In this episode, we break down how Fuse Energy scaled to $400M in revenue, raised $170M, and is rebuilding the power grid from scratch full-stack, global, and brutally efficient.

We talk energy economics, AI’s power problem, why renewables alone don’t work (yet), and what it really takes to build a trillion-dollar company.

00:00 Why energy is a trillion-dollar problem

01:54 Being the 5th employee at Revolut

04:19 Finding the right co-founder

06:56 The 25-year bet: energy & AI

09:52 Energy vs fintech regulation

12:55 Why Fuse went full-stack

13:18 Cutting power costs by 30%

15:20 What customers actually buy

16:56 $12B of energy wasted every year

18:56 Why the grid is broken

21:16 EVs, smart devices & demand control

24:55 Why 100% renewables don’t work (yet)

27:18 Nuclear: hype vs reality

29:58 Equity vs debt in energy startups

33:40 Hiring elite engineers globally

34:30 The trillion-dollar vision

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Alan Chang 

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-chang

Nichole wischoff

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

In this episode, we sit down with Meltem, one of Deel’s earliest growth leaders, who joined when the company was sub-$250K in revenue and helped scale it into a $1B+ ARR generational company.

00:00 — Joining Deel early & Andreessen backing

03:10 — From agencies to growth in tech

06:40 — Why paid ads break at SMB scale

10:25 — Deel in 2020: sub-$250K revenue

13:45 — What “Head of Growth” really meant

16:20 — First customers: cold emails & Reddit

20:05 — Non-scalable hustle vs long-term growth

24:10 — Competing with PayPal & wire transfers

27:40 — Sales ↔ Growth handoff that actually works

31:15 — Product feedback in hypergrowth

34:30 — First real inflection point

38:10 — Back-to-back fundraises & momentum

41:50 — Founder dynamics & execution speed

45:30 — Deel’s intense culture explained

49:20 — Hiring bar-raisers at scale

52:40 — Growth bets that surprised them

56:10 — Turning channels off to find truth

59:30 — Why she didn’t start a company

1:02:10 — The ideal stage to join a startup

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Meltem Kuran Berkowitz  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meltem-kuran-berkowitz

Nichole wischoff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

From solar’s insane cost curve to AI data centers overpowering utilities, Casey explains why cheap, abundant energy will decide which countries — and companies — win next.

00:00 – Terraform’s mission: making fuel from sunlight & air

01:00 – Casey’s background (physics, NASA, Hyperloop → startup)

03:00 – Who Terraform’s customers actually are

04:40 – Energy explained like you’re 5 (how the grid really works)

06:50 – Why electricity changed human civilization

09:40 – Solar + batteries permanently destabilize utilities

11:40 – Why solar suddenly got insanely cheap

12:50 – Solar’s 48% learning rate (this is wild)

14:00 – Will solar dominate all primary energy?

16:30 – Electrification myths (cars, heating, transport)

18:30 – Batteries are about to explode in scale

21:00 – Why Tesla is winning energy, not just cars

23:00 – AI data centers are starving for power

25:00 – Why utilities don’t want hyperscalers

27:50 – Nuclear won’t scale fast enough (hard truth)

29:20 – Why solar beats everything on speed & scale

31:00 – Turning solar energy into fuels & materials

34:40 – Mining metals using pure energy (basalt theory)

38:10 – Will data centers replace utilities?

41:00 – The real long-term energy future

43:40 – Careers at Terraform & final thoughts

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Casey Handmer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/casey-handmer/

Nichole wischoff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

This isn’t a food story.

It’s a distribution, demand, and systems story.

00:00 – How This Cookie Business Accidentally Started

00:50 – Both Working Tech Jobs… Then This Happened

02:35 – The Market Gap in SF Nobody Was Serving

06:45 – Why She Obsessed Over Cookies (Not Cakes)

08:50 – One Base Recipe = Infinite Flavors (Product Moat)

10:55 – The “Cookie Draft” That Changed Everything

13:30 – Growth Hack: Engagement Pods on Instagram

16:35 – Why She Didn’t Sell Anything for Months

18:45 – First Drops: Selling Cookies via DMs

20:55 – Hot Plate: The Inflection Point

23:55 – TikTok Reviews That Exploded Demand (No Ads)

26:45 – Engineering Scarcity on Purpose

29:45 – Running a Bakery From a 1-Bedroom Apartment

33:15 – The Numbers: 70 Boxes / Week, 250 Waiting

36:05 – When Exclusivity Becomes a Problem

38:35 – Scaling Beyond the Apartment (What’s Next)

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Nocrumbs  (Nicole)

https://www.instagram.com/nocrumbscookies/#

Nichole wischoff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

In this episode, we sit down with Alex, founder of an AI-native construction company that just raised a $12M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, to talk about why traditional construction fails  and how AI can finally fix it.

