Arjun built a $100M startup by helping other founders incorporate and start their own. Along the way he went through Y Combinator and built an audience of over 80,000 people on X and LinkedIn.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Arjun’s journey:

🐦 X → x.com/ArjunMahadevan 

💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mahadevanarjun 

🚀 Startup → doola.com

Follow us:

🔔 Subscribe →youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1 

📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com 

📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com 

💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Founder Mode

• (00:00) — Intro
• (04:09) — Fundraising skills applications to life
• (05:07) — Creating a founder brand
• (06:35) — How Arjun is thinking about AI
• (12:07) — Advice to a first-time founder
• (24:31) — What Arjun took from working at Dropbox
• (26:35) — Dealing with failure as a 1st-time founder

Fundraising

• (01:13) — How to raise $1M in 2 minutes
• (14:45) — Going through OnDeck & Y Combinator
• (17:59) — doola’s value prop
• (21:03) — doola’s pivot during YC batch

Startup Strategy & Operations

• (08:01) — Why doola niched down to E-commerce
• (10:21) — Why data isn’t as actionable as we think
• (30:25) — Importance of asymmetric upside
• (44:08) — How to know when to build vs. partner with external vendors
• (46:36) — Incorporation
• (50:38) — Importance of bookkeeping

Growth

• (32:38) — The content funnel
• (35:25) — Creating content for systems
• (37:45) — Content platforms to be excited about
• (41:09) — Why any problem can be solved by talking to customers

Rapid Fire

• (53:23) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (53:44) — One thing you’d change about startups?
• (54:29) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (55:33) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Stella has worked in startups her entire career. She started previous companies and even got the opportunity to join Trello as an early employee. She scaled with the company all the way through it’s acquisition by Atlassian. She then founded Hoop and raised $5M to solve productivity.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Stella’s journey:

🐦 X → x.com/startupstella💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stellagarber🚀 Startup → hoop.app

Follow us:🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Trello Journey & Early Growth

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:48) — How Stella became an early Trello team member
• (03:27) — Marketing changes during Trello’s growth
• (07:28) — Trello’s marketing success & applications to Hoop

Marketing & Product Growth

• (11:07) — Marketing from a user-centric lens
• (12:45) — Unique approach to organic growth
• (14:06) — AI’s impact on product growth
• (15:55) — Product taste

Pivoting

• (17:27) — The future of productivity & Hoop
• (21:32) — Pivoting after ChatGPT’s launch
• (24:51) — The conflicting pivot advice
• (26:15) — When to know you need to pivot

Startups & Launch Tips

• (29:14) — Transitioning from founder to an early team member
• (32:38) — Successful Product Hunt launch tips

Remote Work & Team Dynamics

• (37:11) — Remote work & 4-day work week
• (42:08) — Asynchronous remote work
• (44:41) — “Burstiness”
• (47:41) — How to create a successful remote team

Rapid Fire

• (52:51) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (53:28) — One thing you’d change about startups?
• (55:55) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (56:34) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Sahil Chopra left his medical practice after being trained at Harvard and UCLA to become a startup founder. Now, he's solving the silent sleep epidemic alongside his brother.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Sahil’s journey: 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/sahilchopramd 🚀 Startup → empowersleep.com

Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Founder Mode

(00:00) — Intro (01:12) — Becoming a doctor before a founder (02:46) — Convincing his brother to start a company with him (05:08) — Starting a company with your brother (06:52) — Working alongside a complementary co-founder (08:20) — Transitioning to his brother becoming CEO (10:57) — The fundraising process (13:15) — Transitioning from fundraising to building (14:36) — Hiring good people early on (37:37) — Having the right founder mindset (39:03) — Staying even-keeled as a founder (41:17) — Solving your own problems (42:27) — Why sleep is a venture-scale opportunity (43:31) — Importance of a frictionless user experience

Health & Sleep (16:46) — Why sleep is so important (18:33) — How much sleep people should get (19:10) — Why people don't prioritize sleep (20:59) — How many people are sleep deficient (23:51) — Sahil diagnoses Michael Houck (32:55) — Defining sleep opportunity vs. sleep (30:48) — The Empower Sleep vision (33:44) — Drive to conquer sleep (35:41) — How broken the healthcare system is

