Founders in Motion with Thea Ngo

Thea Ngo
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  • Entrepreneurship
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The best early-stage founders before the world catches on and how they're building their business today, Australia, Southeast Asia, the US, and everywhere in between. Hosted by Thea Ngo (Wharton grad, early-stage investor), each episode is one unscripted conversation with a founder who is still in it, while the decisions are still fresh. Think → Customer discovery hacks to sell before you build → Fundraising rounds that nearly didn't close & ones that closed too rapidly → Pivots that saved the company, and ones that didn't New episodes every Thursday

  1. 3d ago

    Impact Investing at $10: The Fortune He Lost, The Fund He Built | Arjun Agarwal, inaam

    Arjun Agarwal is the founder and CEO of inaam, a flat-fee alternative to funds that take a percentage of your money. We talk about his family's fortune disappearing in South Africa, the watches that helped them survive, and the teenage crypto fund he wound down before a crash. For: impact investors, fintech founders, and anyone who's been told no more times than they can count. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps/ https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/  ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION  The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. New episodes every Thursday.

    Impact Investing at $10: The Fortune He Lost, The Fund He Built | Arjun Agarwal, inaam

  2. Jul 16

    AI for Lawyers: 300 Features, They Used One | Rowan McNamee, Mary Technology

    Rowan McNamee builds AI for lawyers that processes thousands of pages of case documents built so it can never make the final call. His first prototype had 300 ways to turn a transcript into a document. Lawyers used exactly one. Rowan McNamee co-founded Mary Technology, a fact-management system built only for litigation and disputes lawyers — not transactional or M&A. We talk about why he drew that line, the architecture that keeps the AI from hallucinating across a case file, and why the company is named after his aunt. For: litigation lawyers, legal-tech operators, and founders figuring out what to cut. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion  https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps/ https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion  https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/  ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. New episodes every Thursday.

    AI for Lawyers: 300 Features, They Used One | Rowan McNamee, Mary Technology

  3. Jul 9

    Passive Investing Australia: Get Rich Slow, The Fintech That Tells You to Trade Less | Hayden Smith, Pearler

    Hayden Smith started Pearler with negative money, medical bills he couldn't pay, surgery coming up. The company he built tells everyday Australians to invest and then leave it alone. He's been running on patience since day one. Hayden Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Pearler Investments, Australia's long-term retail investing platform. We talk about why a brokerage would tell customers to trade less, what his first startup failure taught him, and what patience actually costs. For: anyone investing for the first time, building something slowly, or wondering if boring actually wins. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps/ https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. New episodes every Thursday.

    Passive Investing Australia: Get Rich Slow, The Fintech That Tells You to Trade Less | Hayden Smith, Pearler

  4. Jul 2

    $350M Fintech Founder Steps Down as CEO to Rebuild With AI | Josh Foreman, InDebted

    Josh Foreman built InDebted from his first $12 in revenue to over $1M a week, profitable, 200 people, $350M valuation, then stepped down as CEO to rebuild the whole company from scratch. The AI-native startup he fears most is a leaner version of himself starting today with nothing to protect. Josh is the founder of InDebted, an AI-enabled debt collection platform in 7 countries. We talk about organisational debt, the builder-to-CEO transition, voice AI in collections, and why trusting your instincts is the hardest skill to keep across a decade. For: founders navigating the CEO transition, fintech builders, and anyone rethinking how their company operates in the AI era. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps/ https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. New episodes every Thursday. 📄 Full episode transcript + query the show notes → https://foundersinmotion.tech/episodes/32-josh-foreman/

    $350M Fintech Founder Steps Down as CEO to Rebuild With AI | Josh Foreman, InDebted

  5. Jun 25

    Battery Storage Founder: 8 Months of Rejection, One Term Sheet He Refused | Rakhesh Martyn, Hachiko Energy

    Eight months of pitching, nothing to show for it, then the first term sheet finally arrives, and his own lawyer tells him not to sign. So he walks away from the only offer he has. Rakhesh Martyn is the founder of Hachiko, a software platform that maximises returns from portfolios of stationary batteries. Before Australia he was a chartered engineer in London who got made redundant after Brexit and went back to washing dishes to get by. We talk about rebuilding from zero, why people buy you and not your skills, and the 16-day sprint that finally closed his round. For: solo founders, energy and climate operators, anyone grinding through a brutal raise. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps/ https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. New episodes every Thursday. 📄 Full episode transcript + query the show notes → https://foundersinmotion.tech/episodes/31-rakhesh-martyn/

