Runway

Julija Jegorova & Mauro Battellini

Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/

  1. #39 Raitis Purins: Building Printful's Marketing Machine to Unicorn, and His Shift to Chief Growth Officer at Mapon

    -4 ДН.

    #39 Raitis Purins: Building Printful's Marketing Machine to Unicorn, and His Shift to Chief Growth Officer at Mapon

    Raitis Puriņš built Latvia's biggest marketing team almost from scratch and helped make Printful a unicorn. Now he's Chief Growth Officer, a new role with some overlaps, over in B2B fleet management. Raitis spent seven years as Head of Marketing at Printful, scaling the team from 5 to over 100 people and helping the company reach a $1B valuation, making it Latvia's first unicorn. Before that, he was a computers teacher, a sports journalist, and (still to this day) a top-level handball goalkeeper. Currently, Raitis is Chief Growth Officer at Mapon, a fleet management company on an acquisition spree across Europe. In this episode, Mauro sits down with Raitis to hear the full Printful story told with the benefit of hindsight, and learn what it's like rebuilding a marketing playbook in B2B SaaS. We discuss: 🔍 How SEO became Printful's most powerful growth channel, and what happened when they cut all ad spend during COVID 📧 The one email mistake that cost millions 🏗️ How to build a marketing team of 100 🎯 Category creation and turning "print-on-demand" from a niche into a global industry 🤝 The Printful-Printify merger 📢 Leadership principles from the Printful years ⚖️ Brand vs. performance 🏷️ Why he's "Chief Growth Officer" and not CMO at Mapon 🔀 What translates from ecommerce to fleet management SaaS 🇱🇻 The marketing community he's building for Latvian marketers targeting export markets Give it a listen! 🎧  Follow Raitis on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raitispurins Learn more about Mapon: https://www.mapon.com/ ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    50 мин.
  2. #38 - Andrii Degeler, Head of News at Dealroom, Founder of Unzip Media: On the Future of Journalism, The Impact of AI and Why News Are Becoming Data

    21 АПР.

    #38 - Andrii Degeler, Head of News at Dealroom, Founder of Unzip Media: On the Future of Journalism, The Impact of AI and Why News Are Becoming Data

    If news is becoming data, what's left for journalists to do? How is AI changing media and journalism? We sat down with Andrii Degeler, one of the journalists in startup and VC media looking at this most closely. Andrii has been covering the European tech ecosystem for 19 years. He started in Ukraine reviewing smartphones, hustled his way into The Next Web, spent years at Tech.eu, and now serves as Head of News at Dealroom, where he's building a journalistic operation on top of one of Europe's most important startup data platforms. He also founded Unzip Media, a project dedicated to understanding what's happening inside the media industry. JJ and Mauro sat down with Andrii at TechChill 2026 in Riga, in collaboration with Unzip Media (thanks for the cameras! Look for a video version on YouTube), for a frank conversation about the forces reshaping journalism and European tech media. We discuss: 📰 Why a growing share of "news" is actually structured data, and how that changes the newsroom 🪦 The European tech media brands that have disappeared and what's filling the gap (are they like for like replacements?) 🤖 The most dystopian scenario for journalism in the AI era... *suspense* 📉 Lessons from the Facebook pivot-to-video era and why media risks repeating the same mistake with AI 💸 Why the Substack model has a hard ceiling... with subscription fatigue is already biting 🏢 Building editorial independence inside a brand: how Dealroom News approaches integrity... is this model the future? 🔧 Andrii's real AI workflow as a journalist and editor (including why he's a Claude user) 📊 Making daily data reels and why Andrii is "in love" with Dealroom's dataset Give it a listen. Follow Andrii on LinkedIn and check out Dealroom News for his latest reporting. His personal site is shlema.me. More links below. 🔗 EPISODE LINKS: Episode on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40kiFwmp7Io Andrii Degeler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shlema/ Andrii's website: https://shlema.me Dealroom News: https://app.dealroom.co/news Unzip Media: https://unzip.media/ ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    33 мин.
  3. #37 - Uldis Tēraudkalns, Creator of The Pursuit of Scrappiness: What 200+ Conversations Reveal About Baltic Founders, Unicorn Traits and the Leap to Founder With OkoRide

    14 АПР.

    #37 - Uldis Tēraudkalns, Creator of The Pursuit of Scrappiness: What 200+ Conversations Reveal About Baltic Founders, Unicorn Traits and the Leap to Founder With OkoRide

