Little Pursuits

Dar Patel
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A podcast for founders, leaders, and anyone building something they believe in. We sit down with startup founders, creatives, and change-makers in the middle of the messy, meaningful work of building. Honest conversations about vision and doubt, about clarity, and about the small steps that become big shifts. If you're in the thick of it, building a business, a movement, or a new path, this space is for you. One small pursuit at a time. Hosted by Dar Patel, Founder @ Little Pursuits

  1. 1d ago

    The Product Is Only 10% of Your Business

    Nomiki Petrolla got a D minus in economics, restarted college from scratch, and went on to lead product at an AI company while running a consulting practice on the side for ten years. Theanna, her community-plus-software platform for women founders, is her fifth business: two dropshipping companies died in three months each, and a one-on-one coaching practice became the blueprint for something bigger. This is a conversation about why the product is only 10% of the business, building your own distribution through founder-led content, and growing a company without burning out. In this episode, we cover: → The illusion that building a product is building a business, and why the product is 10% of the job→ How AI made building easier and everything else ten times harder, starting with distribution→ She used to glorify founders who raised millions: what changed her mind→ Testing the idea with a WhatsApp group of ten people before building the app→ Founder-led content as the distribution channel no tool can replace, and why you have to suck at it first→ Hustle without burnout, plus hiring a contractor before a full-time role Chapters:00:00 - Meet Nomiki Petrolla, founder of Theanna06:15 - The D minus that made her restart college17:45 - Glorifying founders who raise millions, then changing her mind22:47 - Four businesses before Theanna: consulting, dropshipping, coaching27:56 - Test the idea with a WhatsApp group of ten32:15 - The product is 10% of the business34:01 - Founder-led content is your distribution channel38:27 - Hustle without burnout44:53 - Getting your first customers is the hardest part49:23 - Community plus software, the hill she will die on Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/BNSmaY2tkOQ Host: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/ Guest: Nomiki Petrolla, Founder of TheannaConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nomikipetrolla/

  2. Jul 30

    He Partnered With Uber When It Had 50 Drivers

    Zach Forester tested badly all through school, walked away from the mortgage company he co-owned when it started costing him his health, and cold-called his way into Uber when it had about 50 drivers. His black-car fleet became Uber's driver-training partner, over 150,000 drivers and a 16-year partnership later, and today he builds Optium, automating and offshoring back offices for other companies. This is a conversation about hiring for the trait and teaching the skill, finding the next business inside the one that is collapsing, and the inner work that kept him going through thousands of failures. In this episode, we cover: → The hiring rule behind his fleet and 150,000 trained Uber drivers: hire the trait, teach the skill→ Cold-calling Uber at about 50 drivers, and why he credits luck and curiosity over strategy→ Delegation in hyper growth: even if you want to own it, you have to give it up→ When Lyft erased his moat, the next business was already inside the old one→ Don't believe the AI hype, from a founder who sells automation→ A decade of Jungian analysis, a yoga practice he refused to skip, and ideas that arrive away from screens Chapters:00:00 - Meet Zach Forester, founder of Optium01:48 - Testing badly in school, and German as the way in17:58 - Business owner at 29, in a market in freefall21:43 - Walking away from the mortgage industry for his health24:55 - First client Goldman Sachs, then a cold call to Uber29:07 - The secret sauce: hire the trait, teach the skill33:58 - Lyft erases the moat, and the pivot hiding inside the business38:07 - A garage sale leads to an autonomous vehicle company44:14 - Don't believe the AI hype, from an automation founder46:06 - I've failed thousands of times Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/3ttQQ1VB8HM Host: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/ Guest: Zach Forester, Founder of OptiumConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-forester/

  3. Jul 23

    Fall in Love With the Problem, Not the Solution

    Stephanie Simpson left full-time teaching in 2021 to build a portfolio coaching business, bringing a background in dance and psychology to how she helps leaders and founders work with stress instead of against it. This is a conversation about reinvention, the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and why the people who last fall in love with the problem, not their solution. In this episode, we cover: → Why most businesses fail: the founder falls in love with the solution and stops listening to the market→ The difference between a mentor and a sponsor, and why a sponsor says your name in the rooms you are not in→ Why a bad relationship with stress can actually kill you, and what a healthy one looks like→ What coaching actually is: why a good coach talks only 20 percent of the time→ The dance lesson that reframes every setback→ Why every founder needs a coach, not just a mentor Host: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/ Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/ Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/

