Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Riding Unicorns
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Riding Unicorns is a podcast featuring the world's best minds from venture and startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features conversations with top founders, operators, and investors unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.

  1. 1d ago

    Ashley Montanaro, CEO of Phasecraft on Quantum Advantage, Deep Tech, and the Future of Computing

    What happens when computing reaches the limits of classical physics? In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Ashley Montanaro, Co-Founder & CEO of Phasecraft, one of Europe's leading quantum computing companies. Backed by Episode 1, Phasecraft is building the software and algorithms that will unlock the commercial potential of quantum computers. While much of the industry focuses on hardware, Ashley explains why the real breakthroughs will come from the software layer, and why better algorithms could be worth orders of magnitude more than incremental hardware improvements. The conversation explores what quantum computing actually is, why "quantum advantage" could become one of the defining technology milestones of the next decade, and how quantum and AI will work together to accelerate scientific discovery. Ashley also shares what it's really like building a deep tech company, how non-dilutive funding helped Phasecraft grow, and why the next generation of computing could transform industries ranging from energy and pharmaceuticals to materials science and cybersecurity. Topics Covered • What quantum computing actually is and why it matters  • Why software may create more value than quantum hardware  • The race towards practical quantum advantage  • How quantum algorithms unlock problems classical computers cannot solve  • The future of materials discovery, batteries, pharmaceuticals and chemistry  • Why AI and quantum computing will reinforce each other  • The cybersecurity implications of post-quantum computing  • Building a deep tech company with long development cycles  • Raising over £5m in non-dilutive funding through grants and government programmes  • Commercialising frontier research before the market fully exists  • Lessons from building one of Europe's leading quantum software companies  • Why radically new computing architectures could define the next generation of technology This is a conversation about one of the most important technological revolutions still to come, why quantum computing is moving from theory to commercial reality, and what it takes to build a company at the frontier of science and software.

    Ashley Montanaro, CEO of Phasecraft on Quantum Advantage, Deep Tech, and the Future of Computing

  2. Jul 15

    Kate Jarvis, CEO of Fifth Dimension on PropTech, Vertical AI and Building the Bloomberg Terminal for Real Estate

    How do you build AI for one of the world's largest, most valuable, and least digitised industries? In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Dr. Kate Jarvis, CEO & Co-Founder of Fifth Dimension, the AI company transforming how institutional real estate investors make decisions. With a PhD from Stanford in machine learning and linguistics, Kate has spent her career applying AI to complex industries. Today, Fifth Dimension is building what she describes as the Bloomberg Terminal for real assets, helping some of the world's largest property investors replace spreadsheets, PDFs and manual workflows with AI-powered decision intelligence. The conversation explores why commercial real estate has remained decades behind other financial markets, how AI is finally unlocking the sector, and what it takes to build enterprise software for one of the world's most relationship-driven industries. Kate also shares candid insights on fundraising in today's AI market, founder-led sales, pricing AI products, and why Europe may have a unique advantage in the next wave of vertical AI companies. Topics Covered • Why commercial real estate remains one of the world's least digitised industries  • Building the Bloomberg Terminal for institutional property investors  • How AI transforms underwriting, portfolio management and investment decisions  • Why decision intelligence matters more than simply collecting more data  • The challenge of changing behaviour in relationship-driven industries  • Founder-led sales and scaling enterprise go-to-market teams  • Pricing AI products while managing token costs and unit economics  • Building vertical AI companies versus foundation models  • The differences between fundraising in Europe and the US  • Why Europe could become the leader in vertical AI applications  • The realities of raising venture capital as an AI founder  • Founder resilience, conviction and building through uncertainty This is a conversation about applying AI where it creates the greatest economic value, why enterprise transformation is ultimately about people rather than technology, and what it takes to modernise one of the world's biggest industries.

