Founding Journey

About Founding Journey

Interviews with world-class startup founders about their unique paths to uncover tactical insights they've learned about how to fundraise, grow, validate, hire, scale, and lead teams while building your startup. Get full access to detailed takeaways on each episode, additional case studies, and more at join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com)

Publisher

Michael Houck

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Oct 2024

Latest episode

2 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

19 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Apr 2025

   How Arjun Mahadevan Raised $1 Million In 2 Minutes

   Arjun built a $100M startup by helping other founders incorporate and start their own. Along the way he went through Y Combinator and built an audience of over 80,000 people on X and LinkedIn. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co/) Follow Arjun’s journey: 🐦 X → x.com/ArjunMahadevan (https://x.com/ArjunMahadevan) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mahadevanarjun (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahadevanarjun) 🚀 Startup → doola.com (https://www.doola.com/) Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe →youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1) 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com/) 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com/) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Founder Mode (00:00) — Intro (04:09) — Fundraising skills applications to life (05:07) — Creating a founder brand (06:35) — How Arjun is thinking about AI (12:07) — Advice to a first-time founder (24:31) — What Arjun took from working at Dropbox (26:35) — Dealing with failure as a 1st-time founder Fundraising (01:13) — How to raise $1M in 2 minutes (14:45) — Going through OnDeck & Y Combinator (17:59) — doola’s value prop (21:03) — doola’s pivot during YC batch Startup Strategy & Operations (08:01) — Why doola niched down to E-commerce (10:21) — Why data isn’t as actionable as we think (30:25) — Importance of asymmetric upside (44:08) — How to know when to build vs. partner with external vendors (46:36) — Incorporation (50:38) — Importance of bookkeeping Growth (32:38) — The content funnel (35:25) — Creating content for systems (37:45) — Content platforms to be excited about (41:09) — Why any problem can be solved by talking to customers Rapid Fire (53:23) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (53:44) — One thing you’d change about startups? (54:29) — Advice for first-time founders? (55:33) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

2. 

   15 Mar 2025

   How Stella Garber Raised $5M To Build An AI Task Manager

   Stella has worked in startups her entire career. She started previous companies and even got the opportunity to join Trello as an early employee. She scaled with the company all the way through it’s acquisition by Atlassian. She then founded Hoop and raised $5M to solve productivity. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co) Follow Stella’s journey: 🐦 X → x.com/startupstella (https://x.com/startupstella)💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stellagarber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellagarber)🚀 Startup → hoop.app (https://www.hoop.app) Follow us:🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1)📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com)📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com)💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Trello Journey & Early Growth (00:00) — Intro (01:48) — How Stella became an early Trello team member (03:27) — Marketing changes during Trello’s growth (07:28) — Trello’s marketing success & applications to Hoop Marketing & Product Growth (11:07) — Marketing from a user-centric lens (12:45) — Unique approach to organic growth (14:06) — AI’s impact on product growth (15:55) — Product taste Pivoting (17:27) — The future of productivity & Hoop (21:32) — Pivoting after ChatGPT’s launch (24:51) — The conflicting pivot advice (26:15) — When to know you need to pivot Startups & Launch Tips (29:14) — Transitioning from founder to an early team member (32:38) — Successful Product Hunt launch tips Remote Work & Team Dynamics (37:11) — Remote work & 4-day work week (42:08) — Asynchronous remote work (44:41) — “Burstiness” (47:41) — How to create a successful remote team Rapid Fire (52:51) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (53:28) — One thing you’d change about startups? (55:55) — Advice for first-time founders? (56:34) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

3. 

   17 Jan 2025

   How Sahil Chopra Went from Doctor to Startup Founder

   Sahil Chopra left his medical practice after being trained at Harvard and UCLA to become a startup founder. Now, he's solving the silent sleep epidemic alongside his brother. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co) Follow Sahil’s journey: 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/sahilchopramd (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilchopramd) 🚀 Startup → empowersleep.com (https://www.empowersleep.com/) Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1) 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com) 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Founder Mode (00:00) — Intro (01:12) — Becoming a doctor before a founder (02:46) — Convincing his brother to start a company with him (05:08) — Starting a company with your brother (06:52) — Working alongside a complementary co-founder (08:20) — Transitioning to his brother becoming CEO (10:57) — The fundraising process (13:15) — Transitioning from fundraising to building (14:36) — Hiring good people early on (37:37) — Having the right founder mindset (39:03) — Staying even-keeled as a founder (41:17) — Solving your own problems (42:27) — Why sleep is a venture-scale opportunity (43:31) — Importance of a frictionless user experience Health & Sleep (16:46) — Why sleep is so important (18:33) — How much sleep people should get (19:10) — Why people don't prioritize sleep (20:59) — How many people are sleep deficient (23:51) — Sahil diagnoses Michael Houck (32:55) — Defining sleep opportunity vs. sleep (30:48) — The Empower Sleep vision (33:44) — Drive to conquer sleep (35:41) — How broken the healthcare system is Rapid Fire (46:01) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (47:21) — One thing you'd change about startups? (48:30) — Advice for first-time founders? (48:45) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

4. 

