In #53, Michael and Simmy talk to Sieva Kozinsky, the founder and CEO of holding company Enduring Ventures. Sieva built two startups before reading a book about Warren Buffet and focusing his efforts on buying businesses to hold forever. In this episode, Sieva talks about his early ventures, why he doesn't believe in the venture capital model, the kinds of businesses he buys and looks to buy, competition, and learnings from Warren Buffet and more. #businesspodcast #podcast #entrepreneurship Lear...
Aug 30, 2024•56 min•Ep. 53
In this episode of Our Future Podcast, hosts Simran Sandhu and Michael Sikands interview special guest Stan Garber, the co-founder of ScoutRFP (Acquired by Workday) and Levelpath. Stan shares insights into his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting his past successes like selling ScoutRFP for $540M and building a stealthy but huge restaurant tech business, as well as his current AI + procurement venture, LevelPath. Stan emphasizes the importance of long-term partnerships in business, referencing ...
Aug 14, 2024•47 min•Ep. 52
In #51, Michael and Simmy aggregate exciting business case studies in the world of consumer hardware. The boys analyze hot new products hitting the market like robotic shoes, VR desktops, and bio-hacking wearables. They also peel back the hardware-as-a-service business model that's made it easier to succeed with physical products and the marketing advantage hardware startups have on software. Tune in for a banger this week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 01, 2024•38 min•Ep. 51
In #50, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@simmy) dive into the booming cybersecurity market, highlighting recent incidents and opportunities. They discuss the CrowdStrike internal error that impacted major companies and the potential $23 billion acquisition of Wiz by Google. The hosts emphasize the financial potential in cybersecurity, noting the industry's growth from $182 billion in 2023 to an expected $314 billion by 2028. They explore various business ideas, including incid...
Jul 24, 2024•36 min•Ep. 50
In this episode of Our Future Podcast, Michael and Simmy dive into the journeys of young entrepreneurs like Arib Khan and Dhruv Bindra discussing their unique distribution strategies that enable them to be bootstrapped. We explore the importance of founder-led marketing, the value of investing in distribution, and the evolving landscape of startup success. We also touch on the need for modern content strategies in startup accelerators like Y Combinator. Tune in for insights on building and scali...
Jul 17, 2024•36 min•Ep. 49
In #48, Michael Sikand and Simran Sandhu discuss mid-twenties founders Edward Tian and Alex Cui, the co-founders of AI detection startup GPTZERO which has raised $13.5M and is already profitable. They explore the dynamics of shows like Shark Tank and the success of startups that didn't secure deals. The conversation shifts to the importance of distribution in the success of AI tools. They also touch on the potential of AI in education, citing examples like RapStudy and StudyBuddy. The episode co...
Jun 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 48
After nearly 50 episodes, in #47 Michael Sikand and Simran Sandhu share their own entrepreneurial journey, from starting their media company Our Future to getting acquired by Morning Brew. They discuss the lessons they've learned, the strategies they employed, and challenges faced along the way. 0:00 Intro & Cold Open 2:07 Michael and Simmy's first idea: Jet Coffee 03:16 Being scrappy and lessons learned in scaling the business 5:13 Importance of starting a podcast and building a network 6:0...
Jun 19, 2024•42 min•Ep. 47
Inn #46, Michael Sikand and Simran Sandhu delve into the stories of two young founders, Blake Resnick and Mohak Nahta. Blake Resnick, a 23-year-old entrepreneur, has built a police drone startup called Brinc. He's raised $80M from investors like Sam Altman and Peter Thiel and the company is now valued at over $300M. Next up is Mohak, the founder of Atlys, who has created a platform to expedite the visa application process, allowing users to complete the process in minutes by simply taking a self...
Jun 12, 2024•32 min•Ep. 46
In #45, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@simmy) discuss the founders of Folk and ConvertWire. First up is Simo Lemhandez, a late-twenties entrepreneur from France, who is building Folk, a next-gen CRM designed to manage all types of relationships—sales, recruiting, partnerships, and investors. With a sleek, Notion-like UI, Folk has raised millions from top investment firms like Accel and has even won product of the year on Product Hunt. Next is Jack Sory, a 28-year-old entrepr...
Jun 05, 2024•33 min•Ep. 45
In #44, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Diddo and Fina. Founded by NYU grads, Diddo has raised $2.8M to let you shop for products featured in your favorite TV shows and movies. Using AI, Diddo identifies the clothing worn on screen and allows viewers to purchase exact items or lookalike products. Next up is Clay Ratterman, the co-founder of Fina, which is best described as Notion for personal finance. The platform is bootstrapped and has alrea...
