The Startup Storybook Podcast

Jordan Lisnow asked a friend one question — "what sucks about your job?" — and turned the answer into a startup he sold before graduating college. He did it twice. This one's the playbook for finding real problems and building fast with no technical background. 🔗 Connect with Jordan 🔗 Check out Partunity

Parth Mehta taught himself to code over one summer and built Makistry — an AI-powered CAD platform with 300+ users and 7,000+ designs. He’s a sophomore at UT Austin, plays squash for the university team, performs original music at Austin open mics, and calls school “my side hustle now.” In this episode: the battle robot class that sparked the idea, leading a team of peers when nothing he tried wor...

Arnav Gupta is a freshman at Stanford running a full-time startup. Athira connects students with tutors in under 30 seconds for 15-25 minute micro-tutoring sessions — and the AI behind it is learning how great tutors sense confusion, adapt their tone, and personalize in real time. In this episode, Arnav talks about meeting his co-founder through Y Combinator's matching platform before even sta...

Most high schoolers can't even imagine leading initiatives that shape their community and inspire the next generation, unless they see the power in their own voice. Kashika Khurana shows how young leaders can rewrite the STEM story and foster confidence that defies age and stereotypes. In this episode, Kashika shares her story in founding three distinct non-profits, each with the goal of empow...

Sudhanva Athreya ran a financial services company before 21. Now he's building SportSense — an AI-powered platform that wants to change how fans follow sports by making it personal. In this episode, Sudhanva talks about what he learned leading a team with no technical background, losing a co-founder to a $150K job offer, and why he believes ideas are worthless without the people willing to exe...

Akku Kumar was sitting at DFW, four hours into an eight-hour delay, when something clicked. Two years later, he's got contracts with multiple airports and a team building technology to fix one of air travel's most annoying problems. We talk about the 80 customer interviews it took to find the right problem, why five co-founders didn't work out, and what he's sacrificed to build Arrow Analytics whi...

In this episode, we interview Vir Sanghavi and Wyatt Wolfman, the young founders of Tilt, a platform that aims to improve online communication by turning dialogue into data. They discuss the technology behind Tilt, including its unique logic scoring system, and how it seeks to combat the echo chambers prevalent in online discussions. The conversation also covers their experiences as young entrepre...

Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for an engaging conversation with Logan Russell, founder of Runner's High Cookies. What started as a passion for baking and a knack for balancing school and business has grown into a thriving cookie enterprise. In this episode, Logan shares his journey from a college student to a successful entrepreneur, discussing the challenges of managing a business...

Young entrepreneur Mahir Laul shares how Velric is using AI to replace outdated resumes with dynamic proof-of-work missions, making hiring faster, fairer, and more accurate for recruiters and candidates alike. Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for an eye-opening chat with Mahir Laul, founder of Velric, who's on a mission to eliminate resumes forever. As a self-taught entrepreneur who took a...

Co-founders Colt Waller and Ryder McNeal return to share how Prevo Streaming is revolutionizing the world of short films by giving student filmmakers a platform to shine and connect with industry pros. Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for an engaging follow-up with Colt Waller and Ryder McNeal, co-founders of Prevo Streaming. Both SMU film alumni, they recount their paths from aspiring pro...

Biotech entrepreneur and MUSIQ Bio founder Manwal Harb shares how his passion for science and helping others led him from Lebanon to Texas, where he’s using ultrasound technology to revolutionize drug delivery. Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for an epic conversation with Manwal Harb, CEO of MUSIQ Bio. What began as a fascination with nanotechnology and a desire to improve patient outcome...

Auburn baseball player–turned-entrepreneur Brooks Fuller shares how a simple act of service during COVID grew into a booming moving business rooted in faith and purpose. Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for a powerful conversation with Brooks Fuller, the founder and CEO of Room to Room Movers. What began as a way to help Auburn University students pack their dorms during the COVID-19 lockd...

