Michael Weiss

Michael Weiss (Co-founder at Ai4)

Welcome

Today's interview is with WashU alum and Ai4 Co-Founder Michael Weiss. We hope you enjoy today's content, and please leave feedback by filling out our survey at the end.

Name: Michael Weiss
Current Position: Co-Founder of Ai4
Prior Roles: Director, Bisnow Media
Education: Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis (class of 2012)

Please discuss your current company, what it does, and your role within the organization.

Ai4 organizes industry conferences to help big companies adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning. We aim to grow into a one-stop shop for all things AI. We're a small team, so I wear many hats - producing content for the conferences, working out partnership deals, A/V logistics, you name it.


What has your career path looked like so far?
I graduated from WashU in 2012 and decided NYC was the only place I wanted to live. I worked for 6 months as a real estate agent, disliked it, and then joined a young company called Bisnow, where I organized a high-end annual retreat for bigwigs in the commercial real estate industry. I left Bisnow in 2015 to pursue my dream at the time of bringing a Worlds Fair back to the U.S. I organized 4 mini Worlds Fairs called Worlds Fair Nano and convened 20,000 people through those events. Then, in 2018, we started Ai4 since artificial intelligence is the future.


Do you have any favorite hobbies or passions? How do you spend your free time?
I run long distances, read sci-fi, cook mostly vegan, meditate, and do some leisure travel, but not much these days


Do you have any advice for college students?
Use college to learn the skill of taking risks. Pursue projects of personal interest/excitement in college and leverage the vast and readily available resources of the university to help the project along. As an example, my senior year I tried breaking the Guinness World Record for the world's longest massage chain in college, which was 1,200 people at the time. We ended with 400, so it was a fail from that standpoint. But, it still raised awareness for the charity the Jason Foundation. Point being, I had a blast pursuing that somewhat crazy goal and the school helped me do it - including contributing a few thousand dollars so I could buy t-shirts for everyone. And yes, there were 800 left over t-shirts. I think Coach K still might have a couple lying around...


Do any industries stick out to you in today's economic landscape? Are there any majors/career paths that you recommend today's college students to pursue?
Learn about AI and machine learning. Every business in every industry is in a mad dash to transform into an AI-first company before they're rendered irrelevant. Become conversant in data science terminology. Develop a wholistic picture of what AI means today, what it meant in 1956 when the term was coined, and what it will mean in 2045.


Does your organization offer any internship opportunities? If so, feel free to discuss these programs or provide a link/contact for students to find out more information.
We're a young startup, so we have no formal internship program. We had 3 interns last summer and it went ok. We're going to be hiring 3 full-time roles at the end of this year / early 2019. So, anyone reading that's curious about AI, you can message me at michael@ai4.io


What made you interested in being one of ExecU Weekly's early interviewees?
I would have liked to hear from myself 7 years after college.


Do you have any additional advice or insights you'd like to give?
Always look for purpose in your work, knowing that purpose can have an ever-evolving definition.

Set big goals and realize that they're actually possible.

Looking Ahead

Next week, we'll be back, bringing you an interview with Matt Klein - Founder of PRSNL Branding

PRSNL Branding is a "boutique, full-service agency for professionals' online presence." PRSNL Branding offers students + professionals help on resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, social media posts, etc. Check it out: https://prsnlbranding.com/