Maker

Anna Berger, founder of Trayd, spent most of her twenties feeling invisible. Then she changed everything. In this episode, she shares the full story — from struggling with her health and identity, to losing 100 lbs, leaving her job, getting into Y Combinator after 149 rejections, and raising $15M. We also go deeper on what it actually takes to “blow up your life” and rebuild it on your own terms —...

Arjun and Abhijay Bhatnagar are the brothers and co-founders behind Cloaked, a company redefining privacy in the digital world. They started building together at age 10. This week, they raised a $375M Series B. In this episode, they take us back to the beginning and share the untold stories behind everything it took to get here. Learning to code as kids. Heartbreak. Failure. Nearly running out of...

In Episode 03, we sit down with Brandon Moak, founder of Embark Trucks. He dropped out of Waterloo at 19 to build self-driving trucks. By 24, he'd taken the company public at a $5 billion valuation. He shares what it was like getting into YC with a self-driving golf cart and raising $30M from Sequoia, then the shift when the markets collapsed and he was burning $25M a quarter with no clear way...

In Episode 02, we sit down with Haley Pavone, founder of Pashion Footwear, to talk about the parts of the journey most people never see. Before million-dollar months and a cult-like following, Haley was navigating investor rejection, supply-chain chaos, trade wars, and moments where the company was on the brink. She shares the decisions made under extreme pressure, having to project confidence whe...

Ishmael’s early life demanded maturity long before most people his age. He arrived in the U.S. with nothing, taught himself to code, and eventually became the co-founder and CTO of Paragon, with $22M raised. This conversation isn’t about overcoming adversity or achieving milestones. It’s about how those experiences shape who you become. About Maker Maker is a private community for young founders s...