Blog

Founder Mode – Episode 5 – The Power of Asking with Andreas Homer

by Winston Francois

Episode 5: In this episode of Founder Mode, Jason and Kevin sit down with Andreas Homer—startup founder, former BD leader at Microsoft, and now Head of Product Partnerships at Shopify—to explore the underrated superpower of asking. They unpack how a single well-phrased request can unlock jobs, capital, and high-leverage relationships. Andreas shares how he’s built a career by asking with clarity, fairness, and authenticity—whether it’s securing investor intros, landing competitive roles, or hiring top-tier talent. The episode also dives into how to ask differently depending on your audience—investors, users, or team members—and why being yourself beats mimicking someone else’s style. The key lesson: Asking isn’t about pressure or persuasion—it’s about being clear, human, and real.

Listen Now!

apple podcast logo
amazon music logo
youtube logo

Founder Mode

Top Articles

Founder Mode – Episode 12 – From Hollywood to High-Rises: Making Robots with Asa Hammond

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Founder Mode – Episode 12 – From Hollywood to High-Rises: Making Robots with Asa Hammond

Episode 12: From building gravity-defying camera rigs for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity to sending drones into live nuclear reactors and, most recently, designing job-site robots that can survive the dust and chaos of construction, Asa Hammond’s career shows how precision engineering and artistic vision can coexist. In this conversation, Asa explains how the exacting pixel-perfect discipline...
Founder Mode – Episode 8 – AI-First Product Design with Ritwik Pavan

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Founder Mode – Episode 8 – AI-First Product Design with Ritwik Pavan

Episode 8: In this episode, serial entrepreneur Ritwik Pavan joins Kevin Henrikson and Jason Shafton to explore the rise of AI-first product design and its profound implications on consumer hardware, smart cities, and modular construction. They discuss the essential strategies founders need to adopt, including the importance of hyper-personalization, overcoming challenges in training data, untapped...
Founder Mode – Episode 11 – The Future of Commerce: Product Design & Logistics with Samantha Rose

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Founder Mode – Episode 11 – The Future of Commerce: Product Design & Logistics with Samantha Rose

Episode 11: From hand-carving a single silicone spatula in her kitchen to running a portfolio of revived consumer brands, Sam Rose walks Kevin and Jason through the through-line of her career: obsess over the customer, build a brand (not just a product), and make logistics as lovable as design. She explains how a “collision with...
Founder Mode – Episode 9 – De-Risking Brick-and-Mortar for DTC Brands with Megan Berry

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Founder Mode – Episode 9 – De-Risking Brick-and-Mortar for DTC Brands with Megan Berry

Episode 9: Megan Berry—architect, pop-up pioneer, and Mentors Fund partner—shows DTC founders how to move from clicks to bricks without torching cash. She explains her 8-foot-by-50-square-foot kiosk “permit hack,” the KPIs (unaided brand awareness, repeat engagement, dwell-time hot spots) that justify a multimillion-dollar flagship, and why post-COVID stores should feel like friction-free showrooms, not inventory...

See more

Browse Categories

See more

Ready to unlock your growth?

Book Free Call

We take a custom approach to your growth goals by assembling and leading the best-in-class marketing team to support your next stage.