The Generalists

Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr.

5.0 (2)
TECHNOLOGY
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

The hosts Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr., interview people around how they arrived in Singapore, their careers, their personal journeys and how the concept of being a Generalist influences their life and career. All episodes currently filmed F2F in the Poddster Singapore studios.

JAN 26

COA Chocolate: Fermented Protein for Better Snacks (ep 66)

Eduardo Burg, founder of COA chocolate, shares his journey from corporate generalist to food tech entrepreneur in Singapore. Learn how fermented protein, whole food ingredients, and founder-led marketing are shaping the future of functional snacks. Eduardo explains his 16-year specialist career in marketing at major companies like Danone and PepsiCo, followed by his transition to becoming an ultra-generalist managing director and then food tech founder. He reflects on the importance of understanding what good looks like across functions, the risks specialists face in the AI era of going too deep into silos, and why generalists need deep domain knowledge to leverage AI effectively. The conversation dives into the food tech ecosystem in Singapore, including R&D facilities at Nurasa, manufacturing partnerships across Vietnam and Indonesia, and the challenges of building brand awareness through social media and influencer marketing. Eduardo shares candid lessons on embracing failure, dealing with rejection, the reality of being a solopreneur, and why connecting personally to the problem you're solving is essential for surviving the entrepreneurial journey. 📖 What You'll Learn in This Episode • Why generalists need deep domain knowledge to leverage AI effectively • How Singapore's food tech ecosystem enables R&D and innovation • The difference between ultra-processed protein isolates and whole food fermented protein • Why fermentation creates more bioavailable, nutrient-dense ingredients • Brand building challenges: social media, influencer marketing, and authentic storytelling • The reality of being rejected while sampling products • Why incumbents cannot create healthier versions of their iconic brands • Manufacturing and supply chain across Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore • Solopreneur mindset: embracing failure and separating business from identity • Health span vs lifespan and the growing demand for functional foods 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • Eduardo Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardo-burg-mlynarz/ 🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned 🏢 Companies and Products • COA Chocolate: https://eatcoa.com/ • Danone: https://www.danone.com/ • PepsiCo: https://www.pepsico.com/ • Nurasa (Temasek Food Tech Innovation Centre): https://nurasa.com/ • Little Farms: https://littlefarms.com/ • BFT (Body Fit Training): https://bodyfittraining.com/ • F45 Training: https://f45training.com/ • Anytime Fitness: https://www.anytimefitness.com/ • Yo-Chi: https://yochi.com.sg/ 📚 Concepts and Frameworks • Tempeh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh • Fermentation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation • Bioavailability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioavailability • Protein isolates and concentrates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_protein • Health span vs lifespan: https://peterattiamd.com/longevity101/ • Stoicism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism • Zone 2 training: https://peterattiamd.com/ • VO2 max: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VO2_max • Antifragility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifragility 👥 People • Peter Attia: https://peterattiamd.com/ • Alex Hormozi: https://www.acquisition.com/ • Nuseir Yassin (Nas Daily): https://nasdaily.com/ 📖 Books • The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/books

57 min
JAN 19

Lovable for Cyber | Product-Led Growth, Not Cold Outreach (ep 65)

Guy Flechter, co-founder and CEO of Sola Security, shares how he transformed disappointment into learning opportunities while building a global product-led growth cybersecurity platform with 5,000+ customers. From getting ghosted by VCs to securing Microsoft as an investor, Guy reveals the frameworks behind his second-time founder success—including why choosing learning over disappointment became essential for managing the founder rollercoaster, and how he built Sola's global go-to-market strategy using three pillars: social networks, PLG product design, and a global-first mindset. He breaks down the B2P (Business to Practitioner) model for cybersecurity startups, why product marketing and UI/UX designers should be top-10 hires for non-American founders, how AI is creating generalist security practitioners, and practical wellness strategies like daily 7-8km walks to combat burnout. If you care about building a modern cybersecurity startup with a product-led growth motion, this episode delivers concrete mental models and playbooks you can apply. 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • How reframing disappointment as a learning opportunity builds founder resilience • Why founder‑led fundraising still involves rejection and ghosting—and how to respond • The principles of product‑led growth (PLG) and why a self‑service product scales globally • How to use social networks and a B2P mindset to reach practitioners worldwide • Why early hires should include product marketing and UI/UX professionals • The case for global teams and flattening the emotional ups and downs of startup life • How AI‑powered tools will shift security from specialists toward generalists • Lessons on respectful hiring and firing from a second‑time founder • The importance of curiosity and lifelong learning for aspiring cybersecurity professionals 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • Guy Flechter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-flechter-ba475535/ 🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned 🧠 Concepts and Research • System and Organization Controls (SOC 2): https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/landing/system-and-organization-controls-soc-suite-of-services • Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance,_risk_management,_and_compliance • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/customer-acquisition-cost • Net Revenue Retention (NRR): https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/articles/what-is-net-revenue-retention 🏢 Companies • Sola Security: https://www.solasecurity.ai • Cider Security: https://www.cidersecurity.io • AppsFlyer: https://www.appsflyer.com • LivePerson: https://www.liveperson.com • Lovable: https://www.lovable.dev • Cursor: https://www.cursor.sh • Stripe: https://stripe.com • Monday.com: https://monday.com • Notion: https://www.notion.so • Wix: https://www.wix.com • Figma: https://www.figma.com • Canva: https://www.canva.com 🎧 Podcast and Media • Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com • Pattern Breakers Podcast: https://www.patternbreakers.com/podcast 📚 Books and Articles • Pattern Breakers by Mike Maples Jr. & Peter Ziebelman: https://www.patternbreakers.com/book • The New AI Growth Playbook: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-new-ai-growth-playbook T• he Rise of Cursor: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-rise-of-cursor #ProductLedGrowth #cybersecurity #SecondTimeFounder

