Before the Lights Go On is a podcast about people in motion - builders, thinkers, and everyday entrepreneurs before recognition, clarity, or success arrives.
These are honest conversations about starting without certainty, learning in public, adapting along the way, and navigating the quiet chaos before things “make sense.”
No polished success stories. No hindsight shortcuts.
Just real conversations, curiosity, and the courage to begin.
Hosted by Andrei Ratcu.
He had the stable corporate career. He called it a golden cage.
Paolo left a stable AI ethics career at IKEA to build an AI startup in Sweden. He grew up between Mexico, Spain and the US, moved to Sweden in 2015 to study computer science, and ended up working on digital ethics at IKEA just as ChatGPT arrived. Then he walked away to build Sumbios, a layer that connects the people, emails and meetings scattered across our tools.
This is a conversation about the fear of leaving something safe, imposter syndrome, and why going faster isn't always the point.
In this episode:
- Leaving a stable career he calls a golden cage
- What IKEA taught him about scattered information, blind spots and the human–AI relationship
- The event in Helsingborg that turned into his first prototype
- Creators, builders and workers: the scorecard he uses to pick co-founders
- Why he sees failure as a "first attempt in learning"
- Why "build 12 hours a day, go fast, exit" is the most overrated trend in tech
- Where Paolo goes when the lights are off
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Personal Journey
02:09 The Intersection of AI and Humanities
04:10 Challenges of Social Media and Technology
07:28 Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneurship
12:46 Building a Team and Finding Partners
17:00 Creativity and Team Dynamics
20:59 Overcoming Entrepreneurial Challenges
24:06 Understanding Failure and Success
31:01 Motivation in Entrepreneurship
33:30 Societal Trends and Their Impact
38:07 Personal Reflections and Conclusion
About Paolo
Founder of Sumbios. Formerly worked on digital and AI ethics at IKEA. Grew up between Mexico, Spain and the US, based in Sweden since 2015.
Connect with Paolo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolo295/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolo295/)
Before the Lights Go On: raw conversations with builders before the spotlight. Hosted by Andrei Ratcu.
#BeforeTheLightsGoOn #AIStartup #FounderStory #Podcast
11 Oct 2026
If AI Can Teach You for €20, Why University?
If AI can educate you for €20 a month, what is university actually for?
In this episode of Before the Lights Go On, I sit down with Ilse Svensson-de Jong, PhD to talk about AI, entrepreneurship, education, and what still needs to stay human.
We cover:
Why university’s biggest value may become the network
Why AI still needs humans in the loop
How to find problems people will actually pay for
Why founders shouldn’t build alone
Why salesmanship still matters
The personal cost of building while raising a family
Ilse brings 20+ years across enterprise governance, academia and digital transformation, and now works in AI governance.
Connect with Ilse:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilse-svensson-de-jong/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilse-svensson-de-jong/)
Know a founder or builder with a story worth sharing?
Drop their name in the comments. I’ll reach out.
8 Aug 2026
They Said His Startup Was Cringe. Now It’s Coming to TechBBQ.
A few years ago, Vidar Christiansen came to TechBBQ as a founder still figuring out how to talk to investors.
This year, he is coming back from a very different position: as CEO & Founder of Social Vibes, with the platform becoming part of the TechBBQ 2026 experience.
But getting here was anything but straightforward.
The first version of the product was built around couples. Then came the feedback no founder wants to hear:
“Your idea is cringe.”
Instead of ignoring it, Vidar listened.
The product changed.
The audience changed.
The business changed.
In this episode of Before the Lights Go On, we talk about what it actually takes to stay with an idea long enough to discover what it can become.
We get into:
• Building something the market doesn’t want
• Learning when to listen to brutal feedback
• Why resilience matters more than having all the answers
• Going from doing everything yourself to learning how to delegate
• Becoming the bottleneck inside your own company
• Hiring for attitude, energy and alignment
• Turning Social Vibes from a consumer idea into an event platform
• Vidar’s journey from TechBBQ attendee to TechBBQ partner
• Using gamification to help people participate, connect and experience events differently
• The bigger ambition behind Social Vibes: helping people connect in the real world
With TechBBQ 2026 only a few weeks away, this felt like the right moment to tell the story behind one of the products attendees will get to experience this year.
Because the interesting part isn’t only where a founder ends up.
It’s everything that happened before the lights went on.
TECHBBQ 2026
📍 Bella Center Copenhagen
📅 26–27 August 2026
Social Vibes will be part of the TechBBQ 2026 experience, giving attendees a new way to explore, participate and connect throughout the event.
🎟️ TechBBQ 2026: https://techbbq.dk/ (https://techbbq.dk/)
🔗 Learn more: https://techbbq.dk/ (https://techbbq.dk/)
ABOUT VIDAR CHRISTIANSEN
Vidar Christiansen is the CEO & Founder of Social Vibes, which he founded in Copenhagen in 2021.
Social Vibes is a gamified adventure platform designed to help people connect through events and real-world experiences in a more engaging way.
After starting as a consumer-focused concept, the company has evolved toward the event industry, using gamification, challenges and shared experiences to turn attendees from passive observers into active participants.
🔗 Vidar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidarphoenix/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidarphoenix/)
🔗 Social Vibes:
🔗 Social Vibes on LinkedIn: LINK (https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearesocialvibes/home/)
BEFORE THE LIGHTS GO ON
Real conversations with founders, builders and people navigating the messy part before success looks obvious.
If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe and join me as I continue documenting the stories behind the people building what comes next.
🔔 Subscribe
Contact Before The Lights Go On
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Before The Lights Go On?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