    Kate Jarvis, CEO of Fifth Dimension on PropTech, Vertical AI and Building the Bloomberg Terminal for Real Estate

  3. Jun 24

    Laura Modiano, Head of Founder Experience @ OpenAI on Building in the AI Era, and Why Anyone Can Now Create a Company

    Laura Modiano leads Founder Experience at OpenAI, a newly created function designed to help startups build, grow, and scale on the world's leading AI platform. Having previously worked with startups at AWS and now at OpenAI, Laura sits at the intersection of founders, technology, and the future of company building. In this episode, Laura shares how AI is fundamentally changing the startup journey, why founders can now build companies faster than ever before, and what OpenAI is doing to support the next generation of builders from day one. We discuss: • Why OpenAI created the Founder Experience team • How startup building is changing in the AI era • What founders need from AI platforms beyond infrastructure • The difference between building a feature and building a company • Why AI-native founders are moving faster than ever before • How OpenAI gathers feedback directly from founders • The rise of non-technical founders building technical products • Why anyone can now learn, build and create with AI tools • How Laura uses Codex to automate workflows and increase productivity • The future relationship between startups and AI platforms • Lessons from AWS, healthcare, startups and OpenAI • What makes great founders stand out in a rapidly changing market Laura also shares her thoughts on the future of AI applications, the opportunities for founders building on top of foundation models, and why curiosity, speed and continuous learning are becoming the most valuable skills in technology. This is a conversation about the future of entrepreneurship, the democratisation of software creation, and what happens when anyone with an idea can build a company.

    Laura Modiano, Head of Founder Experience @ OpenAI on Building in the AI Era, and Why Anyone Can Now Create a Company

  4. Jun 17

    How Cleo Reached $400M ARR: Barney Hussey-Yeo on AI, Growth, and Building a Consumer Fintech Unicorn

    What does it take to build an AI company a decade before the world realises AI is the future? In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Barney Hussey-Yeo, Founder & CEO of Cleo, the AI financial assistant helping millions of consumers make smarter money decisions. Barney started building Cleo years before ChatGPT brought AI into the mainstream. Today, Cleo has grown into one of the UK's leading fintech success stories, reaching $400M ARR and becoming a category-defining consumer AI company. The conversation explores the realities of scaling from zero revenue to hundreds of millions in ARR, surviving the shift from the ZIRP era to COVID, and building a product-led company that endured long before AI became fashionable. Barney also shares how AI is transforming the way Cleo operates internally, why every executive team member is now shipping code, and how founder behaviour, company culture, and execution speed are changing in the age of AI. Topics Covered: • Building an AI company before the AI boom  • The origins of Cleo and the vision for an AI financial assistant  • Growing from $0 to $400M ARR  • Why the first $100M is the hardest milestone  • Surviving COVID and finding product-market fit  • Building data moats and defensibility in AI  • Why AI has transformed customer acquisition  • How Cleo uses AI internally across engineering and operations  • The rise of AI-native companies and the future of work  • Why some employees thrive with AI and others fall behind  • The best AI tools Barney is using today  • Advice for founders on fundraising, execution, and building great products  • The next generation of AI startups and future unicorn predictions A candid conversation about ambition, execution, AI, and what it really takes to build a generational technology company.

    How Cleo Reached $400M ARR: Barney Hussey-Yeo on AI, Growth, and Building a Consumer Fintech Unicorn

  5. Jun 10

    The Future of Finance is AI-Native: Jonathan Sanders, CEO of Light, on Organic Software, AI Agents, and Rebuilding Business Finance

    What happens when software adapts to humans, rather than humans adapting to software? In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Jonathan Sanders, Founder & CEO of Light, the AI-native finance platform redefining how businesses manage money. Jonathan's journey spans investment banking, consulting, Pleo, founding Juni, and now building Light. Along the way, he has developed a unique perspective on technology, AI, and what the next generation of business software will look like. The conversation explores Jonathan's concept of "organic software" where AI agents learn, adapt, and operate alongside teams, reducing complexity and transforming finance from a reporting function into a strategic intelligence layer. Jonathan shares real-world examples of AI agents managing company spend, monitoring compliance, automating finance workflows, and generating insights that would have been impossible just a few years ago. The discussion also covers founder psychology, building through uncertainty, AI-first organisations, and how leadership teams must evolve in a world where software development, product design, and operations are increasingly powered by AI. Topics Covered: • Jonathan's journey from finance and consulting into startups • Why founding a company is one of the hardest ways to create change • The concept of "organic software" and AI-native business tools • How AI agents learn from company behaviour and improve over time • Building finance software that tells stories instead of generating reports • Real-world examples of autonomous finance workflows • Why AI is changing the role of CFOs and finance teams • How Light uses AI internally across product, engineering, and operations • The rise of AI-first organisations and new ways of working • Founder resilience, stress, and the realities of building companies • Why software development is changing faster than most people realise • The future of business operations in an AI-native world This is a conversation about the next generation of software, the future of work, and what happens when AI becomes a true operating system for businesses.

