Startup Stories from the Treehouse

Todd Gagne
  • 5.0 (9)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Welcome to Startup Stories from the Treehouse, where we bring you the most captivating tales of entrepreneurship. Each episode is a new adventure, featuring entrepreneurs who turned their dreams into reality. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just getting your feet wet, 'Startup Stories from the Treehouse' is your inspiration to build, innovate, and soar. Tune in, and let's start the adventure together!

  1. Marketing Foundations: Building for Scale Before You’re Ready

    1D AGO

    Marketing Foundations: Building for Scale Before You’re Ready

    Many startups waste marketing budgets due to unclear messaging and a fuzzy Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), not poor execution. Kae Kronthaler-Williams, a veteran marketing executive, advises founders to nail messaging, niche their focus, and build foundational infrastructure before scaling ad spend. Her 90-day plan: clarify messaging through customer interviews, validate ICP with targeted outreach, and set up tracking systems for key metrics. Only after achieving 60-70% deal pattern repeatability should founders expand beyond their initial segment or invest heavily in paid channels. Diverse teams help avoid blind spots and create resonant messaging. To scale responsibly, start small, prioritize alignment across marketing, sales, and customer success, and measure pipeline contribution—not just leads. Audit hiring practices for bias to strengthen your team and marketing outcomes. Ready to build a repeatable pipeline and avoid wasted spend? Learn more from Kae at kaewilliams.com or connect on LinkedIn and Substack! Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    43 min
  2. Why Your Customer Data Is Lying to You

    JAN 29

    Why Your Customer Data Is Lying to You

    In this episode of Startup Stories from the Treehouse, Andy Sitison of Share More Stories shares hard-earned lessons from transitioning out of systems integration into building an AI-driven company. His core insight: surveys optimize answers, not understanding. By focusing on why customers behave the way they do—and designing for candor—founders can uncover motivations that drive real differentiation. Andy also brings realism to AI adoption, arguing that 30–40% automation is both powerful and practical, while human judgment remains essential. He explains how “cellular AI” preserves context, why services-to-product transitions take 2–3 years, and how founders outside tech hubs must deliberately stay sharp. The throughline is patience, precision, and deep customer empathy.   Today, call one customer and ask why they hired you. Record it. Listen twice. Let their motivation—not your roadmap—guide your next move. Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    45 min
  3. Startup Stories - Season 4 Kickoff: What’s Next for the Podcast

    JAN 15

    Startup Stories - Season 4 Kickoff: What’s Next for the Podcast

    Since launching their podcast, Mike and the author have published 54 episodes, evolving from uncertain beginnings to delivering sharp, relevant insights for founders. Season three saw a major shift: 90% of guests were inbound, prompting growth in interviewing skills and richer conversations on AI, product management, and capital trends. Consistency in publishing proved crucial, while analytics showed their audience is global, signaling the decline of geographic barriers for founders. However, challenges remain: podcast listenership lags behind their Substack readership, and they need to create more short-form content to meet founders where they are. Season four will focus on real-world AI applications, stories from capital-efficient founders outside major hubs, and rethinking product management for the AI era. The shift toward capital-efficient startups benefits both founders and smart investors.   If you’re a founder building something unique—especially outside the usual tech hubs—reach out to share your story with Wildfire Labs! Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    26 min
  4. The Rise of the Domain Expert Founder: Why Industry Insiders Are Winning the Startup Game

    JAN 8

    The Rise of the Domain Expert Founder: Why Industry Insiders Are Winning the Startup Game

    In this end-of-year bookend episode, co-founders Todd Gagne and Mike Vetter of Wildfire Labs recap the key themes and trends they've observed with founders in their program over the past year. They dive deep into the rising necessity of deep domain expertise for founders, sharing compelling examples like AgSense (FinTech for ranching) and The Journeyman (wildland firefighting). The conversation explores the massive impact of AI and agents in collapsing the barriers to entry, making development faster, and driving a 'first-principles' rethink of traditional workflows to eliminate unnecessary steps. Finally, they discuss the psychological drivers of entrepreneurs, contrasting the unsustainable but high-octane "dirty fuel" (e.g., control, seeking fame) with more enduring, "clean fuel," and the importance of community to navigate the stresses of the startup journey, all contributing to the trend of creating more capital-efficient startups. Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    54 min
  5. The 15-Year Bootstrap: How Credibly Built a Fintech Without VC Money (And Why Culture Beats Capital)

