Founders in Arms

Michael Grinich is the co-founder and CEO of WorkOS, the enterprise authentication and identity infrastructure used by Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, xAI, and hundreds of fast-growing companies. Before WorkOS, Michael dropped out of MIT, worked at Dropbox, and founded Nihilus — where a painful first experience with enterprise features planted the seed for everything that came next.In this episode, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri sit down with Michael to talk about the SaaS apocalypse thesis, how WorkOS quietly became the enterprise layer for AI's biggest companies, and what it actually takes to build for developers.What you'll learn:Why the SaaS apocalypse narrative gets it completely backwardsHow WorkOS became the default enterprise-ready layer for AI-native companiesThe Stripe parallel: why developer infrastructure compounds the same way payments didWhat a failed first startup taught Michael about idea validationHow keeping a daily idea notebook — volume, not quality — led to WorkOSWhy second-time founders approach conviction and validation completely differentlyThe do-or-die bond between developer tools and their customersHow Michael taught himself enterprise sales after starting as a purely technical founderWhy building for developers is the ultimate boss battle in techWhat AI getting to Renaissance-printing-press level actually means for softwareChapters:(00:00) The SaaS apocalypse thesis — and why Michael thinks it's wrong(01:09) Introducing Michael Grinich — MIT, Dropbox, and the road to WorkOS(05:14) The Stripe origin story and early MIT startup network(07:03) Drew Houston, Dropbox, and what convinced Michael to build(09:05) Founding Nihilus: three maxed credit cards and two days from missing rent(11:00) How to generate startup ideas: volume over quality, the notebook habit(14:05) Finding sticky ideas — the ones you keep coming back to(17:10) Why the energy behind an idea matters as much as the idea itself(20:16) What experience gives you: pattern recognition and a framework for new scenarios(24:05) The moment Michael saw the enterprise auth problem and knew it was real(27:02) How Anthropic, OpenAI, and Cursor ended up as WorkOS customers(31:16) Why WorkOS sits at the security and growth layer for AI companies(35:06) The ultimate boss battle: building developer tools for other developers(39:06) Why developer customers give the best product feedback — and why that's a gift(44:04) The SaaS apocalypse revisited — and what's actually happening to software(47:17) How AI compressed the timeline to enterprise-ready from months to a day(53:03) Tying company value to something durable through technology waves

In this candid one-on-one episode, Immad and Raj catch up on what's actually happening in tech right now — the AI narratives shifting under everyone's feet, which companies they'd bet on, and how they're thinking about building teams in an AI-native world.What you'll learn:Why Anthropic has taken the AI narrative from OpenAI — and whether that lead will holdImmad's take on whether he'd invest in OpenAI or Anthropic at $800B todayHow Anthropic is growing 3x in revenue in three months — and whether it's even possibleThe new engineering team model: fewer engineers, more autonomy, OKR-driven executionWhy design still matters — and why Mercury embeds designers directly into product teamsHow to time IPO investments: why Raj waits 3-4 months post-listing to buyWhat the SpaceX S-1 signals about the new AI hype cycleWhy Apple is undervalued (or not) — the edge computing argumentHow good Gemini's travel integration actually is (Raj tested it in Tokyo)Why AI real-time translation is still painfully clunky — and what the ideal experience looks likeWhere to find Immad and Raj:[00:00] Data centers in space: skeptical takes [01:02] Anthropic's moment: why the narrative has shifted [02:16] OpenAI vs. Anthropic at $800B: where would you invest? [04:12] Anthropic's 3x revenue growth in 3 months: how is that possible? [06:10] The future of engineering teams in an AI-native world [07:37] Design's role in product: why Mercury still embeds designers everywhere [13:44] SpaceX S-1 and the IPO watch list [14:37] Why post-IPO hype fades and when to actually buy [17:01] Gemini in Tokyo: surprisingly good travel integration [17:43] AI translation fails: what the phoneless experience actually needs [20:06] Apple's AI opportunity and the edge computing bet [22:07] Data centers in space: the only scenario it makes sense [24:19] Xai co-founder exodus and AI researcher retention

George Kailas is the CEO of Prospero AI, a platform helping retail investors make smarter decisions using simplified market signals and data-driven insights.In this episode, George joins Immad and Raj to break down one of the biggest debates in investing today: should you just buy ETFs, or can retail investors actually beat the market?They go deep into how modern markets really work, why retail investors are becoming more powerful than ever, and what most people get wrong about stock picking, AI tools, and “free” trading platforms.What you’ll learn:Why ETFs beat stock picking if you don’t have enough timeHow retail investors now make up a massive share of market movement The biggest mistake investors make: not knowing when to exit Why analyst ratings and price targets often can’t be trusted How platforms like Robinhood actually make money (and what it means for you) The shift from software → data as the real moat in AI Why AI stock-picking tools are dangerous in volatile markets The psychology of investing: why most people need to lose before they learnWhat we cover:00:00 Should You Pick Stocks or Just Buy ETFs? 00:50 Meet George Kailas (Prospero AI) 01:30 Beating the Market with Data Signals 02:15 From Mortgage Models to AI Founder 03:20 Why Data Will Matter More Than Software 04:20 Why People Don’t Trust Analyst Ratings Anymore05:00 Who Is Prospero Actually Built For? 05:45 Value Investing vs Modern Momentum 07:00 The Big Debate: ETFs vs Stock Picking 07:35 The 1-Hour Rule: When You Should NOT Pick Stocks 08:30 Retail Investors Are Driving the Market Now09:30 How to Actually Learn Investing (Without Losing Everything) 10:40 Why Exiting Trades Is the Hardest Skill 11:25 Are Public Markets Really Mispriced?11:55 Why Analyst Price Targets Can’t Be Trusted 13:05 Inside Prospero’s 10 Signals System 14:10 How They Simplify Complex Market Data 15:10 Risk Signals: When to Exit a Trade16:30 How Traders Use Options, Sentiment & Dark Pools 17:30 Are Apps Like Robinhood Good or Bad? 18:10 The Hidden Cost of “Free” Trades 19:30 Why Retail Investors Lose Power Through Brokers20:10 Better Alternatives to Robinhood 21:40 AI, Data, and the Future of Investing 23:00 Why Intent Data Could Change Everything24:40 AI, Layoffs & Wealth Inequality 26:00 The Rise of Crypto Traders & Risk Culture 27:10 Why Some Investors Need to Lose First 29:00 Why AI Tools Are Bad at Risk30:00 Mercury’s Investing Strategy (Simple ETFs) 31:30 Why They Avoid Complexity in Investing Products31:45 Fundraising Journey: From Angels to Crowdfunding 33:00 Lessons from Running a Crowdfund 34:10 When Crowdfunding Actually Works36:00 Mercury’s Acquisition Strategy Explained 38:00 Building an All-in-One Financial Platform41:00 George’s Founder Journey & Early Exit 42:30 From “Sharky” to Self-Aware Leader 43:30 How Meditation Changed His Leadership Style 45:00 Managing Teams: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose47:00 Long-Term Vision for Prospero AI 49:30 Rapid Fire Begins 49:40 Founder He Admires (Jensen Huang) 50:40 Trends That Won’t Last 51:30 What He Changed His Mind About52:05 Closing Thoughts

Andy Chen is the co-founder of Outcast Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on rethinking how founding teams come together. Prior to Outcast, he worked across recruiting and venture capital, including roles at Riviera Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and Coatue, where he was a General Partner. At Outcast, he’s building a talent-first approach to company creation, including a co-founder matching program designed to help founders form stronger teams from the start.What you'll learn:Why choosing a co-founder from your existing network can lead to weaker outcomesThe data behind why strangers can make better co-foundersWhat actually makes a billion-dollar founding teamWhy Andy evaluates the team before the idea when investingThe key ingredients: skill, interest, and timing alignmentWhy solo founders rarely build generational companiesHow AI is enabling a new wave of high-revenue, small-team businessesThe evolution of venture capital — and what might come nextAndy’s unconventional path into venture, including time in government (as shared in the episode)In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Why successful founders struggle to find co-founders (00:28) Introduction to Andy Chen and Outcast Ventures (01:17) Andy’s path into Silicon Valley (03:23) Building Outcast and rethinking founder formation (04:19) Research on co-founder success (and what most people get wrong) (06:25) Why working with your co-founder before can hurt outcomes (07:47) Skill, interest, and timing alignment in founding teams (08:22) Inside Outcast’s co-founder matching model (10:24) Why existing co-founder platforms often fall short (11:23) Talent vs. finance backgrounds in venture capital (13:37) Why the team matters more than the idea (14:47) How venture capital has evolved over time (17:48) Rethinking the “atomic unit” of startups (19:20) AI, enterprise vs. consumer, and new opportunities (24:49) The rise (and limits) of solo founders (27:48) The future of venture in the AI era (30:33) Rapid fire: trends, feedback, and lessons (34:20) Andy’s experience working in government (37:45) Why everyone should try building something

David Rusenko is the founder and CEO of Leap Forward Ventures, a pre-seed and seed climate tech fund investing in energy, deep tech, and the reinvention of industrial processes. Before that, he spent 14 years as co-founder and CEO of Weebly, growing it from a college project to a platform serving tens of millions of small businesses before selling to Square in 2018.What you'll learn:Why Weebly stayed cash flow positive from early 2009 and what that meant for how they built the companyHow David thinks about dilution — and why inefficient spending is where founders actually lose equityThe three headcount breaking points every CEO hits and how your role has to change at each oneWhy small businesses need owned channels and how marketplaces eating their margin is the defining tension in that marketWhat clean tech investing looked like during the Vinod Khosla era vs. how David approaches it nowWhy solar's cost curve looks nothing like oil's over the last 100 years — and what that means for timingHow David thinks about nuclear's role alongside renewablesWhat made the Weebly acquisition to Square work when most acquisitions don'tHow word of mouth drove 80%+ of Weebly's growth and why that's hard to explain to investorsWhy David moved from operating to investing — and what the coach-on-the-sidelines framing means to himIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Cash flow positivity and dilution(01:08) Introduction to David Rusenko and Leap Forward Ventures(04:11) What Leap Forward Ventures invests in(05:32) Why climate tech goes through investment cycles(07:09) Oil price vs. solar cost curves over 100 years(09:08) Clean tech timing and the dot-com parallel(10:31) David's take on nuclear energy(12:29) Why David moved from operating to investing(13:45) Reflections on the Weebly acquisition(15:13) The small business owned channel problem(17:57) CEO breaking points at 25, 75, and 175 people(20:02) What happens to your jokes at 75 employees(22:55) Designing culture intentionally as you scale(28:18) Keeping politics out of your organization(32:50) Weebly's lowest points and near-death moments(37:27) Bootstrapping vs. VC — David's actual view(40:18) How Weebly grew: mostly word of mouth(43:04) The three phases of an S-curve market(44:13) What made the Square acquisition work(48:30) Rapid fire

