First hires and inflection points for founders

I sit down with Gazal Vakili (FutureSelf), Marian Bacol (Somarae), and Rebecca Krauthamer (QuSecure) during a packed live recording at Mindspace Wynwood during Miami Venture Week.

For the one-year anniversary of How I AI, we recorded Women Building With AI live to spotlight 3 Florida female founders building in AI. From AI-powered wellness and identity simulation technology to next-generation cybersecurity protecting against AI and quantum threats, this conversation dives into what it really takes to build responsibly in the AI era. 

Topics Covered

• Building and testing AI-powered products in the early stages
• How founders narrow down an MVP without feature overload
• Grassroots distribution and community building
• Bootstrapping vs venture capital fundraising
• What founders should understand about AI security and quantum risk
• Lessons learned from scaling teams and hiring early employees

Featured Guests

Gazal Vakili — Founder of FutureSelf
 A neuroscience-backed identity simulation platform helping users interact with their future self through AI-powered experiences.

Marian Bacol — Founder of Somarae
 An AI-powered somatic wellness platform supporting nervous system regulation and emotional resilience through technology and community.

Rebecca Krauthamer — Co-Founder & CEO of QuSecure
 A cybersecurity company building quantum-resistant encryption to protect enterprises and governments from emerging AI and quantum threats.

Tools & Platforms Mentioned

AI & Creative Tools
ElevenLabs – AI voice generation and cloning technology
Lovable – AI-powered wellness and community support platform
Gemini – generative AI assistant
Veo – AI video and cinematic content tool

Startup & Networking
Connectd – platform connecting startups with advisors, fractional experts, and board roles 
Two Bear Capital – early-stage VC firm investing in breakthrough tech

Quantum & Next-Gen Tech (context)
IonQ – quantum computing company developing trapped-ion systems 
Rigetti Computing – quantum computing hardware and cloud software provider 
D-Wave Quantum – commercial quantum computing company (annealing systems) 
Quantinuum – integrated quantum hardware/software company advancing quantum computing and cryptography tools 
Quantum Australia – national initiative supporting quantum research and commercialization in Australia

Thank you to our partners: Lovable, Mindspace Wynwood, Venture Week Miami, Law and Pixels, By Art Productions

Watch the Live Video Replay on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCfjiUeH-Do

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Brooke Gramer hosts and moderates conversations at the intersection of AI, entrepreneurship, and emerging technology. She is available for live panel moderation, conference programming, and curated founder conversations.

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"How I AI" is a concept and podcast series created and produced by Brooke Gramer of EmpowerFlow Strategies LLC. All rights reserved.