Founder F**K ups

Pav Gill blew the whistle on Wirecard. Singapore VCs still treated him like he was too local.As General Counsel for Wirecard’s Asia-Pacific region, Pav found what he wasn’t supposed to find. He spoke up, lost his job, and watched one of Europe’s biggest corporate frauds collapse. Then he built Confide, an all-in-one agentic governance, risk and compliance platform designed to replace the patchwork of legacy tools most companies rely on.When Confide launched, the Financial Times, Wired, Dow Jones and Business Insider covered it. VCs from London, Europe and the US came calling. In Singapore, his home market, there was nothing.Pav calls it the Charles & Keith effect. In Singapore, a local product starts at a quiet discount to a Western one. Local Founders are told to drop the “Singapore company” positioning, go abroad, prove themselves, and only then come home to get backed. He ended up raising around $3M in pre-seed from GRC leaders, lawyers and compliance chiefs around the world. Now that it’s time for his seed round, the question is whether he raises it here at all.This one gets into:→ Why local VCs go looking for reasons not to invest within five minutes→ The Asian uncle who isn’t impressed by your Olympic gold→ Pre-seed conversations that turn into ARR conversations→ Grants that make you spend $50K before you get $50K back→ Why backing your own Founders only after they’ve succeeded is “taking the icing on the cake”→ What happens to the Founder who doesn’t have a Wirecard story to open doorsA lawyer turned whistleblower turned Founder who wants Singapore to back its own from day one.If you’re building in Singapore or Malaysia and wondering whether you have to leave to get taken seriously, watch this before your next pitch.CHAPTERS00:00 Who is Pav Gill?00:54 Global press, zero local interest02:56 The UK’s EIS vs Singapore’s grant maze05:31 The Charles & Keith effect08:24 “Why should I not invest in you?”09:25 The Asian uncle problem10:06 Pre-seed, but show me your ARR13:01 Why prove-it-abroad-first is backwards13:44 Raising $3M from GRC leaders15:45 What if you don’t have a Wirecard story?18:28 Grants that need you to have the money first21:30 The Hague said yes, Singapore said two years of audited accounts24:22 Who should move first?25:22 Scouting Founders like football talent30:00 Stay or go? Pav’s advice to local FoundersGUESTPav Gill, Founder & CEO, ConfideLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavgill/FOUNDER F**K UPSThe podcast where Founders talk about the thing that actually went wrong.Website: https://www.founderfuckups.coYouTube: https://youtube.com/@founderfuckups#FounderFuckUps #Startups #Singapore #VentureCapital #Founders #Fundraising #Wirecard #StartupEcosystem #SoutheastAsia #GRC

He spent thousands of ringgit on Meta ads. The leads came in, then went quiet.Maurizio Rosini spent 17 years in fashion with Prada and Gucci, rode the highs of money and fame, and came back from addiction. He now runs My Masterman, the men's circles that a thousand men have been through in four years across Kuala Lumpur, Penang and abroad.But when he took it to paid ads, he hit a wall. Men messaged, he replied, and then nothing. He was asking cold strangers to sign up for a room they couldn't picture, and assuming 10 out of 10 should say yes because he was convinced.The fix wasn't more leads. It was one open question, a landing page, and putting 20% of the ad budget into education that isn't meant to convert.This one gets into:Why a lead that messages you isn't a conversation yetBoosted reels, a PDF people thought was a scam, and DMs that don't scale past 100 leads"Is this a gay thing?" and why social proof answers it better than you canThe open question he now sends every new leadSpending 20% of your budget on awareness, and why nurtured leads end up costing nothingAn ex-luxury exec turned men's coach who still says "fuck" when it matters.If you're paying for leads that never turn into conversations, start at 13:44.CHAPTERS00:00 Maurizio's story in 60 seconds00:59 Why admitting a fuck up is harder for men03:14 From Prada and Gucci to addiction, and the pattern he saw in men06:15 Why a circle: shoulder to shoulder, you can't hide07:38 How do you get men to drop the armour?11:42 From experiment to My Masterman13:44 The mistake: thousands on ads, no way to convert15:05 Reels, PDFs, "is this a scam?": everything he tried16:32 "Is this a gay thing?" and why social proof matters17:00 The one question that starts the conversation17:54 B2C or B2B, outreach is about starting a conversation19:28 Did he ever think he was building the wrong thing?24:39 Educate first, ask second: 20% of budget on awareness29:04 Does nurture bring acquisition cost down?31:37 One piece of advice before you run ads32:24 Where to find MaurizioGUESTMaurizio Rosini, Founder, My Masterman (men's circles, retreats, coaching)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauriziorosini/Instagram: @mymasterman.coachFOUNDER F**K UPSThe podcast where Founders talk about the thing that actually went wrong.https://www.founderfuckups.cohttps://youtube.com/@founderfuckups#founders #startups #leadgeneration #metaads #salesfunnel #menscircle #founderfuckups

