Founder's Voyage

Spencer Walker-Fooks, Nancy Nash
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  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • EVERY TWO WEEKS

Founder’s Voyage is a podcast for the ones building in the dark, the ones failing forward, and the ones figuring it out as they go. We bring you unfiltered conversations with founders who’ve faced the highs, and the lows. Just real lessons from the people in the arena. Whether you're scaling a startup or sketching your first idea on a napkin, these are the stories that remind you you're not alone—and the insights that help you move forward. We are an entrepreneurial community united by a shared mission of shared learning and supporting each other.

  1. 165 - The Mistakes that Killed my First Business - Spencer Walker-Fooks

    6 APR

    165 - The Mistakes that Killed my First Business - Spencer Walker-Fooks

    Our own Co-Founder Spencer Walker-Fooks talks about his first business, Unseen Games, the motivations behind it, and the mistakes that eventually killed it. This episode is a little different, it comes from one of our live events in London. Over four years, Spencer navigated the challenges of creating a social gaming console for pubs and cafes, ultimately drawing transformative lessons from both the highs and lows of startup life. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Spencer's Journey with Unseen Games: 🔸In a Double-sided Market Validate the Economic Buyer: Ensure your product or service addresses the needs of the actual decision-maker who controls the purchase, not just the end user. 🔸Build a Diverse Team: Avoid skillset redundancy; prioritize bringing in teammates whose strengths and perspectives differ from your own, especially outside of your expertise. 🔸 Pivot Fast and Reduce Dependency: Stay nimble and ready to adapt your business model when circumstances change, and avoid relying too heavily on a single industry or channel, if a black swan event hits that industry, it could kill your business. 🔸 Don’t Succumb to the Sunk Cost Fallacy: Recognize when to let go of a project, regardless of the time and energy invested, to make room for new opportunities and growth. You can connect with Spencer on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 🎥 Big thanks to VidOps for supporting Founders Voyage. Use code voyage at ⁠vidops.io⁠ for 10% off expert audio, video, animation, and photography services. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Spencer. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    15 min
  2. 164 - Joanna Montgomery on Leadership, Funding, and Finding Freedom for Founders - Joanna Montgomery

    2 APR

    164 - Joanna Montgomery on Leadership, Funding, and Finding Freedom for Founders - Joanna Montgomery

    Joanna Montgomery is a pioneering entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Little Riot, an internationally acclaimed company best known for bringing emotion-driven connected products like Pillow Talk to life. With over 15 years of experience, Joanna has redefined how technology can foster human connection, especially during times of distance or vulnerability. In addition to her entrepreneurial work, she is a mentor, faculty member at the One Day MBA program, and an active member of advisory circles supporting women and minority entrepreneurs. Her leadership and insights have empowered countless founders and helped shape the evolution of product design at the intersection of compassion and technology. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Joanna's Journey: 🔸 Embracing the Accidental Path: Learn how unexpected opportunities and viral ideas can spark entrepreneurial journeys, even if you never planned to run a business. 🔸 Balancing Growth and Wellbeing: Discover why sustainable success often means redefining your goals over time and finding a balance between professional ambition and personal fulfillment. 🔸 The Power of Leadership Evolution: Explore how Joanna’s approach to leadership matured with self-awareness and empathy, and how diversity and emotional intelligence strengthen teams. 🔸 Funding with Intention: Gain realistic perspectives on the pros and cons of taking investment, especially for hardware startups, and how delaying funding can add value and flexibility to your venture. You can connect with Joanna on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow her journey. 🎥 Big thanks to VidOps for supporting Founders Voyage. Use code voyage at ⁠vidops.io⁠ for 10% off expert audio, video, animation, and photography services. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Joanna. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    45 min
  3. 163 - Who does a Founder need on their Board - Jordan Schlipf

    12 MAR

    163 - Who does a Founder need on their Board - Jordan Schlipf

    Jordan is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and operator with an impressive track record in both founding and scaling technology businesses, as well as supporting over 1,600 early-stage investments through roles at Rainmaking and Startup Bootcamp. As the current CEO of Cowshed and a co-founder of Rainmaker, Jordan’s career spans founder exits, venture capital, and hands-on company turnarounds. His perspective is informed by both hard-earned lessons from startup failures and successful exits, as well as experience as a non-executive director and venture partner managing institutional capital. Jordan is widely recognized for his candor, strategic insight, and passion for building exceptional business “machines.” 💡 What You’ll Learn from Jordan's Journey:🔸 Build the Business to Outlast Yourself: Your job as a founder is to develop a scalable, resilient organization (“the machine”) that continues to thrive without you, not to personally do all the work or remain the bottleneck.🔸 Incentives Are Everything: Crafting effective incentives is crucial, top talent can underperform under weak incentive structures. Constantly revisit and tailor incentives to align with business objectives and each stage of growth.🔸 Beware the Unicorn Myth: The venture capital game’s odds are stacked against founders, with most never seeing meaningful returns. Pursue entrepreneurship on your terms and beware of blindly drinking the VC Kool-Aid, building sustainable, profitable businesses can be equally or more rewarding.🔸 Play the Long Game: Compounding applies far beyond capital, to skills, knowledge, networks, and reputation. Success takes patience and persistence; most meaningful results materialize for those who stick with it for the long term. You can connect with Jordan on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Jordan. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    52 min
  4. 162 - How this Founder Turned a Passion Project into a Worldwide Wonder - Michael Kuzma

