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In this weekly series, fellow startup founders Immad Akhund (Mercury) and Rajat Suri (Presto, Lima, and Lyft) explore current events in the world of tech, startup, and policy, offering insights from their distinguished careers and an array of expert guests. YouTube: youtube.com/@FoundersInArms Substack: foundersinarms.substack.com Instagram: instagram.com/foundersinarms TikTok: tiktok.com/@founder... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes106Founded3 years ago
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Artwork for Founders in Arms

Latest Episodes

Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel, joins Immad Akhund and Raj Suri at a live Founders in Arms event to break down the full arc of building one of the most widely used developer platforms in the world—from a contrarian bet that VCs said was already solve... more

YouTube

Karri Saarinen is the co-founder and CEO of Linear, the product and issue tracking platform built for high-performing software teams. A designer by training — with stints at Airbnb and Coinbase — Karri took a different path to founding than most Sili... more

YouTube

Michael Grinich is the co-founder and CEO of WorkOS, the enterprise authentication and identity infrastructure used by Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, xAI, and hundreds of fast-growing companies. Before WorkOS, Michael dropped out of MIT, worked at Dropbo... more

YouTube

In this candid one-on-one episode, Immad and Raj catch up on what's actually happening in tech right now — the AI narratives shifting under everyone's feet, which companies they'd bet on, and how they're thinking about building teams in an AI-native ... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Guillermo Rauch
Founder and CEO of Vercel
Vercel
Episode: Guillermo Rauch at Founders in Arms Live: Simplicity, Focus, and the Bet That Built Vercel
Karri Saarinen
Co-founder and CEO of Linear
Linear
Episode: Building for Quality in a World of AI Slop with Linear's Karri Saarinen
Michael Grinich
Founder/CEO at WorkOS
WorkOS
Episode: WorkOS's Michael Grinich on Becoming the Enterprise Layer for AI's Biggest Companies
George Kailas
CEO of Prospero.ai
Prospero.ai
Episode: The Future of Investing: Data, Signals, and Retail Power
Andy Chen
Co-founder of Outcast Ventures
Outcast Ventures
Episode: Founding Teams: What Works, What Doesn’t — with Andy Chen
David Rusenko
Founder of Leap Forward Ventures, former founder and CEO of Weebly
Leap Forward Ventures
Episode: The Long Game: David Rusenko on Building Weebly, Surviving Acquisitions, and Investing in Climate
Ryan Gariépy
Former CTO and co-founder of Clearpath Robotics and Otto Motors; VP of Robotics at Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation (VP of Robotics); former Clearpath/ Otto Motors
Episode: The State of Robotics in 2026: Ryan Gariépy on Hype, Reality, and Long-Term Thinking
Marco Zapacosta
Founder and CEO of Thumbtack
Episode: Thumbtack’s Marco Zappacosta on AI, Trust, and the Future of Marketplaces
Vishwas Prabhakara
Founder of Honey Homes
Honey Homes
Episode: Building a Services Business in a Tech World with Honey Homes' Vishwas Prabhakara

Hosts

Imad Akhund
Co-founder and CEO of Mercury; multiple appearances as a central host.
Rajat Suri
Co-founder of Lima and Tribe; former Lyft executive and serial founder, frequently co-hosting.

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 33 ratings
  • Real Founder Stories & Advice

    Really enjoy the real founder stories and practical advice. Especially enjoyed the recent one with Joris Poort from Rescale!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    .-:-:-.
    United States9 months ago
  • Unique and amazing

    This podcast is incredible. Getting insights from founders like Raj and Immad is so valuable. They both have unique perspectives: Raj knows consumers (Lyft), hardware (Presto), community/messaging (Tribe), immigration (Lima); and Immad knows banking/b2b/PLG (Mercury), angel investing (prolific angel investor), and even space (sci-fi nerd). They also push back on each others perspectives constantly in a great way. I look forward to Fridays because of this podcast, these guys are great!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Wolf of Ball Street
    United Statesa year ago
  • Best podcast about founders and startups