Rapid Fire (46:01) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (47:21) — One thing you'd change about startups? (48:30) — Advice for first-time founders? (48:45) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Adam Nathan raised $45M at a $150M valuation for his startup, Almanac. But then he realized he needed to pivot…  and he pulled it off. He's now on track to go from 0 - $10M in revenue in just 15 months with the pivoted company, Blaze.ai

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Adam’s journey:
🐦 X → x.com/adampnathan
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/adampnathan
🚀 Startup → blaze.ai

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Intro & Background

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:11) — Shutting down Almanac
• (04:24) — Starting Blaze

Founder Mode

• (16:54) — Prioritization during hyper growth
• (24:32) — Knowing when to delegate
• (30:02) — Not being the "idea guy"
• (33:48) — Second mover advantage
• (42:28) — Intentional branding
• (49:34) — Overbuilding product features
• (55:53) — How fundraising changes a business

Rapid Fire

• (1:03:41) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (1:04:25) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (1:04:45) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (1:05:20) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Luke got a $100,000 investment to drop out of college and turned it into a $27 million startup. He breaks down how to identify and build your own vertical SaaS business too.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Luke’s journey:
🐦 X → x.com/lukesophinos
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos
🚀 Startup → coursekey.com

📝 Newsletter → newsletter.lukesophinos.com
📔 Vertical SaaS Bible → verticalsaasbible.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Founder Mode

(00:00) — Intro 
(01:18) — Luke's first business

(03:32) — Joining a VC firm in college

(06:33) — Becoming a Thiel Fellow

(11:26) — Dropping out of college & going all in

(15:33) — Why traditional education is broken

(18:04) — Why founders should target boring industries

(19:53) — Building trust

(21:04) — When to pivot

Vertical SaaS

(22:46) — Differences between vertical & horizontal SaaS

(23:53) — Why vertical SaaS has better opportunities going forward

(26:53) — What makes for a venture-scale vertical SaaS product

(32:38) — Why vertical SaaS is criticized for not being venture scale

(34:30) — AI's impact on vertical software

(37:37) — Why Luke is sharing the vertical SaaS playbook

(39:00) — The vertical SaaS bible

(39:53) — Where to start building vertical SaaS businesses

(41:53) — Raising venture funding & debt financing

Rapid Fire

(44:50) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?

(45:08) — One thing you'd change about startups?

(45:38) — Advice for first-time founders?

(46:00) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Aleksandr helped one person hire an engineer. A few years later, it's turned into a $16 million, largely bootstrapped business.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Aleksandr’s journey:
🐦 X → x.com/volodarik
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/volodarik
🚀 Startup → lemon.io

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Founder Mode

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:07) — Lemon.io founding story
• (04:15) — How Aleksandr knew Lemon.io was a big opportunity
• (06:15) — Lemon.io's differentiator
• (07:49) — Why founders miss opportunities right in front of them
• (42:00) — Aleksandr’s first 2 businesses

Rebranding & Growth

• (09:49) — Intentional rebranding efforts
• (14:42) — Tactically executing a rebrand
• (16:25) — Building in public in 2025
• (18:48) — 2025 social media plan
• (22:19) — Building in public's impact early on
• (23:58) — Using Quora as a growth channel
• (24:22) — 2025's growth channel opportunity
• (26:34) — Utilizing the podcast growth channel
• (31:06) — Going all in with early-stage advertising

Hiring

• (34:31) — Making first sales hire
• (43:50) — The benefit of paid work trials
• (46:11) — What founders should evaluate when hiring
• (47:06) — How non-technical founders can evaluate technical talent
• (48:50) — Laying off employees while growing

Investment

• (35:54) — The wrong way to take on venture investment
• (39:38) — Buying out existing investors
• (40:07) — Why there’s no need to raise more for Lemon.io

Rapid Fire

• (52:58) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (53:58) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (54:41) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (55:36) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Pujun Bhatnagar dropped out of Stanford, Harved, and MIT to build startups. He decided to build in an unsexy industry and it worked. He doubled Kintsugi’s valuation to $75M in 3 months.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Pujun’s journey:
🐦 X → x.com/pujun_ai
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/pujun
🚀 Startup → trykintsugi.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Kintsugi

