Has your hiring process kept up with the industry’s AI leaps, or are you still interviewing like it's 2022? Today’s AI-driven landscape means the skill gap between a good engineer and a great one widens every day, and the great ones can be difficult to find. But how do you…
The agentic AI revolution is finally escaping the coding bubble. What does that mean for startup founders? Just 13 days after recording his first conversation with Yaniv, Gary Lo called to re-record. The reason? OpenClaw and Claude Cowork dropped some huge AI agent updates, and it shifted Gary's perspective enough…
Founders and investors like to tell themselves they're on the same team, and they can be – but it takes work. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Liz Zalman, a veteran founder with over 20 years of startup experience, for an in-depth chat about the real dynamics of…
Jess Mah: "Everyone in SF [San Francisco] has drank the Kool-Aid and loves AI? That is not the case. Many, many, many people who work in AI full-time, who run AI companies. They say that AI has made their life worse, not better. The truth is that the anxiety among…
Is AI making founders more anxious than ever, even in the heart of Silicon Valley? Behind the optimistic LinkedIn posts and fundraising announcements, some of the most successful people in tech are struggling with burnout and an overwhelming pace of change. So what does it actually take to build a…
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…
In 2025, we released 79 episodes across 4 formats. Here's a sample of what you didn't see this year! Happy Holidays from all of us here at The Startup Podcast. – JM Timestamps 00:00 Bloopers 03:00 Metaphors and Analogies 04:46 More Bloopers 05:36 Happy Holidays from the TSP Team! The…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
OpenAI just dropped its unbelievable new browser, Atlas. 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…