In this episode of Startup Theatre, host Troy Hammond sits down with serial founder and engineer Nimo Naamani—a man who’s lived through the chaos of founding blockchain companies, building developer tools, getting acqui-hired by Twitter, and now taking on one of the hardest industries of all: healthcare.
Nimo shares wild stories—from building Horizon State, to selling his startup to Twitter, to launching Propagator, a platform aiming to connect every health transaction in New Zealand. Along the way, we unpack the mindset of a “zero to one” founder, what makes a 10x engineer (or a 100x one), and why he thinks clarity is more important than speed.
Plus, you’ll hear about:
Building tech under Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk
Why he believes every system leaks and how Propagator builds around that
The surprising cult-like spirit inside Twitter
The infamous swamp origin story (yes, it involves a cowboy costume and actual sh*t)
If you’re a startup builder, healthtech nerd, or just love hearing from people who do the hard stuff, this is one for the queue.
🎧 Tune in now – and take notes. Nimo knows how to build a product and scale.
🔑 Topics Covered
The swampy origin story that shaped Nimo’s love of chaos and hard problems
What happens inside a Twitter acqui-hire — and why they paid top dollar for his team
How Propagator is fixing healthcare by doing the hardest thing first and not storing your data
Why most startups fail at integration — and what it actually takes to connect legacy systems
The messy truth about co-founders, clarity, and leading when you're not a natural CEO
🔥 Soundbites
"Speed without clarity is just noise.""I don’t want to store your data. I want to move it — fast and safely.""I’ve been surrounded by bullsh!t since I was four. I’m used to chaos.""I never wanted to be CEO. I just want to fix things.""You don’t need a cult to build a great company. You need adults.""A startup is not a family. I’ve got kids — I don’t need more at work.""I’ll take the swamp every time. That’s where the real work is.""Most people start with the easy. We started with the hard.""The best founders aren’t the loudest. They’re the most convicted.""Every system leaks. So prepare, don’t panic."
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