This Is Creating

Sara Tavasolian

SUBSCRIBE FOR HIGH LEVERAGE FOUNDER INSIGHTS How high-impact companies are really built. I'm Sara Tavasolian — founder, interaction designer and tech strategist. Each episode breaks down the trade-offs, decisions and scaling challenges behind the world's most durable ventures across technology, AI and design, focusing on the systems, incentives and capital dynamics that determine who wins. I’ve built startups, designed award-winning products, and created immersive experiences exploring technology, design and strategy. This show is about seeing those patterns clearly before they cost you.

  1. 22 Jun

    Finance Expert Reveals His Secrets To Financial Clarity | Hassan Zaman

    Most founders are flying blind with their money.They’re out there chasing customers and growth, but have almost no clue what their actual runway looks like or what big bills are coming down the pipe. That’s exactly the problem Hassan kept seeing when he was working in commercial finance helping startups.So he decided to do something about it and built Flocast — a tool that gives startups and small businesses real, clear visibility into their cash flow, runway, and financial decisions.In this chat, Hassan opens up about why cash flow is so misunderstood, how he went from working in corporate finance to founding his own fintech company, and the practical lessons he’s learned along the way.We talk about:◼ Why just “leaving it to the accountant” often gets founders in trouble◼ When you should actually start paying attention to your numbers◼ How to make finance feel less scary and overwhelming◼ His biggest mistake with his first hire (and what it taught him)◼ The smart way to get your first real customers◼ What investors really care about when looking at your financials◼ How to build better financial habits as a busy founderHassan is super honest about the journey — the challenges of leaving a stable job, the reality of building a product from scratch, and why financial clarity is one of the biggest advantages you can give yourself as a founder.Whether you’re just thinking about starting a company or already running one and feeling the financial stress, there are a lot of useful takeaways in this one. If you want better control and peace of mind around your business finances, definitely check out what he’s building at Flocast.Timestamps00:00:00 Intro00:00:21 How Hassan started his entrepreneurial journey00:01:53 The birth of Flocast and solving the cash flow problem00:02:52 The moment Hassan realised founders needed better financial visibility00:04:27 Why founders struggle with understanding finance00:06:27 Making finance simple and founder-friendly00:08:06 When should founders start paying attention to cash flow?00:10:06 Leaving a finance career to become a founder00:12:45 The reality of moving from a 9–5 to entrepreneurship00:15:18 Knowing when it’s the right time to leave your job00:16:41 Does having a family change the founder journey?00:19:00 Why experience can become an advantage when starting a company00:21:54 Biggest fears when building Flocast00:22:24 The power of mentors and networking00:24:48 How to overcome the fear of reaching out to people00:27:41 Building confidence as a founder00:30:31 Hassan’s biggest startup mistake00:34:13 How Flocast found its first customers00:38:26 How Flocast helps founders understand cash flow and runway00:41:28 Why accountants don’t always provide business advice00:43:31 Why investors and VCs are interested in financial visibility00:46:43 Fundraising lessons: what investors really want00:50:02 The future of Flocast00:51:10 The advice Hassan would give his younger self00:52:14 What Hassan believes now that he didn’t before00:53:34 The hardest lesson learned as a founder00:54:57 Moments when he wanted to quit00:56:30 Finding the first investor in an unexpected place00:56:52 Final thoughts and advice for foundersFollow Hassan ZamanWebsite Flocast: https://flocast.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hassan-zaman-a1404198/ Subscribe for more content here: → https://www.youtube.com/@Tavasolian Connect with me: → https://www.instagram.com/thisiscreatingpodcast/ → https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-tavasolian/

    59 min

  2. 10 Jun

    How to find your purpose | Christophe El-Khoury

    Struggling to find purpose beyond career success? In this clip, Christophe El-Khoury shares the question that guides his decisions and helps him stay focused on what matters the most. Listen to the full episode for a deeper conversation on purpose, business, and personal growth.

