Bedste Startup Founders-podcasts (2025)

1
This 1st time founder raised a $38M Series A—after taking over 2 years to launch. | Chris Ellis, Founder of Thatch 55:54

3h ago55:54

55:54

This first time founder just raised a $38 million Series A. The crazy part is that for all of 2021, 2022, 2023, he had almost no revenue. He spent all that time building and pivoting. Finally he launched in 2024—and it blew up. I saw his LinkedIn post and his revenue chart doesn't look like a hockey stick... it looks like straight a vertical line. …

1
Sex, Status, and Sales: What Energy Drinks Teach You About Branding | Ep. 066 13:51

6d ago13:51

13:51

💡 If you want to make your brand unforgettable, you need to hear this. Energy drinks don’t just sell caffeine—they sell power, confidence, and status. People don’t just drink them; they use them to signal something about themselves. And that’s exactly what great branding does. In this episode of King Moves, Ethan and Justin break down the billion-d…

1
Ep. 296 How I Raised It with Pablo Srugo of Mistral.vc 53:53

20d ago53:53

53:53

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.This episode is with with Pablo Srugo of Mistral.vc, a seed stage venture capital firm based in Toronto that invests in early stage start…

1
Why new Carta data shows bridge rounds might be worse than you think. | Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta 31:17

4d ago31:17

31:17

Carta just released their report for Q4 2024. Peter is Head of Insights at Carta, and the person who owns their data practice. We sit down to talk about the largest trends he saw across fundraising, industries, graduation rates and even hiring practices. Carta data shows that graduation rates from Seed to A are much lower for companies that have ra…

1
He exited for $335M—& felt "emptiness". So he quit, gave up millions in earnout, & grew to $1M ARR in 6 months. | Alon Arvatz, Founder of IntSights & PointFive 51:43

7d ago51:43

51:43

Alon was a hacker for the Israeli Defence Forces' cyber department. There he saw the most advanced methods used in cyber warfare. So when he left, he started IntSights-- a company that helped enterprises defend themselves from cyber attacks. He was a first-time founder who didn't even know the word 'unicorn'. He made all the mistakes you could make…

1
He raised $20M, hit $3.5M in revenue—& failed. Here are the top 3 lessons he learned. | Ned Phillips, Founder of Bambu 1:01:11

11d ago1:01:11

1:01:11

Ned had a chance to run Robinhood Asia but he turned it down. Instead, he launched a competitive product. He decided to go B2B and sell to banks and other financial institutions. He locked down a $400K revenue sale before writing a line of code. It seemed easy at first. Overtime, he grew to $3.5M in revenue, billions in assets under management and …

1
Price Psychology: How To Build Customer Loyalty in Challenging Times | Ep. 065 16:20

13d ago16:20

16:20

Think lowering your prices will win customer loyalty? Think again. Businesses everywhere struggle with the same dilemma—how do you keep quality high without scaring off price-sensitive customers? In this episode, Ethan and Justin rip apart the myth that lower prices equal more loyalty. They reveal why some companies shrink portions instead of raisi…

1
He exited for hundreds of millions—then invested in 20+ founders. Here's what he looks for. | Jason Van Gaal, Founder of ROOT 48:02

14d ago48:02

48:02

Jason built a data center company in the 2013. When he exited in 2019, it was the third-largest exit in Canada that year. He'd sold his previous startup and invested 100% of his capital into ROOT. He grew to 10s of millions and exited for 100s of millions. Now he's invested in over 20 angel-stage startups. He shares the story of ROOT and what he lo…

1
1st time founder completely pivots after YC—then grows 30x in a year to $2.2M ARR. | Pablo Palafox, Founder of HappyRobot 56:37

18d ago56:37

56:37

Pablo is the first guest that has the same name as me-- so you KNOW this episode will be great. Pablo hustled for months just to get to $70K in ARR. He got rejected from YC, re-applied, and finally got in. But after months in YC, he realized his first product was not going to work. He had some traction, but not nearly enough customer pull. So he sh…

