Founders Unplugged

Nobody Talks About This Part of the Founder Journey | Shona Beats on Identity, Burnout & What Comes Next What happens after you step back? After the raise? After the exit? In Part Two of our conversation with Shona Beats — ex-Founding COO of Headspace and now a coach to high-growth founders — we explore the emotional cost of building a company… and what’s waiting on the other side. We talk abo...

From Headspace to High-Growth Coaching: Shona Beats on Startup Chaos and Calm In this episode of Founders Unplugged, we sit down with Shona Beats, ex-Founding COO of Headspace, to talk about what really happens behind the scenes of a rocketship startup — and what founders need but rarely get as they scale. Shona shares her journey from working with Andy Puddicombe in the earliest days of Headspace...

What does founder-friendly VC look like in practice? In Part 2 of our conversation with Kealan Doyle and Michael Theodosiou from Symvan Capital, we explore how they scale their portfolio without sacrificing personal support — and why their long-term, lifecycle approach to venture capital is built for both performance and relationships. We dig into exit strategy, failure rates, the broken early-sta...

What does hands-on VC actually look like? In this episode of Founders Unplugged, Greg sits down with Kealan Doyle and Michael Theodosiou from Symvan Capital, one of the UK’s most disciplined early-stage venture capital firms. Kealan and Michael share what really goes into building a successful VC firm — from avoiding “spray and pray” investing to supporting founders through the toughest stages of...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don’t do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ The Truth About Startup Hiring: What Founders Get Wrong w/ Alper Yurder – Part Two How do startups get hiring so wrong— so often ? In Part Two of this brutally honest conversation, Alper Yurder (founder of Forte, ex-Flowla) returns to explore why ear...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don’t do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ How to Build Sales Systems That Actually Work w/ Alper Yurder – Part One What makes a sales system actually work for startups? In this episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Alper Yurder , co-founder of Flowland and go-to-market advisor, to unpack the...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don’t do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ Making the Difficult Decision to Shut Down Your Business w/ Daniya Stewart – Part Two What does it really feel like to walk away from a business you built from scratch? In this powerful Part Two episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Daniya Stewart to unp...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don’t do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ From Banking to Food Startup: The Early Journey of a Founder w/ Daniya Stewart – Part One What happens when a corporate career collides with a deep craving for Vietnamese food? In this episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Daniya Stewart , founder of the...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don’t do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ Scaling a Wellness Brand in an AI-Dominated World w/ Hector Hughes of Unplugged – Part Two In this episode, Greg McCallum and Hector Hughes , co-founder of Unplugged , explore what it means to protect our mental health, creativity, and sense of conne...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ Building a Business That Encourages Digital Detox w/ Hector Hughes of Unplugged – Part One What if the key to building a successful brand… was encouraging people to do nothing ? In this episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Hector Hughes , co-fou...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In Part Two of this conversation, Greg McCallum and Vasilis Stoidis , founder of 7L International, go beyond business tactics to explore the philosophy and responsibility of entrepreneurship . From reframing legacy as responsibility to unpacking...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In this episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Vasilis Stoidis , serial tech founder and CEO of 7L International, to break down what separates real innovation from noise. From navigating generational shifts to staying relevant in the age of AI, Va...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In Part Two, Greg McCallum sits down again with Frank Sondors , CEO of Salesforge, to explore the next phase of AI in sales—and the looming question: Where do humans still fit? From the rise of autonomous agents to the loss of nuance in hyper-eff...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them.🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ What happens when you apply ruthless efficiency, strategic delegation, and AI-powered SDRs to a broken sales model? You get Salesforge.ai —and a startup that scaled to $3M ARR in four months. In this episode, Greg McCallum sits down with Frank Son...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ Why Understanding 'Why' Matters More Than 'How' in the AI Era w/ Olivier Soucy – Part Two In Part Two, Greg McCallum and Olivier Soucy , founder of Okube , explore the evolving role of developers in a world dominated by AI tools a...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst If you're raising capital in the UK, don't do it without them. 🎯 Get 5% off their services → https://2ly.link/1zDIJ Olivier Soucy went from building helicopter flight simulators to designing open-source data tools that engineers actually want to use. Now the founder of Okube and creator of Lactory (an open-source ETL framework), Olivier joins Greg McCallum to...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst Get 5% off their services via this link: https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In Part Two , Greg McCallum sits down again with Ben Borton—Co-Founder of PodPlay—to unpack how a content-first go-to-market strategy helped them grow to $1.5M in ARR without a sales team. Ben shares how PodPlay’s user-initiated video replay feature created viral momentum, the role fun plays in both produc...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst Get 5% off their services via this link: https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In this episode , Greg McCallum is joined by Ben Borton—Co-Founder of PodPlay Technologies—to explore how autonomous, tech-driven venues are reshaping the way people play and connect through sports. Ben shares his unexpected journey from cultural criticism and hedge funds to building a vertically integrate...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst Get 5% off their services via this link: https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In Part Two , Esteban Quintero returns to share the tough lessons behind his entrepreneurial journey—building a ticketing platform that scaled fast but collapsed during the pandemic, navigating legal and compliance issues, and learning how to start again stronger. That reset led to his latest venture, Abro...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst Get 5% off their services via this link: https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In this episode, Esteban Quintero—serial entrepreneur and founder of Abroad—shares how he turned a curiosity for tech and a passion for travel into a $1M smartphone business while still at university. From selling toys as a child in Colombia to launching global ventures across Asia, Europe, and Latin Ameri...

Sponsored by FounderCatalyst Get 5% off their services via this link: https://2ly.link/1zDIJ In Part Two of Greg’s conversation with Matt Copley—Co-Founder and CRO of HRIZN—the discussion shifts from startup origin stories to the often-ignored but mission-critical topic of management. Together, they explore why most founders struggle with people leadership, how AI is transforming roles, and why cu...

This episode is proudly sponsored by FounderCatalyst. Get 5% off their services by clicking this link:https://2ly.link/1zDIJ------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Copley—Co-Founder and CRO of HRIZN (Horizon)—joins Greg McCallum to share the highs, lows, and aha moments of building a generative AI platform in the automotive industry. From growing up rebellious to n...

This episode is proudly sponsored by AppUnite. The right dev partner can make or break your product. AppUnite embeds with your team to build apps that scale. Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/3FCHQlm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Part Two of the conversation with Jordan. Check out Part One here: https://youtu.be/QwTAVari...

This episode is proudly sponsored by AppUnite. The right dev partner can make or break your product. AppUnite embeds with your team to build apps that scale. Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/3FCHQlm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this episode, Jordan Schlipf shares the raw lessons from building 15+ startups, leading a venture...

This episode is proudly sponsored by AppUnite. The right dev partner can make or break your product. AppUnite embeds with your team to build apps that scale. Learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/3FCHQlm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this dynamic conversation, Greg McCallum and Jonathan Keeling (JK) dive deep into the unique foun...