Build Mode

This week we’re taking you backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Becca Szkutak had the chance to talk with Dan Lorenc, the CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity startup Chainguard following their conversation on stage with prominent investors, The Chainsmokers. They discuss how the EDM duo's venture fund MANTIS went from being viewed skeptically by traditional VCs to becoming a highly sought-after investment partner in the B2B space, how Lorenc scaled the company in a difficult time for cybersecurity, and what value celebrity investors can add to a startup.

Check out the full onstage conversation here.

00:00 - Introduction

02:27 - Chainguard: Company Overview and Open Source Security 

05:27 - Google Background and Solar Winds Impact 

08:02 - Building Chain Guard: Product Evolution 

11:44 - Early Fundraising and Timing 

12:53 - The Legendary Alex Pall Cold Emails 

15:01 - MANTIS Investment Impact 

16:11 - Company Growth and Future Plans 

16:51 - Learning from Early Mistakes

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Recorded live from TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Found co-hosts Becca Szkutak and Dominic Davis sit down with Kai Kloepfer, CEO of Biofire, a smart gun company that aims to prevent firearm misuse. Kloepfer gets into the hurdles of building a hardware startup in the firearm industry from fundraising to building a reliable product. Please note this conversation deals with topics around gun violence and suicide. 

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This week on Found, Dom and Becca talk with Howie Liu, the CEO and co-founder of Airtable to talk about how the Airtable team used smart UX to make app development accessible to even the least technical users. They also discuss how human-computer interaction is at the core of Airtable’s mission and behind each new product they put out. And they get into early missteps, the investor advice that Liu didn’t follow, and the unlikely inspiration behind Airtable’s design.

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This week on Found Dom and Becca talk with  Josh Reeves, co-founder and CEO of Gusto. He shares how the company is transforming small business operations. We explore the complexities of payroll, benefits, and compliance, and how Gusto is helping entrepreneurs navigate these challenges. They also discuss hoe Gusto has managed to stand out in a competitive industry and the important of being excited by the problem you're solving as an entrepreneur. 

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In this week's episode of Found, KiwiCo’s Sandra Lin talks about building a STEM-focused toy business. She explains the importance of inspiring creativity in kids, the company’s massive growth to 50 million crates delivered, and how she sought out feedback from parents and kids alike. They also discuss how the company recently expanded from and online-only DTC to selling in brick and mortar stores. 

00:00 - Introduction 
01:24 - The Story Behind KiwiCo: From Idea to Business
04:53 - Turning an Idea into a Marketable Product
06:32 - Testing and Feedback Beyond the Bay Area
10:00 - Early Marketing Strategies and Organic Growth
15:50 - Expanding into Retail and New Channels
16:06 - The Product Development Process at KiwiCo
21:27 - Fundraising and Navigating the Venture Capital Path
25:51 - Balancing Entrepreneurship with Family Life
31:01 - Early Challenges and Lessons Learned
35:08 - What’s Next for KiwiCo

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Most used car dealers in the U.K. get their stock from auctions, and one startup is moving the process online to make it easier for both car owners and car dealers. This week, Becca and special co-host Kirsten are talking with Harry Jones, the co-founder of Motorway, a U.K. startup helping professional car dealers to bid in an auction for privately owned cars for sale. Motorway has seen rapid success, with a car sold every three minutes and a GMV of £2.2 billion last year. In this episode, Becca, Kirsten and Harry chat about the importance of focusing on a core market and how he and his co-founders built a strong and lasting partnership.

00:00 - Introduction and overview of Motorway

03:03 - Early days and initial ideas for Motorway

05:50 - Pivot to its current model

08:08 - Working with dealerships

10:18 - U.S. vs U.K. and market focus

15:05 - Initial traction, challenges and demand from dealers

25:39 - The co-founding team and their long-term collaboration

30:31 - Lessons learned from previous companies 

36:04 - Motoway's future

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 week.

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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

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This week on Found, Dom and Becca talk with Haitham Eletrabi, the creator of Tennibot. They discuss his journey from civil engineering to inventing a device that he calls the "roomba for tennis". Tennibot not only picks up tennis balls autonomously but also saves players and coaches time, allowing them to focus on improving their game. Join us as we explore how this innovative product is transforming the tennis world, from its humble beginnings to becoming a game-changer in sports tech.

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Finding order in chaotic datasets is key for companies to be able to implement AI solutions that actually work. This week’s guest is Prukalpa Sanka, the co-CEO and co-founder of Atlan, a platform designed to help data teams build trust, streamline workflows, and collaborate more effectively. Atlan emerged from the challenges of managing complex data projects and is now empowering organizations to scale their data operations while maintaining transparency and trust. In this episode they discuss how Atlan has maintained a fun company culture despite the stress and how her and her co-founder have maintained a great working relationship for the past 12 years. 

00:00 - Introduction

02:31 - Founding story and early challenges

06:19 - Overcoming high-stakes data issues

08:45 - The evolution of data and AI

13:31 - Building a product to solve key problems

16:13 - Adapting to technological change

19:21 - The growing role of AI in business

21:05 - Preparing data for AI integration

24:27 - Addressing bias and ethics in AI

26:52 - Fundraising and fun marketing

31:34 - Maintaining a strong co-founder relationship

33:47 - Final thoughts and reflections

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

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Research is completely lacking when it comes to information about women’s hormonal health. Today’s guest is working to compile data and help women find the care they need. This week on Found, we’re talking to Sylvia Kang, the CEO and co-founder of Mira, a women’s health company that is providing home hormonal testing. They discuss the challenges on fundraising for women’s health startups, the importance of research to drive change and access in healthcare, and how Mira forged a new path by becoming FDA approved.

00:00 - Introduction and Overview of Women’s Hormonal Health
01:45 - The Lack of Hormonal Health Data and Fertility Challenges
05:11 - The Inspiration Behind Starting Mira
07:30 - Early Feedback from Doctors and Investors
10:58 - The Evolution of the Women’s Health Market
13:25 - Overcoming the Lack of Scientific Research and Data Collection
16:51 - Impact of COVID-19 on Mira’s Growth
18:42 - Mira as a Cost-Effective Solution to Fertility Issues
21:29 - Mira’s Expansion Beyond Fertility and into IVF
25:02 - Utilizing AI to Personalize Hormonal Health Tracking
28:35 - Sylvia’s Journey from Corporate to Entrepreneurship
32:15 - Building a Female-Driven Company Culture at Mira
34:49 - The Future of Women’s Health and Expanding Mira’s Impact

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

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Microplastics are everywhere: In our water, cleaning supplies, and in so many of our everyday household essentials. This week’s guest, Sarah Paiji Yoo, started Blueland to  help us cut out microplastics and reduce the amount of single-use plastics we use, once and for all. Blueland creates eco-friendly and plastic free cleaning supplies. This week, Dom is joined by Tim De Chant to talk with Sarah about all the challenges of developing sustainable and safe cleaning supplies from formulation to creating a retail strategy and the role of corporate advocacy in driving environmental change.

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

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