1
Bold Predictions That Will Impact You in 2025 and Beyond | Ep. 064 24:09

20d ago24:09

24:09

Are you ready for the sweeping changes coming in 2025? In this thought-provoking episode, Ethan King and Justin King share bold predictions for how AI, hybrid work, and evolving business models will shape our lives and industries. They explore the rise of AI-powered micropreneurs, the balance between automation and human authenticity, and the role …

1
He exited for $200M— then bootstrapped his next startup to $100M in revenue. | Alex Hawkinson, Founder of BrightAI 43:19

21d ago43:19

43:19

Alex sold his last IoT startup for over $200M to Samsung. He felt the needed to build something much bigger, so he started BrightAI. The goal was to use AI and IoT to solve big problems for enterprises. A few years later, he bootstrapped to $100M in revenue across just 7 customers. Last quarter, he raised $15M in venture funding. He shares how he c…

1
The early-stage fundraising playbook—here's how to raise your first few rounds. | Nathan Beckord, Host of How I Raised It 29:24

25d ago29:24

29:24

Nathan has interviewed 100s of founders on how they raised their first few rounds. In this interview, we go through some of the most compelling stories he's heard. We go through step-by-step what you should do to raise a round, how to get meetings, how to tell stories, and every other piece of the fundraising puzzle. If you're planning to raise a r…

1
Ep. 295 How I Raised It with Jorian Hoover - Fundraising Prep 101 1:04:23

26d ago1:04:23

1:04:23

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.This episode is with with Jorian Hoover, a startup fundraising consultant based in London. In this episode, we go deep into "Fundraising …

1
Ep. 294 How I Raised It with Joe Ruscio of VC firm Heavybit 37:12

27d ago37:12

37:12

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.This episode is with with Joe Ruscio of Heavybit, a venture capital fund that invests in developer-first startups (many of their portfoli…

1
What’s Stopping You From Sharing Your Greatness? | Ep. 063 12:10

27d ago12:10

12:10

Are you holding back your story—and denying others the inspiration they need? In this episode, Justin King unveils his ambitious plan to celebrate his 40th birthday by running 10 marathons in 10 days along South Africa's breathtaking coastline. Inspired by the concept of Misogi—a ritual turned philosophy about tackling one impossible challenge each…

1
He lost his only 2 customers & was ready to quit—then he grew to $1.5M ARR in a year. | Josh Domingues, Founder of Flashfood 50:00

28d ago50:00

50:00

A few years into building Flashfood, Josh was $35K in debt with no money in his account. Just a few months earlier, he'd lost both the pilot customers he'd worked so hard to lock in. He'd worked for months to land them and had delivered what he promised. But both retailers told him the problem he was solving was not important enough. And then, he m…

1
He raised $250K, had thousands of users, but failed— because he didn't pivot fast enough. | Darius Vaillancourt, Founder of Howdy 27:50

1M ago27:50

27:50

Darius started an EdTech startup to help users of online courses collaborate with each other. It blew up during COVID when everyone felt isolated. It gained thousands of users. They were engaged. They came back to use the platform. And, most importantly, they dramatically improved completion rates for online courses. Darius thought he had it. But i…

1
How To Escape The Prison You Built For Yourself | Ep. 062 12:18

1M ago12:18

12:18

What’s keeping you from the life you truly desire? In this eye-opening episode of Kingspiration, Ethan and Justin dive into the idea of "lifestyle capture"—the subtle trap of maintaining what you’ve built at the expense of chasing new dreams. Inspired by a listener’s comment, the hosts explore the tension between ambition and gratitude, fear and fr…

1
Stripe bought his startup for $1.1B—just 2.5 years after he quit his job. | Zach Abrams, Co-Founder of Bridge 55:25

1M ago55:25

55:25

Zach was burned out after a decade of working at top roles in Coinbase, Square and Brex. He quit with no startup idea-- and then, he went right back in. Given their background, Zach and his co-founder quickly raised an $8M seed round to build an NFT-related product in Web3. One month later, they completely abandoned their idea. They realized it was…

