TechCrunch
Why hiring the weirdos works with Isaiah Granet, Bland
- Title
- Why hiring the weirdos works with Isaiah Granet, Bland
- Runtime
- 48:32
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- If one thing has become clear this season, it’s that there is no formula to building the perfect team. But no one breaks the mold quite like this week’s guest, Isaiah Granet, the co-founder and CEO of Bland. The voice AI startup has been growing at a breakneck speed but the founding team has taken their time to prioritize passion over pedigree and find their team members in places many might not think to look.
In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Isaiah Granet unpack a radically different approach to hiring that prioritizes aligned work ethic, curiosity, and flexibility rather than resumes and connections. So far, that approach has worked for Bland. The scrappy team has gone from pre-seed to series B in less than a year.
They discuss:
•
How to identify “hidden gem” talent in unexpected places
- Title
- How to fight with your co-founder with Ian Schmidt, Trimergence
- Runtime
- 47:06
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- 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 really get started.
This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Ian Schmidt, strategic advisor at Trimergence, to unpack the “personal operating system” behind every founder. As a coach, consultant, and occasionally a bouncer, Ian helps teams build the self-awareness and relational tools they need to scale without unnecessary friction.
They discuss:
•
Why founders should invest in coaching before conflict escalates
•
How to repair after conflict goes sideways
...
- Title
- When startups become a family business
- Runtime
- 39:56
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- 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 that come with built-in trust and unique challenges. First up is Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti, the married co-founders of AI agent for procurement focusing on autonomous sourcing, Rivio. They discuss building a company from the same household and why clear roles and communication matter when both your personal and professional lives are on the line.
Then Isabelle talks with Anna Sun, co-founder of Nowadays, an AI co-pilot for corporate event planning that she launched with her sister Amy shortly after graduating from MIT. Sun explains how their sibling dynamic shapes decision-making, team culture, and the way they move quickly as founders.
They discuss:
...
- Title
- Building a lean team before raising big with David Park, Narada
- Runtime
- 36:44
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- 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 systems. After previously co-founding and exiting Coverity, Park is now building his second company with a different playbook: Stay lean, talk to customers, and don’t raise before you’re ready.
In this episode, he shares why Narada spent a year making nearly 1,000 customer calls before raising institutional capital, how the company reached 99.99% reliability in production environments, and why he believes too much funding too early can derail even the strongest teams. Park also reflects on his experience as a Startup Battlefield Top 20 company and the lessons he’s carried from his first exit into building Narada.
He breaks down:
<...
- Title
- Behavioral AI and the compatibility advantage with Sarah Lucena, Mappa
- Runtime
- 42:56
- Date posted
- 3 months ago
- Description
- 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 platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60 seconds. After rebuilding teams over and over again early in her career, Sarah set out to answer the question: why do “great on paper” candidates fail to flourish after their hired?
In this episode, she explains how Mapa analyzes thousands of voice biomarkers, from speech patterns to linguistic signals, to build behavioral profiles and match candidates based on compatibility, not just the on-paper credentials. They help their clients make the right hired the first time, saving crucial time and money.
She breaks down:
• Why most hiring...
- Title
- OpenAI shuts down Sora while Meta gets shut out in court | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 35:11
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- When an 82-year-old Kentucky woman was offered $26 million from an AI company that wanted to build a data center on her land, she said no. Sure, that same company can try to rezone 2,000 acres nearby anyway, but as AI infrastructure stretches further into the real world, the real world is starting to push back.
That tension is everywhere this week, from OpenAI shutting down its Sora app to courts finally starting to hold social platforms accountable. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into what it looks like when the AI hype cycle meets reality.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Would you turn down $26M for your farm?
03:56 Rivals Kalshi & Polymarket CEOs are investing together
10:28 Deals fo...
- Title
- Why it’s Impossible to Outsource Team Culture │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:49
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- You can outsource HR.
You can’t outsource culture.
At an early-stage startup, culture is what you tolerate and what you call out.
In the latest episode of Build Mode, Isaiah Granet, co-founder of Bland, breaks down why founders have to own culture from day one.
- Title
- It Can’t Be Said Enough: Don’t Waste Time on Bad Hires │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:36
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Time is the most valuable resource in an early stage startup.
And hiring the wrong person can cost invaluable weeks, as Isaiah Granet, co-founder of Bland, told our Build Mode podcast.
