Best Founders Without Silicon Valley Podcasts (2025)

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Pioneering Small Business Software & Empowering Entrepreneurs w/ Gail Goodman, Founder & CEO of Constant Contact 58:58

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5h ago58:58

58:58

In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Gail Goodman, former CEO of Constant Contact. Goodman discusses her journey from her early entrepreneurial endeavors to leading Constant Contact from startup to IPO and ultimately to a $1.1 billion acquisition. She emphasizes the importance of execution over ideas and how a deep commitm…

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How small companies can make their security doable (with Phil Howie) 34:47

3h ago34:47

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What if your first security hire wasn’t a person, but a simple, guided program that made sense to everyone in your company? In this conversation, Sidekick founder and CEO Phil Howie breaks down how SMBs can build a security and privacy practice from the ground up—long before they can afford a full internal team. We cover the reality of compliance v…

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Episode 22: He Built Southeast Asia’s Biggest Digital Brands, Then Found a Deeper Definition of Success 1:04:35

3h ago1:04:35

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Send us a text Jason Lim has lived life in the fast lane, quite literally. From leading social media at Netflix Southeast Asia and helping ONE Championship grow from zero to millions of followers, to co-founding Stratgeist, one of the region’s top digital agencies, he’s been at the center of Asia’s attention economy for over a decade. But behind hi…

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Automating app security for modern dev teams (with Rejah Rehim) 25:49

10d ago25:49

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Most companies still test security long after code is shipped. That delay creates blind spots. In this episode, Rejah Rehim, Co-Founder & CEO of Beagle Security, explains how automated penetration testing gives teams a clearer picture of their real exposure—while keeping the process simple enough for developers to run themselves. Rejah: https://www…

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Episode 21: From Malay Minority to Tech Founder - How Hafiz Built a Multi-Million-User Startup Beyond the Hustle 1:01:30

16d ago1:01:30

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Send us a text When you meet Hafiz Kasman, you don’t feel hustle. You feel a presence. Hafiz grew up in a lower-middle-class Malay family in Singapore, where stability was prized and risk-taking came second. He started his career as a management consultant — a path few from his background dared to walk. But at 25, he did something bold: he left it …

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Leading with Love, Staying Mission Focused, and Building a Multi-Billion-Dollar Business in Atlanta w/ Kyle Porter, Founder & fmr CEO of Salesloft 58:22

23d ago58:22

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Kyle Porter, founder and longtime CEO of SalesLoft. Kyle shares his remarkable journey from nearly failing in the first year of SalesLoft to scaling the company to unicorn status with a $2.3 billion valuation. He discusses the core principles of leadership, such as leading with love, st…

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How to put AI agents safely into production (with Eric Olden) 35:37

2d ago35:37

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AI agents can burn through budgets and trust in minutes. Eric Olden, Co-Founder and CEO of Strata Identity, breaks down the control plane founders need: policy-driven guardrails, intent/context/outcome audit, and lifecycle governance—so you can move from sandbox to production with confidence. Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boughtnotsold Strata I…

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Scaling Across Borders: Season 1 - Kosovo Official Trailer 0:58

22d ago0:58

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What happens when you build a global company… far from Silicon Valley? In Scaling Across Borders, founder and investor Greg Moran travels the world to uncover the untold stories of entrepreneurs building in places the world rarely looks — from Kosovo to Colombia and beyond. These founders aren’t chasing headlines. They’re rebuilding economies, crea…

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Episode 20: How a Sumo Wrestler Became a Zumba Star and Amazon’s Most Listened-To Mentor 1:06:22

1M ago1:06:22

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Send us a text In this episode of the Asian Rebel Club podcast, I sit down with Bradley Sutton - VP of Education and Strategy at Helium 10, host of the Serious Sellers Podcast with over 4 million downloads, and one of the most recognizable voices in global e-commerce. But before he became a household name for Amazon sellers, Bradley lived many live…

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From Introvert to IPO: Culture, Control, and Building SendGrid into a Category Leader w/ Isaac Saldana, Co-Founder & fmr CEO, SendGrid 53:52

1M ago53:52

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Isaac Saldana, the co-founder and former CEO of SendGrid, and current CEO of Joy Labs. Isaac discusses the interplay of humility and confidence in leadership and shares his unconventional path to success. From being a non-English-speaking teenager who managed a family and two jobs at 19…

