Could the rise of Kamala Harris as the new Democratic candidate impact the tech industry in significant ways? Find out how her presidency, Crowdstrike's massive outage, and Sam Altman's UBI experiment could shape the future of your tech startup in this week's insightful Reacts episode. On this week's episode, Ben Parr and Emil Michael former Chief Business Officer of Uber, join Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein to discuss: President Harris: Her potential impact on Silicon Valley and the broader tec...
Jul 24, 2024•52 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast A strong co-founder relationship is crucial for any startup. Learn how to determine the ideal number of founders and understand the distinctions between roles and titles. Also, Chris and Yaniv explain what you must know about: The pros and cons of going solo vs. multiple founders. CEOs and Founders and the distinction between roles and responsibilities. Considerations on equity splits and vesting schedules. Co-CEO conflicts and what to do about them. How to manage breakups between founders grace...
Jul 22, 2024•51 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast There's only one big topic in the headlines this week – the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. What will it mean for the future of tech? On this week's episode, Elli Hanson joins Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein to discuss: Knee Jerk Reactions: Immediate thoughts in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Bide 'n' Seek: What (if anything) Joe Biden and the Democrats can still do to win the next election. Money Talks: How tech influencers like Elon Musk and...
Jul 17, 2024•44 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast Angel investing is a high-risk, high-reward investment option. But is it right for your portfolio? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: Better Angels: What makes a good angel investor, and who should consider becoming one. A Slice of Heaven: The mechanisms behind direct angel investments, syndicates, and SPVs. Under Your Wing: The challenges and benefits that founders might encounter if they become angel investors themselves. Whether you're looking to grow your investment portfolio or w...
Jul 15, 2024•57 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast Could the rise of robotics lead to reduced immigration in Western countries? Learn about the latest events that will affect your tech startup in this week's politically charged Reacts episode. Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein discuss: Bubble Wrap: A recent article from Sequoia summarizes the risks of a potential AI investment bubble and its implications for startups and investors. (David Cahn/Sequoia, "AI’s $600B Question": https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ais-600b-question/ ) Zion...
Jul 10, 2024•46 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast Impostor syndrome plagues many founders – but why? Founder and podcaster Mike Scott shares his own journey and the practical tools he's developed to overcome imposter syndrome. In this episode, Mike Scott (SMB Mastery, 'How to be Moderately Successful') joins Chris and Yaniv to discuss: Fool's Gold: Why impostor syndrome is common among founders, and why success often exacerbates it rather than alleviating it. Mirror, Mirror: How to acknowledge, manage, and use imposter syndrome ...
Jul 08, 2024•56 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Who are the winners and losers from this week in AI? Learn how Perplexity, Google, Facebook, and the state of California are handling (or not handling) the latest developments in tech. In this week's episode, Amir Shevat and Emil Michael join Yaniv to discuss: License to Crawl: The ethics and practical implications of Perplexity AI ignoring the robots.txt protocol. Corpus Bride: How Google's data licensing deals for AI grounding may become the new industry standard. Not So Binary: After ...
Jul 03, 2024•37 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast Do you really understand sales? Learn how great startups grow from founder led origins to dynamic regional teams while maintaining a shared company DNA. In this episode, sales team hyper-scalers Matt Loop (Rippling, Slack, LinkedIn, Salesforce) and Matt Plank (Rippling, Zenefits) explain how to build a sales team that doesn't suck. Matt, Matt, and Yaniv discuss: Culture Club: Why early stage founder-led sales should give way to a scalable sales team aligned around your company culture. Going...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast What lies at the intersection of 'diversity' and 'meritocracy'? Learn how Silicon Valley insiders defy polarized pop narratives to build talented teams with diverse perspectives. In this week's episode, Amir Shevat joins Chris and Yaniv to discuss: Tipping the Scale: The seasonal 'meritocracy vs. diversity' debate returns to Silicon Valley. Scale AI CEO Alexander Wang suggests replacing DEI with MEI ('merit, excellence and intelligence'). Thinking Cap: Ilya Su...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast Why is optimizing your ops crucial for startup success? Learn how your business can better bridge the gap between software and operations. On today's show, Chris and Yaniv discuss: Up And Atom: Understanding the difference between 'typical business' ops and 'product enablement' ops, including the Uber concept of 'bits and atoms'. Top of the Ops: Creating a specialized department that emphasizes continuous improvement and self-renewal, including integrating product ope...
