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PODCAST

Founder Reality

Founder Reality with George Pu AI is eating jobs, companies, and entire industries. Most people are watching it happen. This show is for the ones who refuse to. Every week, George and his team break down what"s actually changing - from the $285B market selloffs to the career decisions nobody"s talking about - with unfiltered takes from someone who"s built a $10M+ portfolio with zero VC and zero exits. No startup theater. No productivity hacks. Just the real decisions behind building businesses

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

33:39

E26: Governments Are Giving Away ChatGPT for Free...

Founder Reality ·

2025/10/06

Governments are giving away ChatGPT Plus subscriptions for free to entire populations. Private companies are bundling AI tools to close productivity gaps. If your startup isn't doing this for employees, you're already behind.Governments subsidizing AI access for citizens:UAE planning to give all citizens free ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) - tens of millions per monthUAE collaborated with OpenAI on Stargate project - building massive compute plantsSingapore created "Ask Jasmine" - AI assistant

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27:39

E25: AI Will Copy Your MVP in Three Weeks: Why I...

Founder Reality ·

2025/10/03

AI will copy your MVP in three weeks (maybe less). This is why I never build single product companies anymore. Revenue diversification beats revenue projection - here's the ecosystem model that actually survives.The new brutal reality of building software:Claude 4.5 Sonnet just dropped - experienced developers rebuild 80% of products in days, not monthsIntercom (10+ years, complex): 80% copyable in 3 weeksCarta (niche cap table management): Core features in a few daysSimpleDirect Financing

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21:53

Why My Friends Making $500K at Google Regret Their...

Founder Reality ·

2025/10/01

I have a friend who makes $500K at Google. He's worked there 15 years, made Managing Director, and he told me: "I've basically given up and I'm just collecting my paycheck." This is what happens when you trade freedom for money.The pattern I keep seeing across industries and countries:Waterloo classmate at Microsoft making $250K base - quit because he felt unmotivatedFriend at Google for 15 years making $500K+ - gave up on career, just collecting paycheck due to office politicsInvestment

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28:45

E23: The Startup Playbook Just Changed: Three Stories...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/30

Three stories from this week reveal something fundamental changing about how you build businesses in 2025. The old VC playbook is dead - here's what's actually working now.Story 1: Founders walking away from traditional VC (and it's strategic, not desperate):Mercury surveyed 1,500 early-stage startups about funding in 202566% of founders changed their capitalization strategy in the past year73% raised under $5M total, using 4+ different funding sources61% rely on contractor talent instead

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23:35

E22: The $60 Million GitHub Move That Just Killed...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/26

While everyone argues about which AI model is best, the smart money is building connectors that work with ALL of them. This week GitHub and Microsoft just made this approach inevitable - and if you're still building custom integrations for every AI tool, you're about to feel very stupid.What is MCP and why the scary name doesn't matter:MCP = Model Context Protocol (sounds scarier than it is)Think of it as a translator that helps your AI talk to different business toolsLike giving ChatGPT a

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19:51

E21: Zero Meetings: How I Run Two Companies Without a...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/24

I looked at my calendar this week: zero meetings. Last week: zero meetings. Most founders think this is impossible, but here's what six years taught me - meetings don't make you productive, they make you FEEL productive.The meeting theater that's killing startups:Pre-COVID: Weekly all-hands, daily standups, planning meetings felt "professional"Post-pandemic: Meeting culture exploded to 7-8 back-to-back calls dailyI was mentally checked out 90% of the time, reading Hacker News during

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21:37

E20: Why I Ignored 60% of My Customers for 5 Years...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/22

For 5 years building SimpleDirect, 45-50% of our blog traffic came from UK, Germany, France, and South America. I turned away all those paying customers because I thought "global" meant "complex." I was dead wrong. Every founder should build globally from day one - it's easier than perfecting a single local market.The "focus" trap that costs millions:Wore "US-only" restriction like a badge of honor despite constant international demandGot US address, phone number, incorporation, banking -

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23:52

E19: How I Learned to Learn (And Why It's Your Best...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/19

A year ago I ordered takeout daily, couldn't speak French, and avoided the gym. Today I cook my own meals, read French business newspapers, and work out every day. The secret wasn't willpower or dramatic changes - it was discovering that learning how to learn is the ultimate founder superpower.The learning misconception that kills progress:We think learning ends after college, then only happens during career transitions or layoffsTreat learning like New Year's resolutions - requiring

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18:05

EP18: Why I'm Shutting Down My 5-Year Startup...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/17

After 5 years building SimpleDirect Financing from my university dorm to today, I'm shutting it down. This isn't about failure - it's about the brutal lessons every founder needs to learn about attachment, external dependencies, and why starting with principles beats chasing opportunities.The real cost of founder attachment:Spent 5 years attached to one product idea from Waterloo sophomore year to nowWatched brilliant founders waste 4-5 years on dead products simply because "it's their

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14:12

EP 17: Why I Stopped Checking My Metrics 20 Times a...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/15

