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Advice for founders and entrepreneurs who want to build disruptive startups like they do in Silicon Valley. Not another interview podcast: concrete tips and masterclasses on what founders need to know: raising Venture Capital, strategy, product, marketing, growth, and more. A guide to the unique mindset and approach that drives Silicon Valley style disruption. Hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein ... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes302Founded4 years ago
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Artwork for The Startup Podcast

Latest Episodes

This is a bonus feed drop from Dan Blumberg's podcast 'Future Around and Find Out' (FAFO), winner of the 2026 Webby Award for Best Technology Podcast.

If you like what you hear, check out FAFO at www.futurearound.com/

Original description: more

Most founders treat 'scale' like a switch you flip after raising a round: hire 14 reps, 10x the ad spend, and pray. About half scale too early and burn the runway, while the other half scale too late and get caught by a more aggressive competitor. Al... more

In 2026, startups age like milk. Josh Foreman's solution is a radical one - step down as CEO, go back to basics, and refound the whole company.

Yaniv Bernstein discusses this decision with Josh, founder and (for now) CEO of InDebted - the AI-native... more

YouTube

Many AI startups funded in the last 18 months won't last three years - so what makes a business durable today?

Yaniv Bernstein is joined by Marlon Nichols, co-founder and managing general partner of MaC Venture Capital - one of the most active seed-... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Mark Roberge
Former HubSpot CRO, Harvard lecturer, author
Stage 2 Capital; HubSpot
Episode: The Science of Scaling: Using data to scale your startup perfectly w/ Mark Roberge
Josh Foreman
Founder and CEO, Indebted (guest on the episode)
Indebted
Episode: Refounding: Why this $80m founder quit as CEO, and what it says about the future of startups
Marlon Nichols
Co-founder and managing general partner of MaC Venture Capital
MaC Venture Capital
Episode: Adapting your startup to an AI-native world (w/ Marlon Nichols)
Amir Shevat
Investor and former tech executive with background at Microsoft, Google, Slack, Twitter
Darkmode (investor)
Episode: Same As Ever: 7 rules that HAVEN'T changed about building great startups (w/ Amir Shevat)
Scotty Allen
Bootstrapper, founder of The Product Bus
The Product Bus
Episode: Surviving the AI SaaSpocalypse: Will AI kill your startup? w/ Scotty Allen
Dr. Matthew Jones
Medical professional discussed on co-founder dynamics
Episode: Your co-founder relationship could break your startup! Here's how to fix it
Keoki Alexander-Chang
Founder and CEO of Minikai, AI-focused startup in disability and aged care
Minikai
Episode: Why Claude never stops listening to our meetings (w/ Minikai's Keoki Alexander-Chang)
Matt Cook
Co-founder of Scouut, focusing on hiring engineers and AI engineers for startups
Scouut
Episode: Recruiting the best AI engineers w/ Matt Cook of Scouut
Gary Lo
Founder of OpenBA; AI thinker and founder involved with OpenClaw and Claude Cowork
OpenBA
Episode: Insiders React: OpenClaw and Claude Cowork have changed everything for startups w/ Gary Lo, Open BA

Hosts

Yaniv Bernstein
Co-founders and hosts focusing on practical startup advice, product strategy, and technology trends.
Chris Saad
Co-host and principal host, offering strategic startup guidance, fundraising insights, and tech-forward framing.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 402 ratings
  • Laughable Political Commentary

    I like the show, but they just can’t help blathering about American politics and how fast and wide the sky is falling. It would be better to create a separate podcast for Australians who feel empowered to opine on American values and keep this show about practical startup perspectives.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    pointmatic
    United States7 months ago
  • Masterclass for Startup Founders and Innovators

    We all have it within us to be the best. The Startup Podcast is a must-listen for anyone in the startup ecosystem — whether you're a first-time founder, seasoned entrepreneur, or just startup-curious. The hosts bring a sharp, no-fluff approach to breaking down what it really takes to build and scale a successful startup in today’s landscape. Why change what works? And Chris saves us the heavy lifting.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    lavhill
    United States10 months ago
  • Chinese shills

    In the latest episode one of the hosts exposed themself as an anti-democracy Chinese shill. If you want incredibly stupid america-first worldview (except multiplied by -1) that ignores everyone that was genocided by china, this is for you and your baby-killing comrades.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    olety~
    Japana year ago
  • Must-Listen for Startup Storytellers

