Startups Decoded

Andy Walsh
  • 0.0 (0)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Startups Decoded is a podcast that provides real-world insights into startup strategy and growth, featuring expert-led content, insider stories, and actionable takeaways for founders and investors. We bridge the gap between theory and practice, offering practical lessons to help entrepreneurs thrive in today’s fast-paced ecosystem. More than just a podcast, it's a resource for innovators who dive deep into the strategies behind building and scaling successful startups.

  1. Ep#67: Stop Renting Attention — Why Founders Need to Own Their Platform. Nathan Gwilliam

    2 DAYS AGO

    Ep#67: Stop Renting Attention — Why Founders Need to Own Their Platform. Nathan Gwilliam

    Most founders spend years building audiences on platforms they don’t control. Nathan Gwilliam watched a guy go from $96M a year to zero — because Amazon changed its mind. The lesson wasn’t about Amazon. It was about whose land you’re building on. Andy Walsh sat down with Nathan Gwilliam — serial entrepreneur and founder of PodUp — to pull apart one of the most dangerous assumptions founders make: that reach equals ownership. After building Adoption.com into the world’s most visited adoption platform and watching founders lose everything to platform policy shifts, Nathan has spent two decades on one question: what does it actually mean to own your audience? Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe now Presented by Deel If you're at the stage of making your first or second hire — and doing it across borders — Deel is worth knowing about. They're supporting Startups Decoded this season for good reason. LEARN MORE. Insight Most founders think about distribution as a growth problem. Nathan reframes it as an ownership problem. This conversation covers first-party data, passion-based community, and why the next big shift in marketing isn’t AI — it’s credibility. What We Cover Why third-party platforms are rented landToyota’s Five Whys applied to audience and ICPPassion-based vs. brand-based marketingFirst-party data as a strategic assetThe credibility marketing shift replacing adsNathan Gwilliam A serial entrepreneur, platform strategist, and founder of PodUp, an AI-powered podcasting platform. Over the past two decades he has built and sold multiple ventures, created Adoption.com, the world’s most visited adoption site, and helped media brands grow audiences into the hundreds of millions. Today, he helps entrepreneurs and business leaders build platforms they own. Andy Walsh  2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.comSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XThe Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking. Music Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)

    36 min
  2. Ep#66:Why Every Founder Is Already a Generalist — Milly Tamati

    27 APR

    Ep#66:Why Every Founder Is Already a Generalist — Milly Tamati

    Everyone told Milly her résumé didn’t make sense. She turned that confusion into a global community of 800+ people who felt exactly the same. Turns out, being hard to define is your biggest competitive advantage. Andy Walsh sat down with Milly, founder of Generalist World — a community of 800+ operators, founders, and career-builders who’ve stopped apologising for doing too many things well. This one’s for anyone who’s ever struggled to answer “so, what do you do?” without a paragraph-long explanation. Milly grew up milking cows on a farm in New Zealand. She was supposed to become a teacher. Instead, she became a tour guide, a wine tour co-founder, a hostel co-owner, a writer for Tourism Japan, a film producer in Canada, and the Director of Miscellaneous at a tech company — before eventually landing on a remote island in Scotland, wondering why she felt like she didn’t fit anywhere. That feeling became a LinkedIn post. That post became a community. That community now spans 800 members, 150,000 social followers, and 60,000 email subscribers — built entirely without a cent of paid marketing. The twist? She started with 300 LinkedIn connections and absolutely no plan. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube What We Cover: Why generalism is a return, not a trendThe “top 10% in three things” framework for positioning yourselfHow Milly built Generalist World from a LinkedIn postWhy resumes are becoming obsolete — and what replaces themThe real reason communities are about to have their momentWhy every founder must be willing to sell (yes, even you)How AI is accelerating the case for breadth over depthMilly Tamati Milly is a New Zealand-born founder and community builder behind Generalist World, a global network for builders, operators, and curious career generalists. After 15 years as both an early employee and founder across multiple startups, she now helps 100,000+ people design unconventional, interesting careers beyond traditional paths. Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe: Substack Connect: LinkedIn Web: startupsdecoded.com Socials: TikTok || Instagram || X Music Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    45 min
  3. Ep#65: The Identity Problem Behind Most Startup Brands — Jill Smith.

    20 APR

    Ep#65: The Identity Problem Behind Most Startup Brands — Jill Smith.

