by Mash (Michael) Ashley
Most startups don’t fail because the idea is bad. They fail because the journey is harder than expected. Inspiring Founders explores what it really takes to survive and succeed in entrepreneurship. Each episode features honest conversations with founders and startup leaders about customer discovery, risk, resilience, and building companies that don’t just launch — but last. No shortcuts. No startup theater. Just the real work behind innovation.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/1/2025
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July 9, 2026
<p>This interview with Mykyta Tretynko, the founder of Billioncore joins us over Zoom to talk about his founder journey, what it's like being a startup in Ukraine, and why he is on a mission to stop fraudsters and chargebacks! Check out his startup at https://billioncore.tech/</p>
June 25, 2026
<p>Handoyo is the founder and CEO of Lyrid, a cloud infrastructure platform he describes as "Airbnb for data centers" — aggregating compute, storage, and networking from local data centers and hyperscalers into one platform, and delivering it to startups and enterprises at 40–60% less than the big providers.</p><p>In this episode of the Inspiring Founders podcast, we get into the gap Handoyo spent years spotting before launching in 2019, why he didn't fundraise until 2023, and how a mission to help founders in emerging markets like Indonesia and Kenya shapes everything Lyrid does. We also dig into his hard-won advice for engineers-turned-founders, why "you'll never feel ready," and the lesson that your product is less than 10% of what actually makes a company.</p>
April 16, 2026
<p>What does it take to bridge the gap for entrepreneurs in overlooked geographies? In this episode of Inspiring Founders, Mash sits down with Natalia Bishop—a serial tech founder and the visionary behind Story and Wild. Originally from Colombia and now a pillar of the Louisville startup scene, Natalia shares her journey from "stumbling into entrepreneurship" to building the largest co-working space in Kentucky. We dive deep into the evolution of the Wild Accelerator, a nonprofit serving founders from historically marginalized backgrounds and "flyover states" through grants, mentorship, and holistic support like leadership coaching and therapy. In this episode, we discuss:The Shift to Wild Academy: Why Natalia moved from a high-touch cohort model to a scalable, AI-driven educational platform. Meet "Willa": How they are using AI to provide 24/7 specialized coaching for founders who need advice at 11 PM. Landing Major Partners: How Natalia secured sponsorships from JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and PNC Bank by building a "network of humans" and social proof. Democratizing Success: Natalia’s "magic wand" vision of providing free startup curriculum to entire zip codes to debunk the myth that there isn't enough diverse talent. About Natalia BishopNatalia is the CEO of Story and the driving force behind the Wild Accelerator. She has dedicated her career to ensuring that "first, only, and different" founders have the cash, connections, and education they need to scale global companies from anywhere. Support Inspiring Founders:If you enjoyed this interview, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to hear more stories from world-class founders!<br></p>
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Most startups don’t fail because the idea is bad. They fail because the journey is harder than expected.
Inspiring Founders explores what it really takes to survive and succeed in entrepreneurship. Each episode features honest conversations with founders and startup leaders about customer discovery, risk, resilience, and building companies that don’t just launch — but last.
No shortcuts. No startup theater. Just the real work behind innovation.
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