In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews serial entrepreneur Todd Medema. Todd shares a memorable hackathon win that highlighted the power of diverse team composition, discusses the long‑term societal impact of self‑driving cars and the importance of momentum in emerging markets, and offers core business advice: pursue work you love rather than chase money. He reflects on personal habits, emphasizing the need to disconnect and avoid work‑aholism, and shares his philosophy on happiness—favoring contentment over constant pursuit of joy. Todd also references literary insights from Ender's Game about perspective shifts and a Gene Roddenberry quote underscoring the value of solving timeless problems. The episode concludes with his Twitter handle for listeners to follow.
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Alright everyone, welcome back to the Business Blast Podcast. Today I have Todd Maidama. He is a serial entrepreneur and is currently working on self-driving cars and board games. So the first question I have for you today, Todd, is what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Thanks for having me on, Tyler Wagner. One of my favorite stories from my life is when I won first place at a college hackathon. Which they're traditionally events where programmers go to show off their coding prowess, but our team had a programmer, a business student, a designer, and anthropologist. So not typical by any means, but we won first place, and it really showed me the value of diversity and diverse views on a team in a way that's hard to quantify up front but really obvious in hindsight.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, are we talking self-driving cars or board games?
Good question.
In self-driving cars, I think they're much farther away than most people think. But when they do come in a few decades, the changes they're going to enact in every aspect of life from real estate to city planning to our very lifestyles is going to be huge and will lead to a lot of new opportunities in the board games and just kind of entertainment in general. I think my biggest kind of piece of advice there is just how important momentum is and sticking with something long enough to really build a fan base.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice?
I would say do something you enjoy. You know, don't do it for the money because every project will have its ups and downs. And if you're— if you aren't doing something that you really enjoy at the end of the day, you'll never make it long enough to make it.
And if you could give your— maybe this ties in, but if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
To disconnect more. Honestly, I was and still am a workaholic and have a hard time unplugging. And what I've come to realize is that If you work all the time, you'll end up doing less even though you're spending more time on it.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
To not actually try to be happy, to be content. As entrepreneurs, I think we— our superpower is to strive for the impossible and the gigantic, and we tend to think that the small moments of contentment and happiness aren't worth celebrating, but they totally are.
And what's the best book you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Oh man, it's impossible to pick a single favorite book, but one of my favorite moments in literary history is in Ender's Game when he realizes that the enemy's gate is down. Making it kind of this inevitable direction that you are always just heading, falling towards the enemy's gate. And it really captures this power of shifting your perspective that seems kind of silly and small and pointless, but just so powerfully fundamentally changes your direction. You know, think about it like your success is down.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
Someone once asked Gene Roddenberry, surely by the 24th century they would have found a cure for male pattern baldness, and they were referring to Captain Picard in Star Trek. And his response was just beautiful: No, by the 24th century no one will care. I think it really captures this importance that we do the right thing and we think about the right things and solve the right problems that will really stand the test of time.
I like that. And last question is just where can people find you online?
I'm Todd Medema. That's @ToddMedema on Twitter. Last name is M-E-D-E-M-A.
Perfect, man. Thanks for coming on, Todd. We appreciate it.
Thank you.
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