Startup Builders & Backers

Have you ever tried to book a tennis, pickleball, padel, or squash court and wondered why the process still feels stuck in another decade? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I sit down with Daren Hornig, founder and CEO of CourtsApp, to discuss how he spotted a major gap in one of the world's fastest-growing sports sectors and decided to do something about it. Drawing on decades of e...

Have you ever wondered what separates entrepreneurs who survive economic crises from those who thrive because of them? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers, I sit down with Russell Attwood, CEO of Route 101, whose entrepreneurial journey spans multiple decades, technology shifts, and economic cycles. From launching a business in a cupboard room to building and selling a multi-million-...

What does it take to build, scale, sell a company, step away from business, and then return because you believe an entire industry is about to be reinvented by AI? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I spoke with David Amsellem, founder of luxury concierge company John Paul and now Chief Distribution Officer at HBX Group, about entrepreneurship, innovation, and why the next generation...

What does it take to transform one of the world’s oldest industries using some of the newest technologies available today? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I sit down with Robin Saluoks, CEO and Co-Founder of eAgronom, to explore how a childhood connection to farming evolved into one of Europe’s fastest-growing climate-tech platforms. Robin shares how building a simple tool for his...

What happens when the best AI hires are not AI specialists at all, but founders? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I sat down with Fran Loftus, Chief Experience Officer at EliseAI, to talk about a hiring philosophy that goes against the grain. At a time when so many companies are chasing the same technical talent, EliseAI is betting on people with founder DNA, generalists who can mo...

For founders moving fast and feeling pressure to scale, that insight alone could save months of frustration and lost momentum. We also explore how to balance urgency with long-term fit. Darren makes a strong case for clarity before speed. Know exactly what you are hiring for. Separate cultural alignment from core competency. And resist the temptation to drag out decisions when the fundamentals are...

What if entrepreneurship were not only about starting companies, but about shaping how a generation thinks about impact, ownership, and responsibility? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I’m joined by Danielle Vogel, Assistant Director of the Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship at American University, where she works at the intersection of sustainability, entrepreneurship, and educat...

What does it really take to rewrite your own story, and then challenge an entire industry at the same time? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers, I’m joined by Steven Woods, Founder of Stirlingshire Investments, for a conversation that goes far beyond balance sheets and buzzwords. Steve’s journey is anything but predictable. From leaving high school early to advising on Wall Street, e...

What makes a startup founder stay inspired after years of building, scaling, and sometimes starting over? In this episode of The Startup Builders and Backers Podcast , Emanuel Pirker shares a founder’s journey that every entrepreneur can learn from. Recorded live at IGEL’s Now & Next event in Frankfurt, Emanuel opens up about the path from launching Stratodesk to becoming Field CTO at IGEL, wh...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Steve Flavell, co-CEO of LoopUp, to hear how a company once known for improving conference calls became a global force in cloud telephony. LoopUp began in 2003 with a mission to make conference calls less frustrating, growing steadily for more than a decade before going public on the London Stock Exchange in 2016. When the pandemic hit, their co...

What if you could accelerate your startup’s growth with the combined power of AI, targeted mentorship, and a connected community? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I speak with serial entrepreneur, investor, and technologist Paul Pluschkell, the founder of StartupOS, to unpack how their Launchpad platform is reshaping the way early-stage companies find their footing and scale. Paul...

In this raw and deeply human conversation, I sit down with Yael Daniely, a seasoned startup psychologist, co-founder, therapist, and founder of one of the world’s only clinical practices dedicated to the emotional well-being of startup leaders. Yael joins me from Israel in the middle of a war zone, where the urgency of her message becomes even more profound. Together, we explore what founders rare...

In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers , I sat down with Rahul Baig, Head of Venture Capital and Growth Equity Coverage at Wells Fargo, for one of the most wide-ranging and insightful conversations I’ve had this year. We discuss the seismic shifts occurring across the tech landscape, particularly how AI is driving a new cycle of investment, innovation, and disruption. With $200 billion al...

In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers , we sit down with Jeff Butler, General Manager of Cask Canada, for a candid conversation on what it really takes to launch and grow a high-performing tech consultancy in today's evolving enterprise landscape. In just over a year, Jeff helped Cask Canada scale to 25 employees and win 11 major clients, all while navigating a crowded implementation p...

On this episode of Startup Builders & Backers, I sit down with Carsten Brinkschulte, co-founder and CEO of Dryad Networks, to uncover how a seasoned telecom entrepreneur pivoted from software to saving forests. Carsten explains how witnessing devastating wildfires and his own daughter’s climate activism pushed him to found Dryad Networks, a company deploying solar-powered sensors and mesh netw...

You've probably heard it before: "Self-published books don't make money." But what if we're measuring success with the wrong metrics? Eric Jorgensen, CEO of Scribe Media and million-copy bestselling author, challenges this conventional wisdom with a simple but powerful insight: "A book does not have to make money to make you money." Rethinking Book Success The math is compelling. While most self-p...

What if the biggest risk for startups isn't failure, but building the wrong thing too soon? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers , I sit down with David Hirschfeld, founder of Tekyz Inc., to explore a different way of thinking about early-stage success. With more than 35 years in software and experience across over 90 startups, David shares what he has learned from both the wins and t...

What if the reason so many startups fail has less to do with bad ideas and more to do with skipping the hard but necessary stages of building? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers , I’m joined by Gregory Shepard, founder of Startup Science and author of The Startup Lifecycle , a book grounded in five years of research and 5,800 pages of data on why startups win or don’t. Gregory break...

What does it take to turn a bold idea into a billion-dollar company during one of the most unpredictable periods in recent history? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers , we meet Avery Pennarun, Co-founder and CEO of Tailscale, who shares how a lean networking startup found its stride in the middle of a global pandemic and reshaped expectations for what secure connectivity can look like...

What does it mean to truly invest in a tech startup? In this episode, we explore that question with Frederic Joye, co-founder of Arcanys and partner at Arcanys Ventures. With a career that took him from the Swiss finance sector to the beaches of the Philippines, Frederic shares a philosophy that reshapes how we think about startup funding. For him, capital is only part of the equation. Real invest...

As climate risks escalate and wildfires grow more frequent and destructive, how can startups help the insurance industry adapt and evolve? In this episode of Startup Founders and Backers , we spotlight how Firebreak Risk uses artificial intelligence to change how insurers assess and underwrite wildfire risk, while empowering homeowners to protect their properties. Seetal Chohan joins us from Fireb...

What does it really take to scale a startup from an idea to a thriving business generating over $100M in ARR? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers , we explore that journey with Luke Diaz, founder of DBT Ventures, an angel investment fund focused on supporting underrepresented founders. Drawing on his extensive background leading customer success teams and scaling early-stage companie...

What should tech startups know before expanding beyond their home market? In this episode of Startup Founders and Backers, we explore that very question with Dr. Shan Nair, president of Nucleus and a pioneer in international expansion services. With a background that began in nuclear physics at Oxford and led to advising globally recognized names like Tesla and FaceTime, Shan brings a rare blend o...

How is AI changing the rules of intellectual property, and what should founders be doing about it? In this debut episode of Startup Builders & Backers , we tackle one of the most pressing and under-discussed areas in the startup space: the legal impact of AI. I’m joined by Alex Watt, commercial IP lawyer at Howard Kennedy and leader of the firm’s startup programme, Ignite. With deep expertise...