Netflix popularised the term “talent density” to describe the key plank of its approach to building a high-performing organisation. But what is it? Why is it important? And of course, how can you ensure your startup possesses high talent density? While Chris rests his voice, Yaniv is joined by Henry Innis, founder of Mutinex, to dive into this topic. They cover the following, while sharing hard-won experiences and anecdotes along the way: * What is talent density? * Why is it important? * Attracting and retaining top talent * Compensating and rewarding high performers * The critical role of culture in enabling and retaining performace * Letting go of low performers Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: *Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app *Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following ** The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Google Cloud, the best cloud for startups. Get all the good stuff including up to USD200k in compute credit at https://goo.gle/tsp ** Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A FInd Henry at https://www.linkedin.com/in/henryinnis/ Find Chris and Yaniv: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

The days of easy startup money are over (for now, at least). With the change in capital raising climate has come a tsunami of stupid advice—especially for the many startups facing the challenge of raising at the Seed stage. This advice is making a hard situation even harder. Chris and Yaniv have your backs though! In this episode they tell you what has and hasn’t changed about raising Seed, the timeless truths of raising at this stage, and of course: how to create an absolutely killer Seed pitch deck. Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: *Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app *Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following ** The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Google Cloud, the best cloud for startups. Get all the good stuff including up to USD200k in compute credit at https://goo.gle/tsp ** Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Find Chris and Yaniv: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Chris braves his vocal issues to rejoin Yaniv in our latest Listener Q&A episode. Five great questions, lots of great discussion and actionable advice. * How do you break into startups when you only have corporate experience? * What is your take on when startups need legal support, and what should the characteristics of an optimal legal support for startups be? * What's the most common misconception that a non-technical sole founder has in the early stages? * What’s the difference between business strategy and product strategy in Startups? Do you have some examples? * In light of higher interest rates, what start-up practices would you reconsider in order to get to profit earlier? Thanks to Allen, Onur, Jayen, Leandro, and Antonios for your questions. *Get your question in for our next Q&A episode:* https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: *Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app *Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Google Cloud, the best cloud for startups. Get all the good stuff at https://goo.gle/tsp Find Chris and Yaniv: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

If using your product becomes an ingrained habit for your users, you’re well on your way to massive success. But how do you make your product habit-forming? On this episode of The Startup Podcast Yaniv talks to Nir Eyal, the world’s leading behavioural designer and author of the bestselling book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Nir and Yaniv talk about what types of products can benefit from habit formation (it’s broader than you think!) and how you can implement the four-step “Hooked model” to make your customers reach for your product now and into the future. Buy Hooked: https://www.nirandfar.com/hooked/ (the audiobook is great) Check out Nir’s work at https://www.nirandfar.com/ Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Without a clear communication path back to leadership, creating autonomous teams doesn’t lead to an empowered organisation… it just leads to chaos. Escalation is that clear communication path. Far from being a minor practice, escalation is the nervous system that allows multiple empowered teams to still act as a single cohesive organisation. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv explain what escalation is, why it’s important, and how to create a culture of effective escalation within your organisation. Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

It is nearly impossible for a startup to succeed if its leaders do not have a clear sense of conviction about the direction they are going. But what is conviction? Why is it so critical? And what are the ingredients that are necessary in building and maintaining that sense of conviction as a leader? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv break down this sometimes murky topic into a clear set of criteria and steps that allow any leader to map out what it takes to build and maintain a sense of conviction at their startup. Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Amir Shevat was in charge of Twitter's developer platform, until he was fired (along with his whole team) by Elon Musk. Twitter no longer has a developer platform. In this episode, Amir talks with Chris and Yaniv about Twitter’s deep but troubled history with its developer platform, and what that history teaches us about how and when startups should build a developer platform. And yes, he tells us what he really thinks about Elon Musk and how takeover of Twitter. Amir Shevat has been deeply involved in creating or evangelising just about every iconic developer platform in recent years, from Slack and Twitch to Google and Microsoft. He is the author of two books. As well as telling us the Twitter story, Amir shares his wisdom on developer platforms more generally. Follow Amir on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirshevat/ Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

