The Undefeated Underdogs

👉🏼 About the Guests:Julian Weisser is a prominent entrepreneur, investor, and musician, best known as the co-founder and CEO of ODF/On Deck, a platform designed to support startup founders in launching and scaling their companies. Under his leadership, On Deck facilitated the launch of over 1,000 startups, significantly impacting the entrepreneurial landscape by providing resources and networking opportunities for aspiring founders.Julian is currently building Merge for microgrants, Stamp List to help job applicants who require visa sponsorship, and Builders Who Run, a run club based in SF. With a background in Music and Management from Berklee College of Music, Julian entered the startup world, co-founding Within Health, a company focused on using behavioral science to improve the lives of individuals with chronic conditions. In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Weisser is an active angel investor, having backed over 50 startups across multiple industries, including decentralized finance and health tech. He is passionate about supporting innovative projects that aim to solve significant societal challenges. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Julian discuss building for people who make things, building community in 2025, how to work at a hypergrowth startup, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:09: Intro to Julian Weisser - Co-founder and CEO of ODF/On Deck04:51: How Julian fell in love with startups10:43: What founders can learn from musicians15:01: How Julian built his very first startup20:41: How On Deck went from a dinner series to a $20M Series A startup27:07: Lessons from a hypergrowth startup34:49: How can we build community in person in 2025?37:33: Julian's project for people with big ideas: Merge47:11: Julian's project for immigrants: Stamp List51:17: How Julian started a run club in SF55:45: Julian's projects in 20251:00:44: What should founders focus on?1:06:13: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Julian:Website: https://weisser.ioLinkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/julianweisserTwitter: https://x.com/julianweisserNewsletter and Podcast: https://textswithfounders.com/On Deck: https://www.joinodf.com/Merge: https://merge.club/Stamp List: https://landing.club/stamplistBuilders Who Run: https://weisser.io/runners👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guests:Prakash and Lionello are the co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps. Lionello is CTO at Defang, as well as an engineering lead and community organizer with EE and CS background and 20 years of international industry experience doing software and hardware. He has lived in Eindhoven, Bucharest, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and recently moved to Vancouver BC. In 1997, he founded a virtual-reality software company, acquired by a multinational company for their real-time 3D rendering technology. In 2019, Workday acquired Trusted Key, the blockchain digital identity startup he helped found. Lio is active in the local maker communities, having been a staff member in China's first makerspace Xinchejian since its founding. Prakash serves as CEO at Defang. He co-founded & served as Chief Technology Officer, President & Board Member at Trusted Key Solutions. He brings experience from previous roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Workday, and Trusted Key. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath, Prakash, and Lio discuss building for builders, how frustration helped them create Defang, growth tactics, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:10: Intro to Lio and Prakash - co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps. 05:29: Why Defang's mission is to help builders move faster09:19: How frustration led to building Defang15:01: Why big brands like AWS don't focus on builders17:02: How to go from idea to MVP for a complex product23:09: How Defang launched in the market and iterated using feedback28:40: Defang's growth tactics to reach users32:33: What made Prakash go from being a technical and engineering lead to a CEO?34:55: Defang's Product Hunt launch38:10: How Defang harnesses the power of AI44:22: How to differentiate yourself from the competition48:00: Important lessons from corporate and startups50:56: Where is the app-creating environment going?53:55: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Defang's Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defang👉🏼 Where to find Defang:Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defangWebsite: https://defang.ioLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/defanglabs/Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefangLabsYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@DefangLabsDiscord: https://discord.com/invite/nNjaJcJ25vReddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DefangLabs/Github: https://github.com/DefangLabs👉🏼 Where to find Prakash:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashsundaresan/👉🏼 Where to find Lio:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionello/Twitter: https://x.com/LioLunesu👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Brett Goldstein