    After hosting 200+ (scrappy and not so scrappy) startup and business founders and operators on The Pursuit of Scrappiness Podcast, Uldis developed the ultimate Baltic business-building knowledge base. On this episode of Runway, we unpack it together with him, and get to know his latest venture, OkoRide. Uldis Tēraudkalns co-created The Pursuit of Scrappiness, the most popular English-language business podcast in the Baltics. Over four years, he interviewed personalities from the Baltics and abroad, from the co-founder of Wise to the CFO of Intel, building one of the deepest perspectives on the Baltic startup ecosystem.  He's also a finance and technology executive, former CEO of regulated fintech Nexpay, and has now co-founded OkoRide, a mobility startup running an electric car fleet on the Bolt platform in Riga. In this episode, Mauro sits down with Uldis to dig into the lessons from 200+ episodes, the traits that separate founders who make it from those who don't, and the full story behind his leap from podcast host to startup founder. We discuss: Part 1: Lessons from The Pursuit of Scrappiness 💡 Why "scrappiness" in the Baltics is a structural advantage, not just a word. 🌍 The small-market advantage: why being forced to think globally from day one outperforms having a comfortable domestic market 🇱🇹 Lithuania's rise: how it went from Estonia's shadow to a serious challenger in Baltic tech 🇪🇪 How Estonian founders support each other and boost the ecosystem in doing so 🎯 What unicorn founders actually have in common across 200+ conversations: insanity, vision, and storytelling 📉 The VC-only myth: why the unicorn path isn't the only valid model, and the wild story of ss.com in Latvia 🎙️ Why The Pursuit of Scrappiness paused Part 2: The OkoRide Journey as a Co-founder 🛞 The OkoRide story: pivoting from fintech CEO to running a Tesla ride-hailing fleet in Riga 🤖 Vibe coding internal ops systems 🔧 Acquiring a Tesla workshop (OxWorks) and why uptime is the real competitive advantage in fleet management 🇬🇧 UK expansion plans 🔮 Where autonomous vehicles fit in Europe Follow Uldis on LinkedIn and check out OkoRide! ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    57 мин.
  4. #36 - Tarmo Virki, Journalist, Comms Pro and Co-Founder of FOMO.Observer: Lessons from 30+ Years In Journalism, Working in The 'Dark Side' and Estonian Startups Update

    25 МАР.

    #36 - Tarmo Virki, Journalist, Comms Pro and Co-Founder of FOMO.Observer: Lessons from 30+ Years In Journalism, Working in The 'Dark Side' and Estonian Startups Update

    Tarmo Virki has spent decades on both sides of the media divide. He covered technology at Reuters for more than a decade, crossed over into startup communications, and most recently co-founded FOMO.Observer, a newsletter-led publication covering the Estonian startup ecosystem from the inside. In this episode, Mauro sits down with Tarmo to talk about what journalists actually want from a pitch, why visuals should come before the press release, and what's quietly happening in one of Europe's most interesting startup ecosystems. We discuss: 📰 How a chance encounter at a lecture in Helsinki in 1996 launched Tarmo's journalism career 🎯 Why most startups only have 3-4 genuinely newsworthy moments per year — and how to make them count 📸 The story behind PowerUP's €10M Series A photo that got picked up by Sifted as a cover image 🌐 What changes when a journalist crosses to the "dark side" of communications ✍️ Why a blog beats a €1,000 conference ticket for early-stage founders  🇪🇪 What FOMO.Observer is, why Estonia needed it, and how to pitch them  🔇 Why Estonia's startup scene seems quieter right now, and why that's not a bad sign ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    34 мин.
  5. #35 - Ian Horne, The Fintech Insider: on DeFi, Stablecoins, AI, and Building a Media Brand from Scratch

    17 МАР.

    #35 - Ian Horne, The Fintech Insider: on DeFi, Stablecoins, AI, and Building a Media Brand from Scratch

    Is it possible to cover fintech from every angle? Writer, editor, event programmer, author, and now newsletter founder, Ian Horne has done it all. In this episode, Mauro sits down with Ian Horne, former Head of Content at Money 20/20 Europe, author of Why DeFi Matters, and founder of the FinTech newsletter Let Fintech Grow (LFG). Ian shares his journey from sociology graduate to one of FinTech's most versatile voices, and what he's learned along the way. They dig into: Why DeFi was a wake-up call for the entire financial system, and where it's heading nextThe rise of stablecoins and tokenization as the real quiet revolution in FinTechHow AI is reshaping growth for startups (teams of two scaling to $100M revenue)The inside story on how Money 20/20 programmes its agenda, and how smaller companies can punch above their weight to get on stageWhat Let Fintech Grow is, why Ian built it, and what makes it different from the usual FinTech media landscapePlus: Snoop Dogg's virtual real estate, selfie-takers and credit scores, and the GOAT debate in tennis. Follow Ian on LinkedIn and subscribe to Let Fintech Grow! Episode links: Ian Horne Ian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-horne-86335399/Why DeFi Matters (Kogan Page): https://www.koganpage.com/authors/ian-horneLet Fintech Grow: https://letfintechgrow.beehiiv.com/Companies & platforms mentioned Bloxx: https://www.bloxxhome.comCredolab: https://www.credolab.com/ Decentraland: https://decentraland.orgMoney 20/20: https://www.money2020.comCitywire: https://citywire.comStripe: https://stripe.comKlarna: https://www.klarna.com================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    56 мин.
  6. #34 - David Cendón Garcia, News Editor at EU Startups: Startup Journalism, the European Ecosystem & the EU Startups Summit

    10 МАР.

