The Founder`s Code

On The AI Floor, Shamil Malachiyev sits down with Stan Hansen, COO of Egnyte, for an honest, ground-level look at why "under-promise, over-deliver" beats the hype - and how a data-infrastructure company serving 23,000 customers turned AI into roughly a third of its new business. Before Egnyte, Stan spent two decades leading teams at Adobe, Domo, Pluralsight (which he helped take public) and Wells...

A law firm charged Xavier £15,000 for half a page of legal advice. He ran the exact same question through an AI tool, got the same answer in two minutes – then negotiated the bill down to £2,000. Xavier is General Counsel at OneAdvanced, and instead of treating AI as a threat, he turned his 30-person legal team into an AI lab: he declared an "AI adoption month," ran a two-day "legat...

What does it actually take to keep up with AI - not the keynote hype, but the real, ground-level version? To open Season 2 of The AI Floor, Shamil Malachiyev sits down with Larry Jin, VP of Product at Docusign, for an honest look at how one of the world's most trusted software brands is reinventing itself around AI and AI agents - and the thinking that makes a shift like that possible in the f...

Most founders are drowning in noise. New AI tools every week. New frameworks every month. New "must-do" advice every scroll. Sebastian Haas built a filter that ignores almost all of it - and it's how he scaled Talon. One to 300 people across 55 nationalities, powering loyalty for Adidas, Sephora, KFC, Nordstrom and Joe & The Juice. In this episode, Shamil sits down with Sebastian...

He quit his job at a multi-billion dollar company with nothing but a half-formed idea, zero technical knowledge, and a conviction that privacy would matter. For almost a year, Bart Vandekerckhove tried to sell a product that didn't exist - without a CTO, without a prototype, and without anyone taking him seriously. Then he built Raito into a real company and sold it back to the very place he left....

She went from ops analyst to COO — without an MBA, without a safety net, and while her mom was going through cancer treatment. Maria Camila Ramirez is the Chief Operating Officer of OnTop — a YC-backed global payroll and fintech platform that helps companies hire and pay people anywhere in the world. In just a few years, she grew from founding team member to leading the company's financial infrast...

How does a family's total financial loss inspire a multi-million dollar crypto ecosystem? In this episode, Shamil Malachiyev sits down with Cyrus Fazel, founder and CEO of SwissBorg. Cyrus shares his incredible journey from growing up in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution to spending eight years in hedge funds , and eventually raising $52 million through one of the biggest community-drive...

Software development as we know it is evolving. In this episode of The Founder's Code, Shamil Malachiyev sits down with Albert Santalo — a computer scientist, serial internet entrepreneur, and CEO of Archie Labs. Albert breaks down why simply adding AI to old coding processes is like putting an electric battery in a combustion engine, and why we need a complete reimagining of how software is b...

In this episode of Founder’s Code, James Hirst — the co-founder and COO of tyke.io. James shares his unconventional journey of being a university dropout with no technical background who went on to help build a global API management platform used by some of the world's biggest institutions. We discuss why chasing VC funding headlines often leads to catastrophic business decisions , why corpora...

Everyone is waiting for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to arrive, but what if the entire narrative is a massive delusion? In this episode of Founder’s Code, we sit down with Luke Hinds, creator of Sigstore (the cybersecurity tech used by Google and GitHub) and CEO of Always Further. Luke drops some hard truths that shatter the mainstream AI hype, explaining why AGI is fundamentally misunder...

In this episode of Founder's Code, Mike Piccolo — founder of Motia Dev, talks about the uncomfortable shift most founders are ignoring. He went from sweeping construction sites to orchestrating AI for enterprise. He lived through the framework wars. He knows that "learning to code" isn't the safety net it used to be. This conversation isn’t about AI hype or the latest tools. It’s about what happen...

In this episode, we sit down with Clara Bernardes, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Biorce. Clara and her team are on a mission to implode the pharmaceutical industry from the inside out by cutting the time it takes to bring life-saving drugs to market in half. We dive deep into the Founder’s Code: from the heartbreaking personal tragedy that served as the company’s "Patient Zero&qu...