    4 min

  3. 22 May

    How Offshore AI Teams Are Changing Business | Hugh Chichester

    Hugh Chichester (Founder & CEO of Naya) reveals how he’s building offshore AI teams that help small and medium sized businesses compete with giants without massive hiring or huge costs. From refugees to Kurdish engineers, he shares why the future of AI work may not be in Silicon Valley, but in the Global South. Hugh Chichester is the Founder and CEO of Naya, a company that builds and manages offshore AI agent teams for UK and US businesses. After starting in politics and charity work, he became obsessed with solving talent shortages and labor imbalances using AI and remote talent. In this episode, he explains: How AI agents are becoming real “coworkers” that take action, not just answer questions Why offshoring AI talent to places like South Africa, Jordan, and Kurdistan is becoming a major advantage for small and medium sized businesses The biggest risks no one talks about: security breaches, runaway costs, and prompt injection Why most companies are implementing AI completely wrong, and how to do it right The new roles emerging in the AI era: Domain Experts, AI Operators, and Engineers Lessons from multiple failed pivots and why he’s glad he didn’t raise big VC money His honest take on the future of work, youth unemployment, and creating opportunity through remote workIf you’re a founder, business owner, or anyone thinking about the future of AI and jobs, this conversation is essential. Timestamps 00:00 Intro00:24 Hugh’s Background And Early Career02:24 Falling Into Entrepreneurship03:51 From Politics To AI04:36 The Refugee Story That Shaped Hugh’s Perspective07:33 The Original Vision Behind Niya09:38 Why Skilled Migrants Struggle To Find Work10:38 Why Most People Don’t Want To Leave Home12:01 “We Were Solving A Social Problem, Not An Economic Problem”13:55 How Offshore AI Teams Actually Work16:09 Finding Talent In Overlooked Regions17:05 Why Communication And Hustle Matter Most19:13 AI Agents Are Becoming Coworkers21:10 Why Businesses Still Resist AI22:53 Why Most People Still Misunderstand AI24:34 The Opportunity AI Creates For Small Businesses26:29 How VCs Are Rebuilding Industries With AI29:48 The Biggest Risks Of AI Adoption33:13 Why Companies Are Implementing AI Too Fast35:31 AI Tools vs AI Agents38:13 How AI Changes Team Workflows41:53 Trust, Surveillance And AI In The Workplace43:13 Growing A Business Without Hiring Twice As Many People44:54 The New Roles AI Will Create47:56 Why Young People Have A Huge Advantage In AI50:51 Why AI Could Create A New Generation Of Entrepreneurs52:32 The Problem With VC Culture56:52 Building Slowly Instead Of Chasing Hype57:03 The Startup Failures That Changed Hugh’s Thinking59:45 Why You Should “Test And Approve” Everything01:01:20 The Middle Class Job Crisis & Barbell Effect01:02:58 How AI Is Lowering The Barrier To Starting A Business01:04:29 Why Company Data Is A Bigger Problem Than People Think01:06:59 Where To Start If You Want To Learn AI01:08:42 How Hugh Uses His Own AI Assistant01:10:52 What AI Agents Can Actually Do For Businesses01:14:09 Why Human Experience Still Matters01:18:57 What Companies Should Never Automate01:20:54 The Three Questions Sara Asks Every Guest01:21:19 The Best Advice Hugh Ever Received01:24:43 Why Being A Founder Is Not A Status Symbol01:26:32 The Hardest Lesson Hugh Learned01:28:02 How Hugh Thinks About Failure01:31:36 Final Thoughts

    1hr 32min

  4. 8 May

    What Really Happens Behind The Clothes You Buy | Vinchy Chan

    Vinchy is building a new way to produce fashion, and it starts with fixing a system most people never see. She went from finance and consulting into fashion, only to discover how broken the supply chain really is. Minimum order quantities, miscommunication, overproduction and wasted inventory are holding back new designers and damaging the industry. Now she’s building an operating system to change it. She explains: Why most fashion brands fail before they even launch How factories actually work and why small brands get rejected The hidden cost of overproduction and unsold inventory Why supply chain complexity kills creativity How small batch production could reshape fashion The role consumers play in driving waste How AI can fix communication and coordination in manufacturing What it really takes to build in a legacy industryTimestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:37 From Finance To Fashion 00:03:40 The Real Problem In Fashion Supply Chains 00:07:24 Why Designing Clothes Is Harder Than It Looks 00:09:47 How Factories Actually Work And Why Small Brands Struggle 00:13:09 The Overproduction Problem No One Talks About 00:16:36 Why Most New Designers Fail 00:21:49 Small Batch Production Could Change Everything 00:23:58 Are Consumers Part Of The Problem? 00:27:51 What Really Happens Behind The Scenes In Production 00:31:24 How Makia Is Rebuilding The System 00:40:29 Why Fashion Is Still A Human Industry 00:46:34 How AI Is Changing Manufacturing 00:53:48 The Reality Of Building A Startup 00:58:46 Advice For Founders Starting From Zero Follow Vinchy Chen LinkedIn Makia Subscribe for more content here: YouTube Connect with me: Instagram LinkedIn