This week, we're bringing back one of our most loved episodes on Founders in Arms. Ryan Gariépy is the co-founder and former CTO of Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors, acquired by Rockwell Automation for $600M+ in 2023. He bootstrapped the company for five years with only $300K in funding, reached profitability in 18 months, and spent 14 years building mobile robotics platforms that became the industry standard for research and industrial automation. What you'll learn: Why robotics is a systems discipline where progress stacks rather than explodes How to bootstrap a hardware company to $10M revenue before raising venture capital Why robotics follows 20-50% sustained growth for decades vs. software's boom-bust cycles The "promise problem" with humanoid robots and why form factor shapes user expectations How manufacturing in Canada (not China) became a strategic advantage for Clearpath Why founders overestimate 2-year progress but underestimate 10-year impact in robotics The real economics of humanoid robots: $20K cost becomes $80K landed price How robotics investment differs from software: less competitive, more defensible Why experience compounds in hardware but expires in software careers Investment criteria for robotics: engineering risk vs. technical risk and go-to-market strategy In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction and live event announcement (03:29) Ryan's background: Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors (04:06) Building two brands under one company (06:29) The 14-year journey: challenges and non-linear growth (07:11) Bootstrapping robotics when "nobody thought you could make money" (08:17) Reaching profitability in 18 months with research customers (10:28) Building robotics platforms for MIT, universities, and research labs (11:03) Manufacturing in Canada vs. outsourcing to Asia (15:05) Reconnecting after 20 years: the Waterloo entrepreneurship connection (16:17) Working at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics) (18:10) Why robotics is more exciting now than ever in history (19:21) Robotics as systems discipline: no single breakthrough technology (21:22) The overhype cycle and realistic expectations (22:14) Software explodes then crashes; robotics compounds for decades (23:36) Why hardware is harder but more mission-driven (25:27) The talent pool advantage: people irrationally love hardware (27:30) Physical AI and real-world impact beyond software optimization (28:07) Humanoid robots: incredible tech, miscalibrated expectations (32:41) The "promise problem": form factors make promises to users (34:35) Consumer robotics examples: Matic cleaning robot (35:59) Asia leading in restaurant and airport robotics deployment (38:37) Training challenges and precursor technologies needed (39:20) China's role in robotics and humanoid development (41:08) Venture capital structures forcing "ridiculous things" in robotics (42:36) Robotics for entertainment vs. utility as consumer use case (43:52) Imad's robotics investments: Embark, Gecko Robotics, vertical AVs (45:23) Why robotics is less competitive than software (47:21) Operational design domain and technology risk assessment (48:19) The AV journey: Waymo, Zoox, and the importance of experience (49:39) Experience compounds in hardware, expires in software (50:31) Rapid fire: biggest mistake, following gut over charisma (51:47) Founder inspiration: Rodney Brooks (52:20) Uncomfortable feedback at Honda co-op job (53:17) Investment criteria: engineering risk, go-to-market, team understanding

Marco Zapacosta is the co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack, the home services marketplace connecting homeowners with local pros for everything from plumbing to renovation. Started three weeks before Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, Thumbtack has grown to over $500M in annual run rate across 17 years of building.What you'll learn:Why Marco believes Thumbtack is still pre-product market fit at $500M in revenueHow AI is shifting Thumbtack from a search engine to a matchmakerWhy word of mouth is still the biggest competitor to every home services marketplace — and how AI finally evens the scoreWhy convenience doesn't win when someone's spending $1,000 and entering your homeMarco's take on practitioners vs. projectors — and why he doesn't trust most AI predictionsWhy AI agents won't disintermediate high-trust marketplacesHow Thumbtack's operating model evolved from Google to Facebook to their own matrix structureWhat's kept Marco going for 17 years — and why he scores zero on neuroticismWhy Marco wants to stay private a little longer before an inevitable IPOWhy AI applied to robotics is overhyped and synthetic biology is massively underratedIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) AI as substitute vs. complement — the flaw in our collective thinking(01:00) Introduction to Marco Zapacosta(02:12) Practitioners vs. projectors on AI(04:14) Real anxiety about AI job loss — engineers at birthday parties(07:21) Why Marco doesn't trust Block's layoff messaging(09:46) How AI is a massive accelerant for Thumbtack(10:02) Why home services is still pre-product market fit at $500M(11:02) Word of mouth is Thumbtack's biggest competitor(12:40) Will AI agents disintermediate marketplaces?(15:17) Why choice still matters in high-trust purchases(17:34) Why humans still want to read reviews themselves(19:15) Thumbtack's origin story — starting 3 weeks before Lehman collapsed(23:16) What's kept Marco going for 17 years(24:42) Entrepreneur parents and raising entrepreneurial kids(30:20) How Marco runs the company — the matrix model explained(35:25) Four co-founders: how responsibilities divided over time(37:02) Is Thumbtack going public?(39:33) The real downsides of being a public company(45:21) Rapid fire: who inspires Marco, what's overhyped, what's underhyped(47:12) The hardest part of leadership is self-awareness, not skills(49:02) Why struggling early builds staying power

Noah Smith is a writer and Substack blogger behind Noahpinion, known for his contrarian, data-grounded takes on economics, technology, and geopolitics.What you'll learn:Why the viral Citrini "2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" post moved markets — and whether it should haveThe psychology behind why "AI causes 2008" scared Wall Street more than killer robotsWhy Noah thinks an AI-driven financial crisis is possible but unlikelyHow a productivity boom could paradoxically trigger a mild recession through "sticky prices"Why AI-enabled bioterrorism — not economic disruption — is Noah's biggest fearWhat Block's 4,000-person layoff and Mercury's hiring shifts reveal about AI's real impact on jobsWhy software job losses in 2023-24 may have been driven by uncertainty, not AI capabilityNoah's take on deflation, GDP growth, and where inflation goes from hereWhy intellectual humility has been Noah's biggest edge as a forecasterThe "dinosaur and the meteor" theory — why we're worrying about the economy while a much bigger threat flies overheadIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) The meteor meme — AI's real threat vs. the economy(01:07) Introduction to Noah Smith(02:14) What the Citrini post actually argued(04:30) Why markets missed Covid — and what that tells us about AI(06:17) Why Citrini moved markets: the power of pattern matching to 2008(07:51) Breaking down Citrini's financial crisis domino theory(08:38) Noah's verdict: possible but unlikely(11:04) Block lays off 4,000 — how does AI-driven unemployment play out macro?(17:42) How a productivity boom could cause a recession: sticky prices explained(19:46) Noah's real AI fear: vibe-coded bioweapons(24:55) Has bioterror surpassed China-Taiwan as Noah's top worry?(25:10) The economy today: inflation, deflation, and GDP(28:44) What Mercury's hiring strategy reveals about AI's effect on headcount(31:32) Why software job losses in 2023-24 may have been forward-looking uncertainty(34:38) The threat to blue collar jobs — are truck drivers next?(35:52) Why intellectual humility is Noah's competitive edge(39:26) The meteor meme closing: we created zombie gods for a 2.7% productivity boost

We're bringing back one of our most loved episode on Founders in Arms. Parag Agrawal is the co-founder and CEO of Parallel, building infrastructure for the agentic web. Previously CEO of Twitter, Parag now leads a company architecting how AI agents will interact with the open web at orders of magnitude beyond current human scale. Two years after founding in stealth mode, Parallel recently announced a $100M Series B co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures.What you'll learn:Why everything built for human web consumption will become irrelevant when agents become the primary usersHow Parallel's APIs enable agents to search, fetch, and monitor the web with unprecedented scale and speedThe evolution from simple tool calls to autonomous sub-agents with real decision-making capabilityWhy the web must transition from "pull" (searching on demand) to "push" (alerting when conditions are met)The new business models needed to compensate content creators in an agent-driven webParag's counterintuitive approach to fundraising: why VC rejections don't sting but customer rejections doThe rational game VCs play that founders misinterpret as genuine enthusiasmWhy Parag believes we're not in an AI bubble—but an overreaction is coming (and it'll be faster than dot-com)How Parallel built quietly for a year before product-market fit arrived with the agent explosionThe operational philosophy of extreme in-person collaboration that shaped Parallel's early cultureIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Parallel's mission (01:02) What Parallel's APIs enable for AI agents (02:43) Practical examples: coding agents, sales automation, research (04:57) The conviction bet on agents before the market existed (10:54) New business models for content in the agentic web (20:22) The $100M Series B fundraise and going public (23:03) Why Parallel built in stealth with carefully chosen early customers (24:55) Current scale and product offerings (30:42) The evolution from tools to sub-agents to push-based web (33:13) Are we in an AI bubble? Parag's nuanced perspective (36:34) The mental models behind fundraising vs customer rejections (38:37) Why VC enthusiasm is rational strategy, not signal (45:37) Biggest career mistake: delaying Twitter's algorithmic timeline (48:28) The compounding cost of six-month delays (50:09) Finding inspiration in "re-founders" like Satya Nadella (51:54) The most rewarding part: watching customers do unexpected things (52:43) In-person culture and the transition to remote-friendly

Vishwas Prabhakara is the co-founder and CEO of Honey Homes, a subscription home maintenance service that's reimagining how Americans care for their homes. After spending four years at Yelp running the restaurant business, Vishwas saw firsthand why marketplaces fail for skilled home services—and built a contrarian solution. Now operating across San Francisco, LA, Chicago, Dallas, and Austin with 3,000+ members, Honey Homes creates quality jobs for skilled workers while delivering consistent, reliable home maintenance to homeowners.What you'll learn:Why the marketplace model fundamentally fails for skilled labor and home servicesThe counterintuitive insight behind every successful consumer business (the Airbnb lesson)How Vishwas discovered workers were shocked that "nobody's yelled at me yet" after joining Honey HomesWhy solving both sides of the market—customer experience AND worker quality of life—is essentialThe role of AI in leveling up service workers and automating operations without replacing humansWhy early compromises on hiring and standards compound into major problems laterThe distribution challenge: getting consumers to prioritize chronic home maintenance needsHow altruism, not just incentives, drives consumer referrals and growthWhy companies like Yelp, Peloton, and Lyft deserve more respect for building culturally relevant businessesThe mental model shift required to sell subscription home services vs. one-time fixesIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and the respect successful companies deserve (01:12) YC batch memories and feeling "late" to tech trends (03:05) The genesis of Honey Homes and why Immad and Raj invested (04:50) Growing up with a handy dad and discovering the home services gap (06:30) The counterintuitive consumer insight behind Honey Homes (07:03) "Nobody's yelled at me yet"—the worker experience problem (08:11) Why marketplaces don't work for skilled home services (09:48) Hiring only 1% of handyman applicants (14:07) Building trust through consistent quality and W2 employment (19:31) How altruism drives consumer referrals, not just incentives (21:51) Getting AI-pilled at Vinod Khosla's CEO retreat (23:01) Using AI to level up workers and automate operations (27:54) Overcoming the mental model barrier for subscription home services (30:07) The vision compromise lesson: don't settle on quality early (31:44) The critical importance of distribution for consumer businesses (32:26) Why partnerships aren't the answer (yet) for Honey Homes (38:41) Defending Yelp, Peloton, and Lyft against Silicon Valley discourse (42:18) Unit economics challenges in services businesses (47:10) Role models: Jeremy Stoppelman and Ramit Sethi (48:08) Hope that divisiveness is a passing trend (49:35) The daily challenge of building before the world sees it (51:04) Getting feedback about being "unpredictable" and staying in your head (52:33) Bringing people along for the journey in your mind

What does it take to build a company in a category where everyone says the idea is dead? In this special live recording from Mercury's San Francisco office, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri sit down with Max Mullen, co-founder and former Chief Product Officer at Instacart, for an honest conversation about the founder journey. Max shares how Instacart started in 2012 when there was no gig economy, no Uber X, and investors repeatedly told them grocery delivery was a dead idea after Webvan's failure. The conversation explores the controversial early days of building Instacart, why Max believes founder pain tolerance is the biggest moat, and the critical importance of market timing even when you're executing well. Max opens up about the challenges of being a technical co-founder without deep technical skills, navigating co-founder dynamics, and the reality that many startup outcomes are heavily influenced by timing and luck. The discussion shifts to AI's transformative potential, with Max offering a compelling framework: software engineers are experiencing "the tip of the spear" of AI capabilities today, and this same 10x productivity leap will soon apply to lawyers, doctors, accountants, and every other profession. He explores what AI-native companies will look like and why the next wave of startups will be built around professionals orchestrating fleets of agents. This episode offers essential insights for founders building in challenging markets, navigating co-founder relationships, timing market opportunities, and understanding where AI is creating the biggest opportunities for new companies.

