Founding Journey – Details, episodes & analysis

This is how Steven scaled his startup, Cameo, to become a $1 billion unicorn and how the company has changed since.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Steven's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/Mr312
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/stevengalanis
🚀 Startup → cameo.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

The Journey to Cameo
(01:33) —  Steven's 1st business: Spartan Entertainment
(04:26) — Steven's pre-Cameo work experience
(06:33) — Starting Cameo with Co-founder Martin Blencowe
(11:14) — Cameo's founding story

Founder Mode
(18:43) — Steven’s early insight on “cameos”
(23:48) — Overcoming the cold start problem
(25:46) — Cameo's growth tactics
(27:28) — Cameo's eureka moment

Challenges & Opportunities
(31:39) — Changing Cameo's idea of success
(36:30) — Navigating headcount reductions
(38:57) — Joining the 1871 incubator
(40:57) — Building alongside other founders

Investor Relations & Communication
(42:26) — How to interact with investors
(44:02) — Co-founder communication
(46:39) — Attracting investors without fundraising
(49:00) — Fundraising without a pitch deck
(50:33) — Benefits of creating an unused pitch deck
(53:32) — Cameo's Series A experience

Rapid Fire
(1:01:01) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders?
(1:01:50) — What's one thing you'd change about the startup world?
(1:02:20) — What's the one piece of advice first-time founders need to know?
(1:03:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about?

This is how Tyler raised $50 million for his startup, beehiiv, to power the newsletter revolution.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Tyler's journey:
📝 Newsletter → bigdeskenergy.com
🐦 X → x.com/denk_tweets
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk
🚀 Startup → beehiiv.com

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Launching & Competing

• (02:17) — Launching in a competitive market
• (04:36) — Tyler’s billion-dollar insight
• (08:12) — Pitching investors on beehiiv
• (09:54) — Creating a scalable roadmap

Fundraising

• (12:22) — Early investor pushback
• (14:41) — Tyler's venture funding decision
• (20:38) — Funding plans after $33M Series B
• (40:19) — Gaining leverage for fundraising

Company Culture

• (21:58) — Advantages of high shipping velocity
• (24:45) — beehiiv's unique meeting culture
• (31:24) — Why beehiiv is remote-first

Founder Mode

• (28:48) — Finding focus and piece of mind
• (33:49) — Building in public for easier fundraising
• (38:30) — Addressing building in public concerns

Rapid Fire Questions

• (44:49) — Who's an investor you'd recommend to other founders?
• (46:04) — Favorite startup book that founders should read
• (46:38) — What's the one piece of advice I need to know as a first-time founder?
• (47:58) — What's something you believe that most people disagree with you about?

Welcome to the Founding Journey podcast!

Each Thursday, Michael Houck will interview world-class startup founders about their unique paths to uncover tactical insights they've learned about how to fundraise, grow, validate, hire, scale, lead teams while building your startup.

Get full access to detailed takeaways on each episode, additional case studies, and more at join.foundingjourney.com.

This is how Dara sold his first startup to build an AI that can clone anyone online, and raised funding from Keith Rabois for it.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Dara's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/daraladje
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/dara-ladjevardian
🚀 Startup → delphi.ai

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Founder Journey

• (00:56) — Dara's grandfather
• (03:45) — Dara's first encounter with LLMs
• (06:04) — Launching Friday: Dara's first company
• (08:10) — The Friday acquisition journey
• (08:54) — Working at OpenStore post-acquisition
• (48:03) — Lessons from building Friday

Co-founder Dynamics

• (09:38) — Choosing the right co-founder
• (12:01) — Transitioning from solo to co-founder
• (13:58) — Co-founders: bootstrapped vs. VC-backed companies

Marketing & Positioning

• (14:49) — Positioning Delphi
• (21:01) — Delphi's product roadmap
• (23:38) — PLG growth strategy
• (26:30) — Testing paid marketing channels
• (27:30) — Differentiating in the age of AI
• (33:35) — Dara's vision for building Delphi
• (37:27) — Attracting talent to your company

Mentorship & Investment

• (18:38) — Pitching Delphi to Founders Fund
• (38:16) — The importance of mentorship
• (40:21) — Lessons from Keith Rabois
• (41:51) — Effects of high-profile investors
• (42:57) — Why Keith Rabois invested in Dara
• (43:55) — Securing well-respected angels
• (44:44) — Dara’s fundraising tips
• (47:00) — Recognizing the need for VC backing

Additional Insights

• (29:18) — Future role of creators
• (31:02) — Future role of founders
• (35:26) — Passion as a priority in startups
• (49:35) — Niche focus vs. broad targeting