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Think Like a Hacker: Why Curiosity Drives Innovation and Security (with Ted Harrington) 35:59

1M ago35:59

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Most people think hackers exploit systems. The best hackers improve them. In this episode, Ted Harrington explains how to unlock your “inner hacker”—the mindset that turns obstacles into innovation. From breaking outdated rules to building smarter, safer companies, this conversation reframes what it means to lead with curiosity. Ted: https://www.li…

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Episode 19: She Left Silicon Valley for Bali for “One Year”, and Never Went Back 43:57

1M ago43:57

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Send us a text In this episode of the Asian Rebel Club podcast, I chat with Anshu Singh - technologist turned spiritual teacher, founder of Solana Wellness Retreats, and author of Pressure to Pleasure: A Seven Pillar Approach to Living Your Best Life. Anshu spent over 25 years building software and startups in Silicon Valley, chasing success, statu…

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From Midwest Outsider to Movement-Leading Industrialist: Choosing the Uphill Challenges and Rebuilding American Manufacturing w/ Aaron Slodov, Remesh & Atomic Industries 46:49

2M ago46:49

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., our guest is Aaron Slodov, co-founder of Remesh and co-founder and CEO of Atomic Industries. Aaron shares insights from his unique journey from a child tinkering in Cleveland to working at Google X, and founding a series of innovative companies. The discussion delves into the challenges and opportunities in America…

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AI at Brinks Home: Lower costs, better customer support (with Veronica Moturi) 37:48

2M ago37:48

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By YSecurity

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Episode 18: She Was the Perfect Asian Daughter - Until She Left Wall Street for VR Stardom (100M+ Views) and Festival Creation 1:26:19

2M ago1:26:19

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Send us a text In this episode of the Asian Rebel Club podcast, I sit down with Swan Chen (SwanVR): an artist, technologist, and cultural disruptor who walked away from Wall Street to design a radically freer life. Born in New York City but raised by her grandmother in rural China before being air-dropped into suburban Ohio, Swan’s story is full of…

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From Ironman Collapse to Healthcare Category Leader: Burning the Ships w/ Guillaume de Zwirek, Founder & CEO, Artera 58:00

2M ago58:00

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Guillaume de Zwirek, founder and CEO of Artera. Guillaume's journey from a classical guitarist and world-class Ironman triathlete to a successful health tech entrepreneur is anything but conventional. Inspired by his personal frustrations as a healthcare patient, Gui founded Artera, a p…

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Invisible Security: The Future of Authentication and Trust (with Deepak Dutt) 31:57

2M ago31:57

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Deepak Dutt, founder of Zighra, reveals how continuous behavioral authentication is changing the game—from stopping $200M fraud schemes to securing military operations. Deepak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepakdutt/ Zighra: https://zighra.com/ Jon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-mclachlan Sasha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliaksandr-sinkevich YS…

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Episode 17: Special Edition on Boundaries – Why Saying No is the Deepest Yes 1:24:29

2M ago1:24:29

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Send us a text In this episode of the Asian Rebel Club podcast, I sit down with Joachim (Jay) Brackx - musician-turned-entrepreneur, teacher, and host of Relating to Self - to explore the radical power of boundaries. Growing up in families where survival meant prioritizing everyone else’s feelings, neither of us learned the language of boundaries u…

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Capital-Constrained & Mission-Obsessed: How Pressure Forged a Healthcare Unicorn in Iowa w/ Jon Lensing, Co-Founder & CEO, OpenLoop 50:53

3M ago50:53

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway speaks with Jon Lensing, co-founder and CEO of OpenLoop, a telehealth infrastructure platform headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. From growing up in rural Iowa to training as a surgeon, Jon's path took an unconventional turn when he left medicine to build a company addressing healthcare access. Sin…

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How Revolut's Metric Obsession Accidentally Built a Founder Factory (46+ Alumni Startups) 34:00

3M ago34:00

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He bought Amazon gift cards out of his own pocket to hit his KPIs. That's what metric obsession looks like at Revolut. Pierre Cahuzac is a product leader at Europe's most valuable fintech—and explains why their alumni start companies at ridiculous rates. It's not the dashboards. It's the ownership model. You'll walk away with Revolut's framework fo…

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From Bedroom Coding to VC Bidding War: The Small AI Models Thesis That Broke Silicon Valley 1:24