49 min
JAN 12

Hard Truths from Indonesia’s Startup Scene (ep 64)

Martyn Terpilowski shares a candid, finance-driven perspective on Indonesia’s startup ecosystem, venture capital culture, and the structural challenges facing innovation in emerging markets. Drawing on his background in hedge funds and years of operating a bootstrapped B2B company, he explains why many venture-backed businesses failed to build sustainable revenue models. The conversation explores why market size alone does not guarantee success, how unrealistic return expectations distort investment behavior, and why meritocracy and long-term thinking are essential for building resilient companies. Martyn also reflects on why Singapore has become a more attractive base for global expansion, the importance of regulatory trust, and the role of foreign investment in accelerating real innovation. 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • Why revenue quality matters more than growth • The limits of TAM-driven investment logic • How retention proves real product value • Why meritocracy drives stronger companies • The role of regulation in investor trust • Why Singapore attracts global capital • How unrealistic VC expectations hurt founders • The importance of long-term execution • Why innovation needs real incentives • How market structure shapes outcomes 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast⁠ • Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4⁠ • Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists⁠ 👤 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠ 👤 Guest • Martyn Terpilowski: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/martyn-terpilowski-66aba850/⁠ 🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned 📚 Concepts and Research • Venture Capital: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital⁠ • Total Addressable Market: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_addressable_market⁠ • Meritocracy: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy⁠ • Foreign Direct Investment: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_direct_investment⁠ 🏢 Companies and Products • Bhumi Varta Technology: ⁠https://bvarta.com⁠ • WeWork: ⁠https://www.wework.com⁠ • Hitachi: ⁠https://www.hitachi.com⁠ • NTT: ⁠https://group.ntt/en⁠ • Goldman Sachs: ⁠https://www.goldmansachs.com⁠ 👥 People and Profiles • Adam Neumann: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Neumann⁠ 🌏 Additional Reading • Indonesia Economy Overview (World Bank): ⁠https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/indonesia

56 min
JAN 3

Forget Product Market Fit (ep 63)

Meiran Galis (Scytale) breaks down the essential B2B SaaS metrics every founder needs to track. Learn how founder-led sales and SOC 2 compliance drive startup growth from 0 to 1. Meiran explains how founder-led selling, trust-building, and relentless learning shaped the company’s early years, and why the first phase of a startup is less about perfect strategy and more about judgment, grit, and moving fast despite uncertainty. He reflects on product-market fit vs. problem-market fit, SaaS metrics like churn and NRR, and the trade-offs between SMB and enterprise go-to-market paths. The conversation also dives into hiring mistakes, culture, solo-founder psychology, segmentation in outbound sales, and why founders must operate as generalists — doing legal reviews, negotiations, product, partnerships, and customer conversations long before teams exist. Looking ahead, Meiran shares his views on AI as the next major infrastructure wave, and Scytale’s role in trust, security, and compliance in an AI-driven world. 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • Why early-stage startups operate in “survival mode” and why every deal matters • Problem-market fit vs product-market fit — and why founders should solve pain before building scale • How founders can build trust without a product by asking the right questions • Why churn, retention, CAC, and NRR shape SaaS sustainability • The trade-offs between SMB vs enterprise go-to-market paths • How segmentation, culture, and timing affect outbound sales success • Lessons from early hiring mistakes and what to look for in first employees • The reality of being a solo founder and making decisions without consensus • Why founders must become generalists across sales, product, legal, and partnerships • How AI is reshaping compliance, trust, and infrastructure at a global scale 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👤 Host • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/ 👤 Guest • Meiran Galis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meiran/ 🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned • Scytale (Company): https://scytale.ai • SOC 2 System and Organization Controls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_and_Organization_Controls • Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance,_risk_management,_and_compliance • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_acquisition_cost • Net Revenue Retention (NRR): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_revenue_retention

