Hey, I’m Brennan Pothetes. I’ve raised millions, burned out hard, and learned that most startup advice is toxic BS. Hustle culture isn’t a superpower. It’s a fast track to burnout.
So I’m starting Not Another Podcast. Each episode, I’m doing something fun, like building Legos or cooking spaghetti, while having raw, honest convos with founders.
It’s part therapy, part teardown. All real talk.
If you’re done with the hype and want sustainable success, this is for you.
Why You Can't Just Add AI to Your Business | Ryan Denehy @ Electric
Ryan Denehy was running Electric, an outsourced IT department for thousands of companies, when he decided to tear it up. The company had grown triple digits five years in a row and raised $200 million. On paper, nothing was wrong. Underneath, margins had stopped growing and every new customer cost more to win.
So he rebuilt Electric as an AI-native company instead of bolting AI onto the old service business. Today it runs at 80% gross margins, up from 50% on its best day. He explains why "just add AI" fails for most services companies, why he doesn't believe AI will wipe out jobs, and what 20 years of founding has taught him about keeping his own head straight.
In this episode:
• Why he pivoted a $50M business while it was still growing
• Why the best time to make big changes is when you have plenty of cash
• How Electric went from 50% to 80% gross margins
• Why he's skeptical of the AI roll-up boom
• Why big leaps in technology have never cut total jobs
• The Got Milk campaign he thinks AI needs
• How a fake ID got his first startup its first customers
New episodes of Not Another Podcast every week. Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:14 Pivoting a $50M business
02:51 What was wrong under the surface
07:15 Why AI roll-ups are fragile
09:42 Going from 50% to 80% margins
11:34 Will AI take everyone's jobs?
13:32 The coming AI services boom
15:06 Non-technical founders who can build now
21:13 Why you can't just "inject" AI
23:07 Where's the Got Milk ad for AI?
24:22 What the pivot really changed
29:39 A failed first startup and a fake ID
33:55 Why startups die from the inside
37:47 Managing your own head as a founder
42:00 The noon rule
44:32 What he'd build with $0
13 Oct 2026
Why AI Isn't Safe for Your Kids (Yet) | Mike Rizkalla @ Snorble
Every investor told Mike Rizkalla to put ChatGPT inside his product for toddlers. He told them that was like handing a bazooka to a three-year-old. They funded his competitors instead, and within a year, Mike says, some of those AI toys were talking to kids about sex and how to make bombs.
Mike is the founder and CEO of Snorble, a screen-free smart companion for kids that runs offline, has no camera, and lets parents set the routines and values. He's been building AI products for 15 years, had his first one acquired by Google in 2010, and before any of that spent 11 years as a punk rock guitarist who turned down a record label that wanted worldwide rights to his band. Brennan asks him why generative AI isn't safe for young kids yet, what it cost him to say no to that capital, and what every parent should check before buying an AI toy.
They also get into the KPIs Mike says broke social media, the AI tool he says caught 3,500 predators in a single day, how he runs a hardware company with his phone off from bedtime to school drop-off, and why half his team invested in the company, including people he'd already laid off.
In this episode:
• Why generative AI isn't safe for young kids yet
• The investor pressure to "just use ChatGPT," and what saying no cost him
• What to look for, and what to avoid, when buying AI toys for your kids
• Why cameras in a kid's bedroom are a hard no
• The three KPIs he says broke social media
• The AI tool that caught predators, and why big platforms passed on it
• What his punk band taught him about building product
• How half his team ended up investing, including people he'd laid off
Subscribe for more unfiltered founder conversations on Not Another Podcast.
Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow Brennan and Infinity for what's next.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 Welcome Mike Rizkalla
01:29 What the punk rocker would tell the CEO
02:45 The band rule behind how he builds product
05:07 Why there's no such thing as an MVP
07:24 Shipping hardware through Covid
09:58 Is hardware the only moat left?
12:00 Why Snorble said no to generative AI
14:11 A bazooka to a three-year-old
15:11 Why AI is risky for young kids
17:26 What he'd tell the CEO of Mattel
20:47 Why AI went from lab to production too fast
24:23 Our KPIs are wrong
26:43 What parents should look for in AI toys
30:09 Predators and plausible deniability
32:40 Why cameras don't belong in kids' rooms
35:07 Running a company with his phone off at night
37:46 The team members who invested after layoffs
42:58 When a 10 million dollar commitment fell through
49:59 The 22-inch cookie that got his band on TV
6 Oct 2026
3 Signs You Should Never Raise Venture Capital (Ex-Morgan Stanley Investor) | Justin Kramer
Justin Kramer has watched friends raise $10, $20, even $30 million and end up sitting on it with no idea what to do next. He raised venture himself, and he still thinks most founders shouldn't.
Justin spent his early career at Morgan Stanley managing money for people who were already rich. When GameStop and AMC started wiping out everyday investors, he left to build Moby, a company that uses AI to bring Wall Street-grade research to retail investors. Four-plus years in, Brennan asks him when a founder should never raise, and why the venture path is so hard to get off once you're on it.
They also get into where the AI trade stands right now: valuations Justin calls out of control, why he still won't sit in cash, what Anthropic's IPO means for everyday investors, and why he's bearish on crypto even though he owns it.
In this episode:
• The three signs you should never raise venture capital
• Why so many well-funded startups are turning into zombie companies
• Why distribution is the only real moat when anyone can build anything
• How Robinhood's confetti turned investing into a dopamine hit
• Why he's bearish on crypto after holding it for years
• The hidden costs of owning a house most people overlook
• Thinking he was going out of business over and over, and what kept him going
Subscribe for more unfiltered founder conversations on Not Another Podcast.
Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow Brennan and Infinity for what's next.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 Welcome Justin Kramer
01:41 Bringing Wall Street research to retail investors
05:35 Robinhood confetti and gamified investing
07:28 What GameStop taught retail investors
09:21 Why he left Morgan Stanley
12:29 Are tech valuations out of control?
14:05 Anthropic's IPO and a $30 trillion forecast
16:22 A 10% chance AI runs away from us
19:22 Why he's anti-crypto
25:11 Distribution is the only moat left
26:14 3 signs you shouldn't raise venture
27:23 Zombie companies and bloated venture funds
29:36 Are we in an AI bubble?
35:56 Is capitalism broken?
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