Farouk Ismail, Co-founder of Slice, joins us to discuss the journey from bootstrapping his startup to raising a massive $7.5 million seed round. Farouk shares candid insights on the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, the importance of risk management, and invaluable lessons learned from navigating a global pandemic. Tune in for actionable advice and inspiration for aspiring founders.
Links
Sponsors Slice: https://www.slicegroup.co/
Zed Law: https://www.zed.law/
Timestamps 00:00 Trailer
00:41 Welcome to the Studio: Catching Up with an Old Friend
01:20 The Journey of Slice: From Inception to Public Recognition
04:21 Bootstrapping Slice: The Early Days and MVP
06:37 Slice 07:25 Surviving COVID: A Hail Mary Expansion to the US
19:50 Balancing Risk and Reward: Lessons from the Journey
24:44 Balancing Aggression and Building a Good Company
25:00 Embracing Risk and Reward
25:51 The Story of SoftBank's Masayoshi Son
27:11 The Importance of High Conviction Portfolios
27:50 Going All In: The Entrepreneur's Journey
29:00 Zed Law
29:35 Raising Capital: The 17.5 Million Seed Round
31:30 Finding the Right Investors
36:09 Evolving as a Founder and CEO
40:50 Instilling Company Culture and Principles
46:56 Recommended Resources for Founders
48:56 Podcast Wrap-Up and Final Thoughts
About us
We tell the raw stories of the world’s tech leaders, by asking the vulnerable questions that no one else does. Guests have included former Prime Ministers, unicorn tech founders and the world’s top investors. Join us for these interviews and get a real behind the scenes look into 25 year old best friends building the company of their dreams.