Best Venture Capital Vs Bootstrapping Podcasts (2025)

1
Aravind Srinivas: The Race to Build the AI Browser of the Future 43:12

Play Pause

19h ago43:12

43:12

Aravind Srinivas on June 16, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Aravind Srinivas started Perplexity with one goal: to rethink how we search, browse, and interact with information online. In this conversation, he shares the journey from hacking together a natural-language-to-SQL search tool to building a product used by millions around the w…

1
Insiders React: Musk Launches “America Party” + YouTube Declares War on AI Slop, Sequoia's Mamdani Scandal 51:36

1d ago51:36

51:36

Is Silicon Valley building the future or just trying to rule it? From Elon Musk’s new political party to retail investors buying fake OpenAI stock, the startup world is getting weirder, faster. In this episode, Chris Saad and Shira Lazar break down a massive week in tech, politics, and startup culture. They unpack Elon Musk’s launch of the “America…

1
Andrew Ng: Building Faster with AI 43:57

2d ago43:57

43:57

Andrew Ng on June 16, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Andrew Ng has helped shape some of the most influential movements in modern AI—from online education to deep learning to AI entrepreneurship. In this talk, he shares what he’s learning now: why execution speed matters more than ever, how agentic workflows are changing what startups ca…

1
Top 7 Mistakes Founders Make in Raising Early Stage VC w/ Amir Shevat (Edu) 53:40

6d ago53:40

53:40

Are you sure your startup should be raising venture capital? Most founders assume VC is the goal—but for many, it's the wrong fuel entirely. In this episode, we bust that myth wide open. Join Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad as they sit down with Amir Shevat, General Partner at Darkmode Ventures (ex-Google, Slack, Twitter), to unpack the seven most d…

1
Insiders React: Cloudflare Makes AI Pay + Figma Files For IPO, Grammarly Buys Superhuman 46:29

10d ago46:29

46:29

What happens when the internet starts charging AI to crawl its content? And can legacy tools like Figma or Grammarly survive the AI age, or will they be replaced by smarter, faster upstarts? In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad break down some of the most important shifts in tech and business right now. From Cloudflare’s launch of AI pay…

1
François Chollet: The ARC Prize & How We Get to AGI 34:47

10d ago34:47

34:47

François Chollet on June 16, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco. François Chollet is a leading voice in AI. He's the creator of the Keras library, author of Deep Learning with Python, and the founder of the ARC Prize, a global competition aimed at measuring true general intelligence. He's spent years thinking deeply about what intelligence …

1
Collabs 39:39

11d ago39:39

39:39

This week, we dive deep into the power of collabs—brand, creator, and retail—and how they can drive growth without relying solely on paid ads. From custom merch drops to brand partnerships, they unpack their own wins, misses, and lessons learned trying to make collabs actually work. 📢 Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on you…

1
Fei-Fei Li: Spatial Intelligence is the Next Frontier in AI 44:21

12d ago44:21

44:21

A fireside with Dr. Fei-Fei Li on June 16, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Dr. Fei-Fei Li is often called the godmother of AI—and for good reason. Before the world had AI as we know it, she was helping build the foundation.In this fireside, she recounts the creation of ImageNet, a project that helped ignite the deep learning revolution b…

1
Master Your AI Prompts and Unlock ChatGPT's Full Potential w/ Jonathan Mast (Edu) 59:58

13d ago59:58

59:58

Struggling to get good results from ChatGPT or other AI tools? You’re probably prompting it wrong, and you’re not alone. Many founders assume AI just knows what you mean. Without the right prompt structure, though, even the most powerful LLMs will fail to deliver. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein is joined by Jonathan Mast—seasoned entrepreneur, AI…

1
Legendary Consumer VC Predicts The Future Of AI Products 35:46

17d ago35:46

35:46

Kirsten Green, founder of Forerunner Ventures, has backed some of the most iconic consumer brands of the past two decades — from Warby Parker to Chime to Dollar Shave Club. In this conversation with Garry, she shares how great products (not marketing tricks) still win, why AI is unlocking a new kind of emotional relationship between consumers and t…

