PODCAST · business
#StartupsUnedited
by Jorge Soto
#StartupsUnedited is a long-running podcast founded by Jorge Soto in 2015, originally recorded out of his San Francisco apartment and now evolved into a modern founder-led media platform. The show features interviews, roundtables, and live conversations with top entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and GTM leaders. New episodes are released regularly, covering what actually works in building, scaling, and surviving startups - no fluff, just real conversations and timeless insights.
Episodes
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EP 110 - This Founder Is Building the Future of AI Search | Todd Sawicki, CEO of Gumshoe | #StartupUnedited
AI search is becoming one of the most important customer acquisition channels for brands. But Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) require a different strategy from traditional SEO.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Todd Sawicki, Co-Founder...
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EP 109 - B2B SaaS Growth: Founder-Led Sales, Retention & Pricing | #StartupsUnedited
How do you build a B2B SaaS company that wins customers, keeps them, and delivers value they’re willing to pay for? On this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with entrepreneur and investor at In Revenue Capital, Justin Gray to discuss founder led sales, go to market strategy, customer...
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EP 108 - How AI Search Is Changing Marketing: GEO, AI Agents & Vibe Coding | David Berkowitz
AI is fundamentally changing how brands get discovered, how marketers create, and even who marketers are actually marketing to.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with David Berkowitz, Founder & Fractional CMO at High Caliber AI, to unpack what the shift from traditional search to AI...
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EP 107 - AI Changed How Startups Are Built | Alex Ray, Principal at Pioneer Square Labs
AI has completely changed what it means to build a startup.In Episode 107 of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Alex Ray, Principal at Pioneer Square Labs, to talk about how AI is transforming startup creation, competitive moats, go to market, AI search, and what founders need to get right in…
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EP 106 - Mark Roberge on AI Sales, Revenue Velocity & the Future of Startup GTM
If you're wondering how AI is changing sales, startup GTM strategy, and revenue growth, this episode is for you. In Episode 106 of #StartupsUnedited, I interview Mark Roberge, Co-Founder of Stage 2 Capital, former HubSpot CRO, and author of The Science of Scaling, explains how the best startups…
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EP 105 - AI Marketing in 2026: GEO, AEO, AI Agents & Content Workflows
AI is transforming marketing faster than most teams can adapt. In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Brad Smith, Co-Founder of uSERP and Founder of Codeless Interactive, to discuss how marketers can move beyond AI hype and build practical systems that drive results. Topics covered...
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EP 104 - How ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews & Claude Are Using YouTube Content | #StartupsUnedited
AI search is changing how buyers discover brands.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Devin Pickell, Founder of Do I Need SEO, to discuss why YouTube has become one of the most important channels for SEO, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), and...
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EP 103 - AEO vs SEO in 2026: How AI Search Is Changing B2B Growth
AI search is changing how buyers discover brands.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Jake Sotir, SEO & Organic Growth Manager at Practice Better, to break down how AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AI visibility, and LLM-powered search are...
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EP 102 - AI Is Destroying SaaS Margins - Most Founders Don’t See It Coming
AI is changing more than software.It is changing the entire economics of SaaS.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with pricing and go-to-market expert Roee Hartuv, Senior Pricing Advisor & Head of GTM Expertise at Willingness to Pay, to discuss why traditional seat-based SaaS pricing...
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EP 101 - This CEO Sold to Salesforce.com: The REAL Playbook Behind Building a Successful AI Company
What does it really take to build a company that wins - and gets acquired by a giant like Salesforce?In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with John Andrews (Co-Founder & CEO of Cimulate, now part of Salesforce.com) to break down the real playbook behind building, scaling, and exiting…
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EP 100 - The Brutal Truth About Startup Success (From a Founder Who Won Every Time) | Eric Litman
What does startup success really look like?In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with serial entrepreneur Eric Litman, a serial founder whose companies have consistently led to major outcomes, to unpack the real, unfiltered truth behind building companies, managing pressure, and…
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EP 99 - This Investor Explains Why Most AI Startups Will Fail Without Context
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Vignesh Ravikumar, Partner at Sierra Ventures, to break down what actually matters in building and scaling startups in the AI era.They go deep on:-Why AI gets you 80% of the way, but not the last mile-The rise of “systems of context” as the…
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EP 98 - The Rise of Indie Startups: How AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Building Companies
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with serial entrepreneur Jonathan Friedman to break down how AI is fundamentally changing how startups are built, funded, and scaled.Jonathan shares his journey from building companies like DemoStack to rethinking the entire startup playbook - and...
