Go behind the scenes with the people who built it first - the founders and early hires of today’s fastest-growing startups. We dive into the bets they made, the mistakes, the wins, and everything in between!
Podcast Overview
Go behind the scenes with the people who built it first - the founders and early hires of today’s fastest-growing startups. We dive into the bets they made, the mistakes, the wins, and everything in between!
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
9/17/2025
1 verified contact email on file for Early Access
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Recent Episodes
June 3, 2026
Inside the first BizOps seat at Cogent Security (with Grace Hua)
<p>Join me in conversation with Grace Hua, head of Biz Ops at Cogent Security. Cogent is building autonomous cyberdefense and recently announced its $42M Series A led by Greylock and BCV.</p><p></p><p>Grace joined as employee ~15 and has spent the last 9 months working across hiring, partnerships, fundraising, and more - essentially operating as an extension of the founders as the company scales.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Grace Hua's Journey: From McKinsey to Cogent</p><p>02:43 The Importance of People in Career Decisions</p><p>05:11 Navigating the Startup Landscape: Finding the Right Fit</p><p>07:06 Understanding the Cybersecurity Landscape</p><p>09:34 Building a Company from the Ground Up</p><p>11:43 The Role of Culture in Startup Success</p><p>13:59 Establishing Trust and Relationships in a New Role</p><p>16:31 Reflections on Time Management and Decision Making</p><p>17:46 A Week in the Life of a BizOps Leader at Cogent</p><p>21:28 Capitalizing on Opportunities with BizOps</p><p>22:47 Effective Interviewing Techniques</p><p>24:42 Closing Candidates in a Competitive Market</p><p>27:01 Key Qualities for Founding BizOps Roles</p><p>30:51 Leveraging AI for Enhanced Workflows</p><p>33:31 Rapid Fire</p>
March 2, 2026
Inside Braintrust: Scaling a Category-Defining AI Evals Platform (with Sarah Zeng)
<p>Join me in conversation with Sarah Zeng, who has gone from investing to operating at the forefront of AI - first as one of the first 50 employees at Character AI and now scaling Braintrust. Braintrust is a go-to platform for AI evals and observability. They recently announced their $80M Series B, led by ICONIQ and joined by returnees a16z, Greylock, Elad Gil, basecase and others.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Introduction to Sarah Zeng and Her Journey</p><p>02:37 Transitioning from Investing to Startups</p><p>04:57 Joining Character AI</p><p>06:48 The Move to Braintrust</p><p>08:39 Effective Strategies for Chief of Staff Onboarding 10:03 Understanding Braintrust's Core Products</p><p>12:38 Navigating the Role of Chief of Staff</p><p>15:06 Growth in Consumer AI vs. Infrastructure AI</p><p>16:40 Braintrust's Rapid Growth and Market Position</p><p>19:20 Future of AI Evaluation and Observability</p><p>21:56 Rapid Fire</p>
February 3, 2026
Designing the Standard for AI Detection (with Olivia, GPTZero's First Product Designer)
<p>Join me in conversation with my friend Olivia Kusio, the first and founding product designer at GPTZero — one of the breakout AI companies of the last two years.</p><p></p><p>Olivia joined as the 5th employee. Two years later, GPTZero has grown to millions of users and $25M+ in revenue.</p><p></p><p>We cover:</p><p>🎨 Designing for trust in AI products</p><p>🧠 How students and teachers are really using AI</p><p>💬 Building culture inside a rocketship startup</p><p>& more</p><p></p><p><b>Timestamps</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction to GPTZero and Olivia's Journey</p><p>01:51 The Role of a Product Designer at GPTZero</p><p>03:42 Building a Team and Initial Projects</p><p>05:22 Designing for Speed and Quality</p><p>06:49 The Evolution of Design Tools</p><p>08:26 Design Principles for Trust and Credibility</p><p>09:06 User Interaction with AI in Education</p><p>12:36 The Responsible Use of AI in Education</p><p>15:28 Scaling Company Culture at GPTZero</p><p>19:06 Moments of Realization and Responsibility</p><p>20:58 Lightning Round: Insights and Inspirations</p>
6 total episodes available
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