   9 Jan 2025

   How Adam Nathan Went from $0 to $10M Revenue in 15 Months

   Adam Nathan raised $45M at a $150M valuation for his startup, Almanac. But then he realized he needed to pivot…  and he pulled it off. He's now on track to go from 0 - $10M in revenue in just 15 months with the pivoted company, Blaze.ai 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co) Follow Adam’s journey: 🐦 X → x.com/adampnathan (https://x.com/adampnathan) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/adampnathan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampnathan) 🚀 Startup → blaze.ai (https://www.blaze.ai) Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1) 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com) 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Intro & Background (00:00) — Intro (01:11) — Shutting down Almanac (04:24) — Starting Blaze Founder Mode (16:54) — Prioritization during hyper growth (24:32) — Knowing when to delegate (30:02) — Not being the "idea guy" (33:48) — Second mover advantage (42:28) — Intentional branding (49:34) — Overbuilding product features (55:53) — How fundraising changes a business Rapid Fire (1:03:41) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (1:04:25) — One thing you'd change about startups? (1:04:45) — Advice for first-time founders? (1:05:20) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

5. 

   2 Jan 2025

   Luke Sophinos: From Thiel Fellow to $27M Vertical SaaS Startup

   This is how Luke got a $100,000 investment to drop out of college and turned it into a $27 million startup. He breaks down how to identify and build your own vertical SaaS business too. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co) Follow Luke’s journey: 🐦 X → x.com/lukesophinos (https://x.com/lukesophinos) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos) 🚀 Startup → coursekey.com (https://coursekey.com) 📝 Newsletter → newsletter.lukesophinos.com (https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com) 📔 Vertical SaaS Bible → verticalsaasbible.com (https://verticalsaasbible.com) Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1) 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com) 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Founder Mode (00:00) — Intro (01:18) — Luke's first business (03:32) — Joining a VC firm in college (06:33) — Becoming a Thiel Fellow (11:26) — Dropping out of college & going all in (15:33) — Why traditional education is broken (18:04) — Why founders should target boring industries (19:53) — Building trust (21:04) — When to pivot Vertical SaaS (22:46) — Differences between vertical & horizontal SaaS (23:53) — Why vertical SaaS has better opportunities going forward (26:53) — What makes for a venture-scale vertical SaaS product (32:38) — Why vertical SaaS is criticized for not being venture scale (34:30) — AI's impact on vertical software (37:37) — Why Luke is sharing the vertical SaaS playbook (39:00) — The vertical SaaS bible (39:53) — Where to start building vertical SaaS businesses (41:53) — Raising venture funding & debt financing Rapid Fire (44:50) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (45:08) — One thing you'd change about startups? (45:38) — Advice for first-time founders? (46:00) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

6. 

   26 Dec 2024

   How Aleksandr Volodarsky Accidentally Created a $16M Business

   Aleksandr helped one person hire an engineer. A few years later, it's turned into a $16 million, largely bootstrapped business. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co (https://deck-database.carrd.co) Follow Aleksandr’s journey: 🐦 X → x.com/volodarik (https://x.com/volodarik) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/volodarik (https://www.linkedin.com/in/volodarik) 🚀 Startup → lemon.io (https://lemon.io/) Follow us: 🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1 (https://youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1) 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (https://join.foundingjourney.com) 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (https://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (https://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck) In this conversation we discuss: Founder Mode (00:00) — Intro (01:07) — Lemon.io (http://lemon.io/) founding story (04:15) — How Aleksandr knew Lemon.io (http://lemoon.io/) was a big opportunity (06:15) — Lemon.io (http://lemon.io/)'s differentiator (07:49) — Why founders miss opportunities right in front of them (42:00) — Aleksandr’s first 2 businesses Rebranding & Growth (09:49) — Intentional rebranding efforts (14:42) — Tactically executing a rebrand (16:25) — Building in public in 2025 (18:48) — 2025 social media plan (22:19) — Building in public's impact early on (23:58) — Using Quora as a growth channel (24:22) — 2025's growth channel opportunity (26:34) — Utilizing the podcast growth channel (31:06) — Going all in with early-stage advertising Hiring (34:31) — Making first sales hire (43:50) — The benefit of paid work trials (46:11) — What founders should evaluate when hiring (47:06) — How non-technical founders can evaluate technical talent (48:50) — Laying off employees while growing Investment (35:54) — The wrong way to take on venture investment (39:38) — Buying out existing investors (40:07) — Why there’s no need to raise more for Lemon.io (http://Lemon.io) Rapid Fire (52:58) — Who is one investor you’d recommend? (53:58) — One thing you'd change about startups? (54:41) — Advice for first-time founders? (55:36) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

7. 

