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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 wisdom—think

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All Episodes

35:35

The Case for Crowdfunding Before Raising Venture...

Build Mode ·

2026/10/01

For years, crowdfunding had a reputation as the place founders went when they couldn’t raise venture capital. Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor thinks founders should look at it very differently.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Everett to talk about crowdfunding as an alternative and sometimes a precursor to traditional venture funding. Everette’s own path into entrepreneurship was unconventional. Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, far from Silicon Valley, he

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43:52

How a first-time founder bootstrapped her way to a...

Build Mode ·

2026/09/24

Ashley Tyrner-Dolce spent more than a decade building FarmboxRx without taking a single dollar of venture capital and ultimately exited the company while still owning the majority of it.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Ashley to talk about what bootstrapping actually looks like when you don’t have money from a previous exit or a wealthy network to fall back on. Ashley started the company after experiencing food insecurity herself. Years earlier, while

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39:38

Archer Went Public Just 3 Years After Launching and...

Build Mode ·

2026/09/17

Building flying taxis takes billions of dollars. So instead of relying on traditional venture rounds, Archer Aviation went public just a few years after it was founded.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, to talk about the unconventional fundraising strategy behind building one of the most capital-intensive startups around. Archer is building electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, designed to

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33:33

How Mbodi Is Solving Robotics’ Scaling Problem with...

Build Mode ·

2026/09/10

Robotics is having an AI boom, but don’t expect it to have a ChatGPT moment. In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Xavier Chi, co-founder of Mbodi, a startup building AI software that lets people teach industrial robots new skills using natural language. Xavier first joined Isabelle on the Startup Battlefield stage, where Mbodi became a crowd favorite with a live robot demo. Now, he’s back to talk about what happened after Battlefield and why he believes this

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56:44

Mistakes That Make Investors Nervous, According to a...

Build Mode ·

2026/09/03

There is no such thing as the perfect pitch. But you can get close by implementing a few research-backed methods to your delivery, deck, and message.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Dr. Eike Gerhardt, who has aPhD in pitching and spent nearly a decade studying the science of startup pitching before starting Autopoiesis Sciences. And he’s joined by Demetri Maxim, co-founder and CEO of Nephrogen, who came in second at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield

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58:03

How a Crisis Turned Julia Hartz Into the CEO...

Build Mode ·

2026/08/27

Eventbrite has survived nearly every kind of challenge a startup can face: launching into a financial crisis, raising venture capital after 27 rejections, going public, watching its core business disappear during COVID, and eventually leaving the public markets after nearly two decades of building.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Julia Hartz, co-founder and former CEO of Eventbrite, to unpack the decisions that helped the company weather those highs and lows

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44:46

Learn What VCs Actually Want, From a Founder Who's...

Build Mode ·

2026/08/20

Investors want founders who understand the financial reality of their business. Messy data, misunderstood metrics, or waiting until you’re nearly out of cash to start fundraising can cost founders leverage, valuation, and even a term sheet.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sasha Orloff, founder and CEO of Puzzle and Startup Battlefield alum, to talk about what he’s learned from building companies that have raised more than $1 billion collectively. Sasha breaks

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42:34

The VC Backing the American Dream with Manan Mehta,...

Build Mode ·

2026/08/13

Immigrant founders have built some of the world’s most valuable companies, but many still face barriers that make it harder to get a startup off the ground. Visa restrictions, limited access to friends-and-family capital, shallow networks, and a venture industry built around pattern matching can keep promising founders from getting funded before they have a chance to prove themselves.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Manan Mehta, co-founder and managing partner

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41:07

The legal mistakes that can sink your startup before...

Build Mode ·

2026/08/07

Setting up a sound legal foundation could be what saves a startup down the line. A missing founder vesting agreement, an unclear IP agreement, or a messy cap table can derail fundraising, spark co-founder disputes, or even kill an otherwise promising company before it has a chance to scale.In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Kristina Subbotinai, founder and CEO of Lesxy and former startup attorney at Cooley, to break down the legal fundamentals every founder

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26:54

Why SeatGeek walked away from going public with Jack...

