Claim OwnershipThe Founders Peak Podcast
Subscribed: 1Played: 27
Subscribe
© Where exceptional startup founders share untold stories that shaped who they are
Description
An exclusive podcast where we bring exceptional startup founders from around the world who each share their inspiration and a bag full of usable entrepreneurial insights from their journeys. So, if you are an aspiring founder, or busy fund-raising, or nearing a successful exit, or even feeling like you might go down fighting, there's something useful in here for you. Most talks are hosted and recorded LIVE with audiences at The Founders Peak Stage at the Global Finance & Technology Network's Forums around the world.
409 Episodes
Reverse
Welcome to Season 13 of The Founders Peak Podcast - recorded live from the Point Zero Forum 2025 in Zurich. This special edition hits different. Over two soulful hours on stage, six remarkable founders shared sharp, usable wisdom drawn from real-world building.From Silicon Valley’s shifting ethos to learning how to let go, from grief as entrepreneurial fuel to the raw truths behind leadership - these stories are deeply human, fiercely honest, and refreshingly unfiltered.If you’re done with startup hype and hungry for startup truth...you’re in the right place. Tune in!
Theremin player, horror film composer, and Tradeshift co-founder Gert Sylvest reflects on the Silicon Valley ethos that shaped him - and why it may be heading off course. In this powerful talk, he asks the question every founder must face: Where are we really going? A thought-provoking episode on tech, trust, and finding your true compass.
Dr. Lidia Kurt built her first computer with a screwdriver - and later built Switzerland’s first DLT trading system. In this bold, reflective talk, she shares the hard truths of letting go, rewriting the rules of global finance, and becoming a builder in uncharted territory. Grit, reinvention, and real talk.
What happens when the people who believe in you - your family, friends, mentors - also back your startup? CrowdSports co-founder Leroy Bächtold opens up about the guilt, pressure, and unexpected leadership lessons that come with raising money from your closest circle. A heartfelt and brutally honest listen.
At 18, he dreamed of windsurfing. Now, he’s leading two companies fighting financial crime. But it was one in-flight conversation that changed Joel Winteregg’s leadership forever. This is his candid journey of delegation, ego, and growth - and a lesson in what happens when holding on starts holding you back.
Monique Morrow didn’t plan to be a tech pioneer, but life had other plans. In this intimate talk, she shares how loss, rejection, and grief became unexpected sources of strength. Vulnerable, deeply human, and full of purpose - this episode shows that sometimes, our hardest moments forge our boldest missions.
Anton Bukov co-built 1inch in just 36 hours at a hackathon. Now, it moves over half a billion dollars a day. In this high-energy talk, he shares his journey from self-taught coder to DeFi pioneer - and the lessons every 2025 project builder should hear. It’s sharp, real, and straight from the code and chaos.
Russell Cummer, Founder, Paidy & AltX Research Our speaker Russell Cummer was born in Singapore, raised across Canada and Hong Kong, educated in the UK and California - and has spent the last two decades building in Japan. He’s the founder of Paidy, the fintech that transformed how millions shop online - and achieved Japan’s largest-ever venture exit with a 2.7-billion-dollar sale to PayPal. In his talk, 'The Team Sport of Business,' Russell reflects on what it really takes to build at scale - and why no founder, no matter how brilliant, can win alone.
Taejun Shin, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Gojo & Company Taejun Shin holds a black belt in karate, a 6th dan in Go, has run a 1,648 km ultra-marathon - and built a company that now serves over 2.4 million clients across five countries. But here’s what sets him apart: Taejun is stateless. He doesn’t hold a passport. And yet, he founded Gojo & Company - a startup working to become the private sector’s version of the World Bank. In his deeply touching talk, ‘Building for Global Financial Inclusion Without Even a Passport,’ Taejun shares how personal hardship, family sacrifice, and a deep belief in equality of opportunity led him to build for those most often left behind.
Mark Makdad, Director, Co-Founder, Moneytree KK Mark co-founded Moneytree KK, pioneered financial data aggregation in Japan, and helped shape the country's open banking movement - all while becoming fluent in Japanese and navigating startup life in a foreign land. But in ‘Rebound’, Mark pulls the curtain back on what building really costs - from almost missing payroll to almost losing himself. Yup! It's a story about love, risk, and the cheques founders write with their mouths when the startup can’t yet cash them. This one hits different.