is the founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications. He is also the co-founder of Launch House, which is a community built to connect and support the world's most ambitious entrepreneurs and creators. Launch House brings together emerging leaders in the startup and entertainment worlds to live in illustrious mansions around the world. Previously, he worked at Clearbit, Google, and Accenture, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Brett discuss building in a crowded market, the origin of Launch House, blending ambition and relationships, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:42: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:09: Intro to Brett Goldstein - founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications.04:33: Where Brett found his passion for startups08:40: What inspires Brett to create?10:10: Brett's first projects before Google12:14: Why Brett chose startups and not music as a career16:22: How Launch House turned from a reality show to a hacker house20:28: How Brett went from a random tweet to building a network of founders at Launch House22:43: How Brett pushes founders towards ambition AND relationship-building25:20: How Brett took advantage of the crypto wave27:59: What do most founders miss really easily?33:02: Why Brett is choosing to reinvent email40:12: How to avoid the downsides of a crowded market43:01: Why Micro is creating an email-CRM blend48:30: The problem-solving frameworks Brett used to build Micro50:15: Brett's criteria for finding cofounders52:43: Brett's cheatsheet to building a network in tech54:30: How will AI impact the rise of startups and creative projects?58:30: What Brett would build if not Micro1:00:03: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Brett:Micro: https://www.micro.so/Launch House: https://www.launchhouse.com/Twitter: https://x.com/thatguybgLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bgoldstein3/Website: brettgoldstein.comNewsletter: https://socialstudies.substack.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Chrys is the co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal. He is a 6-time founder, founding Curio NFT Intelligence, Ikaria (social wellness), and Secret (social media). Prior to Secret, Chrys was a Product Manager at Google where he launched the photo-sharing community Photovine and contributed to Google+ and YouTube. He has built and launched several mobile social products such as Fliggo, TwitVid, Vidly and Treehouse. Chrys was born and raised near Boston and is a Y Combinator alumni.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Chrys discuss building in a saturated market, using AI as a thought partner, designing original apps, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:45: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:11: Intro to Chrys Bader - co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal07:07: The experience of building a consumer app in mental health11:14: How is Rosebud different from other AI companionship apps?15:43: Where Chrys' love for mobile apps comes from21:45: Why Chrys prefers building for consumers25:43: Chrys' design inspiration for Rosebud30:16: Building Rosebud as a designer and as a founder33:10: How Chrys refuels himself after hard times in startup world47:43: Chrys' advice for founders building consumer ideas and consumer apps56:12: Fundraising vs bootstrapping in 20241:01:49: How Y Combinator changed Chrys as a founder and why he didn't go back1:05:45: How Chrys went from social wellness to photo sharing to mental health apps as a founder1:08:12: Rosebud's AI origin story1:10:35: Where Rosebud is going next1:14:42: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Tyson Rosage: https://teamtreehouse.com/library/how-to-make-design-decisions-tyson-rosage👉🏼 Where to find Chrys:Rosebud: https://help.rosebud.app/Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrysbLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrysbWebsite: https://chrysbader.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Charlie Clark is a software engineer, creative coder, & bootstrapped founder who has grown his short links product, Liinks, to $25K MRR just 3 years after it officially launched.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Charlie discuss being a bootstrapped founder, building in a saturated market, making your side project a full time job, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:35: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:01: Intro to Charlie Clark - founder of Liinks, a beautiful link-in-bio page to gather your socials, music, videos, and more04:52: Why is Liinks spelled with two ii's?05:28: Why short links are better07:35: Why Charlie set $25K MRR as a target to quit his full-time job11:07: How Charlie designed Liinks to be clean, yet fun15:41: How to convince people to buy your product20:35: Learnings as a second-time founder22:45: Why Liinks: Building in a saturated market27:20: How to know if you want to commit to your project full-time30:51: How to market in a saturated market36:25: How to make creator-led products profitable40:20: How Charlie made Liinks aesthetically pleasing 43:45: How working at Squarespace helped Liinks grow48:45: Frameworks Charlie uses for growth, design, and user retention50:10: How to balance user requests vs your own roadmap?53:51: How will AI impact the future of Liinks?58:08: Why Charlie chose the solo founder route1:00:55: Why Charlie bootstrapped Liinks vs raising venture capital1:02:53: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Charlie:Liinks: https://www.liinks.