  4. Jul 16

    AI Will Convince You Your Bad Idea Is Genius

    Devin Owen went from neuroscience research to teaching himself to code, sold his first startup Savvy after a COVID-era pivot, and now builds GreenFlash, the product layer that shows AI teams how their agents actually behave with real users. This is a conversation about betting on yourself, the trap of building with AI that agrees with everything, and how to build something people actually want. In this episode, we cover: → Quitting a science career to teach himself to code, and why he is always on the side of quitting→ The AI-validation trap: why AI will tell you every idea you have is genius→ The mistake that sank his first startup: building in a room instead of talking to people→ Why he refuses to write a line of code until he knows there is room in the market→ Distribution as the only moat left as AI puts software companies out of business→ The Mom Test: how to run user interviews so even your own mother would tell you the truth Chapters: 00:00 - Meet Devin Owen, founder of GreenFlash05:53 - The two weeks that changed his career, when coding clicked10:34 - Quitting a seven-year science path to bet on code16:34 - Breaking into engineering at SurveyMonkey27:01 - His first startup, and the mistake of building in a room31:03 - COVID hits: a month before launch, buyers had negative dollars41:12 - The AI-validation trap: AI tells you every idea is genius46:25 - The GreenFlash origin: the missing layer for AI agents53:23 - Why he refuses to write a line of code until he validates the market1:02:35 - Distribution is the only moat left as AI eats software1:11:50 - The one book he recommends: The Mom Test Watch the full conversation: https://youtu.be/pkY0QaqYqFI Host: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/ Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/ Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/ Guest: Devin Owen, Founder of GreenFlashConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinowen/

  5. Jul 10

    What an Angel Investor Decides in the First Minute

    Taya Kudashkina grew up in Siberia with an engineering degree and a dream of Silicon Valley, built startups across the United States and Russia, then left everything behind after the invasion of Ukraine and rebuilt her career from zero in a new country as an angel investor. This is a conversation about reinvention, starting over with no network, and what investors really look for in early-stage founders.Hit subscribe to join our community of builders!In this episode, we cover:→ The values exercise she used to reinvent herself: list every path, then try each one on by talking to people already living it→ Why Silicon Valley treats failure as normal, and how different that felt from the shame she grew up with→ Why a six-month financial cushion is the real key to reinventing your career, especially for women→ What angel investing actually is, and how to start small through syndicates for as little as two thousand dollars→ The real question every early-stage investor is asking: can this founder deliver→ Why so few women are in the room, and the risk-aversion she wants to change for her daughterChapters:00:00 - Meet Taya Kudashkina, angel investor02:16 - Chasing Silicon Valley from Siberia12:55 - Silicon Valley's failure mindset vs the shame she grew up with17:07 - A $2M raise, a failed startup, and the darkest time of her life19:46 - Resilience: letting the hard moment pass27:47 - Leaving Russia and starting from zero in Luxembourg30:37 - The values exercise: trying on careers to find the next step43:03 - What angel investing is, and how to start small51:22 - What she looks for in a founder56:24 - Why so few women are in the roomSubscribe to Little Pursuits for raw stories from founders, leaders, and experts: https://www.youtube.com/@littlepursuits?sub_confirmation=1Watch Next: https://youtu.be/v8LrIQaRhyIHost: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/Guest: Taya Kudashkina, Angel InvestorConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taisiyakudashkina/#Startups #Founders #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Business #podcast

  6. Jul 6

    Letting Go Is the Hardest Part of Getting Promoted

    Dave Zager built his first skills fixing computers his dad broke on purpose, then talked his way into one of the only consulting jobs offered out of a few hundred campus candidates during the 2003 downturn. Twenty-two years later he is a partner at Deloitte, and the mindset that got him there has not changed: ask the honest worst case, then decide. This is a conversation about staying calm under pressure, letting go as you rise into leadership, and shifting your own luck.Hit subscribe to join our community of builders!In this episode, we cover:→ Growing up building and breaking things: how his dad's rule, "if you can fix it, it's yours," shaped a career in tech→ Landing a consulting job out of a few hundred candidates during a brutal 2003 market, and why he believes you can shift your own luck→ The worst-case question he asks his team before every hard decision, and the anchor that makes it work→ What separates the leader you trust from the leader you don't, learned in the early days of COVID→ Letting go as you rise: the hardest transition from doing the work yourself to trusting a team to do itChapters:00:00 - Meet Dave Zager, partner at Deloitte02:41 - Garbage trucks, street hockey, and "if you can fix it, it's yours"11:17 - Prodigy, AOL, and downloading his first MP3 over a semester20:54 - Landing one job out of a few hundred candidates, and shifting your own luck37:29 - Why you become untouchable once you've survived hard things42:48 - The worst-case question he asks his team before a hard decision44:46 - His anchor: waking up alive, and why nobody remembers the decision in a week48:42 - The leader he trusts versus the leader he doesn't55:11 - Career stages: analyst to manager to partner, and learning to let go1:15:40 - Everyone's problems on a clothesline: the comparison trapSubscribe to Little Pursuits for raw stories from founders, leaders, and experts: https://www.youtube.com/@littlepursuits?sub_confirmation=1Watch Next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De9rU87jwyEHost: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/Guest: Dave Zager, Partner at DeloitteConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davezager/#Startups #Founders #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Business #podcast

