Verticals: A Weekly Biz Show
Claim This Podcastby Luke Sophinos
Podcast Overview
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">A VC and a Founder intellectually spar on Vertical Tech & AI: covering the latest news, unpacking in-depth business strategies, and interviewing world-class leaders in the space, every Thursday.</span></p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/17/2025
1 verified contact email on file for Verticals: A Weekly Biz Show
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
Recent Episodes
July 1, 2026
The Biggest Mistake AI Founders Make Today | Zain Jaffer
<p>For years, software companies followed the same blueprint:</p><p>Raise venture capital. Hire aggressively. Sell SaaS subscriptions. Scale headcount alongside revenue.</p><p>But AI is rewriting those rules.</p><p>In this episode of Verticals, Luke and Nic sit down with Zain Jaffer, who previously built Vungle into a business that was acquired for $780M before later reaching a $4B public valuation. After investing in startups as a VC, he's now back in the founder seat building Blazel, and unlearning many of the lessons that made him successful the first time.</p><p>One of the biggest takeaways from this episode is that AI-native agencies may look like the easiest businesses to build today, but they can quickly become some of the hardest businesses to scale. </p><p>Zain explains why replacing services with AI creates an attractive wedge, but can also trap founders in low-margin businesses that become difficult to escape.</p><p><br></p><p>They unpack some of the biggest debates in AI right now:</p><p>-Why the traditional SaaS playbook is starting to break</p><p>-The hidden risks of AI-native agencies</p><p>-When founders should build on OpenAI, and when they should build their own models</p><p>-Why distribution is becoming a stronger moat than product alone</p><p>-How AI is changing hiring, product development, and company building</p><p><br></p><p>🎟️ TICKETS DROPPED. Vertical Software Summit — 5-billion-dollar Vertical AI CEOs confirmed to speak. Snag a ticket before they're gone.</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW ZAIN JAFFER</p><p>WEBSITE ➡️ https://zainjaffer.com/</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zainjaffer/</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW LUKE SOPHINOS</p><p>X ➡️ https://x.com/lukesophinos</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos/</p><p>NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com/</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW NIC POULOS</p><p>X ➡️ https://x.com/picnoulos</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/npoulos/</p><p>NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://insights.euclid.vc/</p><p><br></p><p>🎬 TIMESTAMPS:</p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:30 Building an AI marketing platform from scratch</p><p>08:05 The future of AI-native marketing teams</p><p>17:14 Why data flywheels are the new moat</p><p>20:31 Choosing the right ICP in the AI era</p><p>25:36 The hidden trap of AI-native agencies</p><p>33:25 Human labeling, evals, and building better AI</p><p>37:42 Should every startup build its own model?</p><p>42:10 Are OpenAI and Anthropic worth a trillion dollars?</p><p>49:23 What an $800M founder had to unlearn about startups</p>
June 24, 2026
He Built The Fastest-Growing AI In Education | Adeel Khan
<p>When ChatGPT launched, investors had a simple answer for most AI startups:</p><p>"It's just a GPT wrapper."</p><p>But what if the biggest winners weren't the model companies? </p><p>What if the real opportunity was building products that deeply understood a specific customer, workflow, and industry?</p><p>In this episode of Verticals, Luke and Nic sit down with Adeel Khan, Founder and CEO of MagicSchool, one of the fastest-growing AI companies in education.</p><p>Adeel wasn't a software founder. He was a teacher, assistant principal, and school leader who saw the potential of generative AI firsthand and decided to build for educators. Just months later, MagicSchool exploded from zero to 1 million users in five months, entirely through organic growth. </p><p>Today, the platform is used by educators in nearly every school building in America and partners with districts representing one in five children nationwide.</p><p>They discuss:</p><p>-Why domain expertise became MagicSchool's biggest advantage</p><p>-How a non-technical founder built one of the fastest-growing AI companies</p><p>-The controversial decision to give the product away for free</p><p>-How they converted massive product usage into enterprise revenue</p><p>-Why GPT wrappers were more defensible than many investors believed</p><p><br></p><p>And Adeel shares his perspective on the future of education, the opportunities AI is creating for students and teachers, and why there has never been a better time to build software for underserved industries.</p><p>If you're building in vertical AI, education, or trying to understand what separates lasting companies from short-lived AI hype, this episode is packed with lessons from one of the category's breakout founders.