Sairee Chahal, Founder & Chairperson, Mahila Money Sairee Chahal’s journey started in a small town called Nara - near a steel plant built by Kobe Steel - and today, she’s forging a digital future for millions of women across India. She’s the founder of SHEROES, which launched a free helpline that’s supported over 3.5 million women - and Mahila Money, a platform born from real demand - after millions of women searched for 'Mahila Loans’ to fund their dreams. In her talk, ‘Imagining Women’s Internet,’ Sairee invites us to see the web through a different lens - not as it is, but as it could be...when women lead.
Howard Wu, Founder, Aleo Howard Wu is a cryptographer with a passion for privacy. He’s the founder of Aleo, a blockchain built for private smart contracts from the ground up. He launched it at the start of the pandemic, betting on zero-knowledge tech before most people could even spell it. But in this talk, Howard takes us behind the code - into the brutal rebuilds, regulatory risks, and hard decisions that tested everything. In his talk, Howard makes a compelling case for choosing the hard path - especially when it's the only one that aligns with your values.
Noboru Takahashi, Co-founder, M-DAQ Global Noboru Takahashi is a nature-loving technologist who’s spent the last decade pioneering a world without currency borders. As the co-founder of M-DAQ Global, he’s building tools that bridge markets - and in this talk, he turns inward to explore a different kind of bridge - the one between humans and technology. In his talk, ‘Lost in Translation,’ Takahashi-san shares why the biggest gaps in startups aren’t technical - they’re human - and how narrowing them could be the key to your next breakthrough.
Tim Kobe, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Eight Inc. Our next speaker has been called ‘Apple’s best-kept secret’ - and for good reason. Tim Kobe is the founder & CEO of Eight Inc., the strategic design firm behind the original Apple Store. He spent over 12 years working side-by-side with Steve Jobs, helping redefine what a retail experience could be - not just for Apple, but for an entire industry. In this masterclass of a talk, Tim shares how great design isn’t just about aesthetics - it’s about creating value through human experience. And here it is - ‘The Value Creation Engine.’
Utkarsh Amitabh, Chief Executive Officer, Network Capital Utkarsh Amitabh has travelled over 80 countries, starred in one of the world’s longest-running plays, and picked up degrees like souvenirs - including one in Moral Philosophy from Oxford. As the CEO of Network Capital, he’s helped empower over 7 million students across India - but in this talk, Utkarsh steps away from the rankings and the race. In his talk, ‘Building Your Category of One’, he challenges us to ditch the obsession with being the best - and instead, play the long game of becoming deeply, unapologetically ourselves.
1Nikhilesh Goel, Co-founder & Group Chief Executive Officer, Validus Our next guest is a poker player, an anime fan, and a founder who knows what it means to go all in. As co-founder and Group CEO of Validus, Nikhilesh Goel built Southeast Asia’s largest digital SME financing platform - with over $4.5 billion in loans disbursed and counting. In his deeply personal talk, 'Find Your Resilience When It Gets Hard to Swim,’ Nikhilesh opens up about the moments that nearly broke him - and the mindset that brought him back up to the surface.
Takahiko Kawasaki, Co-founder, Authlete Takahiko Kawasaki is a 50-year-old co-founder who still codes every day, and one of the fastest implementers of new global security standards in the world. He built Authlete to power secure APIs at scale - but here’s the twist - he wasn’t even interested in digital identity when he started. In this radical talk, ‘The Entrepreneur’s Blind Spot,’ Taka-san reveals how being an outsider helped him see what experts missed - and why detachment can sometimes be the ultimate superpower.
Antoni Zolciak, Co-Founder, Aleph Zero Antoni Zolciak co-founded Aleph Zero, a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain - and watched it go from a 30-million-dollar idea to a 960 million rocket ride...and then back down to earth. He blends cybersecurity with creativity, grew up between art and algorithms, and built Aleph Zero from scratch - with no safety net, no funding, and nothing but belief. In this rollercoaster of a talk, Antoni opens up about burnout, billion-dollar valuations, and the brutal cost of building something that matters.
Yoshi Yokokawa, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, Alpaca Yoshi Yokokawa co-founded Alpaca, a remote-first fintech with over 200 team members, and built it alongside his college best friend - the same duo that once launched a salsa dance circle together.But in ‘Y-Combinator Grad - Yet Rejected,’ Yoshi shares the part no one talks about - ghosting after warm intros, rejections after partnership meetings, and the night he waded into the freezing Pacific Ocean just to reset.It’s a story of grit, humility, and finding your way forward - even when the path disappears.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States