    12/18/2025

    The 15-Year Bootstrap: How Credibly Built a Fintech Without VC Money (And Why Culture Beats Capital)

    Ryan Rosett, CEO of Credibly, shares how he built a thriving fintech without relying on venture capital, emphasizing that culture and transparency outlast quick funding. By bootstrapping through crises, leveraging modular microservices, and blending human expertise with AI, Credibly processes millions in loans rapidly and securely. Their hybrid in-office culture fosters innovation and knowledge sharing, while their Midwest roots provide cost and loyalty advantages. Rosett urges founders to prioritize discipline, modular tech, and trust-based culture over rapid fundraising. His journey proves that sustainable growth and resilience come from smart decisions, not just capital. Want to see how Credibly’s human-first, tech-smart approach can help your business? Learn more about their small business lending solutions at credibly.com. Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    50 min
  6. From Zero to Product-Market Fit: Essential Product Management Lessons for Early-Stage Founders

    12/04/2025

    From Zero to Product-Market Fit: Essential Product Management Lessons for Early-Stage Founders

    This article distills key lessons for founders in product management, emphasizing the critical role of achieving product-market fit (PMF)—measured by whether at least 40% of users would “fight to keep” your product. Founders must prioritize deep customer engagement, not just feature delivery, and create structures (like recurring customer calls) to maintain user closeness. Success demands both strategic thinking—translating vision into actionable, metric-driven plans—and tactical execution. Leveraging AI can automate repetitive tasks and accelerate prototyping, but founders must validate value and manage costs before scaling. Business acumen—understanding adoption, pricing, and unit economics—is vital, as is building an environment that prioritizes strategic work over reactive busywork. Ultimately, product management is a management job: focus on outcomes, stay close to users, and let disciplined product thinking drive your startup forward. Ready to level up your product journey? Subscribe to Wildfire Labs Substack for more actionable insights and founder lessons! Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    51 min
  7. Why Most Founders Approach Fundraising Backwards (And How to Fix It)

    11/20/2025

    Why Most Founders Approach Fundraising Backwards (And How to Fix It)

    In "The Funding Framework: Secure Startup Funding With Confidence," Vijay Rajendran reveals that most founders approach fundraising backward—blasting pitch decks to countless investors rather than targeting those with a true fit. He advocates treating fundraising like enterprise sales: build relationships before you need capital, prioritize quality over quantity, and manage the process systematically. Rajendran’s four-step framework emphasizes storytelling, preparation, targeted outreach, and disciplined closing. He urges founders to focus on customer traction over chasing VC checks, build teams based on unique role requirements, and recognize AI’s shift in startup moats from technology to data and distribution. The book stresses that success depends on approach, not just connections or presentations.   Ready to transform your fundraising strategy? Dive deeper into actionable insights by picking up "The Funding Framework" on Amazon today! Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    48 min
  8. Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

    11/06/2025

    Why Your Startup's Newsletter Strategy Is Wrong (And How to Fix It)

    Another week, another newsletter you feel obligated to ship. It’s supposed to help, but it often reads like a status update no one asked for. In this episode, Todd Gagne sits with Banks Benitez to reframe the founder newsletter as a product, not an email. The core insight: trust is the scarce resource, and your newsletter should solve a specific problem for a narrowly defined reader. They dig into positioning your newsletter in the funnel (often mid-funnel credibility, not top-of-funnel lead gen), why slower cadence beats volume in the AI era, and the idea of “nutrient density” over cheap calories. Todd and Banks walk through practical prompts: who exactly is this for, when do they need it, what decision does it support? They share examples from lists of 25 decision-makers to 100k subscribers, and metrics to watch beyond open rates. The thread running through it all is patience. Precision, honesty, and craft compound into trust over time. Subscribe to the Wildfire Labs Substack for podcast summaries and more insight on building a tech startup.

    53 min
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5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Welcome to Startup Stories from the Treehouse, where we bring you the most captivating tales of entrepreneurship. Each episode is a new adventure, featuring entrepreneurs who turned their dreams into reality. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just getting your feet wet, 'Startup Stories from the Treehouse' is your inspiration to build, innovate, and soar. Tune in, and let's start the adventure together!

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