   19 Dec 2024

   How Pujun Bhatnagar Doubled His Startup’s Valuation to $75M… in 3 Months

   Pujun Bhatnagar, a seasoned startup founder, shares his remarkable journey of doubling Kintsugi's valuation to $75M in just 3 months, offering insights on his unorthodox approach and AI-powered growth strategies.

8. 

   12 Dec 2024

   How Tibo Louis-Lucas Bootstrapped to a $10 Million Exit

   Tibo Louis-Lucas shares his bootstrapping journey, from building multiple startups to achieving a $10 million exit, and reveals key insights on growth, scaling, and product strategy.

9. 

   5 Dec 2024

   How Adam Alpert Went from 0 to 1,000 Signups Per Day

   Adam Alpert shares his journey from 0 to 1,000 signups per day, raising over $3 million for his hiring startup Pangea.app and revealing the mindset and strategies behind his success.

10. 

    30 Nov 2024

    Founders Who Raised $447 Million on... Community

    Founders Michael Houck, Tyler Denk, Andrew Yeung, Steven Galanis, Dara Ladjevardian, Sam Corcos, and Zayd Ali share insights on how community and network fueled their startups' $447 million success.

11. 

    21 Nov 2024

    Why Adam Renklint Raised $137M... and Gave it Back

    Adam Renklint, CEO of Pitch, shares the unconventional journey of raising $137 million and turning it into a cashflowing business through innovative strategies and product-led growth.

12. 

    14 Nov 2024

    How James Evans Turned A College Project Into a Y Combinator-backed Startup

    This is how James raised $24 million and reached 20 million users for his startup, Command AI, with contrarian ideas. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co Follow James's journey: 🐦 X → x.com/dazzeloid 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/james-evans-7086b3126 🚀 Startup → command.ai Follow us: 🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck Founder Journey (01:00) — James’s founder origin story (04:04) — Command AI origin story (25:15) — Gaining conviction to build Command AI Founder Mindset (06:39) — Recognizing pivot opportunities (08:23) — The overrated nature of creating new categories (11:06) — The myth of necessitating truly new creations Growth Strategies (15:17) — Engaging in activities that probably don’t scale (22:37) — Can anyone become a founder? (41:53) — Prioritization strategies for founders Networking & Resources (29:18) — Effectively using the YC experience (33:07) — Using Loom as a fundraising cheat code (35:53) — Well-designed decks vs. substance (39:10) — James’ angel investing learnings (44:03) — Securing big logos early Rapid Fire (47:25) — Recommended investors? (48:33) — Advice for first-time founders? (49:08) — Favorite SaaS tools? (50:03) — One change you’d make in startups?

13. 

    7 Nov 2024

    How Zayd Ali Sold His First Startup in High School

    This is how Zayd Ali sold his first company in high school and immediately started a new one in AI, called Valley, that has raised over $3 million already. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co Follow Zayd's journey: 🐦 X → x.com/zaydsyedali 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9 🚀 Startup → joinvalley.co Follow us: 🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck Founder's Journey (01:19) — Selling a company in high school (07:03) — The feeling after selling a company (09:09) — Community accelerator programs (21:30) — Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed startups (34:58) — Selling before building (52:34) — Risk of startup life in your 20s The Art of Pivoting (14:51) — Executing a pivot (17:39) — Advice for reluctant founders (18:54) — Founder market fit & "why now" Investor Dynamics (23:11) — High-profile investors’ impact (24:52) — High energy in investor meetings (28:23) — Creating urgency for investors (38:03) — Investor response to customer LOIs (38:47) — Pre-read deck strategy (41:45) — Analyst to partner transition (44:01) — Anticipating investor pushbacks (45:10) — Avoiding introductions from investors who passed (47:30) — Challenges for AI startups (50:44) — Raising in a hot market Rapid Fire (54:56) — Who's an investor you'd recommend? (55:47) — One thing you'd change about startups? (56:44) — Advice for first-time founders? (57:38) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

14. 