  7. Jun 24

    She Left Marketing to Build a Company for Grief

    Emily Kyle spent her career in marketing, including at GitLab, after a winding path through art history and law school. When her father died suddenly and she hit the isolating, archaic paperwork of settling his estate, she quit with no plan and went all in on Good Grief Co, a company built to guide people through the administration of loss. This is a conversation about grief and reinvention, building a company from your own hardest experience, talking to users before you build, and what fundraising feels like as a woman.Hit subscribe to join our community of builders!In this episode, we cover:→ Why not making a choice is still making one, and how her father's death forced hers→ Turning the isolating paperwork of loss into a company, Good Grief Co→ Falling in love with the problem instead of your solution, after interviewing over a hundred people→ Why post-death administration, and the fact that 75 percent of people die without a will→ Building an MVP that was too robust, and designing for a grieving brain→ What asking for money feels like as a woman, and finding a circle of female foundersChapters:00:00 - Meet Emily Kyle and Good Grief Co04:01 - From art history and law school to marketing26:01 - Her father's last day: a home run and a heart attack27:32 - The wake-up, and quitting with no plan36:16 - Why is every loss so paperwork-driven?38:35 - Going all in on Good Grief Co40:21 - Falling in love with the problem, not the solution49:09 - A human problem, and finding a co-founder1:00:27 - One year in: the product is live1:05:17 - Why the fundraising ask feels different for womenSubscribe to Little Pursuits for raw stories from founders, leaders, and experts: https://www.youtube.com/@littlepursuits?sub_confirmation=1Watch Next: https://youtu.be/w782j02rMbAHost: Dar Patel, Founder of Little PursuitsConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://littlepursuits.life/apply/Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/Guest: Emily Kyle, Founder & CEO of Good Grief CoConnect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilylucie/Good Grief Co: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-grief-co/#Startups #Founders #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Business #podcast

  8. Jun 17

    He Built 38 Products Before One Took Off

    Sukhpal grew up between India and Canada, taught himself to code as a teenager, and spent two years at IBM before a string of layoffs pushed him to bet on himself. He saved $250,000 in a year, built 38 products, sold one company in 30 days, and now runs Carousel Studio, the number one app on the Canva marketplace, used by a quarter of a million people. This is a conversation about building in public, the real math of starting a company, and refusing to stay a nobody. Hit subscribe to join our community of builders! In this episode, we cover: → The note he found in his Evernote: "I don't want to be a nobody," written twice, six months apart → How he saved $250,000 in a year by stacking three or four dev contracts at once → The ladders of wealth: moving from trading time for money to owning a product → Why he built 38 products and writes a postmortem for every one that failed → Selling a company in 30 days on Acquire.com, and the simple SaaS valuation math → Building Carousel Studio into the number one Canva app, and the pivot that unlocked it Chapters: 00:00 - Meet Sukhpal and his journey 00:31 - Growing up between India and Canada 02:27 - Teaching himself to code 05:37 - Android apps and the one that went viral 08:01 - IBM and the developer advocate role 11:18 - Learning sales: the math class and the mall job 14:40 - Improv and comedy podcasts 18:02 - Engineering vs science, then getting laid off 20:29 - The 4% raise problem 21:26 - "I don't want to be a nobody" 23:07 - Saving $250K to quit 28:54 - Why everyone should be a builder now 33:58 - The ladders of wealth and stacking contracts 36:04 - OnDeck and the pricing breakthrough 38:29 - 12 startups in 12 months 41:34 - B2B vs B2C and the math 49:46 - Building in public and the surface area of luck 56:04 - Reframing failure: start 100 things 1:05:21 - Selling a company in 30 days 1:10:15 - Carousel Studio, the number one Canva app 1:15:24 - Resources he recommends 1:17:00 - Buying 12 coaching sessions upfront Subscribe to Little Pursuits for raw stories from founders, leaders, and experts: https://www.youtube.com/@littlepursuits?sub_confirmation=1 Watch Next: [related episode URL] Host: Dar Patel, Founder of Little Pursuits Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darpatel/ Join Founder Circle, our small-group coaching for seed-stage founders: https://luma.com/littlepursuits Newsletter: The Inner Game, on the inner game of building and leading: https://littlepursuits.substack.com/ Guest: Sukhpal, Founder of Carousel Studio Connect: [guest LinkedIn URL] #BuildInPublic #Startups #FounderMindset #SaaS #Bootstrapping #podcast

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About

A podcast for founders, leaders, and anyone building something they believe in. We sit down with startup founders, creatives, and change-makers in the middle of the messy, meaningful work of building. Honest conversations about vision and doubt, about clarity, and about the small steps that become big shifts. If you're in the thick of it, building a business, a movement, or a new path, this space is for you. One small pursuit at a time. Hosted by Dar Patel, Founder @ Little Pursuits

Information

  • Creator
    Dar Patel
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dar Patel
  • Show Website
    Little Pursuits