</p><p><br></p><p>🎟️ TICKETS DROPPED. Vertical Software Summit — 5-billion-dollar Vertical AI CEOs confirmed to speak. Snag a ticket before they're gone.</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW ADEEL KHAN</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeelkh/</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW LUKE SOPHINOS</p><p>X ➡️ https://x.com/lukesophinos</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos/</p><p>NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com/</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW NIC POULOS</p><p>X ➡️ https://x.com/picnoulos</p><p>LINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/npoulos/</p><p>NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://insights.euclid.vc/🎬 </p><p><br></p><p>TIMESTAMPS:</p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>01:30 From school principal to AI founder</p><p>05:17 Launching MagicSchool during the ChatGPT moment</p><p>08:59 Why domain expertise matters more than ever</p><p>14:11 The fundraising challenges of a non-technical founder</p><p>20:13 How MagicSchool's product-led growth exploded</p><p>23:41 The free-to-paid strategy that unlocked enterprise sales</p><p>29:02 Transitioning from order-taking to real sales</p><p>34:07 The biggest lesson from scaling to millions of users</p><p>36:14 Why GPT wrappers became more valuable, not less</p><p>43:01 Competing with legacy education software companies</p><p>46:46 Is there still room to build in education AI?</p><p>48:05 Why education remains one of the biggest opportunities in software</p>
June 17, 2026
What Investors Actually Look For In Founders | Dan Teran & James Gettinger
<p>Most founders think investors are looking for the perfect idea.</p><p>They're not.</p><p>At the earliest stages, investors are really trying to answer a much harder question:</p><p>Is this founder capable of building something extraordinary?</p><p>In this episode of Verticals, Luke and Nic sit down with Dan Teran and James Gettinger of Gutter Capital to unpack exactly how they evaluate founders before there's meaningful revenue, traction, or even a finished product.</p><p><br></p><p>They break down:</p><p>-Why resourcefulness beats pedigree</p><p>-What "founder-market fit" actually means</p><p>-How customer obsession separates great founders from everyone else</p><p>-Why evidence beats storytelling every time</p><p>-The founder traits they consistently see in breakout companies</p><p><br></p><p>🎟️ TICKETS DROPPED. Vertical Software Summit — 5-billion-dollar Vertical AI CEOs confirmed to speak. Snag a ticket before they're gone.</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW DAN TERANLINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/danteran</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW JAMES GETTINGERLINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-gettinger-452a228X ➡️ https://x.com/chess_is_ok</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW LUKE SOPHINOSX ➡️ https://x.com/lukesophinosLINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukesophinos/NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://www.newsletter.lukesophinos.com/</p><p><br></p><p>👉 FOLLOW NIC POULOSX ➡️ https://x.com/picnoulosLINKEDIN ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/npoulos/NEWSLETTER ➡️ https://insights.euclid.vc/</p><p><br></p><p>🎬 TIMESTAMPS:</p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>03:59 Why Gutter Capital was built differently</p><p>06:04 Resourcefulness beats pedigree every time</p><p>10:10 The traits that predict exceptional founders</p><p>17:12 How VCs really reference-check founders</p><p>28:17 The most surprising startups in their accelerator</p><p>34:52 The final advice every founder should hear</p><p><br></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, drop a comment and hit subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next!</p>
35 total episodes available
Similar Podcasts
Discover related shows you might enjoy
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
All-In Podcast, LLC
No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Machine Learning | Technology | Startups
Conviction
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Harry Stebbings
Y Combinator
Y Combinator
a16z Podcast
Andreessen Horowitz
Founders
David Senra
Another Podcast
Jason Martin
David Senra
Scicomm Media
The Compound and Friends
The Compound
Business Breakdowns
Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts
My First Million
Hubspot Media
MoneyWise
Hampton
The AI Breakdown: Daily Artificial Intelligence News and Discussions
Nathaniel Whittemore
Acquiring Minds
Will Smith
Deep-dive analytics for Verticals: A Weekly Biz Show
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Verticals: A Weekly Biz Show?
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">A VC and a Founder intellectually spar on Vertical Tech & AI: covering the latest news, unpacking in-depth business strategies, and interviewing world-class leaders in the space, every Thursday.</span></p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.