1
Insiders React: Anthropic's Huge AI Copyright Win + Speech to Text Better Than Ever, Peter Thiel's Tech Dystopia 34:37

17d ago34:37

34:37

Is training AI on copyrighted content stealing, or just learning? A major U.S. court just weighed in, and the verdict could rewrite the rules for startups using generative AI. Too many founders assume "training data" is fair game but that blind spot could cost them billions. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad, experienced startup opera…

1
Satya Nadella: Microsoft's AI Bets, Hyperscaling, Quantum Computing Breakthroughs 40:29

18d ago40:29

40:29

A fireside with Satya Nadella on June 17, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Satya Nadella started at Microsoft in 1992 as an engineer. Three decades later, he’s now Chairman & CEO, navigating the company through one of the most profound technological shifts yet: the rise of AI.In this conversation, he shares how Microsoft is thinking about…

1
Email Marketing 28:31

21d ago28:31

28:31

Jack and David pull back the curtain on how they actually use email marketing inside their brands—what's working, what's not, and all the stuff they’ve stopped wasting time on. From flows and pop-ups to why copy matters more than design, it’s a real convo about figuring email out without overcomplicating it. 📢 Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listen…

1
Sam Altman: The Future of OpenAI, ChatGPT's Origins, and Building AI Hardware 42:44

23d ago42:44

42:44

A fireside with Sam Altman at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Sam Altman grew up obsessed with technology, broke into the Stanford mainframe as a kid, and dropped out to start his first company before turning 20.In this conversation, he traces the path from early startup struggles to building OpenAI—sharing what he’s learned about ambition, the …

1
Elon Musk: Digital Superintelligence, Multiplanetary Life, How to Be Useful 49:40

23d ago49:40

49:40

A fireside with Elon Musk at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Before rockets and robots, Elon Musk was drilling holes through his office floor to borrow internet. In this candid talk, he walks through the early days of Zip2, the Falcon 1 launches that nearly ended SpaceX, and the “miracle” of Tesla surviving 2008. He shares the thinking that guid…

1
Insiders React: Sam Altman’s 'Gentle Singularity' + Workplace AI at an All-Time High, Meta's $30B Scale AI Acquihire 46:39

24d ago46:39

46:39

Is AI about to transform the world… gently? Sam Altman says yes, but are we being lulled into complacency while the real risks go unchallenged? Startups everywhere are rushing to embed AI into their workflows, but few understand just how flawed that human-AI interaction can be. From broken prompting to billion-dollar power plays, the future of AI i…

1
Andrej Karpathy: Software Is Changing (Again) 39:31

23d ago39:31

39:31

Andrej Karpathy's keynote at AI Startup School in San Francisco.Drawing on his work at Stanford, OpenAI, and Tesla, Andrej sees a shift underway. Software is changing, again. We’ve entered the era of “Software 3.0,” where natural language becomes the new programming interface and models do the rest.He explores what this shift means for developers, …

1
Apps Are Obsolete: How Startups Can Leverage the New Era of AI Agents (Spotlight) 46:43

27d ago46:43

46:43

What if your next startup competitor doesn’t have a single employee? AI agents aren’t just another software trend — they’re redefining the interface between humans, data, and execution, yet many founders still confuse basic chatbots with the true potential of these agents. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Jeremiah Owyang, General Part…

1
Apple WWDC Breakdown + Musk & Trump's Messy Divorce, a16z's Fresh Take on AI Startups 54:12

1M ago54:12

54:12

Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote revealed a lot – just not what you’d expect. Siri’s long-awaited AI upgrade was quietly delayed, and instead Apple rolled out a grab bag of long-overdue features, flashy design updates, and deep ChatGPT integrations. Is this a bold product reset, or proof that Apple is falling behind? Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Donald Trump …

1
Cliffs and Cashflow 31:58

1M ago31:58

31:58

In this episode, Jack and David dive into the financial ups and downs of running an ecom brand — from battling cash flow crunches and navigating debt traps to rethinking channel dependencies like wholesale. David shares his candid story of turning things around with a strategic line of credit, while both hosts explore emerging traffic sources and t…