SaaS companies are down dramatically—Figma is 77% off its peak. In this candid conversation, Immad Akhund (CEO of Mercury) and Raj Suri (co-founder of Lima and Tribe) unpack what's really happening in tech as we head into 2026.They explore why the SaaS business model is under attack (hint: it's not just AI building software faster), the shift from per-seat pricing to API-driven usage, and why enterprises actually buy SaaS products—spoiler, it's not about the software. The conversation reveals how startups can now stay lean with fewer employees for much longer, with companies like OpenAI reaching $500B valuations with just 4,000 people.Immad and Raj also dive into their personal experiences with AI agents, discussing what actually works versus the hype, why they're skeptical of consumer AI hardware, and how AI is changing daily productivity for founders. They debate Google's quiet win with the Apple-Gemini deal, why Siri is dead, and whether one AI model controlling all handsets should concern us.The episode wraps with practical advice on what makes a compelling VC pitch in 2026, why crazy promises still work (even when timelines are wildly optimistic), and how to think about your startup's valuation as a call option rather than current worth. From Elon's humanoid robot bet to the new growth expectations (0 to $5M in 12 months), this conversation offers an honest founder-to-founder take on navigating the current landscape.Key Topics:Why SaaS companies are struggling and what survivesThe real reason enterprises buy software (risk offloading, not features)AI agents in practice: what works, what doesn'tGoogle's strategic win with Apple's Gemini integrationHow to pitch VCs when expectations are 5x higher than beforeWhy crazy promises and long timelines still attract capitalThe shift to leaner startups and API-first business models

Mehul Nariyawala is the co-founder and President of Matic Robotics, a home robotics company building what he calls “robotics 2.0” — intelligent, vision-first robots designed to actually work in real homes. After early careers at Nest and a prior acquisition by Google, Mehul and his team spent seven years building Matic, challenging the assumptions behind robot vacuums, consumer hardware, and how robotics companies should scale.In this conversation, Mehul breaks down why robotics is far harder than software, why most home robots quietly fail, and how Matic approached everything differently — from vision-only robotics and in-house manufacturing to avoiding subscriptions, ads, and premature market creation.What you’ll learn:Why robotics is “100× harder than software” — and where most teams underestimate the workThe difference between automation and true intelligence in home robotsWhy negative-NPS categories can hide massive opportunitiesHow Matic beat entrenched incumbents like Roomba by fixing fundamentals, not adding featuresWhy vision-only robotics was a risky but necessary betThe real reason humanoid robots are still far from consumer-readyLessons from Nest on why some hardware categories stay defensible for decadesWhy creating a new market can be fatal for hardware startupsHow Matic built robots in-house in California instead of outsourcing manufacturingThe tradeoffs between subscriptions, ownership, and consumer trustWhy great hardware products must earn word-of-mouth before growthIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Mehul Naryawala and Matic Robotics(01:10) Why robotics is dramatically harder than software(03:00) The failure modes of early robot vacuums(05:10) Identifying opportunity in negative-NPS markets(07:45) Automation vs. intelligence in consumer robotics(10:15) Why vision-only robotics was a foundational bet(14:00) Lessons from Nest on defensible hardware categories(17:30) Why Matic avoided creating a new market(20:45) In-house manufacturing and vertical integration(24:30) Scaling hardware without inventory risk(28:10) The long road from demo to product(32:00) Why humanoid robots are still overhyped(36:20) Word-of-mouth, product-led growth, and brand trust(40:15) Subscription fatigue and consumer psychology(44:30) The future of home robotics and where Matic goes next

Jack Zhang is the co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform valued at $5.5 billion. Founded in Melbourne, Airwallex processes billions in cross-border transactions and serves businesses expanding internationally. Jack shares his journey from starting the company to competing with giants like Stripe, navigating the complexities of global payments infrastructure, and building across multiple regulated markets.What you'll learn:Why cross-border payments remain broken despite decades of fintech innovationHow Airwallex competes against Stripe and other established payment platformsThe challenge of building financial infrastructure across multiple countries and regulationsJack's perspective on fair competition versus FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) tactics in businessWhy Airwallex is deploying $1 billion in the US market over the next three yearsThe reality of being a foreign founder building in America during geopolitical tensionsHow payment infrastructure for global businesses differs from consumer fintechThe trade-offs between growth velocity and sustainable business buildingJack's philosophy on money, success, and what matters after achieving wealth at 30Why he chose to stay in Melbourne instead of relocating to San FranciscoIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Jack Zhang and Airwallex(02:34) Early days of Airwallex and the founding story(05:12) The problem with cross-border payments(08:45) Competing with Stripe and other payment platforms(12:18) Building in regulated markets and compliance challenges(16:23) FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) tactics in business competition(19:13) Raj's experience with FUD at Lyft vs Uber(22:47) Navigating geopolitical tensions as a Chinese-Australian founder(25:36) The $1 billion US market investment commitment(27:41) Product philosophy and fair competition(31:15) Going upmarket vs staying with SMBs(35:22) Life choices: Melbourne vs San Francisco(37:49) Perspective on wealth - "not about the money"(42:18) The future of payments infrastructure(45:30) Advice for founders building in competitive markets

Ryan Gariepy is the co-founder and former CTO of Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors, acquired by Rockwell Automation for $600M+ in 2023. He bootstrapped the company for five years with only $300K in funding, reached profitability in 18 months, and spent 14 years building mobile robotics platforms that became the industry standard for research and industrial automation.(If you’re looking for inspiration and lessons from other founders, Founders in Arms is hosting a founders roundtable with Rajat Suri, Immad Akhund, and Max Mullen next Wed Jan 14th at Mercury HQ. Discussing war stories and sharing lessons with a group of founders, as part of Founders-in-Arms podcast. Will be food and drinks. Capacity strictly limited at 50 so apply early if you’re interested: https://luma.com/dk97inyk )What you'll learn:Why robotics is a systems discipline where progress stacks rather than explodesHow to bootstrap a hardware company to $10M revenue before raising venture capitalWhy robotics follows 20-50% sustained growth for decades vs. software's boom-bust cyclesThe "promise problem" with humanoid robots and why form factor shapes user expectationsHow manufacturing in Canada (not China) became a strategic advantage for ClearpathWhy founders overestimate 2-year progress but underestimate 10-year impact in roboticsThe real economics of humanoid robots: $20K cost becomes $80K landed priceHow robotics investment differs from software: less competitive, more defensibleWhy experience compounds in hardware but expires in software careersInvestment criteria for robotics: engineering risk vs. technical risk and go-to-market strategyIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and live event announcement(03:29) Ryan's background: Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors(04:06) Building two brands under one company(06:29) The 14-year journey: challenges and non-linear growth(07:11) Bootstrapping robotics when "nobody thought you could make money"(08:17) Reaching profitability in 18 months with research customers(10:28) Building robotics platforms for MIT, universities, and research labs(11:03) Manufacturing in Canada vs. outsourcing to Asia(15:05) Reconnecting after 20 years: the Waterloo entrepreneurship connection(16:17) Working at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics)(18:10) Why robotics is more exciting now than ever in history(19:21) Robotics as systems discipline: no single breakthrough technology(21:22) The overhype cycle and realistic expectations(22:14) Software explodes then crashes; robotics compounds for decades(23:36) Why hardware is harder but more mission-driven(25:27) The talent pool advantage: people irrationally love hardware(27:30) Physical AI and real-world impact beyond software optimization(28:07) Humanoid robots: incredible tech, miscalibrated expectations(32:41) The "promise problem": form factors make promises to users(34:35) Consumer robotics examples: Matic cleaning robot(35:59) Asia leading in restaurant and airport robotics deployment(38:37) Training challenges and precursor technologies needed(39:20) China's role in robotics and humanoid development(41:08) Venture capital structures forcing "ridiculous things" in robotics(42:36) Robotics for entertainment vs. utility as consumer use case(43:52) Imad's robotics investments: Embark, Gecko Robotics, vertical AVs(45:23) Why robotics is less competitive than software(47:21) Operational design domain and technology risk assessment(48:19) The AV journey: Waymo, Zoox, and the importance of experience(49:39) Experience compounds in hardware, expires in software(50:31) Rapid fire: biggest mistake, following gut over charisma(51:47) Founder inspiration: Rodney Brooks(52:20) Uncomfortable feedback at Honda co-op job(53:17) Investment criteria: engineering risk, go-to-market, team understanding

