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المحتوى المقدم من Walter Thompson. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرة بواسطة Walter Thompson أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.

TED Business

1
The trick to powerful public speaking | Lawrence Bernstein 17:27

منذ 18 weeks17:27

التشغيل لاحقا

قوائم

إعجاب

احب

17:27

Why do so many of us get nervous when public speaking? Communication expert Lawrence Bernstein says the key to dealing with the pressure is as simple as having a casual chat. He introduces the "coffee shop test" as a way to help you overcome nerves, connect with your audience and deliver a message that truly resonates. After the talk, Modupe explains a similar approach in academia called the "Grandma test," and how public speaking can be as simple as a conversation with grandma. Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey ! Become a TED Member today at ted.com/join Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Fund/Build/Scale

منزل السلاسل•Feed

After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned: 1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck. 2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge. 3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it. There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder. Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale: 1. To help founders make fewer mistakes. 2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey. 3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out. This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business. I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it. Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more.

72 حلقات

#Tech #News #Tech News #Walter Thompson

Fund/Build/Scale

updated منذ 5 أيام

منزل السلاسل•Feed

72 حلقات

#Tech #News #Tech News #Walter Thompson

كل الحلقات

Fund/Build/Scale

1
When a Power User Becomes CEO: How Medium Found Its Way Back 50:14

منذ 5 أيام50:14

50:14

When Tony Stubblebine took over as CEO of Medium in 2022, the platform was burning $2.5 million a month, bleeding subscribers, and was overrun with content that left founder Evan Williams cringing. Tony pitched Ev a turnaround built on small teams with access to data, customers, and the freedom to rebuild Medium like a startup from the inside out. He wasn’t just another executive parachuting in — Tony had worked with him as head of engineering, later as a power user and publishing partner, and eventually, the person who convinced Ev that he could get things on track. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, Tony explains how Medium became profitable for the first time, why the platform banned AI-generated content from its partner program, and how his long history as a user and advisor uniquely prepared him to lead the company through a delicate transformation. RUNTIME 50:14 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (3:41) “ I have a long track record of being associated with Medium for just strange reasons.” (7:16) “ Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought on day one, ‘oh, this is a guaranteed win.’” (9:52) “ I think CEOs are delusional, and some amount of delusion is probably healthy.” (12:34) “ Precision is not possible without a combination of data science and user research or words.” (14:30) Creating customer feedback loops in a 13-year-old company (19:49) “ I would almost say there's no product to manage yet because we’re making it, and we’re making it together.” (20:17) The two mandates Evan Williams gave Tony when he hired him as CEO (24:23) “I knew even if we could grow subscribers, it would be on the back of this content that we weren't proud of.” (25:45) Why Medium banned AI-generated content from its partner program: “ We're a pro-human product.” (30:11) “ We love human moderation. We love our trust and safety team.” (36:28) “ We're trying to be a place where a different set of writers will win on Medium than will win on these other platforms.” (40:46) “ One hundred percent: Medium is for experience, not for influencers.” (42:35) “ I really like to be a champion for what I would call ‘white hat content marketing.’” (46:45) “ It's wild to me that the art of blogging has not been perfected this many decades into it.” (48:17) “ It's impossible to understand how many niches there are.” LINKS Medium Tony Stubblebine Tony’s Medium profile Mark Suster Cal Newport Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi SUBSCRIBE 📥 Get the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
Muse Capital’s Approach to Finding Value in Overlooked Markets 49:49