00:00 – $12M seed round & why this company came out of nowhere

01:30 – Alex’s background: from software to heavy industry

03:30 – Why building large projects in the US keeps getting worse

05:00 – How industrial construction actually works (developers, EPCs, GCs)

06:40 – The real problem: incentives, finance, and cost-plus contracts

09:20 – Why change orders are where construction companies make money

11:00 – How AI removes risk instead of just “adding software”

13:30 – Automating design to eliminate ambiguity before construction starts

16:00 – Why doing 10,000 design iterations changes everything

18:30 – Why selling software to GCs doesn’t fix productivity

21:00 – Why this company chose to be the GC, not a tool vendor

23:30 – Lessons from failed vertical construction startups (Katara, prefab)

26:30 – Who their customers are: data centers, mining, manufacturing

29:30 – How fast AI-native construction could actually get

32:30 – Why construction should be treated like a software problem

35:00 – Hiring plans & building a multidisciplinary team

37:30 – The long-term vision: rebuilding the physical world faster

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Alex Modon

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmodon/

Nichole wischoff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

From automating 80%+ of the energy-development workflow to unlocking hidden power on the grid, Paces is quietly shaping trillions of dollars worth of energy infrastructure.

00:00 – Why America Has 28,000 Permitting Jurisdictions

01:12 – How Paces Began: The Origin Story

03:40 – Early Problems in Renewable Development

06:30 – Why Paces Joined YC

08:55 – Building the Largest Permitting Dataset in the US

11:20 – Scraping, Cleaning & Using LLMs for Zoning Laws

14:05 – Finding Power on the Grid (and why it got harder)

16:50 – Transformer Shortages & Multi-Million-Dollar Deposits

19:40 – Data Centers vs Utilities: The New Reality

22:15 – Can Clean Energy Actually Power AI?

24:30 – Solar + Batteries vs Gas vs Nuclear for Speed

27:00 – The True Bottleneck: Capital & Supply Chain Timing

29:10 – How Startups Can Innovate in Energy Hardware

32:45 – The One-Person Billion Dollar Power Company

36:00 – Automating 80% of Energy Development

38:10 – Future of Energy, AI & Infrastructure

40:00 – How to Contact Paces / Hiring

The Electric Slide

https://www.notboring.co/p/the-electric-slide

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

James McWalter

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmcwalter/

Nichole wischoff

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

Timestamps
00:00 – 00:58
 How epigenetic reprogramming works & why aging might be reversible
00:58 – 01:03
 How big AI models changed biotech
01:03 – 02:21
 NewLimit’s origin story — Jacob, Brian Armstrong & Blake Byers
02:22 – 05:20
 Early breakthroughs, skeptical experiments & why results surprised them
05:20 – 08:25
 Choosing the first targets: liver, immunity & where aging hits hardest
08:25 – 11:35
 AI in drug discovery — protein language models, predicting experiments, and cutting years of R&D
11:35 – 14:10
 What medicines could actually make us “feel” younger?
14:10 – 16:15
 Diseases of aging vs. problems that hit everyone after 25
16:15 – 19:10
 How biotech actually works — discovery → development → commercialization
19:10 – 21:00
 Why Eli Lilly invested & how a drug goes to market
21:00 – 23:30
 How close NewLimit is to human trials
23:30 – 25:50
 What needs to happen before a drug ever touches a human
25:50 – 27:45
 Phase 1, 2, 3 trials explained simply
27:45 – 29:20
 Building the team: from 5 scientists to a world-class 40-person biotech
29:20 – 31:20
 Why staying small is a superpower in biotech
31:20 – 33:10
 Fundraising: why aging reversal needs $200M+ instead of $5M
33:10 – 35:10
 Is there a chance they discover nothing? Startup-like risk in drug discovery
35:10 – 38:02
 What Jacob is most excited about: GLP-1s, diagnostics, AI & the future of health
38:02 – 38:30
 How to get in touch + final thoughts

