Founders and Builders

Joe and David are the founders of Asteroid, a YC-backed startup building AI browser agents that can automate real work inside the tools we use every day.In this episode, we go deep on why browser agents are such a big deal and what it really takes to get AI agents into the real world and how YOU can take advantage of them.We also unpack their journey through Entrepreneur First and Y Combinator, the hard pivots they made along the way, why most AI startups risk becoming consultancies, and what happens to jobs when agents start doing more and more of the work.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:47 The power of using AI agents05:21 From fraud agents → the Asteroid idea06:16 How to make your agents reliable09:51 What Asteroid actually does (build, run, monitor agents)13:25 Finding product-market fit19:26 AI safety and supervision at Deepmind28:57 Staying at the frontier of AI agents34:23 Founder lessons and the future of work⭐ Listener Suggestion – CoreWeave – https://www.coreweave.com/👍 Why subscribe?If you build, code, invest or care about the future of AI, startups and creative technology, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so YouTube tells you when new episodes drop 🔔#AI #startups #founders #agents #automation

Satellites scan the Earth thousands of times every day, powering AI, defence, and disaster response. But there’s a critical problem that not many people know about, but that our modern world is hindered by.In this episode of Founders & Builders, I sit down with Michael Stanway and Joe Griffiths, founders of The Compression Company, who are solving one of the hardest problems in modern infrastructure: how to move massive amounts of satellite and sensor data efficiently.We cover:- The biggest opportunities in space tech right now- Their experience moving to San Francisco as first-time founders- The “watermelon through a straw” problem of satellite data- How they raised a $3.4M round in 10 daysChapters:00:00 - Intro01:40 - The biggest problem in space and Satellite technology06:10 - How we use satellite data every day 11:46 - Entrepreneur First: Finding your co-founder14:54 - The Residency: Live & work with other founders in San Francisco18:58 - Raising $3.4M in 10 days (how they did it)21:23 - Building a compression factory for all data types31:07 - Founder wisdom: Focus ONLY on solving the most important problem38:37 - The Compression Company are hiring (reach out to them)Topics covered:Satellite data • Space tech • Data compression • AI infrastructure • Defence tech • Climate monitoring • Startup fundraising • Deep tech👉 Subscribe for weekly conversations with founders building the infrastructure behind the next generation of technology.

If you’re thinking about starting a business in 2026, or you’ve had an idea sitting in the back of your mind that you haven’t acted on yet... this video is for you.Over the last six months, I’ve interviewed 30 founders and investors on the Founders & Builders podcast. Collectively, the companies they’ve built are worth over $110 billion... and after analysing those conversations, one clear pattern kept coming up.Every successful startup goes through the same five steps, and none of it is magic. You can totally do it too.In this episode, I’ll walk you through that playbook so you can see exactly where you are, and what actually matters at each stage:Chapters:00:00 - Why NOW is the time to start your business01:51 - Step 1: Finding your startup idea & co-founder06:30 - Step 2: Raising investment (and whether you should)09:34 - Step 3: Winning your first customers15:24 - Step 4: Scaling your company (adding fuel on the fire)19:41 - Step 5: Mastering your founder mindset23:09 - What's coming up in 2026Everything you’ll hear comes directly from founders who’ve built real companies, including the people behind Google Maps, Weights & Biases, Harvey AI, and investors from CRV, Hoxton Ventures, and B Capital.If you’ve ever felt late, behind, or unsure whether now is the right time — you’re not alone. And chances are, you’re probably earlier than you think.Don’t forget to subscribe 🔔 And after you've finished watching the video, get back to building ;)#startup #founder #venturecapital #technology #entrepreneur