    The Future of Finance is AI-Native: Jonathan Sanders, CEO of Light, on Organic Software, AI Agents, and Rebuilding Business Finance

  6. May 20

    Steve Domin, Founder & CEO @ Duffel – Rebuilding Travel Infrastructure, Surviving COVID, and the Future of API-First Companies

    Steve Domin, Founder & CEO of Duffel, the company rebuilding the infrastructure layer of the global travel industry. Duffel is taking on one of the most complex and outdated sectors, creating modern, developer-first APIs for flights, hotels, and more. Backed by investors including Index Ventures and Benchmark, the company has raised over $50M to transform how travel is bought and sold. Steve shares the journey of building Duffel from scratch, including:  Why the travel industry is fundamentally broken  The insight that led to Duffel’s API-first approach  Building deep supply-side integrations with airlines and incumbents  Navigating COVID when travel demand dropped to zero  The painful reality of scaling, resetting, and rebuilding product-market fit  Where long-term defensibility comes from in complex infrastructure businesses We also explore:  What makes companies like GoCardless “talent factories”  How AI is changing how modern engineering teams are built  The future of smaller, highly efficient companies  Steve’s view on the next generation of AI-native products This is a masterclass in persistence, infrastructure thinking, and building through uncertainty.

    Steve Domin, Founder & CEO @ Duffel – Rebuilding Travel Infrastructure, Surviving COVID, and the Future of API-First Companies

  7. May 13

    Building the backbone of AI with Mahdi Yahya, Co-Founder @ Radiant on Compute, Power and the Future of Infrastructure

    Mahdi Yahya, Founder and CEO of Ori, is now part of Radiant following its partnership with Brookfield. Mahdi is building at the centre of one of the most important shifts in technology: the global race to scale AI infrastructure. We cover:  From telecoms to data centres: lessons from building infrastructure businesses from age 20  Why Ori chose the harder path of building for a future that did not yet exist  What “AI infrastructure” actually means, from GPU clusters to orchestration software  The Radiant model: combining capital, power, compute and software into a single platform  Why AI is becoming sovereign infrastructure and what that means for governments  Where value will accrue in the AI stack across hardware, infrastructure and applications  The importance of vertical integration and marginal gains in a capital-intensive market  Two pivotal decisions that shaped the company, including early acquisition and moving into physical infrastructure  Founder resilience and the simple rule: stay alive Mahdi also shares his perspective on the next wave of AI companies, the opportunity in inference, and why robotics could be the next breakout category. This is a conversation about building at civilisational scale and what it takes to operate where technology, capital and infrastructure collide.

    Building the backbone of AI with Mahdi Yahya, Co-Founder @ Radiant on Compute, Power and the Future of Infrastructure

  8. May 6

    Charlotte Palmer, VP of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors on Backing Emerging Managers, Access, and Venture Fundraising

    This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Charlotte Palmer, Vice President of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors. Charlotte sits on the other side of the table as an LP, backing emerging venture funds globally. In this episode, she lifts the lid on how LPs actually evaluate VCs, what really matters beyond headline performance, and why many GPs still get fundraising wrong. We cover: • How LPs really underwrite venture funds and why early DPI is often misunderstood • What matters more than performance in the early years of a fund • Why access and ownership drive returns more than anything else • The reality of backing emerging managers and why smaller funds win • Team dynamics, attribution, and how LPs assess partners under the hood • Why fewer funds are getting backed and what’s changed in the market • The shift in venture towards early-stage and how late-stage AI impacts LP strategy • Portfolio construction from an LP perspective and how diversification actually works • The role of co-investments and why LPs increasingly lean into them • How GPs can create urgency in fundraising and what actually cuts through Charlotte also shares practical advice for GPs, including how to re-engage LPs, how to position a fund without strong DPI, and why most outreach fails to land. A clear, honest view from the LP side on what it takes to get backed and build a fund that lasts.

    Charlotte Palmer, VP of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors on Backing Emerging Managers, Access, and Venture Fundraising
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Riding Unicorns is a podcast featuring the world's best minds from venture and startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features conversations with top founders, operators, and investors unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.

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