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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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Latest Episodes

Every founding team is a mix of personalities, communication styles, and strengths. That can be a superpower or cause founders to butt heads. Without a clear framework for navigating conflict, even the strongest teams can fall apart before they reall... more

In startups, choosing a co-founder is often compared to choosing a spouse. But what happens when your co-founder actually is family?

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannessen explores how founders navigate co-founder relationships tha... more

This week on Build Mode, we’re joined by David Park, co-founder and CEO of Narada, an enterprise AI agent platform spun out of UC Berkeley AI Lab research. Narada uses large action models to automate complex, multi-step workflows across enterprise sy... more

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time.

This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa, a behavioral intelligence... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

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
Sarah Lucena
Founder and CEO of Mappa, behavioral intelligence platform
Mappa
Episode: Behavioral AI and the compatibility advantage with Sarah Lucena, Mappa
Leah Sullivan
Founder of TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit
Episode: Build Mode is back: Building world-class founding teams
Jasper Carmichael-Jack
Founder of Artisan
Artisan
Episode: Build Mode is back: Building world-class founding teams
Yuri Sagalov
Representative from General Catalyst
General Catalyst
Episode: Build Mode is back: Building world-class founding teams

Hosts

Becca Szuktak
Senior reporter at TechCrunch with a focus on startups and entrepreneurship insights
Dominic-Madori Davis
Senior reporter at TechCrunch specializing in startup narratives

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.

The detailed insights into the entrepreneurial journey, especially around mental health and growth strategies, resonate strongly with the audience.
Listeners appreciate the candid discussions about the harsh realities of startup life, finding them both relatable and informative.
Many mention the hosts' ability to facilitate in-depth conversations with guests that provide valuable lessons for startups.

Chart Rankings

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

Apple Podcasts
#111
India/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#116
Singapore/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#175
Hong Kong/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#179
Japan/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#232
New Zealand/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#235
South Korea/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

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.
Compensation, culture, and cap tables with Yuri Sagalov, General Catalyst
Q: What do you think about the 996 work culture?
While hard work is necessary, glorifying extreme work hours can be detrimental.
Compensation, culture, and cap tables with Yuri Sagalov, General Catalyst
Q: How should co-founders approach splitting equity early on?
Aim for a split that is as close to equal as possible to prevent future conflict regarding equity ownership.
It’s time to throw away the old go-to-market playbook with Paul Irving from GTMfund
Q: What is your framework for when founders should start hiring a go-to-market team?
Assess the current and future bottlenecks in the business to inform hiring decisions rather than sticking to standard playbooks.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Build Mode

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

Focused on the challenges and realities of startup life, this series offers an authentic look into the journeys of founders dealing with various obstacles from funding challenges to maintaining mental health. Through in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, investors, and operators, listeners gain insight into critical aspects of establishing a company, including innovative marketing strategies, the intricacies of equity, and personal experiences of resilience amidst chaos. The candid discussions present not only valuable lessons for emerging entrepreneurs but also serve as relatable stories for anyone interested in the world of startups.

Where can I find podcast stats for Build Mode?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Build Mode. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Build Mode and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Build Mode get?

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What are the audience demographics for Build Mode?

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How many subscribers and views does Build Mode have?

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. The a16z Show
2. Masters of Scale
3. Dwarkesh Podcast
4. The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
5. Founders

How many episodes of Build Mode are there?

Build Mode launched 5 years ago and published 216 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.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Build Mode?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Build Mode from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Build Mode?

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. Ian Schmidt
2. Hala Jalwan
3. Alessio Tresanti
4. Anna Sun
5. David Park
6. Sarah Lucena
7. Leah Sullivan
8. Jasper Carmichael-Jack

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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