Henrik Djurestal is the founder of Vorker.ai - a deep AI coworker built specifically for the smallest businesses: one to ten-person teams who need leverage, not headcount.Fresh off raising a €700,000 pre-seed round, Henrik breaks down why deep AI agents will transform small business operations, and why the next entrepreneurial wave won’t be no-code, it will be AI co-workers running entire workflows end-to-end.From automating admin and outreach to drafting contracts, generating designs and handling integrations across thousands of tools, Vorker is building the future of how tiny teams operate. Henrik also shares candid lessons from raising as a solo founder, the challenges of selling a horizontal AI product, and why traction beats pitch decks every time.CHAPTERS:00:18 – Introducing Vorker.ai and the €700k Pre-Seed Round00:57 – What Vorker.ai Actually Does for 1–10 Person Businesses01:39 – How Deep AI Agents Work Inside Vorker02:26 – Using Off-the-Shelf Models vs Training Your Own03:25 – The Future of AI Co-Workers for Small Businesses05:14 – Real Tasks Vorker Can Automate Across a Business06:50 – Hiring the Team and the Vorker “Secret Code” Challenge09:06 – Lessons from Fundraising as a Solo Founder11:29 – What Comes Next: Closed Beta, Open Beta and Seed PlansA huge thank you to Henrik for joining us live at Slush - a brilliant conversation with a founder building in one of the most explosive new categories in AI.#foundersandbuilders #henrikdjurestal #vorkerai #aicoworkers #startups #slush

Sam Sihvonen is the CEO of Solu - a precision genomics platform helping hospitals and institutions detect, prevent and control infections before they spread.What began as a diagnostics-focused tool has rapidly expanded across major verticals from food safety and agriculture to pharma, industrial bio and research. Sam and the team believe Solu can become a company that reshapes how we identify and stop infectious threats in the real world.From the economics of drug development, to the global risk of antibiotic resistance, Sam explains why the world urgently needs better tools - and why Solu is already making a measurable impact.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:12 Big verticals in genomics01:42 Why this could become a massive company02:25 The Slush talk with Enveda03:10 Why biotech execution is so hard04:05 Why no $1T biotech exists (yet)04:50 Drug development timelines + costs05:32 The antibiotic crisis06:21 What success looks like for Solu08:02 Early customers + real-world usage08:45 Advice to early-stage founders09:18 Raising the ceiling on your ambition10:02 How Slush drives bigger thinkingHuge thanks to Sam for making the time!#foundersandbuilders #samsihvonen #solu

Lars Rasmussen went from being a broke founder after the dot-com crash to co-founding Google Maps, one of the most important products on the modern internet.Today, billions of people use Google Maps every day without thinking twice.In this episode, Lars shares:• How Google Maps accidentally went viral before launch and nearly overwhelmed Google’s infrastructure• Why speed, not features, was the real unlock that changed everything• How a failed VC raise directly led to selling the company to Google• What it was like building on the web before smartphones, APIs or modern tooling• Why founders today have more leverage than ever, yet still feel late• His shift from builder to ecosystem builder and why he’s now creating Panathenea, a major founder conference in AthensChapters:01:30 - The Google Maps Story07:36 - Larry Page Discussion08:46 - How Widely Google Maps is Used11:15 - Growth Challenges15:28 - 10 Millions Users on Day One!16:29 - Panathenea28:00 - Advice To Young Founders⭐ Listener Suggestion Of The Week – Canvahttps://www.canva.com/👍 Why subscribe?If you build companies, invest in startups, or care about technology shaping the future, this channel is for you.🔔 Subscribe and turn notifications on so you never miss an episode.#GoogleMaps #LarsRasmussen #Startups #Founders #TechHistory #Entrepreneurship

Ali Parsa is the CEO of Quadrivia - an AI company creating real-time clinical agents that automate 20 to 30 percent of a clinician’s workload. The goal is simple: reduce the global shortage of medical expertise by turning routine, repetitive clinical tasks into safe, regulated AI services.Ali’s mission is shaped by decades of building at the frontier of healthcare. Before Quadrivia, he founded CIRCLE (now the UK’s largest hospital group) and Babylon, which served millions of patients globally and pioneered AI triage and digital-first care.A huge thank you to Ali for joining us at Slush - this was an honest & deeply inspiring discussion about the future of AI in global health.Chapters:00:18 – What Quadrivia Does Explained Simply01:23 – The Fundamental Problem in Global Healthcare02:33 – Building Safe, Real-Time Clinical AI04:27 – From Circle to Babylon to Quadrivia06:13 – Lessons From Failure and Europe’s Founder Culture08:00 – Ali’s Story: Becoming a Refugee at Sixteen09:41 – How Ali Uses AI and the Future of Clinical Agents11:17 – Reflections, Resilience and Advice to His Younger Self#quadrivia #aliparsa

