The Startup Podcast

Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad
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Advice for founders and entrepreneurs who want to build disruptive startups like they do in Silicon Valley. Not another interview podcast: concrete tips and masterclasses on what founders need to know: raising Venture Capital, strategy, product, marketing, growth, and more. A guide to the unique mindset and approach that drives Silicon Valley style disruption. Hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein share practical advice based on decades of experience at Google, Uber, and their own startups.

  1. Same As Ever: 7 rules that HAVEN'T changed about building great startups (w/ Amir Shevat)

    1H AGO

    Same As Ever: 7 rules that HAVEN'T changed about building great startups (w/ Amir Shevat)

    Between AI shaking up the industry, geopolitical upheaval, and unpredictable capital, being a founder has never been more confusing. So what advice, if any, is still relevant? In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein is joined by Amir Shevat (Silicon Valley developer platform veteran and now General Partner at Darkmode Ventures) to answer exactly that. Focusing on what isn't changing rather than what is, Amir walks through seven truths of startup building that have become more important in the age of AI. In this episode, you will: Discover why AI-generated sales outreach is backfiring, and why authenticity, proof of effort, and in-person events are becoming the gold standardExplore the "founder tar pit" of bad markets, and the simple questions that reveal whether yours is one to run fromLearn why design in 2026 is about putting positive interactions and emotions first, and how to prioritize these effectively Timestamps 00:00 Coming Up… 01:07 Guest Intro: Amir Shevat 02:36 On Today's Show: 7 Timeless Truths 04:34 Jeff Bezos and the 'Same As Ever' Mindset 08:19 Rule 1. Hire The Right Team 10:15 How AI Raises The Bar 14:26 Rule 2. A Delightful User Experience 16:27 Conversational Interfaces 18:07 Why You Should Design For Emotions 24:20 Rule 3. Hustle Still Wins 26:05 The Return of Authentic Selling 28:09 Landing Your First Customers 28:50 Rule 4. Build Real Moats 30:48 Mongol Hordes: Is 'Execution Speed' A Moat? 33:00 'Thick' Product Advantage 33:39 Rule 5. Vision Beats TAM 38:07 Rule 6. Choose Great Markets 42:34 Rule 7. Build An Unfair Advantage 47:10 Recap and Closing Thoughts Resources in this episode: Darkmode Ventures (Amir's early-stage fund): https://www.darkmode.vc/Amir Shevat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirshevat/Designing Bots: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/designing-bots/9781491974810/Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595Same as Ever by Morgan Housel: https://www.amazon.com/Same-Ever-Guide-Never-Changes/dp/05933327092012 re:Invent Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4MtQGRIIuA The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://⁠www.vanta.com/tsp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Assistant Producer: Steph Hefferan https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-heff/ Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    50 min
  2. Surviving the AI SaaSpocalypse: Will AI kill your startup? w/ Scotty Allen

