Articles about Founder Mode
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 33 – Electrifying Aviation with Kevin Noertker
EPISODE 33: Kevin Noertker, co-founder and CEO of Ampaire, is leading the charge toward sustainable aviation by electrifying the skies. In this episode, Kevin Henrikson and Jason Shafton visit Ampaire’s Long Beach hangar to talk about hybrid-electric aircraft, scaling innovation in a century-old industry, and why “hybrid isn’t the compromise—it’s the bridge.” Kevin shares how...
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 32 – Will AI Replace Developers with Natalie Kaminski
EPISODE 32: Founder Mode sits down with Natalie Kaminski of JetRockets to cut through AI hype in software development. Natalie shares findings from a five-month experiment using code assistants: top engineers see ~30% efficiency on tedious tasks, but AI can duplicate components, forget context, and mislead juniors who can’t evaluate output. She argues developers matter...
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 31 – Founder Mode Live at San Francisco Tech Week with Max Mullen (Instacart) & Andrew Ofstad (Airtable)
EPISODE 31: In this live Founder Mode episode recorded at Workshop in San Francisco, Jason and Kevin sit down with two of the most influential builders in modern tech—Max Mullen, Co-Founder of Instacart, and Andrew Ofstad, Co-Founder of Airtable. They share never-before-heard founding stories, from Instacart’s $20K Trader Joe’s hack to Airtable’s first prototype built...
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 30 – AI + Automation: What to Ship First with Sangya Singh
EPISODE 30: Microsoft product leader Sangya Singh joins Jason and Kevin to unpack how to decide what to ship first in AI and automation. She shares a “strategy to win” playbook (fall in love with the problem, define the hypothesis, then hire and build), why agility must be daily not monthly, and how Microsoft balances...
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 29 – Private Equity + AI with Jason Friedrichs
EPISODE 29: Private equity meets AI in a grounded, operator-first conversation with Jason Friedrichs of AEA Elevate. We cover why “no-regrets” initiatives and clear ROI gates beat hype cycles, how to build an AI-first value creation plan, and why team design—not just capital—drives repeatable growth. Jason shares his thoughts on where PE playbooks are shifting...
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 28 – Health Is a Team Sport
EPISODE 28: Jason and Kevin dig into why health isn’t a solo sport—and how founders can extend their “work span” by prioritizing community, shared rituals, and better device hygiene. They cover replacing PR-chasing with longevity metrics, carving out weekly “sensorless” time to reset attention, and using an AI “board of directors” to stress-test health decisions...