Rapid Fire

• (51:54) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• (52:32) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (53:14) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (53:53) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Andrew left his dream job at Google to become the Gatsby of NYC's startup scene, all while securing a permanent visa.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Andrew's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/andruyeung
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/andyeung
🚀 Startup → https://meetfibe.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Transitioning to Startups
(01:03) — Transition from big tech to startups
(09:05) — Finding time for the non-founder parts of life
(10:45) — Leveraging the founder community
(12:35) — Getting connected to a Lyft Co-founder
(21:09) — Giving up alcohol

Immigrant Founders
(17:11) — Extraordinary Alien Visa
(19:27) — Why immigrants are frequent founders

Growth & Press
(23:48) — Accidentally creating a business opportunity
(25:24) — Building trust 
(26:50) — Andrew’s growth flywheel
(34:42) — Advantages of getting press
(36:41) — Avoiding traditional media’s downsides
(40:14) — Traditional media vs. social media

Events & Engagement
(45:34) — Weighing if founders should host events
(47:25) — Making an event attractive to sponsors
(49:38) — When founders should sponsor events
(50:47) — When founders should attend events

Andrew’s Businesses
(53:19) — Engineering serendipitous connections
(54:55) — Weighing fundraising for Fibe
(55:52) — Investing in startups
(59:16) — Unexpected learnings from founder life

Rapid Fire
(1:01:26) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
(1:02:18) — One thing you'd change about startups?
(1:04:15) — Advice for first-time founders?
(1:04:41) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Sam raised $67M for his startup, Levels, and helped turn one of his co-founders into a successful influencer with nearly a million followers.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Sam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/samcorcos
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/samcorcos
🚀 Startup → levels.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Sam's Startup Journey
01:24 — How Sam almost didn't become an entrepreneur
05:46 — Sam's companies before Levels
09:45 — Early entrepreneurial lessons learned

Customer Insights
17:19 — Importance of understanding customers
21:12 — Customers are directionally correct
22:48 — Engaging with customers

PR & Community
11:59 — Power of PR for startups
27:20 — Building community at Levels
29:16 — Community as a growth strategy

Content & SEO
30:37 — Levels' SEO strategy
33:25 — Focusing content efforts
35:18 — Content as a hiring tool
41:24 — Measuring influencer ROI
58:14 — Creator partnerships insights
59:13 — Increasing content breakthroughs
1:02:38 — Pursuing a viral content strategy
1:04:25 — Value of follower count

Market Positioning & Growth
53:42 — Carving a niche in a crowded market
56:11 — Sustaining growth over time
1:06:04 — Selling before launching
1:08:25 — Finding product-market fit

Networking & Efficiency 
1:11:13 — Building a broader network
1:14:28 — Network theory for investors
1:16:20 — Creating systems & delegation
1:01:15 — Time management in growth

Rapid Fire
1:18:15 — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
1:18:48 — One thing you'd change about startups?
1:20:17 — Advice for first-time founders?
1:20:28 — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Zayd Ali sold his first company in high school and immediately started a new one in AI, called Valley, that has raised over $3 million already.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Zayd's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/zaydsyedali
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9
🚀 Startup → joinvalley.co

Follow us:
🎥 YouTube → youtube.com/@foundingjourney
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Founder's Journey

• (01:19) — Selling a company in high school
• (07:03) — The feeling after selling a company
• (09:09) — Community accelerator programs
• (21:30) — Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed startups
• (34:58) — Selling before building
• (52:34) — Risk of startup life in your 20s

The Art of Pivoting

• (14:51) — Executing a pivot
• (17:39) — Advice for reluctant founders
• (18:54) — Founder market fit & "why now"

Investor Dynamics

• (23:11) — High-profile investors’ impact
• (24:52) — High energy in investor meetings
• (28:23) — Creating urgency for investors
• (38:03) — Investor response to customer LOIs
• (38:47) — Pre-read deck strategy
• (41:45) — Analyst to partner transition
• (44:01) — Anticipating investor pushbacks
• (45:10) — Avoiding introductions from investors who passed
• (47:30) — Challenges for AI startups
• (50:44) — Raising in a hot market

Rapid Fire

• (54:56) — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• (55:47) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (56:44) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (57:38) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

Pujun Bhatnagar dropped out of Stanford, Harved, and MIT to build startups. He decided to build in an unsexy industry and it worked. He doubled Kintsugi’s valuation to $75M in 3 months.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Pujun’s journey:
🐦 X → x.com/pujun_ai
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/pujun
🚀 Startup → trykintsugi.com

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@callmehouck?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we discuss:

Kintsugi

• (00:00) — Intro
• (00:57) — What Kintsugi does & why it's successful
• (14:22) — What Kintsugi means