منذ 7 أيام49:49

49:49

Rachel Springate is the founding general partner of Muse Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on overlooked sectors like women’s health, wellness, parenting, gaming, and sustainability. In this episode, she shares her strategy for finding value where other investors aren’t looking, explains how Muse assesses early traction in non-traditional markets, and breaks down the persistent funding gap facing women founders. We also discuss: How AI could transform women’s health Why traditional VCs struggle to spot these opportunities What needs to change to solve the “2% problem” in venture capital Whether you're fundraising or building for an underserved market, this conversation offers tactical insights you can apply right now. RUNTIME 49:49 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:57) How Rachel connected with Muse Capital Founding Partner Assia Grazioli-Venier (3:43) Why “care, live and play” are the sectors they’re most interested in (8:04) “ Entrepreneurs struggle in this space because typically the people that are building are female or diverse — building for their own.” (11:45) Many investors still don’t recognize that women’s health is a “ massive market opportunity.” (14:52) What are some of the signals that tell her a founder is ready to work with investors? (17:06) When it comes to domain expertise, “ our bar is pretty high.” (19:47) Muse Capital’s process for analyzing market opportunities and evaluating founders (24:26) How seed-stage founders should prepare for their first VC meeting (27:10) “When a founder comes in and says, ‘nobody's doing what we're doing,’ I'm like, ‘red flag.’” (29:33) When it comes to women’s health, “ there's really interesting things that can be done with AI around unique data or proprietary data sets.” (34:44) How is the current political environment impacting innovation/investment in women’s health? (37:44) Why less than 2% of venture capital goes to startups led by women (42:52) “ I do think we are going in the right direction. It's just gonna take a lot.” (44:45) How to get more women into the VC pipeline (47:45) If you could snap your fingers today and change one thing about VC, what would it be? LINKS Rachel Springate Assia Grazioli-Venier Muse Capital SUBSCRIBE 📥 Subscribe to the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter 📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
Creative Ops at Startup Speed: Lessons from Superside 44:58

منذ 12 يومًا44:58

44:58

Fredrik Thomassen, co-founder and CEO of Superside, joins the show to unpack how startups can scale creative work without slowing down or burning out their teams. Superside is a subscription-based design company that helps fast-growing teams get high-quality creative at scale. In this conversation, Fredrik shares how he built a globally distributed team, why async collaboration beats real-time meetings, and what most startups get wrong when managing creative work. We also get into: Hiring in overlooked markets Building customer trust and employee cohesion across time zones Structuring creative operations like a product team Why treating designers as partners — not vendors — drives better outcomes If you're juggling growth and messaging or just trying to build creative capacity without the chaos, listen in. RUNTIME 44:58 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:30) “ You start out and think, ‘I can do this for four or five years,’ and all of a sudden, a decade has passed.” (4:32) Superside’s beta was popular, but “ it was a total mess behind the scenes.” (7:36) Why “ it felt like an obvious move to go to YC.” (11:15) “ We found product-market fit, and then kind of COVID hit at the same time.” (14:17) The biggest mistake Fredrik made while adding headcount in the early days (18:59) Working with a founder coach has been “scary, but also in a sense, very motivating.” (21:39) Fredrik lists his preferred Norwegian authors (25:29) Inside Superside’s pivot from freelancer marketplace to enterprise creative services (29:40) “ What's growing at the moment is AI-powered creative services for our enterprise customers.” (32:08) Quantifying the efficiency gai”s from using AI-enabled services (37:53) How Superside collaborates with clients to provide strategic services and production work (40:31) “ It's quite hard to build a lifestyle business.” (42:40) The one question he’d have to ask the CEO before accepting a job offer with an early-stage startup LINKS Fredrik Thomassen Haakon Heir Jing Venås Kjeldsen Superside Y Combinator Paul Graham essays Hunger , Knut Hamsun Jon Fosse Karl Ove Knausgård SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
How to Pitch VCs Like a “Dangerous” Founder 59:08

منذ 25 يومًا59:08

59:08

What makes a founder dangerous? Not credentials. Not their pedigree. And it's not who they know. For investor and former operator Promise Phelon, a dangerous founder is someone with lived experience, relentless conviction, and the ability to build something the world doesn't expect. Promise is the founder and managing partner of Growth Warrior Capital, an early-stage venture firm that invests in founders building seed and Series A enterprise AI companies. In this episode, she shares hard-won lessons from the founder’s seat and the investor’s table: how to turn capital scarcity into a strategic advantage, navigating the shift from founder to CEO, and why storytelling can’t replace traction. We also talk about: How to find the investors who already have reasons to believe The “puzzle vs. mystery” framework for prioritizing execution What a dangerous founder pitch actually sounds like How underrepresented founders can cultivate an appetite for risk — without a safety net If you're building in stealth, raising without a network, or just wondering how to scale yourself as your company grows, this episode will give you a framework and some momentum. RUNTIME 59:08 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (04:32) Promise talks about her path from operator to investor (06:57) Inside Growth Warrior Capital’’s investment strategy (09:25) What her typical work week looks like (14:01) “We love the qualitative, but our goal is to get to the meat of what's going on.” (16:36) How Promise prefers to be pitched (18:21) Growth Warrior Capital has plans for a second fund in the works (21:27) Why more founders need to evolve from being firestarters to fiduciaries (25:13) Where inexperienced entrepreneurs need the most help (28:13) “ We look for coachability in a founder. We also look for rigidity.” (30:50) “ A dangerous founder is someone that you don't expect to come up and kick you in the teeth.” (34:01) “ …So Kendrick Lamar is the soundtrack for every single investor meeting.” (36:09) What it’s like to be pitched by a dangerous founder (39:30) One myth about successful founders that’s holding people back (44:23) How to cultivate an appetite for risk when you don’t have a safety net (50:41) What happens when founders learn to make bold strategic moves (53:09) ”As a founder, you're not trying to convince anyone of anything. It's a search problem.” (57:14) Something Promise used to believe about venture capital that is just totally untrue LINKS Promise Phelon Growth Warrior Capital Almanack of Naval Ravikant SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
The 5-Year Ramp: How Alcatraz Scaled in Enterprise Security 32:15