Emmett Shear is the founder and CEO of Softmax, an alignment research company, and previously co-founded and led Twitch as CEO. He was also a Y Combinator partner and briefly served as interim CEO of OpenAI.What you'll learn:Why AI alignment and AGI are fundamentally the same problemHow theory of mind is the critical missing piece in current AI systemsWhy continuous learning requires self-modeling capabilitiesThe dangerous truth: alignment is a capacity for both great good and great evilWhy "aligned AI" really means "aligned to me"—and why that's concerningHow societies of smaller AIs will outcompete singleton superintelligencesWhy AI needs to be integrated with humans, not segregated into AI-only societiesThe Twitch lesson: people don't want easy, they want goodWhy 99% of AI startups are building labor-saving tools instead of value-creating productsHow parenting and AI development mirror each other in surprising waysWhy current AI labs are confused about continuous learningConway's Law applied to AI: you ship your org chartThe problem with mode collapse in self-learning systemsWhy emotions are training signals, not irrational noiseEmmett's biggest mistake at Twitch: chasing new products instead of perfecting the coreIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) The dangerous truth about AI alignment(01:13) Introduction to Softmax and organic alignment(02:05) What alignment actually means (and why most people are confused)(03:33) The output: training environments for theory of mind(05:01) Continuous learning and why it's so hard(06:25) Multiplayer reasoning training in open-ended environments(07:14) Aligned to what? The critical question everyone ignores(08:40) Why alignment is always relative to the aligning being(11:07) Cooperation vs. competition: training for the real world(12:56) Is AGI an urgent problem or do we have time?(13:15) AGI and alignment are the same problem(15:25) Alignment capacity enables both good and evil(17:13) The singleton problem and why societies of AIs make sense(20:41) Building alignment between AIs and humans(22:09) Why Elon's "biggest cluster" strategy might be wrong(23:06) AI must be aligned to individual humans, not humanity(25:03) What does the atomic unit of AI look like?(28:02) Adding a new kind of person to society(29:06) Everything will be alive: from spreadsheets to cars(30:00) From Twitch retirement to Softmax founding(31:26) Research vs. product engineering at early-stage startups(32:41) Raising money for AI research in the current era(34:30) Why Softmax will ship products(34:50) Ilya's closed-loop research vs. open-loop learning(36:36) How you do anything is how you do everything(37:28) The continuous learning problem explained simply(38:29) Mode collapse: why AIs become stereotypes of themselves(39:33) The reward problem and why humans need emotions(40:48) Why LLMs are trained to avoid emotions(41:52) Watching children learn while building learning AI(43:04) Advice for first-time AI founders(45:08) Treat AI as clay to be molded, not a genie granting wishes(45:50) The Twitch lesson: people want good things, not easy things(47:22) Why 99% of AI companies are building the wrong thing(48:16) Rapid fire: biggest career mistake at Twitch(50:15) Which founders inspire Emmett most(50:56) The passing fad: AI slop generators

Immad Akhund and Raj Suri reunite for a one-on-one conversation covering the biggest tech shifts of 2025, from Mercury's public launch of Personal Banking to the quieting of AGI doom discussions. This wide-ranging episode explores why self-driving cars may matter more than AGI, how vibe coding is changing software development, and the strategic decisions founders make when everyone else disagrees.What you'll learn:Why Immad launched Mercury Personal despite investor and team skepticism—and the founder lesson about following convictionHow Mercury Personal brings business-grade financial controls to personal banking (collaboration features, automatic categorization, 3.5% savings rates)The existential threat facing OpenAI and Anthropic as AI models commoditize and Google leverages distribution advantagesRaj's vibe coding experiment: Building a full-stack app with Postgres backend using just prompts (and why Replit won)Why Tribe is rejecting the $30/user ad model to build a premium, ad-free group chat platformThe retention metrics showing Tribe's product-market fit (20-40% six-month retention with minimal marketing)How AI hype shifted from AGI doom conversations to practical commercial applications in 2025Why self-driving technology (Waymo, Tesla FSD) represents a more immediate transformation than AGIThe best and worst of 2025: renewed tech energy vs. immigration scapegoating and Doge's failure to deliver government efficiencyWhy supply constraints (chips, power) signal AI demand is real, not a bubbleIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) AGI conversations cooling down in 2025(01:50) Mercury Personal launch after year-long waitlist(02:42) Business-grade controls for personal banking(04:30) 3.5% savings rates and Treasury/Invest products(06:15) Following founder conviction despite opposition(07:33) Balancing product shipping with polish(08:26) OpenAI's Code Red and focus strategy(09:23) Google's distribution advantage vs. OpenAI(10:33) The API commoditization threat to Anthropic(12:34) Why ad economics dominate the internet(14:58) Facebook's $30/user vs. subscription models(17:22) Tribe's progress: retention, AI features, monetization plans(21:42) Vibe coding experiment: Replit vs. Lovable vs. Wix(26:31) Why Replit might own the vibe coding market(28:05) Enterprise use cases for AI-generated apps(33:26) 2025's best: renewed tech energy and deregulation(34:51) 2025's worst: immigration scapegoating and Doge's failure(40:48) Self-driving breakthrough: Waymo and Tesla FSD(42:31) Why AGI talk has quieted down(43:43) Supply constraints proving AI demand is real

Noah Glass is the founder and CEO of Olo, an enterprise platform for mobile and online ordering that powers digital commerce for 800+ restaurant brands and nearly 90,000 locations. Founded in 2005, Olo went public in 2021 at a $3.5B valuation and was acquired by Thoma Bravo in 2024—a 20-year journey from scrappy startup to category leader.What you'll learn:Why Olo's first 10 years required extreme "pain tolerance" waiting for product-market fitThe B2C to B2B pivot that transformed their unit economics from burning $15 per customer to earning revenue while scalingHow "embrace the suck"—borrowed from the Marine Corps—became the cultural mantra that kept the team goingWhy going public was about customer confidence and long-term credibility, not exit or liquidityThe role of industry advisors in bridging credibility gaps when selling to traditional enterprisesHow adding delivery-as-a-service (Dispatch) in 2015 unlocked escape velocity and scale advantageThe challenges and benefits of operating as a public company in a misunderstood industryWhy partnering with Thoma Bravo PE offers better alignment than quarterly public market pressuresNoah's philosophy on founder loyalty and the lifelong bonds formed with early team membersWhy the current "homegrown tech stack" trend in enterprise is a passing fad that misses SaaS fundamentalsIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and the "embrace the suck" mentality(01:03) Early days and the long wait for product-market fit(05:30) Why YC's "grow fast or quit" advice doesn't apply to every company(08:06) The deep bonds formed with early team members(12:14) Deciding between B2B vs B2C business models(13:34) The B2C beginning and Good Morning America moment(16:08) The pivot to B2B enterprise software(20:43) How third-party delivery and DoorDash changed the industry(23:04) The journey as a public company (2021-2024)(27:49) Why going public signaled long-term stability to enterprise customers(30:15) Operating under private equity with Thoma Bravo(36:10) Breaking into enterprise sales with industry advisors(44:45) The importance of reliability at scale for enterprise(46:58) Thinking about market size and expansion in vertical software(48:25) Rapid fire: Which founder inspires you most(49:01) Uncomfortable feedback on being overly loyal(50:48) Current trend prediction: Homegrown enterprise software is a fad

Parag Agrawal is the co-founder and CEO of Parallel, building infrastructure for the agentic web. Previously CEO of Twitter, Parag now leads a company architecting how AI agents will interact with the open web at orders of magnitude beyond current human scale. Two years after founding in stealth mode, Parallel recently announced a $100M Series B co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures.What you'll learn:Why everything built for human web consumption will become irrelevant when agents become the primary usersHow Parallel's APIs enable agents to search, fetch, and monitor the web with unprecedented scale and speedThe evolution from simple tool calls to autonomous sub-agents with real decision-making capabilityWhy the web must transition from "pull" (searching on demand) to "push" (alerting when conditions are met)The new business models needed to compensate content creators in an agent-driven webParag's counterintuitive approach to fundraising: why VC rejections don't sting but customer rejections doThe rational game VCs play that founders misinterpret as genuine enthusiasmWhy Parag believes we're not in an AI bubble—but an overreaction is coming (and it'll be faster than dot-com)How Parallel built quietly for a year before product-market fit arrived with the agent explosionThe operational philosophy of extreme in-person collaboration that shaped Parallel's early cultureIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Parallel's mission(01:02) What Parallel's APIs enable for AI agents(02:43) Practical examples: coding agents, sales automation, research(04:57) The conviction bet on agents before the market existed(10:54) New business models for content in the agentic web(20:22) The $100M Series B fundraise and going public(23:03) Why Parallel built in stealth with carefully chosen early customers(24:55) Current scale and product offerings(30:42) The evolution from tools to sub-agents to push-based web(33:13) Are we in an AI bubble? Parag's nuanced perspective(36:34) The mental models behind fundraising vs customer rejections(38:37) Why VC enthusiasm is rational strategy, not signal(45:37) Biggest career mistake: delaying Twitter's algorithmic timeline(48:28) The compounding cost of six-month delays(50:09) Finding inspiration in "re-founders" like Satya Nadella(51:54) The most rewarding part: watching customers do unexpected things(52:43) In-person culture and the transition to remote-friendly

Nicholas Rudder is the co-founder and CEO of Sphere, an AI-powered cross-border tax compliance platform that helps businesses navigate international sales tax, VAT, and GST regulations. After pivoting from a failed EdTech marketplace and losing his technical co-founder, Nicholas just raised $21M in Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz—a remarkable comeback story that includes selling his first five contracts using only a Figma prototype.What you'll learn:How Sphere is becoming the "Deel of revenue compliance" for global businessesWhy Nicholas pivoted from EdTech after 18 months and what made him choose tax complianceThe strategy of selling contracts with a high-fidelity Figma prototype before building the productHow to convince investors to back a pivot when your co-founder has leftWhy businesses struggle with international tax compliance and how AI solves itThe importance of hiring an internal recruiter once you raise significant fundingWhy San Francisco remains the best place to build a startup despite the challengesHow YC's network helped navigate a critical health insurance crisisThe advantage of being a solo founder when recruiting high-quality founding engineersWhy raising from a position of strength creates better fundraising dynamicsIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Nicholas Rudder and Sphere(01:10) The EdTech marketplace that didn't work(03:08) Why EdTech is such a difficult market(09:16) The hard pivot to tax compliance(10:56) Selling five contracts with a Figma prototype(13:10) When the co-founder left and twins arrived early(21:58) Why international tax compliance is broken(27:10) Sphere's vision as the "Deel of revenue compliance"(31:34) The unintentional path to Andreessen Horowitz(38:54) Why VCs all know when you're raising(41:37) Building Sphere in SF vs. the UK or Australia(46:23) Immad's advice on hiring internal recruiters(51:14) Rapid fire: Founder inspirations and lessons learned

Sumir Meghani is the founder and CEO of Instawork, a staffing marketplace connecting 9 million hourly workers with businesses that need flexible labor. Starting with just line cooks in San Francisco restaurants, Instawork now serves warehouses, stadiums, hotels, and hospitality businesses across the country, creating what Sumir calls "employment at the touch of a button."What you'll learn:Why starting "boring and narrow" (one city, one job type) is the key to marketplace successHow Instawork is building a "LinkedIn for hourly workers" with hundreds of data points per profileThe hidden costs of 100%+ annual turnover in restaurants and hospitalityWhy people actually want to work MORE hours when friction is removedThe concept of "robot wranglers" as the next major labor categoryHow Instawork is using its worker pool to train physical AI and robotics modelsThe difference between "leading by disappointment" vs. celebrating wins as a CEOWhy labor costs range from 30% (restaurants) to 80% (hospitals) of revenueThe labor market as a "Tetris board" of micro-jobs and available workersWhy Silicon Valley undervalues hourly work despite 100 million workers depending on itIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and YPO CEO forum discussion(03:42) Sumir's journey from Groupon to founding InstaWork(04:58) The restaurant visit that sparked the idea(06:28) Why the hourly labor shortage is a global problem(08:07) Building profiles for 9 million workers(08:54) Starting narrow: San Francisco restaurants and line cooks only(12:28) The hourly worker crisis in hospitality(13:04) Why wages haven't risen despite labor shortages(15:58) The true cost of labor beyond hourly rates(17:48) AI's role in reducing onboarding friction(19:42) Physical AI and the future of robotics(20:16) Introducing "robot wranglers" as a new labor category(22:36) Using InstaWork's workforce to train robot models(23:34) Navigating the AI hype cycle as a consumer(26:47) White collar vs. blue collar labor market dynamics(29:29) Why more jobs will shift to physical industries(30:43) The cultural bias against hourly work in Silicon Valley(32:11) Rapid fire: Biggest entrepreneurial mistakes(33:36) Most rewarding parts of the founder journey(34:30) Why Silicon Valley should start simple, not big(36:30) The uncomfortable feedback: "Leading by disappointment"(38:50) Balancing high standards with celebration(39:58) What inspires Sumir: Physical AI and robotics innovation