He spent 20 years assessing risk for Malaysia's banks. Then he hired his friends.Firdaus Mohamed built a career on one skill: knowing what could go wrong. Corporate strategy at Bank Islam, Zurich, Etiqa and AmBank. Credit committees. Zakat committees. Then he left to build GoBarakah, a fintech that turns donations into trackable, traceable e-vouchers, and his team went on to launch Impakrintas, Malaysia's first Social Exchange.But when it came to his own team, the risk expert skipped the due diligence. A conversation over Hari Raya dinner became a job offer. An old uni friend with C-suite banking experience came in as his number two. Within a month the red flags were obvious. She wouldn't talk to the CTO. She turned 30-second decisions into 30-minute phone calls. She showed up two hours late to a government meeting he'd sent her to in his place.Then he did it again. A friend who needed a break came in as an intern, and after she left, the business found out she'd been messaging clients behind their backs to undermine the founders. It ended with a letter under threat of legal action. And the friend was his wife's. His wife is also his CTO.This one gets into:Why the people you trust most can be your worst hiresThe red flags that show up in month one, and why Founders ignore themWhat protecting a friend tells the rest of your teamManaging someone you'll see at the next family dinnerThe hiring process he runs now: hire slow, fire fastWhy big-company experience doesn't transfer to a startupA banker who learned the hard way that a great CV and a great friendship don't add up to a great hire.If you're about to bring your best mate into the business, watch this first.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:54 Why a risk expert didn't apply it to hiring01:47 From Hari Raya dinner to job offer02:59 The ex-bank C-suite friend04:34 Red flags in month one06:16 How long it took to act07:26 The 30-minute phone calls08:37 Two hours late for a government meeting10:33 Why he kept giving chances11:52 What the team saw13:07 Hire number two: the intern15:42 The letter under threat of legal action18:12 When the friend is your wife's19:11 What happened to the friendships23:55 How he hires now26:21 Tying pay rises to probation26:39 His advice: don't hire your best mate29:08 Why bank experience doesn't transfer30:31 Every salary transfer hurtsGUESTFirdaus Mohamed, CEO & Co-founder, GoBarakah and ImpakrintasLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/firdaus-mohamed-289b576/Website: https://impakrintas.comFOUNDER F**K UPSThe podcast where Founders talk about the thing that actually went wrong.Website: https://www.founderfuckups.coYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@founderfuckups#FounderFuckUps #Founders #Hiring #StartupMistakes #HireSlowFireFast #Malaysia #Fintech #Leadership #StartupCulture