منذ 27 يومًا32:15

32:15

What kind of founder spends five years building a product before going to market? One who's trying to solve a very hard problem. Vince Gaydarzhiev is the founder of Alcatraz, a deep tech startup that uses facial authentication. The platform isn’t used to lock people out of single offices or consumer gadgets; its customers are buying global enterprise security, where compliance is strict, trust is earned, and failure isn't an option. In this episode, Vince shares the emotional, strategic, and technical realities of building a company at the intersection of AI, hardware, and enterprise infrastructure. From working nights on prototypes with a tiny team to navigating founder isolation and breaking into risk-averse markets with no Silicon Valley network, Vince takes us inside the long game of building something real. We cover: Why it took three years to get a product into customer hands — and two more to scale it Validating a deep tech startup when you're not an insider What enterprise security leaders really care about (and how not to sell to them) Why founder empathy and “becoming your customer” are non-negotiable in this space The hiring philosophy that helped Alcatraz scale with high-agency, low-ego team members How Vince de-risked himself to earn trust from investors and prospective hires If you're building something technically ambitious or thinking about launching a startup in AI, hardware, or security, listen in. RUNTIME 32:15 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:35) Where the idea for Alcatraz came from and why Vince decided to take the leap (5:51) His process for validating the concept with investors, customers, and security teams (9:37) “I was surprised that this thing didn't exist yet.” (11:48) Why it took five years to develop a “globally scalable” minimum viable product (13:29) How much has his TAM estimate changed since entering the market? (17:55) The pitch Vince used to recruit employees away from Apple and other top companies (20:05) “ In 2016, investors were investing into companies purely on a deck.” (22:18) “ I had zero network. It was my first time.” (24:42) “ Many people mentally cannot take ‘nos’ in bulk. They get depressed, they feel it's personal.” (26:50) Why the name “Alcatraz?” (28:12) “ It's really tough to work with people that you don't like. Very tough. It's never gonna work out.” (30:24) The one question Vince would have to ask the CEO if he were interviewing at an early-stage startup LINKS Vince Gardarzhiev Alcatraz Alcatraz AI Raises $6.1M in Funding for Frictionless Access Control , 4/27/2021, press release Alcatraz AI Receives $25M Series A Funding to Accelerate International Growth , 9/13/2022, press release SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
From Play to Pay: How Soundtrack Uses PQLs to Drive Growth 45:20