Rho 
Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public
Website - https://public.com/

Jacob Kimmel
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-kimmel/

Nichole wischoff
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholewischoff/

His journey started with years of unresolved health issues insomnia, migraines, surgeries, and doctors who couldn’t find the cause. That experience exposed him to elite $100,000+ precision medicine and eventually sparked the idea behind Superpower:
Using AI to bring world-class healthcare to everyone for just $199/year.

In this episode, Max breaks down how Superpower is building a parallel healthcare system, why 100 million Americans are pre-diabetic, how hormones are collapsing for both men and women, and why AI can now outperform doctors in creating personalized health protocols

00:00 — Intro: Max’s mission & America’s health crisis

01:05 — Max’s personal health struggles & early obsession with medicine

03:40 — Discovery of elite doctors & the $100k healthcare model

05:10 — ChatGPT moment: AI unlocking elite healthcare for all

07:50 — Meeting co-founders & building the company

10:20 — Early days, early mistakes & 2022 origin story

13:05 — What Superpower does today: 100+ biomarker tests

16:40 — AI protocols vs. doctors

19:00 — Common issues: metabolism, hormones, lipids

23:00 — Integrating CGMs, wearables & real-time insights

25:40 — Behind the scenes: full-stack healthcare infrastructure

29:50 — Marketing: Meta ads, virality & the “Healthiest Hoodie”

33:05 — Why competitors help their growth

35:10 — The hard part of healthcare + regulations

41:20 — Two healthcare systems: sick care & optimization

45:30 — Seed & Series A fundraising story

48:00 — What customers get today for $199

50:10 — Hiring insanely brilliant talent

52:10 — Market size: building a $300B company

55:00 — Closing thoughts

Rho 

Website - https://www.rho.co/

Public

Website - https://public.com/

Superpower.com

Website - https://superpower.com/

Max Marchione 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxmarchione/

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:42 - Pre-Seel career and algorithmic underwriting origins
00:01:29 - Early experimentation and proof of concepts
00:02:25 - Discovery of e-commerce returns opportunity
00:03:21 - Early algorithm development and behavioral insights
00:05:22 - Business model evolution and AI-enabled services
00:07:20 - Building vertical-specific applications at scale
00:09:21 - Growth strategy: SMB to enterprise transition
00:11:46 - Founder-led sales and learning enterprise motion
00:13:29 - Building with modern technology and lessons learned
00:15:13 - Current product offering and value proposition
00:18:22 - Team growth and hiring across functions
00:20:30 - Ideal customer profile and market positioning
00:21:42 - Future of e-commerce and agentic shopping
00:24:50 - Closing thoughts

SEEL
Website - https://www.seel.com/

Zack Peng
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zackpeng/

In this episode, Mallory reveals:
- The frustrations that led her from the factory floor to Harvard Business School
- How Anduril inspired her to start Stell Engineering
- Navigating government contracts and achieving Authority to Operate (ATO)
- Why developer tools for hardware engineering is a $10B market opportunity
- Building a dual-use strategy serving both DoD and prime contractors

00:00 - Introduction & Welcome
00:31 - Background and Origin Story
00:45 - Early Career in Aerospace Engineering
01:27 - Challenges in the Defense Industry
01:54 - Decision to Pursue Business School
02:26 - Discovering Defense Tech Startups
02:51 - Internship Experience
03:16 - Meeting the Co-Founder
03:51 - Working at a High-Growth Defense Company
04:35 - Starting Stell Engineering
06:13 - The Problem They're Solving
07:15 - Product Vision and Strategy
08:29 - Navigating Government Sales
08:51 - Going Enterprise and Dual-Use Strategy
09:10 - Current Customer Base
10:13 - Marketing Strategy
10:50 - Sales Cycle Timeline
11:00 - Team Structure and Hiring
11:30 - Go-To-Market Strategy
12:09 - Product-Led Growth Approach
12:17 - Cybersecurity Requirements
12:40 - Major Milestone Achievement
14:25 - AI in Regulated Industries
15:30 - Building Practical Solutions
17:25 - Company Culture
18:15 - Hiring and Open Positions
19:52 - Key Roles Hiring For
20:11 - Future Hiring Plans
20:37 - Future Market Outlook
21:11 - Industry Predictions
21:32 - Investment Thesis
22:00 - Closing Thoughts & Contact Info