Listen in to the latest episode, and subscribe to the rest, here:https://bit.ly/4aCcUNZ
- Title
- Hiring during hypergrowth with Bland AI CEO l Build Mode
- Runtime
- 48:32
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- If one thing has become clear this season, it’s that there is no formula to building the perfect team. But no one breaks the mold quite like this week’s guest, Isaiah Granet, the co-founder and CEO of Bland. The voice AI startup has been growing at a breakneck speed but the founding team has taken their time to prioritize passion over pedigree and find their team members in places many might not think to look.
In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Isaiah Granet unpack a radically different approach to hiring that prioritizes aligned work ethic, curiosity, and flexibility rather than resumes and connections. So far, that approach has worked for Bland. The scrappy team has gone from pre-seed to series B in less than a year.
They discuss:
🧩 How to identify “hidden gem” talent in unexpected places
🧩 The role of cold inbound and unconventional sourcing
🧩 When to hire ahead of need and when not to
🧩 How hiring philos...
- Title
- How soap opera-TikTok hybrids became a billion-dollar market | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 34:56
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They're called “micro dramas” — short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading app, ReelShort, made $1.2 billion in consumer spending last year alone.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan and TechCrunch senior reporter Amanda Silberling sit down with Henry Soong, founder of Watch Club, who thinks the micro drama industry is still "in its MySpace era." He has a vision for what the Facebook moment could look like.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro...
- Title
- What Nvidia's OpenClaw Reveals at GTC Really Mean │ Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:41
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Nvidia's embrace of OpenClaw during GTC may have been less about your need for a strategy to make use of its potential, and more about their need to have a solution of their own for an even greater enterprise foothold.
Listen in on the rest of the Equity Podcast team's GTC analysis: http://spr.ly/6052B6kHKe
- Title
- Nvidia and Disney's Robotic Vision Has a Problem: The Real World │ Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Nvidia and Disney's robotics partnership is impressive, until you realize poor robot Olaf would have to deal with actual humans.
Listen in and subscribe to Equity for the rest of our GTC debrief: http://spr.ly/6059B6kGsX
- Title
- What happened at Nvidia GTC: NemoClaw, Robot Olaf, and a $1 trillion bet | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 36:30
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Jensen Huang took the stage at Nvidia's GTC conference this week in his signature leather jacket to deliver a two-and-a-half-hour keynote, projecting $1 trillion in AI chip sales through 2027, declaring that every company needs an “OpenClaw strategy,” and closing with a rambling Olaf robot that had to get its mic cut. The message was hard to miss: Nvidia wants to be foundational to everything, from AI training to autonomous vehicles to Disney parks.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane breaks down hat Nvidia's growing web of AI infrastructure partnerships actually means for startups. Plus Travis Kalanick's complicated comeback and Uber's $1.25B bet on Rivian.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Garry Tan's Claude Code setup ...
- Title
- Conflict Within a Startup Isn’t Always a Bad Thing │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:47
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Conflict between founders isn’t always a bad thing. When handled well, it can lead to breakthroughs, as Ian Schmidt, strategic advisor at Trimergence, explores in the latest episode of Build Mode: http://spr.ly/6059B6nsoN
- Title
- Why You Should Use Coaching to Prevent, Not Solve, Problems │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 1:02
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Don’t think of coaching as a solution to a problem. Instead, as Trimergence strategic advisor Ian Schmidt notes, think of it as a way to grow your skills, get ahead of challenges, and ultimately as a Founder, do what’s expected of you and grow your business.
Check out the latest episode of our Build Mode podcast for more tips on coaching and conflict resolution: http://spr.ly/6058B6ns1E
- Title
- How to fight with your co-founder l Build Mode
- Runtime
- 47:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 really get started.
This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Ian Schmidt, strategic advisor at Trimergence, to unpack the “personal operating system” behind every founder. As a coach, consultant, and occasionally a bouncer, Ian helps teams build the self-awareness and relational tools they need to scale without unnecessary friction.
They discuss:
🧩 Why founders should invest in coaching before conflict escalates
🧩 How to repair after conflict goes sideways
🧩 The importance of understanding your own triggers as a leader
🧩 How to create space for the self-work that actually saves time long-term
Following last week’s episode on family co-f...
- Title
- How Arena Keeps its AI Model Rankings Objective │ Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 1:05
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Arena ranks frontier LLMs...while also being backed by companies vying to top the leaderboards.
How do they stay neutral? Co-founder Anastasios Angelopoulos breaks it down on their claims of algorithmic neutrality on our Equity Podcast.
- Title
- The leaderboard 'you can't game,' funded by the companies it ranks | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 24:38
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Artificial intelligence models are multiplying fast, and competition is stiff. With so many players crowding the space, which one will be the best — and who decides that? Arena, formerly LM Arena, has emerged as the de facto public leaderboard for frontier LLMs, influencing funding, launches, and PR cycles. In just seven months, the startup went from a UC Berkeley PhD research project to being valued at $1.7 billion.