منذ 28 يومًا45:20

45:20

What turns a free trial user into a paying customer? For Ola Sars, founder and CEO of Soundtrack, the answer is all about behavior. In this episode, we break down how his team uses product-led growth (PLG) and product-qualified leads (PQLs) to drive conversions. You'll hear how playing 100 tracks became a key signal for purchase intent, the tactics Soundtrack deploys to help self-serve customers experience value fast, and what it takes to scale a SaaS business in a market ruled by consumer giants. If you're building a PLG motion or trying to convert lookie-loos into cash customers, listen in. RUNTIME 45:20 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (3:11) “ It's 20 years now I've been trying to make a living here in the intersection of audio, music and technology.” (5:22) How Ola became a member of Beats’ founding team. (9:37) Why he returned to Stockholm to build Soundtrack instead of remaining stateside. (13:38) When Ola started to learn about product-led growth. (15:38) “ It's a $40-50 billion market on an annual basis. And we're kind of the only company going after that market right now.” (18:54) “ We had this approach that everything had to be done self-serve.” (20:33) Creating a framework to ID and leverage product-qualfied leads (PQLs). (26:06) What role will AI play in music distribution and production? (28:23) The gaps Ola sees in today’s music technology marketplace. (32:04) Why AI-generated music “ doesn't make any sense.” (35:03) Ola reflects on several cultural shifts that have made it “much easier now” to build in Europe. (38:12) Stockholm’s entrepreneurs are “kind of hybrid Americans in a way how we think about business.” (42:08) The biggest myth Americans believe about starting up in Europe. (44:09) If you were interviewing for a job with an early-stage startup, what’s one question you’d have to ask the CEO before you could accept an offer? LINKS Ola Sars Soundtrack B2B music streaming service Soundtrack Your Brand raises $15 million , Tech.eu What is “lagom?” , Study in Sweden The English term " mid " matches the Swedish term " bland , mellan ,” tok-pisin.com SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
From ML Engineer to CEO: Brightwave's Mike Conover on Turning Technical Vision into Company Strategy 55:09

منذ 7 weeks55:09

55:09

Mike Conover started his career as a machine learning engineer. Today, he’s the co-founder and CEO of Brightwave, an AI startup helping financial professionals make faster decisions with massive, unstructured data. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale , Mike shares how he made the leap from technical contributor to strategic leader—and the hard lessons he learned along the way. From translating technical vision into a focused go-to-market strategy, to learning how to coach, hire, and scale intentionally, Mike unpacks the mindset shift required to move from building code to building a company. We also get into: How Brightwave validates new product bets in a high-stakes industry Why founder-market fit is emotional, not just strategic Mistakes to avoid when hiring your early team How to create focus loops and feedback channels before feature creep sets in Why emotional intelligence and execution velocity matter just as much as AI architecture If you're a technical founder — or thinking about becoming one — this conversation offers an unvarnished look at what it actually takes to scale yourself while scaling your startup. RUNTIME 55:09 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:12) Mike explains how Brightwave works. (3:49) Where the idea came from. (7:47) How he connected with co-founder Brandon Kotara. (10:58) The biggest challenges he faced shifting from an engineering role to founder/CEO. (14:22) “As a CEO, you have to do a lot of jobs that you have no preparation for.” (15:07) Working with a coach has been “such a sustaining source of inspiration, but also continuity.” (18:45) “There's a rap lyric I really like, which is, ‘you can't crush me, I'm dirt.’” (20:29) Turning “reasonable” feature requests into new products helped Brightwave build customer trust. (25:30) “ It's unusual,” but co-pilots and POC programs were not part of their early success. (30:12) Tips for building feedback loops between customers and the product team. (36:04) Seed to Series A “ was about four months.” (40:02) “ Most startups are not that defensible.” (45:54) “A lot of the product-led growth techniques that you might use don't always fit the market especially well.” (47:45) How to create a self-assessment framework for founder-market fit. (50:43) “ Brightwave — in its full totality — has material substance in my mind already.” (53:05) The one question he'd have to ask the CEO before taking a startup job. LINKS Mike Conover Brandon Kotara Brightwave Fred Kofman, Conscious Business SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
What Investors Really Want From AI Founders 39:52

منذ 8 weeks39:52

39:52

Igor Taber has sat on both sides of the table: first as a VC at Intel Capital, then as an operator at high-growth AI startup DataRobot. Now, as co-founder of Cortical Ventures, he’s backing the next generation of AI-first startups. In this episode, Igor shares how his operating experience reshaped his investment lens, what most VCs still miss about early-stage execution, and how founders can break through the AI noise to build something that actually lasts. We also get into: What it really takes to build conviction at the seed stage How Cortical Ventures defines “defensibility” in AI The questions every founder should ask an investor (but usually doesn’t) Why your biggest advantage may not be your model — it’s your momentum If you’re building in AI, fundraising, or trying to turn early traction into a long-term advantage, download this episode. RUNTIME: 39:52 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:19) Igor: My investor-operator-investor path was “ a really interesting progression.” (3:33) Previously, a lot of his opinions were rooted in the “VC echo chamber.” (6:56) “ You just try to do your best to be a good partner and be helpful.” (7:43) Why he and co-founder Jeremy Achin started Cortico. (13:39) What makes an early-stage AI team stand out? (17:15) When it comes to solo vs. team, “ we haven't seen any like material difference in outcome.” (18:56) “ I think the biggest company on LinkedIn is called ‘Stealth.’” (22:17) Why TAM isn’t a major consideration when evaluating new opportunities. (24:18) His framework for evaluating and validating seed-stage startups. (26:03) The biggest red flags in founder discovery meetings. (28:21) Top mistakes founders make in the first year after closing a seed round. (33:16) How Cortical advises AI founders to build more resilient companies. (35:55) A few things to keep in mind before quitting a secure job to launch a startup. (38:07) How to make yourself more investible in 2025. LINKS Igor Tabor Jeremy Achin Cortical Ventures SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
The Art of the Waitlist: Siqi Chen on Driving Scarcity, Hype, and Feedback Loops 39:46

