Taking a Company Public at 26 | Brandon Moak episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 12, 2026 · 1H 38M

Taking a Company Public at 26 | Brandon Moak

from Maker · host Matt Carley and Max Hellerstein

In Episode 03, we sit down with Brandon Moak, founder of Embark Trucks.He dropped out of Waterloo at 19 to build self-driving trucks. By 24, he'd taken the company public at a $5 billion valuation.He shares what it was like getting into YC with a self-driving golf cart and raising $30M from Sequoia, then the shift when the markets collapsed and he was burning $25M a quarter with no clear way forward.This is not a story about the wins. It's about being young and responsible for hundreds of people and not knowing if you'll make it.If you're building something uncertain, this one's for you.

In Episode 03, we sit down with Brandon Moak, founder of Embark Trucks.He dropped out of Waterloo at 19 to build self-driving trucks. By 24, he'd taken the company public at a $5 billion valuation.He shares what it was like getting into YC with a self-driving golf cart and raising $30M from Sequoia, then the shift when the markets collapsed and he was burning $25M a quarter with no clear way forward.This is not a story about the wins. It's about being young and responsible for hundreds of people and not knowing if you'll make it.If you're building something uncertain, this one's for you.

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Taking a Company Public at 26 | Brandon Moak

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This episode was published on February 12, 2026.

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In Episode 03, we sit down with Brandon Moak, founder of Embark Trucks.He dropped out of Waterloo at 19 to build self-driving trucks. By 24, he'd taken the company public at a $5 billion valuation.He shares what it was like getting into YC with a...

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