New episode every Thursday

The Inspiring Founders Podcast.

Real conversations with founders and leaders — from early-stage startups, to SMB owners, to CEOs scaling beyond $10M in revenue.

The episodes

Every conversation so far.

#09 Airbnb for Data Centers — Handoyo, Founder & CEO of Lyrid Lyrid's CEO on building an "Airbnb for data centers" that undercuts AWS by up to 60% and helps founders stretch their runway. cloud infrastructurepricingrunway Watch → #08 The WILD Accelerator, with Natalia Bishop Turning a scrappy accelerator for overlooked founders into a scalable, self-sustaining product powered by an AI coach named Willa. acceleratorsai coachingscaling Watch → #07 Tom Shen — Entrepreneurship Is in the Heart A serial fintech founder on humility, culture, and delight — why the dumbest person in the room wins and delighted customers pay full price. culturehiringcustomer delight Watch → #06 AI Gives Answers. Businesses Need Better Questions. After 30 years in enterprise tech, Benjamin Baer builds a "decision intelligence" community — and argues AI's real edge is asking better questions. decision intelligenceaicareer pivot Watch → #05 The Real Goal of a Startup: Get to "Default Alive" Veteran operator Wayne Fenton on surviving to "default alive" — customer discovery, the four-times-better rule, and why every startup gate is a cliff. default alivecustomer discoverydeep tech Watch → #04 Raymond Cheng, Decrypt Compliance — When to Launch a Startup Leaving EY, Salesforce and Tencent to bootstrap a compliance firm — on getting comfortable with ambiguity and knowing your customer before you build. compliancebootstrappingcustomer discovery Watch → #03 Sameer Saran, ParkStash — Bootstrapping a Startup A bootstrapped founder on why revenue beats fundraising, obsessing over customers, and surviving COVID's zero-revenue days. bootstrappingcustomer discoveryresilience Watch → #02 Eli Finn & Edgar Ceron — The San Jose Startup Ecosystem Two ecosystem leaders on community, advisors versus mentors, and the non-dilutive government grants that quietly help early-stage founders win. communitymentorshipgrants Watch → #01 Sol Lipman and PieFi on the Inspiring Founders Podcast A serial founder on how cheap AI-era building lets you validate products in-market before raising a dollar — and why community beats incubators. ai buildingbootstrappingcustomer validation Watch → #00 Discussing Community with Eli Finn, SJSU SpartUp Incubator SJSU SpartUp's Eli Finn on a live-in summer incubator where peer community, honest feedback, and networking beat formal lectures. incubatorcommunityearly-stage Watch →

Come on the show

Got a founder story worth telling?

We're always looking for founders and leaders with a real story about building — the wins, the pivots, the near-death moments. Put your hand up right here.

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Questions

About the podcast.

Where can I listen to the Inspiring Founders Podcast?

New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Who is the podcast for?

Founders and operators — from early-stage builders to CEOs scaling past $10M in revenue. Every episode is a candid, founder-to-founder conversation about the real work of building a company.

How do I get on the show as a guest?

Apply through the guest form above. We're always looking for founders with a real story about building — the wins, the pivots, the near-death moments.

How does the podcast connect to the Peer Groups?

The podcast is the public front door to the same community. The conversations you hear on the mic are the kind that happen in the room — the Peer Groups are where you have them about your own company.

From the mic to the room.

The kind of candid founder conversations you hear on the show happen every month — off the record — in our peer groups.

Explore Peer Groups