1
The 5 Steps to Product-Market Fit w/ Chris Saad, ex-Head of Product at Uber, Host of The Startup Podcast 51:03

1M ago51:03

51:03

We took examples from the last 100 episodes and built a clear, 5 step path to finding product market fit: 1.Before Startup Mode, There’s Research Mode —> Become an expert to find problems worth solving. 2.Only the Insanely Focused Survive —> Focus all your resources to do more with less. 3.You have to be in the market to win the market —> Use niche…

1
Are We Living In a Simulation? Why My ChatGPT Says "Yes" | Ep. 061 15:31

1M ago15:31

15:31

What if everything you know about reality is just a game? In this captivating episode, Ethan and Justin take you on a journey through the astonishing future of AI, virtual reality, and the nature of consciousness. Starting with a playful conversation about retro video games, they dive into the mind-bending possibilities of thought-controlled univer…

1
How Gusto’s $10B founder raised $6M, built a team of 5—& hit $5M ARR in just 2 years. | Josh Reeves, Founder of Gusto 56:33

1M ago56:33

56:33

Gusto is a $9.5B startup that does $500M ARR. Josh built an absolute monster of a company-- and it all started with payroll software for SMBs. Not just that, he started by servicing only new tech startups that were based in California. It was exceptionally niche, and it worked. After YC, he raised a $6M seed round from tier 1 angels, back when larg…

1
The top 5 early-stage startup lessons for 2025 12:02

2M ago12:02

12:02

We go through the top 5 product-market fit lessons I've learned from speaking to well over 100+ founders on this show over the last 3 years. These are the top 5 things you should keep top of mind going into 2025. Why you should listen: Small teams outperform larger ones in early stages. Paying employees well is needed to build A+ teams. Go all-in o…

1
Could Moving to Another Country Be Your King Move? | Ep. 060 12:30

2M ago12:30

12:30

What kind of life do you want to build in the year ahead? In this special New Year’s Eve episode, Ethan King and Justin King challenge you to think beyond the familiar—whether you’re dreaming of a new country or committed to staying right where you are. Would you leave your home for a fresh start, or is there a way to create your dream life right w…

1
He raised $1.3M, hit $100K ARR—but failed. Here's the lesson every founder needs to hear. | Tolga Ermis, Founder of PromiseQ 30:24

2M ago30:24

30:24

Tolga stumbled upon a problem in the security monitoring space. Motion cameras generated way too many false alerts. So he decided to solve it using AI. He raised over a million dollars and got several customers. But he always felt he was pushing a boulder up a hill. At one point, one of his large customers churned and went with a competitor. Tolga …

1
24 ways to get your first customers—based on real examples from the last 100 episodes. 24:10

2M ago24:10

24:10

There are a few things harder when building startups than getting your first few customers. When you're on a standstill, getting momentum is incredibly hard. Going from zero to one takes an incredible amount of effort—you have absolutely no credibility, no proof points. So to help you out I went through 24 ways of getting your first customers using…

1
What a $700 Wooden Bowl Teaches You About Marketing | Ep. 059 12:48

2M ago12:48

12:48

Could a $700 mixing bowl transform how you market your business? Ethan and Justin break down the psychology behind status symbols, from a walnut mixing bowl that’s more art than utility to luxury apps and historical oddities like $5,000 pineapples. They reveal how smart business owners can apply these lessons to create products and services that cu…

1
He bet on voice AI when no one else did. Now he has $1M+ customers & $100M raised. | Ankit Jain, Founder of Infinitus 39:44

2M ago39:44

39:44

Ankit left his job as a VC to launch a Voice AI platform—back in 2018! It wasn't the voice AI of today. The first demo sounded like a robot. But still, he convinced large enterprise customers in the healthcare space to try it out. He found a highly manual, call intensive workflow in the back office and autoamted it using AI. Years later, he's raise…

1
YC said his idea "would never work". So he lived in his office for months—then raised $17M from a16z in 14 days. | Marty Kausas, founder of Pylon 1:07:26