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarkcharlie03Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkcharlie03vsual: https://www.vsual.co/closingEmoji Book: http://emojibook.club/Colors of Motion: https://thecolorsofmotion.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Zach Hamed is a design-focused engineer who enjoys designing, building, and selling software. He is currently co-founder and co-CEO of Clay, a beautiful and private home for your personal and professional relationships. Previously, he helped build the product team at Goldman Sachs, co-founded a startup in the enterprise developer tools space, and writes blog posts.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Zach discuss going from a startup to corporate and back to startups, identifying A players, design thinking, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:30: Shoutout to Acquire.com02:56: Intro to Zachary Hamed - co-founder at Clay, a beautiful personal CRM, contact manager, and rolodex for people across industries who want to be more thoughtful with the people they know05:35: Why Zach is building a startup in NYC vs Silicon Valley10:38: Zach's experience going through the Thiel Fellowship13:29: Going from building a startup to working at a large corporate19:51: A process at Goldman Sachs that serves Zachary well today25:15: Growth frameworks for Clay33:53: How to spot and hire talent smarter than you40:40: How to find A players46:30: Why does Clay use .earth for their domain?49:55: Why Zachary pursued a consumer-first approach57:50: How AI is revolutionizing Clay's people-first approach1:03:45: Using AI in Clay to catch up and schedule follow-ups1:09:25: How Zach is building Clay using design thinking1:17:35: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Sparrow: https://sparrow.en.softonic.com/macMailbox: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdownThiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/👉🏼 Where to find Zachary:Website: https://zmh.org/Twitter: https://twitter.com/zmhLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyhamedClay: https://clay.earth/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Brendan Mahony is the founder of Sunset, a company that helps tech companies shut down, saving founders thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. He is also the ex-founder of Toybox (YC S18, acquired) and Contrast (shut down). From this experience, he built Sunset! 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Brendan discuss raising money, finding customers at an early stage, weird startup ideas, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:22: Shoutout to Acquire.com02:47: Introduction to Brendan Mahony - founder of Sunset, a startup helping you shut down your startup correctly04:33: Why create a startup about shutting down startups10:00: How Brendan raised money as a first-time founder19:05: How to get investors on board for your startup20:50: Finding customers as an early-stage startup25:20: Lessons from the first year of building Sunset27:20: Building a startup at Y Combinator32:34: How to bend the rules when you're in founder mode38:16: How to deal with shutting down your startup - operationally, physically, mentally, emotionally42:12: What would Brendan work on if not Sunset?46:00: Weird startup ideas48:25: Problems startups deal with50:47: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Andrew Gazdecki: https://www.andrewgazdecki.com/👉🏼 Where to find Brendan:Twitter: https://x.com/bmaho2211Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-mahony-72929385Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Ryan Gilbert is the founder of Workspaces, a newsletter with nearly 14K subscribers, $2K MRR, and 45K subscribers on Twitter, all about the desks of creatives around the world, born during the pandemic. Workspaces was acquired by Loops in 2022, where Ryan was Head of Content, and re-acquired by Ryan for $1 in 2024. He has also worked at Product Hunt and has a new newsletter all about the best headlines across the internet, named H1 Gallery. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Ryan discuss side projects, building a personal brand, curation vs creation, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:38: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:06: Introduction to Ryan Gilbert - founder of Workspaces04:41: Curation vs creation and how they're similar06:35: How to develop taste11:00: How to build a narrative around your taste12:02: Current untapped content trends15:58: The beginning of Workspaces21:02: How side projects can change your life22:25: Tactics for growing a newsletter 0 to 124:30: Experiments that didn't work for Workspaces26:47: Improvements that Ryan is planning for Workspaces28:38: Why sponsorships are harder now32:08: Running experiments for sponsors36:52: Ryan's content strategy at Loops - the email platform for SaaS39:16: Low-cost content tips40:47: Building a content strategy in 202443:54: Current trends people should pay attention to44:46: How founders can build a personal brand46:54: Ryan's experience as a new dad49:46: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Ryan:Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjgilbertWebsite: https://www.workspaces.xyz/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryang1lbert/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Yana Welinder is CEO and Founder of Kraftful (YC S19) – an AI assistant that helps product teams build better products by listening to users at scale. Before starting Kraftful, she led product teams at multiple tech companies and personally experienced the challenge of trying to involve millions of users in the product development process. At Kraftful, she built a team of Meta, Slack, and IFTTT alumni, backed by Y Combinator, Google, Samsung, and other exceptional investors and entrepreneurs. Yana is also a Stanford fellow and has been invited to give talks at the White House, the UN Internet Governance Forum, Yale, NYU, and many product events and podcasts over the years.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Yana discuss founder mode, creating sticky products, mental health as a solo founder, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:00: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:26: Introduction to Yana Welinder - YC alum, solo founder at Kraftful – an AI assistant05:01: How Yana discovered a niche for Kraftful09:40: How to carry off a pivot, emotionally and tactically15:52: Signals that indicate a need to pivot18:30: Building a support system as a solo founder19:50: Therapy frameworks that help solo founders22:10: Habits to calm you down as a founder25:51: How Y Combinator changes your startup journey30:55: How Y Combinator has changed over the years34:57: How to drive organic traction as a founder41:45: Wearing many hats as a solo founder: hiring, growth, marketing, product45:40: How to make your product sticky48:22: Founder mode vs Manager mode54:10: Yana's reply to "founder mode is trash" takes56:58: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Paul Graham: https://paulgraham.com/Founder Mode: https://www.paulgraham.com/foundermode.html👉🏼 Where to find Yana:Twitter: https://twitter.com/yanatweetsWebsite: https://www.kraftful.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ywelinderTechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/author/yana-welinder/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Chris (300K+ followers on Linkedin and Twitter) went to Yale and played in the Men's Lacrosse team, then to investment banking at Goldman Sachs, then joined the tech startup world, and is now the founder of his own startup. Now, he's bringing together his backgrounds in finance, tech, and startups to create Hanover, with $1 billion in assets under administration.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Chris discuss content creation, why Chiefs of Staffs aren't great for early-stage startups, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:40: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:08: Introduction to Chris Hladczuk - Yale alum, investment banker, content creator, founder07:00: Chris' lessons learned as a content creator10:37: The tactical stuff: going from idea -> first draft -> finished content14:00: A starter guide to becoming a content creator17:45: Benefits of writing content for 4+ years19:30: What the early days of content creation are like21:55: Chris' journey from Yale to Goldman Sachs to tech startups24:17: How to start questioning the status quo25:54: How Chris deals with lows, failures, and rejection28:22: Why sports & startups are the same31:35: Chris' experience at Goldman Sachs33:15: Why Chris left Goldman Sachs34:20: How Goldman Sachs actually helped Chris build a startup37:25: Why Chris chooses not to be a full-time content creator38:49: How to pick which startup to work at40:30: Being an individual contributor vs a Chief of Staff42:25: The best hard skills to learn44:50: Chris' experience at Meow47:52: How Chris developed the conviction to start his own company51:22: The experience of building a complete product54:20: Chris' new startup, Hanover: a co-pilot for VCs57:09: Building in public vs building in stealth58:14: Fundraising 10159:15: How AI is changing the world in 20241:01:04: Defining excellence in startups👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Jack Butcher: https://twitter.com/jackbutcherPaul Graham: https://paulgraham.com/Meow: https://www.meow.com/Tim Ferriss: https://tim.blog/👉🏼 Where to find Chris:Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishladWebsite: https://chrishlad.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hladczuk-b09204153Hanover: https://www.hanover.co/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Derek is the founder of Remote Jobs, the world's repository for remote jobs, and the creator of Daily UI, the #1 design challenge, with a combined total of 650K+ email subscribers. Join him in this episode to learn how he grew his user base from 0 to 650K+!