    APR 13

    Surviving the AI SaaSpocalypse: Will AI kill your startup? w/ Scotty Allen

    Will AI kill your startup? For a lot of startups, probably yes. But which ones? And more importantly, how do you make sure yours isn't one of them? Yaniv Bernstein is joined by returning guest Scotty Allen (bootstrapper, founder of The Product Bus, and startup strategist extraordinaire) to reason through one of the most pressing questions of 2026: how do you build a startup to survive the SaaSpocalypse? They discuss why this AI wave is more of a threat to tech startups than Google and Facebook ever were, and why the B2B/B2C distinction has never mattered more. Along the way, Yaniv discusses why making your software 'headless' will be a key survival strategy, and the pair explore what it means to build products that cater to agents. In this episode, you will: Learn why the best B2B SaaS strategy is to strip the UI and invest everything in defensible, thick capability that agents want to useHear why the B2B/B2C split has sharpened dramatically, and why deep user empathy and design remain incredibly importantFind out what "agentic engine optimisation" means, and why creating an agent-centric tool could be your most powerful growth channelUnderstand why your tolerance for ambiguity may be the single most important skill you can develop as a founder right now Timestamps 00:00 Coming Up… 00:54 On Today's Show: Will AI Kill Startups? 01:32 Is This Different to Google/Facebook? 05:15 The Threat to 'MD-able' SaaS 10:49 Headless SaaS Advantage 15:19 Thin and Thick Wrappers 18:19 Bottom Up Disruption 20:34 Platform Fragility Risks 22:22 When DIY Systems Backfire 24:46 B2B vs B2C Distinction 28:53 Tools Agents Prefer 30:56 Claude 'Skills' As Distribution 32:05 Platforms Are Dead 34:09 Tool Use As An Inflection Point 35:42 Managing Agents Like Staff 38:55 B2B Headless vs. B2C Design 41:48 Who Pays In B2C? 44:10 Why Vera Is A 'Guide', Not An Agent 45:39 Embrace Ambiguity And Build 46:30 Closing Thoughts Resources mentioned in this episode: The Product Bus (Scotty Allen's startup validation and product strategy firm): https://theproductbus.com/Scotty Allen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescottyallen/ The Bootstraps Podcast (Scotty's own podcast, 'Straight Up From Scratch'): https://thebootstrap.tech/ Vera (Yaniv's startup, AI-supported guidance for people caring for ageing parents): https://vera.guide The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Assistant Producer: Steph Hefferan https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-heff/ Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/ #SaaS #SaaSpocalypse #Startups #TechStartups #Founder #TechBusiness #TheStartupPodcast

    48 min
  3. ‘Unlearning’ with Yaniv: Why founders need to rewrite outdated, radioactive mindsets

    APR 6

    ‘Unlearning’ with Yaniv: Why founders need to rewrite outdated, radioactive mindsets

    You may have spent years (or even decades) building your expertise. But is any of it still relevant? And how much of it is an active detriment to your startup? In this special solo episode, Yaniv Bernstein delivers a no-guest monologue on the most critical skill any founder can develop right now: ‘unlearning’. Drawing on Morgan Housel's ‘Same as Ever’; real-world examples from his own startup, Vera; and frameworks for rebuilding beliefs from the ground up, Yaniv makes the case that obsolete knowledge is as bad as radioactive waste actively distorting your decisions. In this episode, you will: Understand why AI is making the half-life of expertise shorter than ever beforeLearn how the sunk cost fallacy stops founders from discarding knowledge that’s causing more harm than goodDiscover why the identities you've built around your craft ("I am a programmer", "I am a copywriter") may be the single biggest barrier to adapting in 2026Find out what skills are actually worth holding onto, and how to combine them with the meta-skill of rapid adaptationLearn three practical mental models for unlearning: belief audits, first principles thinking, and systems thinking Timestamps: 00:00 Coming Up 00:42 On Today's Show: Unlearning 02:03 Morgan Hausel's Same as Ever 04:13 When Knowledge Turns Toxic 07:00 What Unlearning Means 07:42 Why Unlearning Is Hard 08:32 Sunk Cost Fallacy 12:32 Identity Threat 17:17 Redefining Expertise 18:15 Meta Skills For Experts 21:55 Auditing Your Beliefs 24:14 First Principles Thinking 25:21 Systems Thinking 27:24 You Should: Make Time To Adapt 28:14 You Should: Embrace Discomfort 29:01 Closing Thoughts Resources mentioned in this episode: 'Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes' by Morgan Housel — the book Yaniv references throughout this episode on timeless principles of human behavior: https://www.amazon.com/Same-Ever-Guide-Never-Changes/dp/0593332709Naval Ravikant on identity — Yaniv attributes the idea of being cautious about taking on identities to Naval. Naval's writing and podcast appearances are a good starting point: https://nav.al The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/ #unlearning #psychology #Startups #TechStartups #Founder #TechBusiness #TheStartupPodcast