2M ago1:07:26

1:07:26

Marty and his co-founders lived full-time in their office for several months. They worked on their startup 24/7. To come up with the idea, they messaged 120 potential customers every day for 3 months. Originally, when they pitched YC they were told their idea would never work. YC said they'd seen it several times and it was destined to fail. So in …

1
The Secret to Expanding Your Comfort Zone—and Your Life | Ep. 058 20:29

2M ago20:29

20:29

"Do one thing every day that scares you." — Eleanor Roosevelt Are you coasting through life, too scared to take a risk? In this episode, Ethan and Justin challenge the very idea of “playing it safe.” Ethan recounts his terrifying experience walking the edge of the CN Tower, a powerful reminder that growth only happens when you face discomfort head-…

1
He built a $4B unicorn & crossed $100M ARR—here's why it took 10 years of 100-hour weeks. | Martin Basiri, Founder of Passage & Applyboard (SaaS North Keynote) 30:02

2M ago30:02

30:02

I interviewed Martin on the keynote stage at the SaaS North conference. Here is the audio version. Martin built Applyboard into a $4B unicorn doing $100M+ in ARR. He left and started a new startup called Passage— and raised a $40M seed round. He talks about 100-hour weeks, hiring exceptional talent, why smaller teams can outperform—and why he decid…

1
Ep. 293 How I Raised It with Danielle Patterson of Family Office List 40:01

2M ago40:01

40:01

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.This episode is with with Danielle Patterson of Family Office LIst, a database and platform that aggregates family office data. See https…

1
His sports betting app went from $0 to $10M ARR in a year—& to $150M ARR in 4. Here's how he did it. | Jon Robin, Founder of Dabble 44:26

2M ago44:26

44:26

Jon started a sports betting app 4 years ago-- now he does $150M in revenue and $1B in betting volume. AND he's profitable. In his first year alone , he did $10 million in revenue. He took a year to build the app and as soon as he launched it, it took off. He did $10M in revenue in his first year. Honestly, it sounds too easy. But the reason it wor…

1
Why AI Will Replace You—And How To Fight Back | Ep. 057 17:15

2M ago17:15

17:15

Are you ready to fight for your place in the AI era? Ethan and Justin deliver an unfiltered look at how AI is disrupting the workforce—and why your career might be next. Forget the myths that AI is only coming for factory jobs. It’s white-collar roles that are most at risk. They challenge you to stop fearing AI and start using it to your advantage.…

1
He grew to $90M ARR, was about to exit for $1.5B—and then, it all fell apart. | Yanni Giannaros, Co-Founder of Wyre 55:58

2M ago55:58

55:58

Yanni started building in crypto back in 2013, when you could buy one Bitcoin for $20. At one point, he was playing poker games and betting 1 bitcoin each round! He built an extension that let people use bitcoin to buy anything, anywhere on the internet. Then he pivoted to building the first on ramp for bitcoin. And finally, pivoted into Wyre, whic…

1
How to build great products—lessons from Amazon, Facebook, Twitter & Deel. | Aaron Goldsmid, Head of Product at Deel 37:54

2M ago37:54

37:54

Aaron was Director of Product at Amazon, VP Product at Twilio, PM at Facebook and Twitter. Now he’s head of product at Deel where he reports directly to the CEO. Deel was founded in 2019— now, just 5 years later, it’s worth $12B and raised over $650M. We go deep on what it takes to build world-class products, how early-stage founders can balance cu…

1
Does DEI = "Didn't Earn It?" And What Does It Mean For Your Company | Ep. 056 22:58

3M ago22:58

22:58

Is DEI creating fairness or fueling division in the workplace? In this episode, Ethan and Justin King take on one of the most polarizing topics in modern business—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Is it leveling the playing field, or does it unfairly tip the scales? They confront the controversial idea that DEI often translates to “Didn’t Ear…

1
He made his first loan at 16. Now his fintech startup does $50M+ ARR—here’s how. | Tate Hackert, Co-Founder of ZayZoon 1:03:24

