Startup Circus: The No BS Guide to the Startup World

Vasily Alekseenko
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The startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth. My name is Vasily Alekseenko. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS.

Episodes

  1. Startup Circus #4: The Gold Selling Student & The Fake Advisor Trap

    JAN 28

    Startup Circus #4: The Gold Selling Student & The Fake Advisor Trap

    Startup Circus: The No BS Guide to the Startup World The startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth. My name is Vasily. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS. In this fourth episode, I give you a life update on my fundraising snail strategy, tell you why you should block most advisors on LinkedIn, and explain the real reason why investors run away from first-time founders. What you will hear in this episode: Fundraising Snail Update: I have £65k committed. This week was hard with no new offers, but I explain why asking for advice instead of money is still the best strategy. The Gold Selling Student: A story about a 22-year-old who made a fortune selling gold when investors told him he was "too young" and inexperienced. The Fake Advisor Trap: LinkedIn is full of fake experts who use ChatGPT to write their posts. I tell you how to spot them and why you must block the "party poopers" who only criticize you. Why Investors Hate You: If you are a first-time founder, investors often say no. I explain why you need to fail first and share my own mistake of building a "rocket" product that nobody wanted. The Investor God Delusion: Stop treating investors like they are special. They are just humans who are often as stressed as you are. Treat them like friends, not gods. The Startup Rollercoaster: Today you are on the horse, tomorrow you are under the horse. My advice on how to survive the ups and downs. Links mentioned in this episode: Rare Founders Blog:https://startups.rarefounders.com/ If you like what you hear, please follow. If you don't like it, move on to the next podcast. Sign up to my weekly newsletter https://startups.rarefounders.com/ Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alekseenkovv/ Learn about Rare Founders https://www.rarefounders.com/

    34 min
  2. Startup Circus #3: The Secret Millionaire in Our Community & The Fundraising Scam

    JAN 21

    Startup Circus #3: The Secret Millionaire in Our Community & The Fundraising Scam

    Startup Circus: The No BS Guide to the Startup World The startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth. My name is Vasily. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS. In this third episode, I give you a very honest update on my own fundraising, tell you why you don't actually know the people in your network, and expose the dirty world of startup scammers that no one likes to talk about. What you will hear in this episode: Fundraising Snail works: How I used the strategy from the last episode to get 5 soft commitments out of 6 calls.The Secret Millionaire: You think everyone in your network is broke, but you might be sitting next to a secret millionaire or someone who knows Richard Branson.The Legal Fee Trap: If an investor from Asia asks you to pay legal fees before you get the money, run away.The Crypto Kickback Scam: My personal story of a fake investor who offered me millions in exchange for a crypto kickback and a meeting in Italy.How they steal your money: The scary reality of how scammers drug you and use your face ID to empty your crypto wallet.Due Diligence: Practical tips on how to check if a company or an investor is actually legit.Social Physics: Why meeting strangers outside your network increases your luck and chances of success.Links mentioned in this episode: Social Physics (Book): https://amzn.eu/d/9IijRkZCompany House Search: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/Rare Founders Blog (Scams):https://startups.rarefounders.com/p/the-scammer-who-tried-to-infiltrate-our-communityhttps://startups.rarefounders.com/p/10-fundraising-scams-every-startup-founder-should-know-2025https://startups.rarefounders.com/p/londons-startup-pulse-23-may-2024https://startups.rarefounders.com/p/londons-startup-pulse-15-may-2024 If you like what you hear, please follow. If you don't like it, move on to the next podcast.Sign up to my weekly newsletter https://startups.rarefounders.com/Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alekseenkovv/Learn about Rare Founders https://www.rarefounders.com/

    45 min
  3. Startup Circus #2: Whining Founders, The Fundraising Snail & The End of Humanity

    JAN 14

    Startup Circus #2: Whining Founders, The Fundraising Snail & The End of Humanity

    Startup Circus: The No BS Guide to the Startup WorldThe startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth.My name is Vasily. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS.In this second episode, I dive into the mindset you actually need to survive as a founder, a specific psychological hack for fundraising, and the scary reality of AI taking over.What you will hear in this episode: Whining kills your brand: Why complaining on LinkedIn makes you "contagious" and uninvestable.The "Luck" Factor: How to brainwash yourself into being lucky (and the science behind it).Resourcefulness vs. Delusion: Why asking for £200k without a prototype is absolute nonsense.The Food App Story: Proof that you can build a product in hours, not months.The Fundraising Snail: A 6-step methodology to raise capital by asking for advice instead of money.The Last Invention: Are we 3-5 years away from AGI making human founders obsolete? **Links mentioned in this episode:*** **The Psychologist (Em On The Brain)** * **Derren Brown: The Secret of Luck** * **The Food App (MenuLens)** https://menulens.eu* **The Last Invention Podcast** If you like what you hear, please follow. If you don't like it, move on to the next podcast.Sign up to my weekly newsletter https://startups.rarefounders.com/Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alekseenkovv/Learn about Rare Founders https://www.rarefounders.com/

    1h 3m
  4. Startup Circus #1: Fake Founders, AI Noise & 2026 Predictions

    JAN 7

    Startup Circus #1: Fake Founders, AI Noise & 2026 Predictions

    Startup Circus: The No BS Guide to the Startup World The startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth. My name is Vasily. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS. In this first episode, I explain why I started Startup Circus and share my predictions for the startup ecosystem in 2026. What you will hear in this episode: Why the industry is full of bad players and fake expertsThe importance of disconnecting to regain creativityWhy real-world data will become the holy grail for AI models The rise of M&A transactions as companies fail to adjust The "pandemic" of low-quality startups flooding the market Why 2026 will see a correction in the AI market The growth of defense tech and robotics in our daily lives If you like what you hear, please follow. If you don't like it, move on to the next podcast. Sign up to my weekly newsletter https://startups.rarefounders.com/Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alekseenkovv/Learn about Rare Founders https://www.rarefounders.com/

    39 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The startup world is a bloody circus. It is full of noise, fake experts, and AI-generated nonsense. I decided to launch this podcast to share the truth. My name is Vasily Alekseenko. I am a founder and investor. I meet interesting people and hear amazing stories that no one shares publicly. This podcast is my place to share my journey and industry trends with no filters and no BS.

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