The Tech Spill

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Welcome to The Tech Spill! The podcast for young founders, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone curious about what really goes on inside the startup world.  Each week I interview some of the country’s most well-known business leaders and influential founders to uncover the real stories behind their success. Think failures, drop-outs, firings, co-founder breakups and everything in between — you get the gist! Listen now to get the inside tea. New episodes every Friday. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @thetechspillshow

  1. Oct 9 ·  Video

    Goldman Sachs VP to AI careers platform founder | Zhan Shi

    Zhan Shi didn't follow the script. Goldman Sachs VP. Atomico VC engineer. The kind of resume that opens every door. And then she walked away from all of it to build Career26, a company redefining how finance hires early talent. This is the story of someone who chose passion over prestige, and conviction over comfort. In this episode, we cover: How Zhan balanced building Career26 while working full time, and why her dad told her she couldn't do both well The three questions she asks before committing to anything full time: Why now? Why me? Why hasn't someone else done it? Why she left Goldman Sachs - not because finance was bad, but because it didn't fill the empty part of her heart Her philosophy on focus: if you can't see yourself being the best at something, why bother? What Career26 actually does and why she believes interviews are broken Her take on whether top Oxford talent is being "stolen" by finance How AI is embedded into every layer of Career26, from operations to student assessment, without it being an AI company on the surface What she learned as a software engineer at a VC, building data driven deal sourcing systems and agentic workflows to replicate analyst judgment Her advice for anyone sitting on a side project: follow your heart This is a raw conversation about ambition, self drive, and building something that matters. Connect with Zhan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhanshi26/ Learn more about Career26: https://www.career26.com/

  2. Jul 17 ·  Video

    How a Non-Technical Founder Got Investment Before He Had a Company

    Maverick is not your typical founder. Laid off two days after moving to London. No clients, no money, no safety net. Told by a close friend that he didn’t know how to build a company. Twelve months later, he’d raised investment, built an AI start-up from scratch, and landed his first paying customers. This is the unfiltered story of what it actually costs to build something from zero. In this episode, we cover: How a third-generation gambling family shaped Maverick’s obsession with betting only on what he can control The rocket ship start-up Maverick joined that swiftly collapsed and what he learnt from this t How cold LinkedIn DMs and relentless outreach landed him his first clients in weeks How a single LinkedIn video caught the attention of a three-time YC founder and changed everything What working at $100 million Model ML company taught him about standards, sales, and speed Why he moved to San Francisco, lasted six weeks, and left on his own terms How he booked a one-way ticket to Vietnam with barely any money and kept building anyway What Maverick Intelligence actually does and how it turns anonymous website visitors into paying customers Why he’s focused on the US market and what GDPR means for founders building in this space His honest take on AI agents and how Maverick Intelligence identifies thousands of people every single day, around the clock The exact sales tools he uses including Clay, Orange Slice, Instantly, and Condo Why A/B testing before 10,000 users is a complete waste of time How to upskill technically without a computer science background Why graduate schemes might actually be holding young people back The one piece of advice for anyone sitting on an idea they still haven’t started. This is a revenge arc, a masterclass in sales, and one of the most honest founder conversations we’ve had on the show. Connect with Maverick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maverick-f/ Learn more about Maverick’s company Maverick Intelligence: https://maverickintelligence.co/

    How a Non-Technical Founder Got Investment Before He Had a Company

About

Welcome to The Tech Spill! The podcast for young founders, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone curious about what really goes on inside the startup world.  Each week I interview some of the country’s most well-known business leaders and influential founders to uncover the real stories behind their success. Think failures, drop-outs, firings, co-founder breakups and everything in between — you get the gist! Listen now to get the inside tea. New episodes every Friday. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @thetechspillshow