51 min
12/30/2025

Year-End Reality Check: Show & Startup (ep 62)

This Year End episode looks back at how The Generalists grew through consistency, experimentation, and momentum across the year. Michael and Raz reflect on building the show, learning from live events and community, and how creative discipline turns into muscle memory when you keep shipping. The conversation also explores Raz’s nine month startup journey and the decision to step back when timing and alignment were not right. They discuss learning through experience, identity as a builder, and how to think about what comes next when a path is not linear. Final episode for the year and we will return in January with Season 3! 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • How The Generalists grew through consistency and experimentation • Why momentum matters more than perfect planning • What Raz learned from nine months building a startup • How to process setbacks without losing identity as a builder • Why careers and founder journeys are rarely linear • How timing, alignment, and self reflection shape the next step 🔔 Subscribe for more strategy, career insights & founder reflections • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4?si=a25c777a19854616 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👥 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ • Raz Kotler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/

48 min
12/25/2025

Why Comfort is Killing Your Success (ep 61)

From flying military rescue helicopters in life-or-death missions to advising leadership teams inside global corporations, Dr. Paul Taylor explains why accountability, meaning, and psychological hardiness matter more than ever in modern work and life. Paul contrasts the peer-to-peer accountability found in small, high-trust military teams with what happens as organizations scale — where responsibility diffuses, standards slip, and people quietly “get away with it.” He introduces Dunbar’s Number (~130 people) to explain why trust, purpose, and clarity begin to erode as teams grow, and why the solution isn’t more process or hierarchy, but reconnecting daily work to mission, behavior, and shared standards of performance. The conversation goes deeper into hardiness vs resilience, hormesis, stress physiology, leadership under adversity, parenting for capability instead of comfort, and why exposure to challenge — rather than protection from it — builds confidence, health, and agency. 📖 What You’ll Learn • Why peer accountability beats top-down control in high-performance teams • How accountability erodes as companies scale and how to prevent it • What Dunbar’s Number explains about trust, purpose, and complexity • Why startups lose alignment as they grow and how mission gets diluted • The difference between hardiness vs resilience (and why it matters) • How stress perception rewires physiology - challenge vs threat response • Why debriefs and learning from failure are essential in elite teams • How parents unintentionally weaken resilience and what to do instead • Practical frameworks for meaning, purpose, behavior, and leadership under stress 🔔 Listen and Subscribe • YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast⁠ • Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4?si=a25c777a19854616⁠ • Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists⁠ 👥 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠ 👤 Guest • Dr. Paul Taylor: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpauljtaylor/⁠ 🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned 🧠 Concepts and Research • Dunbar’s Number: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number⁠ • Organizational Silos: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_silo⁠ • Harvard Business Review Accountability and Teams: ⁠https://hbr.org/⁠ 📚 Books by Dr. Paul Taylor • Death by Comfort: ⁠https://www.drpauljtaylor.com/death-by-comfort⁠ • The Hardiness Effect: ⁠https://www.drpauljtaylor.com/the-hardiness-effect⁠ 🎧 Podcast • The Hardiness Podcast: ⁠https://www.drpauljtaylor.com/podcast⁠ 📚 Additional Reading • Courage Under Fire James Stockdale: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courage_Under_Fire_(Stockdale)⁠ • The Daily Stoic Ryan Holiday: ⁠https://dailystoic.com/⁠

49 min
12/17/2025

Why Asia Is Becoming the Next Digital Content Hub (Ep 60)