STELL ENGINEERING
Website - https://www.stell-engineering.com/

Malory McLemore
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/malorymclemore/

The episode dives deep into the brutal realities of competing in a cutthroat tech market, including shocking stories of competitors offering $100,000 to poach customers and the critical importance of early hiring decisions. Adam provides invaluable insights on startup growth, the future of mobile marketing, and the delicate balance between profitability and fundraising.

00:00 Introduction and Early Challenges
00:28 Interview with Adam: Background and Early Career
00:51 Founding the First Startup
04:01 Lessons Learned and Moving Forward

04:54 The Birth of Postscript
06:40 YC Experience and Early Growth
12:27 Navigating the Competitive Market
18:45 Fundraising Journey
22:00 Impact of AI and Future Plans
26:22 Reflections and Final Thoughts

The conversation takes an unexpected turn as Ryan discusses how COVID-19 became his biggest break, creating the perfect opportunity to launch his own company. He also opens up about personal challenges, including his ongoing battle with "Friday scaries" and the therapeutic journey of learning to be a "human being" rather than just a "human doing."

00:00 Introduction and Early Life
01:40 College and Early Career Aspirations
05:22 Struggles and Breakthrough in Real Estate
12:48 Rise to Fame and Million Dollar Listing
19:32 Starting His Own Brokerage
26:03 Raising Venture Capital and Starting a Brokerage
27:36 Challenges of Starting Fresh
29:05 Inflection Points and TV Shows
32:22 Personal Life and Work Balance
38:24 Innovations and Future Plans

The discussion also explores the critical relationship between energy access and human prosperity, leading to Justin's current mission with Base—Revolutionizing grid storage. He provides unique insights into the challenges of American manufacturing, how Texas has become the perfect testing ground for grid innovation, and the war for manufacturing between the US and China.

00:47 Meet Justin Lopez: Co-Founder of Base Power Company
01:33 Justin's Journey: From SpaceX to Anduril
09:04 The Birth of Base Power Company
11:10 Base Power's Vision and Strategy
15:49 Why Texas? Strategic Insights
19:50 Funding and Scaling Challenges
22:35 The Future of Manufacturing in the U.S.
29:56 Training and Workforce Development
31:42 The Role of AI in Energy Solutions
33:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The conversation takes a dramatic turn as Goldstein reveals the intense legal battle with Boeing—That nearly destroyed Archer Aviation before its IPO—Offering rare insights into high-stakes corporate litigation. He also discusses how the Russia-Ukraine war exposed opportunities in modern defense, leading to Archer's strategic pivot into autonomous military solutions. Throughout the episode, Goldstein shares fascinating details about raising $2 billion for a flying car startup and why tackling massive, world-changing problems can actually be easier than building smaller companies.

00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome
00:41 Meet Adam Goldstein: From Finance to Tech
01:43 The Birth of Vettery
02:54 Investment Banking and 9/11 Experience
04:36 Lessons from the Hedge Fund World
06:44 Building and Scaling Vetteri
11:24 The Acquisition of Vettery
15:26 Founding Archer: A New Venture
19:27 The Challenge of Raising Capital]
19:47 Navigating the eVTOL Industry
21:20 Building a Credible Team
22:30 The Impact of COVID-19
23:12 Securing Initial Funding
24:40 Developing the First Prototype
24:53 Entering the SPAC Market
29:18 The Boeing Lawsuit
32:38 Future Prospects and Defense Opportunities
36:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The conversation takes an fascinating turn when Findley reveals how a casual dinner conversation led to Peter Thiel becoming the sole investor in her $300M fund. She also provides valuable insights into why she ultimately rejected venture capital, and how the 2008 financial crisis created a massive opportunity in private credit that continues to shape markets today.