    Really enjoy listening to this one - tonnes of valuable insights and great stories from several experienced entrepreneurs

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Everand88
    United Statesa year ago
  • A Disappointing Echo Chamber for the Overhyped Elite

    Founders in Arms bills itself as a tech-savvy deep dive into startups and policy, but what it delivers is a self-congratulatory slog through recycled Silicon Valley talking points. Hosts Immad Akhund and Rajat Suri, despite their pedigrees, seem more interested in reinforcing their own status than providing real insight. The discussions rarely rise above surface-level commentary, often devolving into vague anecdotes that serve little purpose beyond name-dropping.

    Worse, the show lacks structure... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    RedRedRaleigh
    United Statesa year ago
  • Founders like me, but further along

    This show is like being coached by a massively more successful colleague. It’s super deep and super conversational and delivered by gents who have seen it all scaling and come out on the other side. I wish I had found this show a long time ago.

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    Suebeaux
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Guests are consistently experienced founders or operators offering practical lessons.
Hosts bring sharp, actionable founder-level insights and engaging back-and-forth debate.
The show combines technical depth with candid storytelling, though some listeners feel episodes can skew promotional when guests overlap with sponsors.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#152
Argentina/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#174
Poland/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

The Long Game: David Rusenko on Building Weebly, Surviving Acquisitions, and Investing in Climate
Q: What enduring lessons from building Weebly do you think new founders should heed today?
Key lessons include focusing on cashflow and monetization early, maintaining a deliberate growth plan, building a culture with explicit trade-offs, and using group discussions to reduce politics while preserving speed and accountability.
The Long Game: David Rusenko on Building Weebly, Surviving Acquisitions, and Investing in Climate
Q: David, what made you decide to go into investing rather than starting another company?
David describes wanting to 'pay it forward' after 14 years building Weebly, preferring to guide the next generation of founders from the field rather than pursuing another startup himself, and valuing the coaching and mentorship aspect of investing.
The Future of Investing: Data, Signals, and Retail Power
Q: Who is the primary audience for Prospero's research, and how is it delivered?
The primary audience is retail investors, though the product is also used by some institutional users; the newsletter and basic app access are free, with premium add-ons in development.
The Future of Investing: Data, Signals, and Retail Power
Q: George, how long have you been doing this and what's the core mission of Prospero?
Prospero was started about six years ago with a mission to level the playing field for retail investors by providing 10 signals through an app and newsletter, designed to educate users to think and decide for themselves.
The State of Robotics in 2026: Ryan Gariépy on Hype, Reality, and Long-Term Thinking
Q: What three areas would you invest in today in robotics as an investor?
Invest in areas with clear engineering risk but practical go-to-market execution, ensure the team has real domain experience, and target deployments where the design domain fits the customer needs (construction, airports, farms, etc.), while avoiding overreliance on a single, unproven business model.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Founders in Arms

What is Founders in Arms about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Founders in Arms tends to feature high-level conversations with experienced startup founders and tech executives who discuss real-world product development, growth, and the policy environment around technology. Episodes frequently center on hands-on experiences scaling hardware and software businesses, the realities of funding and go-to-market strategies, and how AI, marketplaces, and automation reshape industries. A notable pattern is the duo's willingness to challenge conventional wisdom, push back on hype, and bring guests who combine technical depth with practical entrepreneurship. The show often includes candid anecdotes, lessons from building category-defining companies, and forward-looking takes on emerging tech trends, making it val... more

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How many episodes of Founders in Arms are there?

Founders in Arms launched 3 years ago and published 106 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Founders in Arms?

Recent guests on Founders in Arms include:

1. Guillermo Rauch
2. Karri Saarinen
3. Michael Grinich
4. George Kailas
5. Andy Chen
6. David Rusenko
7. Ryan Gariépy
8. Marco Zapacosta

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