A few years ago I checked my Y Combinator application 20+ times a day. Last month I was obsessively refreshing Twitter analytics every few hours. Then I stopped caring about numbers completely - and everything started working better.The brutal reality of metric obsession:Checked YC application status obsessively after 2021/2022 interviews - made co-founders stressed with my manic energyTwitter became a constant refresh cycle - 5 likes meant failure, 30 likes meant successSimpleDirect

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20:58

EP 16: Why I'm Worried About My Friends' "Successful"...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/12

Why undisclosed acquisition prices should worry you. A bootstrap founder's analysis of the "successful" startup exits that may not be so successful - and why starting over in your thirties isn't a winning strategy.The pattern that's making me worried:Two friends' startups acquired in past two months, five in past two yearsAll labeled "successful acquisitions" but zero price disclosuresCompare to OpenAI buying hardware startup for $1 billion - that number got announced immediatelyWhen

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17:59

EP 15: Stop Taking Advice From VCs Who've Never Built...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/10

Why Silicon Valley VCs giving location advice to founders is complete BS. A technical founder's contrarian take on the "move to SF to maximize luck" myth that's costing bootstrap companies millions.The cringe-worthy VC advice that sparked this rant:Well-known Silicon Valley VC telling founders to "move back to SF"Claims "being successful as a founder is about luck, so maximize your chances"Treats founders like chess pieces on his board: "You should move here, you should do this"Classic

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15:55

EP 14: How Guaranteed Payment Turned My Best Partner...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/08

How guaranteed payment turned my best partner into my worst nightmare. A five-year partnership destroyed in 12 weeks - and the expensive systems lesson every founder needs to learn.The brutal reality of incentive misalignment:Had a 5-year partnership with David, splitting revenue 60/40 (he kept 60%)Performance-based system worked perfectly - he was engaged, responsive, calling multiple times dailyThe moment we signed a guaranteed monthly contract, complete radio silenceFrom proactive

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19:14

E13: The Three Stages of Founder Loneliness (And Why...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/05

Three years ago I was so desperate I asked a successful founder friend for a job. He said no - and saved my entrepreneurial career. Here's why the loneliness stage almost broke me and how I got through it.The brutal reality of choosing a different path:While friends got $60K-120K jobs with benefits, I was making what they earned in 1-2 monthsDating became weird - explaining you're "building something" at 22 sounds like unemployment with delusionsWhen people at parties asked what I do, I'd

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21:53

E12: Why Your Health is Your Most Important Business...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/03

Taking care of your health isn't selfish when you're building a company - it's the most important business decision you'll ever make. Here's why I completely changed my approach after losing my mentor.The wake-up call that changed everything:Lost my mentor Rob unexpectedly at 60 - two weeks after he said he'd be back from a tripFamily member diagnosed with late-stage cancer during routine checkRealized I was treating my body like it was invincible while building companiesIf I burn out my

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19:42

E11: Why I Built a Business That Can't Scale (My...

Founder Reality ·

2025/09/01

Most founders obsess over product-market fit while completely ignoring audience-market fit - and it's killing their businesses before they even start.I spent 5 years building SimpleDirect into a profitable company serving contractors, only to realize I'd chosen the worst possible audience for sustainable growth. Every customer had to be personally sold. No viral loops. No organic growth. No network effects.The audience selection problem:Built for contractors who don't create content or

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18:06

E10: Why I 'Fired' 9 People and Made More Money (The...

Founder Reality ·

2025/08/29

I went from 14 employees down to 5 people two years ago. It was the best business decision I've ever made. We're more profitable, faster, and I actually enjoy work again.The brutal reality of scaling too fast:14 people = 7 hours monthly just doing one-on-onesCommunication paths explode exponentially with team sizeYou start "finding tasks" for people instead of having natural work flowI failed the Sunday Night Test - dreading Monday mornings because of management overheadMultiple developer

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23:24

E9: Why Distribution is the Only Moat Left in the...

Founder Reality ·

2025/08/28

AI has killed every competitive advantage for software founders except one: distribution. If anyone can build your app in a week, your code isn't your moat - your crowd is.The brutal reality I'm seeing as a software founder since 2019:My first MVP took 8 months to build (April 2019 → January 2020). Today? That same product could be built in a week, maybe less.Feature parity happens instantly - competitors screenshot your app and rebuild it overnightWe're in the "infinite builders era" -

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28:01

E8: Building in Public vs. Building in Private (The...

Founder Reality ·

2025/08/25

Everyone's telling you to build in public. Share your revenue, your struggles, your team changes. Document everything. I'm calling BS.Most "building in public" is just startup theater with better marketing. Here's why - using my own expensive lessons about what to share, when to share it, and why most founders get transparency completely backwards.The performance theater problem:Stripe screenshots cropped to show only good months - I call it "number porn""Just hit $100K MRR!" posts with

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22:10

E7: Stop Learning About Startups and Just Start One...

Founder Reality ·

2025/08/22

I failed at 3 startups before SimpleDirect worked. A ride-sharing app that got destroyed at pitch competitions. A travel planning app that went nowhere. A cashback app that hit #2 on Product Hunt but still died.Each failure taught me more than years of reading startup books ever could.The biggest barrier to founder success isn't lack of knowledge - it's not starting in the first place.My failed projects:Ride-sharing app (college): Got humiliated on stage when I couldn't answer basic safety

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