James Green went from a small industrial town in Redditch to becoming a General Partner at CRV, one of the oldest and most respected venture funds in the world.In this special episode filmed in San Francisco, we unpack the real story behind how he got there - and the philosophy that’s shaped the founders he backs.James doesn’t care about pedigrees. He cares about scrappiness, conviction and people who do exactly what they say they’ll do.James has built a career on backing the underdog – the founders everyone else underestimates.Chapters:(00:00) Venture Capitalists and Cyber Security(10:26) Future Challenges in Cyber Security(18:56) Early Startup Experience and Transition(25:40) The Power of Cold Emailing(30:50) Insightful Insights on Startup Investing(40:17) Venture Capital and Company Scaling(48:33) Optimizing Startup Funding Processes(57:18) San Francisco Tech Culture Insights(01:04:07) Life Lessons and Urgency⭐ Listener Suggestion Of The Week - Ramp - https://ramp.com/👍 Why subscribe?If you build, code, invest or care about the future of AI, startups or developer tools, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so you never miss new episodes.#coldemail #jamesgreen #venturecapital

Companies that win are the ones who master go-to-market faster than anyone else - even if it feels uncomfortable, risky or counterintuitive.Mirko Novakovic is the co-founder & CEO of Dash0 - the platform helping engineering teams ship faster by eliminating the complexity and noise around modern software observability.Before Dash0, Mirko built and scaled multiple high-growth companies. Today, he’s applying those lessons to a new category and teaching founders why revenue is the only real feedback that matters.From understanding sales math, to hiring ahead of growth, to pushing against the safety-first mindset many founders default to, Mirko breaks down why speed wins, how to be your own salesperson #1 and what it really takes to get to that first million in revenue.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:45 The sales math every founder must know03:10 Why you must hire 12 months ahead04:32 The burn + risk problem in high growth06:00 Why founders must sell early07:20 Conversations vs real revenue08:42 How to ask questions that close deals10:05 Getting to the first $1M in revenue11:32 When to hire sales and add fuel to the fire13:00 The mindset shift every technical founder needsHuge thanks to Mirko for making the time!#dash0 #mirkonovakovic

In this episode, Lukas opens up about the real story behind W&B’s $1.7B acquisition, what it was like inside early OpenAI, why most founders move far too slowly, and the surprising truth that you’re almost always earlier than you think.Lukas breaks down how W&B became the default toolset for the world’s best ML engineers, the strategy behind seeding researchers, why platforms often fail, and the singular advantage of being “in a rush”. He also shares lessons from Travis Kalanick, what founders consistently get wrong, and how becoming a parent changed his leadership.If you care about AI, startups, product craftsmanship or developer tools, this episode is a masterclass.Don’t forget to subscribe 🔔Chapters:00:00 Intro – The gold rush of AI01:18 From CrowdFlower to OpenAI02:54 The insight: data beats algorithms04:47 Joining OpenAI as an unpaid intern07:57 The origin story of Weights & Biases09:03 Getting the first 100 users11:00 “You think you're late, but you're probably early”12:56 Fundraising: CrowdFlower vs W&B16:45 Building for builders, not platforms17:22 Why seeding researchers made W&B win22:10 Advice most founders get wrong37:15 Breaking through ‘paper walls’44:56 What it was all for⭐ Listener Suggestion – CoreWeave - https://www.coreweave.com/Why subscribe?If you build, code, invest or care about the future of AI, startups or developer tools, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so you never miss new episodes.#AI #startups #wandb #founders #machinelearning #openai