We're reposting this episode following major news: Pebble officially relaunched its companion app on iOS and Android, bringing exciting and new apps and watch faces to both new Pebble devices and original watches. The Pebble 2 Duo has begun shipping to customers who preordered earlier this year.Eric Migicovsky is the Founder of Core Devices, and the original founder of Pebble, the pioneering smartwatch that raised $10 million on Kickstarter before being acquired. Eric has launched Core Devices to continue building the smartwatch platform he believes in, complete with Google's newly open-sourced Pebble operating system.What you'll learn:1. The Kickstarter phenomenon: How Pebble became one of the first massive Kickstarter successes, raising $600K in the first day with a $100K goal2. Hardware's inventory trap: Why missing revenue projections by 20% ($80M vs $100M target) created a $20M inventory crisis that nearly sank Pebble3. The sustainable hardware model: Eric's new approach of targeting profitability at 5,000 units and eliminating inventory risk through pre-orders4. Inventor vs. founder mindset: The difference between building products you love versus building scalable companies5. Fighting Big Tech: How Eric's Beeper Mini challenged Apple's iMessage monopoly and led to DOJ antitrust action6. Getting software from Google: The surprising story of how Google open-sourced Pebble's operating system to enable Core Devices7. Hardware manufacturing today: Why building smartwatches is easier now than in 2011, and what's still challenging8. The artisanal hardware movement: Building premium, limited-run products for passionate niche audiences9. Regulatory battles: Apple's API restrictions and how they limit third-party smartwatch functionality10. AI integration: Adding ChatGPT and voice capabilities to modern smartwatchesIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and reconnecting with Eric(01:18) The Core Devices relaunch and getting Pebble IP from Google(02:33) Eric and Raj's Waterloo connection and early entrepreneurship(04:48) From Pebble's precursor to YC and the smartwatch vision(09:30) The legendary Kickstarter launch day and calling Raj at 2am(14:00) Five years of overnight success and authentic marketing(16:07) Inventor vs. founder mindset and product obsession(19:21) The 2015 inventory crisis that changed everything(27:20) Eric's new sustainable hardware model with Core Devices(32:00) Using existing Pebble cases and Google's open-source software(36:58) The artisanal approach: 3 people, no VCs, limited production runs(41:14) AI integration and ChatGPT on the wrist(49:36) Secondary markets and public company trading restrictions

Iqram Magdon-Ismail is the co-founder of Venmo and current founder of Jelly, a video-first social app. After building Venmo from a text-message prototype to a verb used by millions (ultimately acquired by PayPal via Braintree), Iqram is now tackling what he sees as social media's biggest problem: it became all ads, influencers, and flexing instead of genuine connection.What you'll learn:How Venmo started from forgetting a wallet at dinner and evolved into a cultural phenomenonThe near-shutdown moments when Wells Fargo threatened to close their accountWhy Venmo raised only $3.4M total before the Braintree acquisitionThe strategy behind keeping Venmo invite-only for five yearsHow the team's close friendship shaped Venmo's personality as a productWhy Iqram believes AI made startups polished but soullessThe shift from building for purpose (helping musicians) to building for metrics (ARR, funding)What it's like working at PayPal after selling your startupHow Jelly uses crypto infrastructure to enable global money movement through videoWhy immigrant founders bring a different hunger and work ethic to building companiesIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Iqram and his founder journey(00:49) The origin story of Venmo - forgetting a wallet(03:08) Building on Google Voice and eating credit card fees(08:40) The near-death moment with Wells Fargo(12:01) How the Braintree acquisition saved Venmo(16:56) Working with Bryan Johnson at Braintree(18:57) The regret of not having more equity in Venmo's success(21:06) What makes Venmo feel different than other payment apps(22:16) Why modern startups lost their personality and purpose(26:00) Life at PayPal after the acquisition(27:38) Consumer vs B2B founder-product fit(30:23) Social media became a nightmare of ads and flexing(32:20) Demo and vision for Jelly(39:06) Using crypto and meme coins in social apps(41:15) Why invite-only launches create quality users(42:38) Rapid fire questions on inspiration and mistakes(45:28) What it means to be an immigrant entrepreneur

In this one-on-one episode, Immad and Raj catch up on what's happening in tech, and what founders should actually be paying attention to right now.Fresh from DC, Immad shares a surprising disconnect he observed about AI regulation and market sentiment. The conversation moves through whether we're in another bubble, the startup metrics that are being gamed again, and the infrastructure realities that might change everyone's timelines.They also get into the fundamentals that separate sustainable companies from hype-driven ones: why retention matters more than growth, what to do after raising at a high valuation, and the frameworks they actually use to make spending decisions.Plus updates on what they're building at Mercury, Tribe, and Lima—and the lessons they're learning along the way.A candid founder-to-founder conversation about navigating uncertainty and building for the long term.

Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institute and author of "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future." After spending six years living in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai (2017-2023), Dan witnessed China's technology growth, the US-China trade and tech war, Xi Jinping's increasing authoritarianism, and three years of zero-COVID pandemic controls firsthand.What you'll learn:Dan's framework of "engineering societies vs lawyerly societies" for understanding the US-China competitionHow China deliberately promoted engineers to power—by 2002, all nine Politburo Standing Committee members had engineering degreesWhy the one-child policy and zero-COVID demonstrate the dangers of literal-minded engineering applied to societyHow America transformed from building the transcontinental railroad and Apollo missions to being unable to fix its subway systemsWhy lawyers took over American governance in the 1960s and created a self-reinforcing systemThe stark reality: China builds 500 gigawatts of solar capacity annually vs America's 50, and has 30 nuclear plants under construction vs zeroWhy China's electricity advantage could determine who wins the AI race—not just better modelsHow American AI leadership is threatened by power constraints and Chinese researchers potentially returning homeWhy robotics applications of AI matter more than reasoning models for geopolitical competitionThe dual reality of America: trillion-dollar tech companies exist alongside broken infrastructure that only works for the wealthyDan's writing process: traveling, eating (twice), reading novels and history, and being deliberately provocativeThe future of US-China competition in semiconductors, aviation, manufacturing, and whether America's technological lead is sustainableIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Dan's AI/electricity thesis(01:15) Dan's journey from San Francisco tech to China analyst(03:40) Engineering society vs lawyerly society framework(04:21) Why engineers running governments can be dangerous(05:46) The one-child policy: designed by a missile scientist(06:56) China's path from Mao to engineering-focused leadership(09:51) America's transformation from builder to regulator (1960s shift)(11:08) Can the pendulum swing back? Housing, transit, and infrastructure failures(13:12) The self-reinforcing nature of lawyerly societies(14:12) Yale Law ambition vs Stanford engineering ambition(16:13) Is there bipartisan consensus on building?(17:41) Why left and right can't agree on solutions(19:32) China's engineering design flaws and authoritarian feedback loops(22:19) US technological advantages: semiconductors, AI, aviation(23:07) The electricity bottleneck: China's massive power advantage(24:31) If AI is everything, what should America do?(26:29) Why Dan doesn't buy the "AI is everything" premise(27:27) Robotics as the real AI battleground(29:35) Silicon Valley codes, China builds power plants(30:37) Anti-AI populism emerging on left and right(33:41) Dan's meta process: philosophy, eating, traveling, reading, being provocative(37:20) China's rural infrastructure and redistribution through building(40:39) Peter Thiel question: acknowledging China's dual reality(44:54) America's core tension: works great for the rich, broken for everyone else(46:35) Will China get stuck in the 2010s like Japan in the 1980s?

Iñaki Berenguer is a serial entrepreneur with three successful exits: Pixable (sold to Singtel), Clink (sold to Thinking Phones), and CoverWallet (sold to Aon for $300M). He's now a partner at Flive Ventures, a $100M fund investing at the intersection of AI and healthcare, and president and co-founder of Ipronics, an AI infrastructure company for data centers.What you'll learn:How Iñaki built CoverWallet from 0 to $100M in premium revenue and 400 employees in just 4 yearsWhy he'd rebuild his 250-person company with only 10 people in the AI eraThe hidden time cost of scaling teams: 40% of CEO time spent on HR, hiring, and one-on-onesHow strategic partnerships with potential acquirers create acquisition optionalityWhy investment bankers matter: the difference between 3-month and 8-month due diligence timelinesThe critical mistake of taking common stock vs. preferred in acquisition dealsWhy "paranoid optimist" is the ideal founder mindsetThe lifestyle reality check: VC work vs. founder intensity and what actually counts as "high pressure"Reference check strategies that reveal integrity under pressureHow luck and timing determine exits more than founders want to admitIn this episode, we cover:(00:51) Iñaki's journey: three companies, three exits across different industries(03:21) Why Pixable's "always on" consumer product was harder than enterprise(09:04) The decision to sell CoverWallet despite investor pressure to keep building(12:20) Product-market fit doesn't exist in AI: markets change faster than products(19:43) How Iñaki would rebuild differently: from 250 employees to AI agents(22:32) The real time cost of hiring: 100 employees = 1,000 interviews(27:16) M&A lessons: why time kills deals and investment bankers matter(29:03) Building optionality through strategic partnerships with potential acquirers(32:37) The fulfillment of building vs. investing: team wins and external validation(36:23) Why founders struggle to celebrate wins that took years to achieve(40:25) The "paranoid optimist" mindset: assuming someone is always working harder(42:14) AI in healthcare: the most underhyped opportunity(45:20) Comparing entrepreneurial cultures: Silicon Valley vs. New York vs. Europe(46:16) The biggest mistake: not doing enough reference checks on people(48:44) What drives founders: proving doubters wrong, not money