• (00:00) — Intro
• (00:57) — What Kintsugi does & why it's successful
• (14:22) — What Kintsugi means

Founder Mode

• (03:15) — Why Pujun did an "unsexy" business
• (09:40) — AM frequency vs. Pujun's FM frequency
• (12:29) — What happens to ambition when success comes
• (26:20) — Pujun's mindset shifts over time
• (32:20) — Pujun's toughest situation with co-founders
• (59:10) — Dropping out of academia 3x
• (1:07:20) — What Pujun does when not performing at his best
• (1:10:00) — Pujun's spices

AI & Technology

• (05:36) — What problems AI can solve
• (19:44) — Successfully building AI PLG
• (21:44) — The future of AI models
• (51:14) — Differences between the ML & LLM gold rush
• (54:46) — How to identify AI snake oil

Growth & Strategy

• (17:06) — Focusing on building good software
• (24:31) — Tradeoffs that come with scale
• (34:51) — Having conviction & discipline
• (36:11) — Who Pujun & Kintsugi looks for in teammates
• (38:09) — Doubling valuation in 3 months time
• (42:04) — Optimizing for minimal dilution
• (43:53) — Ruthless prioritization when scaling

Rapid Fire

• (1:12:09) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (1:13:33) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (1:16:22) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (1:16:55) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Tibo Louis-Lucas built a new startup every month... until one took off and turned into a $10 million exit.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → https://deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Tibo's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/tibo_maker
🚀 Website → tmaker.io

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we chat about:

Founder Mode

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:24) — Being a venture-backed founder
• (02:41) — Learnings from early business failures
• (24:00) — Identifying scalable business opportunities
• (33:20) — Goal of getting 5 companies to $100k MRR in 3 years
• (41:35) — How to unlock different versions of yourself
• (43:02) — Identifying opportunities while building multiple companies

Growth & Scaling

• (05:14) — The advantage of quickly shipping
• (08:36) — Pros and cons of building in public
• (10:28) — Alternatives to building in public
• (11:24) — The moats that exist today
• (15:31) — Utilizing micro-influencers for growth
• (37:56) — Keeping 2-person companies at scale
• (39:18) — Working alongside a complementary co-founder

Product & Acquisition Strategy

• (12:55) — Platform risk
• (18:32) — How founders can learn to kill products
• (20:35) — Outsourcing to external developers
• (21:57) — Buying small products
• (25:26) — Deciding how much to invest into micro-acquisitions
• (27:47) — Buying & selling assets rather than companies
• (30:42) — Buying a tool to compete with the newsletter giants
• (36:46) — AI’s unique software enablement
• (44:08) — Deciding when and how to sell your company
• (48:10) — How to decide how and whom to sell your company to

Advice & Insights

• (49:04) — Founder Tips for Negotiating Deals
• (49:57) — Bootstrapping vs. raising VC
• (52:08) — The future of SaaS
• (55:58) — Taking a job after being a founder
• (58:21) — Founders don’t know when they need to quit

Rapid Fire

• (59:18) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (59:46) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (1:00:20) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (1:00:51) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Adam raised over $3 million for his hiring startup Pangea.app, and why he won’t need to raise again.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Adam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/the_pangean
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/adamalp
🚀 Startup → pangea.app

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Accelerators & Fundraising

• 00:00 — Intro
• 01:10 — Incubators/accelerators
• 05:56 — YC application experience
• 1:03:11 — Fundraising isn't the goal
• 1:07:02 — When you don’t get immediate funding

Founder Mode:

• 09:42 — The founder mindset & validation
• 38:19 — Tough decisions & losing customers
• 43:22 — Knowing when to change course
• 46:07 — When you're too niched down
• 59:01 — What gave Adam conviction to go all in
• 1:10:51 — Why founders should explore stoicism

Product Development

• 14:55 — MVP Versus SVP
• 20:53 — Getting to #1 on Product Hunt

Community & Growth

• 22:14 — Product Hunt launch impact
• 25:18 — Long-term growth strategies
• 26:45 — Getting customers through ChatGPT
• 30:17 — SEO & AI/LLMs
• 34:49 — Growth channels & niching down
• 49:27 — Why community is key