    27 FEB

    162 - How this Founder Turned a Passion Project into a Worldwide Wonder - Michael Kuzma

    Michael is the creator of the Kuzma self-playing guitar, a groundbreaking fusion of engineering and artistry that brings a unique guitar performance to life. What began as a college dorm room project has evolved into a globally recognized innovation featured at high-profile events and delivered to clients in cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Cyprus. With eight years of relentless iteration, Michael has pursued not only technical excellence but also the elusive goal of musical soulfulness. His journey showcases the power of following your curiosity, iterative development, and leveraging community and collaboration to break new ground in both technology and art. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Michael's Journey: 🔸 The Power of Persistent Experimentation: Michael's success arose from years of iterative prototyping, learning from failures, and continually seeking small but meaningful improvements. 🔸 The Value of Asking for Help: By openly sharing struggles and ideas and tapping into the expertise of friends, mentors, and even strangers, Michael demonstrates how collaboration and humility accelerate both innovation and business growth. 🔸 Balancing Creativity and Business: Michael has grown the Kuzma self-playing guitar while maintaining a full-time job, showing that sustainable creative entrepreneurship often requires building supportive environments and flexible schedules. 🔸 Building Niche Authority Through Passion: By focusing on a niche that deeply excites him, Michael has not only become a global authority in self-playing guitars but also created opportunities that align closely with his personal and professional passions. You can connect with Michael on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 🎥 Big thanks to VidOps for supporting Founders Voyage. Use code voyage at ⁠vidops.io⁠ for 10% off expert audio, video, animation, and photography services. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Michael. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    48 min
  5. 161 - A Founder's Guide to the Data Center Industry - Gabriel Storti

    19 FEB

    161 - A Founder's Guide to the Data Center Industry - Gabriel Storti

    Gabriel is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovator with over 16 years of experience in mission-critical operations, team building, and leading business unit development for Fortune 200 companies. He is known for co-founding Brazil’s first ultra-fast grocery delivery platform and executing large-scale data center projects across continents, including leading hyperscale cloud infrastructure builds. Currently, he leverages his expertise as Regional Commissioning Manager at Microsoft, blending his owner mindset and global perspective with hands-on startup experience. Gabriel’s career reflects a passion for technology, purposeful leadership, and building impactful solutions across diverse and challenging environments. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Gabriel's Journey: 🔸 Start with the End Goal in Mind: Gabriel emphasizes the importance of defining your long-term vision, building a plan to achieve it, and consistently executing with discipline, both in startups and within large organizations. 🔸 Navigating Major Transitions: Learn how Gabriel made pivotal decisions such as stepping away from his own company at the right moment and moving internationally, always aligning career shifts with personal values and life goals. 🔸 Building High-Trust Teams: Gabriel highlights the critical role of trust, aligned vision, and complementary skillsets within founding teams, lessons as relevant to startups as they are to global tech giants. 🔸 Evolving Leadership Styles: Discover how Gabriel shifted his leadership from visionary and transformational as a founder to authentic leadership in the corporate world, emphasizing self-awareness, transparency, and adaptability. You can connect with Gabriel on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Gabriel. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    42 min
  6. 160 - The Founder at NeuroX is Pioneering the Future of Cognitive Health - Anoop Antony

    12 FEB

    160 - The Founder at NeuroX is Pioneering the Future of Cognitive Health - Anoop Antony

    Anoop Antony is a neuroscientist, tech founder, and CEO of NeuroX, where he leads innovations in brain mapping, neurofeedback, and photobiomodulation. With academic credentials spanning psychology and cognitive neuroscience, Anoop has transformed his expertise into building cutting-edge neuro-technology and clinical services, including pioneering early detection methods for dementia and wearable EEG devices. Under his leadership, NeuroX has received government grants, published influential research, and is reshaping approaches to brain health, merging deep science with product development and public accessibility. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Anoop's Journey: 🔸 Grit Through Adversity: Anoop emphasizes the importance of perseverance, especially at moments when giving up seems easiest, encouraging founders to use setbacks as catalysts for working even harder. 🔸 Bootstrapping Lessons: By building NeuroX with minimal external funding, Anoop developed a comprehensive understanding of business operations, which has increased both investor confidence and his own resourcefulness. 🔸 User-Centered Innovation: Anoop highlights the necessity of listening to users and evolving product design for real-world adoption, pivoting from a headband to in-ear EEG devices to better integrate with user's lifestyles. 🔸 The Power of Mission-Driven Teams: He stresses recruiting for shared vision over financial motivation, fostering a culture where team members are united by purpose and incentivized through equity and ownership. You can connect with Anoop on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Anoop. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    48 min
  7. 159 - Founder's Vision for 3d Printing Ceramics - Yu-Wei (Wayne) Tang