3M ago1:24

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He bet against trillion-parameter models when every VC said he was insane—now NVIDIA is publishing papers proving him right. Sudarshan from Smallest.ai cracked enterprise voice AI by ignoring Silicon Valley's foundation model obsession. While competitors chased infinite compute, his autonomous vehicle background revealed the truth: compact models h…

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Inside Augment Code: Why security starts at line one (with Dirk Meister) 36:32

3M ago36:32

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What if your first lines of code determined your startup’s ability to scale? Dirk Meister, founding engineer at Augment Code, walks us through the intentional security architecture decisions they made on day one—and why trust isn't something you can bolt on later. Dirk Meister: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meisterdirk/ Augment Code: https://www.augm…

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Episode 16: From Sea Officer to 3x Founder and System Hacker - Kaushik’s Journey of Choosing Truth Over Tradition 1:23:01

3M ago1:23:01

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Send us a text What happens when you stop following the script that was written by generations of legacy? In this episode of the Asian Rebel Club podcast, I sit down with Kaushik, a former ship captain turned 3x tech founder who walked away from a conventional South Asian medical legacy to confront some of the most outdated systems in global trade.…

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Founder, Operator, Investor: Lessons Across Every Seat in Latin American Tech w/ Jimena Pardo, Co-Founder, Carrot; Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Hi Ventures 53:33

3M ago53:33

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway speaks with Jimena Pardo, co-founder of Carrot, Mexico's first car-sharing platform, and now Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Hi Ventures. Jimena opens up about the rollercoaster of building Carrot, the lessons of operating in a tough market, and how she transitioned from founder to investor. She …

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The Critical Security Stage Every Startup Skips (With Michael Nov) 24:50

3M ago24:50

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Michael Nov, Co-Founder and CEO of Prime Security, reveals how ignoring the design stage creates costly security gaps later. He shares hard-won lessons from building at OwnBackup and launching a startup during crisis. Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-nov Prime Security: https://www.primesec.ai Jon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-mclach…

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Episode 15: From Pageant to Drag King to Netflix Midnight Asia: Darice Chang’s Journey of Queering the System 1:09:58

3M ago1:09:58

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Send us a text What if you’ve been told that you’re too queer and too much, but you choose to become even more? In this episode of Asian Rebel Club podcast, I sit down with Darice Chang - a queer Taiwanese-American writer, performer, meditation teacher, and cultural disruptor who has never fit neatly into the boxes assigned to them. From competing …

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Betting on Yourself, Breaking Into Tech, & Refusing to Take No for an Answer w/ Melodie van der Baan, Co-Founder & CEO, Max Retail 52:12

4M ago52:12

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway chats with Melodie van der Baan, co-founder and CEO of Max Retail. Melodie shares her unconventional journey from skipping college to diving into real estate, losing everything in the housing crash, and then transforming into a mobile designer clothes distributor. Her challenges and experiences ev…

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Voice AI for Insurance: The Technology Finally Ready for Prime Time 28:17

4M ago28:17

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Investment banking taught him speed, but Amir Prodensky needed something bigger to build. Fresh from Revolut's hyper-growth chaos, Amir saw the massive gap in financial services customer experience. Insurance customers were stuck with phone queues and paper processes while expecting Amazon-level service. So he built Strada: AI agents that handle ev…

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How to Use AI Without Giving Up Your Data (with Jonathan Mortensen) 36:41

4M ago36:41

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Contracts aren’t controls. Jonathan Mortensen, CEO of Confident Security, lays out a practical path to provably private AI—confidential compute, attestation, and encrypted weights—so you can swap your OpenAI-compatible endpoint, keep crown-jewel data out of vendor training, and still close enterprise deals. Listen to learn how founders can pass sec…

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AI is Rewriting Data Roles—Will Your Team Survive the Shift? 45:12

4M ago45:12

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He walked away from aerospace engineering and built a SaaS startup cutting data transformation time by 90%. Kaustav Mitra, co-founder and CEO of Paradime.io, shares how he turned a restless career path into a weapon—building teams with autonomy, betting on AI before the noise, and rethinking how companies manage data at scale. You’ll get clear on: …

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Episode 14: The Unicorn Hunter: How Di Joined 4 Billion-Dollar Startups by Trusting Her Gut 1:09:18

4M ago1:09:18

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Send us a text Di’s career sounds like a startup fairytale—she’s worked at four billion-dollar companies (Zhihu, KEEP, Airbnb, and Zoomcar) before they hit it big. But her real superpower? Defying expectations. In this episode, we explore: How she escaped the "study-or-fail" pressure of her upbringing in China Why she turned down a traditional care…