1
Cursor CEO: Going Beyond Code, Superintelligent AI Agents And Why Taste Still Matters 37:28

1M ago37:28

37:28

Michael Truell, co-founder and CEO of Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, joins Garry to talk about building one of the fastest-growing startups of all time—and why he's betting on a future beyond code. He walks through the early insights that led his team to leave a promising AI-powered CAD project and instead chase a bigger dream: reinventing h…

1
Fusion Energy Is Tech's Next Big Unlock 8:07

1M ago8:07

8:07

Fusion may still sound like science fiction— but it might not be for much longer. With AI pushing demand for clean power to new highs, a breakthrough may finally be close. For Decoded, YC General Partner Gustaf Alstromer traces the history of fusion, the physics behind it, and the engineering challenges that stalled it for nearly a century. He also…

1
Insiders React: Meta's Luckey Military Deal + Google's Plan to Split Itself, Europe Revives AI & Startups 27:20

1M ago27:20

27:20

Can consumer tech like Facebook and Oculus really help win wars? As governments get serious about AI and startups, Silicon Valley is being dragged—sometimes unwillingly—into the global military and geopolitical game. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein unpack how Meta is teaming up with Anduril—the military tech startup founded by Oculu…

1
Bid Caps in Meta Ads? 26:30

1M ago26:30

26:30

In this episode, we dive into our recent experiments with Facebook bid caps—what’s working, what’s not, and all the frustrating in-betweens. From campaign structures to profitability tradeoffs and whether small brands like ours can really thrive with cost-controlled ad strategies, we break down what it’s really like trying to make Meta ads work whe…

1
How the PRFAQ Made Amazon Great (And Can Do The Same for You) w/ Marcelo Calbucci (Edu) 1:00:14

1M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Are you building a startup strategy—or just making it look like you have one? Too many founders mistake polished slide decks for actual strategic thinking, leading to misalignment, wasted resources, and failed products. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad are joined by Marcelo Calbucci, former Amazon director and author of The PRFAQ Fra…

1
Insiders React: Sam Altman's New $6B Partnership + Klarna's AI Backtrack, Bitcoin Over $111K 44:17

1M ago44:17

44:17

What does it mean when OpenAI gives away $6 billion worth of equity just to bring one man on board? In a world where design, brand, and user experience could determine AI dominance, are startups undervaluing human-centered thinking? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv unpack OpenAI’s jaw-dropping acquisition of Jony Ive's mysterious startup “io,” and …

1
Shipping: In-House vs 3PL 44:02

2M ago44:02

44:02

In Episode 12, Jack and David dive deep into the gritty reality of shipping—comparing in-house fulfillment vs. 3PLs. They unpack their personal setups, the hidden costs, control trade-offs, horror stories, and why neither path is as simple as it seems. Whether you're taping boxes in your garage or ready to outsource, this convo hits home. 📢 Enjoyed…

1
AI Apps Are Broken — Here's How To Fix Them 30:07

2M ago30:07

30:07

In this episode of The Breakdown, Tom and Dave are joined by fellow YC General Partner Pete Koomen to lay out a new vision for how AI should actually work: not as a chatbot bolted onto legacy software, but as a customizable tool that helps people offload the work they don't want to do. From editable system prompts to agents that act more like colla…

1
Insiders React: Google Goes AI 'Beast Mode' + Airbnb's Bold Pivot, Microsoft’s Agent Strategy 55:49

2M ago55:49

55:49

Is Google staging the biggest comeback in tech history? Or are we just getting swept up in the hype? Founders often underestimate just how fast platform shifts change the rules of the game, and Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are rewriting the rulebook in real time. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad break down Google’s massive AI showca…

1
Profit First 33:58

2M ago33:58

33:58

In this episode, we dive into the "Profit First" mindset; what it is, why it’s hard to implement in the unpredictable cash-hungry world of ecom, and how it’s helped us along the way. From frozen Amex cards to tax surprises, we explore how to manage cash flow when inventory eats your capital, and what it takes to build a business that funds itself -…

