Episodes

Adam Nash is the founder and CEO of Daffy, a donor-advised fund platform that's democratizing charitable giving for everyday Americans. Previously, he served as CEO of Wealthfront, where he helped grow the robo-advisor from $80 million to over $80 billion in assets under management. Before that, he held senior product roles at LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple. What you'll learn: How donor-advised funds represent a $557 billion market that most people have never heard of Wealthfront's counterintuitive...

Alec Stapp is the Co-CEO of the Institute for Progress, a non-partisan innovation policy think tank in Washington D.C. works to accelerate and shape the direction of scientific, technological, and industrial progress. Headquartered in Washington D.C., IFP works with policymakers across the political spectrum to make it easier to build the future in the United States. What you'll learn: Why cutting R&D spending won't meaningfully reduce the national debt (it's less than 3% of federal budget) Ho...

Topher Haddad is the co-founder and CEO of Albedo, building satellites that fly in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) at 275km—twice as close as traditional imaging satellites. This proximity enables commercial imagery at resolutions previously only available from classified government systems or expensive aircraft operations. What you'll learn: How VLEO satellites capture imagery quality that replaces planes and drones commercially Why atmospheric drag and atomic oxygen create unique engineering cha...

Eric Migicovsky is the Founder of Core Devices, and the original founder of Pebble, the pioneering smartwatch that raised $10 million on Kickstarter before being acquired. Eric has launched Core Devices to continue building the smartwatch platform he believes in, complete with Google's newly open-sourced Pebble operating system. What you'll learn: 1. The Kickstarter phenomenon: How Pebble became one of the first massive Kickstarter successes, raising $600K in the first day with a $100K ...

Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, a platform that helps creators sell digital products and has facilitated over $1 billion in creator earnings. After raising a $7M Series A from Kleiner Perkins, Sahil took the unconventional path of transitioning from venture-backed growth to a profitable, dividend-paying company—and even spent time as a software engineer with DOGE at the Department of Veterans Affairs. What you'll learn: How Sahil transitioned Gumroad from venture-backed to ...

Steve Huffman is the co-founder and CEO of Reddit, one of the internet's most essential platforms with 100 million daily active users and a $20 billion public market valuation. Over 20 years, Steve has guided Reddit through multiple existential challenges, from early acquisition to content moderation crises to competing with AI-generated content. What you'll learn: How Reddit achieved product-market fit in just 2 months and the early signs that indicated massive potential Why Steve sold R...

Rahul Sidhu is the co-founder and CEO of Aerodome, which was acquired by Flock Safety for a reported $300M in October 2024—just 17 months after founding. A reserve police officer turned serial entrepreneur, Rahul built his drone-as-first-responder platform by combining deep public safety expertise with cutting-edge technology to revolutionize emergency response. What you'll learn: How COVID-19 staffing shortages sparked the idea for drone-powered emergency response Why public safety tech ...

Matt Loszak is the co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, building factory-manufactured small modular nuclear reactors designed to power AI data centers. In just 18 months, Aalo has grown from 2 people to 50 employees with a 40,000 square foot factory and a completed full-scale non-nuclear reactor prototype. What you'll learn: How Aalo's liquid metal cooled reactors could transform clean energy production Why data centers are the perfect first customer for next-generation nuclear power ...

Severin Hacker, co-founder and CTO of Duolingo, joins Immad Akhund and Raj Suri to unpack how Duolingo became the world’s most engaging education platform. They explore how Duolingo leverages AI to personalize learning, the company's obsession with retention, and why relentless experimentation is at the heart of its product strategy. Severin also shares insights on building a mission-driven culture, the immigrant founder advantage, and how to scale design thinking without losing your edge.

In this founders-only episode of Founders in Arms, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri analyze Meta's aggressive acquisition playbook alongside other major tech developments reshaping the industry landscape. The conversation begins with how Zuckerberg's "buy or get crushed" approach to acquisitions leaves founders with an impossible choice: accept a lucrative buyout or face ruthless competition. They note how "every founder who comes out of Meta regrets selling their company," yet Meta's willingness to c...

In this episode of Founders in Arms, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri speak with Dan Hobbs, co-founder and CEO of Protex AI, a company using computer vision to identify safety risks in warehouses and factories before accidents happen. Dan shares his journey from bootstrapping his first startup (where he survived on store-brand Rice Krispies for three weeks) to building a 70-person team serving Fortune 500 clients like Amazon and DHL. The conversation explores how Protex leverages existing CCTV infrast...

In this episode, Jay Shah joins Immad and Raj to talk about his new startup, Poppy—a screenless, AI-native phone designed for kids. He shares what led him to pivot from enterprise SaaS to building hardware in his basement, why he believes kid-first tech needs a rethink, and how intentional design can create healthier relationships with technology. Jay reflects on lessons from BufferBox, the realities of manufacturing and tariffs, and the power of network effects in consumer hardware. The conver...