    29 min
  4. Your co-founder relationship could break your startup! Here's how to fix it

    MAR 30

    Your co-founder relationship could break your startup! Here's how to fix it

    (This is Part 2 of a conversation with Dr. Matthew Jones about co-founder relationships. You can find Part 1 here: https://www.tsp.show/how-to-identify-red-flags-early-in-your-cofounder-relationship-w-dr-matthew-jones/) Co-founder conflict is tough to deal with, but it also has ripple effects through your entire organization. When a tough relationship is left to fester, it can erode your team culture, spike turnover, and eventually turn into a full-blown crisis. Continuing last week's conversation with Yaniv, Dr. Matthew Jones - author of The Cofounder Effect and founder of Cofounder Clarity - walks you through actionable ways to repair a flailing co-founder relationship. From identifying and avoiding common mistakes, to finding good coaching, Dr. Jones brings valuable insights that will ensure you and your founding team thrive together. In this episode, you will: Understand how co-founder dysfunction ripples through your organization, driving up employee churn and instability. Learn why most companies are in dire need of a 'co-founder date'. Discover why avoiding relationship repair makes the problem more difficult to deal with over time. Explore the Three Languages Framework, and how to use it to diagnose where your co-founder communication is breaking down. Learn why working on the 1–2% of bandwidth that goes to your co-founder relationship is actually the highest-ROI investment you can make as a founding team. Chapters00:00 Coming Up...00:41 On Today's Show: Co-founder Relationships, Part 201:17 Ripple Effects on Company Culture04:15 Stats on Employee Stress And Churn05:28 Co-founder Syncs and Co-founder Dates09:33 Using 'The Cofounder Effect' to Navigate Conflict10:30 Enduring Discomfort12:28 Co-founder Coaching: 'Couples Therapy For Founders'?16:18 Why Self-Work Is 'High Leverage'17:44 Today's Action: Use The Three Languages Framework19:48 'Nonviolent Communication' and Naming The Elephant In The Room22:20 Closing Thoughts and Resources Resources mentioned in this episode: Part 1 of this conversation, 'How to identify red flags early in your co-founder relationship': https://www.tsp.show/how-to-identify-red-flags-early-in-your-cofounder-relationship-w-dr-matthew-jones/ Dr. Matthew Jones' website, Cofounder Clarity (further information on his coaching practice and his book, The Cofounder Effect): https://www.cofounderclarity.com Startup Snapshot: https://www.startupsnaphot.com Nonviolent Communication (NVC): https://www.cnvc.org Dr. Matthew Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-matthew-jones-7a832a37/ The Pact  Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/   Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A  The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/   Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/   Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    23 min
  5. How to identify red flags early in your cofounder relationship w/ Dr. Matthew Jones

    MAR 23

    How to identify red flags early in your cofounder relationship w/ Dr. Matthew Jones

    Your co-founder relationship is the single most important variable in your startup's success, and one of the most likely things to destroy it. Today, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Dr. Matthew Jones, author of ‘The Cofounder Effect’ and founder of Cofounder Clarity, to dig into the psychology of co-founder relationships: why they break down and what the warning signs look like. Matt brings a rare combination of clinical depth and startup-world pragmatism to the topic - an essential skillset to help you properly understand common co-founder pitfalls, and how to avoid them.   In this episode, you will: Learn what 'negative sentiment override' is, why it's the tipping point in a deteriorating co-founder relationship, and how to catch it before it takes hold. Discover how the co-founder relationship is structurally different from a marriage, and why that means you have to deliberately repair and reconnect with your co-founder. Hear why power dynamics in founding teams are almost always present and are often more destructive when left unnamed. Find out why being able to navigate conflict is more important than finding the 'right' co-founder pairing. Understand the risks of identity fusion with your startup, and why professional distance is a feature rather than a weakness. Learn why co-founder agreements need to evolve over time, and what a healthy renegotiation looks like. Explore the unique dynamics of three- and four-person founding teams, including the coalition patterns that tend to emerge and why they're so destructive. Resources mentioned in this episode: Dr. Matthew Jones’ website, Cofounder Clarity (his coaching practice): https://www.cofounderclarity.com ‘The Founder's Dilemmas’ by Noam Wasserman: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Princeton-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304 'Knowing This Data Will Make You A Better Fundraiser', the TSP episode with Carta's Head of Insights, Peter Walker: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7aI9NeIVZ7JqkSH2OsizBF The Gottman Institute - the research behind 'negative sentiment override' discussed in this episode: https://www.gottman.com Dr. Matthew Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-matthew-jones-7a832a37/  The Pact  Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/  Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://⁠www.vanta.com/tsp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A  The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/   Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/   Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    40 min
  6. Why Claude never stops listening to our meetings (w/ Minikai's Keoki Alexander-Chang)