Andrew D'Souza is the founder and CEO of Boardy AI, an AI "super connector" that helps founders, investors, and operators make high-value introductions through voice conversations. Previously, Andrew co-founded and scaled Clearco (formerly ClearBank) from a YC Fellowship company to over $100M in revenue and 600 employees across 11 countries before stepping down as CEO to pursue AI innovation.What you'll learn:How Andrew pivoted Clearco through three different markets before finding product-market fit with e-commerce financingWhy customers who "want to be found" create fundamentally easier go-to-market strategiesThe psychology behind why financial incentives destroy natural networking behaviors and trustHow the best companies now generate inbound investor demand instead of running traditional fundraising processesWhy Andrew learned to trust founder intuition even when he couldn't articulate it to stakeholdersThe technical and business model evolution from merchant cash advances to AI-powered networkingHow Boardy uses voice AI to create more human-like relationship building at scaleStrategic insights on building in regulated industries like financial servicesThe transition from scaling a fintech business to creating AI characters with their own objectivesWhy VCs don't actually remember your previous pitches and how to leverage that realityIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Andrew's journey from Waterloo to YC(02:32) Clearco's evolution from Uber driver financing to e-commerce(04:27) The pivotal board meeting and Series A pivot decision(05:25) Finding product-market fit with customers who "want to be found"(09:35) Scaling Clearco to $100M+ revenue and 600 employees(11:08) The COVID boom and building Clear Angel with GPT-3(13:31) Andrew's decision to step down as CEO(15:58) Introduction to Boardy AI and the AI super connector concept(18:43) Live demonstration of Boardy's voice capabilities(26:33) Business model and the "economy of Boardy" vision(29:09) Why financial incentives destroy network effects(33:36) Fundraising evolution from process-driven to inbound demand(37:13) The reality of investor relationships and memory(43:00) Rapid fire: biggest mistakes, inspiration, and founder psychology(47:29) The creative expression of building AI characters

How do you build a sustainable AI business when investors are throwing money at anything with "AI" in the pitch deck? We're bringing back one of our best episodes featuring Jesse Zhang (Decagon AI CEO). This is a strategic conversation that centers on the business challenges of building an enterprise AI company that can sustain beyond the current hype cycle.Jesse reveals how AI moves beyond being a mere chatbot to become a "system of intelligence" that encodes complex business logic, creating moats for companies that implement it effectively. The conversation also explores the realities of implementation, adoption, and enterprise sales strategies that actually work.Technology founders, customer experience leaders, and investors will find this episode particularly illuminating as it bridges the gap between AI hype and practical implementation. Whether you're evaluating customer service AI, selling enterprise technology, or navigating fundraising, this conversation provides the strategic context and tactical insights needed to make better decisions.

David Gu is the co-founder and CEO of Recall.ai, building conversation recording infrastructure that powers over 1,000 AI companies. Fresh off announcing a $38 million Series B led by Bessemer, David shares the journey from a Winter 2020 Y Combinator call recording tool to becoming the backbone of AI conversation intelligence.What you'll learn:How David pivoted from application to infrastructure after spending 80% of engineering time on recording problemsWhy the social shift toward recording acceptance created a massive infrastructure opportunityThe systematic approach David used to learn enterprise sales with zero experienceHow Recall's desktop recording SDK eliminates the need for bots in meetingsWhy Series B fundraising still requires a 100x growth vision even at scaleThe framework David uses to validate new products and channels before investing timeHow Amanda Gu built 45,000 LinkedIn followers and turned social media into a lead generation engineWhy David records and reviews every sales pitch to improve his closing rateThe mental shift from seeking external validation to embracing continuous failureHow the conversation data revolution will transform every B2B software applicationIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and David's Y Combinator background(01:30) Announcing Recall.ai's $38M Series B funding round(03:18) The pivot from call recording app to infrastructure platform(09:42) Why recording infrastructure became their nightmare and salvation(15:36) Learning enterprise sales as a technical founder(22:13) Amanda's LinkedIn growth and social media lead generation(28:26) Systematic approach to testing new products and channels(34:52) Why Series B still requires 100x vision and growth story(42:17) The social transformation that made recording acceptable(48:23) Working seven days a week for three years in the early days(53:05) The framework for embracing failure as a learning tool

Bill Clerico is the founder and former CEO of WePay, which he sold to JPMorgan Chase for $400 million, and is now founding managing partner of Convective Capital, investing in wildfire risk management and physical resilience technologies. Starting WePay during the 2008 financial crisis when VCs said "no one makes money in payments except PayPal," Bill built one of the pioneering fintech companies alongside Stripe and Square.What you'll learn:Why VCs avoiding entire sectors often signals the biggest opportunitiesThe unconventional partnership strategy that led to WePay's $400M JPMorgan acquisitionHow to position strategic partnerships as pathways to acquisition rather than just revenueWhy WePay's delayed pivot from consumer to developer APIs cost them market leadershipThe specific tactics for getting enterprise buyers excited about acquisition vs. partnershipsHow to navigate the early fintech landscape without established banking infrastructureWhy timing strategic decisions matters more than perfecting the original planThe 12-18 month timeline required for enterprise acquisition conversationsHow crisis-driven industries create first-time openings for technology adoptionBill's contrarian thesis on investing in utilities, insurance, and government sectorsIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Bill's journey from investment banking to entrepreneurship(08:13) Starting WePay during the 2008 financial crisis in Boston(12:00) Getting into Y Combinator and the early pivot struggles(17:37) The acquisition strategy and JPMorgan partnership approach(24:38) Lessons on founder burnout and sustainable company building(36:19) Convective Capital's thesis on physical risk management(42:38) Building an insurance company for high-risk California properties(46:35) The future of wildfire risk and climate resilience investing

Joris Poort is the CEO of Rescale, a digital engineering platform that provides supercomputing capabilities for engineers and scientists designing rockets, drugs, and computer chips. Starting from Y Combinator in 2012, Rescale has grown over 14 years to serve major aerospace and life sciences companies with over 200 employees and a platform that combines high-performance computing with AI physics capabilities.What you'll learn:Why "Default Alive" means cash flow positive, not just having runway or theoretical profitabilityHow to avoid false trade-offs by asking "why not both?" instead of accepting either/or decisionsWhy the biggest startup mistakes are always people, especially bad executive hiresThe hidden advantages of grinding through difficult early years versus overnight successHow to maintain frugal company culture while scaling from 4 to 200+ employeesStrategic approaches to long-term R&D investments, including AI physics and Department of Defense contractsThe difference between executives who built systems versus those who just ran themWhy promoting internal talent often works better than external executive hiresHow to structure resource allocation decisions to force proper prioritizationThe psychology of founder endurance and why some businesses are intentionally harder to buildIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Joris Poort and Rescale(01:04) Meeting Raj at Paul Graham's place in England(04:36) What Rescale does: supercomputing platform for engineering(08:02) How modern AI impacts scientific computing and physics(12:31) Building for 15 years: the ups and downs of long-term company building(14:20) The moment of becoming "Default Alive" and what it really means(16:49) VCs versus founders on spending and growth philosophy(22:03) Implementing frugal culture and budget discipline at scale(26:56) The challenge of promoting internal talent to executive roles(32:28) Interviewing every hire up to 200 people and building relationships(34:30) Rapid fire: riskiest bets, biggest mistakes, and hard-won lessons(42:31) AI investments, Department of Defense contracts, and strategic moats(48:45) Why the hardest path often creates the strongest business

Ian Tien is the co-founder and CEO of Mattermost, an open-source collaboration platform that has evolved from a Slack alternative to essential infrastructure for government and defense organizations worldwide. Starting from a failed HTML5 gaming platform at Y Combinator, Mattermost now serves over 4,000 contributors, employs 120 people, and operates profitably while powering sovereign collaboration for national security agencies.What you'll learn:How Mattermost pivoted from gaming to defense tech through bottom-up adoptionThe concept of "sovereign collaboration" and why governments need independent AI systemsIan's framework for hiring executives with "scar tissue" from diverse experiencesWhy he regrets spending $270,000 on internal swag after taking VC moneyThe unique language and procurement challenges of selling to government customersHow open source enables PLG motion in highly secure environmentsThe difference between "butts and seats" contracting vs. commercial off-the-shelf solutionsWhy most successful founders are in their 30s and 40s, not college dropoutsIan's "daddy daughter days" approach to work-life balance as a CEOThe emerging landscape of sovereign AI and national security technologyIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and Ian's Tools for Tech Leaders podcast(04:05) Mattermost's evolution from Slack alternative to sovereign collaboration(08:09) Bottom-up adoption in national security environments(14:23) Learning to sell to government customers and navigate defense acronyms(24:49) Executive hiring philosophy and building long-term relationships(30:47) The sovereign AI landscape and government investment trends(38:53) Defense tech opportunities and getting started in the space(42:57) Palantir's business model and government contracting dynamics(51:18) Rapid fire: Walt Disney as tech founder inspiration and personal lessons

Arvind Jain is the founder and CEO of Glean, building enterprise AI that connects to all internal company data, and co-founder of Rubrik, which recently went public. Starting as an enterprise search company in 2019, Glean has evolved into what Arvind calls "a more powerful version of ChatGPT inside your company," now approaching 1,000 employees and serving the world's most iconic companies.What you'll learn:How Glean evolved from search to conversational AI without pivoting by riding AI model capabilitiesWhy making it easy for customers to leave can be a competitive advantage in enterprise salesThe challenges of competing against every major software company building similar productsHow to recruit from FAANG companies when you can't match their compensationThe difference between building for established markets vs. creating new product categoriesWhy enterprise buyers are tired of AI overpromising and prefer honest positioningHow to stay close to product development while scaling to 1,000 employeesThe transition from Google engineer to startup co-founder and the skills you have to relearnWhy customer success and shared roadmaps are critical for complex AI implementationsThe decision framework for staying independent vs. acquisition when building at scaleIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Arvind Jain and his journey from Rubrik to Glean(01:27) Lessons learned building two different types of enterprise companies(03:09) How Glean works as enterprise search and AI assistant(06:00) The natural evolution from search to conversational AI(08:00) Navigating the AI hype cycle and competitive landscape(11:04) Competition strategy and staying ahead of major software companies(16:40) Honest positioning vs. overpromising in AI sales(20:01) Building enterprise reputation and customer relationships(24:41) Motivation for continuing to build after previous success(26:56) Staying close to product at scale and avoiding bottlenecks(31:08) Using Glean internally and rapid iteration cycles(32:18) The decision to stay independent vs. acquisition(37:24) Transition from Google to startup founder(43:45) Rapid fire questions and leadership lessons(48:31) Uncomfortable feedback about constraining team speed

We’re bringing you a rerun of one of our most well-received episodes, featuring the incredible insights from serial entrepreneur Hiten Shah.What happens when the ultimate startup veteran joins a 3,000-person company after 20 years of founding his own?In this candid conversation, Mercury CEO Immad Akhund and serial founder Raj Suri sit down with Hiten Shah (Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, Nira—acquired by Dropbox) for an honest exploration of founder identity, business fundamentals, and the reality of life after exit.Hiten brings a unique perspective as someone who's built both venture-backed and self-funded companies, including Crazy Egg, which has been running profitably for over 20 years. The discussion covers his contrarian takes on fundraising strategy, why he believes "there's no better hack to product market fit than someone else's product market fit," and the surprising challenges of transitioning from founder to employee.The conversation explores practical frameworks for choosing customers, the hidden truths about venture-backed versus bootstrapped companies, and why Hiten's official title at Dropbox is "Chief Troublemaker." Whether you're building your first startup or considering an exit, you'll gain insights from three founders who challenge conventional wisdom while sharing hard-won lessons from decades of company building.This episode offers essential lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage, covering everything from the psychology of startup building to the practical realities of product-market fit, customer development, and maintaining founder DNA within larger organizations.