منذ 8 weeks39:46

39:46

Runway CEO and co-founder Siqi Chen shares how his team used a waitlist not just to build hype, but to engineer smarter growth. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale , Siqi breaks down how Runway strategically kept customers in a holding pattern to gather feedback, qualify demand, and refine product-market fit. We also talk about: How to build trust with early users through transparency Using scarcity and access control as GTM levers Why financial planning should be accessible to everyone on the team What most founders get wrong about burn rate and cash flow Whether you're in the early stages or prepping for launch, this episode offers a masterclass in thoughtful, tactical go-to-market execution. RUNTIME 39:46 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:49) “ What if somebody worked on a Figma for finance?” (5:48) “ You have to understand what are the different levers of the machine, and how the machine works.” (8:50) Why Runway represents a cultural shift in corporate transparency. (11:51) How much financial literacy should founders try to foster across their organizations? (14:48) How much runway should a startup aim for? (18:39) How Runway’s waitlist fed directly into its GTM strategy. (21:36) The ”very simple motivation” behind creating the waitlist. (24:35) The “negging trick” that makes sales prospects want to buy your product. (26:37) “ Your early customers join you for very different and specific reasons.” (28:55) “ Our first website, we didn't even really talk about the product.” (30:23) After opening up the waitlist, “ nothing really changed — we were doing outbound sales already.” (34:17) “People who are really motivated by your purpose and mission are willing to give you a lot more leeway.” (36:42) What the next five years could look like for Runway. (38:07) The one question Siqi would ask a CEO if he was interviewing at an early-stage startup. LINKS Siqi Chen Runway Runway lands $27.5M to streamline financial planning for businesses As Not Seen on TV , Pete Wells, NYT Restaurant Review, 11/13/12 SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
PR Advice for Founders in the AI Era 49:49

منذ 9 weeks49:49

49:49

Ayelet Noff has spent more than two decades helping startups land meaningful press — but she’s also seen how the game has changed. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale , the founder of SlicedBrand and new PR tech startup Dazzle shares what still works, what doesn’t, and how founders can earn meaningful attention in today’s fractured media landscape. We get into: – What makes a pitch actually land with reporters – How to build credibility before you have traction – The biggest mistakes founders make when trying to “get press” – How AI tools are shaping the future of PR Whether you’re early-stage or scaling, this episode is packed with practical advice for telling your story with clarity and credibility. RUNTIME 49:49 LINKS Ayelet Noff @AyeletNoff (X) SlicedBrand Dazzle SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
The Hard Tech Hustle: Building and Selling Industrial AI 46:18