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Derek discuss taking lessons from building community, how to curate the perfect service, how to monetize your user list, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:43: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:08: Introduction to Derek - founder at Remote Jobs04:30: Growing your email list when you have 0 internet presence10:23: Derek's lessons from organizing meetups & community15:14: Lessons from 10+ years of building community22:32: How to juggle a side project with a full-time job29:37: Employee mode vs founder mode37:30: How to grow your user base using curation46:20: Breaking the tipping point of users to get to exponential growth48:22: Hacks to grow a user list from 052:10: Common mistakes when building a user list1:01:20: How to monetize your newsletter1:08:07: Derek's new and upcoming projects1:11:43: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Playbook: https://www.playbook.com/👉🏼 Where to find Derek:Twitter: https://x.com/derkolstadRemote Jobs: https://remotejobs.com/Daily UI: https://x.com/dailyui👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Dani Grant is the CEO of Jam, a dev tools startup helping 30K+ improve their bug reporting process, backed by executives from Apple, GitHub, and Pager Duty, and VCs such as Village Global (LPs include Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos). Before Jam, Dani was an early product manager at Cloudflare, where she worked on core developer products such as 1.1.1.1 (now used by 10 million+ people). She also worked as a VC at Union Square Ventures.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Dani discuss taking product-led startups, relaunching your product, building distribution, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:56: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:21: Introduction to Dani Grant - founder at Jam.dev06:46: How non-technical teams complete demos at Jam.dev08:36: Dani's journey from product manager to venture capital to founder12:08: Dani's innate purpose behind Jam.dev14:23: What was Dani's push to start Jam.dev?17:13: What Dani would build if not Jam.dev18:34: How founders should choose a business idea22:07: Discussing problems vs solutions with customers25:35: How to retain unsatisfied customers27:28: How to test out a messy product without alienating customers30:55: 5 biggest lessons of launching a product37:34: Ship fast vs ship perfect40:57: How product-led thinking made Jam.dev45:55: How to build distribution for your startup48:14: How Jam.dev grew through podcasting50:00: Playing long-term games in the startup world52:53: The lowest point for Jam.dev in 4 years56:00: Hiring strategies that worked for Jam.dev59:00: How Dani raised $12M in venture funding1:02:20: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Irtefa, Jam.dev - https://jam.dev/blog/author/irtefa/140+ Business Ideas You Can Launch Tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn5HcjucwY0The Mom Test: https://www.momtestbook.com/Paul Graham, "How Not to Die": https://paulgraham.com/die.htmlSeth Godin: https://seths.blog/👉🏼 Where to find Dani:Website: https://jam.dev/Jam.dev's pitch deck: https://deck.jam.dev/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedanigrantLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danigrantBlog: https://jam.dev/blog/author/dani/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Derek Sivers is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising quotable insights and pithy succinct writing style. Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company, CD Baby, for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. Sivers' books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want, Useful Not True) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Derek discuss taking scary leaps, why beliefs are better than truths, how to pick your next move, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:00: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:27: Introduction to Derek Sivers - founder, musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown04:30 Why Derek wears a daily uniform (and no, it's not to imitate Steve Jobs)15:51: Why is Derek obsessed with change?19:06: How to pick your next move22:43: How to move on from what you love32:15: What Americans can learn from traveling the world39:30: Derek's bucket list of countries44:04: Derek on parenting53:10: Turning a hook into a book1:01:13: Useful beliefs vs the truth1:13:10: Derek's beliefs that take him to action1:18:10: The philosophies that drive Derek to create1:20:43: Derek's first scary moment1:27:00: Deleted scenes from "Useful Not True"1:34:33: What Derek is struggling with right now1:38:09: Derek's practices to improve consistency1:43:40: Rapid Fire 5: From favorite city to best recent read1:45:32: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/"Playful Parenting": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160909.Playful_Parenting"The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22925205-the-eternal-pursuit-of-unhappyness"Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Bitches": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60653.Cows_Pigs_Wars_and_Witches"City of Gold": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1588793.City_of_Gold👉🏼 Where to find Derek:Website: https://sive.rsDerek's book, "Useful Not True": https://sive.rs/uTwitter: https://twitter.com/siversYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/dereksiversLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrea1996/Contact Derek: https://sive.rs/contact👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Andrew Rea is the founder of TaxWire which automates SaaS sales tax compliance across your finance stack. He accidentally started Taxwire when he was doing fractional work. Previously he played key roles and led growth at On Deck and Party Round. He also built and sold an EV company that made golf carts. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/This episode is brought to you by Sunset. They handle all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when shutting down — making sure founders and investors avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and immediately move on to what's next. If you're interested in learning more, visit sunsethq.com to meet with a representative for their team. And make sure to mention the Undefeated Underdogs Podcast to get $2K off of your dissolution.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Andrew discuss building health, conviction in yourself as a founder, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:34: Shoutout to Acquire.com and Sunset03:50: Introduction to Andrew Rea - founder of Taxwire and fan of rotisserie chicken05:38 Why Andrew is a fan of rotisserie chicken12:50: Why founders need conviction22:40: The first breakthrough for Andrea and his transition to being a founder31:06: Why we need to take more bets on people38:45: When founders should focus on growth45:20: Patterns of unconventional growth at startups49:25: How to find the problem only you can solve59:23: Why you should or should not apply to an accelerator1:01:08: Why founders should pay attention to boring problems1:07:06: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Link to Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.comRegina G. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpgbxCapital: https://capital.xyz/👉🏼 Where to find Andrew:Twitter: https://x.com/andrew__reaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrea1996/Newsletter and Blog: https://blog.andrewrea.xyz/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Mehul Nariyawala is the founder of Matic, where he is building fully autonomous home robots. He previously worked at Nest as a Lead PM for Nest Cams Portfolio and founded Flutter, a company that develops gesture recognition technologies, and was eventually acquired by Google for $40M. Mehul Nariyawala attended The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/This episode is brought to you by Sunset. They handle all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when shutting down — making sure founders and investors avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and immediately move on to what's next. If you're interested in learning more, visit sunsethq.com to meet with a representative for their team. And make sure to mention the Undefeated Underdogs Podcast to get $2K off of your dissolution.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Mehul discuss the future of hardware, the immigrant founder experience, how hardware and software are similar, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:49: Shoutout to Acquire.com and Sunset04:04: Introduction to Mehul - founder of Matic, fully autonomous home robots06:21: Why Mehul loves robots18:00: How to find a boring, unsexy, and profitable problem25:30: How Y Combinator startups have changed from 2012 to 202430:40: Mehul's funniest story from Y Combinator34:11: How Mehul transitioned from Flutter to Google to Matic40:51: The story of Google Glass43:55: What Tony Fadell, founder of Nest, taught Mehul46:10: What software and hardware have in common49:45: Mehul's immigrant journey54:23: The importance of Silicon Valley in building the future58:14: Taking Matic Robots from 0 to 11:05:07: How to manage anxiety and panic as a founder1:11:30: The future of Matic1:16:15: Where hardware is heading next1:20:45: Advice for hardware founders1:22:32: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Link to Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.comPaul Graham: https://www.paulgraham.com/Tony Faddell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_FadellGusto: https://gusto.com/Rescale: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/rescaleAmplitude: https://amplitude.com/John Collison: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_CollisonPlanGrid: https://construction.autodesk.com/products/plangrid/Meta Raven: https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/1173079702739172/Scott Belsky: https://www.scottbelsky.com/Notion: https://www.notion.so/Figma: https://www.figma.com/Dylan Field: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanfield👉🏼 Where to find Mehul:Matic: https://maticrobots.com/Twitter: https://x.com/mehul?lang=enLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehulnariyawala/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Philip Lakin is the co-founder and CEO of NoCodeOps, a community and automation management platform (Operator) dedicated to supporting operations professionals that are reimagining the future of internal innovation with no-code. He was previously the Solutions Architect for National Operations at Compass where he built the onboarding program for over 15,000 real estate agents across the United States. He has more than 8 years of experience in operations, internal system implementation, field marketing, and onboarding.