    31 Oct 2024

    How Dara Ladjevardian Built an AI Clone Generator

    This is how Dara sold his first startup to build an AI that can clone anyone online, and raised funding from Keith Rabois for it. 📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co Follow Dara's journey: 🐦 X → x.com/daraladje 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/dara-ladjevardian 🚀 Startup → delphi.ai Follow us: 🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney 📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com 📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com 💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck Founder Journey (00:56) — Dara's grandfather (03:45) — Dara's first encounter with LLMs (06:04) — Launching Friday: Dara's first company (08:10) — The Friday acquisition journey (08:54) — Working at OpenStore post-acquisition (48:03) — Lessons from building Friday Co-founder Dynamics (09:38) — Choosing the right co-founder (12:01) — Transitioning from solo to co-founder (13:58) — Co-founders: bootstrapped vs. VC-backed companies Marketing & Positioning (14:49) — Positioning Delphi (21:01) — Delphi's product roadmap (23:38) — PLG growth strategy (26:30) — Testing paid marketing channels (27:30) — Differentiating in the age of AI (33:35) — Dara's vision for building Delphi (37:27) — Attracting talent to your company Mentorship & Investment (18:38) — Pitching Delphi to Founders Fund (38:16) — The importance of mentorship (40:21) — Lessons from Keith Rabois (41:51) — Effects of high-profile investors (42:57) — Why Keith Rabois invested in Dara (43:55) — Securing well-respected angels (44:44) — Dara’s fundraising tips (47:00) — Recognizing the need for VC backing Additional Insights (29:18) — Future role of creators (31:02) — Future role of founders (35:26) — Passion as a priority in startups (49:35) — Niche focus vs. broad targeting Rapid Fire (51:54) — Who's an investor you'd recommend? (52:32) — One thing you'd change about startups? (53:14) — Advice for first-time founders? (53:53) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

15. 

    24 Oct 2024

    Why Andrew Yeung Left His $300K Job at Google to Build a Startup

    After landing dream jobs at Facebook and Google, Andrew Yeung realized that he wasn’t fulfilled. When he moved to NYC, he wanted to meet people so he started hosting events. Those events unexpectedly turned into a successful startup... In our conversation, we discuss: Transitioning to Startups (01:03) — Transition from big tech to startups (09:05) — Finding time for the non-founder parts of life (10:45) — Leveraging the founder community (12:35) — Getting connected to a Lyft Co-founder (21:09) — Giving up alcohol Immigrant Founders (17:11) — Extraordinary Alien Visa (19:27) — Why immigrants are frequent founders Growth & Press (23:48) — Accidentally creating a business opportunity (25:24) — Building trust (26:50) — Andrew’s growth flywheel (34:42) — Advantages of getting press (36:41) — Avoiding traditional media’s downsides (40:14) — Traditional media vs. social media Events & Engagement (45:34) — Weighing if founders should host events (47:25) — Making an event attractive to sponsors (49:38) — When founders should sponsor events (50:47) — When founders should attend events Andrew’s Businesses (53:19) — Engineering serendipitous connections (54:55) — Weighing fundraising for Fibe (55:52) — Investing in startups (59:16) — Unexpected learnings from founder life Rapid Fire (1:01:26) — Who's an investor you'd recommend? (1:02:18) — One thing you'd change about startups? (1:04:15) — Advice for first-time founders? (1:04:41) — Something you believe that most disagree with? Where you can find Andrew and Fibe: X → x.com/andruyeung (http://x.com/andruyeung) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/andyeung (http://linkedin.com/in/andyeung) Startup → meetfibe.com (http://meetfibe.com) Where you can find Michael Houck: Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (http://join.foundingjourney.com) Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (http://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (http://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck)

16. 