1
From Floorplans to Full Renovations: How Maket's AI Owns the Architectural Stack (Spotlight) 54:35

2M ago54:35

54:35

Can AI really design your home? 800,000+ users have already ditched their architects thanks to Maket, a startup using AI to simplify renovations from floorplans to permits. In this Spotlight episode, Maket founder Patrick Murphy delivers a mock version of the real pitch that secured $2M in funding from top investors including Reid Hoffman’s Blitzsc…

1
Insiders React: Death of Google Search? + YC's Startup Wishlist, Trump’s Saudi AI Deals 1:04:57

2M ago1:04:57

1:04:57

What happens when Apple hints that Google’s search dominance may be cracking, triggering a $155 billion wipeout in Alphabet’s value? Many still think Google search is untouchable, but a shift in user behavior and a few lines in DOJ testimony may signal otherwise. In this episode, Chris Saad, Yaniv Bernstein, and Amir Shevat explore how Apple’s reve…

3M ago51:19

51:19

1
Meta Ads Deep Dive 49:44

3M ago49:44

49:44

In Episode 9 (wow, how did we get here already!), we’re getting real about Meta ads: the good, the bad, and the painfully expensive. We talk through what’s working (finally), what’s not, and all the messy lessons we’ve learned running our own ad accounts without big budgets or fancy agencies. 📢 Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a r…

1
How To Get The Most Out Of Vibe Coding | Startup School 16:39

3M ago16:39

16:39

AI can't yet one-shot an entire product—but with the rise of vibe coding, it's getting close. YC's Tom Blomfield has spent the last month building side projects with tools like Claude Code, Windsurf, and Aqua, seeing just how far you can push modern LLMs. From writing full-stack apps to debugging with a single paste of an error message, AI is becom…

1
Insiders React: China Retaliates Against NVIDIA Embargo + US Startups in Crisis, Google Faces Legal Heat 39:04

3M ago39:04

39:04

Huawei has just announced a new AI chip—does this mean tariffs accelerating Chinese innovation? This week, Chris Saad, Yaniv Bernstein, and guest Amir Shevat dig into how the AI trade war and tech monopolies are reshaping the global startup landscape. Plus, on a lighter note: why Sam Altman says politeness in AI prompts is surprisingly expensive. I…

1
Climbing the Sourcing Ladder 34:56

3M ago34:56

34:56

In this episode, Jack and David go deep on the real behind-the-scenes of product design, sourcing, and packaging—when you don’t have a big team or massive budgets. From hiring designers to leveraging suppliers, and from poly mailers to box regrets, this one’s packed with practical tips for scrappy founders figuring it out as they go. 📢 Enjoyed the …

1
Next-Gen Founders: Startups in the Age of AI (Edu) 53:02

3M ago53:02

53:02

Is AI making startups easier—or just changing the rules of the game? In a world where execution is cheap and accessible, building a successful startup is more competitive than ever. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein unpack the reality of every business having access to the same AI-driven tools, what makes a startup successful in this …

1
How Zepto Became India’s Fastest Growing Startup 38:23

3M ago38:23

38:23

Imagine ordering groceries and having them show up at your doorstep in just 10 minutes. That’s the promise of Zepto, the fastest-growing e-commerce company in India. In this episode of How To Build The Future, Garry sits down with Aadit Palicha, the co-founder and CEO of Zepto, to discuss how they got started in a Whatsapp group, what it’s like goi…

1
Insiders React: Meta's Whistleblower Bombshell + NVIDIA's $500B AI Investment, OpenAI’s New GPT-4.1 44:12

3M ago44:12

44:12

In this episode of The Startup Podcast, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein react to former Meta executive Sarah Wynn-Williams’ jaw-dropping testimony in front of the US Senate Judiciary Committee. She alleges Facebook put profits above all else—including the mental health of young users and even national security. Plus, we discuss the political theater…

3M ago45:48

45:48

Is your startup’s PR strategy just a vanity exercise? Most founders make the mistake of announcing fundraising rounds like it’s a badge of honor, hoping for instant traction and credibility. But here's the truth: if you're chasing headlines without a strategy, you're wasting money. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein and Jessy Wu, founder of Encour, d…