منذ 9 weeks46:18

46:18

Sahitya Senapathy, founder and CEO of Endeavor AI, joins Fund/Build/Scale to talk about launching a solo-founded startup at the intersection of AI and heavy industry. From building FEMA apps at age 11 to raising $7M before finishing college, Sahitya shares the hard lessons behind the headline. We dig into: – Selling AI solutions to manufacturers with no network and no co-founder – What enterprise customers actually care about in early-stage tech – Navigating credibility as a first-time founder in hard tech – Building while still learning — on the floor, in the pitch, as a leader This is a candid look at what it means to hustle in deep tech without shortcuts or safety nets. RUNTIME 46:18 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:25) How Sahitya’s parents gave him early exposure to manufacturing logistics and culture (5:42) How working on resilience tech during natural disasters sparked his focus on real-world impact (8:16) Lessons from Palantir and how the forward-deployed model shaped his customer-first mindset (9:46) His two-month immersion on the shop floor of a steel factory (12:05) Why forward deployment contradicts traditional product development models (15:44) Building a network in legacy industries through conferences, mentorship, and cold outreach (18:03) How strong references and early pilots drove initial traction (21:34) “ Starting a company is an extremely hard leap for many people to make. And it just so happened that I almost accumulated all these skills over my life.” (22:48) Hiring philosophy: high-agency, under-the-radar talent and long-term team-building (24:39) How he de-risks himself for both investors and potential hires (28:55) Learning to hire and manage people with more experience than you (30:20) Why a rejected engineering candidate became Endeavor’s first full-time sales hire (32:06) The toughest sales objection he’s had to overcome (34:02) “ You cannot do the forward deploy model without personas.” (36:11) “ I believe truly at the core that I have unlimited potential, and to that end, there's no point in ever believing that I could be limited by something.” (38:23) “ The biggest risk you can take is not taking a risk, especially in this day and age.” (40:43) How to validate your idea before leaving your job or taking a major leap (44:42) One question he’d ask a CEO before joining an early-stage AI startup LINKS Sahitya Senapathy Endeavor AI Forward deployment model SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

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Inside a VC’s Playbook for Capital-Intensive Startups 48:59

منذ 10 weeks48:59

48:59

Sophie Bakalar, partner at Collaborative Fund, joins Fund/Build/Scale for a candid conversation about early-stage investing in climate tech, consumer AI, and deep tech hardware. She shares how she evaluates “green” founders with limited experience, what kind of traction she looks for in pre-revenue companies, and why a passion for solving a real-world problem outweighs having a stacked resume. We also cover: Tactical funding strategies for capital-intensive startups The value of adaptable teams and fractional CFOs How to avoid overspending before product-market fit The mindset shifts needed before approaching VCs This episode is packed with advice for founders navigating long development timelines, technical risk, and early go-to-market strategy — especially if you’re looking to raise money while keeping burn low and momentum high. RUNTIME 48:59 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:24) “Like a lot of people in venture, I have sort of a windy path.” (6:47) Inside Collaborative Fund: “We all roll up our sleeves on everything here.” (7:55) Which industries and founder profiles Sophie is watching in 2025. (10:37) Where consumer AI hardware may be headed. (12:03) What her typical work week looks like. (15:05) In a people-driven industry, inexperienced founders need to de-risk themselves before doing investor outreach. (17:37) “We don't necessarily create a hard line or a clear box around what makes a climate tech investment.” (22:43) “There are a few things that investors in climate and energy tech are looking for.” (26:23) When it comes to solo founders, “expectations from funders [are] a little bit higher.” (28:28) What excites Sophie about working with first-time founders. (30:17) The most common reason why a team with a strong idea fails to execute. (33:31) Why a founder’s “adaptability quotient” is so critical to their success. (36:53) Personalities (and business models) that should avoid venture capital. (40:16) “I hope I've managed to retain a good amount of empathy.” (42:11) One piece of advice for VCs she returns to frequently. (44:37) “The only real seismic changes are going to happen when you start to see more female entrepreneurs build really successful companies.” (46:52) The blogger you need to read “before you kick off your fundraise.” (47:39) The one question Sophie would have to ask a CEO before accepting an offer from an early-stage startup. LINKS Sophie Bakalar Craig Shapiro Collaborative Fund Fred Wilson , AVC archive SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
Building a Market from Scratch: Generative Music for Enterprise Customers 30:47

منذ 10 weeks30:47

30:47

Recorded in July 2024, Aimi founder Edward Balassanian joins Fund/Build/Scale to share how his AI-powered platform creates generative, copyright-safe music for enterprise clients. He explains how customer discovery with DJs shaped Aimi’s tech, why compliance is core to their strategy, and why the company downsized after hitting product-market fit — all while inventing a market where AI music solves problems humans can’t. RUNTIME 30:47 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (4:17) “ I consider myself a platform person. I build operating systems.” (7:39) “ It's incumbent on a founder in a space like this to be well-versed in not only the art of the music, but the science of the music as well.” (9:14) “ We see a song as a medium between fans and artists. We're not in the song business.” (11:03) How Aimi is building a library of licensed content: “We’ve been pretty methodical.” (14:59) “ We see ourselves as kind of uniquely in the business of music AI for creation, not for imitation.” (16:46) “ We de-risk the use of music. That's one of the biggest selling points for enterprise customers.” (18:44) “ Like most tech people, I would say we're always going to be in beta.” (21:58) Why Aimi raised its $20M Series B in 2021. (24:01) Downsizing after reaching PMF “ was the best decision that we that we could have made.” (28:05) “ I think what's really interesting is building platforms, and any platform today is going to have to incorporate AI into it.” LINKS Edward Balassanian (Crunchbase) Aimi AI-Powered Music Platform Aimi has raised $20 million in a Series B round of funding SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