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EP 97 - SDRs Are NOT Dead: How Top Teams Are Winning in the Age of AI
Is sales development dead in the age of AI? Not even close.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with John Moore, Head of Business Development at Cimulate (now part of Salesforce), to break down what actually works in modern outbound sales. While most teams are chasing AI tools, John…
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EP 96 - “AI Agents Will Replace Jobs” - DataGrail CEO on Privacy, Shadow AI & Startup Growth
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Daniel Barber, Co-Founder & CEO of DataGrail, for a candid conversation on AI agents, data privacy, shadow AI, startup leadership, and what it really takes to build a SaaS company in a rapidly changing market. Daniel breaks down how AI is...
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EP 95 - Why Partnerships Are the New GTM Moat in AI SaaS | Sean Kester on VC & Founder Strategy
What do founders, CROs, and go-to-market leaders keep getting wrong about partnerships? In this episode, I sit down with Sean Kester to break down why partnerships are no longer a side channel in B2B SaaS - they are becoming a real competitive moat, especially in an AI-driven market where product...
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EP 94 - Can Traditional SaaS Survive the AI Era? Craig Rosenberg’s Brutally Honest Take (Scale VP)
Is traditional SaaS dead… or just in a survival era? In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Craig Rosenberg (Chief Platform Officer, Scale Venture Partners) - aka the “funnelholic” and co-host of The Transaction - to break down what’s actually happening in B2B software right now....
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EP 93 - How AI Is Changing Venture Capital, Founder Judgment & Go-To-Market | Brian Wong (ASCII Ventures)
In this episode of Startups Unedited, I sit down with Brian Wong, General Partner at ASCII Ventures, to break down how AI is fundamentally reshaping venture capital, startup defensibility, and what investors actually look for in founders today.Brian has lived both sides of the table - scaling and...
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EP - 92 AI Is Killing Jobs, But Saving Meaning? Anthony Kennada on Brand, Identity, & The Future
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Anthony Kennada, Co-Founder & CEO of Goldenhour, for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about AI, identity, work, and what actually matters next.This isn’t another surface-level AI or go-to-market playbook.It’s a real discussion about...
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EP 90 - Former-CEO Turned VC Explains How to Tell If Your Startup Is Nice-To-Have or Must-Have
Too many founders don’t fail because the product is “bad.” They fail because they mistake polite interest for real demand. In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Ellen Rubin, Operating Partner at Glasswing Ventures - multi-time founder (CloudSwitch → Verizon, ClearSky Data → AWS)…
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EP 89 - From Operator to VC: Max Altschuler on Why GTM Is the Last Real Moat in the Age of AI
In this episode of Startups Unedited, I sit down with my longtime friend Max Altschuler - serial entrepreneur turned General Partner at GTMfund - to break down one of the biggest questions founders are facing right now:If AI has commoditized product… what actually matters anymore?We cover:The…
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EP 88 - Fundraising Is Broken in 2026: Doug Landis on AI Hype, Revenue Reality, and the New Moats
Fundraising in January 2026 feels upside down - and Doug Landis (sales productivity + GTM legend, former Emergence Capital investor) breaks down why founders are feeling whiplash right now.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, we get into:Why the “AI revolution” narrative is overhyped - and…
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EP 87 - They Had Months of Runway Left… Then Pivoted Into AI Search (How Noble Did It)
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Rahul Jain (CEO & Co-founder at Noble) to break down the real pivot story:✅ sales slowing down✅ privacy + legal friction piling up✅ “death by a million cuts”✅ a few months of runway left…and then making the call to move into AI Search—helping...
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EP 86 - AI Just Broke Startup Valuations (Alchemist CEO Ravi Belani Explains the New Rules)
AI made it way easier to build a product… and somehow made startups way harder to win.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Ravi Belani (Founder & CEO of Alchemist Accelerator, Stanford entrepreneurship instructor, former DFJ) to break down what AI is doing to:Startup valuations...
