Episodios

  • Beyond growth hacks: real stories of reaching untapped markets

    Beyond growth hacks: real stories of reaching untapped markets
    Nov 20 2025
    Luna co-founder Jas Schembri-Stothart and Untapped Solutions founder Andre Peart share how they cracked go-to-market for audiences most startups avoid. In this episode of Build Mode, they reveal the guerrilla tactics, trust-building strategies, and creative experiments that helped them reach teenage girls and formerly incarcerated workers—from crashing Taylor Swift concerts to keynoting re-entry conferences. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:15 Getting Grilled by Teens: Luna's School Roadshow 05:04 The Ambassador Army That Designed the App 06:11 When Teen Content Goes Viral on TikTok 07:32 Untapped's Origin: From Prison to Building Solutions 11:03 The Power of Storytelling in B2B Sales 14:02 Navigating Data Privacy with Sensitive Populations 15:29 The Challenge of Dual Audiences: Teens and Parents 17:43 Why Word of Mouth Beats Any Ad Campaign 19:41 The Taylor Swift Concert That Almost Got Shut Down 22:15 Key Takeaways for Any Founder 22:41 Field Notes: Creative Go-to-Market from the Community New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
    Más Menos
    29 m
  • The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder Deon Nicholas

    The 7-Failure Rule: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder Deon Nicholas
    Nov 13 2025
    Forethought AI co-founder Deon Nicholas shares how he built a company that puts customers (not hype) at the center. In this episode of Build Mode, he unpacks his “7-Failure Rule,” the early experiments that shaped Forethought’s success, and why conviction should always come from your users, not your investors. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:23 The Founder Journey: Adapting Every 6-9 Months 05:33 From AI Research to Solving Business Problems 11:12 Finding Your Customer: The Importance of User Conversations 18:22 Building Demos and Landing First Paying Customers 25:12 The Seven Failure Rule for Product Market Fit 30:38 Preparing for and Winning TechCrunch Disrupt 35:16 The Reality of Fundraising and Chasing Metrics 39:07 Navigating Competition in Customer Service AI 43:03 Stepping into Chairman and What's Next 44:57 Outro New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
    Más Menos
    47 m
  • Product, Meet Market

    Product, Meet Market
    Nov 12 2025
    Build Mode is TechCrunch's newest podcast, hosted by Startup Battlefield Editor, Isabelle Johannessen. This season we’re talking with founders and VCs sharing hard-won lessons on getting to market—the right way, the hard way, and the creative way.
    Más Menos
    1 m
  • Introducing Build Mode

    Introducing Build Mode
    Oct 31 2025
    TechCrunch is launching a new podcast Build Mode, which brings candid startup wisdom from the people who build, break, and build again. Build Mode is hosted by our very own Startup Battlefield Editor, Isabelle Johannessen who is joined by founders, investors, and operators to dig into the uncomfortable truths about startup life. Think cap table drama, co-founder breakups, and pivot panic. Wherever you are in your startup journey, this podcast will be your field guide. Season 1 is launching November 13.
    Más Menos
    1 m
  • Saying goodbye to Found where we started

    Saying goodbye to Found where we started
    Dec 31 2024
    This is our last episode of Found so we wanted to share where it all started. Please enjoy our very first episodewith Jordan Crook and Darrell Etherington interviewing Iman Abuzeid from Incredible Health. Please be sure to check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity And if you find yourself missing Found, you can always go back into the archives at techcrunch.com/found.
    Más Menos
    51 m
  • How to build a company that can save the world while generating profit

    How to build a company that can save the world while generating profit
    Dec 24 2024
    For this week's episode, we’re sharing a bonus conversation from backstage at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt. Tim De Chant talked with Areeb Malik, co-founder and CTO of Glacier; Allison Wolff, co-founder and CEO of Vibrant Planet, and Hyuk-Jeen Suh, co-founder of Venx and general partner at SkyRiver Ventures. On stage the panel discussed how a startup can balance doing good with delivering the financial returns they need to keep the lights on. They continue in that vein for this bonus conversation as they dive deep into how successful founder have built profitable companies that are good for the world.
    Más Menos
    21 m
  • Getting realistic about AI’s potential with Nick Frosst from Cohere

    Getting realistic about AI’s potential with Nick Frosst from Cohere
    Dec 17 2024
    Enterprise AI is booming so it’s no wonder that, as companies figure out how to implement it, the industry of AI infrastructure is emerging. This week Becca and Dom talk to Nick Frosst from Cohere, the AI company building natural language models for enterprise customers. They discuss why Frosst thinks the AI boom isn’t built on a bubble, whether or not AI companies are building toward a “digital god”, and how AI regulation could be a good thing. (0:00) Introduction (6:15) Enterprise applications for AI language models (12:12) Building multilingual models (14:58) Fundraising and the AI bubble (19:46) AI and sustainability (25:14) Building the Cohere team (29:44) Host discussion Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each Connect with us: On Twitter On Instagram Via email: found@techcrunch.com
    Más Menos
    40 m
  • Rethinking the social network with Andy Dunn from Pie

    Rethinking the social network with Andy Dunn from Pie
    Dec 10 2024
    In this episode, Dom and Becca are joined by Former Bonobos CEO Andy Dunn to talk about his mission to reverse America's loneliness epidemic through Pie, an app built to facilitate connections in the real world. They discuss the lessons Dunn brought from fundraising for Bonobos to Pie, founder mental health, and building a consumer movement in the midwest.
    Más Menos
    48 m