x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Build Mode

On Build Mode, TechCrunch"s Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen cuts through the startup mythology to uncover how founders survive the brutal early days, navigate impossible funding landscapes, and somehow keep their companies — and sanity— intact. Each season, Isabelle is joined by founders, investors, and operators to dig into specific aspects of the startup journey, from creative go to market strategies to founder mental health. The interviews are full of candid startup

technology tech news

All Episodes

00:41:16

AI could be the solution for bureaucracy with Emilie...

Build Mode ·

2024/03/05

Applying for government benefits is a slow, tedious process that often leaves applicants in limbo for several months. Advocate looks to help. Today on Found Becca and Dom are talking with Advocate’s founder Emilie Poteat, the company that helps Americans engage with federal benefits programs through its technology-enabled services platform. In this episode they discuss how the Advocate team is using AI to automate advocacy and get the wait time for people seeking aid to nearly nothing.They also

en

00:33:42

Building in the DTC hayday with Ariel Kaye from...

Build Mode ·

2024/02/27

Do you know what brand your bedsheets are? Probably not. Today’s guest Ariel Kaye has been working to change that with Parachute, a DTC bedding and home goods company. Kaye started Parachute in 2013—the hayday of DTC brands. She joins Dom to talk about what it was like building as a solo founder while she’s established a well-known brand and expanded beyond bedding. They also talked about:Why parachute hasn’t raised as much capital as you might thinkHow Kaye’s branding expertise has driven the

en

00:47:12

Bringing the wedding industry into the 21st century...

Build Mode ·

2024/02/20

This episodes dives into the massive web of the wedding industry with Shan-Lyn Ma, the co-founder and CEO of Zola. Ma talked about why she decided to launch the business after trying to buy a gift for a friend and realizing that wedding registries were still living in the past. Ma spoke about how the company navigated changes in the digital and competitive landscapes over the last decade and how the company powered through the pandemic's impacts on the industry.(0:00) Introduction(3:33) Creating a

en

00:49:51

Closing the talent gap and mitigating bias in hiring...

Build Mode ·

2024/02/13

Is it time for the resume’s reign to come to an end? Tigran Sloyan is the co-founder and CEO of CodeSignal, a skills assessment platform used by many tech companies to hire engineers based on their engineering chops rather than their keyword-packed resumes. In this episode, Becca, Dom, and Tigran talk about how traditional resume-based hiring perpetuates biases and limits opportunities for individuals without extensive networks or prestigious credentials and how skills assessment lead to more

en

00:45:25

Bootstrapping until the business finds a home with...

Build Mode ·

2024/02/06

Not many businesses start with a seemingly incurable case of Bacterial Vaginosis but today’s guest, Beatrice Dixon, found a company and a cure all in one. The Honey Pot is a plant-based vaginal wellness brand that was co-founded by Beatrice after she launched by selling her products at hair shows. On today’s episode, she tells Becca and Dom how those hair shows lead to the Honey Pot hitting shelves in Target.They also talked about:How Beatrice knew it was time to stop bootstrappingThe importance of

en

00:32:19

Navigating media's ups and downs with theSkimm...

Build Mode ·

2024/01/30

It’s hard to remember a time when newsletters weren’t flooding every inbox but today’s guests were on the forefront of bringing easily digestible news directly to their audience. Today on Found, Becca is joined by Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, co-founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm which is a digital media company, dedicated to succinctly giving women the information they need to make confident decisions. They talked about how they’ve navigated the digital media industry for over a decade, how

en

00:43:15

Where gut health meets hypergrowth with Ben Goodwin...

Build Mode ·

2024/01/23

Gut health might be having a moment on TikTok but Ben Goodwin the co-founder and CEO of Olipop knows first hand the monumental impact a healthy microbiome can have on your mental and physical health. Today on Found. Becca and Dom are joined by Ben to talk about how he led the gut-healthy soda brand to amass $200 million in gross sales just five years after their launch.They also talked about:How the team prioritizes access to the product in low-income areas and food desertsFundraising and pitching

en

00:43:06

Taking a DTC brand to IRL stores with Gabi Lewis from...

Build Mode ·

2024/01/16

Grab your spoon and a carton of milk because today on Found we’re talking to Magic Spoon co-founder and CEO Gabi Lewis. Magic Spoon creates cereal flavors that play on our nostalgia for Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs with a grown-up high-protein twist. Dom and Becca talk with Gabi about how he and his co-founder prioritized product-market fit and found investors who didn’t think cereal was dead. They also talked about:What Gabi learned from his previous startup Exo which made cricket-protein bars and

en

00:37:34

Lessons from 20 years in the language learning...

Build Mode ·

2024/01/09

On today’s episode of Found, Dom and Becca talk to Markus Witte, co-founder of Babbel, a language learning app that had been operating since 2007. Babbel has become one of the most prominent language-learning apps but their first product was essentially just a vocab game and they quickly discovered that a multi-modal way of learning will always be more effective. Markus also talked about why he decided to step down as CEO and take on the role of chairman and how all four co-founders have worked

en

00:28:43

Scaling the freemium model with Alex Zaccaria from...