Watch as Equity host Rebecca Bellan catches up with Arena co-founders Anastasios Angelopoulos and Wei-Lin Chiang about how their platform became the go-to leaderboard for frontier AI models, and how they’re trying to build a neutral benchmark even as companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic back the project.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
...
- Title
- Disney’s Olaf Joins Jensen Huang at Nvidia GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 2:43
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- A robotic Olaf from Frozen brings #NVIDIAGTC’s keynote with CEO Jensen Huang to a close, showcasing a partnership between Nvidia, Disney, and DeepMind AI.
- Title
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Reveals NemoClaw at GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 1:09
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Watch the reveal of NemoClaw, part of the embrace of OpenClaw at #NVIDIAGTC, which adds security to the platform with the goal of increasing adoption within enterprises.
- Title
- Every company ‘needs an OpenClaw strategy’: Jensen Huang claims at Nvidia GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- “Every company in the world today needs an OpenClaw strategy.” Nvidia is going big on OpenClaw at #NVIDIAGTC through what CEO Jensen Huang calls a “reinvention” of enterprise IT.
- Title
- Nvidia Plans to Put Data Centers in Orbit With its Space-1 Initiative
- Runtime
- 0:44
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- CEO Jensen Huang’s space ambitions get a speedy rundown at #NVIDIAGTC. Simply put: “We’re going to build data centers in space.”
- Title
- Nvidia’s Next $1T in Orders Revealed at GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 0:27
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- A trillion dollars in purchase orders through 2027 comes in as one of the biggest claims from CEO Jensen Huang at #NVIDIAGTC 💰💰💰
- Title
- What’s in Store for an Era of AI Native Companies at Nvidia GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 0:49
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Yes, the major players and partners got their shout-outs at #NVIDIAGTC, but CEO Jensen Huang also called out the next crop of AI natives who could make major impacts in years to come, and your startup might be among them.
- Title
- Nvidia Shows off DLSS 5 Graphic Rendering at GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- At #NVIDIAGTC, CEO Jensen Huang showed off its AI-powered DLSS 5 rendering model, and we’ll let you decide if it’s actually improving these graphics 🤔
- Title
- Why Nvidia Sees GeForce as its 'Greatest Marketing Campaign' for AI
- Runtime
- 0:23
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Your need to run Crysis in 2007 helped fuel Nvidia’s rise into an AI superpower, as CEO Jensen Huang calls out at #NVIDIAGTC.
- Title
- Nvidia Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of CUDA at GTC 2026
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- #NVIDIAGTC kicks off this year with some kudos to CUDA, the platform and model that has become instrumental to the company’s ubiquity amid the AI boom, from CEO Jensen Huang.
- Title
- Why Founders Need to Embrace the Value of Embarassment
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Before her viral TikTok and a $1.95B exit, Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth had a folding table and some apple cider vinegar.
She tells @EquityPod why founders need to embrace a little embarrassment (and pay attention to what customers are saying) http://spr.ly/6057B6MGJH
- Title
- Wiz’s first investor breaks down Google’s $32B acquisition │ Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- VC Shardul Shah's hot take on acquisitions: Go big, or go small, it's the medium-sized deals that get messy.
Catch the latest Equity Podcast episode for more on that and Google's $32B Wiz deal here: http://spr.ly/6058B6ME1s
- Title
- The $32B acquisition that one VC is calling the 'Deal of the Decade' | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 38:49
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- According to Index Ventures Partner Shardul Shah, cybersecurity startup Wiz sits “at the center of three tailwinds: AI, cloud, and security spend.” Those tailwinds powered what just became the largest venture-backed acquisition in history — Google's $32 billion deal, finalized after a declined 2024 offer, antitrust review on both sides of the Atlantic, and an extra $9 billion to sweeten the pot.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Anthony Ha, Rebecca Bellan, and Sean O'Kane sit down with Shah to dig into what made Wiz worth that price tag and more of the week's headlines. From DOGE data concerns to Palmer Luckey's retro gaming startup and Meta's acquisition of viral AI agent social network Moltbook. Plus, the latest in the Anthropic vs. DoD saga as tech workers at OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft sign on to a legal brief in support of Anthropic.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can fol...
- Title
- Why VCs Are Looking For Founder-Idea Fit │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- At the earliest stages, investors focus on two things: Is the idea big enough, and are you the best person to build it? Everything else comes down to trust in the founder to make the right decisions along the way.