Founding & Leadership Insights

• 50:48 — NYC Founders Club
• 52:17 — Vision for the future
• 55:46 — Focus areas when hiring

Rapid Fire

• 1:12:29 — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• 1:13:40 — One thing you'd change about startups?
• 1:14:22 — Advice for first-time founders?
• 1:14:35 — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Founders who've collectively raised $450 million for their startups explain how their success came from their network and community.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

(02:00) — Michael Houck from Founding Journey: Creating a Community

(03:12) — Tyler Denk from Beehiiv: Encouraging early investors to become customers

(05:50) — Andrew Yeung from Fibe: Creating a sense of community by hosting parties

(09:57) — Steven Galanis from Cameo: Having a product that innately enables community building

(13:48) — Dara Ladjevardian from Delphi: The “big, small, big” framework

(16:13) — Sam Corcos from Levels: Speaking to customers enables community building

(17:43) — Zayd Ali from Valley: Joining founder communities to get startups off the ground

Follow Tyler's journey:
📝 Newsletter → bigdeskenergy.com
🐦 X → x.com/denk_tweets
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk
🚀 Startup → beehiiv.com

Follow Andrew's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/andruyeung
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/andyeung
🚀 Startup → meetfibe.com

Follow Steven's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/Mr312
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stevengalanis
🚀 Startup → cameo.com

Follow Dara's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/daraladje
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/dara-ladjevardian
🚀 Startup → delphi.ai

Follow Sam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/samcorcos
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/samcorcos
🚀 Startup → levels.com

Follow Zayd's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/zaydsyedali
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9
🚀 Startup → joinvalley.co

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

This is how Adam raised $137 million for his startup, Pitch, but then turned it into a cashflowing business instead.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Adam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/adamrenklint
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/adam-renklint
🚀 Startup → pitch.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Company Founding & Leadership Insights

• (00:45) — Starting Pitch with 8 Co-founders
• (16:06) — The Pitch founding story
• (04:26) — Product-led CEO: pros and cons
• (07:19) — Transitioning from CTO to CEO
• (31:39) — Keeping the team motivated during chaos
• (38:23) — Balancing mourning after layoffs with future focus

Company & Product Strategy

• (10:25) — Product usability as a differentiator
• (13:21) — Shipping quickly within a framework
• (20:21) — Changing the aspirations of Pitch
• (26:08) — Discussing aspirational change with investors
• (28:16) — Identifying early investors

Pitching Best Practices

• (42:07) — Common pitch deck mistakes
• (46:36) — The pitch for well-designed decks

Rapid Fire

• (48:57) — Recommended investors?
• (49:30) — One change you’d make in startups?
• (49:56) — Advice for first-time founders?

This is how James raised $24 million and reached 20 million users for his startup, Command AI, with contrarian ideas.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow James's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/dazzeloid
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/james-evans-7086b3126
🚀 Startup → command.ai

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Founder Journey

• (01:00) — James’s founder origin story
• (04:04) — Command AI origin story
• (25:15) — Gaining conviction to build Command AI

Founder Mindset

• (06:39) — Recognizing pivot opportunities
• (08:23) — The overrated nature of creating new categories
• (11:06) — The myth of necessitating truly new creations

Growth Strategies

• (15:17) — Engaging in activities that probably don’t scale
• (22:37) — Can anyone become a founder?
• (41:53) — Prioritization strategies for founders

Networking & Resources

• (29:18) — Effectively using the YC experience
• (33:07) — Using Loom as a fundraising cheat code
• (35:53) — Well-designed decks vs. substance
• (39:10) — James’ angel investing learnings
• (44:03) — Securing big logos early

Rapid Fire

• (47:25) — Recommended investors?
• (48:33) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (49:08) — Favorite SaaS tools?
• (50:03) — One change you’d make in startups?