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EP 85 - From Carrying a Bag to Building AI Agents: How This Founder Did It
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, Jorge Soto sits down with Aaron Melamed (Founder & CEO of Itero) - a former “carry-a-bag” sales leader turned founder who’s building a new kind of AI-native company.Aaron breaks down the exact moment he realized ChatGPT + autonomous agents could replace...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 84: Why ABM Breaks Down - and How to Rebuild It Around Revenue
Most teams don’t fail at ABM because they lack tools - they fail because they skip the strategy.In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, Jorge Soto sits down with Kristina Jaramillo, President of Personal ABM, for a deep, practical conversation on what real account-based go-to-market looks like when...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 83: From Hedge Funds to Event Tech: This Miami-Based CEO’s Origin Story & B2B Brand Lessons
On this episode of #StartupsUnedited, I sit down with Jonathan Kazarian, CEO & Founder of Accelevents, for one of the most tactical deep dives I’ve ever recorded on B2B brand-building, event marketing, and founder-led growth. Jonathan shares the real origin story behind Accelevents — from hedge...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 82: 🚀 From SaaS CMO to Recovery Tech Founder - All Because of a Few Extra Pull-Ups?
I had an incredible conversation with Evi about her wild journey from leading B2B SaaS marketing to founding Apex Cool Labs, a company at the cutting edge of recovery technology. And it all started with one simple goal: doing more pull-ups. Evi discovered a technique called palm cooling on a...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 81 w/ Sneh Parmar and Nafis Azad, Co-Founders of Lucky
In this episode our Host Justin Dorfman interview startup founders Sneh Parmar and Nafis Azad, Co-Founders of Lucky. Lucky is a startup that enables retailers and eCommerce brands to work together to get products to consumers quicker. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: 💡 How...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 80 w/ Scott Sambucci, Founder, CEO, and Sales Coach at SalesQualia
In this episode our Hosts Jorge Soto and Justin Dorfman interview startup sales guru and entrepreneur Scott Sambucci, Founder, CEO, and Sales Coach at SalesQualia. Scott is a veteran in the Silicon Valley startup sales world. He's helped countless startup founders figure out sales and scale their...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 79 w/ Amadeo Pellicce, CEO & Founder at Map3.xyz
In this episode our Hosts Jorge Soto and Justin Dorfman interview Blockchain entrepreneur Amadeo Pellicce, CEO & Founder at Map3.xyz. Amadeo shares his journey within the crypto space, YC Combinator, and more! Follow Amadeo on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amadeopellicce/
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EP 78: What High-Performance Founders Do Differently
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, Jorge Soto and Justin Dorfman sit down with Mike Molinet — Founder of Thena, Co-Founder & former COO of Branch, and LP at GTMfund — to break down the tactical operating systems founders need to thrive in 2025.This is NOT another “hustle harder”...
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#StartupUnedited Episode 77 with Tito Bohrt, CEO at AltiSales
In this episode our Hosts Jorge Soto and Justin Dorfman interview entrepreneur and sales expert Tito Bohrt, who is currently CEO at AltiSales based in Miami, FL. In this episode Tito gives us tactical go-to-market advice. Tito answers questions such as: 💡 When should a company start thinking…
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#StartupUnedited Episode 76 with Ross Rich, CEO & Founder at Accord
Jorge speaks with Ross Rich, CEO & Founder at Accord.
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EP 75: How Copy.ai Hit $60K MRR in 5 Months with GPT-3 & Twitter PLG | Paul Yacoubian on AI Startups
n this episode of #StartupsUnedited, Jorge Soto sits down with Paul Yacoubian, Founder of Copy.ai (recently acquired by Fullcast) and angel investor, to break down how they rode the GPT-3 / OpenAI LLM wave early and turned a side project into a fast-growing AI startup.Paul shares exactly how...
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EP 74: “From Young & Stupid to Seasoned CEO: Product-Market Fit, Mentors & Knowing When to Quit
In this episode of #StartupsUnedited, Jorge Soto sits down with Arjun Pillai — Cofounder & CEO at Docket, former CDO at ZoomInfo (Nasdaq: ZI), 2x startup exits, and investor — to break down the real journey of becoming a CEO, building in B2B SaaS, and knowing when it’s time to move on from a...
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 73 with Carlos Espinal of Seedcamp
In this 2015 episode, Tomás De Matteis of #Sotoventures interviews Carlos Espinal, who is a partner at London, UK based startup accelerator and seed fund Seedcamp.
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 72 with Serial entrepreneur Jason Saltzman on dealing with anxiety as an entrepreneur
Mental health has been taboo for as long as I can remember especially in the United States. 10's of millions of Americans suffer from this common yet really mysterious condition. Some deal with it so bad that they are completely overwhelmed and can't function. Others find often unhealthy ways of...