Listen to Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti, co-founders of Rivio on Build Mode: http://spr.ly/6052B6Kdun
- Title
- The Number One Rule For Hiring (And Dating!) │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:42
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- When hiring, only bring people onto your team if it’s an obvious “yes.” No maybes, no hoping they’ll grow into the role. Great teams are built with clear conviction.
Listen to Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti, co-founders of Rivio on Build Mode: http://spr.ly/6051B6KbX1
- Title
- Hire Slow to Keep Your Culture Strong │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Here's a crucial founder tip: intentionally grow you team one great hire at a time to help protect culture, raise the bar, and build long-term trust.
Listen to Anna Sun, co-founder of Nowadays, for more expert advice on Build Mode: https://bit.ly/4aCcUNZ
- Title
- When startups become a family business
- Runtime
- 39:56
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 that come with built-in trust and unique challenges. First up is Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti, the married co-founders of AI procurement startup Rivio. They discuss building a company from the same household and why clear roles and communication matter when both your personal and professional lives are on the line.
Then Isabelle talks with Anna Sun, co-founder of Nowadays, an AI co-pilot for corporate event planning that she launched with her sister Amy shortly after graduating from MIT. Sun explains how their sibling dynamic shapes decision-making, team culture, and the way they move quickly as founders.
They discuss:
🧩 How trust shapes strong co-founder partnerships
🧩 The benefits and challenges ...
- Title
- What Founders Should Learn From Poppi's Shark Tank Experience │ Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:57
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- A successful Shark Tank appearance doesn't create a deal the next day. For Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth, it took much longer for "I'm in" to become "I'm funded."
Equity Pod explores Poppi's ascent in our latest episode: http://spr.ly/6051B6J61H
- Title
- Poppi founder on TikTok, Super Bowl ads, and her return to Shark Tank | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 26:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- For years, venture capitalists have been skeptical of beverage startups, citing thin margins and brutal distribution as reasons most brands never break out. But a new wave of “functional soda” companies has been challenging that assumption, including Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand that grew from a kitchen experiment into a $1.95 billion acquisition by PepsiCo.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan is joined by Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth to talk about building a beverage startup in a venture world dominated by SaaS and AI. From pitching on Shark Tank while nine months pregnant to going viral on TikTok and buying a last-minute Super Bowl ad, Ellsworth breaks down what it really takes to build a category-defining consumer brand — and what she looks for now that she's back on Shark Tank as an investor herself.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity ...
- Title
- Why the Chevy Bolt is the McRib of EVs
- Runtime
- 0:48
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- After disappearing for a few years, the Chevy Bolt is back.
It's like the McRib of cars: gone for a while, now back for a limited run...but with a new battery, faster charging, and a familiar price tag.
We have the review here: http://spr.ly/6057B6GtAL
- Title
- The Siren Call of Warner Bros. Strikes Again┃Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:39
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- HBO Max + Paramount=? ParaMax? HBO Mount?
The Equity podcast team has the latest on Paramount's merger with Warner Bros and a reminder that maybe competition is better than consolidation: http://spr.ly/6052B66gqj
- Title
- Anthropic Puts the Risk of Chasing Government Contracts on Full Display┃Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:30
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Contracts take forever to get baked in at the government level. So terms changing mid-contract? Not normal.
The Equity podcast team explains why startups chasing defense dollars should pay attention to Anthropic vs the Pentagon: http://spr.ly/6052B66g6n
- Title
- Anthropic's Pentagon deal is a cautionary tale for startups chasing contracts | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 33:29
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- The Pentagon has officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the two failed to agree on how much control the military should have over its AI models, including its use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. As Anthropic’s $200 million contract fell apart, the DoD turned to OpenAI instead, which accepted and then watched ChatGPT uninstalls surge 295%. As the stakes keep rising, the question remains: how much unrestricted access should the military have to an AI model?
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into what startups should think about when chasing federal contracts, especially when nobody seems to know what to do with AI in Washington, and more of the week's headlines.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 In...
- Title
- Customers Lie With Words, Not With Their Wallets │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:28
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- No one will tell you your baby is ugly, but they will tell you if your application is valuable when you ask them to pay. David Park shares his best advice for building a product people will actually pay for.
Listen to the latest episode of Build Mode here: http://spr.ly/6054hCxwo
- Title
- The wrong time to hire with David Park, Narada l Build Mode
- Runtime
- 36:44
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 systems. After previously co-founding and exiting Coverity, Park is now building his second company with a different playbook: Stay lean, talk to customers, and don’t raise before you’re ready.
