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Build Mode

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On Build Mode, TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen cuts through the startup mythology to uncover how founders survive the brutal early days, navigate impossible funding landscapes, and somehow keep their companies — and sanity— intact. Each season, Isabelle is joined by founders, investors, and operators to dig into specific aspects of the startup journey, from creative go... more

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Artwork for Build Mode

Latest Episodes

Surviving the long road to FDA approval isn’t just about building great technology, it’s about keeping your team motivated, finding the right investors, and learning how to operate when timelines are uncertain.

This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Joha... more

Surviving the early days as an AI startup isn’t just about making the technology work, it’s about hiring the right people, avoiding costly mistakes, and standing out in a crowded market.

This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with J... more

Deep tech founders face a unique challenge: turning breakthrough science into a scalable startup. From navigating academia and IP to fundraising, manufacturing, and product-market fit, the path from research lab to real-world impact is anything but s... more

This week’s guest is Ayal Yogev, co-founder and CEO of Anjuna Security, who has experienced both sides of the startup journey: scaling quickly during the boom years and then making the incredibly difficult decision to lay off a significant portion of... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
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Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Equity
EquityTechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Sean O'Kane, Theresa Loconsolo

Recent Guests

Capella Kerst
Founder and CEO of Gecko Materials
Gecko Materials
Episode: How geCKo Materials Turned a Lab Breakthrough into a Scalable Deep Tech Startup
Ayal Yogev
Co-founder and CEO of Anjuna
Anjuna
Episode: How to handle layoffs with compassion with Ayal Yogev, Anjuna
Leah Solivan
Founder of Taskrabbit and founder/MD at Precedent VC
Taskrabbit; Precedent VC
Episode: Diverse teams start with diverse VCs with Leah Solivan, Taskrabbit
Isaiah Granet
CEO and Co-founder of Bland
Bland
Episode: Why hiring the weirdos works with Isaiah Granet, Bland
Ian Schmidt
Strategic advisor at Trimergence
Trimergence
Episode: How to fight with your co-founder with Ian Schmidt, Trimergence
Hala Jalwan
CEO and co-founder of Rivio
Rivio
Episode: When startups become a family business
Alessio Tresanti
CEO and co-founder of Rivio
Rivio
Episode: When startups become a family business
Anna Sun
CEO and co-founder of Nowadays
Nowadays
Episode: When startups become a family business
David Park
CEO and co-founder of Narada
Narada
Episode: Building a lean team before raising big with David Park, Narada

Host

Isabelle Johannessen
Host of Build Mode, TechCrunch

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 54 ratings
  • Great in-depth listen

    This is a great pod. Rebecca and sometimes co-hosts do a great job not going after the founders we all know about, but finding Founders (sorry) with interesting stories about how they started their companies and what obstacles they’ve had to overcome. Balanced, direct, informative, and insightful.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sean T-dub
    United States3 years ago
  • A never miss

    People’s stories are interesting and this podcast exemplifies that there are as many ways to build a startup as there are people. Plus the hosts add context that makes this a really interesting listen even if you’re not that into tech.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    shhhhmaggie
    United States3 years ago
  • Huge fan!

    Found has quickly become a favorite in my feed! I'm consistently impressed by the engaging conversations, insightful content, and actionable ideas. I truly learn something every time I listen!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Dan1777999877
    United States3 years ago
  • Insightful and engaging!

    Love the honest and open conversations with founders the TechCrunch team is facilitating here! If you’re currently a founder or entrepreneur, or want to be one in the future, this podcast should be part of your content diet. So glad I "Found" this show!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Arlie K
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

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

Consistently engaging conversations with honest perspectives from startup leaders
Founders' stories with practical lessons that apply beyond tech
Balanced, direct, informative and insightful according to listeners
Audiences appreciate accessible, actionable takeaways for founders and investors

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#168
Hong Kong/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#216
Taiwan/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How to handle layoffs with compassion with Ayal Yogev, Anjuna
Q: What were the core learnings from navigating two rounds of layoffs and how should founders prepare?
The guest emphasizes transparent communication, early warning, and a supportive, practical approach to helping impacted employees, including networking support and healthcare continuity, while ensuring the remaining team understands the market conditions and the strategic reasons behind RIFs.
Why hiring the weirdos works with Isaiah Granet, Bland
Q: What's your interview philosophy to uncover true fit beyond resume polish?
Start interviews by setting a positive tone, ask unconventional questions, test self-awareness and honesty, and push for double-checking responses to avoid rehearsed answers; ensure the candidate understands and shares Bland's values.
Why hiring the weirdos works with Isaiah Granet, Bland
Q: What are your thoughts on compensation, equity, and keeping pay fair as you scale?
We pay fairly, avoid overpaying or underpaying, and give employees clarity on equity—allowing some control over compensation structure—while keeping the overall pay scales sane and non-disruptive to the business.
Building a lean team before raising big with David Park, Narada
Q: What is different about Narada's approach compared to the hype around agentic AI these days?
Narada emphasizes reliability and end-to-end execution, with a focus on 99.99% reliability and the ability to operate across enterprise environments, not just demos, plus on-prem deployment options to satisfy security needs.
Behavioral AI and the compatibility advantage with Sarah Lucena, Mappa
Q: Can you explain in simple terms what Mappa listens for when analyzing a person for 30 seconds or a minute?
Mappa extracts voice biomarkers such as pitch, rhythm, verb density, and pronoun usage, interprets them with neural networks, and forms a behavioral profile that signals compatibility with a specific environment and team dynamics rather than judging value on a single moment.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Build Mode

What is Build Mode about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers on the grit and pragmatism of early-stage startups, seasoned with candid reflections from founders, investors, and operators. Episodes repeatedly explore real-world growth challenges—from securing initial funding and navigating cap tables to building diverse teams and managing co-founder dynamics—often with actionable takeaways for go-to-market strategies, hiring, and governance. Noteworthy is the emphasis on humane leadership, sustainable pacing, and authentic storytelling from people actively shaping the tech ecosystem, including hardware/deep-tech ventures, platform startups, and VC-backed ventures. Potential listeners will likely find practical frameworks, industry-frontier insights, and inspiring founder journeys that... more

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To see how many followers or subscribers Build Mode has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Build Mode?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Build Mode:

1. Equity
2. Y Combinator Startup Podcast
3. TechCrunch Daily Crunch
4. The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
5. AI + a16z

How many episodes of Build Mode are there?

Build Mode launched 5 years ago and published 222 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Build Mode?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

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Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Build Mode. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Build Mode?

Recent guests on Build Mode include:

1. Capella Kerst
2. Ayal Yogev
3. Leah Solivan
4. Isaiah Granet
5. Ian Schmidt
6. Hala Jalwan
7. Alessio Tresanti
8. Anna Sun

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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