Meet L2F Founder and CEO Aldo Podesta and find out how he leverages AI without coding

12.06.2020 16:10, Isabelle Mitchell

Aldo Podesta is the founder and CEO of L2F (Learn to Forecast), which provides data scientists with a unique platform for all state-of-the-art machine learning tools. Find out how he helps make AI more accessible, where he travels to during the pandemic, and why parmesan has a special place in his heart and fridge.

In October, the Venture Leaders Technology 2020 will embark on their week-long roadshow to accelerate their expansion into the US market and build a business network through meetings with top-notch investors and industry leaders in Silicon Valley. To shorten the waiting time, we will introduce you to the members of the Swiss National Startup Team: We asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose four questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life: 

Name: Aldo Podesta 
Job title: CEO of L2F 
Location: Lausanne
Nationality: Italian 
Number of employees: 16 (as of 06/2020) 
First touchpoint with Venturelab: Demo Days La Forge in 2017    

"Giotto, our machine-learning platform, allows citizen data scientists to develop and deploy machine learning applications without coding."

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
Initially, our goal was to bring topology, the science of shapes, closer to machine learning. We saw great potential and a need for more interpretability and robustness that would eventually result in more performant and reliable AI. The result of this exercise is our open-source python library Giotto-tda. We still felt that this was too technical and accessible only to a few, very experienced scientists. We, therefore, decided to take a step further and develop a code-free environment to interact with our technology and others. This is what Giotto stands for today. Stop Coding. Start AI. 

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Technology roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
The journey is not an easy one. From product management to growth hacking—bringing experienced profiles on board significantly helped us when facing those challenges. Getting to know and attracting experienced investors is our priority.

Where and when are you most productive?
I have a peak of productivity around late afternoon/beginning of the evening. I structured my routine around that. Going to sleep when I am tired, waking up when rested, and no meeting in the morning, if possible. By the way, this perfectly fits with the hybrid approach we have been experiencing lately: working from home in the morning, office in the afternoon.

How and where do you clear your mind? 
I love reading novels. I travel to so many different places, meeting incredible characters. It reminds me that life is not only made of AI, net income, and investment rounds. I am currently reading by EmThe Tigers of Mompracemilio Salgari, and I highly recommend it. You can travel to Borneo on a proa.
      
What is your favorite movie and why?    
Lawrence of Arabia. Today, every movie is a "colossal" production, made possible by software and hardware. But back then? Can you imagine a movie like this being produced in 1962?

What is always in your fridge?
Parmesan. You can basically eat it with everything—except fish!

Last but not least, can you show your workplace during the pandemic? 


For more information and updates on L2F and the Venture Leaders Technology, follow the Venture Leaders Technology 2020 team with #VleadersTech on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 

This year’s Venture Leaders Technology roadshow to Silicon Valley is supported by DPD, Kellerhals Carrard, Rothschild & Co Bank, Canton de Vaud, EPF Lausanne, and ETH Zurich.