17 - Why ChatGPT marked a "Gutenberg moment" after decades of slower AI progress
- 13:10 - AI shifts from autocomplete and thought partnership to writing major chunks of code
- 18:06 - Applied AI moves beyond efficiency into biotech, robotics, imaging, and new product creation
- 23:28 - Why proprietary data may become the real moat for private equity-backed companies
- 35:42 - AI literacy, adoption, and the leadership work required to make tools stick
- 44:05 - BluWave's internal AI tool shows how company data can power faster decisions
For information on Oridian Capital Partners, go to https://oridiancapital.com/
For information on ICV Partners, go to https://www.icvpartners.com
For information on BluWave, go to https://www.bluwave.net
