START - LAUNCH - GROW

Million Labs

We hear plenty about the Ubers of the world – usually after they’ve made it. But what does building a startup actually look like in the early days? And how can you use AI to launch faster than ever before? We follow founders building from scratch – from validating an idea and launching their first product to winning their first customers. Since 2018, we’ve helped over 2,500 founders turn their ideas into startups using our START → LAUNCH → GROW framework. START: Validate whether your idea is worth building LAUNCH: Build a Minimum Viable Product that attracts clients GROW: Find your first paying customers and build traction You’ll hear from real founders going through this journey – the mistakes they learned from, and what helped them move forward – with practical lessons you can apply to your own startup. Our vision? Make entrepreneurship accessible to one million founders. Whether you’re non-technical, bootstrapping, building a side hustle, or simply starting with an idea, we believe you should have the tools and support to give it a real shot.

  1. 2d ago

    10 Myths Founders Still Believe

    Have a startup idea? 👉 Let’s talk about how we can help bring it to life. 🚀 👉 Take our 2 Min Founder Quiz to get your idea scorecard Have a question you’d like us to answer in an episode or a topic you’d like us to cover? Reach us at hello@millionlabs.co.uk What we cover in this episode: Verena and Simon take on 𝟭𝟬 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀 - the ones still being taught in books, articles and advice columns that no longer hold up in the age of AI. They bust the myths one by one: "𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼-𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯, 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, and 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝘂𝗯." Along the way they share real examples - from Uber reinventing taxis to Apple’s “copy and reframe” strategy, from the WeWork cash trap to why bootstrapped founders are becoming the new norm - and reveal which myths still carry a grain of truth (hint: there’s one surprising answer that isn’t a clean “busted”). If you’ve been held back by old-school startup advice, this episode will give you a fresh playbook for building in the AI era.

    10 Myths Founders Still Believe
  2. Oct 6

    The Truth About "Big Ideas" | From Corporate Exit to Breathwork Coach

    Have a startup idea? 👉 Let's talk about how we can help bring it to life. 🚀 👉 Take our 2 Min Founder Quiz to get your idea scorecard Have a question you'd like us to answer in an episode or a topic you'd like us to cover? Reach us at hello@millionlabs.co.uk What we cover in this episode: Verena and Simon dig into one of the biggest blockers keeping aspiring founders stuck: 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴? They break down why you don't need the next Uber or Airbnb to build a great business, and share their three-part framework for spotting hidden opportunities: 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 by studying reviews on Reddit and Product Hunt, 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 the way Calendly and Duolingo did, and 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, the way Klarna took instalment payments from finance into e-commerce. Then Verena sits down with 𝗦𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗲, founder of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲 - an executive coaching movement helping high-performing female CEOs build sustainable leadership without burning out. Sophie shares how her own burnout led her to breathwork and trauma-informed coaching, why she built her platform without outside investment after a rough experience in her first business, and her honest take on why 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 have grown her business faster than any marketing channel could.

    The Truth About "Big Ideas" | From Corporate Exit to Breathwork Coach
  3. Aug 25

    3 Steps to Nail Your Go-to-Market

    Have a startup idea? 👉 Let's talk about how we can help bring it to life. 🚀 👉 Take our 2 Min Founder Quiz to get your idea scorecard Have a question you'd like us to answer in an episode or a topic you'd like us to cover? Reach us at hello@millionlabs.co.uk --- What we cover in this episode: Verena and Simon tackle the question that decides whether a startup ever gets off the ground: 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁, 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁? They open with a hard truth drawn from working with 𝟮,𝟬𝟬𝟬+ 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: the number one reason startups fail to get traction 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 - it's that most get their go-to-market wrong, or never really do it at all. This isn't a "which ad platform should I use" episode. Founders always want to start with the channel - Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, SEO - but that's the 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Channels don't fail. Targeting does. So Verena and Simon walk through their three-step framework for finding your first paying customers.

    3 Steps to Nail Your Go-to-Market
  4. Aug 11

    Web App or Native? | Lessons from Building Multiple Ventures

    Have a startup idea? 👉 Let’s talk about how we can help bring it to life. 🚀 👉 Take our 2 Min Founder Quiz to find your biggest priority & get a Million Labs Giveaway. 👉 Join our Free Masterclass on how to go from idea to paying customers in the age of AI. --- What we cover in this episode: Verena and Simon tackle one of the most common misconceptions founders bring to the build phase: 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲? Most early-stage builds that go native too early end up 𝟯𝘅 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 and take 𝟲+ 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 - thanks to testing across thousands of devices, Apple's brutal approval process, and rebuilding for two operating systems instead of one. This isn't an anti-native episode - Verena and Simon build native when the product needs it. But they walk through the three things founders get wrong when choosing their launch platform: 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗯 𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿" 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽 Their takeaway: 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Verena sits down with 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗰. Charlie has helped build and grow 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 including Mission Inc, an AI-powered platform helping leaders identify performance gaps and delegate decision-making down the hierarchy - built on a military-inspired 𝘵𝘪𝘱-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 philosophy.

    Web App or Native? | Lessons from Building Multiple Ventures
  5. Jul 13

    Is SaaS Dead? | From Solo Founder to Global Expansion

    Have a startup idea? 👉 Let’s talk about how we can help bring it to life. 🚀 👉 Take our 2 Min Founder Quiz to find your biggest priority & get a Million Labs Giveaway. 👉 Join our Free Masterclass on how to go from idea to paying customers in the age of AI. --- What we cover in this episode: Verena and Simon tackle one of the biggest shifts happening in software right now: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗔𝗦. Drawing on recent studies showing that 𝟴𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱, they unpack why companies are hitting a breaking point with bloated monthly bills and rigid software that forces you to change your workflows. They discuss how AI and no-code tools like Bubble have slashed development costs by 𝟲𝟬%, making it cheaper for an enterprise to completely rebuild a custom tool (like their own overnight Slack replacement) than to pay for annual seat licensing. Their takeaway - the era of broad, one-size-fits-all SaaS is fading - if you want to build software today, you have to go aggressively niche. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Verena sits down with 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. Matthew is a solo coach turned international franchisor who started his business 𝟭𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼 with a simple mission: helping young children discover the sports they love through structured rotations. Today, MiniSport operates across 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝘄𝗮𝗻.

    Is SaaS Dead? | From Solo Founder to Global Expansion

About

We hear plenty about the Ubers of the world – usually after they’ve made it. But what does building a startup actually look like in the early days? And how can you use AI to launch faster than ever before? We follow founders building from scratch – from validating an idea and launching their first product to winning their first customers. Since 2018, we’ve helped over 2,500 founders turn their ideas into startups using our START → LAUNCH → GROW framework. START: Validate whether your idea is worth building LAUNCH: Build a Minimum Viable Product that attracts clients GROW: Find your first paying customers and build traction You’ll hear from real founders going through this journey – the mistakes they learned from, and what helped them move forward – with practical lessons you can apply to your own startup. Our vision? Make entrepreneurship accessible to one million founders. Whether you’re non-technical, bootstrapping, building a side hustle, or simply starting with an idea, we believe you should have the tools and support to give it a real shot.