    MAR 16

    Why Claude never stops listening to our meetings (w/ Minikai's Keoki Alexander-Chang)

    In a deeply regulated industry such as healthcare, building an AI-native app poses a host of unique challenges, particularly when it comes to navigating customer privacy and industry red tape. How do you create an industry-leading resource and stay on the cutting edge of tech, while managing these constraints? Keoki Alexander-Chang can help you there. He's the founder and CEO of Minikai, a Melbourne-based startup using AI agents to slash the administrative burden on disability and aged care providers. Before launching Minikai, he led Deloitte's Forensic AI lab, so he's been thinking about applied AI in complex, regulated environments for far longer than most founders. In this episode, Yaniv sits down with Keoki to explore what it really means to build a person-centred AI product in a high-stakes regulated sector — and how Minikai applies that same AI-native mindset to their internal operations, through fine-grained access control, human-in-the-loop design, and AI agents keeping the entire sales pipeline up to date in the background. In this episode, you will: Learn how to design agentic AI products for high-stakes regulated environmentsUnderstand the importance of intentionally including fine-grained access control, provenance and adding friction to the process in order to keep humans in the loopMake sense of the fundamental shift within the build vs. buy equation, and why Minikai is questioning every SaaS tool in their stackFind out why Keoki treats his product like a garden, and why pruning is just as important as growingUnderstand what "person-centred AI" actually means in the disability and aged care contextHear how Minikai's team now uses continuously running AI agents to keep their entire HubSpot pipeline up to dateLearn about the story of the lapel mics: how Minikai is condensing the entire workflow from meeting to working code, skipping Jira entirely Resources mentioned in this episode Minikai (Keoki's startup: AI agents for disability and aged care providers): https://www.minikai.com/Keoki Alexander-Chang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keokichang/DJI Mic (the lapel mic Keoki's team uses to capture all meeting audio for Claude): https://www.dji.com/micInsiders React: How OpenClaw and Claude Cowork changed Gary Lo's approach to startups (the companion TSP episode referenced by Yaniv): https://www.tsp.show/insiders-react-how-openclaw-and-claude-cowork-changed-gary-los-approach-to-startups-w-gary-lo-op/ The Pact  Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/   Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg  Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A  The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/   Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/   Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    42 min
  7. Recruiting the best AI engineers w/ Matt Cook of Scouut