    #34 - David Cendón Garcia, News Editor at EU Startups: Startup Journalism, the European Ecosystem & the EU Startups Summit

    EU Startups Summit 2026: We got a special 25% discount code for you with the code BlackUnicorn25 - valid until end of March! About the episode: What does it look like to be the person shaping the narrative of the European startup ecosystem, one story at a time? In this episode of The Runway Podcast, JJ and Mauro sit down with David Cendón Garcia, Head of Editorial at EU Startups, one of Europe's longest-standing and most influential startup media outlets. David brings a genuinely rare perspective: born in Spain, raised in Montana, trained at the Irish Independent, forged in diplomatic communications for the Embassy of Ireland and the EU Commission, and now at the helm of editorial for a publication that's been covering European innovation since before most of today's ecosystem existed. Join us in this conversation about startup journalism, Europe's tech moment, and what it means to tell the stories that shape an ecosystem. We cover: 🌍 David's unconventional path from Montana to EU Startups — and why his background makes him a better journalist  📰 How EU Startups thinks about its role as American outlets retreat from European coverage  🧠 Why context, not just news, is the most valuable thing a publication can offer  🚀 The European founders quietly becoming the ecosystem's loudest patriots  ⚡ Where European tech is heading: defence tech, data infrastructure, EU Inc, and the "buy European" shift  🎙️ Taking over the EU Startups podcast and why human stories matter as much as headlines  🇲🇹 What to expect at the EU Startups Summit in Malta, May 7–8 🎧 Give it a listen, and for more do check out the rest of our pod. If you find it useful, don't forget to give us a 5-star review! Episode links: EU Startups Summit 2026EU Startups podcast on SpotifyMarcin's TurnedVC show on YouTubeEU Startups homepage================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    50 мин.
  7. #33 - Cate Lawrence, Senior Writer at Tech.eu: Navigating European Tech Startups & Journalism

    3 МАР.

    #33 - Cate Lawrence, Senior Writer at Tech.eu: Navigating European Tech Startups & Journalism

    Welcome back to Runway!  Today, Cate Lawrence, senior writer at Tech.eu, joins JJ and Mauro for a wide-ranging and candid conversation about what it takes to get covered, the realities of a journalist's inbox, and where European tech is headed. With over a decade covering startups across publications like The Next Web, DZone, ReadWrite and now Tech.eu, Cate has a unique perspective on the European tech ecosystem, and strong opinions on what founders and PR pros get right (and wrong) when pitching. In this episode, we explore: 📬 What Cate's inbox really looks like: 180+ pitches a day and counting 📰 The types of stories that actually get her excited (hint: it's not just funding rounds) ⏰ How much notice journalists really need, and why Friday afternoon pitches are a bad idea 🔍 Why journalists do their own outbound research, and how to make sure they find you 🇪🇺 The state of European tech: momentum, layoffs, and the golden opportunity from US instability 🌍 Which European ecosystems to watch: hint, a big one is in CEE! 👀 Interesting startup ecosystems and diasporas: Armenia and more 🤖 How AI is creating a strange new tension between founders and the journalists who cover them 📻 The rise of alternative media formats and what it means for traditional newsrooms 🕵️ The wild story of a fake hedge fund, stolen websites and a fraudster in India, investigated by Cate, with a bit of help from JJ and Mauro Whether you're a startup founder, a comms professional, or just curious about how European tech journalism works from the inside, this one's packed with insights. ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    44 мин.
  8. #32 - Hege Tollerud, Head of Community at Brighteye Ventures: How Community and Comms Are Reshaping VC

    16.07.2025

    #32 - Hege Tollerud, Head of Community at Brighteye Ventures: How Community and Comms Are Reshaping VC

    How Community and Communications Are Reshaping Venture Capital — with Hege Tollerud of BrightEye Ventures In this episode of The Runway, we sit down with Hege Tollerud, Head of Community and Events at Brighteye Ventures — Europe’s leading edtech VC fund.  With a rich background in journalism, media, and ecosystem building from Oslo to China to London, Hege shares how VC is evolving beyond just capital to include real human connection, community, and strategic support. We dive into: Hege’s unique journey through media, city branding, and edtech leadershipWhy community and communications are now core to value creation in VCWhat founders should really be doing at startup eventsThe role of storytelling in early-stage fundraising and brand buildingHow BrightEye defines and supports the future of learning and workEmerging VC trends in platform, events, and content Tune in for a fresh take on the future of venture capital, and what it means to build truly founder-centric ecosystems. ================================================================= Thanks for listening! For more, follow us on LinkedIn. Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/ For even more advice, especially on PR, visit the Black Unicorn PR blog

    42 мин.
См. все (39)

Об этом подкасте

Runway is a podcast started by Black Unicorn PR co-founders Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini to help startup founders, company builders and business leaders with insights, tools and advice from specialists in sales, marketing, PR and more. Black Unicorn PR is a London-based tech PR agency focused on startups, scaleups and VC. For more information visit: https://www.blackunicornpr.com/

Информация

  • Автор
    Julija Jegorova & Mauro Battellini
  • Годы выхода
    2024 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    39
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Runway
  • Сайт подкаста
    Runway