In this episode of Founders in Arms, Immad Akhund and Raj Suri speak with Ryan Petersen, co-founder and CEO of Flexport, about the recent implementation of 104% tariffs on Chinese imports. Ryan shares insights on how businesses are responding to this trade crisis, strategies for supply chain adaptation, and the broader implications for US-China commerce. The conversation explores how Flexport is helping customers navigate these challenges, the economic impact of protectionist policies, and Rya...

"Schools try really hard to do all these jobs equally well for all kids, and it's a completely impossible task." ClassDojo CEO Sam Chaudhary shares how his education platform reached 50 million students by making the counterintuitive decision to spend seven years building a network before monetizing. In this revealing conversation with Immad Akhund and Raj Suri, Sam explains why education companies typically fail and how Class Dojo broke through by focusing on parents as true customers rather t...

"The bar was really low in banking—we're not talking rocket science here. We built a product that reached a reasonable standard." Mercury CEO Immad Akhund reveals how a focus on solving basic user experience problems enabled his company to secure a $300M Series C at a $3.5B valuation. In this revealing episode, Hiten Shah (founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira—acquired by Dropbox) joins Raj Suri to mine insights from Mercury's journey from founding in 2017 to becoming a fintech powerhouse...

Are we mentally prepared for what happens when intelligence becomes an abundant resource rather than a scarce one? Hosts Immad Akhund (Mercury CEO) and Raj Suri (Lima/Tribe co-founder) welcome back Paul Buchheit—Gmail creator and former Y Combinator partner—for our most requested follow-up episode. Together they dive into how exponentially increasing intelligence will transform our civilization, with Paul bringing his uniquely optimistic yet pragmatic perspective to the profound questions facin...

"The worst thing you can do is hire executives," declares Auren Hoffman in this eye-opening conversation about startup talent strategy. As a successful founder turned investor, Auren brings a unique dual perspective on how to build elite teams, properly compensate founders, and navigate fundraising. He reveals why he deliberately structures Flex Capital to do two seed investments per week, argues for rethinking founder equity after the initial four-year vest, and shares controversial takes on w...

Being small isn't a disadvantage—it's your superpower. Just one provocative sentiment from this episode that challenges conventional startup wisdom and delves into the mindset behind entrepreneurial success. Waseem Daher brings insights from his journey across three successful startups—KSplice (acquired by Oracle), Zulip (acquired by Dropbox), and now Pilot, where he recently transitioned from CEO to executive chair. Host Raj Suri, himself a multi-time founder, creates an environment where hon...

How do you build a sustainable AI business when investors are throwing money at anything with "AI" in the pitch deck? This episode brings together Jesse Zhang (Decagon AI CEO), Immad Akhund (Mercury CEO), and Raj Suri (Lima/Tribe co-founder) for a strategic conversation that centers on the business challenges of building an enterprise AI company that can sustain beyond the current hype cycle. Jesse reveals how AI moves beyond being a mere chatbot to become a "system of intelligence" that encod...

Why do even the most sophisticated tech investors often shy away from biotech? It often seems like an impenetrable maze of regulations, clinical trials, and complex science. Enter Hannu Rajaniemi, who brings a refreshingly clear perspective to the world of biotech. As both the CEO of Helix Nanotechnologies and a bestselling science fiction author, he bridges the gap between cutting-edge science and practical business insights. In conversation with Mercury CEO Immad Akhund and Lima co-founder Ra...

What happens when the ultimate startup veteran joins a 3,000-person company? In this gripping episode, Mercury CEO Immad Akhund and serial founder Rajat Suri sit down with serial entrepreneur Hiten Shah (Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, Nira, sold to Dropbox) for a candid conversation about founder identity over the course of an entire career. Get practical insights on choosing the right customers, surprising parallels between AI and the AWS revolution, and the hidden truths about venture-backed versus...

As founders of VC-backed startups face tough choices between down rounds and running out of cash, Jesse Tinsley is turning unprofitable startups profitable at incredible speed by tossing out the typical M&A playbook. Jesse is a prominent entrepreneur and investor in the HR technology and recruitment industry. He is Founder and CEO of multiple successful companies, including Employer.com and Recruiter.com. In this conversation with Mercury CEO Immad Akhund and Tribe co-founder Raj Suri, Jesse u...

Join Immad Akhund and Raj Suri as they dive deep into the implications of DeepSeek and the rapidly evolving AI landscape with Richard Price, founder and CEO of Academia.edu. The conversation explores the fascinating shift in AI development costs, with DeepSeek challenging assumptions about the resources needed to build frontier models. Richard shares insights about Academia.edu's work applying AI to academic research, while the trio discusses the geopolitical dynamics between China and the US ...

Join Raj Suri as he sits down with Jeevan Kalanithi, co-founder and CEO of OpenSpace AI, to explore the revolutionary impact of computer vision technology in construction and beyond. From his early days at MIT Media Lab to founding innovative startups, Jeevan shares insights on how OpenSpace is transforming construction site management through spatial AI and 360-degree documentation. Discover why Jeevan believes we're still in the early stages of a camera revolution that will reshape how we in...