Episodes

Self-determination throughout your team: it sounds simple, but implementing it effectively could give your startup a razor-sharp competitive edge. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv unpack the 'Recursive Principle of Self-Determination', a framework for designing autonomous startups that maximize agency at every layer of the business. They explore how high-agency decisions shape product strategy, engineering, go-to-market, fundraising, teams, and culture, and why AI is accelerating the shift towa...

Were we wildly wrong, or surprisingly on the money? As 2025 wraps, Chris and Yaniv revisit the bold predictions they made at the start of the year. They reflect on their calls about AI, robotics, VC markets, crypto, and geopolitics. While some were accurate, some were also hilariously off. Together, they unpack what 2025 really looked like for startups, venture capital, and the global tech landscape. In this episode, you will: Learn why both hosts believe their AGI predictions were misses and...

OpenAI may appear to be building the future, but are they leading the tech industry towards collapse? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Jacob Ward (journalist, author of The Loop and NBC Technology Correspondent) to break down OpenAI’s latest livestream and what it signals about the next era of AI. Sam Altman may talk the good talk, but his actions, and the priorities of OpenAI at large, may not align with those claims. Chris, Yaniv, and Jacob unpack these differences between words...

What do you need to do to keep employees engaged and committed? What should your position be on remote work? Side hustles? Ping pong tables? Should you offer all employees equity? Bringing Gen Z employees to your workplace is well worth it, but it means a mental pivot from the hiring team, keeping in mind an entirely new set of criteria. Chris and Yaniv discuss all this and more with Dan Brockwell, Founder and Chief Meme Officer of Earlywork, a vibrant community for early-career professionals....

Is this the moment quantum computing becomes real? After years of being “five years away,” Google just announced a verifiable quantum advantage, claiming its Willow chip ran a molecule simulation 13,000× faster than the world’s fastest supercomputer. Is this truly the dawn of the quantum era? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein dive deep into Google’s latest quantum computing breakthrough, exploring what it means for AI, science, and the future of technology. They'll also expand to...

Looking to fund your startup? If you're new to the process, fundraising can be difficult to navigate. Not only are there a myriad of ways to go about it, but it can be hard to tell whether the tips, tricks, and advice floating around are based on any evidence at all. So, what is the truth? And what are the actual, data-backed insights that can help you choose the best method of fundraising for your own business? Enter: Peter Walker. As Head of Insights at Carta, he has access to, and industr...

OpenAI just dropped its unbelievable new browser. All signs point to it overshadowing Chrome, but is this really the dawn of a new era? Or just another hype cycle, courtesy of Sam Altman? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein react to OpenAI’s surprise launch of ChatGPT Atlas and debate its strategic implications. They also discuss Apple’s underwhelming Vision Pro refresh (and what it means for the company at large), YouTube’s new likeness detection tech, and Reid Hoffman’s viral post...

Think you’re executing well? Think again. Chances are you’re making one of these four common mistakes. Drawing from Chris’s latest essay and real-world advisory experience, Chris and Yaniv spend this episode breaking down the four biggest execution mistakes you're probably making right now. They explore how to recognize these patterns early, how to apply taste and judgment when scaling, and how to develop the discipline needed to execute with precision. In this episode, you will: Identify whe...

OpenAI is set to roll out its new “treat adults like adults” policy, heralding the beginning of AI chatbots speaking more amorously with users. As the company pushes boundaries, from personality-rich bots to experimental devices, others are warning that the industry might be inflating a dangerous AI bubble. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein break down Sam Altman’s controversial announcement, unpack Johnny Ive’s vision for the next generation of OpenAI hardware, and debate whether ...

What if your best work came from finding your flow, rather than simply grinding harder? In the age of constant distraction, many founders mistake busyness for progress, chasing notifications, meetings, and multitasking without realizing that true innovation happens when the mind is deeply focused. Today, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Steven Puri, former DreamWorks executive and founder of The Sukha, to unpack the science of flow state and why mastering it may be the ultimate founder advantage. ...

What happens when AI stops being a product and starts being a platform? With OpenAI’s latest Dev Day changing the game, we might find out sooner rather than later. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv explore OpenAI’s Dev Day and the huge announcements made (including the Sora 2 launch), as well as their apparent transformation from product to platform. In other tech news, the guys dive into Anthropic’s open-source counterpunch with Claude’s Agent SDK, along with Apple’s controversial censorship ...

What happens when a founder who took a taboo health topic mainstream decides to reinvent pet care? In this Spotlight episode of The Startup Podcast, former Hims co-founder Joe Spector faux-pitches his startup Dutch, a telemedicine platform making veterinary care accessible, affordable, and convenient. Most founders fear tough questions from investors, this episode shows what happens when they face them live. Discover how Joe applies lessons from scaling a billion-dollar company to a completely ...