Founder Mode

• (03:15) — Why Pujun did an "unsexy" business
• (09:40) — AM frequency vs. Pujun's FM frequency
• (12:29) — What happens to ambition when success comes
• (26:20) — Pujun's mindset shifts over time
• (32:20) — Pujun's toughest situation with co-founders
• (59:10) — Dropping out of academia 3x
• (1:07:20) — What Pujun does when not performing at his best
• (1:10:00) — Pujun's spices

AI & Technology

• (05:36) — What problems AI can solve
• (19:44) — Successfully building AI PLG
• (21:44) — The future of AI models
• (51:14) — Differences between the ML & LLM gold rush
• (54:46) — How to identify AI snake oil

Growth & Strategy

• (17:06) — Focusing on building good software
• (24:31) — Tradeoffs that come with scale
• (34:51) — Having conviction & discipline
• (36:11) — Who Pujun & Kintsugi looks for in teammates
• (38:09) — Doubling valuation in 3 months time
• (42:04) — Optimizing for minimal dilution
• (43:53) — Ruthless prioritization when scaling

Rapid Fire

• (1:12:09) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (1:13:33) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (1:16:22) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (1:16:55) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Tibo Louis-Lucas built a new startup every month... until one took off and turned into a $10 million exit.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → https://deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Tibo's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/tibo_maker
🚀 Website → tmaker.io

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

In this conversation we chat about:

Founder Mode

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:24) — Being a venture-backed founder
• (02:41) — Learnings from early business failures
• (24:00) — Identifying scalable business opportunities
• (33:20) — Goal of getting 5 companies to $100k MRR in 3 years
• (41:35) — How to unlock different versions of yourself
• (43:02) — Identifying opportunities while building multiple companies

Growth & Scaling

• (05:14) — The advantage of quickly shipping
• (08:36) — Pros and cons of building in public
• (10:28) — Alternatives to building in public
• (11:24) — The moats that exist today
• (15:31) — Utilizing micro-influencers for growth
• (37:56) — Keeping 2-person companies at scale
• (39:18) — Working alongside a complementary co-founder

Product & Acquisition Strategy

• (12:55) — Platform risk
• (18:32) — How founders can learn to kill products
• (20:35) — Outsourcing to external developers
• (21:57) — Buying small products
• (25:26) — Deciding how much to invest into micro-acquisitions
• (27:47) — Buying & selling assets rather than companies
• (30:42) — Buying a tool to compete with the newsletter giants
• (36:46) — AI’s unique software enablement
• (44:08) — Deciding when and how to sell your company
• (48:10) — How to decide how and whom to sell your company to

Advice & Insights

• (49:04) — Founder Tips for Negotiating Deals
• (49:57) — Bootstrapping vs. raising VC
• (52:08) — The future of SaaS
• (55:58) — Taking a job after being a founder
• (58:21) — Founders don’t know when they need to quit

Rapid Fire

• (59:18) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (59:46) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (1:00:20) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (1:00:51) — Something you believe that most disagree with?

This is how Adam raised over $3 million for his hiring startup Pangea.app, and why he won’t need to raise again.

📚 1,800 Pitch Decks (Free) → deck-database.carrd.co

Follow Adam's journey:
🐦 X → x.com/the_pangean
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/adamalp
🚀 Startup → pangea.app

Follow us:
🔔 Subscribe → youtube.com/@foundingjourney?sub_confirmation=1
📝 Newsletter → join.foundingjourney.com
📈 Founder Membership → upgrade.foundingjourney.com
💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/michael-houck

Accelerators & Fundraising

• 00:00 — Intro
• 01:10 — Incubators/accelerators
• 05:56 — YC application experience
• 1:03:11 — Fundraising isn't the goal
• 1:07:02 — When you don’t get immediate funding

Founder Mode:

• 09:42 — The founder mindset & validation
• 38:19 — Tough decisions & losing customers
• 43:22 — Knowing when to change course
• 46:07 — When you're too niched down
• 59:01 — What gave Adam conviction to go all in
• 1:10:51 — Why founders should explore stoicism

Product Development

• 14:55 — MVP Versus SVP
• 20:53 — Getting to #1 on Product Hunt

Community & Growth

• 22:14 — Product Hunt launch impact
• 25:18 — Long-term growth strategies
• 26:45 — Getting customers through ChatGPT
• 30:17 — SEO & AI/LLMs
• 34:49 — Growth channels & niching down
• 49:27 — Why community is key

Founding & Leadership Insights

• 50:48 — NYC Founders Club
• 52:17 — Vision for the future
• 55:46 — Focus areas when hiring

Rapid Fire

• 1:12:29 — Who's an investor you'd recommend?
• 1:13:40 — One thing you'd change about startups?
• 1:14:22 — Advice for first-time founders?
• 1:14:35 — Something you believe that most disagree with?