The Lobster Talks Podcast by Lobster Capital

What if your inbox didn’t just organize itself — it acted on your behalf? Nizar Abi Zaher, founder of Zero, is building the AI-native email client that reads, replies, filters, and organizes without you lifting a finger. In this tactical, fast-paced conversation, we explore his path from Cal.com engineer to YC founder — and how he's going head-to-head with Superhuman. From open-source strategies t...

They didn’t sell to insurance brokers — they replaced them. Dakotah Rice didn’t build AI tools for the industry. He built an AI-first insurance company — and now Harper is scaling faster than they can handle. In this episode, Dakotah shares how Harper went from kitchen-table experiments to a high-growth, fully autonomous insurance brokerage. He breaks down the real bottlenecks, the AI architecture...

What if a single AI voice agent could handle 100,000 calls a day and free up your entire support team? Episode Summary: In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel sits down with Kevin Wu, founder of Leaping AI, to unpack how voice-powered AI is automating 50–70% of repetitive support calls, self-optimizing over time, and achieving 90% customer satisfaction. We dive into the origin story, technical...

What if you could edit your face and voice like a Google Doc? That’s exactly what Prady Modukuru is building at Sync—an AI company making video editing fully editable in post-production. No more re-recording. Just fix it like text. In this high-velocity episode of Lobster Talks, we go deep on Sync’s origin story, how Prady and his team ship insanely fast, and why their AI-powered content tools are...

The YC Demo Day almost turned investors away at the door — and that might’ve been the point. In this behind-the-scenes breakdown, Gabriel Jarrosson (Lobster Capital) and Laurie dissect the most exclusive Demo Day yet, revealing why this Spring 25 batch could be the best in years. We explore YC's most AI-heavy cohort, debate sky-high valuations, and uncover what separates a good startup from a brea...

He was getting sued. Now his startup helps millions fight back — and win. In this founder-first, no-fluff conversation, George Simons breaks down how SoloSuit is dismantling a $3.5B legal industry — one lawsuit at a time. From bootstrapped beginnings and courtroom chaos to SEO-powered growth and AI-driven debt settlement, this episode is a crash course in building a business with compounding advan...

What if your non-technical team could ship code overnight? In this fast-paced Lobster Talks roundtable, Gabriel Jarrosson sits down with Samraaj Bath (Ion Design) and Agree Ahmed (Flowglad) to unpack “Vibe Coding”—the AI-powered workflow that lets designers, PMs, and marketers iterate on real code. They clash over misconceptions, debate the future of frontend engineers, spin our Hot Take Wheel, an...

You think you know where YC is headed? Think again—agents are rewriting the playbook. In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel debriefs Laurie on YC’s quarterly Request for Startups focused on AI agents. From “full-stack” AI challengers to personal assistants that go from to-do lists to done lists, we unpack the highs, the lows, and the hidden opportunities for founders and investors alike. What...

Revolutionizing AI Search: Ghita Alami's Vision for Zero Entropy In this episode, we chat with Ghita Alami, founder of Zero Entropy, about her company's groundbreaking approach to rebuilding search systems for AI agents. Learn about early chaos theory, tactical product insights, and the future of intelligent retrieval systems. 00:00 Introduction to AI Retrieval Systems 00:07 Meet the Founder of Ze...

🎙️ Inversion Semiconductor: The Startup Taking On ASML with a Tabletop Particle Accelerator What if the next leap in chip manufacturing didn't come from a trillion-dollar company — but from two founders building a compact particle accelerator in Berkeley? In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel Jarrosson sits down with Rohan Karthik and Daniel Vega, the founders of Inversion Semiconductor, a YC-...

Join us for an intriguing discussion with Stef from Reditus Space as we explore the potential of zero gravity manufacturing. Learn how Reditus Space aims to revolutionize production by using reusable satellites to create unique and superior materials in space. Discover the challenges and exciting opportunities this new frontier presents, from pharmaceuticals to semiconductors, and even the possibi...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks, we delve into the current state of the tech investment landscape, highlighting how fear and uncertainty in the market, partly driven by political factors like Trump's tariffs, influence investor behavior. Gabriel discusses the unique ecosystem of Y Combinator (YC) and its resilience during tumultuous times, noting that the best startups tend to thrive even whe...

In this episode of Lobster Talks, I sit down with Ashi and Reza, the unstoppable founders of Spaceium—a YC-backed startup building orbital gas stations. 🚀 They share the raw and incredible story of how they went from nearly homeless right before YC to raising $6.3M, signing $86.5M in commercial contracts, and securing $1B+ in LOIs—all before launching their first mission to space. We cover: How t...