Build Mode ·

2026/07/30

SeatGeek didn't become one of the biggest names in ticketing by following the playbook. It started as a simple ticket search engine on the TechCrunch 50 stage (now known as TechCrunch Battlefield) and took on the industry’s massive incumbents by expanding its vision, surviving industry-defining challenges, and convincing investors that even a monopoly could be disrupted.In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Jack Groetzinger, co-founder

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43:10

Nvidia's Sydney Sykes on Winning Corporate Venture...

Build Mode ·

2026/07/23

Building a great product is one thing. Getting a company like Nvidia to put its name behind it is something else entirely.In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Sydney Sykes, who leads global venture capital alliances and partnerships at Nvidia, to unpack how startups break into the Nvidia ecosystem and what a corporate venture capital partnership actually looks like once they're in. Sydney explains how founders can get on Nvidia's

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35:59

How Elorian AI pulled off a $300M pre-seed valuation...

Build Mode ·

2026/07/16

Building an AI startup is one thing. Raising one of the largest seed rounds of the year before launching a product is something else entirely. In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Andrew Dai, founder and CEO of Elorian and former Google DeepMind researcher, to unpack how his company raised a $55 million seed round at a $300 million valuation before generating revenue or releasing a product. Andrew shares what investors saw in Elorian's

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41:33

The New Rules of Early-Stage Fundraising with Charles...

Build Mode ·

2026/07/09

Raising your first round has always been hard — but in today’s market, the rules are changing fast. In this episode of Build Mode, our host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, to talk about what early-stage founders need to know before raising their first institutional round. Charles shares a candid look at how the venture landscape has shifted, why AI is changing what investors pay attention to, and

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0:55

Build Mode: Inside the Fundraise

Build Mode ·

2026/07/06

Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you're raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated the fundraising journey. Hosted by TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is the TechCrunch podcast where founders,

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16:52

Best of Build Mode: Think like a VC

Build Mode ·

2026/06/18

This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about venture capital. Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit conversations from past seasons to give founders a glimpse behind the VC curtain and a better understanding of what investors are really looking for.From choosing the right investors to building a differentiated go-to-market strategy, these venture capitalists and founder-turned-investors share hard-earned lessons on

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18:02

Best of Build Mode: Scaling Company Culture

Build Mode ·

2026/06/11

This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about company culture. Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit some of the most insightful conversations from past seasons to explore how founders intentionally shape culture from day one and why the habits, values, and decisions of leadership have an outsized impact as companies scale.Guests share lessons on hiring for culture, developing strong leaders, building diverse teams,

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27:09

Best of Build Mode: The Founder Mistakes That Cost...

Build Mode ·

2026/06/04

This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about startup mistakes, hard-earned lessons, and the decisions founders wish they’d made differently.Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit some of the most insightful conversations from past seasons to explore the missteps that shaped successful companies. Guests share candid stories about chasing product-market fit, making hiring mistakes, navigating investor expectations, managing

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20:53

Best of Build Mode: Cofounders, Conflict and...

Build Mode ·

2026/05/28

This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about effective partnerships, from cofounder relationships and team trust to investor dynamics and leadership communication.Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit some of the most insightful conversations from past seasons to explore what makes startup partnerships actually work. Guests share candid stories about finding cofounders online, navigating founder breakups, building trust

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45:30

The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found...

Build Mode ·

2026/05/14

This week we're sharing our very first episode with Deon Nicholas, the co-founder and CEO of Forethought AI. In this episode, Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. He unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors. 00:00 Intro 01:23 The Founder Journey: Adapting Every 6-9 Months 05:33 From AI Research to Solving Business Problems

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31:51

Maintaining Momentum and Morale During the Long Road...

Build Mode ·

2026/04/30

Surviving the long road to FDA approval isn’t just about building great technology, it’s about keeping your team motivated, finding the right investors, and learning how to operate when timelines are uncertain.This week on Build Mode, Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Robbie Bustami, co-founder and CEO of BioticsAI, a Startup Battlefield-winning company building an AI copilot for ultrasound to help detect fetal abnormalities. From a $100K prototype to FDA clearance, Robhy shares what it actually

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