    17 Oct 2024

    How Sam Corcos Grew Levels into a $300 Million Startup

    Sam is the co-founder and CEO of Levels. He’s raised $67M from investors, including a16z, and he even helped turn one of his co-founders into an influencer with nearly a million followers. In this conversation we cover: Startup Journey (01:24) — How Sam almost didn't become an entrepreneur (05:46) — Sam's companies before Levels (09:45) — Early entrepreneurial lessons learned Customer Insights (17:19) — Importance of understanding customers (21:12) — Customers are directionally correct (22:48) — Engaging with customers PR & Community (11:59) — Power of PR for startups (27:20) — Building community at Levels (29:16) — Community as a growth strategy Content & SEO (30:37) — Levels' SEO strategy (33:25) — Focusing content efforts (35:18) — Content as a hiring tool (41:24) — Measuring influencer ROI (58:14) — Creator partnerships insights (59:13) — Increasing content breakthroughs (1:02:38) — Pursuing a viral content strategy (1:04:25) — Value of follower count Market Positioning & Growth (53:42) — Carving a niche in a crowded market (56:11) — Sustaining growth over time (1:06:04) — Selling before launching (1:08:25) — Finding product-market fit Networking & Efficiency (1:11:13) — Building a broader network (1:14:28) — Network theory for investors (1:16:20) — Creating systems & delegation (1:01:15) — Time management in growth Rapid Fire (1:18:15) — Who's an investor you'd recommend? (1:18:48) — One thing you'd change about startups? (1:20:17) — Advice for first-time founders? (1:20:28) — Something you believe that most disagree with? Where you can find Sam and Levels: X → x.com/SamCorcos (http://x.com/SamCorcos) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/samcorcos (http://linkedin.com/in/samcorcos) Startup → levels.com (http://levels.com) Where you can find Michael Houck: Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (http://join.foundingjourney.com) Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (http://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (http://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck)

17. 

    10 Oct 2024

    Steven Galanis — Cameo

    Steven Galanis is the co-founder & CEO of Cameo. In 2021 Cameo achieved unicorn status by reaching a peak valuation of $1B. In this conversation we cover: The Journey to Cameo (01:33) — Steven's 1st business: Spartan Entertainment (04:26) — Steven's pre-Cameo work experience (06:33) — Starting Cameo with Co-founder Martin Blencowe (11:14) — Cameo's founding story Founder Mode (18:43) — Steven’s early insight on “cameos” (23:48) — Overcoming the cold start problem (25:46) — Cameo's growth tactics (27:28) — Cameo's eureka moment Challenges & Opportunities (31:39) — Changing Cameo's idea of success (36:30) — Navigating headcount reductions (38:57) — Joining the 1871 incubator (40:57) — Building alongside other founders Investor Relations & Communication (42:26) — How to interact with investors (44:02) — Co-founder communication (46:39) — Attracting investors without fundraising (49:00) — Fundraising without a pitch deck (50:33) — Benefits of creating an unused pitch deck (53:32) — Cameo's Series A experience Rapid Fire (1:01:01) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders? (1:01:50) — What's one thing you'd change about the startup world? (1:02:20) — What's the one piece of advice first-time founders need to know? (1:03:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about? Here's how to find Steven and Cameo: X → x.com/Mr312 (http://x.com/Mr312) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stevengalanis (http://linkedin.com/in/stevengalanis) Instagram → instagram.com/cameo (http://instagram.com/cameo) Startup → cameo.com (http://cameo.com) Here's how to find Michael Houck: Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (http://join.foundingjourney.com) Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (http://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (http://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck)

18. 

    10 Oct 2024

    Tyler Denk — beehiiv

    Tyler Denk is the co-founder & CEO of beehiiv. Previously he was the 2nd employee at Morning Brew. In our conversation we cover: Launching & Competing (02:17) — Launching in a competitive market (04:36) — Tyler’s billion-dollar insight (08:12) — Pitching investors on beehiiv (09:54) — Creating a scalable roadmap Fundraising (12:22) — Early investor pushback (14:41) — Tyler's venture funding decision (20:38) — Funding plans after $33M Series B (40:19) — Gaining leverage for fundraising Company Culture (21:58) — Advantages of high shipping velocity (24:45) — beehiiv's unique meeting culture (31:24) — Why beehiiv is remote-first Founder Mode (28:48) — Finding focus and piece of mind (33:49) — Building in public for easier fundraising (38:30) — Addressing building in public concerns Rapid Fire Questions (44:49) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders? (46:04) — Favorite startup book that founders should read (46:38) — What's the one piece of advice I need to know as a first-time founder? (47:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about? Here's how to find Tyler and beehiiv: Newsletter → bigdeskenergy.com (http://bigdeskenergy.com) X → x.com/denk_tweets (http://x.com/denk_tweets) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk (http://linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk) Startup → beehiiv.com (http://beehiiv.com) Here's how to find Michael Houck: Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com (http://join.foundingjourney.com) Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com (http://upgrade.foundingjourney.com) LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck (http://linkedin.com/in/michael-houck)

19. 

    9 Oct 2024

    Welcome to the Founding Journey podcast!

    Welcome to the Founding Journey podcast! Each Thursday, Michael Houck will interview world-class startup founders about their unique paths to uncover tactical insights they've learned about how to fundraise, grow, validate, hire, scale, lead teams while building your startup. Get full access to detailed takeaways on each episode, additional case studies, and more at join.foundingjourney.com (http://join.foundingjourney.com/).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

123,844

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.5 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

65

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

31

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.