In this episode, he shares why Narada spent a year making nearly 1,000 customer calls before raising institutional capital, how the company reached 99.99% reliability in production environments, and why he believes too much funding too early can derail even the strongest teams. Park also reflects on his experience as a Startup Battlefield Top 20 company and the lessons he’s carried from his first exit into building Narada.
He breaks down:
🧩 Why customers won’t tell you your “baby is ugly” — but thei...
- Title
- His house burned down. He used the insurance money to build PopSockets. | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 26:50
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Does a consumer hardware company need to get on the VC treadmill to succeed? Eleven years and 290 million products sold across 115 countries later, PopSockets has proven that the bootstrapped, low-dilution path more viable than the industry gives it credit for. The global consumer hardware brand was built on less than $500k, no institutional capital, and a philosophy professor's determination.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis caught up with founder and former CEO of PopSockets David Barnett to talk about how he scaled from a Boulder garage, stood up to Amazon at a $10–20 million cost, and eventually handed off the CEO role to someone who'd grown up inside the company.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:15 From philosophy professor to phone grip in...
- Title
- AI-driven hiring and the science of compatibility l Build Mode
- Runtime
- 42:56
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 Mapa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60 seconds. After rebuilding teams over and over again early in her career, Sarah set out to answer the question: why do “great on paper” candidates fail to flourish after their hired?
In this episode, she explains how Mapa analyzes thousands of voice biomarkers, from speech patterns to linguistic signals, to build behavioral profiles and match candidates based on compatibility, not just the on-paper credentials. They help their clients make the right hired the first time, saving crucial time and money.
She breaks down:
• Why most hiring decisions are still a gamble
• Compatibility vs. similarity (and why i...
- Title
- How Team Compatibility Fuels Innovation │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 1:04
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Compatibility isn’t about sameness. It’s about the willingness to understand and grow together.
Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa, shares the philosophy that shaped their product and API. Now they want other builders to take it further.
Listen to the full episode of Build Mode: https://bit.ly/4aCcUNZ
- Title
- Why AI Regulation Remains in a State of Limbo | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Dueling PACs backed by leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta are pouring money into influencing the AI debate.
And that debate isn't about what regulation looks like. It's whether it exists at all, NY Assembly member Alex Bores tells the Equity Podcast.
- Title
- Is Big Tech buying the AI debate? NY Assemblyman Alex Bores weighs in | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 20:58
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- The Pentagon is playing chicken with Anthropic over who gets to control how the military uses AI while communities across the country are blocking data center construction. As the AI debate has been flattened to “doomers versus boomers,” one state legislator is attempting to walk a middle road.
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Alex Bores, a New York State Assemblymember and candidate for U.S. Congress. Bores sponsored New York's first-of-its-kind AI safety law the RAISE Act — and quickly became the target of a Silicon Valley lobbying group with $125 million to spend on attack ads.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:09 - A New York State Assemblymember vs. Silicon Valley
05:02 - The RAISE Act explained: What it actually requires
08:25 - The Leading the Future PAC & why AI companies oppose regulation
10:22 - Public First Action: The pro-regulation PAC
13:19 - The Effective Alt...
- Title
- Technology Reflects the People Who Build It │ Build Mode Podcast
- Runtime
- 0:51
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- From PhDs to relentless builders, creating breakthrough technology starts with assembling people who are hungry to prove what’s possible.
Sarah Lucena, the founder and CEO of Mappa, shares how she built a team with a personal connection to their mission.
- Title
- The Reality of the Post-Hype Crypto Market
- Runtime
- 0:41
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- When Tether was reportedly eyeing a $15B–$20B raise at a $500B valuation, investors pushed back. Hard.
Token Relations CEO Jacquelyn Melinek guides us through the post-hype crypto market on our Equity podcast.
- Title
- Welcome to the post-hype crypto market | Equity Podcast
- Runtime
- 31:19
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Crypto is creeping back into the startup conversation, but at ETH Denver last week, the buzz was as much about Washington as it was about tokens. Policy shifts are rippling through the market as Tether and stablecoins face scrutiny, players like Stripe re-enter the conversation, and startups either find traction or flame out. The hype cycle is over, or at least taking a break. So what comes next?
On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Jacquelyn Melinek, CEO of Token_Relations and host of the Talking Tokens and Crypto in America podcasts, to make sense of how the market has changed and what in the world of crypto is built to last.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:12 ETHDenver recap
03:25 Patrick Witt on the GENIUS stablecoin law
05:14 Not everything is a security anymore
06:40 Robinhood launches its own chain
09:10 Stripe's vertical integration play
10:38 Simplifying crypto's user experi...