Jun 24, 2024•43 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast Is marketing more art than science? Should VC-backed startups push for profitability? Learn from Eucalyptus founder Tim Doyle as he tackles two highly debated topics in the startup world: Brand Loyal: In the generational battle between performance marketers and brand storytellers, Tim advocates for a resurgence in compelling brand narratives. Worshipping False Profits: Tim, Chris and Yaniv explain why it's contentious to push for profitability in venture-backed startups, emphasizing the need...
Jun 22, 2024•16 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast Are Amazon workers fighting the inevitable? Learn how founders, investors and industry leaders are responding to the big trends in AI. In this week's episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: Amazon Warriors: The Amazon Labor Union have joined the Teamsters. But how will warehouse worker representation matter amidst rising automation and AI? A Common Thread: How does Meta's launch of the Threads API compare to Twitter's current and former developer ecosystems? Hey Big Vendor: Why the US migh...
Jun 19, 2024•42 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast How do the best founders build exceptional teams? Learn how a practical approach to HR can transform the culture at your startup. In this episode, Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix and author of 'Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility,' shares her wisdom on fostering a high-performance culture. Patty, Yaniv and Chris discuss: Finders Keepers: How the Netflix 'keeper test' can help you hire appropriately for the current stage of your startup....
Jun 17, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast Do we dare to imagine: what if Siri was actually good? In this week's episode, tech insiders Elli Hanson and Amir Shevat join Chris and Yaniv to discuss: AI @ WWDC2024: Apple unveils 'Apple Intelligence,' Siri improvements, and updates to products like Apple Wallet and Vision OS. Saving Private Data: How will Apple's reputation for privacy clash with their new integration with OpenAI? Reach For A Clean 'X': Elon Musk's plan to allow explicit content on X (formerly Twi...
Jun 12, 2024•59 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast What happens when your product has succeeded and you're finally ready to explore those adjacencies? Find out how to take your startup to the next level. In this episode, Tim Doyle, founder of brand engine Eucalyptus (and subsidiary healthcare brands Pilot, Kin, Software, Normal, and Juniper), joins Chris and Yaniv to discuss the process of expanding your business into new products, markets, and demographics. Topics include: It's Business Time: Know when your business is ready to expand. ...
Jun 10, 2024•50 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast What's happened to B2B SaaS – and will NVIDIA eat OpenAI's lunch? Learn the latest movements in tech startups from industry insiders. In this week's episode, Chris, Emil and Yaniv discuss: B2B, Or Not To Be: Disappointing guidance from industry giants like Salesforce, Cloudflare and UiPath bodes poorly for the future of enterprise B2B SaaS businesses. Invader NIM: NVIDIA's move to cannibalize the developer platform layer may have big ramifications for companies like OpenAI, Amazo...
Jun 05, 2024•49 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast Why do big, established companies struggle when faced with disruption from agile startups? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein explain: Don't Look Up: How tech advancements, regulatory changes, and shifts in cultural norms create opportunities for smaller players. Stuck in the Mud: Why entrenched cultures, rigid business models, and incremental incentives make it tough for large companies to innovate quickly. Dinosaurs to Dynamos: The strategies that big companies can use to fost...
Jun 03, 2024•45 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast This is a Sponsor Showcase episode, sponsored by Vanta. Security and compliance are so important. But as a founder, sometimes they can seem like an expensive distraction. What if we told you there are ways to massively reduce the cost of building strong security in your product? And even better, to turn that investment into a selling point to help scale your business? In this episode of TSP, Yaniv is joined by Nathan Miller from scale-up phenomenon Dovetail and Rob White from Airtree, one of Aus...
Jun 02, 2024•38 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Can NVIDIA keep their unprecedented run going? Learn what's driving their stunning earnings – and whether they're really on track to become the biggest company in the world. In this week's episode, Emil Michael former Chief Business Officer of Uber, and Yaniv Bernstein discuss: Betting with Chips: NVIDIA's remarkable earnings continue a run of historic, Wall Street-defying growth. Grok Solid: Elon Musk's xAI secures a massive $6 billion seed round. Overview Needs Overhaul: Google's new AI-powere...
May 29, 2024•32 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Are you struggling to fund your startup? Learn how to make your idea investable – and avoid the fearsome 'zombie zone'. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein discuss: Quarter Masters: Explore a simple four-quadrant model that categorizes startups based on their margin, volume, and startup costs. Plain Old Profits: Learn when and why to consider a more traditional business model over a startup approach. VC Victory: Discover the sweet spots for venture capital and how to leverage...