Join us on the Startup Storybook podcast for an inspiring conversation with Turner Rey, the innovative mind behind Embrace Strings. As a professional violist and student of Music Performance and Entrepreneurship at Abilene Christian University, Turner identified a common issue among violists: neck pain from traditional chin rests. This led him to develop a customizable chin rest, merging his love...

Thomas Lester is the founder of Heatstream Solutions, a packaging startup pioneering some of the most advanced self-heating packaging in the world. As a lifelong coffee drinker, Thomas often wondered why no one had created a truly effective self-heating coffee cup. That question became the spark for Heatstream. During his second year at Auburn University, Thomas won funding for the idea in AU’s Ti...

John and Chelsea Giles, alumni of Abilene Christian University, are the founders of DomeDock - America’s #1 hat rack. What started as a project in their garage has grown into a thriving, profitable business that even caught the attention of Shark Tank. What makes their story especially inspiring is that neither John nor Chelsea considered themselves entrepreneurs in college. Yet, when the idea str...

Luke Carrell is the founder of Side Coach Sports, a platform that connects young athletes with opportunities to train with veteran college players. After completing his undergraduate degree in marketing while playing baseball at the University of Oklahoma, Luke is now pursuing his MBA at Ohio State, all while continuing his baseball career. The idea for Side Coach came from Luke’s own experience g...

Cole Piotrowski is a lifelong entrepreneur, former student-athlete, and now founder of McCarren Capital. While at Ole Miss, Cole launched Godors Spray, a cleaning product for athletic gear, and went on to win $10,000 at the SEC Pitch Competition. After graduating in May 2025, he shifted his focus to real estate, starting McCarren Capital, an advisory firm connecting private groups with investment...

Mikey Schumacher is the founder of But Cute , a collectible plush brand that celebrates imperfections through storytelling and quirky designs. After completing his undergraduate degree in Advertising at the University of Colorado Boulder and graduate studies in Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California, Mikey channeled his creative toy ideas into a brand built to resonate with peop...

Olkaris Marandu is a senior Business Management major at Auburn University and the founder of Glory EV, a startup empowering the future of electric mobility by installing EV chargers for both commercial and residential clients. Between balancing his studies and serving in the Alabama National Guard, Olkaris has developed the discipline, work ethic, and perspective it takes to succeed as a student...

Colin and Grant, graduates of Louisiana State University, are the CEO and CTO of Farm Smarter AI — a platform that gives farmers across the country a holistic understanding of best practices, regulations, and practical solutions for challenges like choosing the right seed, treating pests, and more. Frustrated by how difficult it is for farmers to navigate complex regulations and countless options...

Ryder McNeal is a graduate student at Southern Methodist University and co-founder of Prevo Streaming , a platform for aspiring filmmakers to showcase their work. Frustrated by how hard it is for new creators to get their films in front of an audience, Ryder and his team built Prevo to be truly filmmaker-focused. Since launching last year, Prevo has streamed hundreds of films for thousands of view...

Graycen Hall is a graduate student at the University of Kentucky and co-founder of Madhouse Games. With a degree in neuroscience and a semester of board game design class, Graycen teamed up with her co-founder Claire Carpenter to launch their first game: a dueling robot card game that blends excitement with education. Their mission is to create games that are fun and engaging, all while helping yo...

Collin Bishop is a student-athlete, finance and economics major, and entrepreneur at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He has competed in the Stumberg Competition at Trinity the last two years and is a student leader in the entrepreneurship program. Collin has multiple ventures he is pursuing and a great outlook on the life of a student founder. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin...

Grafton Hearnsberger is a junior Business Administration major at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. He is the founder of ARCANE, a private network for the next generation of entrepreneurs, leaders, and visionaries. Grafton plans for ARCANE to be a place for innovators to connect and learn from each other, growing the world of entrepreneurship. Website: ARCANE Instagram: @ARCANE LinkedIn: Gra...

Gabe Irvine is a student-athlete, finance and accounting major, and entrepreneur at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He is the founder of Interactive Investing Insights (3I), an app that leverages AI to help users learn how to invest successfully. Though still in the early stages of his venture, Gabe brings valuable insights into the financial world, the disruptive power of AI in the indu...