We sat down with one of the most forward-thinking leaders in modern biotech!Dr. Dan Wee is the Chief Execution Officer (CEO) at Enveda Biosciences Enveda is challenging the traditional pharma model. Instead of operating several steps removed from real patients, Dan and the team are building medicines grounded in what people actually feel, experience and need.Since Enveda’s founding at the height of the pandemic, Dan has helped guide the company through the turbulence of biotech cycles while staying focused on one mission: developing the best medicines, as fast and as safely as possible.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:05 The energy of founders + VCs01:45 What Enveda actually does02:41 Mapping life’s chemistry03:38 The first year building Enveda04:50 Founding biotech during the pandemic05:27 Staying focused through turbulent markets06:20 The gap between pharma and real patients07:14 How Enveda bridges that gap08:20 Why chronic diseases need new medicines09:12 Modernity, antibiotics, and unexpected consequences10:03 Building for patients who live with conditions dailyHuge thanks to Dan for making the time!#foundersandbuilders #danwee #slush2025

Yanda Erlich is a serial founder, early Weights & Biases investor, and former Coatue GP who’s helped build and back some of the most important companies in AI.In this episode, Yanda breaks down what really gets founders through hard times, why trend-chasing kills startups, how to find the work that feels effortless, and why the best markets start off looking “sneaky small”. He also shares his journey from Google to founding multiple companies, investing early in W&B, and how meditation shapes his decision-making.As always, if you enjoy this episode, make sure to like and subscribe 🔔Chapters:00:00 Intro02:10 What gets founders through dark times05:40 Trend-chasing vs authentic problems09:15 Effortless work and founder-market fit12:50 The “Cheesecake Factory” problem of choice16:05 How to pick the right market19:20 Yanda’s founder journey23:40 Quitting Google to build his first startup27:50 Becoming an investor31:10 Investing early in Weights & Biases35:00 Sneaky big markets38:45 AI agencies to in-house teams42:20 Meditation and founder mindset46:15 Permissionless leverage in 202550:30 What it’s all for⭐ Listener Suggestion - Lightricks - https://www.lightricks.com/👍 Why subscribe?If you build, code, invest or care about the future of AI, startups and creative technology, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so YouTube tells you when new episodes drop 🔔#startups #AI #founders #productmarketfit

Tom Wehmeier from Atomico joined us just hours after stepping off stage, where he presented the annual State of European Tech report - now in its 11th year. This year's message was clear: Europe is experiencing a genuine awakening. Ambition is rising, execution is accelerating, and the ecosystem is producing breakout successes at a rate we’ve never seen before.This conversation dives into the data, the momentum, and the missions required for Europe to build not just $100B companies, but trillion-euro giants.Chapters:00:00 – Introduction00:16 – Europe’s Mindset Shift & the 2025 “Awakening”01:13 – What Is Lovable?01:20 – The Fastest-Growing Company in History02:18 – Europe’s Unicorn Surge & a $4T Ecosystem03:25 – The Funding Reality: Europe vs the US04:54 – Mission 1: Fix the Friction05:34 – Mission 2: Empower Talent05:56 – Mission 3: Fund the Future06:45 – Mission 4: Champion Risk Culture07:12 – Why Europe Loses Growth Rounds08:35 – The One Takeaway: Now Is the Best Time to Build08:49 – What Founders Can Take Advantage Of in Europe09:36 – The New Wave of European Entrepreneurship10:21 – Zero-to-One Tools: Lovable, Framer & More10:36 – Products Built Entirely on Lovable10:52 – The Final Question: Three Dream Investments11:37 – Context Switching: Why Slush Changes How You See the WorldHuge thanks to Tom for joining us!Make sure to check out Atomico's work here: https://atomico.com/#slush2025 #foundersandbuilders #europeantech #saas #ai #venturecapital