From print journalism and radio to global sports media, digital platforms, and venture strategy, Unmish Parthasarathi has spent three decades operating at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and commerce. In this episode of The Generalists, he explains how cross-disciplinary careers are built in practice, why the most effective leaders today are deep generalists, and how Asia is emerging as a key center for new content and digital business models. Unmish introduces his Content × Code × Capital framework, showing why innovation happens in the overlap between disciplines rather than within silos. He shares the career moment that forced him to define his true craft, why he left traditional television at its peak, and how that decision led to early work in short-form digital video at the International Cricket Council. The conversation spans sport, media, gaming, education, and technology, while also touching on leadership, empathy, cultural nuance, and the life philosophy that continues to guide his decisions. 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • The Content × Code × Capital framework and why innovation happens at intersections • What it means to be a deep generalist in fast-changing industries • The career question that forced Unmish to define his true craft • Why storytelling is both an emotional capability and a business skillHow sport, gaming, media, and education share common structural patterns • The economics of short-form video before social platforms existed • Why Asia is becoming the center of gravity for new digital and content models • How cultural nuance shapes platforms, products, and monetization strategies • Lessons from building careers across London, New York, Johannesburg, Dubai, and Singapore • Why judgment, character, and luck matter more than credentials alone 🔔 Subscribe for more strategy, career insights & global operator stories • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4?si=a25c777a19854616 • Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists 👥 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠ 👤 Guest • Unmish PARTHASARATHI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/unmish/ 🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned 🚀 Companies & Platforms • ESPN Star Sports: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_Star_Sports • Fox Sports: https://www.foxsports.com • News Corp: https://newscorp.com • The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com • The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk • The Times (UK): https://www.thetimes.co.uk • The Australian: https://www.theaustralian.com.au • International Cricket Council (ICC): https://www.icc-cricket.com • IMG: https://img.com • Celebrity Cricket League (CCL): https://www.celebritycricketleague.in • Sports Works (India): https://www.sportsworks.in • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com • Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com • Twitter (X): https://twitter.com • Kajabi: https://kajabi.com • Coursera: https://www.coursera.org • M1: https://www.m1.com.sg • StarHub: https://www.starhub.com • Singtel: https://www.singtel.com • Emirates: https://www.emirates.com • SMU Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship: https://iie.smu.edu.sg • Singapore Institute of Directors (SID): https://www.sid.org.sg • INSEAD: https://www.insead.edu • University of Cambridge: https://www.cam.ac.uk 📚 Books & Documentaries • Moneyball (Michael Lewis): https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393324818 • Andy Murray: Resurfacing (Amazon Prime): https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Andy-Murray-Resurfacing

47 min
12/09/2025

🎙️#59 Why Legacy Game Studios Are About to Be Disrupted by AI

From the frontlines of modern game development, Mighty Bear Games CEO Simon Davis shares a blunt reality: the traditional way of building games is collapsing — and AI-native studios are already pulling ahead. In Episode 59 of The Generalists, Simon breaks down how his team canceled Unity, rebuilt their entire pipeline, and now generates 90–95% of their code, images, animations, and audio with AI. He explains how artists with no coding background now ship fully playable mini-games in days, how Mighty Bear’s internal agentic system called Nexus blends open-source models with custom workflows, and why AI transformation keeps failing inside large enterprises while small, aligned teams accelerate. Simon also dives into why Telegram may be the next major gaming platform, how Singapore’s culture of experimentation gives his studio an edge, and why generalists — not specialists — will thrive in the next decade of game creation. It’s a rare, inside look at what an AI-native game studio actually looks like today, and why the next wave of global gaming companies won’t be built with yesterday’s tools. 📖 What You’ll Learn in This Episode • Why Unity no longer fits an AI-accelerated development workflow • How 90–95% of Mighty Bear’s code, art, audio & animation is now AI-generated • How Nexus integrates Stable Diffusion variants, Claude Code & custom agents • How artists now build complete mini-games without writing code • Why AI transformation fails in large enterprises but succeeds in small teams • Why generalists outperform specialists inside AI-native companies • Why Singapore outpaces Europe in AI adoption • Why Telegram is becoming the next major gaming distribution channel • How to build a capital-efficient AI-native game studio from Southeast Asia 🔔 Subscribe for more founder stories, startup wisdom & AI insights • YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast⁠⁠ • Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/2apfGY403NGr1EyTNkJfG4?si=a25c777a19854616⁠⁠ • Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/the-generalists⁠⁠ 👥 Hosts • Michael Smith Jr.: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/⁠⁠ • Raz Kotler: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/razkotler/⁠⁠ 👤 Guest • Simon Davis ⁠⁠:https://www.linkedin.com/in/simondavis/⁠⁠ 🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned 🚀 Companies & Platforms • Mighty Bear Games: ⁠⁠https://mightybeargames.com⁠⁠ • Unity: ⁠⁠https://unity.com⁠⁠Stable Diffusion (open-source): ⁠⁠https://stability.ai⁠⁠ • FAL (Inference Tooling): ⁠⁠https://fal.ai⁠⁠ • Telegram: ⁠⁠https://telegram.org⁠⁠ 📚 Books Mentioned • Chip War-Chris Miller⁠⁠: https://www.amazon.com/Chip-War-Fight-Worlds-Critical/dp/1476717975⁠⁠ • I, Claudius-Robert Graves⁠⁠: https://www.amazon.com/I-Claudius-Robert-Graves/dp/067972477X

45 min

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

The hosts Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr., interview people around how they arrived in Singapore, their careers, their personal journeys and how the concept of being a Generalist influences their life and career. All episodes currently filmed F2F in the Poddster Singapore studios.

Creator

Raz Kotler & Michael Smith Jr.
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

66
Copyright

© 2024
Show Website

The Generalists