This is how Zayd Ali sold his first company in high school and immediately started a new one in AI, called Valley, that has raised over $3 million already.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Zayd's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/zaydsyedali
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9
🚀 Startup → joinvalley.co

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Founder's Journey

• (01:19) — Selling a company in high school
• (07:03) — The feeling after selling a company
• (09:09) — Community accelerator programs
• (21:30) — Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed startups
• (34:58) — Selling before building
• (52:34) — Risk of startup life in your 20s

The Art of Pivoting

• (14:51) — Executing a pivot
• (17:39) — Advice for reluctant founders
• (18:54) — Founder market fit & "why now"

Investor Dynamics

• (23:11) — High-profile investors’ impact
• (24:52) — High energy in investor meetings
• (28:23) — Creating urgency for investors
• (38:03) — Investor response to customer LOIs
• (38:47) — Pre-read deck strategy
• (41:45) — Analyst to partner transition
• (44:01) — Anticipating investor pushbacks
• (45:10) — Avoiding introductions from investors who passed
• (47:30) — Challenges for AI startups
• (50:44) — Raising in a hot market

Rapid Fire

• (54:56) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• (55:47) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (56:44) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (57:38) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Dara sold his first startup to build an AI that can clone anyone online, and raised funding from Keith Rabois for it.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Dara's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/daraladje
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/dara-ladjevardian
🚀 Startup → delphi.ai

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Founder Journey

• (00:56) — Dara's grandfather
• (03:45) — Dara's first encounter with LLMs
• (06:04) — Launching Friday: Dara's first company
• (08:10) — The Friday acquisition journey
• (08:54) — Working at OpenStore post-acquisition
• (48:03) — Lessons from building Friday

Co-founder Dynamics

• (09:38) — Choosing the right co-founder
• (12:01) — Transitioning from solo to co-founder
• (13:58) — Co-founders: bootstrapped vs. VC-backed companies

Marketing & Positioning

• (14:49) — Positioning Delphi
• (21:01) — Delphi's product roadmap
• (23:38) — PLG growth strategy
• (26:30) — Testing paid marketing channels
• (27:30) — Differentiating in the age of AI
• (33:35) — Dara's vision for building Delphi
• (37:27) — Attracting talent to your company

Mentorship & Investment

• (18:38) — Pitching Delphi to Founders Fund
• (38:16) — The importance of mentorship
• (40:21) — Lessons from Keith Rabois
• (41:51) — Effects of high-profile investors
• (42:57) — Why Keith Rabois invested in Dara
• (43:55) — Securing well-respected angels
• (44:44) — Dara’s fundraising tips
• (47:00) — Recognizing the need for VC backing

Additional Insights

• (29:18) — Future role of creators
• (31:02) — Future role of founders
• (35:26) — Passion as a priority in startups
• (49:35) — Niche focus vs. broad targeting

Rapid Fire

• (51:54) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• (52:32) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (53:14) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (53:53) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Andrew left his dream job at Google to become the Gatsby of NYC's startup scene, all while securing a permanent visa.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Andrew's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/andruyeung
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/andyeung
🚀 Startup → https://meetfibe.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Transitioning to Startups
(01:03) — Transition from big tech to startups
(09:05) — Finding time for the non-founder parts of life
(10:45) — Leveraging the founder community
(12:35) — Getting connected to a Lyft Co-founder
(21:09) — Giving up alcohol

Immigrant Founders
(17:11) — Extraordinary Alien Visa
(19:27) — Why immigrants are frequent founders

Growth & Press
(23:48) — Accidentally creating a business opportunity
(25:24) — Building trust 
(26:50) — Andrew’s growth flywheel
(34:42) — Advantages of getting press
(36:41) — Avoiding traditional media’s downsides
(40:14) — Traditional media vs. social media

Events & Engagement
(45:34) — Weighing if founders should host events
(47:25) — Making an event attractive to sponsors
(49:38) — When founders should sponsor events
(50:47) — When founders should attend events

Andrew’s Businesses
(53:19) — Engineering serendipitous connections
(54:55) — Weighing fundraising for Fibe
(55:52) — Investing in startups
(59:16) — Unexpected learnings from founder life

Rapid Fire
(1:01:26) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
(1:02:18) — One thing you'd change about startups?
(1:04:15) — Advice for first-time founders?
(1:04:41) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Sam raised $67M for his startup, Levels, and helped turn one of his co-founders into a successful influencer with nearly a million followers.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Sam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/samcorcos
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/samcorcos
🚀 Startup → levels.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Sam's Startup Journey
01:24 — How Sam almost didn't become an entrepreneur
05:46 — Sam's companies before Levels
09:45 — Early entrepreneurial lessons learned