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 71 with Robert Scoble on the characteristics of a successful founder
In 2016 Jorge interviewed Silicon Valley veteran Robert Scoble @Scobleizer at his home in the Bay Area of California. In this episode, he asks him what were the characteristics of a successful founder?
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 70 with Jason Vargas, Silicon Valley SaaS Sales Expert
Jason Vargas is currently Co-Founder at RevShoppe. He's also one of the top SaaS sales influencers in Silicon Valley today. Back in 2016 Jason and Jorge sat down in an intimate setting to discuss what it's like to be an early sales person in Silicon Valley today. Follow Jason on Linkedin at:...
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 69 live in downtown San Francisco with Matt Hubert, CEO at Bitmatica
"Your job as a #founder is to teach people to care" Matt Hubert, CEO at Bitmatica. Matt is a native Bay Area resident and self proclaimed nerd. He's one of Silicon Valley's best product minds and has been hacking since he was in diapers. Jorge sat down with Matt and to talk shop! Follow Matt on...
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 68 follow up in-person with Kevin Spain, Partner at Emergence Capital
Kevin Spain is one of the top enterprise startup investors in Silicon Valley. His firm Emergence Capital is known for some of the early investments in Salesforce.com, Box, Veeva, Crunchbase, SalesLoft, Zoom.us, and more. Kevin sits down with Jorge in person at his Silicon Valley, HQ to discuss…
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EP 67 - From $400 & a Backpack to Silicon Valley Unicorn: PandaDoc Founder Mikita Mikado
In 2016, I sat down in Silicon Valley with Mikita Mikado, long before most people knew the name PandaDoc. At the time, Mikita was already living the founder reality most people only talk about:• Immigrating to the U.S. from Belarus with a backpack and $400• Teaching himself entrepreneurship…
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 66 with Jack Smith Co-founder of Vungle
In this #StartupsUnedited episode Jorge interviews his buddy Jack Smith about his journey in Silicon Valley, getting into Angelpad, launching Vungle, and more!
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 65 with Max Motschwiller on "Qualities of a great #Startup Founder/CEO"
In this 2016 episode Jorge Soto chats with Max Motschwiller, General Partner at Meritech Capital Partners on "Qualities of a great #Startup Founder/CEO" | #Startups #VentureCapitalist #SiliconValley. Max is a Harvard University graduate who has been venture investing for nearly a decade. He is…
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 64 with Sean Sheppard of GrowthX on seed stage investments
In this 2016 episode Jorge chats with Sean Sheppard of GrowthX about seed stage investments.
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 63 with Erik Rannala, Founding Partner at Mucker labs in LA
In this throwback episode from 2016 Erik provides great founder advice and also gives us an overview on the LA startup ecosystem.
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 62 with Steve Richard, Founder & Chief Evangelist @ ExecVision with #b2b #sales tips
In this #throwback episode from #2015 Steve Richard, Founder & Chief Evangelist @ ExecVision and Jorge dig deep into his new startup as well as sales leadership tips for startup founders & executives. #SalesTips #InsideSales
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 61 with Craig Rosenberg on the modern #SaaS company revenue chain
In this 2016 episode, Jorge Soto speaks with SaaS expert and now VC Craig Rosenberg on the modern #SaaS company revenue chain.
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#StartupsUnedited Episode 60 with Trish Bertuzzi on what is sales development
In this 2015 episode Jorge Soto speaks with his dear friend Trish Bertuzzi on what is sales development.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
#StartupsUnedited is a long-running podcast founded by Jorge Soto in 2015, originally recorded out of his San Francisco apartment and now evolved into a modern founder-led media platform. The show features interviews, roundtables, and live conversations with top entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and GTM leaders. New episodes are released regularly, covering what actually works in building, scaling, and surviving startups - no fluff, just real conversations and timeless insights.
HOSTED BY
Jorge Soto
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does #StartupsUnedited have?
#StartupsUnedited currently has 98 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is #StartupsUnedited about?
#StartupsUnedited is a long-running podcast founded by Jorge Soto in 2015, originally recorded out of his San Francisco apartment and now evolved into a modern founder-led media platform. The show features interviews, roundtables, and live conversations with top entrepreneurs, operators, investors,...
How often does #StartupsUnedited release new episodes?
#StartupsUnedited has 98 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to #StartupsUnedited?
You can listen to #StartupsUnedited on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts #StartupsUnedited?
#StartupsUnedited is created and hosted by Jorge Soto.
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