Articles about Founder Mode
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 10 – How to Bootstrap Your Tech Team Using AI with JJ Zhuang
Episode 10: Serial CTO and Acompli co-founder JJ Zhuang joins Kevin and Jason to explain why the next generation of great products will be built by tiny, AI-super-powered teams. He unpacks lessons from taking Acompli’s first line of code to a $200 million Microsoft exit, steering Instacart through pandemic hyper-growth, and relearning to code with...
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...
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...
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 7 – Zero-to-One Marketing with Peter Farago
Episode 7: In this episode, seasoned marketing leader Peter Farago shares zero-to-one marketing insights for early-stage startups, emphasizing empathy, iterative messaging, and organic inbound strategies. Drawing on experiences from Flurry, Accompli, and RunLLM, Peter highlights the importance of a clear value proposition, building brand credibility, and leveraging customer feedback loops. He also addresses AI’s evolving...
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 6 – Remote Boundaries – Saying No Without Burning Bridges with Viktor Petersson
Episode 6: In this episode, Viktor Petersson shares how saying “no” can be a superpower for founders managing remote teams. He discusses practical strategies for email triage, boundary-setting to avoid burnout, and why in-person retreats are key to trust and alignment. Learn how Viktor’s approach to documentation, intrinsic motivation, and selective communication helps him preserve...
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Founder Mode – Episode 5 – The Power of Asking with Andreas Homer
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...