The great disruptors of Silicon Valley are nearly all product led. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv dive deep on how a product-led organisation works, what is necessary for it to be successful, the various responsibilities of Product Managers and their counterparts, and most importantly: what it takes to transform any organisation into one that is truly product-led. It’s not easy, but it is worth it! This episode helps guide the way. This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on transforming into a product-led organisation, designed to work as a companion to Chris’s recent presentation on the same topic. We strongly recommend listening to Part 1 first. You can access the rest of Chris’s “Scaling Startups” series at https://www.chrissaad.com/startupscale Article on the W Framework by Lenny Rachitsky and Nels Gilbreth: https://review.firstround.com/the-secret-to-a-great-planning-process-lessons-from-airbnb-and-eventbrite Turn the Ship Around! By L. David Marquet: https://www.amazon.com/Turn-Ship-Around-Building-Breaking/dp/1591846404 Our interview with Marty Cagan: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/v6ZD6YOHTwb Our episode on Alignment: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/oMrMJU2HTwb Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

The great disruptors of Silicon Valley are nearly all product led. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv explain what a product-led organisation looks like, how it thinks, and why it is the right model for massive disruption at scale. They then discuss common alternative models to being product led, and the risks and dysfunctions of these various alternatives. This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on transforming into a product-led organisation, designed to work as a companion to Chris’s recent presentation on the same topic. Next week, we will dive deep into the “how” of becoming product led. You can access the rest of Chris’s “Scaling Startups” series at https://www.chrissaad.com/startupscale Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

All season, Chris and Yaniv have talked about the mindset that is needed to succeed at venture-backed startups. For the final episode of Season 1, we tie it all together with an analogy: tournament poker. It is amazing how many things poker and startups have in common, so in this episode we use the lens of poker to discuss the big picture of how to approach building a successful startup. We dive into each of the following aspects of commonality between poker and startup life: Iterative Cash-burning Making decisions based on uncertain information Progressive learning Resulting Relatively low probability of a successful outcome (and that’s OK!) We were inspired by the book Thinking in Bets, by former pro poker player Annie Duke. Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Mike Scott is a serial entrepreneur who found himself working at a large tech unicorn when they acquired his business. As newly-minted Head of Product Partnerships, Mike has questions! Luckily, Yaniv and Chris have (some) answers. This ended up being a bit of a personal discussion and coaching session, and we thank Mike for opening up. In this Office Hours episode, topics discussed include: The transition from entrepreneur to employee. What is the Product Partnerships function? Measuring the impact of your function in a cross-functional setting. How “small business thinking” can help bigger companies move faster. The unique role and cadence of partnership functions at a product company. Moving from an enablement function to a value driver. Mike has an awesome podcast of his own, How To Be Moderately Successful: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/how-to-be-moderately-successful/id1535553116 Connect with Mike Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeadamscott/ Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Alignment is about making sure that everybody in an organisation is working in such a way that their efforts build on each other, rather than cancelling out. If you’re not aligned, it doesn’t matter how hard you work—you’re not going to get anywhere. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: What does it mean to be aligned? Alignment at different levels and across different time spans Encouraging alignment at a cultural level Surfacing hidden assumptions The importance of writing things down Why meetings are important (yes, really!) Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