    Battery Storage Founder: 8 Months of Rejection, One Term Sheet He Refused | Rakhesh Martyn, Hachiko Energy

  6. Jun 17

    Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression: The Doctor Who Left Medicine to Build a Clinic Network | Lauren Barker, Good Mind Therapeutics

    Lauren spent nearly a decade as a doctor before she joined a chaotic mental-health startup. Then the model broke, her co-founder walked, and she rebuilt the company alone, teaching herself Google Ads off YouTube. That became Good Mind Therapeutics: five ketamine clinics across Australia, break-even, heading for fifty. Lauren Barker is the co-founder of Good Mind Therapeutics, a clinic network for the people antidepressants have failed. We talk about walking away from a prestigious career, rebuilding solo after a co-founder leaves, and what it costs to keep going when you're not sure you're qualified. For: founders rebuilding mid-journey, anyone in health, and anyone who's wondered if they're qualified enough to keep going. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) inte📄 Full episode transcript + query the show notes → https://foundersinmotion.tech/episodes/30-lauren-barker/rrogator

    Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression: The Doctor Who Left Medicine to Build a Clinic Network | Lauren Barker, Good Mind Therapeutics

  7. Jun 4

    $15M ARR Fintech Founder: I Found My First Customer on Facebook | Caroline Tran, Hello Clever

    Caroline Tran cold-DMed the CEO of Tasmania's largest telco through a Facebook group, no product, no brand, no payments background. He said yes. That became Hello Clever: $15M ARR, 20 countries, 60 banking relationships. Caroline Tran is the co-founder and CEO of Hello Clever, a global payments and embedded loyalty platform. We talk about the pivot that saved the company, the 11pm call that killed her biggest deal (and became her best hire), and why she now validates demand before writing a single line of code. For: fintech founders, APAC operators, anyone pivoting consumer to B2B. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. FOLLOW US ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/⁠⁠⁠ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) inte📄 Full episode transcript + query the show notes → https://foundersinmotion.tech/episodes/29-caroline-tran/rrogator

    $15M ARR Fintech Founder: I Found My First Customer on Facebook | Caroline Tran, Hello Clever

  8. May 21

    The D1 Athlete Who Built a $100M Voice AI Company | Will Bodewes, Phonely (YC S24)

    Will Bodewes wrote a sticky note to himself on day one of building Phonely: "there are no shortcuts for you, Bodewes." That note sat on his desk every day for 2 years. We talk about building a category before it exists, keeping customers through a 30% failure rate, the SMB-to-enterprise pivot, the cycling LinkedIn post that landed a $16M Series A, and what building a company actually costs in your 20s. For: early-stage founders in B2B SaaS, athletes turned entrepreneurs, founders exploring voice AI, anyone weighing whether to start a company. If this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:18 - The D1 Athlete Grind 03:18 - Melbourne Bet 04:11 - Why We Win 10:14 - Spoke Sound Dies 13:37 - First Customers 15:46 - 30% Failure Rate 19:27 - Y Combinator 21:52 - No Shortcuts 23:04 - The Cycling Post 27:01 - Don't Do It FOLLOW US ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/⁠⁠⁠ ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION The founder podcast that catches them before they're famous, when the pivot might not work and the real story is still being written. Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator 📄 Full episode transcript + query the show notes → https://foundersinmotion.tech/episodes/28-will-bodewes/

    The D1 Athlete Who Built a $100M Voice AI Company | Will Bodewes, Phonely (YC S24)
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The best early-stage founders before the world catches on and how they're building their business today, Australia, Southeast Asia, the US, and everywhere in between. Hosted by Thea Ngo (Wharton grad, early-stage investor), each episode is one unscripted conversation with a founder who is still in it, while the decisions are still fresh. Think → Customer discovery hacks to sell before you build → Fundraising rounds that nearly didn't close & ones that closed too rapidly → Pivots that saved the company, and ones that didn't New episodes every Thursday

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