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Artwork for Spotlight On

Spotlight On

Accel
Accel
Artificial Intelligence
Laravel
Lovable
Nebius
Cybersecurity
PHP
Community Building
AI Infrastructure
Open Source
Tailscale
Open Source Community
Entrepreneurship
Unicorn Valuations
Speak
1password
E-Commerce
India
Sentry
Wonder

Spotlight On is a podcast about how companies are built, from the people doing the building. We take you behind the scenes to hear from founders and builders about what they did, what they learned… and what they’ll never do again. This series is produced by Accel, a global venture capital firm. Learn more at Accel.com/SpotlightOn.

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes63Founded3 years ago
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Business

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Artwork for Spotlight On

Latest Episodes

Arkady Volozh launched Nebius with one 25-megawatt data center and a belief that the AI era would require more infrastructure than anyone was building. Now, fresh off a round of major announcements—new company commitments, a deepening Nvidia partners... more

When Armadin co-founder and CEO Kevin Mandia started his career, hacking was an under-the-radar nuisance. As our lives and financial systems moved online, everything changed. Mandiant, his first company, became the team that CEOs called during their ... more

For our final episode of VBSR this season, Sara phones a friend. Accel’s Zhenya Loginov joins from London to talk about what defines the 2025 IPO, common PLG-to-enterprise pitfalls, and why today’s European founders look different. Plus: Zhenya’s sta... more

Jan Oberhauser was spending too much time on tasks that weren’t joyful. A former visual effects artist turned programmer, he lost hours each day rebuilding the same code instead of solving new problems. In 2019, Jan founded the German workflow automa... more

Sara and Vas discuss what AI means for teachers, new graduates, and the broader education system– and whether it’s changing the investment landscape for edtech.

This Week’s Takeaways

1. Forward-thinking educators won’t play the AI “cat and mouse” g... more

This week, Vas and Sara talk about why the browser is suddenly the hottest space on the internet, how security will adapt to AI agents, and what makes software defensible.

This Week’s Takeaways

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The browser isn’t dead; it’s changing. AI agents a... more

This week, we’re talking to Accel’s newest partner, Kerry Wang, about her journey from founder to investor, advice for finding the right early-stage partners, and what we can learn from Figma’s “12-year overnight success.”

This Week’s Takeaways

* more

Sara and Vas talk about Lovable’s record-breaking sprint to $100 million ARR and the growth of startups that boost human creativity. They also explore how the AI talent wars are reshaping industry narratives and why early-stage founders shouldn’t los... more

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Recent Guests

Arkady Volozh
Co-founder/CEO associated with Nebius
Nebius
Episode: BONUS: Nebius’s Arkady Volozh on building in the agentic era
Kevin Mandia
Cybersecurity veteran, co-founder and CEO of Armadin
Armadin
Episode: BONUS: Armadin's Kevin Mandia | On Redefining Security in a New Age of Threats
Zhenya Loginov
Partner at Accel, investor with a background as a founder/operator
Accel
Episode: Q&A with Zhenya Loginov: the Euro founder flywheel, 2025 IPOs, and leveling up from PLG
Jan Oberhauser
CEO and founder of N8n
N8n
Episode: Bonus Episode: n8n’s Jan Oberhauser on building the Excel of AI
Kerry Wang
Newest early stage partner at Accel; former founder at Searchlight
Accel
Episode: Figma IPO, GPT-5, and a Q+A with Kerry Wang
Anton Osika
Founder of Lovable, AI startup CEO
Lovable
Episode: Bonus: Anton Osika on how Lovable’s creating a world of builders
Dennis Woodside
CEO of Freshworks; former executive at Google, Dropbox, Motorola, Impossible Foods
Freshworks
Episode: Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside on translating bold visions into operational excellence
Tarun Thakur
CEO and founder of Veza
Veza
Episode: Veza’s Tarun Thakur on excelling at go-to-market at every stage
Evan Rogers
Co-founder and CEO of True Anomaly
True Anomaly
Episode: True Anomaly’s Even Rogers on failing forward to achieve mission success

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Figma IPO, GPT-5, and a Q+A with Kerry Wang
Q: What were your first impressions of Dan, the investor from Accel?
Dan was seen as a deeply human investor with a strong track record and pattern recognition, who could balance intellect with genuine partnership during tough times and who introduced Kerry to his wife as part of a meaningful relationship built on trust.
Figma IPO, GPT-5, and a Q+A with Kerry Wang
Q: What advice would you give to founders about working with investors after multiple funding rounds?
Choose investors who can be your first call in both good times and bad, with deep empathy and a long-term view; seek partners who have operated at the early stage and can provide honest, hard feedback when needed.
Figma IPO, GPT-5, and a Q+A with Kerry Wang
Q: What do you do outside of tech and venture for fun?
Kerry describes taking up ceramics to learn about precision and iteration, making homemade ice cream with healthier ingredients, and playing golf to cultivate mental endurance and enjoy the Bay Area's outdoor spaces.
Figma IPO, GPT-5, and a Q+A with Kerry Wang
Q: What are you observing investing in AI now on this side of the table versus when you were building early in AI?
The landscape has shifted from building bespoke models and data pipelines to leveraging broader, publicly available capabilities; the pace of iterations is faster, and the emphasis is on integrating new capabilities into products rather than building everything in-house.
Veza’s Tarun Thakur on excelling at go-to-market at every stage
Q: When did you feel you had product-market fit, and what did that mean for your GTM?
Product-market fit emerged when a Chicago-based rep proved they could sell the product in a real market, leading Veza to double down on a two-track GTM (mid-market and enterprise). This validated the vision to scale with a defined budget, expand the product portfolio, and accelerate sales hiring to a team of around 30 by that point.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Spotlight On

What is Spotlight On about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This series focuses on the journeys of founders and executives from various innovative companies, providing insights into their experiences in building and scaling their businesses. Topics often explored include the challenges of product development, the importance of company culture, and the unique obstacles encountered in rapidly evolving markets, notably in technology and entrepreneurship. Each episode features candid conversations about successes, failures, and the invaluable lessons learned along the way, making it a compelling resource for aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals alike.

What sets this series apart is its commitment to showcasing the gritty realities behind startup culture and growth, moving beyond the surfac... more

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How many episodes of Spotlight On are there?

Spotlight On launched 3 years ago and published 63 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 Spotlight On?

Recent guests on Spotlight On include:

1. Arkady Volozh
2. Kevin Mandia
3. Zhenya Loginov
4. Jan Oberhauser
5. Kerry Wang
6. Anton Osika
7. Dennis Woodside
8. Tarun Thakur

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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