This bonus episode is a collaboration with Yan Kruger’s fantastic Growth Ripples podcast. Startups can survive a bad culture to achieve product-market fit, but once they reach the scale-up stage the effects of poor culture hinder growth. In this episode, Yan and Yaniv discuss what culture is, why it’s so important, and when is the right time to start investing in it. Why culture matters. What is culture? Common warning signs for a bad culture. What does it mean to design a culture? Why startups are like poker, making the transition to being a founder Connect with Yan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yankruger/ Yan’s Growth Ripples podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthdrOh5Ce439ppCwGHzovg Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Most startups limp along with way too many priorities—and the lack of focus will kill them. Ruthless and deliberate prioritization and sequencing is *the* secret ingredient behind successful startups. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv tell you how to do it like the best, and how to avoid falling into many common traps. Why prioritization matters & the importance of focus. Why you can’t grow your way out of needing to prioritize. Why the first version of your product shouldn’t look like a small version of your ultimate vision. The three kinds of unfunded mandate. How to push back on an unfunded mandate from leadership. Prioritization & fundraising. Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Emil Michael was Uber’s Chief Business Officer during the company’s glory years, and is one of the small handful of people who shaped the modern ridesharing economy. Emil is one of Silicon Valley’s most legendary business development people, and in this episode he shares some of his best tips about finding, evaluating, closing, and executing partnerships that will turbocharge your startup. As an added bonus, Chris and Emil share some stories from their early days of Uber, what made Uber’s culture special, how it’s been portrayed publicly, and how things have changes at Uber. https://www.emilmichael.com/ Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

It’s no secret that the investment environment has changed quite drastically in the last six months, and for many founders out there it has become much more difficult to raise the needed funds. We have recently had the privilege of speaking to two incredible investors: Jessy Wu from Afterwork Ventures, and the legendary Emil Michael, former Chief Business Officer of Uber. In this bonus episode, we asked each of them for their advice to founders on how to navigate the current fundraising environment. Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Yaniv is joined by Jessy Wu, Investor at Afterwork Ventures, to talk about how excessive niceness in a startup ecosystem can turn toxic, and what can be done to fight back against it. This episode is the perfect mix of thoughtful, spicy, and actionable! Listen in as Yaniv and Jessy discuss: What is toxic niceness and why is it so bad? Diversity & Inclusion and toxic niceness. How toxic niceness stops founders getting the feedback they need. How to show courage and call a spade a spade. The reputational risks and rewards of speaking truth to power. Jessy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessyzwu/ Afterwork Ventures: https://www.afterwork.vc/ Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Time for another Listener Q&A episode! Chris and Yaniv give clear, actionable answers on the following questions: How to prioritise which features to build? How to think about PR for your startup? When is the right time to start building hype and interest for your product? What’s the best way to cold email potential investors? Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Ask questions for future Listener Q&A episodes: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

The modern software ecosystem is made possible by developer platforms and APIs. Many of the most successful tech startups of recent years have succeeded by offering powerful tools to developers. So what exactly are devekoper platforms, and what makes them so valuable? And how should you think about incorporating developer platforms into your own startup growth story?  In this episode, Chris and Yaniv tap into their deep experience building developer platforms to take you through the opportunities, pitfalls, and unique mindset of dev platform creation.

There comes a point in the journey of most startups when it all turns to sh*t. A crisis looms large and it is up to you, as a leader, to get things back on track. What do you do? How do you talk about it? How do you move quickly without making things worse? And how do you not lose your mind doing it? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: The different kinds of startup crisis Why you need to stay calm How to communicate with the team Taking responsibility Time dilation: buying yourself more time Being bold & failing forward Looking after your mental health Follow the Startup Podcast on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-startup-pod/ Follow us on Twitter Yaniv Bernstein @ybernstein Chris Saad @chrissaad Please rate and Review The Startup Podcast on your podcast app. Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-startup-podcast/id1612757016. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5C6oN1uFj29A4jHZn57lNO. Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NjhlNWEwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw A bit about our hosts: Chris Saad: Independent Startup Advisor and Angel Investor, who helps startups and entrepreneurs fast-forward company’s growth. Chris consults on developer platforms & ecosystems, future of media, data portability, on-demand economy,  and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Visit http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ or connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Yaniv Bernstein: Founder and COO of Circular, a subscription e-commerce platform with sustainability at its heart. By focusing on customer experience while reducing waste and underutilization, Circular provides subscriptions to premium devices at affordable prices and with unmatched flexibility. Visit Circular https://www.nowcircular.com/ and connect with Yaniv on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/