    1hr 8min

  5. 24 Apr

    Why Most Companies Fail With AI | Ideja Bajra

    Most companies think AI adoption is a technology problem. It’s not. AI consultant Ideja explains why the real challenge in building a company with AI is not the tools, but the people, systems, and decisions behind them. Ideja works with companies across Europe, helping teams move from scattered AI pilots to real strategy, execution, and adoption. With a background outside of tech, she brings a rare perspective on why so many organizations struggle to turn technology and AI into real workflows and results. She explains: Why companies fail before they define a clear AI strategy The gap between using AI tools and integrating them into company systems Why teams resist change when adopting new technology and AI The role of human behavior, trust, and design in AI adoption What breaks inside companies when systems and data aren’t ready Why trust, not technology, is the real bottleneckTimestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:25 Why She Left Cell Biology For AI 00:03:04 How Curiosity Turned Into An AI Business 00:05:14 Why Most Companies Still Don’t Understand AI 00:07:56 Why People Resist AI At Work 00:10:16 Why Education Is Falling Behind AI 00:11:40 The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Right Now 00:13:21 Why Most Companies Rush Into AI Without A Strategy 00:15:39 The Teams Most Resistant To AI 00:17:45 How To Use AI Without Losing Critical Thinking 00:20:50 Deepfakes, Guardrails, And The Risk Ahead 00:30:07 Is AI Hype Already Starting To Cool Down? 00:32:16 How She Taught Herself AI From Scratch 00:35:41 Why Humans Still Matter In An AI World 00:36:33 What Her AI Consulting Process Actually Looks Like 00:52:18 How AI Should Be Taught In Schools 00:58:34 The Advice She’d Give Herself At The Start 01:01:30 The Hardest Lesson About Self Worth And Work YouTube Signature Follow Ideja Barja LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idejabajra/ Edvance AI: https://www.edvance-ai.com Subscribe for more content here: → https://youtube.com/@tavasolian?si=HA472eJP7FAGUu3B Connect with me: → https://www.instagram.com/saratavasolian → https://linkedin.com/in/sara-tavasolian

    1hr 7min

  6. 17 Apr

    Why Your Business Needs An AI Coworker | Henrik Djurestål

    What does it take to build a company when AI is changing everything? Henrik Djurestål on startup strategy, founder decisions, and scaling a company with AI. Henrik Djurestål is the founder of Vorker.AI, an AI coworker platform built for small and medium B2B businesses. With a background in robotics and defense AI at Saab, he left to build a product around a simple thesis — small companies with the right technology and AI can outexecute the enterprise. He explains: ◼️ Why too many SaaS tools kill small business execution◼️ The trade-offs of building a horizontal AI product over a vertical one◼️ How Vorker.AI turns words into action for founders running lean companies◼️ What solo founders get right that co-founder pairs often get wrong◼️ How raising capital as a solo founder changes your company strategy◼️ Why AI adoption in Sweden is growing but scaling slowly◼️ Why humanoid robots are further from market than the demos suggest Timestamps 00:00 Intro00:25 Who Henrik is and why he left defense AI to build for small business02:25 How an entrepreneurial family and robotics shaped his path04:08 Why he chose a horizontal AI product over a vertical one06:18 How small businesses are drowning in too many tools07:29 Why Microsoft Copilot failed and what AI coworkers need to do differently08:13 What Goldman Sachs research says about small business AI struggles10:46 Why the future of business is words to action12:19 Which companies get the most out of vorker.ai13:21 How vorker.ai thinks about data privacy and European storage15:16 Why ChatGPT is not built for running a business16:14 How small companies can now compete with large corporations18:00 How Swedish small businesses are actually adopting AI today19:28 Adapt or die — Henrik's take on AI, jobs, and the technology shift20:36 Where to start if you want to implement AI in your company23:53 Why AI pilots fail in big companies but work in small ones26:00 Why organizing your data is like cleaning your room27:44 The hardest lessons from building an AI startup28:37 Why co-founder fit matters more than the idea itself30:54 What Henrik actually looks for in a technical co-founder33:21 How raising pre-seed capital changes the solo founder dynamic35:15 Why Henrik ignored customer validation and built anyway40:03 How the open beta launch will be the real market test41:28 How vorker.ai collects feedback without being driven by it43:37 Why Henrik built AI labs live and what happens there48:27 Who can attend AI labs live and how to join49:54 Where Sweden is headed in AI and why startups keep leaving for the US52:14 Why European VC culture thinks differently from American investors52:34 If he could go back what Henrik would tell his younger self57:06 The one thing Henrik believes now that he didn't five years ago59:07 Why humanoid robots are further away than the demos suggest1:06:03 The hardest personal lesson from building a startup Follow Henrik:https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrik-djurestal/https://vorker.ai/ Subscribe for more content here:→ https://youtube.com/@tavasolian?si=HA472eJP7FAGUu3B Connect with me:→ https://www.instagram.com/saratavasolian→ linkedin.com/in/sara-tavasolian