She hired hundreds of people. Most of them gave her one good year.Kim Lim co-founded PichaEats in 2016 with two fellow volunteer teachers, to keep refugee kids in school. Refugees can't legally work in Malaysia, so PichaEats lets refugee chefs cook from home and get paid properly for it. Ten years on, they've partnered with 45 chefs from 7 countries and fed clients like Google, AMEX and Bank Negara.But a company built on heart got hired on heart too. Early hires were friends of friends, or people the team could vibe with. Mission-driven people joined, then found out it was a food business with targets, not mission work.The real wake-up call was the maths. People stayed about two years. Training took the first 3 to 4 months, and the last 6 months they'd already checked out. So PichaEats got about one year of full performance from each hire, then started again.What fixed it was a coach, a rebuilt set of values, an employee handbook the old team hated, and an HR hire before anything else when it was time to scale. Average tenure is now 3 to 4 years.This one gets into:→ Why "we can vibe with them" is not a hiring criteria→ The trap of hiring people who love the mission but can't do the job→ How to let go of someone who genuinely cares→ The one-good-year maths most Founders never run on their own team→ Why her first hire for scaling was HR→ The four values every PichaEats hire now has to hit, and why they always check referencesKim is one of the most honest Founders I've had on about the cost of leading with your heart.If your best people keep leaving at the two-year mark, watch this before your next hire.CHAPTERS00:00 Kim's story01:11 Why a food business?03:42 The mistake: hiring on feeling06:10 When the mission makes you a worse judge of talent07:57 Letting go of people who care10:30 The two-year problem: one good year per hire12:10 Bringing in a coach and rebuilding the values13:12 Why the first scaling hire was HR14:49 Tenure now: 3 to 4 years16:17 The uncomfortable part: professionalism and the employee handbook17:56 How PichaEats hires now19:11 The culture-fit checklistGUESTYuet Kim Lim, Co-Founder & CEO, PichaEatsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/picha-kimlim/Website: https://www.pichaeats.comFOUNDER F**K UPSThe podcast where Founders talk about the thing that actually went wrong.Website: https://www.founderfuckups.coYouTube: https://youtube.com/@founderfuckups#FounderFuckUps #Founders #Hiring #CompanyCulture #SocialEnterprise #StartupMalaysia #PichaEats #Leadership

One in five startups dies of co-founder fallout. Most co-founders at least go home to different houses.Lyv and Paul go home to the same house, and the same dog.They met through a work enquiry that produced no business whatsoever. Seven years later they were married, and three months ago they opened The Contrast Club, an ice bath and sauna studio in Kuala Lumpur. So for this episode we did the whole thing inside their own protocol. Coffee at the bar, questions in the sauna, rapid fire in the plunge, and the honest stuff in the magnesium bath.Ten weeks after opening they had to shut the doors for four days and strip out work they'd already paid for. The part Paul admits in the ice bath is the part that makes it a Founder F**k ups episode: they could see it coming and kept going anyway.This one gets into:Why a second yes matters more than the first one, and how Lyv knew Paul was finally inWhat actually happens when two people who work at different speeds run one businessSelling a habit instead of a treat, and why that's a business model problem rather than a marketing oneThe packages that didn't sell, and what they changedWhy people who come with a friend buy again more oftenClosing a three-month-old business for four days on purposeWhether a couple's session ever stays a couple's sessionLyv and Paul are the rare pair who answer the co-founder question honestly rather than sweetly.If you're thinking about starting something with your partner, watch the last five minutes before you do.CHAPTERS00:00 A work enquiry that led to no business01:00 The dinner table, and Paul's hesitation02:10 The second yes, and how Lyv knew03:45 The walkthrough: what they took from onsens, bathhouses and New York05:30 What contrast therapy actually does07:00 Why founders in particular need somewhere to put it08:20 The paint job, and closing four days in month three10:10 Habit, not treat: the retention problem13:00 What didn't sell, and the fix14:20 Two speeds: the event that went sideways15:30 Does it stay out of the house?17:00 Rapid fire, three degrees19:25 The magnesium bath: it always turns into a meeting21:30 Advice to a couple thinking about itGUESTLyv & Paul, co-founders, The Contrast Club, Kuala LumpurFOUNDER F**K UPSThe podcast where Founders talk about the thing that actually went wrong.www.founderfuckups.coyoutube.com/@founderfuckups#founderfuckups #startups #cofounders #kualalumpur #contrasttherapy #icebath #smallbusiness #foundersjourney #malaysia #entrepreneurship