    Most founders think branding is about what they look like. Jill Smith says it’s about how you behave, and most brands have no idea who they actually are.  Fix that first. Everything else follows! Andy Walsh sat down with Jill Smith, CEO of Iris, one of the US’s most respected integrated brand and demand agencies, to unpack what actually makes a brand stick. This isn’t a conversation about logos or color palettes. It’s about identity, community, and why the brands that win long-term are the ones that behave like people, including owning their mistakes. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe now Jill Smith Jill’s spent her career in two worlds that most people keep separate: the art world and advertising. That unusual path gave her something most agency CEOs don’t have, a real eye for what’s culturally real versus what’s just noise. Her take: the brands that last are the ones that know exactly who they are, and behave accordingly, consistently, even when it’s uncomfortable. Insight This episode sits at the intersection of brand clarity and founder identity, which is exactly where most early-stage founders get stuck. Jill’s framework isn’t theoretical. It’s operational. Know who you are. Know your community. Behave like a person. Own your mistakes before the internet does it for you. What We Cover: Why “being different” is a dead end — and what being unique actually meansHow to find your high-value audience using data, AI, and synthetic personasThe power of micro-communities over mass marketingWhat Liquid Death, Elf Beauty, and California Pizza Kitchen get right about brand behaviorHow to turn a brand mistake into a 25% sales increase (the mac and cheese story)The case for long-form content and experience spend in a world drowning in noiseWho Should Listen: First-time founders trying to find their brand footingOperators building community around an early productFounders who’ve been told to “build a brand” but have no idea where to startAndy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.comSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XMusic Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    51 min
  4. #64: She Started a Brand Before She Started a Career — Sophie de Haën

    12 APR

    #64: She Started a Brand Before She Started a Career — Sophie de Haën

    Most founders try to build a company. Sophie de Haën built one by accident. And she did it while she was still in college. Andy Walsh sat down with Sophie de Haën, founder of SDH Paints, to unpack one of the most unconventional founder journeys we’ve seen on Startups Decoded. Sophie didn’t start with a startup idea, a pitch deck, or a plan to raise money. She started painting during COVID and sharing her work online. What began as a creative outlet quickly attracted attention. As her audience grew, people started asking to buy the art. That simple feedback loop turned into SDH Paints — a fast-growing art-led brand with nearly 300,000 followers and six-figure annual revenue, all built while Sophie was still a college student. But the real story isn’t just how the company started. It’s how she chose to grow it. Instead of chasing scale and momentum, Sophie made the unusual decision to slow the business down during her final year of college. After years of constant output, she stepped back to reconnect with her creativity and figure out what she actually wanted the next chapter to look like. In this conversation, Andy and Sophie explore a different path into entrepreneurship, one where audience comes before product, community becomes the feedback loop, and the founder is evolving just as fast as the business. This episode offers a glimpse into how the next generation of founders are emerging, often without meaning to. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe now What We Cover Building an audience before building a productTurning creativity into a business organicallyThe creator-to-founder pathwaySocial media as a real-time product feedback loopThe tension between art, commerce, and identityWhy Sophie paused growth while the brand was workingHow authenticity builds stronger communities than strategyAndy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally).https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/ Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio https://28thandpark.podyx.com/ ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    46 min
  5. #63: Burn the Script — Alicia Teltz on Leaving the “Perfect” Life.

    6 APR

    #63: Burn the Script — Alicia Teltz on Leaving the “Perfect” Life.

    Alicia Teltz didn’t reinvent her life overnight. She made one decision. That step led to losing 84 pounds, leaving a 10-year relationship, walking away from a high-paying corporate career, and starting over. In this episode we unpack what really blocks people from change. Confidence rarely shows up first. Momentum follows action. Alicia shares the reality behind rebuilding your life, the mindset shift that comes with taking control, and why visibility on LinkedIn is less about tactics and more about showing up before you feel ready. This conversation isn’t about reinvention as a buzzword. It’s about the moment you stop waiting. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Chapters 00:00 The decision that changed Alicia’s life02:30 Leaving a “perfect” life behind06:15 Losing 84 pounds and rebuilding confidence10:00 Why bold decisions rarely start with confidence15:30 Walking away from corporate security19:45 Finding your voice online24:30 What people misunderstand about LinkedIn30:10 Authentic storytelling vs performative posting36:45 Showing up before you feel ready41:20 Helping founders build visibility onlineWho Should Listen Founders at a crossroadsOperators questioning their pathLeaders navigating identity and visibilityAnyone who knows something needs to changeAlicia Teltz A LinkedIn personal branding and social selling expert and Chairwoman of The Hype Department. After 15 years in B2B tech sales at companies including SAP, Mastercard, Gartner, and LinkedIn, she left corporate to build her own business helping founders and executives grow influence through authentic online storytelling. Andy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    44 min
  6. #62: AI Predicting the Future. What Happens Next? With Vanja Josifovski