In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel dives deep into the groundbreaking Y Combinator Winter 2025 Demo Day. Discover how the latest YC batch shattered revenue records, including a startup already pulling in $50 million in profits and another hitting $2 million in revenue at demo day. They discuss why the quality bar is rising, the explosion of AI-powered startups, and whether the AI wave has p...

00:00 - 00:50 Intro 00:50 - 01:23 What's StarCloud? 1:23 - 02:05 Why GPUs in Space? 02:05 - 03:35 Abundant Energy 03:35 - 05:50 Why No One Did It Before 05:50 - 07:30 Starship Economics 07:30 - 08:50 Philip’s Background 08:50 - 10:00 Can Anyone Start a Space Company? 10:00 - 12:30 Building in Space 12:30 - 13:20 Does Space Solar Affect Earth? 13:20 - 17:00 Raising an $11M Seed Round 17:00 - 19:00...

Join us on the Lobster Talks Podcast as host Gabrielle sits down with Michel Tricot, co-founder and CEO of Airbyte—the open-source data integration platform that skyrocketed to a billion-dollar valuation in record time. Michel reveals Airbyte’s origin story (including scrapping their first product in the midst of COVID), how they built a thriving open-source community, and their unique approach to...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks, I’m joined by entrepreneur-turned-investor Johannes Hatt. After founding and exiting multiple companies—including a SaaS startup scaled to 300 employees and 30M ARR—Johannes has invested in over 80 early-stage startups and over 10 venture funds. Now, he’s jumping back into the CEO seat! We Discuss • His journey from founding companies to investing in startups...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks , I chat with Varsha —co-founder of Offstream , a YC-backed startup helping big infrastructure projects (solar farms, data centers, and more) secure crucial carbon-compliance certifications. Varsha shares how her consulting background and direct experience with manual, PDF-heavy compliance processes inspired her to build a smarter, AI-driven solution—something...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks , we’re joined by Wayne Crosby , a true startup veteran with a remarkable full-circle journey: • 2007: Wayne became a Y Combinator founder in one of the earliest cohorts, quickly landing a Google acquisition that evolved into Google Slides. • A Decade at Google: He stayed on to help grow G Suite, diving into AI and shaping how millions of users collaborate onli...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks Podcast , Laurie joins me once again to dissect Y Combinator’s brand-new Request for Startups—released just three months after their last one! We explore what’s behind YC’s accelerated timeline, the massive surge of AI innovation, and why now might be the best (and most challenging) time to build or invest in cutting-edge tech. From hardware breakthroughs and A...

In this episode of Lobster Talks, we’re joined by Jason Fan, CEO and Co-Founder of Finic—an AI “risk ops” startup transforming how banks and fintechs tackle fraud and disputes. Jason opens up about his tough decision to shut down a revenue-generating company ($150k!) in order to chase a far bigger vision. Together, we dive into: Why making $150k didn’t guarantee long-term success—and why he walked...

In this episode of Lobster Talks, Gabriel chats with Yonatan - co-founder of Jiga (YC W21) - about how a simple WordPress MVP grew into an AI-powered platform reinventing global manufacturing. Yonatan reveals the ups and downs of hitting walls, pivoting from marketplace to SaaS (and back again), and ultimately nailing product-market fit. They also discuss staying humble when things finally take of...

In this Lobster Talks episode, Gabriel returns to discuss what’s on the horizon for YC and startup investing in 2025. We dive into Y Combinator’s shift to four batches per year, why AI is fueling rapid growth (and even potential AGI!), and how that might reshape the investment landscape. We also reflect on Lobster Capital’s stellar 2024—from an oversubscribed Fund 1 to multiple fast-growing portfo...

In this episode of The Lobster Talks, I sit down with Roberto Salcedo—co-founder and CEO of Baubap, a Y Combinator-backed fintech that’s reshaping consumer lending in Mexico. Discover how Roberto’s team grew Baubap from a scrappy $3M seed round to generating $100M+ in revenue by building everything in-house and leveraging AI years before it was mainstream. What You’ll Learn - The early product dec...

🎙️ Lobster Talks Podcast - Episode with Valentin Sulzer, Founder of Ionworks 🚀 Welcome to the latest episode of the Lobster Talks podcast by Lobster Capital! In this episode, Gabriel sits down with Valentin Sulzer, founder of Ionworks, a revolutionary startup transforming battery innovation through cutting-edge software. 🔋 Batteries are critical to powering the 21st century—from EVs to satellite...