Yesterday at Slush 2025, we sat down with one of the most seasoned investors in the global venture landscape.Eric Liaw is a General Partner at IVP - the multi-billion-dollar firm behind companies like Coinbase, Supercell, Snapchat, and Zynga. Since joining IVP in 2011, Eric has partnered with some of the world’s most exceptional founders, backing category-defining businesses across consumer, B2B, infrastructure, gaming and more.Chapters:00:00 – Introduction00:25 – What Is “Keynote Bingo”?01:01 – Competing With Foundation Models01:47 – Freemium Pressure & Surviving Big Tech02:07 – IVP’s History & Eric’s Journey02:55 – What Great Founders Have in Common04:00 – Sectors IVP Is Watching Closely05:19 – How Founders Should Ask for Feedback06:45 – Hardest Early-Stage Problems07:48 – How To Run a Fundraising Process08:43 – Building Long-Term Investor Relationships09:46 – Advice Eric Would Give His Younger Self Huge thanks to Eric for making the time!#slush2025 #foundersandbuilders #ericliaw #ivp #venturecapital

Today, we’re joined at Slush 2025 by someone right at the centre of one of the most influential AI companies in the world.Gabe Pereyra is the co-founder and President of Harvey - the legal AI powerhouse now used by more than 700 customers across 58 countries. Harvey is changing how legal teams operate, from major law firms to in-house teams, by giving them AI that’s fast, reliable, and actually built for the way lawyers work. Gabe comes to us straight off the back of a major announcement here at Slush: a new partnership with ElevenLabs, unveiled on stage with Harvey investor Ilya Fushman, who led their Series B.If you want to find out more about what Gabe and the team are doing at Harvey, click here: https://www.harvey.ai/Chapters:00:00 – Introduction00:08 – The Origin of Harvey00:55 – Why Legal?01:47 – Landing the First 100 Users02:31 – How the Product has Evolved03:53 – Lessons from DeepMind & Meta05:07 – The Future of Law Firms06:05 – Scaling Harvey: Biggest Surprises07:17 – Fundraising Journey07:57 – Advice for Founders08:25 – Advice to His Younger Self09:30 – Harvey are hiring!Big thanks to Gabe for stopping by - and enjoy the rest of Slush.#slush2025 #foundersandbuilders #gabepereyra #harveyai

Hussein Kanji breaks down exactly how world-class investors spot billion-dollar companies before anyone else - from identifying new categories to understanding when technological, cultural, or regulatory shifts create once-in-a-generation opportunities.👉 If you enjoyed this clip - make sure to watch the full episode with Hussein Kanji!📌 Chapters00:00 – How Hoxton chooses the right companies to back00:25 – What creates new markets: cultural, tech, and regulatory shifts01:18 – Predictive markets, Polymarket02:37 – Why the bridge back to Silicon Valley really matters03:15 – Europe vs US: can Europe produce the global winner?03:35 – Winner-take-most markets (Bebo, Myspace, Meta)04:39 – Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon — and why Spotify won05:31 – Why European tech is the exception — and how winners emerge05:52 – How Spotify actually cracked the market06:23 – Where VCs get it wrong06:49 – Relaxing constraints vs sticking to your framework06:50 – The painful misses: Monzo and Revolut07:08 – How pattern-matching can mislead investors👍 Why subscribe? Real, unfiltered lessons from the world’s top founders and investors - no hype, no fluff, just what actually drives companies to break out.🔔 Hit the bell so you don’t miss new episodes 🔔#hoxtonventures #husseinkanji #startups #founders #venturecapital #europeantech

Yaron Inger is a co-founder of Lightricks, the team behind Facetune and LTX Studio, the company that helped make highquality, mobile creative tools mainstream and is now building video foundation models.In this episode, Yaron explains how Lightricks went from a five-person garage team building Facetune to training LTXV, why they chose to open source their video model, the product principles that make creative tools feel delightful, and what the future of AI-generated video means for Hollywood, advertising and everyday creators.As always, if you enjoy this episode, make sure to like and subscribe 🔔Chapters00:00 Intro02:15 Yaron’s journey05:40 Early Lightricks vision09:10 Facetune breakthrough12:35 Creativity vs tech16:20 Scaling creator tools19:55 Product intuition24:10 Building LTXV27:45 AI video today31:20 The realism problem35:05 Open source moment39:30 Community collaboration43:15 AI in Hollywood47:50 Cost to create video52:30 The future of storytelling⭐ Listener Suggestion - Suno - https://suno.com/home👍 Why subscribe?If you build, create, make ads, or care about the future of storytelling and how generative video will change production, distribution and product design, this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so YouTube tells you when new episodes drop 🔔#startups #AI #generativeAI #video #founders #productdesign