3M ago1:03:24

1:03:24

Description Tate started doing commercial fishing at 16. He took that money and started lending it— on Craigslist! By 23 years old, he’d lent out $250,000. Then he found out about cash advances, and decided to start ZayZoon, a platform to help employers pay their employees faster. Tate was one of the early pioneers of the entire Earned Wage Access …

1
After I passed, this startup grew 30x in 3 years to $10M+ ARR. Here's how he did it—& what I missed. | Francois de Kerret, Co-Founder of Zeffy 30:36

3M ago30:36

30:36

Zeffy is one of my biggest misses so far. I met Francois 3 years ago when he was raising his $3M seed round. But I passed. They were at ~$500K in revenue at that point. In the last 3 years, they've grown 30x. Clearly, I missed out. But it's been a long road for Francois. Before he got to the current idea, he had to make 3 pivots, including building…

1
Eager vs. Desperate: The Secret to Confident Connections | Ep. 055 10:42

3M ago10:42

10:42

Are you coming across as eager or desperate? In this episode of Kingspiration, Ethan and Justin explore the fine line between eagerness and desperation in sales, relationships, and life. Discover why desperation turns people off and how self-awareness can help you recalibrate your approach. They share practical techniques for delivering value confi…

1
He hit $40M ARR, exited for over $100M—& raised only $1.5M. Here's how | Ian MacKinnon, Co-Founder of Later.com 56:01

3M ago56:01

56:01

In 2014, Ian launched a simple product: it let social media marketers buffer Instagram posts. It was originally a hackathon project. But it quickly gained users. So he and his co-founders went all in. They raised just one small seed round. His main competitor, HootSuite, raised over $300M. In spite of that, he built a $40M ARR business that sold fo…

1
He raised $16M, hit $1M ARR—& failed. Here are the top 3 lessons he learned. | David Anderson, Founder of Tandym 54:13

3M ago54:13

54:13

David's startup failed. But he had everything going for him: a solid thesis, $16M in funding across 3 rounds, $1.5M in ARR. At a high-level it seemed like everything was going the right way. And yet, it didn't work out. This is what happens to 95% of startups. On thhis show, we mainly speak with the top 5%-- the ones where things went right and eve…

1
Is Dissing Your Competition a Smart Strategy? | Ep. 054 17:17

3M ago17:17

17:17

Is it smarter to win by pointing out your competitors’ flaws or by showcasing your strengths? In this episode, Ethan and Justin dive deep into this age-old debate, exploring how businesses, politicians, and even individuals use opposition or support to sway opinions. Drawing from examples like fast food chains and social media antics, they reveal w…

1
He sold his 1st startup for 8 figures, grew his 2nd to $3M in a year—while battling panic attacks from the pressure. | Justin Adams, Founder of Aiwyn 46:00

3M ago46:00

46:00

Justin sold his first bootstrapped startup for over $10M. He raised $2M out of the gate for his second and then grew from $250K to $3M ARR in one year. He raised $40M in total, including a Series B from Bessemer. And yet, just a week before recording the episode, he shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent panic attack that left him frozen for 15 m…

1
He raised $1.5M, hit $400K ARR in 9 months— but had to Exit Early. Here’s the top 3 lessons he learned | Rob Palumbo, Co-Founder of Outpoint 39:08

3M ago39:08

39:08

Rob founded Outpoint in 2020 to help marketers optimize their ad spend. He was a growth marketer and his founder a data scientist. He had team-market fit, a solid thesis, and paying customers. But when the recession hit and ad spend dropped, growth ground to a halt. Nothing he did could revitalize growth. Ultimately, he decreased expenses and exite…

1
Ep. 292 How I Raised It with Matthew Burris of Venture Studio Associates 51:16

3M ago51:16

51:16

Produced by Foundersuite (for startups: www.foundersuite.com) and Fundingstack (for VCs: www.fundingstack.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital.This episode is with with Matthew Burris of Venture Studio Associates, a firm that helps other firms design and launch venture studios. S…

Podcasts der er værd at lytte til

Startup Founders Podcasts

Podcasts der er værd at lytte til

Hurtig referencevejledning