    MAR 9

    Recruiting the best AI engineers w/ Matt Cook of Scouut

    Has your hiring process kept up with the industry’s AI leaps, or are you still interviewing like it's 2022? Today’s AI-driven landscape means the skill gap between a good engineer and a great one widens every day, and the great ones can be difficult to find. But how do you choose – and hire – the best in the business? How do you find those elusive engineers who can skilfully handle multi-agent workflows, ship in hours what used to take weeks, and add an AI-focused competitive edge to your startup? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein are joined by Matt Cook, an expert in hiring the best engineers in the business, and co-founder of Scouut – one of Australia's most respected engineering recruiters for early-stage startups. Matt works with pre-seed through to Series C companies and has a front-row seat to how AI is reshaping what ‘great’ looks like in engineering, and how founders and hiring teams alike can keep pace. They cover what's fundamentally changed in engineering hiring, what hasn't, and how to build a small, elite team that punches well above its weight. In this episode, you will: Understand why AI is widening the gap between great and average engineersDiscover the three questions to ask any Big Tech candidate to determine if they'll thrive in a startupFind out why much more is expected of ‘senior’ engineers, and what that means for foundersHear how the best startups are now testing for AI competency in interviews, not just coding abilityLearn why smaller teams, higher salaries, and generous token budgets are the new arbitrage for attracting elite engineersUnderstand why you should be designing the role for the people you want, and making your AI-forward culture clearly visible Resources mentioned in this episode Scouut (Matt Cook's engineering recruitment firm for early-stage startups): https://scouut.com.au/Matt Cook on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmarkcook/Loki (Australian startup referenced for their public AI-first hiring stance): https://www.itsloki.com/Solid (lightweight vibe-coding tool mentioned by Chris): https://trysolid.com/ The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribeSecure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://⁠www.vanta.com/tsp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    57 min
  8. Insiders React: OpenClaw and Claude Cowork have changed everything for startups w/ Gary Lo, Open BA

    MAR 2

    Insiders React: OpenClaw and Claude Cowork have changed everything for startups w/ Gary Lo, Open BA

    The agentic AI revolution is finally escaping the coding bubble. What does that mean for startup founders? Just 13 days after recording his first conversation with Yaniv, Gary Lo called to re-record. The reason? OpenClaw and Claude Cowork dropped some huge AI agent updates, and it shifted Gary's perspective enough to change the whole conversation. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Gary Lo – founder of OpenBA, one of Australia's most compelling pre-seed AI startups – to unpack why OpenClaw and Claude Cowork news marks a 'Cursor moment' for the rest of the world: the inflection point where AI stops being a productivity tool for tech teams and starts fundamentally reshaping how every industry works. They break down why tool use will make LLMs genuinely transformative, why non-technical business owners are already buying Mac Minis to run AI agents, and what the shift from 'human-first' to 'LLM-first' product design means for how you build and position your startup today. This episode is essential listening for any founder trying to figure out where to place their bets in an agentic world. In this episode, you'll learn: Why OpenClaw and Claude Cowork signal a 'Cursor moment' beyond software engineeringHow tool use transforms LLM weaknesses into strengthsWhy the long-promised vision of "everything as an API" is finally becoming realHow to think about building for agents vs. humans, and why most current tools aren't optimized for eitherThe "done list" mental model: how agentic coding is collapsing the coordination layers in software workflowsWhy being "a tool worth calling" – like Supabase – is a smarter bet than competing directly with AI modelsHow Gary is applying LLM-first thinking to OpenBA's roadmap right now Resources mentioned in this episode: OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai/Claude Cowork (Anthropic's agentic desktop tool): https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-coworkCursor (AI-native code editor, referenced as the original 'Cursor moment' for coding): https://www.cursor.comSupabase (referenced as an example of a tool that rides the agentic AI wave): https://supabase.comOpenBA (Gary Lo's startup - AI platform for buyer's agents): https://openba.com.auGary Lo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-lo-engineer/ The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please: Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following Key links This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar. Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/ Learn more about Chris and Yaniv Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/ Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

    37 min
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4.9
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39 Ratings

About

Advice for founders and entrepreneurs who want to build disruptive startups like they do in Silicon Valley. Not another interview podcast: concrete tips and masterclasses on what founders need to know: raising Venture Capital, strategy, product, marketing, growth, and more. A guide to the unique mindset and approach that drives Silicon Valley style disruption. Hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein share practical advice based on decades of experience at Google, Uber, and their own startups.

Information

  • Creator
    Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    297
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad
  • Show Website
    The Startup Podcast

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