This week, we're re-airing our conversation with Reddit CEO Steve Huffman about building one of the internet's most essential platforms over 20 years.Steve Huffman is the co-founder and CEO of Reddit, one of the internet's most essential platforms with 100 million daily active users and a $20 billion public market valuation. Over 20 years, Steve has guided Reddit through multiple existential challenges, from early acquisition to content moderation crises to competing with AI-generated content.What you'll learn:- How Reddit achieved product-market fit in just 2 months and the early signs that indicated massive potential- Why Steve sold Reddit for $10 million after 18 months and what he learned during his 9-year absence- The existential crisis that brought him back as CEO in 2015 and how he rebuilt the platform- Reddit's evolution through three distinct eras: link aggregator, intentionally not social media, and authentic human content in an AI world- The strategic decision in 2008 to let users create subreddits and how it transformed the platform- Building content moderation and safety infrastructure from scratch while preserving free speech values- The challenges and benefits of taking Reddit public while maintaining community ownership- How Reddit is addressing AI-generated content and the fight for human authenticity online- The business model evolution from advertising to AI data licensing partnerships- Steve's vision to make Reddit "universal" and expand from 100 million to billions of usersIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction and Reddit's 20-year milestone(02:40) Early product-market fit signals and the $10M acquisition (06:25) Steve's 9-year absence and return in 2015 (08:30) Content moderation challenges and building safety infrastructure (14:10) Reddit's three evolutionary eras and strategic positioning (16:40) The subreddit explosion and community self-organization (18:08) Positioning as the human platform in an artificial world (19:15) Human verification challenges and potential solutions (25:22) AI partnerships, data licensing, and monetization strategy (29:02) Search evolution and Reddit's role in the new ecosystem (35:07) Leadership philosophy and staying true to company values (37:43) The decision to go public and community ownership (42:18) Managing public company pressures while maintaining long-term vision (48:27) Steve's vision for Reddit's universal future

Bringing back one of the most loved episodes of Founders in Arms! In this episode, Immad and Raj welcome Silicon Valley legend Paul Buchheit. As the creator of Gmail, an early Google pioneer, and a Y Combinator partner, Paul shares his unique perspectives on the rapidly evolving AI landscape and its implications for startups and society. The conversation covers the current state of large language models and their potential future developments, opportunities for new social apps in the age of AI, and the impact of AI on search engines and Google's business model. Paul highlights the importance of open-source AI in preventing centralized control, and shares thoughts on how the interplay between truth and narrative shapes our perception of reality. This episode offers valuable insights for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs from one of the most experienced builders in the tech industry, discussing common pitfalls in startup narratives and the importance of seeking disconfirming evidence.

Trip Adler is the founder and CEO of Created by Humans, a new marketplace helping rights holders license their works for AI training, reference, and transformation. Before this, he spent 17 years building Scribd, pioneering book subscriptions and navigating complex copyright challenges. Now, he’s tackling one of the most urgent questions in AI: how to fairly compensate creators when AI models train on human work.What you'll learn:Why the future of AI and human creativity depends on solving copyright licensingHow Created by Humans is building the "Spotify for AI rights"Why books are the starting point—and the most complicated use case—in AI licensingThe three types of AI rights: training, reference (RAG), and transformative useWhy authors—not publishers—hold the keys to AI rights for booksHow lawsuits between AI companies and authors are shaping the marketThe long game of building two-sided marketplaces in emerging industriesWhy Trip is prioritizing standards over fast ARR growthLessons from Scribd and why founding a second company feels differentHow AI-human collaboration could reshape the creative economyIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introducing Trip Adler and Created by Humans(01:10) The explosion of startup culture since 2006(03:26) Copyright in the AI era: the core problem(07:13) Building a licensing marketplace for AI rights(09:47) Author reactions: skepticism, enthusiasm, and early adoption(10:48) Why this is like the music industry’s Napster-to-Spotify shift(12:23) The future of licensing for video, music, and social media content(15:34) The value hierarchy of data: books vs. tweets(16:47) The three AI use cases: training, reference, and transformation(20:32) Will AI replace authors—or collaborate with them?(23:30) How AI might change the way we read and write books(27:09) Lessons from Scribd: Why starting a second company feels different(31:09) Avoiding short-term thinking and playing the long game(35:25) Why founder journeys are marathons, not sprints(37:40) Licensing clauses AI engineers need to read(38:23) Authors reviving dead characters with AI(39:13) Final thoughts: Building a creative economy that lasts

Ryan Westerdahl is the founder and CEO of Turion Space, designing and building satellites for resilient space infrastructure with a focus on space domain awareness and orbital debris removal. After nine years at SpaceX working on failure analysis across multiple departments, Ryan founded Turion in 2021 with the ultimate goal of asteroid mining. The company now operates 120 people across hardware and software platforms, with two operational satellites in orbit and over $10 million in revenue.What you'll learn:How Turion's "droid" satellites provide space domain awareness and anomaly resolution for other spacecraftWhy orbital debris removal serves as the stepping stone to asteroid mining operationsThe engineering culture principles Ryan brought from SpaceX to build a flat, department-driven organizationHow Space Force contracts provided early validation and multi-million dollar revenue opportunitiesThe difference between hardware and software engineering talent pools and motivation levelsWhy Ryan believes asteroid mining could be the economic forcing function for humanity's galactic expansionThe technical challenges of capturing uncooperative space objects at 35,000 mphHow a $400 quintillion asteroid could reshape precious metals markets like aluminum did historicallyThe 15-year timeline to meaningful asteroid mining revenue and building for the long termWhy mission-driven engineering culture attracts top talent willing to work on decade-spanning projectsIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Ryan Westerdahl and Turion Space (01:31) Turion's satellite operations and space infrastructure mission (07:18) Long development timelines and staying motivated through multi-year projects (08:27) Ryan's journey from age 11 space obsession to SpaceX to founding Turion (14:21) Engineering culture and the "hardcore" mentality required at SpaceX (17:01) Building flat organizational structures and engineering-driven decision making (22:30) The economic case for asteroid mining as humanity's galactic forcing function (25:16) Hardware vs software engineering talent dynamics and motivation (28:06) Early fundraising challenges and the importance of actual contracts over LOIs (31:21) Current satellite operations: anomaly resolution and space domain awareness (33:06) Immad's space investing thesis and evaluation criteria (35:33) Science fiction culture at Turion and book recommendations

Adam Nash is the founder and CEO of Daffy, a donor-advised fund platform that's democratizing charitable giving for everyday Americans. Previously, he served as CEO of Wealthfront, where he helped grow the robo-advisor from $80 million to over $80 billion in assets under management. Before that, he held senior product roles at LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple.What you'll learn:How donor-advised funds represent a $557 billion market that most people have never heard ofWealthfront's counterintuitive strategy for building trust by targeting tech workers firstWhy subscription business models create better customer relationships than transactional onesThe three key metrics that subscription businesses should obsess over: acquisition, retention, and churnHow to design organic network effects that make customers want to share your productWhy emotional connection is the hidden driver behind every successful scaled productThe importance of finding the "humanity underneath" when building financial productsHow to turn a financial task into something people genuinely care aboutThe behavioral finance insight that separates "how much to give" from "who to give to"Why putting money aside for charity (even without knowing the recipient) is the most important first stepThe trust-building power of getting one prestigious customer in B2B salesHow geographic restrictions can actually help remote companies maintain culture and reduce fraud riskIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Adam Nash and Daffy(04:19) What donor-advised funds are and why they matter(06:32) How Daffy is democratizing charitable giving(12:23) The emotional connection behind successful products(15:05) Wealthfront's journey from $80M to $80B(21:14) The trust-building strategy that worked for fintech(28:12) Subscription vs. transactional business models(34:08) Designing organic network effects(38:20) Adam's giving philosophy and approach(44:18) The remote work fraud problem and trust issues(52:00) Building ownership culture in startups

Alec Stapp is the Co-CEO of the Institute for Progress, a non-partisan innovation policy think tank in Washington D.C. works to accelerate and shape the direction of scientific, technological, and industrial progress. Headquartered in Washington D.C., IFP works with policymakers across the political spectrum to make it easier to build the future in the United States.What you'll learn:Why cutting R&D spending won't meaningfully reduce the national debt (it's less than 3% of federal budget)How the U.S. is winning the global AI competition and what could derail our leadThe bipartisan immigration deal that 75% of Americans support but politicians won't pursueWhy solar + battery storage is changing the renewable energy equation for RepublicansThe lawsuit that could revolutionize small nuclear reactor regulationHow Alec's "X Labs" proposal could transform government-funded scienceWhy naval shipbuilding reform represents billions in potential savingsThe real story behind U.S.-China relations from someone who's traveled extensively in both countriesHow progress studies differs from progressive politics in WashingtonWhy energy abundance is key to everything from AI to transportation costsIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Alec Stapp and Institute for Progress (02:02) Progress studies vs. progressive politics clarification(05:08) What America is doing right in AI competition (08:05) Immigration policy disappointments and opportunities (10:02) Why government science funding matters for innovation (13:52) The federal budget reality: entitlements vs. R&D spending (16:20) National debt concerns and productivity growth solutions (18:00) AI's economic disruption and the care economy transition (23:16) Building stronger institutions for technological change (25:47) Fertility rates, immigration, and America's competitive advantage (29:13) U.S.-China relations and cultural similarities (33:09) Solar energy, battery storage, and Republican energy policy (39:06) Nuclear power's regulatory challenges and state-level solutions (42:03) The Techno-Industrial Policy Playbook overview (47:04) X Labs: Reforming how we fund scientific breakthroughs (49:11) Naval shipbuilding procurement reform opportunities

Topher Haddad is the co-founder and CEO of Albedo, building satellites that fly in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) at 275km—twice as close as traditional imaging satellites. This proximity enables commercial imagery at resolutions previously only available from classified government systems or expensive aircraft operations.What you'll learn:How VLEO satellites capture imagery quality that replaces planes and drones commerciallyWhy atmospheric drag and atomic oxygen create unique engineering challenges at 275km altitudeTopher's journey from Lockheed Martin engineer to Y Combinator space startup founderThe pre-sales strategy that secured double-digit millions in binding contracts before launchWhy they pivoted from outsourcing to vertical integration mid-developmentHow to navigate defense sales as a startup without traditional prime contractor relationshipsThe surprising accessibility of space—getting a satellite up for $1M in just monthsWhy only imaging and communications make business sense in today's space economyThe capital journey from founding in 2020 to $100M raised before first satellite launchHow SpaceX's ecosystem is enabling a new generation of space companiesIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Topher Haddad and Albedo (01:04) What is VLEO and why fly satellites so low (03:09) Engineering challenges of atmospheric drag and atomic oxygen (06:12) Solar activity cycles and satellite lifetime considerations (07:30) Commercial use cases replacing planes and drones (11:41) Timeline from quitting Lockheed to first satellite launch (13:24) The surprisingly low barrier to entry for simple satellites (14:22) What space markets actually work today vs. future bets (17:08) How launch cost reductions enable new business models (19:04) Navigating defense sales and government relationships (25:23) Why space startups survived the 2022 market crash (38:41) The importance of pre-sales and customer deposits for deep tech (46:03) Rapid fire: skateboarding, support systems, and space observations