    30 MAR

    #62: AI Predicting the Future. What Happens Next? With Vanja Josifovski

    AI has already changed how we create, search, and automate. The next step is prediction. In this episode, Vanja Josifovski joins Andy Walsh to explore how enterprises can use their own private data to forecast future outcomes, automate decisions, and move from analysis to action. As CEO and Co-Founder of Kumo, Vanja is building predictive intelligence systems that sit on top of enterprise data and help companies improve revenue, reduce fraud, and make faster, better decisions. This conversation explores how predictive AI is evolving, why trust remains the biggest barrier to adoption, and what happens when machines become better than humans at making mid-level operational decisions. We also get into the role of explainability, the future of work, and how AI will increasingly become natural language, instantaneous, and predictive. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe now In This Episode • Why predictive intelligence is the next phase of AI• How Kumo uses enterprise data to forecast future outcomes• Where trust breaks down in AI adoption• Why most business decisions will eventually be automated• How explainability and human oversight shape adoption Chapters 00:00 The Future of AI and Predictive Intelligence04:12 Vanja’s Journey in Tech and AI Evolution09:06 Trust and Acceptance in AI Technology12:41 The Role of Predictive Intelligence in Business18:10 Kumo’s Predictive Intelligence Model24:37 Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement30:37 The Future of Decision-Making with AI35:10 The Impact of AI on Human Behavior and SocietyVanja Josifovski CEO and Co-Founder of Kumo, a predictive AI platform that brings transformer and foundation model technology to enterprise tabular and relational data. Before Kumo, Vanja held senior leadership roles across major technology companies including Google, Yahoo, Airbnb, and Pinterest, with a long career focused on helping organizations use data to better serve customers, improve decisions, and scale intelligently. Andy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    42 min
  7. #61: VCs Don’t Take Power. Founders Hand It Over. With Itamar Novick

    23 MAR

    #61: VCs Don’t Take Power. Founders Hand It Over. With Itamar Novick

    Power in startups is rarely where founders think it is. Itamar Novick, Founder and GP at Recursive Ventures, has worked both sides of the table as a founder, operator, angel, and VC. He’s backed 150+ early-stage companies and helped founders raise over $500M, while also building companies like Life360 and Gigya from the inside. In this conversation, we unpack the real power dynamics between founders and investors. We get into when founders should start thinking about leverage, how power gets handed over long before a board seat shows up, and why fundraising should be run like a focused sales process, not a random hunt for capital. Itamar also breaks down where founders get contracts and cap tables wrong, why some businesses should never raise venture, and how seed-strapping is changing the path for early-stage companies. This episode is for founders who want to raise smart, keep control, and understand the rules before they get expensive. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Chapters 00:00 Navigating the VC-founder power dynamic 05:12 Lessons from early fundraising 09:45 Iteration and learning 15:04 Advisors and decision-making 20:14 Understanding power before fundraising 25:13 Setting the right foundations 28:31 Taking control of fundraising 35:30 Contracts, cap tables, and control 41:40 Venture fit and seed-strapping 47:44 What makes founders stand out Itamar Novick Itamar Novick is the Founder and General Partner at Recursive Ventures, a San Francisco-based VC fund investing in US pre-seed and seed startups. Since 2010, he has invested in more than 150 early-stage companies and was named a Business Insider Top 100 Global Seed Investor from 2021 to 2025. Before VC, Itamar was a repeat entrepreneur and startup executive, including roles at Life360 and Gigya. His investment approach is shaped by operator experience and a clear belief that founders should be empowered to build and lead for the long term. Andy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally) Access All Areas. Subscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)  The Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

    50 min
  8. #60: Raising Smart Capital in 2026 — Discipline, Data & Control with Roei Samuel

    16 MAR

    #60: Raising Smart Capital in 2026 — Discipline, Data & Control with Roei Samuel

    The fundraising hangover is real. Capital returned in 2025, but investors are now far more selective. Traction, revenue clarity, and capital efficiency matter more than vision decks. In this episode, Roei Samuel joins Andy Walsh to share how he raised $23M+ without giving up board seats, and why that decision shaped Connectd’s growth and governance. We unpack how founders retain leverage in a tighter market, where progress must be measurable and every dollar justified. This conversation explores fundraising as a system, covering negotiation, investor alignment, non-dilutive capital, and the growing role of fractional talent. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube In This Episode • Why fundraising in 2026 rewards discipline• Raising $23M+ without board dilution• Where founders lose leverage in negotiations• Fractional talent and capital efficiency• Communicating traction investors trust Roei Samuel  Founder & CEO of Connectd, a platform connecting startups with investors, directors, and expert talent. After exiting RealSport, Roei launched Connectd in 2019. The platform now supports 90+ fractional hires per month, has driven 4× ARR growth for three consecutive years, and has raised $14M+. Andy Walsh 2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500k downloads). Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.com Music Credit “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) https://phondupe.bandcamp.com/album/air-conditioning-vol-2 The Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code "Decoded" for 25% off your first booking.

    50 min
See All (67)

About

Startups Decoded is a podcast that provides real-world insights into startup strategy and growth, featuring expert-led content, insider stories, and actionable takeaways for founders and investors. We bridge the gap between theory and practice, offering practical lessons to help entrepreneurs thrive in today’s fast-paced ecosystem. More than just a podcast, it's a resource for innovators who dive deep into the strategies behind building and scaling successful startups.

Information

  • Creator
    Andy Walsh
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Startups Decoded
  • Show Website
    Startups Decoded

You Might Also Like