May 29, 2024•35 min•Ep. 44
In #43, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Halla and DeepScribe. Founded by mid-twenties entrepreneurs Henry Michaelson, Spencer Price, and Gabriel Nipote, Halla is the only human preference engine built for groceries. In other words, the trio raised $10M to build a white-labelled recommendation algorithm that powers the e-commerce storefronts of some of the world's largest grocery chains. A few months ago, Halla was acquired by Wynshop for an un...
May 22, 2024•35 min•Ep. 43
In #42, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Swimply and Distribute. Founded by 25-year-old Bunim Laskin, Swimply has raised $50M to be the "Airbnb for Pools". So far the platform has served over 1M bookings across three countries and is now expanding into other categories like pickleball courts. Next up is Andy Mewborn, who built and sold a Linkedin SaaS tool called Taplio within 9 months of launching and has now raised millions for Distribute, a ...
May 15, 2024•35 min•Ep. 42
In #41, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of LANDED and Krepling. Founded by Vivian Wang, Landed is a recruitment platform helping fast food and retail establishments hire top-notch hourly workers faster and cheaper. So far, the platform has raised over $7M and counts 700K+ users as well as clients like Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A. Next up is Krepling, which was started by two brothers in their early 20's, Liam (23) and Travis Gerada (20). The duo is...
May 01, 2024•33 min•Ep. 41
In #40, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Zette and Vizcom. Founded by 28-year-old Yehong Zhu, Zette is best described as "Netflix for News". By installing the Zette chrome extension and paying a monthly subscription, users can bypass the article paywall on over 100+ publisher sites including Forbes. So far, Yehong has raised $2.7M+ for the company, including a recent 7-figure crowdfunding round. Next up is Vizcom, which was started by 28-year-o...
Apr 24, 2024•35 min•Ep. 40
In #39, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Atmos and Reframe. Backed by Sam Altman, YC, and Khosla Ventures with a recent $12.5M Series A, Atmos's young co-founders (led by 25-year-old CEO Nick Donahue) are helping Americans build a custom home from scratch without spending millions. The next company discussed was started by Vedant Pradeep, the 27-year-old co-founder behind Reframe, an app valued at over $300M. 91% of Reframe's 3M users reduced t...
Apr 17, 2024•33 min•Ep. 39
In #37, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the founders of Sweetspot and Bluedot. YC-backed Sweetspot is bringing AI to the complex and outdated world of government contract discovery and bidding. Last year, the U.S. allocated over $765B to government contracts and Sweetspot is helping businesses earn more work from Uncle Sam. Next up is Bluedot, an EV charging app and fintech company backed with $7M from investors like Ford and Porsche that offers EV owners a f...
Apr 10, 2024•36 min•Ep. 38
In #37, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Spencer Scott (@AKASpencerScott). Getting his start working his way up sales at a telecom company, Spencer quit the corporate grind to become a 7-figure, non-technical bootstrapped SaaS founder, building sales software platform Loup and scaling screen-sharing tool Median after purchasing it on MicroAcquire. More recently, Spencer has made waves as the founder of Lone Star Trash, a waste management service he started aft...
Apr 03, 2024•28 min•Ep. 37
In #36, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Whop and EasyA. Started by 25-year-olds Jack Sharkey, Steven Schwartz, and Cameron Zoub - Whop is "Etsy for Digital Products" - and has raised $17M from investors like Peter Thiel and James Harden. The platform has facilitated $300M of transactions for software tools, community memberships, and courses developed by an army of young hustlers pushing internet products. Next up is EasyA, a mobile app built by brothers Phil...
Mar 28, 2024•32 min•Ep. 36
In #35, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Myko AI and Lula. Started by Trevor Lee and Zheng Li, Myko has raised $2.7M from investors like Khosla Ventures to create conversational AI for sales teams. Myko syncs across all the software in a revenue organization and can surface key metrics and insights via text prompts with the ability to then execute actions based off those data points. Next up is Lula, an insurtech startup founded by two 27-year-old twins, Matth...
Mar 20, 2024•40 min•Ep. 35
In #34, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Slope Pay and Rogo. Slope has raised a whopping $187M in funding led by Sam Altman to digitize B2B payments with a focus on bringing buy-now-pay-later mechanics to invoicing and was started by late twenties co-founders Alice Deng and Lawrence Lin Murata. Next up is Rogo, a fintech software setting its sights on beating Bloomberg with a platform best described as “ChatGPT for Finance”. Led by 25-year-old CEO Gabriel Sten...