Eric Migicovsky is the Founder of Core Devices, and the original founder of Pebble, the pioneering smartwatch that raised $10 million on Kickstarter before being acquired. Eric has launched Core Devices to continue building the smartwatch platform he believes in, complete with Google's newly open-sourced Pebble operating system.What you'll learn:1. The Kickstarter phenomenon: How Pebble became one of the first massive Kickstarter successes, raising $600K in the first day with a $100K goal2. Hardware's inventory trap: Why missing revenue projections by 20% ($80M vs $100M target) created a $20M inventory crisis that nearly sank Pebble3. The sustainable hardware model: Eric's new approach of targeting profitability at 5,000 units and eliminating inventory risk through pre-orders4. Inventor vs. founder mindset: The difference between building products you love versus building scalable companies5. Fighting Big Tech: How Eric's Beeper Mini challenged Apple's iMessage monopoly and led to DOJ antitrust action6. Getting software from Google: The surprising story of how Google open-sourced Pebble's operating system to enable Core Devices7. Hardware manufacturing today: Why building smartwatches is easier now than in 2011, and what's still challenging8. The artisanal hardware movement: Building premium, limited-run products for passionate niche audiences9. Regulatory battles: Apple's API restrictions and how they limit third-party smartwatch functionality10. AI integration: Adding ChatGPT and voice capabilities to modern smartwatchesIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction and reconnecting with Eric(01:18) The Core Devices relaunch and getting Pebble IP from Google(02:33) Eric and Raj's Waterloo connection and early entrepreneurship(04:48) From Pebble's precursor to YC and the smartwatch vision(09:30) The legendary Kickstarter launch day and calling Raj at 2am(14:00) Five years of overnight success and authentic marketing(16:07) Inventor vs. founder mindset and product obsession(19:21) The 2015 inventory crisis that changed everything(27:20) Eric's new sustainable hardware model with Core Devices(32:00) Using existing Pebble cases and Google's open-source software(36:58) The artisanal approach: 3 people, no VCs, limited production runs(41:14) AI integration and ChatGPT on the wrist(49:36) Secondary markets and public company trading restrictions

Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, a platform that helps creators sell digital products and has facilitated over $1 billion in creator earnings. After raising a $7M Series A from Kleiner Perkins, Sahil took the unconventional path of transitioning from venture-backed growth to a profitable, dividend-paying company—and even spent time as a software engineer with DOGE at the Department of Veterans Affairs.What you'll learn:How Sahil transitioned Gumroad from venture-backed to profitable without selling or shutting downThe remarkable story of Kleiner Perkins selling their stake back for just $1 and the tax implicationsWhy AI coding tools like Cursor and Devin are making senior engineers more valuable while challenging junior developersWhat it's really like working inside the federal government as a Silicon Valley software engineerHow Sahil automated contract reviews at the VA and helped identify $1.6 billion in cutsThe three-pronged DOGE strategy: cutting contracts, workforce reduction, and shipping softwareWhy radical transparency (public board meetings, open-source code) became Gumroad's competitive advantageHow to implement a dividend model for private companies instead of traditional growth/exit strategiesThe challenges and opportunities of bringing private sector expertise to government agenciesWhy cooperation beats disruption when trying to modernize massive bureaucratic systemsIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction and Sahil's early Pinterest days (05:26) The decision to drop out of college for startups (08:12) Building Gumroad and raising from Kleiner Perkins (25:26) How AI is changing software engineering and hiring (39:02) The 60-day DOGE experience at the Department of Veterans Affairs (50:15) Transitioning from venture-backed to profitable company (57:16) The Kleiner Perkins $1 buyback story (1:02:45) Implementing dividends and radical transparency (1:09:04) Why transparency makes you better at everything

Steve Huffman is the co-founder and CEO of Reddit, one of the internet's most essential platforms with 100 million daily active users and a $20 billion public market valuation. Over 20 years, Steve has guided Reddit through multiple existential challenges, from early acquisition to content moderation crises to competing with AI-generated content.What you'll learn:How Reddit achieved product-market fit in just 2 months and the early signs that indicated massive potentialWhy Steve sold Reddit for $10 million after 18 months and what he learned during his 9-year absenceThe existential crisis that brought him back as CEO in 2015 and how he rebuilt the platformReddit's evolution through three distinct eras: link aggregator, intentionally not social media, and authentic human content in an AI worldThe strategic decision in 2008 to let users create subreddits and how it transformed the platformBuilding content moderation and safety infrastructure from scratch while preserving free speech valuesThe challenges and benefits of taking Reddit public while maintaining community ownershipHow Reddit is addressing AI-generated content and the fight for human authenticity onlineThe business model evolution from advertising to AI data licensing partnershipsSteve's vision to make Reddit "universal" and expand from 100 million to billions of usersIn this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction and Reddit's 20-year milestone(02:40) Early product-market fit signals and the $10M acquisition (06:25) Steve's 9-year absence and return in 2015 (08:30) Content moderation challenges and building safety infrastructure (14:10) Reddit's three evolutionary eras and strategic positioning (16:40) The subreddit explosion and community self-organization (18:08) Positioning as the human platform in an artificial world (19:15) Human verification challenges and potential solutions (25:22) AI partnerships, data licensing, and monetization strategy (29:02) Search evolution and Reddit's role in the new ecosystem (35:07) Leadership philosophy and staying true to company values (37:43) The decision to go public and community ownership (42:18) Managing public company pressures while maintaining long-term vision (48:27) Steve's vision for Reddit's universal future

Rahul Sidhu is the co-founder and CEO of Aerodome, which was acquired by Flock Safety for a reported $300M in October 2024—just 17 months after founding. A reserve police officer turned serial entrepreneur, Rahul built his drone-as-first-responder platform by combining deep public safety expertise with cutting-edge technology to revolutionize emergency response.What you'll learn:How COVID-19 staffing shortages sparked the idea for drone-powered emergency responseWhy public safety tech has been overlooked by VCs and is now experiencing a renaissanceThe challenge of selling to 10,000+ small police departments across AmericaHow to leverage domain expertise as a competitive moat in specialized industriesStrategic advice on when to take a "smaller" exit vs. swinging for bigger outcomesWhy investor incentives aren't always aligned with founder success during acquisition talksThe regulatory breakthrough that made beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations possibleHow Flock Safety is building American-made drones to compete with Chinese manufacturersThe infrastructure challenges and national security implications of drone technologyWhat AI and robotics mean for the future of law enforcement and public safety

Matt Loszak is the co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, building factory-manufactured small modular nuclear reactors designed to power AI data centers. In just 18 months, Aalo has grown from 2 people to 50 employees with a 40,000 square foot factory and a completed full-scale non-nuclear reactor prototype.What you'll learn:How Aalo's liquid metal cooled reactors could transform clean energy productionWhy data centers are the perfect first customer for next-generation nuclear powerMatt's transition from selling his software company Hume to pursuing nuclear innovationThe regulatory strategies that could enable faster nuclear deploymentWhy factory mass manufacturing could solve nuclear's historical cost and timeline challengesThe safety advantages of liquid metal cooling and small modular designsHow the US compares to China and Russia in nuclear innovationMatt's surprising perspective on fusion vs. fission energy investmentThe capital journey from $6M seed to $30M Series A to upcoming $100M roundA vision for how abundant nuclear energy could enable everything from desalination to vertical farmingSubscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FHXFiOtyO3QfUi3Y1kwYF?si=1dc9acc8409f448cSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/founders-in-arms/id1679703534 Subscribe to Founders in Arms Substack:  https://substack.com/@foundersinarms Join the conversation on Tribe: https://join.tribechat.com/sR-wYn8zUH Follow Founders in Arms on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-in-arms/Follow Immad on X: https://x.com/immadFollow Raj on X: https://x.com/rajatsuriFollow Matt on X: https://x.com/MattLoszakFollow Immad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iakhund/Follow Raj on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajatsuri/Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-loszak/

Severin Hacker, co-founder and CTO of Duolingo, joins Immad Akhund and Raj Suri to unpack how Duolingo became the world’s most engaging education platform.They explore how Duolingo leverages AI to personalize learning, the company's obsession with retention, and why relentless experimentation is at the heart of its product strategy. Severin also shares insights on building a mission-driven culture, the immigrant founder advantage, and how to scale design thinking without losing your edge.

In this founders-only episode of Founders in Arms, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri analyze Meta's aggressive acquisition playbook alongside other major tech developments reshaping the industry landscape.The conversation begins with how Zuckerberg's "buy or get crushed" approach to acquisitions leaves founders with an impossible choice: accept a lucrative buyout or face ruthless competition. They note how "every founder who comes out of Meta regrets selling their company," yet Meta's willingness to clone features makes rejecting their offers extremely difficult.The founders then dissect the Epic vs. Apple lawsuit ruling that ended Apple's 30% App Store monopoly and examine antitrust actions against tech giants, questioning whether surgical regulation targeting specific practices might be more effective than breaking up companies entirely. The discussion highlights how AI foundation models have rapidly commoditized, making monopoly concerns in that space less pressing.The episode concludes with Immad's sobering economic prediction that Trump's tariffs will trigger a recession by late 2025, creating a market where only AI companies secure funding while other promising startups struggle despite solid fundamentals - potentially creating opportunities for contrarian investors and resilient founders.

In this episode of Founders in Arms, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri speak with Dan Hobbs, co-founder and CEO of Protex AI, a company using computer vision to identify safety risks in warehouses and factories before accidents happen. Dan shares his journey from bootstrapping his first startup (where he survived on store-brand Rice Krispies for three weeks) to building a 70-person team serving Fortune 500 clients like Amazon and DHL.The conversation explores how Protex leverages existing CCTV infrastructure to detect dangerous behavior patterns, the advantages of being "outsiders" disrupting traditional industries, and how the AI boom has transformed both fundraising and customer conversations. Dan offers insights on navigating enterprise sales, building trust-based relationships with clients, and managing an international team across Ireland, Boston, and London.From pivoting through multiple startup ideas to selling multi-million dollar contracts, this episode provides valuable perspectives on computer vision applications, scaling an AI company in today's market, and the unique challenges of leadership growth. Whether you're interested in AI applications, enterprise sales strategies, or the founder journey, Dan's candid experiences offer practical wisdom for entrepreneurs at any stage.

In this episode, Jay Shah joins Immad and Raj to talk about his new startup, Poppy—a screenless, AI-native phone designed for kids. He shares what led him to pivot from enterprise SaaS to building hardware in his basement, why he believes kid-first tech needs a rethink, and how intentional design can create healthier relationships with technology.Jay reflects on lessons from BufferBox, the realities of manufacturing and tariffs, and the power of network effects in consumer hardware. The conversation spans everything from AI in education to emotional resilience as a second-time founder, the state of Canadian tech, and how Y Combinator continues to shape founder journeys.