01:14 Carrie Finley's Background
02:00 Early Career and Challenges
05:54 Journey to Third Point
11:04 Founding Tacora Capital
14:47 Raising Funds and Peter Thiel's Support
20:13 Current Focus and Future Plans

The story takes an interesting turn with a late-night steak dinner at Andreessen Horowitz that unexpectedly led to naming the company Superhuman. The conversation also reveals how a sophisticated family office preempted their Series A with just 10 users, recognizing the massive potential in the email market - where 1 billion professionals spend 3 hours daily, creating a trillion-hour annual opportunity. Perhaps most compelling is Vohra's unique approach to achieving product-market fit through personal onboarding sessions with wine and whiskey, demonstrating the power of high-touch customer development in building a product people love.

01:24 Raoul Vora's Journey Before Superhuman
01:58 The Early Days of Superhuman
02:45 Raising the Initial Capital
04:04 Challenges and Strategies in Fundraising
05:55 The A16Z Story
09:23 Series A and Beyond
15:04 The Waitlist Strategy
19:02 Series C and Market Reflections
24:05 Raoul Vohra as an Investor

We also cover shifts in round sizes since the 2021 peak and provides insights into multi-stage funds' increasing presence in seed rounds, concluding with my predictions for venture capital in 2025.

Now, Distelburger is tackling a new frontier with Windmill, which gives AI superpowers to managers. Drawing from his experience leading thousands of employees, he's addressing the fundamental challenge of how leaders can more effectively run their team in the way that works for them. With 400 companies already on the waitlist, Windmill is fundamentally reshaping how organizations think about span of control by leveraging AI to enable domain experts to manage larger teams effectively, all while the company takes a measured approach to growth and funding.

01:11 Founding Yext
01:40 Early Ventures and Challenges
03:53 Fundraising Journey
07:01 TechCrunch Disrupt and Growth
16:35 Transition and New Ventures
18:01 Building Windmill

-Not knowing a thing about venture capital and bootstrapping to $40M GMV
-Acquiring first customers going door to door in NYC
-Why he raised VC when the company vs bootstrap given early traction
-Relaunching from MyPizza to Slice in 2016
-The value of VCs when you're a solo founder

In this episode we dig into: 

Starting AppBoy/Braze and hustling to raise initial capital 
Randomly meeting his co-founders on a street corner in NYC
The importance of building relationships between rounds with VCs 
Why you should always get on a plane to close the deal 
Stepping back as CEO pre-IPO 
Building a VC firm from scratch

- Not being a hot company in YC
- Suing the government as a startup and winning 
- Raising money from Sequoia, Henry Kravis, Schwab and others 
- Being unable to take on more deposits because of demand during the presidential election 
- The power of building a company that is "anti-pattern" to other companies

• Launching in the app store and the product taking off on its own
• Unintentionally making their first $500K in revenue
• Why raise venture capital vs. bootstrap given the early traction 
• Not starting a company before working at a startup
• Scaling to 10M+ global creators on the platform 
• The future of video with AI 

Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_sour.... 

Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to aguerrero@stifelbank.com for more information.

- Whats hot at pre-seed and seed stage right now 
- Massive secondary sales replacing IPOs and the implications 
- Should CEOs of big companies be building their own personal brands online 

- VCs passing on their $4M seed because construction tech was unproven
- How to acquire sub-contractors when they can't be found online and during Covid
- What most construction tech startups get wrong about the market opportunity
- Raising growth rounds at the height of the market in 2021 

Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole. 

Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to aguerrero@stifelbank.com for more information.

- VCs passing on the seed round because $4.5M was "too large" 
- Why giving their seed investor a board seat was great for the company 
- The trouble with pitching non-technical investors a very technical product 
- AI and its impact and opportunity for Merge 

Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole. 

Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to aguerrero@stifelbank.com for more information.

In Today's episode you will hear from Leif about: 

- Pitching almost 100 VCs for his first company before getting a single yes from Thrive Capital 
- What founders often get wrong when they go out to fundraise from VCs 
- Massive tailwinds for Public.com due to Covid and Gamestop 
- Events contracts and the election (Robinhood & Kalshi) 
- His hot take on the future of consumer fintech 

Thank you to todays sponsor Joinwarp.com. Warp offers almost instant payroll & compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, inquire to learn more. https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole