The Upstarts Podcast

Alex Konrad
  • 4.6 (10)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

On The Upstarts Podcast, you’ll hear from some of the most exciting Upstarts today: emerging technology leaders punching above their weight to achieve real impact.  Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad profiled leaders from Marc Benioff to Melanie Perkins in a decade-plus at Forbes. Now as the founder and editor of Upstarts Media, he’s sitting down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.  You’ll leave each interview with a new understanding of a world-changing technology that’s transforming how we live and work – as well as strategies and tactics any builder can put to use. 

  1. 15h ago

    The Accidental YC Founder Solving AI’s GPU Crisis | SF Compute’s Evan Conrad

    The tech industry has an AI scaling problem, and SF Compute CEO Evan Conrad says it all comes down to one thing: credit. Lenders don’t want to underwrite risky AI labs and startups, forcing them to raise at ever-higher valuations to be able to pay hefty deposits upfront. And when capacity does free up, the little guy often gets cut out, as the industry’s biggest players lock up ever more horsepower. Conrad’s startup thinks it can change the equation. Founded out of necessity when his first AI lab faced a $400K monthly compute bill it couldn’t cover, SF Compute now operates GPU clusters for their owners, while helping ensure a fair market for their buyers, by running what Conrad calls the only “physically settled compute market.” SF Compute recently signed a deal worth $245 million – a drop in the bucket compared to his vision in a fast-growing, little-understood market behind the AI boom. On The Upstarts Podcast, Conrad talks about why credit, not land or power, is AI’s true bottleneck; why upfront compute costs are driving eye-popping valuations from VCs; and why data centers could become geopolitical bargaining chips. Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: pitching early investors on a new “power grid” for AI they just couldn’t understand.   Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:25 Inventing A Market For Supercomputing 04:56 The Stripe For GPU Clusters 07:27 Chicken Coops, Soybeans And Monsoons 11:01 “Anyone Who Competes With Us Is Stupid” 13:47 Arming The Rebels, Not Just The Big Labs 18:00 Getting Into YC As A Therapy Exercise 19:46 Dalton Caldwell’s Advice: “Don’t Die” 23:01 When $245 Million Isn’t A Big Deal 26:10 Upstart Moment: “There Isn’t An Elevator Pitch” 28:42 Why Compute Futures Don’t Work Like Wheat 31:55 No More Massive Deposits: SF Compute’s Vision 34:47 GPU Prices, Geopolitics And A Market Bigger Than Oil 37:39 Where The Most Money Can Be Made In Compute Today   Evan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-conrad/ SF Compute: https://sfcompute.com/   For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 3 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Jira by Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

  2. Oct 22

    The Parking Startup That Swallowed A 100-Year-Old Giant | Metropolis CEO Alex Israel

    If you’ve parked a car recently in the U.S. or Canada, there’s a good chance you paid through a startup called Metropolis. Founded in 2017 by CEO Alex Israel and three co-founders in a Santa Monica garage, Metropolis is now the largest parking operator in North America – with 23,000 employees, $5 billion in payments, and 30 million Americans signed up for its ticketless app. If that sounds unusual for a startup, you’re right. Metropolis got there in unusual fashion, enlisting the help of billionaire Todd Boehly to acquire a legacy player many times its size in a move one banker initially dismissed as “dog catches 747.” But its CEO doesn’t really see Metropolis as just a parking company. He calls it an applied AI company, one piloting a new “recognition economy” that cuts the wait out of experiences for consumers, from drive-throughs to hotel lobbies. On The Upstarts Podcast, Israel talks about why merging “ugly, unsexy” businesses with AI has suddenly gained popularity; why Metropolis is all-in on autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and drones; and why he argues the startup’s opt-in approach avoids the privacy concerns facing surveillance startups. Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: Inviting the CEO of his bigger competitor to a seafood buffet to inform him that he planned to take their company private. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:33 A Parking App, Or Applied AI? 03:42 Why Metropolis Wants You Off Its Own App 05:05 The Drive-Through That Knows Your Order 07:55 Four Founders In A Garage 09:45 In Love With “Ugly, Unsexy” Businesses 13:19 “Dog Catches 747”: Buying Out The Industry’s Giant 18:07 Upstart Moment: Called A Liar Before The Seafood Buffet 21:41 Answering Todd Boehly: The One Non-Negotiable 24:37 Turning 21,000 Skeptics Into Evangelists 27:00 Inside The Wallet-Free “Recognition Economy” 28:52 Security, Consumer Choice, And Metropolis’s Red Line 31:30 Cookies For The Real World 36:13 Metropolis As Your Privacy Passport 40:46 Why Drones And Robotaxis Still Need Parking Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-israel/?isSelfProfile=false Metropolis: https://www.metropolis.io/ For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 3 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Jira by Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

  3. Oct 15

    The $7B Startup Mapping Your Health In Just One Hour | Neko’s Hjalmar Nilsonne

    Neko Health CEO Hjalmar Nilsonne calls it the most valuable hour you can spend on your health. Since opening its first U.S. location in New York last month, more than 50,000 people have joined the waitlist – for one clinic alone. Co-founded in 2018 with Spotify’s Daniel Ek and valued at $7 billion, Neko offers one-hour scans that map your skin, heart and blood for $499. A clinician then walks you through the results before you leave, complete with a futuristic 3D scan. Already in operation in the U.K. and Sweden, Neko’s now expanding across America, with Miami, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco coming next. On The Upstarts Podcast, Nilsonne talks about the fateful Twitter DM from Ek that got Neko going; why the doctor visit hasn’t changed much in 100 years; and how to keep a startup team motivated while chasing a long-term “moonshot.” Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: a bet-the-company pivot driven by an internal memo he wrote, “Free Is Not Enough.” Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:48 Mapping Your Body In One Hour 03:54 Why The Doctor’s Visit Hasn’t Changed In 100 Years 07:31 Building Four Businesses In One: Devices, Hardware, Software, Clinics 09:22 Breaking Down A Neko Visit First-Hand 12:58 Why Half of Neko’s U.K. Members Never Had A Health Check 16:59 ‘Brutally Efficient With Your Time’: Why Every Second Counts 19:04 Helping Human Doctors, Not Replacing Them 22:40 Delivering Outcomes For the 92% Of Members Not At Risk 26:47 A Climate ‘Crash Landing’ And A DM From Daniel Ek 33:12 Motivating A Team To Chase A Moonshot 37:42 Neko’s Upstart Moment: The ‘Free Is Not Enough’ Memo And Pivot 41:30 Pricing Neko Accessibly For The 99.9% 45:44 What The Tesla Roadster Can Teach Founders About Change 48:33 Space-Age Scan, Old-School Advice: Cut The Coffee Hjalmar's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilsonne?originalSubdomain=se Neko Health: https://www.nekohealth.com/gb/en For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 3 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Jira by Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

  4. Oct 8

    Bringing Back Mammoths And Building Noah’s Ark 2.0 | Colossal’s Ben Lamm

    Founder Ben Lamm has found success building startups in gaming, SaaS and AI. But the boldest — and biggest — bet of his career is Colossal Biosciences, a biotech venture working to bring back extinct species like the dire wolf, dodo, Tasmanian tiger and woolly mammoth. It's a decades-long endeavor so crazy that one investor warned Lamm it would "completely ruin" his career. But so far, it's working. Founded in 2021 by Lamm and famed Harvard geneticist George Church, Colossal has already cloned and raised three dire wolves in a secret location, created woolly mice, and reportedly held talks to raise at a valuation of $23 billion or more. Still, Lamm faces some basic, persistent questions: Why do all this? And isn't this like Jurassic Park? On The Upstarts Podcast, Lamm talks about why Colossal made reviving the mammoth its North Star; why building in biology is so different from software; and why he won't consider anything short of reviving every targeted species a success. Plus: Why Lamm insists Colossal won't bring back the dinosaurs. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:48 A Dinosaur-Free Future 03:52 George Church And The Mammoth As North Star 06:28 Why Kids Brought In 30% Of Colossal's Investors 9:47 Current-Day Conservation Efforts With Elephants 15:17 "The Most Undervalued Company On The Planet" 17:45 Founder Origins In Gaming And Jurassic Park 22:24 Spending $1 Million Of Personal Cash To Face Early Doubts 25:22 No Splicing: Reading 104 Mammoth Genomes 29:15 Dire Wolves, Woolly Mice And Uninvited Visitors 32:05 Why Mammoths Are More Dangerous Than Dire Wolves 35:55 Government Contracts, Spinouts And Noah's Ark 2.0 41:54 Artificial Wombs And A Slipping Mammoth Deadline 43:54 Why Missing One Species Would Mean Failure Colossal Biosciences: https://colossal.com/ Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlamm/ For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 3 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Jira by Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

  5. Jul 30

    Basis's Matt Harpe: Why AI Won't Replace Accountants — It'll Make Them Richer

    A crisis is happening in accounting that goes far beyond creative bookkeeping or lost receipts: we don't have enough people. Enough work exists for 30 million accountants to prepare tax returns and audits, restructure data and improve how companies organize. The U.S. has just 3 million, says Basis co-founder and CEO Matt Harpe. "The number is rapidly declining," he says. Founded in 2023 by Harpe and co-founder Mitchell Troyanovsky, Basis builds AI agents to help. Operating behind the scenes, Basis agents learn a firm's best practices and then automate much of the process, allowing its staffers to review more work for clients. Basis reached a $1.15 billion valuation in February 2026. Far from eliminating jobs, Harpe believes his startup will help those human accountants get paid more. "It will increase how valuable accountants are, because they will be able to accomplish so much more," he says. On the Upstarts Podcast, Harpe talks about why Basis shunned a chatbot approach to go all-in on agents from the start; why outcome-based pricing is preferable, but not easily achieved; and how he pitches top AI talent in New York on building in accounting, of all things. Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: turning down short-term revenue by not charging for a product until their outcomes could match what they promised. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:47 The basis for Basis 07:25 Why no one wants to be an accountant any more 14:37 CEO Matt Harpe's founder journey 19:46 "The home for applied AI talent in New York" 22:58 Winning over skeptical accountants as customers 28:41 A big bet on agents from the start 31:31 Outcome-based pricing and its challenges 35:52 Competing with the big AI labs like OpenAI 41:11 Making human accountants more valuable Matt's LinkedIn Basis For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 2 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Rippling Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod

  6. Jul 23

    Abridge's Shiv Rao: The Doctor Founder Taking On Microsoft In Healthcare AI

    Doctors are burned out. Patients don’t understand the advice they’re given. And the U.S. healthcare system is drowning each year in $1.5 trillion – with a “T” – in administrative costs. Abridge co-founder and CEO Shiv Rao thinks he can help. He’s seen the problem on both sides – as a practicing cardiologist who still sees patients, and as a partner who spent years navigating the system to seek fertility treatments with his spouse. “We’d look at each other and be like, ‘What did they just say?’ And I’m a doctor,” he says. Founded in Pittsburgh in 2018, Abridge is building what Rao calls the “AI operating system” for healthcare. Abridge’s software automates all the clerical work of a visit, from notes to billing, and increasingly assists with making clinical recommendations, too. Valued at $5.3 billion, Abridge serves more than 300 health systems, reaching 250 million Americans, and recently partnered with Eli Lilly and Nvidia. But Abridge has faced an uphill journey from day one, when Rao convinced his former employer to take a chance on a fledgling startup. Microsoft’s a big player. Epic Systems looms, and a number of well-funded startups are chasing Abridge’s lead. On The Upstarts Podcast, Rao talks about how an early bet on AI got Abridge going, before ChatGPT; why reaching scale in healthcare requires years of “eating glass” and “kissing frogs;” and why he thinks Abridge can help doctors and nurses feel like “superheroes.” Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: A “YOLO” decision to take on Microsoft head-to-head. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:16 What Abridge does for doctors, patients and hospitals 06:39 Solving the ‘conversation’ problem 10:45 From doctor to startup founder 18:48 “Eating glass” and “kissing frogs” early on 20:14 What IBM Watson got wrong 23:25 Why healthcare is a hard sell for startups 31:39 A “YOLO move” to go after Microsoft 37:42 Dealing with increasing competition 40:29 Working with NVIDIA, Anthropic and OpenAI 43:26 Shiv’s personal healthcare journey Shiv's LinkedIn Abridge For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 2 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Rippling Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod

  7. Jul 17

    Pigment’s Eléonore Crespo: Building France’s Next Unicorn With AI Agents And Tom Cruise

    The world's big companies are blowing through their AI budgets. At French startup unicorn Pigment, Eléonore Crespo wants to help. "Our CEO is pressuring us for everybody in the company to use AI, but we don't have any right way to think about it," Crespo says she hears chief financial officers complain. “It’s going to be a big topic for everyone, and it goes beyond just understanding your costs." Pigment, founded by co-CEOs Crespo and Criteo veteran Romain Nicoli in 2019, fights runaway AI spending with AI. Its agents help CFOs and finance teams at customers like Anthropic, Notion, Coca-Cola and Unilever make faster, better financial decisions. For analysts, Crespo argues her tools can free up much of the 80% of time they currently spend sifting through data; her (perhaps optimistic) hope is that they can then focus on higher-level decisions, without fearing for their jobs. On The Upstarts Podcast, Crespo talks about how building in Paris helps Pigment compete; how a culture of “unreasonable hospitality” makes it win; and how careful communication makes a co-CEO setup work. Plus, she shares her Upstart Moment: landing a key executive hire, with an in-person assist from the actor Tom Cruise. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:18 What Pigment does, and who it helps 06:06 Seeing Google’s spreadsheet problem first-hand 10:05 Finding a co-founder, CIA style, and a product, Ferrari style 15:49 Cookies, WhatsApp and “unreasonable hospitality” as strategy 18:56 How to make startup co-CEOS work 24:00 Building in Paris versus the Bay Area’s “talent buffet” 30:11 How AI agents change CFO and analyst jobs 34:05 Bringing AI token spending under control 39:02 How Tom Cruise helped close Pigment’s CRO hire Eléonore's LinkedIn Pigment For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 2 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Rippling⁠⁠ Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod

  8. Jul 10

    Radical AI’s Joseph Krause: The Scientist Building The ‘Waymo’ Lab For New Materials

    Materials science hasn’t changed much in 150 years. Radical AI CEO Joseph Krause wants to change that. In a big new lab in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, the startup founder is looking to change that. He’s building a “next-gen” approach that he says makes other autonomous labs look like hand-free driving mode on a car, compared to a fully self-driving Waymo. It’s an approach that plenty of corporate scientists tell Krause must be too good to be true. “How could you really discover more alloys in a week than we have discovered in our company history?” he says they ask. But since its founding in 2024, Radical AI has already produced valuable, and secret, alloys for customers, Krause insists. And the startup has done it after raising just $55 million in its last funding round, not the $1 billion of well-heeled competitors.. On the Upstarts Podcast, Krause explains how a SpaceX breakthrough helped kick off a category; why cloud labs and deep tech companies often fail; and why concurrent engineering is as important as next-gen lab equipment itself. Plus, he shares his Upstart Moment: a 100-year-vision to become one of the world’s most important companies: “When we put a civilization on Mars, the habitat that they're living in will be made with Radical materials.” Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:25 What Radical AI does 04:36 Starting with metal alloys 08:30 Cold-emailing 100 VCs 12:22 An industry unchanged until SpaceX 15:56 Waymo vs. hands-free driving 19:09 Succeeding where cloud labs failed 25:42 Why Radical doesn’t need a billion dollars – yet 29:01 Unlocking 10x more research for customers 35:23 Why scientists should root for Radical 36:28 A 10-year timeline for impact 38:53 Radical materials on Mars Joseph's LinkedIn Radical AI For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/ Season 2 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by ⁠⁠⁠Rippling⁠⁠ Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod

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On The Upstarts Podcast, you’ll hear from some of the most exciting Upstarts today: emerging technology leaders punching above their weight to achieve real impact.  Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad profiled leaders from Marc Benioff to Melanie Perkins in a decade-plus at Forbes. Now as the founder and editor of Upstarts Media, he’s sitting down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.  You’ll leave each interview with a new understanding of a world-changing technology that’s transforming how we live and work – as well as strategies and tactics any builder can put to use. 

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