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/This episode is brought to you by Sunset. They handle all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when shutting down — making sure founders and investors avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and immediately move on to what's next. If you're interested in learning more, visit sunsethq.com to meet with a representative for their team. And make sure to mention the Undefeated Underdogs Podcast to get $2K off of your dissolution.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Phil discuss how to the best nocode tools, how to sell your company, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:25: Shoutout to Acquire.com and Sunset04:43: Introduction to Phil Lakin - co-founder and CEO of NoCodeOps10:22: How acting led Phil to the world of no-code15:30: What Phil would tell his beginner no-code self19:30: Phil's 0 to 1 journey to building NoCodeOps and raising $5M+26:00: Why Phil loves no-code31:10: How no-code fits into today's tech stack37:10: Predictions for the future of no-code and the best no-code tools45:25: The downsides of AI and no-code52:55: The journey: going from founding NoCodeOps to being acquired by Zapier56:16: What's next for Zapier with Phil as Head of Enterprise Innovation?59:49: Advice for younger founders1:04:31: How to balance being a parent and a founder1:08:59: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Link to Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.comButternut AI: https://butternut.ai/Butternut AI Podcast Episode: https://undefeatedunderdogs.com/60👉🏼 Where to find Phil:NoCodeOps: https://www.nocodeops.com/about-usTwitter: https://x.com/philiplakinLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-lakin👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Blake Emal is the CEO and founder behind Pagetear. He is the 10-year marketer behind Marketing Monday and has been an SEO Specialist, agency manager, marketing leader at a $10B tech co, and ex-CMO of Copy.ai. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one, as well as running Founder Gigs, a resource to discover flexible gigs while building your dream business.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/This episode is brought to you by Sunset. They handle all the legal, tax, and operational burdens when shutting down — making sure founders and investors avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and immediately move on to what's next. If you're interested in learning more, visit sunsethq.com to meet with a representative for their team. And make sure to mention the Undefeated Underdogs Podcast to get $2K off of your dissolution.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Blake discuss how to convert your landing page visitors into buyers, the art of landing pages, how to blend AI and design, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:00: Shoutout to Acquire.com and Sunset04:18: Introduction to Blake Emal - landing page whiz and CEO and founder behind Pagetear!05:38: How SaaS landing pages have evolved08:13: How to differentiate yourself in landing page design14:21: How websites can use AI for better copy and design17:21: How to bring the human touch to copywriting21:00: How to make the best first impression with your landing page25:19: The best landing page triggers to purchase for a customer29:04: How to balance SEO and emotional writing on your landing page31:46: Blake's secret tips to improve landing page conversions34:05: How to organize your landing page to increase conversions40:13: What Blake is going to recommend to his next client45:33: How Blake balances being a founder with being a copywriter51:11: What is working for people trying to build their personal brands on social media?58:55: The next iteration for growing on social media59:43: If Blake started Pagetear again, what would he change?1:02:30: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Link to Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.com👉🏼 Where to find Blake:Website: https://blakeemal.com/Pagetear: https://pagetear.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyblakeLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uxblake👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Pritika Mehta is the founder of Butternut AI, an AI-based website builder. After having earned her first dollar on the internet when she was 14, Butternut is her third startup, having built Mindbatteries (acquired), and SockSoho (YC S20), which went from 0 to millions in ARR in 18 months. She is also a TEDx speaker, having spoken at Wilmington Women about focus, failure, and the future of work. In addition, she is an advisor to Innovation Mission Punjab ($30M Startup Seed fund), has built  Kiddycoders to bring young kids into STEM, and is running a merit scholarship program for underprivileged girls in India. Her other projects include a 10,000+ member community of pet parents over WhatsApp. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Pritika discuss the AI wave, going from D2C to software, being an immigrant founder, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:16: Shoutout to Acquire.com02:42: Introduction to Pritika Mehta - founder at Butternut AI, TEDX speaker, scholarship creator, and more!07:22: The common traits of founders08:45: Going from software to D2C to software13:45: Destroying self-doubt in a new industry15:45: How to validate your product idea17:45: Getting into Y Combinator with a sock company19:15: The impact of Y Combinator21:10: The story of Butternut AI25:07: Pritika's favorite website built on Butternut AI25:40: Behind the scenes at Butternut AI28:00: The future of Butternut AI30:26: The ultimate vision for Butternut AI32:31: Which domains will remain untouched by AI?33:30: Pritika's backups if she wasn't working on Butternut AI38:02: Where is the Indian startup ecosystem heading?41:34: What Pritika looks for in founders she's investing in43:37: Lessons learned from SockSoho45:55: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Magic: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/magic-2PartnerHQ: https://www.partnerhq.com/Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Pritika:Website: https://pritikamehta.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/pritika_mehtaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pritikam/Butternut AI: https://butternut.ai/SockSoho: https://socksoho.com/Kiddycoders: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/india-coding-children-opportunity/TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APPRZcGkFIUBBC: https://wspartners.bbc.com/clip/p07sr603TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/31/fashion-brand-socksoho-is-using-data-science-in-a-bid-to-become-the-uniqlo-of-india/The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/are-children-being-introduced-to-coding-too-early-in-life/article62106966.eceWEF Economic Summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91KzyE6V5So👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Hiten Shah (268K followers on Twitter!) has been building and writing about SaaS businesses for 20+ years. He is currently the CEO and Co-founder at Nira and is the ex-founder at CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Hiten discuss the AI wave, figuring out your niche, launching a podcast, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:43: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:08: Introduction to Hiten Shah - multi-founder for 20 years!04:32: Creating your own podcast and what to keep in mind09:56: Advice to people starting their own podcasts14:17: "Record the show and they will come" - how this can work and how it can go terribly wrong22:00: How to figure out your audience22:46: How to create a startup in a crowded market31:54: Where to create your AI startup in 202434:24: Reality vs deepfakes: when will we be unable to distinguish between the two?48:17: How Hiten's father influenced his life philosophy53:17: How to decide your identity56:10: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Airchat: https://www.air.chat/Devin: https://www.cognition-labs.com/introducing-devinLink to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Hiten:Website: https://hitenism.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/hnshah?Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hnshahNira: https://nira.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Marie Martens is the co-founder of Tally, the simplest way to create forms. With a background in marketing, she co-founded a travel marketplace, Hotspot, and pivoted to Tally during the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2024, Tally's lean team has bootstrapped Tally to a $1M in ARR!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Marie discuss juggling parenthood and startup life, hockey stick growth, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight1:10: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:34: Introduction to Marie Martens - the co-founder of Tally.so!05:50: How does being a mom keep Marie motivated?09:22: Why Tally refuses to hire or raise funds20:35: Tally's original mission in 202024:03: Secrets of hockey stick growth30:32: Ways to get over burnout38:04: Why Marie founded Tally in an over-crowded market44:10: How Notion influenced Tally47:30: How no-code tools and AI could have changed Tally's growth52:24: Marie's Plan B in case Tally didn't work out55:10: How building Tally differs from Marie's previous startup56:36: Tally's tactics that led to hockey stick growth59:08: What's next for Tally?1:03:25: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Marie:Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieMartensLinkedin: https://be.linkedin.com/in/mariemartensTally: https://blog.tally.so/author/marie/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/