OpenAI just launched ChatGPT Pulse, a succinct, personalized daily feed. Will this shift the focus of AI from performance to personal context? Or is it just an overhyped, overpriced daily digest? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv get right into this week's tech news: the reality of ChatGPT Pulse, plus the wider implications of Hollywood's first AI actress, Tilly Norwood; Amazon's record-breaking $2.5B fine for deceptive Prime signups and the lessons founders can learn from it; and plenty more. ...

Standing out has gotten even more difficult thanks to the flood of AI content, and many early-stage founders mistakenly believe they need to act like corporate brands to be taken seriously. In this episode, Yaniv chats with Christine Blosdale, an award-winning media coach, podcaster, and branding strategist. Together they discuss how authenticity, personal branding, and “expert authority” can give founders a massive edge in today’s AI-driven startup landscape. They also explore how to overcome...

What happens to Silicon Valley when the world’s best founders and engineers can no longer afford to work in the US? Today, Chris and Yaniv break down why the massive new work visa fee is a tech talent crisis waiting to happen. They discuss how Trump’s surprising $100K H-1B fee could reshape startup hiring and the tech sector at large, along with the nitty gritty of Meta’s new smart glasses launch, and Figure AI’s billion-dollar Series C robots. They also unpack OpenAI’s unexpected jobs platfor...

Is the new age of AI agents about to kill niche B2B SaaS businesses? Many first-time founders worry that tools like ChatGPT or custom AI builders will make off-the-shelf SaaS products obsolete, but it could simply herald a new evolution of SaaS. In this episode, Yaniv is joined by Rob Walling, serial founder, investor, and author of The SaaS Playbook, to break down why B2B SaaS still outperforms other business models and how founders can build defensible products – even in an AI-driven world. ...

Is YouTube quietly becoming the most powerful platform in the world? Announcements made during Made On YouTube 2025 revealed incredibly promising long-term plans, with the media giant seemingly set to dominate video, music, and podcasts with the help of Google’s AI. Too many entrepreneurs still see YouTube as ‘just’ a video host, missing the bigger picture: it’s a global discovery engine and monetization machine. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv break down YouTube’s creator ecosystem and what t...

Are you truly being persistent with your startup, or just being stubborn? In the new age of AI-powered founders and hyper-fast iteration, many entrepreneurs mistake obstinacy for persistence and end up running out of time, money, and morale. Too often we glorify “hustle” and “grit” without understanding when to adapt, pivot, or quit. The misconception that sheer willpower equals success has caused countless startups to fail, not because the idea was bad, but because the founder couldn’t tell wh...

With Apple’s iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, and Apple Watch 11 now unveiled, what does this mean for the future of phones and wearable tech? And does the incredible AI of Google Pixel still blow Siri out of the water? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv delve into Apple’s newest product lineup and what it reveals about the company’s long-term strategy, particularly in the current AI-driven climate. They also discuss both the IPO market heating back up and the recent White House tech din...

Pre-seed founders want explosive growth early on, but are you following the wrong playbook too soon? These days strategies, acronyms, and well-intended advice are everywhere, but today's guest argues that the path forward is a simple one: talk to customers, run experiments, and embrace rejection as part of the journey. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein speaks to guest Ashley Smith (ex-Twilio, Parse, GitLab, GitHub, and now General Partner at Vermilion Cliffs) and unpacks what it really takes for...

Google’s long-running antitrust case has reached its remedy stage, and the outcome was far lighter than many expected. No breakup, no ban on default search deals, just a few constraints on bundling apps and some required data sharing, but it may not be quite as simple as it seems on the surface. Meanwhile, OpenAI dropped $1.1 billion to acquire Statsig, a product analytics company. What are the details of the deal, and what does it reveal about the future of OpenAI? To top the week off, Y Comb...

It seems like startup accelerators are everywhere these days. But what are they? What’s the point of them? And most importantly, is it worth having your startup go through one? Based on their own experience with YC and startups, Chris and Yaniv talk you through it all. In this episode, you will: Learn what startup accelerators are and how they work. Discover the primary benefits of going through a startup accelerator. Understand whether applying to a startup accelerator is right for you. E...

Is Apple’s dominance in smartphones starting to crack? Google’s Pixel 10 launch brought AI-first features, polished hardware, and bold marketing, signaling a new era in the iPhone vs. Android rivalry. For years, the iPhone has been synonymous with polish, hardware quality, and ecosystem lock-in. But with Google’s patient, decade-long investment in the Pixel line, coupled with deep AI integration, the balance may be shifting. Today, Chris and Yaniv analyze Pixel 10’s hardware updates, AI-powere...

What makes a great tech infrastructure startup? And how do the best ones successfully navigate, and stand out from, the overcrowded market? In this episode, Yaniv is joined by Joseph Ruscio, General Partner at Heavybit and former CTO of Vibrato, to unpack the dos and don'ts of tech infrastructure startups, how open source fuels growth, and why AI is changing the way software is built. With over 20 years in system software and a portfolio including LaunchDarkly, Netlify, and PagerDuty, Joe brin...