    Love the podcast overall and especially enjoyed the deep dive into the attention economy with Ben Parr—this one hit home. As someone who’s led product and engineering teams in fast-paced startups, I’ve seen firsthand how attention can make or break momentum. The way Ben breaks down the seven triggers of attention was super insightful—and immediately got me thinking about how I frame product pitches, hiring outreach, even internal comms. Yaniv and Chris kept it real and practical, which I always ... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    YourCTO
    United Statesa year ago
  • Super insightful and candid

    I am hooked and I have only listened to a few episodes. The format is very easy to follow and the quality of guest speakers is amazing. Thank you for helping new entrepreneurs tap into the experiences of these great leaders!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sachin Wadhawan
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

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

Audience benefits from actionable strategies that can be applied quickly.
Great practicality and no-fluff insights for founders.
Listeners appreciate the high-caliber guests and candid discussions.

Chart Rankings

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

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Refounding: Why this $80m founder quit as CEO, and what it says about the future of startups
Q: How do you align shareholders and the board with a plan to replace the CEO and pursue a founder-builder model?
Alignment comes from transparent governance discussions, showing how refounding will protect and grow long-term value, and having the right investor base that understands the strategic shift toward AI-driven reinvention; this enables a smoother transition while preserving fiduciary responsibilities.
Refounding: Why this $80m founder quit as CEO, and what it says about the future of startups
Q: Why is refounding necessary in an AI-enabled era, and what does it look like in practice for a mature company?
Refounding is about rebuilding the organization from the ground up to leverage AI as a core capability, restarting with a clean slate for structures, workflows, and decision-making, so the company can move as fast as the technology allows and operate with smaller, more capable teams that own end-to-end outcomes.
Adapting your startup to an AI-native world (w/ Marlon Nichols)
Q: How do you view the distinction between native AI companies and those that bolt AI onto existing software, in terms of durability?
Native AI companies build from the ground up around AI capabilities, data workflows, and model interactions to create a system that can learn, adapt, and improve. Bolt-on AI can be valuable but tends to be less durable unless it achieves deep data integration and a strong data moat that rivals purpose-built AI models.
Adapting your startup to an AI-native world (w/ Marlon Nichols)
Q: What are the three core indicators you look for when evaluating whether a company has durable potential in this AI-driven landscape?
The three indicators are the size of the opportunity, the domain expertise of the team, and the depth of the data/integration moat within the customer's solution base, which together determine how defensible and scalable the business can be.
Adapting your startup to an AI-native world (w/ Marlon Nichols)
Q: Let's center on this term durable. What to you defines a durable startup in 2026, and what does it actually mean for a startup to be durable?
A durable startup either builds a novel foundational model focused on a niche with a large business opportunity or operates at the application layer with access to unique data, deep integration, and the ability to insert itself into a customer's existing systems in a way that makes it very hard to displace. The durability comes from data depth, integration tenacity, and speed to scale, which together create a moat that's tougher for competitors or platform giants to erode over time.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Startup Podcast

What is The Startup Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A pragmatic deep-dive show that pairs seasoned founders and operators with leading-edge tech insights, focusing on what it takes to build and scale startups. Episodes frequently explore product strategy, fundraising dynamics, AI-enabled tooling, and practical execution playbooks, often featuring guests who are founders, investors, or tech thinkers. The format emphasizes actionable takeaways, real-world case studies, and candid discussions about governance, growth, and market dynamics, with a distinctly Silicon Valley–adjacent lens but practical for Australasia and beyond. Noteworthy is the recurring emphasis on autonomy, founder–investor alignment, and the evolving role of AI in product and GTM — topics that feel both timely and transferabl... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The Startup Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Startup Podcast:

1. The a16z Show
2. Y Combinator Startup Podcast
3. The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
4. Startups For the Rest of Us
5. AI + a16z

How many episodes of The Startup Podcast are there?

The Startup Podcast launched 4 years ago and published 302 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 The Startup Podcast?

Recent guests on The Startup Podcast include:

1. Mark Roberge
2. Josh Foreman
3. Marlon Nichols
4. Amir Shevat
5. Scotty Allen
6. Dr. Matthew Jones
7. Keoki Alexander-Chang
8. Matt Cook

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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