Build Mode ·

2024/01/02

This week Found is going down under. New Zealand-based TechCrunch reporter Rebecca Bellan talked with Alex Zaccaria the co-founder and CEO of Linktree about how they've scaled the freemium model to grow the social media reference landing page startup. Alex also talked about the challenges and benefits of fundraising internationally, the upside to raising in a more difficult climate, and how they see Linktree changing the way creators curate content for their audiences.Found posts every Tuesday

en

00:26:25

What we learned form a year of talking to founders

Build Mode ·

2023/12/26

Welcome to a very special host-only episode of Found. Dom and Becca are breaking down 2023 in startups by looking back on some of our favorite conversations and looking forward to predict some startup trends in 2024. They talked about innovative climate tech companies, AI ethics and fundraising, building good founder relationships, and what next year could look like for startups. Thanks to all our listeners for an amazing year, we’ll see you in 2024! Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple,

en

00:43:10

Making justice more accessible with Charlie Hernandez...

Build Mode ·

2023/12/19

This week’s episode is focused on Charlie Hernandez and his journey of building My Pocket Lawyer, an online platform that is meant to democratize access to legal advice and guidance for those that might not be able to afford a lawyer. Hernandez talked about why he decided to put his law degree to use to tackle this problem. He also talked about:How My Pocket Lawyer uses AI to curate publicly available legal documents for its usersWhy a startup is a better approach to tackle this problem compared to

en

00:39:43

Crowdfunding a cleaner mobile power solution with...

Build Mode ·

2023/12/12

This episode centers on James Wagoner, the co-founder and CEO of Joule Case, a startup that is creating a cleaner alternative to diesel generators. Wagoner talked about his journey to launching the company after the first company he, and his co-founder, started didn't survive the 2008 financial crisis. He also talked about: Why they chose to raise money through equity crowdfunding and how that's worked out for themWhat it has been like building in this new environment for cleantechHow he, and his

en

00:42:02

Why does MasterClass work? with David Rogier from...

Build Mode ·

2023/12/05

Today on Found, we’re talking to David Rogier, the CEO and founder of Masterclass, a streaming platform where you can learn from the world’s experts on a variety of topics, from baking to screen writing to developing empathy. Before David launched MasterClass, he worked as a VC. Through his connections there received a $500,000 seed round before he even had an idea for a company. That was nearly a decade ago, and today Dom, Becca and David talk about how he’s built the company since.They also talked

en

00:42:27

Building for Medicaid's regulatory moment with Neil...

Build Mode ·

2023/11/28

Medicaid is in its regulatory moment. Today we’re joined by Neil Batlivala from Pair Team, which is building the infrastructure that will help the most vulnerable populations get the clinical and social care they need through the Medicaid expansion. Dom and Becca talked to Neil about how his previous health tech experience lead him to start a company solely focused on connecting care facilities like food pantries and shelters to clinical training and care through Medicaid funding. They also talked

en

00:38:38

Owning the earscape market with Lisa Bubbers and Anna...

Build Mode ·

2023/11/21

Studs co-founders and good friends Lisa Bubbers and Anna Harman want to own your ear piercings. They are helping Gen Z people and millennials create their dream earscape with piercing studios that are opening across the country. They talk with Becca and Dom about building and fundraising for a VC-backed brick and mortar business.They also talked about:The importance branding has played in the success of StudsHow they pivoted during the COVID lockdowns to include a robust e-commerce optionThe way

en

00:38:46

Can sustainable FashionTech save the world?

Build Mode ·

2023/11/14

Today on Found, we have something a little different and extra special for you. We’re bringing you two bonus conversations all about sustainability in fashion from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. First up you’ll hear our very own Harri Weber sit down with three guests, Jim Ajioka from Colorifix, Beth Esponnette from unspun and Julie Willoughby from Circ. They are all powerhouses in sustainable fashion and they all happened to join Harri on the Sustainability Stage. Watch their full conversation here. In

en

00:47:49

Building digital infrastructure for developing...

Build Mode ·

2023/11/07

On today’s episode, host Becca Szkutak is joined by our old friend Darrell Etherington to talk with Nasrat Khalid of Aseel. Aseel started as an ecommerce company making it possible for local artisans in Afghanistan to sell to customers across the world and has evolved into working in humanitarian aid delivering emergency food supplies to people in need in Afghanistan and Turkey.They talk about:How Aseel built a digital infrastructure that made it possible for artisans to sell to customers all over

en

00:42:05

What not to do when getting your grocery startup off...

Build Mode ·

2023/10/31

Launching an e-commerce startup in the grocery space is no small task. On today’s episode Becca and Dom are joined by Abhi Ramesh, the CEO and founder of Misfits Market, a grocery startup that sells surplus and unwanted produce directly to consumers who don’t mind funny-looking foods. They talk about how he started the company in his apartment handling every aspect from personally buying the unwanted produce from the farms, to storing the food, to packaging and shipping, all while running the

en

00:42:05

Adapting to the climate crisis with Jonas Torland...

Build Mode ·

2023/10/24

Welcome back to Found, TechCrunch’s podcast that brings you the stories behind the startups. This week our hosts Becca Szkutak and Dom-Madori Davis talk with Jonas Torland from 7Analytics, a Norwegian company that has built a data platform that powers tools and products for sustainable risk management. Their models predict the water paths of floods which allow them to predict and map the damage.They got into:How to balance responsibilities between four foundersThe difference between mitigation and

en

218 results

Similar Podcasts

Lead With AI

Tamara Nall

Linux in the Ham Shack

Black Sparrow Media

Data Engineering Podcast

Tobias Macey

Eye On A.I.

Craig S. Smith

Reflections

Livewire Labs