Mar 13, 2024•31 min•Ep. 34
In #33, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Antimetal and Rainmaker. Antimetal was started by now 25-year-old HS dropout Matthew Prakhurst, who has seemingly sold everything under the sun in his career. Now he’s built a huge tech company saving 1000+ startups millions on their cloud hosting costs via AWS. Next up is deep-tech startup Rainmaker, led by 23-year-old Berkeley dropout Augustus Doricko. Rainmaker uses a fleet of drones that dispense chemicals into the ...
Mar 06, 2024•36 min•Ep. 33
In #32, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Owner.com and Pipedream Labs. Led by 24-year-old high school dropout Adam Guild, Owner.com has raised $60M+ from investors like Naval Ravikant and Jack Altman to empower restaurant owners with technology to grow revenue and cut dependence on delivery giants. Next up is Pipedream Labs, led by twenty-something CEO Garret McCurrach, which has raised $11M to revolutionize food delivery with an underground pipe network solin...
Feb 28, 2024•36 min•Ep. 32
In #31, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Hypercard and Integral. Backed with $15M in funding led by Sam Altman and a blockbuster partnership with American Express, Hypercard is building the first credit card backed by your employer. The company was started by two Gen Z business prodigies–Niko Ioannou and Marc Baghadjian–who've already had tremendous success. Next up is Integral, a data certification startup in the healthcare industry. Founded by young guns Shu...
Feb 21, 2024•38 min•Ep. 31
In #30, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) interview Morning Brew Co-Founder and CEO Austin Rief (@austin_rief). At age 25, Austin sold Morning Brew to Insider at a $75M valuation and has continued to lead the company since. Morning Brew no doubt continues to be the dominant player in the email newsletter space and now increasingly across formats like podcasts and social media. Austin touches on how he would make $1M starting from scratch, his content diet, his ownershi...
Feb 14, 2024•54 min•Ep. 30
In #29, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Felux and Tulu. Started by former tech sales exec Dallas Hogensen, Felux is the new way the world buys and sells steel. It's a digital marketplace that facilitates steel transactions from A-Z, from discovery to negotiation to financing to transportation. So far, Felux has raised over $20M and now processes $500M+ in GMV. Next up is Tulu, founded by Yishai Lehavi and Yael Shemer, which has raised over $20M. It's branded ...
Feb 07, 2024•38 min•Ep. 29
In #28, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss two startups built by young guns: Simplify and Default. Simplify is best described as the "Honey for Job Search" - and was founded by Berkeley and Stanford dropouts Michael Yan, Rushil Srivastava, and Ethan Horoschak. Using Simplify's chrome extension, applicants can breeze through vast numbers of job apps by instantly populating form fields and tailoring their experience to each role of interest. So far the platform ha...
Jan 31, 2024•34 min•Ep. 28
In #27, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss the co-founders of Covertree: Adarsh Rachmale (25), Divyansh Sharma (25), and Rishie Modi (37). After the guys graduated college, they decided they wanted a startup idea that targeted Middle America and that tech was completely ignoring. They found it in the insurance tech space with their company CoverTree, which specializes in insuring manafactured homes (also known as pre-fab houses). So far they've raised $23M in to...
Jan 24, 2024•28 min•Ep. 27
In #26, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Grant Roscoe, founder of Crescent. Grant grew up in Nebraska and didn't attend college, yet he's managed to spend the past 5 years turning his company into a key player in how startups manage their capital. He's raised $6M so far to turn Crescent into an integral part of startup management by helping young companies monetize their idle cash. Follow the show on TikTok: @ourfuturepod Follow the show on IG: @ourfuturepod M...
Jan 17, 2024•31 min
The boys are back from a two week holiday hiatus! In #25, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) discuss Hasan Raza and Quinn Favret, the co-founders of Tavus. Tavus is a generative AI startup that clones your face and voice to create virtually infinite personalized videos for use in sales outreach. They've raised over $25M from top VC firms like Sequoia and signed on blue-chip clients like HubSpot and Meta. But the big question still looms: is this a flash in the pan or th...
Jan 10, 2024•31 min•Ep. 25
In #24, Michael Sikand (@michaelsikand) and Simran Sandhu (@_simmy_) talk about John Hu, the co-founder of Stan, a link in bio startup that might best be described as "Shopify for content creators". John's journey is made all the more fascinating by his mastery of building in public. No venture backed founder does a better job of documenting their journey and bringing viewers full transparency than John. He's racked up 40K+ subs on his YouTube channel and has proven that building in public is a ...
Dec 20, 2023•30 min•Ep. 24
