Justin Cohen: Innovation & Insight on Shaping the Future at Slalom Ventures: Justin Cohen

From quantum physics labs to venture studios, Justin Cohen’s journey is a masterclass in navigating technological revolutions and translating them into impactful, scalable businesses.

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Justin Cohen — technologist, founder, strategist, and Head of Slalom Ventures — to explore how early exposure to the internet, a lifelong passion for learning, and a disciplined approach to value creation shaped his success across startups, cloud services, and corporate innovation.

What We Explored with Justin Cohen

The Physics of Curiosity: From Particle Colliders to the World Wide Web

Justin began his career in high-energy particle physics, working with quantum systems and CERN — just as the internet was emerging from the scientific world. This early exposure set the stage for his pivot into software and entrepreneurship.

Building from the Ground Up: Shareware, EdTech, and Viral Growth

An early experiment in children’s educational software led to viral shareware success — and fan mail from Steve Wozniak. This inspired Justin’s first startup, AnyWorld, and kicked off a string of exits across educational and enterprise software ventures.

Strategic Scaling: From Founder to Operator

After founding and exiting multiple companies, Justin transitioned into strategic leadership roles, including President of a cloud-managed services firm that exited to private equity, and eventually, senior strategy roles at Slalom.

The Power of Enabling Technologies

Justin explains the concept of “enabling technologies” — tools like Snowflake or Tableau that only create value when paired with service expertise. Identifying the next wave of these technologies is the mission behind Slalom Ventures.

Slalom Ventures: A New Model for Startup Enablement

Slalom Ventures isn’t your typical accelerator. Instead of coaching decks, it puts startups in front of 20+ enterprise customers to validate demand and partnership fit. If the market responds, Slalom helps scale the relationship — from pilots to full-scale implementation and co-investment.

Simplicity Wins: The Test of a Scalable Business

Whether building or investing, Justin emphasizes one core principle: clarity in value creation. The best startups can explain — simply and precisely — the problem they solve, the value they create, and how they monetize that value.

Key Takeaways

01:30 — From particle physics to the web: how Justin’s early curiosity led him into software
04:45 — The moment he realized the internet would change everything (and built a viral kids game)
09:00 — Launching AnyWorld and pioneering early EdTech in the shareware era
12:30 — Scaling into mid-market consulting and exiting to private equity
15:00 — What makes Slalom a different kind of consultancy (12,000+ consultants across the globe)
18:30 — The birth of Slalom Ventures: finding the next Tableau or Snowflake
24:00 — The accelerator model: testing startups across Slalom’s 3,000+ customers
27:00 — How validation pilots prove both customer fit and strategic potential
30:00 — Cloud to code to AI: how computing trends are shifting the enterprise stack
33:00 — What excites him about automation, DevSecOps, and infrastructure-as-code evolution
37:00 — What Justin looks for in startups: “Can you articulate your value creation in one sentence?”
42:00 — The danger of overengineering: why technologists must resist falling in love with the product
44:00 — Personal advice to founders: clarity, customer-first thinking, and iterative storytelling

Final Thoughts

Justin Cohen’s story is a powerful reminder that curiosity + execution + clarity is a timeless formula for innovation. Whether experimenting with assembly code at age 12, building viral educational software, or launching an enterprise-scale venture arm, Justin’s discipline in following where value is created — not just where the tech is cool — has guided his continued success.

If you’re a B2B SaaS founder, an emerging tech innovator, or simply navigating the next AI-infused transformation, this episode is full of timeless insight and practical takeaways.

Connect with Justin Cohen

LinkedIn: Justin Cohen