    1hr 10min

  7. 3 Apr

    What happens to humans when AI enters the workplace? | Evelina Dzimanaviciute

    What happens to humans when AI enters the workplace?Evelina Dzimanaviciute on workplace culture, leadership, human value, and adapting to AI. Evelina Dzimanaviciute is the founder and CEO of Elite Mind Consultancy. She helps companies design better workplaces through behavioral neuroscience, leadership development, and organizational strategy, with a focus on human performance, psychological safety, and the future of work. She explains: Why people feel threatened by AI at work How leaders can help teams adapt to change Why psychological safety drives innovation and execution How AI changes human value, purpose, and decision making What companies need to fix before scaling with AIEpisode Timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:21 Who Evelina Is And Why She Builds Human-Centered Workplaces 01:24 What Happens To Humans When AI Enters The Workplace 04:16 The 3 Human Needs That Shape Work, Purpose, And Behavior 08:30 Why So Many Employees Feel Threatened By Change 11:16 How AI Is Changing Creativity, Search, And Exploration 13:34 Why AI Still Needs Human Judgment, Context, And Direction 17:24 Why Fear Of AI Starts With Ignorance 19:40 Why The Speed Of Change Is Harder Than The Technology Itself 24:26 Why Small Improvements Won’t Be Enough In An AI World 27:41 What Leaders Must Do To Make People Feel Part Of The Change 32:36 When A Human Becomes A Liability Instead Of An Asset 37:34 The Difference Between Healthy And Toxic Workplace Culture 44:29 Evelina’s Personal Story Of Resilience, Burnout, And Reinvention 56:57 Her Advice For People Going Through A Hard Time 1:02:57 The Final Lessons On Purpose, Money, Identity, And GrowthFollow Evelina: LinkedIn WebsiteSubscribe for more content: YouTubeConnect with me: Instagram LinkedIn

    1hr 19min

  8. 13 Mar

    How Lebanese Founders Build Without Safety Nets | Christophe El-Khoury

    How do founders build and ship when the system around them can break?In this episode, Christophe, a CTO and technology advisor in Beirut, shares what building looks like after financial collapse and mass talent migration. He also co-founded The Collective, an effort to connect Lebanon’s ICT ecosystem when universities, companies, founders and government operate in silos. We talk about: What happens when senior engineers leave Why juniors get pushed into leadership Why there’s no shared data and what replaces it What “antifragile” means in practice How AI changes the speed of buildingIf you’re building a startup or leading a tech team in a fragile environment, this one will land. Episode Timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:19 What Kind Of Builder Is Chris, Really? 01:22 Why Did He Co-Found The Collective? 02:06 What Do You Do When The System Has Gaps? 03:15 Why Do Titles And Labels Hold Builders Back? 04:42 What Does “Antifragile” Mean In Practice? 09:23 How Does Someone End Up In Tech Without Planning To? 12:28 How Does A Near-Death Moment Change Your Priorities? 15:54 How Do You Choose The Work You Take On? 25:16 What Happens When Senior Engineers Leave? 26:39 What Do You Do When There’s No Shared Data? 32:59 How Should The Private Sector Get Involved? 36:07 What Advantage Does The “Wilderness” Give Founders? 52:47 Will AI Replace You Or An AI-Augmented Human Replace You?If you’re a founder or operator building real-world tech, this episode is for you. Connect with Chris: LinkedIn Website Instagram X / TwitterSubscribe for more content: YouTube @TavasolianConnect with me: Instagram LinkedIn#founder #entrepreneurship #business #creative #VC #CEO #Lebanon #AI

    1hr 6min
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About

SUBSCRIBE FOR HIGH LEVERAGE FOUNDER INSIGHTS How high-impact companies are really built. I'm Sara Tavasolian — founder, interaction designer and tech strategist. Each episode breaks down the trade-offs, decisions and scaling challenges behind the world's most durable ventures across technology, AI and design, focusing on the systems, incentives and capital dynamics that determine who wins. I’ve built startups, designed award-winning products, and created immersive experiences exploring technology, design and strategy. This show is about seeing those patterns clearly before they cost you.

Information

  • Creator
    Sara Tavasolian
  • Years Active
    2k
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sara Tavasolian
  • Show Website
    This Is Creating