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How a Broke College Student Co-founded a VC-Backed Edtech Startup 59:59

منذ 11 weeks59:59

59:59

In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, Nectir co-founder and CEO Kavitta Ghai shares how she turned her frustration as a college student into a fast-growing, VC-backed edtech startup. Kavitta discusses the leap from student to founder, how she built an AI-powered tool for classrooms without a technical background, and the tactics that helped her and her co-founder land paying customers early. She also opens up about navigating the venture world as a first-generation founder and reframing risk as a competitive advantage. RUNTIME 59:59 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:57) “ One day we said, ‘what if we stopped complaining and we actually did something about it?’” (5:57) “ The idea for Nectir initially just sort of fell into my lap.” (10:29) “ I was a communication major. He was an environmental studies major. We had no technical background at all.” (12:50) “ To go from a broke college student to being a broke founder really doesn't feel like that big of a difference.” (14:12) How they landed Nectir’s first customer — UC Santa Barbara. (20:50) “ We have this philosophy that I call our ‘zones of genius.’” (23:46) Why customer discovery should “ every single person on the team for as long as you possibly can.” (27:03) “ When I go back and think about what we did best in that beginning period of time, it was starting with a very basic MVP.” (30:47) “ It was a huge surprise and it was terrifying when I realized, ‘oh shit, I'm the salesperson.’” (34:47) Kavitta shares her top recommendation for free founder advice — and one she had to pay for. (38:43) “ I actually came into building Nectir with zero understanding of what VC funding even was.” (43:38) “ You have to be willing to ask for what you want and it's the only way to get it.” (47:24) “ Right this second is the best possible time to start your company.” (51:50) “ It's not the thought of me sitting on a yacht one day that motivates me.” (53:09) Nectir’s pilot program with the California Community College system. (56:49) The one question Kavitta would have to ask a CEO before she’d take a job at their startup. LINKS Nectir Kavitta Ghai kavitta.com How to Crash the Silicon Valley Party California Community Colleges Launches Groundbreaking Pilot with Nectir AI Paul Graham essays What is FERPA ?, U.S. Dept. of Education Entrada Ventures SUBSCRIBE 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

Fund/Build/Scale

1
Is AI Compute Broken? Tim Davis on Modular’s $130M Bet 46:27

منذ 11 weeks46:27

46:27

Would you leave a stable, high-paying job at Google to build something that competes with NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD? That’s exactly what Tim Davis, co-founder and president of Modular, did. Since then, his company has raised $130M to reimagine AI compute infrastructure — but are AI startups really desperate for a new compute layer? And what’s it like to build a startup when your biggest competitors are trillion-dollar giants? In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, Tim shares his vision for the future of AI compute, why talent is the real key to success, and some of the tough lessons he’s learned from three startups. RUNTIME 46:27 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (1:26) “We are building a new accelerated execution platform for compute.” (6:41) “ It will exist all over the place and it already does, but AI will be everywhere that compute is.” (11:18) “ You only you only have so much time in a week. What is the thing that you're best at?” (15:13) “ We have decided to start from the hardest part of the software stack.” (22:44) “For the most talented people in the world, the risk is actually not as great as what you think.” (30:24) “ Growing up in Australia, my view of the of the United States was very much driven from the media and from Hollywood.” (33:26) “ I sat in a room for six weeks and just met everyone that I could. And that really was the beginning of a journey to the United States.” (37:48) “ I still think there's a special place in the Bay Area, and in the United States, there is a different risk appetite.” (40:41) The one question Tim would have to ask the CEO before he’d take a job at someone else’s early-stage startup. LINKS Tim Davis , co-founder, president timdavis.com Chris Lattner , co-founder, CEO Modular AI startup Modular raises $100 mln in General Catalyst-led funding , 8/24/2023, Reuters SUBSCRIBE 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fund-build-scale/id1719488387 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EbC8PTUSfpZ4USPC9ErnN 📥 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ Thanks for listening! – Walter .…

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