May 27, 2024•48 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast Two-time unicorn founder Jason Cohen (WP Engine, Smart Bear) returns to discuss his Twitter 'koans', exploring their implications for founders. In this bonus episode, Yaniv Bernstein, Chris Saad, and Jason Cohen discuss: Half-Baked Ideas: The pitfalls of working on too many projects (or cakes). Work/Work Balance: What even is a 'lifestyle business'? The Invisible Startup: Why founders should stop saying they're going 'stealth mode'. Tune in for an engaging conversatio...
May 27, 2024•18 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast How can Google avoid Google+ 2.0? Learn who will win the AI Game of Thrones – and why branding is only one piece of the puzzle. In this week's episode, Amir Shevat and Yaniv Bernstein discuss: The Demo Dilemma: Why OpenAI’s live demo of ChatGPT-4o was more impressive than Google’s highly polished event. G Suite Dreams: How could Google improve the integration of AI throughout their many products, without repeating the mistakes of Google+? Layoff Games: What does the current trend of tech lay...
May 22, 2024•38 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Are you planning your founder career in a meaningful way? Two-time unicorn founder Jason Cohen (WP Engine, Smart Bear) joins Chris and Yaniv to discuss how self-knowledge can lead to a founder journey that's right for you. Passion's Fruit: Understand the importance of aligning your startup with your driving interests. Top Model: Learn how to tailor your business model to fit your personal circumstances and stage of life for optimal growth. Iterate, Iterate, Iterate: Understand why consid...
May 20, 2024•50 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast Missed this week's duelling announcements from OpenAI and Google? Catch up on ChatGPT 4o, AI Search, and Project Astra, as our insiders discuss how they'll reshape the tech world. In this week's Reacts episode, insiders Chris Saad, Yaniv Bernstein, and Elli Hanson discuss: Chatting ChatGPT 4o: The new features and improvements in OpenAI's latest AI model. Search and Rescue: How do Google's new AI Search, Project Astra and Gemini Assistant offerings stack up? Through the Googl...
May 15, 2024•53 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Is your product management approach clashing with real-world demands? Product expert John Cutler – author of the long-running newsletter The Beautiful Mess and former product evangelist at Amplitude – returns to the podcast to discuss different approaches to product management, and where they might help (or hinder) your business. Learn about: Ideal or Ordeal: The challenge of applying idealistic, one-size-fits-all perspectives on product management to the harsh realities of business. Canny Valle...
May 13, 2024•47 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Is your startup prepared for the next US election? Learn about the forces driving today’s tech giants and tomorrow’s political landscape. In this week's Reacts episode, insiders Chris Saad, Yaniv Bernstein, and Emil Michael former Chief Business Officer of Uber, cover: Buyback Backlash: Does Apple’s $100 billion stock buyback program signal a shift from innovation to incrementalism? RAGs to Riches: OpenAI are rumoured to be developing a new AI-powered search product to disrupt Google. But what i...
May 08, 2024•42 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Is firing a founder CEO ever the right move? Learn about how startup founders and their boards can work together effectively to avoid the worst. In this week's episode of The Startup Podcast, hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein explain: Founder Knows Best: Why removing a founder CEO is usually undesirable, given their deep vision and commitment. All Above Board: Why board accountability is necessary when a leadership change becomes essential. Evolving Ambitions: How founder CEOs must grow a...
May 06, 2024•43 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Why didn't Rabbit R1 and Humane AI live up to the hype? Learn how even the biggest names in tech – from TikTok to Tesla – can falter. In this week's Reacts episode, insiders Yaniv Bernstein, Emil Michael former Chief Business Officer of Uber, and Leah Mahtani discuss: Bad Bunny: Why Silicon Valley funding explains the disappointing launches of AI hardware Rabbit R1 and Humane AI. Bumpy Road Ahead: How Uber's success can inform the debate around autonomous vehicles like Waymo, Cruise, and Tesla's...
May 01, 2024•48 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast Do your plans stand strong when things go wrong? Hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein discuss the concept of 'graceful degradation' and its critical role in planning for a robust business. They share tips on: Understanding Graceful Degradation: Why it's important to fail-safe your business plan to avoid collapse in a crisis. Visionary Planning: How a clear, unconstrained vision can guide decision-making as challenges arise. Making Smart Compromises: Ensuring each step aligns closely ...
Apr 29, 2024•34 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Australia’s startup ecosystem is about to be hit by an asteroid of awesomeness, and hardly anybody is talking about it. Learn why the recent Canva secondary round means Australia finally has its own “mafia” to rival the PayPal, Google, and Facebook mafias—and what it means for tech in Australia. Also in this bonus Aussie Q&A episode: how to think about SAFE notes as a local founder or investor. Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Fol...
Apr 28, 2024•16 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast 