    5 FEB

    159 - Founder's Vision for 3d Printing Ceramics - Yu-Wei (Wayne) Tang

    Wayne is the co-founder of 3Dceramet, a pioneering company in the field of ceramic 3D printing, dedicated to enabling high flexibility and sustainable design for industrial-grade ceramics. With a strong background in data expertise and entrepreneurial experience across multiple countries, Wayne has helped build a family-driven business that empowers designers to rapidly prototype and iterate ceramic products through innovative technology. Under his leadership, 3Dceramet has attained patents in Taiwan and China and launched the TMEI platform to support artistic and industrial designers. Wayne’s journey is shaped by a commitment to continuous learning, collaboration, and bold experimentation. 💡 What You’ll Learn from Wayne's Journey: 🔸 Move Fast and Iterate: Wayne emphasizes the importance of acting quickly and continually experimenting, rather than waiting for perfect outcomes, to stay ahead in innovation-driven fields. 🔸 Leverage Family and Complementary Skills: By building a business alongside family members with diverse expertise, Wayne demonstrates the power of complementary skills and open collaboration—even in a family startup. 🔸 Top-Down and Bottom-Up Problem Solving: Wayne’s path highlights how innovation sometimes begins with technology searching for a market, while still being informed by customer feedback and MVP-driven learning. 🔸 Turning Setbacks into Growth: From early business failures to navigating new markets, Wayne shows how to treat setbacks as learning opportunities and iterate toward eventual success. You can connect with Wayne on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 🎥 Big thanks to VidOps for supporting Founders Voyage. Use code voyage at ⁠vidops.io⁠ for 10% off expert audio, video, animation, and photography services. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like Wayne. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    45 min
  8. 158 - Youth Football Coach and Founder - James Doubtfire

    29 JAN

    158 - Youth Football Coach and Founder - James Doubtfire

    James is the Director at Digital Twin Build and Managing Director at Format Design London, with over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience at the intersection of design, technology, and the built environment. Having started as a graphic designer and eventually carved a path into business ownership, James’s journey spans building creative agencies, leading multidisciplinary teams, and pioneering data-driven solutions for the construction and property sectors. His work bridges creative problem-solving, digital transformation, and leadership, making him a valuable resource for aspiring founders interested in both creative industries and emerging tech. 💡 What You’ll Learn from James's Journey: 🔸 Embracing Evolution Over Perfection: James’ career demonstrates that you don’t need a perfect plan to succeed, cultivating adaptability and taking opportunities as they arise can lead to rewarding, unexpected outcomes. 🔸 Commercial Thinking from Day One: He underscores the importance of developing a commercial mindset early, connecting creative or technical skillsets to real-world business needs and client value. 🔸 Leading with Standards and Self-Reflection: James shares candid lessons on building and leading teams, including the necessity of clear communication, maintaining high standards, and evolving your leadership style through self-awareness and feedback. 🔸 Work-Life Integration, Not Just Balance: As both an entrepreneur and a parent, James emphasizes structuring your time, forming healthy habits, and being present in both work and family life, recognizing that success is a dynamic, deeply personal measure. You can connect with James on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ to follow his journey. 👏 Props to the stellar crew: Nancy Nash, Daniel M. Melo, Carlos Javier Chacón Sánchez, Matthew Ray, and host Spencer Walker-Fooks. You bring this show to life. 🥂 Want to support the journey? Join us on ⁠Patreon⁠ and help amplify more voices like James. #FoundersVoyage #Entrepreneurship #Podcast

    50 min
See All (165)

About

Founder’s Voyage is a podcast for the ones building in the dark, the ones failing forward, and the ones figuring it out as they go. We bring you unfiltered conversations with founders who’ve faced the highs, and the lows. Just real lessons from the people in the arena. Whether you're scaling a startup or sketching your first idea on a napkin, these are the stories that remind you you're not alone—and the insights that help you move forward. We are an entrepreneurial community united by a shared mission of shared learning and supporting each other.

Information

  • Creator
    Spencer Walker-Fooks, Nancy Nash
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    165
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Spencer Walker-Fooks, Nancy Nash
  • Show Website
    Founder's Voyage