Leo Ubbiali breaks down the biggest founder traps - from false validation and startup hype, to learning the hard truth at Y Combinator: the only signal that matters is money in the bank.👉 Watch the full conversation to understand why distribution beats product in the early days and why founders need to stop overthinking and start selling.📌 Chapters00:00 – The trap of overthinking as a founder00:57 – Why “this is so cool” is a red flag01:38 – The only validation that matters: money02:51 – Understanding incentives in startup advice03:59 – The problem with startup hype culture04:39 – Selling before building vs. building before selling05:20 – Why founders must do things that don’t scale👍 Why subscribe? Real, unfiltered lessons from founders who’ve built, failed, and learned what actually drives startups forward — without the hype.🔔 Hit the bell so you don’t miss new episodes 🔔#ycombinator #leoubbiali #business

Hussein Kanji is one of Europe’s most influential tech investors.As the founder of Hoxton Ventures, he’s backed companies like Deliveroo, Darktrace, and UiPath long before they were household names.In this episode, Hussein explains how to spot breakout founders before the rest of the world sees their potential, why Europe’s startup scene is only just getting started, and what it really takes to build generational companies from zero to $300 million and beyond.As always, if you enjoy this episode, make sure to like and subscribe 🔔Chapters(00:00) Intro(00:52) The birth of Hoxton Ventures(02:47) Europe’s first wave of VC funds(05:17) Why Europe is just getting started(05:41) Finding the next breakout founder(07:54) The bridge back to California(08:52) Winner-take-all markets(11:40) What great outcomes look like(12:26) The deals that got away(13:24) Deep tech and rare earth minerals(17:20) How to spot change before it happens(18:57) Building networks and expert circles(22:38) Interlude: n8n(23:36) How AI is changing venture investing(28:13) Lessons from 12 years of VC(29:41) Why founders must expand to the US(30:59) What UiPath got right(34:39) Don’t sell too early(35:22) What early-stage founders get wrong(38:16) Building for customers, not VCs(41:29) How to build a fund(42:52) Why social signalling matters(45:25) The balance between conviction and consensus(47:53) Fundraising is social engineering(51:13) The biggest regrets(54:45) How to make better decisions as a fund(56:33) Book recommendation: Careless People(58:51) What it was all for⭐ Listener Suggestion – Software of the Week: https://n8n.io/👍 Why subscribe?If you build, invest in, or advise startups — or just care about how billion-dollar companies are spotted before they’re obvious — this channel is for you.🔔 Tap the bell so YouTube tells you when new episodes drop 🔔#startups #venturecapital #AI #deeptech #founders

Steve Phillips, CEO of Zappi, breaks down the evolution from a traditional services business to a scalable product company - and what AI means for the future of agencies, consultancies, and insights firms.He explains why services businesses are “fun to work in but awful to run,” how valuation multiples differ between people-based and product-based models, and why agentic AI systems could reshape the entire industry by making teams exponentially more productive.👉 Watch the full conversation for why the next generation of agencies will look more like SaaS companies than service providers.📌 Chapters00:00 – Building a services vs product business00:57 – Why services businesses are hard to scale01:38 – The valuation gap between services and SaaS02:51 – Why tech companies are valued higher03:59 – How AI agents will transform service models04:39 – The future of hybrid teams: humans + AI05:20 – Why “bread and butter” agency work will disappear👍 Why subscribe? Real stories and insights from founders and innovators redefining how technology reshapes business models and the future of work.🔔 Hit the bell so you don’t miss new episodes 🔔#AI #Startups #Innovation #BusinessTransformation #SaaS #Entrepreneurship #AgencyLife #FutureOfWork #Automation #ProductStrategy #Zappi