Customer Insights
17:19 — Importance of understanding customers
21:12 — Customers are directionally correct
22:48 — Engaging with customers

PR & Community
11:59 — Power of PR for startups
27:20 — Building community at Levels
29:16 — Community as a growth strategy

Content & SEO
30:37 — Levels' SEO strategy
33:25 — Focusing content efforts
35:18 — Content as a hiring tool
41:24 — Measuring influencer ROI
58:14 — Creator partnerships insights
59:13 — Increasing content breakthroughs
1:02:38 — Pursuing a viral content strategy
1:04:25 — Value of follower count

Market Positioning & Growth
53:42 — Carving a niche in a crowded market
56:11 — Sustaining growth over time
1:06:04 — Selling before launching
1:08:25 — Finding product-market fit

Networking & Efficiency 
1:11:13 — Building a broader network
1:14:28 — Network theory for investors
1:16:20 — Creating systems & delegation
1:01:15 — Time management in growth

Rapid Fire
1:18:15 — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
1:18:48 — One thing you'd change about startups?
1:20:17 — Advice for first-time founders?
1:20:28 — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Steven scaled his startup, Cameo, to become a $1 billion unicorn and how the company has changed since.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Steven's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/Mr312
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stevengalanis
🚀 Startup → cameo.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

The Journey to Cameo
(01:33) —  Steven's 1st business: Spartan Entertainment
(04:26) — Steven's pre-Cameo work experience
(06:33) — Starting Cameo with Co-founder Martin Blencowe
(11:14) — Cameo's founding story

Founder Mode
(18:43) — Steven’s early insight on “cameos”
(23:48) — Overcoming the cold start problem
(25:46) — Cameo's growth tactics
(27:28) — Cameo's eureka moment

Challenges & Opportunities
(31:39) — Changing Cameo's idea of success
(36:30) — Navigating headcount reductions
(38:57) — Joining the 1871 incubator
(40:57) — Building alongside other founders

Investor Relations & Communication
(42:26) — How to interact with investors
(44:02) — Co-founder communication
(46:39) — Attracting investors without fundraising
(49:00) — Fundraising without a pitch deck
(50:33) — Benefits of creating an unused pitch deck
(53:32) — Cameo's Series A experience

Rapid Fire
(1:01:01) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders?
(1:01:50) — What's one thing you'd change about the startup world?
(1:02:20) — What's the one piece of advice first-time founders need to know?
(1:03:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about?

This is how Tyler raised $50 million for his startup, beehiiv, to power the newsletter revolution.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Tyler's journey:
📝 Newsletter → bigdeskenergy.com
🐦 X → x.com/denk_tweets
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk
🚀 Startup → beehiiv.com

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Launching & Competing

• (02:17) — Launching in a competitive market
• (04:36) — Tyler’s billion-dollar insight
• (08:12) — Pitching investors on beehiiv
• (09:54) — Creating a scalable roadmap

Fundraising

• (12:22) — Early investor pushback
• (14:41) — Tyler's venture funding decision
• (20:38) — Funding plans after $33M Series B
• (40:19) — Gaining leverage for fundraising

Company Culture

• (21:58) — Advantages of high shipping velocity
• (24:45) — beehiiv's unique meeting culture
• (31:24) — Why beehiiv is remote-first

Founder Mode

• (28:48) — Finding focus and piece of mind
• (33:49) — Building in public for easier fundraising
• (38:30) — Addressing building in public concerns

Rapid Fire Questions

• (44:49) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders?
• (46:04) — Favorite startup book that founders should read
• (46:38) — What's the one piece of advice I need to know as a first-time founder?
• (47:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about?

Welcome to the Founding Journey podcast!

Each Thursday, Michael Houck will interview world-class startup founders about their unique paths to uncover tactical insights they've learned about how to fundraise, grow, validate, hire, scale, lead teams while building your startup.

Get full access to detailed takeaways on each episode, additional case studies, and more at join.foundingjourney.com.