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From Visual Search Founder to Visionary VC w/ Jewel Burks Solomon, Co-Founder of Partpic & Managing Partner, Collab Capital 52:54

4M ago52:54

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Jewel Burke Solomon, a founder, investor, and community leader based in Atlanta. Jewel shares her experiences of co-founding PartPic, a startup designed to identify and replace industrial parts through visual search technology, which was later acquired by Amazon. She discusses her chall…

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AI’s Hidden Failure Point Is in Your Data Stack (it’s costing you millions) 48:52

4M ago48:52

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Barr Moses grew up running experiments in her dad’s physics lab. Today, she’s the CEO of Monte Carlo, the leading platform for data + AI observability. This episode goes beyond her founder story. It’s about why data trust is the new currency in AI—and how Barr built the playbook for companies that want to move fast without breaking everything. She’…

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Augment Code: AI Agents, Engineered to Ship (with Scott Dietzen) 37:51

4M ago37:51

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AI isn’t just writing code—it’s joining the team. Scott Dietzen, Board Member at Augment Code, explains how Augment’s AI agents are changing the way enterprise software is built, secured, and scaled. These aren’t copilots for toy projects—they’re context-aware agents designed for real-world codebases and real production work. Scott: https://www.lin…

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Episode 13: Jeff Jimenez: "I got stage 4 cancer & started a business - Here’s why" 46:53

4M ago46:53

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Send us a text Jeff Jimenez was grinding in corporate finance when a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis flipped his life upside down. Instead of slowing down, he launched Love Jane, a fashion brand worn by Miss Universe and featured on Netflix, while undergoing chemo. In this raw conversation, he shares: Why he built a business instead of "just travelin…

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Founder, Filmmaker, Humanitarian, & VC: Reinvention through Purpose w/ Sean O'Sullivan, Co-Founder of MapInfo & Managing GP, SOSV 51:21

4M ago51:21

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This episode of Outsider Inc. features Sean O'Sullivan, Co-Founder of MapInfo & Managing General Partner of SOSV. Host Ian Hathaway leads the conversation with the digital mapping pioneer, deep tech investor, and humanitarian, as he shares his extraordinary journey from co-founding MapInfo, a revolutionary digital street mapping system, to his role…

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Rewiring Nutrition With AI. The Hard Part? Culture, Not Code. 38:35

5M ago38:35

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She spent a decade in public health—and built the product she wished existed. Ludovica’s journey spans biotech, epigenetics, and behavior change. But after years designing obesity interventions, one insight stuck: people don’t need more advice—they need fewer barriers. She founded Reveal My Food to make healthy eating frictionless. It’s the first A…

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How Free AI Tools Become Expensive Mistakes (with Michael Moore, VP & Head of Legal at Glean) 19:04

5M ago19:04

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Free AI tools promise speed—but they can quietly kill enterprise deals. In this episode, Michael Moore, VP and Head of Legal at Glean, unpacks the legal, privacy, and trust pitfalls that most AI startups overlook. He explains how to design AI products that survive legal scrutiny, earn buyer trust, and actually close.Michael: www.linkedin.com/in/mic…

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How AI Helps Creative Teams Go Global Without Burning Out 59:22

5M ago59:22

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"Culturalization isn’t just better marketing—it’s survival." What’s the right way to scale globally with AI? Is localization enough—or do you need cultural depth to win trust and customers? This episode is part of our **Revolut Mafia Series**, spotlighting the 100+ alumni now building some of the sharpest AI startups in tech. Ashish and Ahmed, co-f…

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Episode 12: From Fashion Icon to Authentic Living: Alex Liang on Style, Scrolling, and Saying ‘Enough’ (Part 2) 37:10

5M ago37:10

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Send us a text In Part 2 of our conversation, Alex Liang, fashion influencer turned real estate creative, gets real about: The downside of social media fame ("I’m more private than people think") Navigating identity as an Asian man in fashion ("I had no role models—so I made my own rules") Why he walked away from the influencer world ("It got borin…

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From Lagos to Birmingham: Bootstrapping to Billions and Scaling Belief Systems Through Constraints w/ Shegun Otulana, Founder & CEO of TheraNest & Harmony Venture Labs 58:51

5M ago58:51

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway speaks with Shegun Otulana, co-founder and CEO of TheraNest and Harmony Venture Labs. Shegun shares his journey from arriving in Alabama from Lagos, Nigeria at 18, to bootstrapping his first consulting firm, and eventually scaling TheraNest into a national leader in mental health software. The con…

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The Security Risk No One Sees Coming with AI Agents (TraceForce.ai Special) 39:13

5M ago39:13

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AI agents can do more than access your data—they can act. TraceForce.ai founders Xia Hua and Glenn Mulvaney reveal the next big security risk: autonomous agents that operate beyond permission boundaries. From startup execution to securing the agent economy, this special episode covers it all. Xia: www.linkedin.com/in/xia-hua-ph-d Glenn: www.linkedi…

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E219 - How He Built a ₹1500 Cr Food Empire Without a Single Restaurant | Jaydeep Barman, Rebel Foods 1:40:40

5M ago1:40:40

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How do you build a ₹1500 crore food empire — with no restaurants, no chefs, and no legacy playbook?In this episode, we sit down with Jaydeep Barman, co-founder and CEO of Rebel Foods, to decode how one of India’s most ambitious startups is reimagining the entire food industry — from the cloud kitchen up.This isn’t a story about biryani and wraps. I…

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Episode 11: From Fashion Icon to Authentic Living: Alex Liang on Style, Scrolling, and Saying ‘Enough’ (Part 1) 45:18

5M ago45:18

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Send us a text Named one of Canada’s Top Style Influencers, Alex Liang isn’t just an influencer, luxury brand collaborator, and a Partner of the luxury real estate agency Engel & Völkers. He’s a quiet rebel who traded the glitz of social media fame for a life of deeper purpose. In this candid first installment of our two-part conversation, Alex ope…

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From Hacker to Security Pioneer & Community Leader in Michigan w/ Dug Song, Co-Founder & fmr CEO, Duo Security 55:46

5M ago55:46

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In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway interviews Dug Song, co-founder of Duo Security, which sold to Cisco for $2.35B in 2018. Dug shares his unconventional journey from latchkey kid and hacker to leading one of Michigan's biggest tech exits — and building a culture-first cybersecurity company grounded in empathy, usability, and trust…

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AI Agents: Your CFO’s Secret Weapon 54:43

5M ago54:43

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AI Agents Are Quietly Turning Your Back Office Into a Growth Engine Most companies still treat finance and operations as cost centers. Sumant Shringari thinks that’s outdated — and dangerous. In this episode, Sumant explains how his company Pontus uses AI agents, automation, and machine learning to turn back-office chaos into serious business value…

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Episode 10: From Backpacker to Forbes 30 Under 30: Jacob Tan on Rewriting the Playbook on Sustainability in China 1:07:53

6M ago1:07:53

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Send us a text In this episode of The Asian Rebel Club Podcast, I sit down with Jacob Tan, a two-time Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and pioneer of sustainability consulting in China. From surviving premature birth to nearly dying twice while backpacking, Jacob shares how confronting mortality shaped his unconventional path, leaving corporate stability…

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How Startups Can Fight AI Deepfake Fraud (with Ben Colman) 32:54

5M ago32:54

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AI-generated fraud is now mainstream—and your team probably can’t tell the difference. Ben Colman shares hard-earned insights on fighting deepfakes, building detection tech that actually works, and how to stay ahead in the AI arms race. Ben: www.linkedin.com/in/benpcolman Reality Defender: www.realitydefender.com Jon: www.linkedin.com/in/jon-mclach…

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E218 - Swiggy’s Secret Revealed: How They Run 100 Cr Orders Without Falling Apart with Rohit Kapoor, Swiggy Food Delivery CEO 1:00:03

6M ago1:00:03

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How do you deliver 100 crore orders a year — without bloating, breaking, or burning out?In this episode, we sit down with Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplaces at Swiggy, to break down what it really takes to scale India’s most complex consumer business — and still operate like a startup.From McKinsey to Max Healthcare, from OYO to Swiggy — Rohit …

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Episode 9: The Taliban Erased Her Home - She Fought Back With Beauty: Fatimah Hossaini on Art, Identity & Resistance 59:16

6M ago59:16

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Send us a text What does it mean to create beauty in the midst of exile? Photographer and activist Fatimah Hossaini was forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban returned, but not before capturing the untold grace, power, and resilience of Afghan women through her lens. In this episode, Fatimah shares the story behind her escape, her fight to reclaim t…