In this episode of The Founder’s Code, Shamil Malachiyev sits down with Patrick Smith, a serial entrepreneur who faced 11 failed ventures before the age of 25. Today, Patrick is the founder of Zally, an applied AI research lab that is revolutionizing digital security by turning human behavior into "digital body language" for continuous authentication. Patrick shares his incredible journe...

In this episode of Founder's Code, Janus Klack-Matysen, Co-Founder & CDO of Pixelz, breaks down what actually happens when AI enters the core of your business — not as a tool, but as a direct competitor. Pixelz operates in a category many believed AI would wipe out first. Instead of fighting it, they rebuilt their model so AI became a multiplier, not a replacement. In this conversation, we...

In this episode of Founder’s Code, Laura Loughran — CEO & Founder of Factor Form and former product manager at IBM — talks about the real transition from corporate to CEO.We discuss leadership, solo founding, pressure that comes with ownership, people decisions, and why corporate experience doesn’t fully prepare you for building and running a company. This episode is for founders, aspiring ent...

In this episode, David Youssefnia shares insights on the challenges founders face, emphasizing the importance of understanding team dynamics, emotional resilience, and the evolving role of AI in startups. He discusses the significance of founder market fit, the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and the value of building effective advisory boards to navigate the complexities of startup l...

In this episode of The Founder’s Code, JT White — entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of Augie Studio — gives a rare, deeply honest look into what it means to build, create, and push your mind to the edge. We explore why his brain “never turns off,” how ADHD-like tendencies shaped his work style, and why so many founders operate with similar patterns of intensity, restlessness, and hyper-focus. J...

In this episode of the Founder's Code Podcast, Aytekin Tank, CEO and founder of Jotfrom, shares his entrepreneurial journey, from the inception of Jotfrom to its growth into a billion-dollar company. He discusses the challenges of partnerships, the importance of user feedback, and strategies for competing with larger companies like Google. Aytekin emphasizes the significance of delegation, con...

In this episode, Shamil Malachiyev interviews Akhil Nigam, co-founder and chief product officer of Finmo, a FinTech platform focused on global treasury management. They discuss the dynamics of co-founding teams, the importance of product management, and the lessons learned from building a startup. Akhil shares insights on navigating co-founder relationships, the significance of customer feedback,...

In this conversation, Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs, discusses the intricacies of workforce dynamics, the challenges of data sourcing and analysis, and the evolution of labor markets in the context of AI and technology. He shares insights from his academic background, corporate experiences, and entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of motivation, leadership, and the need for innovat...

In this conversation, Ashi Dissanayake, co-founder and CEO of Spaceium, shares his journey from a lifelong passion for space to building a startup focused on creating refueling stations in space. He discusses the challenges of entrepreneurship, the importance of resilience, and the role of co-founders in navigating the startup landscape. Ashi emphasizes the significance of understanding market nee...

In this episode, Nathan Castro, co-founder of Nanochon, shares his journey from PhD student to entrepreneur, focusing on the challenges and innovations in cartilage repair technology. He discusses the personal experiences that shaped his entrepreneurial spirit, the importance of mentorship, and the realities of running a health tech startup. Nathan emphasizes the significance of mental health, the...

In this conversation, Shamil Malachiyev, Aaron Hurst, and Charlotte Massey discuss the importance of building connections in a post-COVID world , the role of education in fostering relationships, and the impact of technology on personal connections. They explore neighborhood dynamics, the intentionality required in building friendships, and the challenges faced in nonprofit leadership. The discuss...

In this engaging conversation, Lucas Dickey shares his unique journey from a military upbringing to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He discusses the impact of his childhood experiences on his adaptability and empathy, the challenges of parenting in the digital age, and the importance of curiosity and validation in his career. Lucas reflects on his time at Amazon, his transition to startups, an...

In this conversation, Edan Shahar, CEO of Wild Zebra, discusses the transformative potential of AI in education, emphasizing personalized learning experiences. He shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, including lessons learned from previous startups, the challenges of long sales cycles, and the importance of building relationships in business. The discussion also touches on the impact...