HD in HD

Before founding Vercel, Guillermo Rauch, was a self-taught teenager in Argentina earning his first dollars online to help his family.

From early open-source work to remote freelancing, this episode traces how his drive to figure things out led to solving web performance at scale.

We also get into:

• how his dad instilled a mindset of pushing tech boundaries

• what growing up during Argentina’s economic swings taught him

• why he sees Minecraft as a healthy game for his kids

• why he believes speed without direction is meaningless

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. For more information, please go to: https://www.brex.com/?ref_code=bmk_audio_HDinHD

Connect with us here:

1. Guillermo Rauch- https://www.linkedin.com/in/rauchg/

2. Brex- https://x.com/brexHQ

3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

With an insatiable appetite for “what’s the new model,” Aaron Levie, Co-founder and CEO of Box, grew up chasing ideas without hesitation: performing magic at birthday parties, building websites, and making short films.

In this episode of HD in HD, he shares how a curious mind from early ages became his greatest strength, and how staying slightly uncomfortable kept him ahead of the biggest tech shifts, from SaaS to AI.

Today, Box powers content for 100k+ organizations and 68% of the Fortune 500, and is still driven by the same restless energy Aaron had as a teenager, always chasing what’s next.

In this episode, we also get into:

00:00 Intro

00:57 Brex Sponsorship

01:44 Aaron Levy's Early Years

02:24 High School

13:04 College

17:29 The Early Days of Box

23:17 Technological Shifts and Challenges

29:39 Navigating Competition

30:00 Enterprise Differentiation

32:24 Brex Sponsorship

33:12 AI’s Impact on Software and Work

44:51 AI's Role in Enterprise Knowledge Management

48:07 Future of Organizational Design

55:50 AI's Influence on Sales and Marketing

01:03:50 Reflections on Luck, Strategy, and Mistakes

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. For more information, please go to: https://www.brex.com/?ref_code=bmk_audio_HDinHD

Connect with us here:

1. Aaron Levie- https://www.linkedin.com/in/boxaaron/

2. Brex- https://x.com/brexHQ

3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

When Ariel Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Navan, first set out to modernize corporate travel, he wasn’t an industry insider.

What he did bring was a relentless focus on fundamentals, constantly asking, “Is it a good business?”, an instinct that arose from his family’s financial struggles, working in cafés, and participating in virtual business competitions in Israel.

And that is exactly what led him to build a travel tech giant.

In this episode, we also get into:

• why building a startup while raising kids gave Ariel motivation to do better.

• the supply chain problem in the travel industry.

• will AI replace travel agents in the near future?

• how Navan’s chatbot helps reduce customers’ travel expenses.

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. For more information, click here.

Connect with us here:

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

Before co-founding StoneCo, a $3.67B fintech giant, André Street was already thinking like a founder at the age of 14, skipping school not to rebel, but to build.

Howie Liu built Airtable into one of the most powerful no-code platforms in the world—used by over 450,000 companies and backed by everyone from Benchmark to Thrive to YC.

In this episode of HD in HD, I was joined by the founder and CEO of Airtable as he reelected on the unexpected turns that shaped his entrepreneurial path—from cold-pitching algo trading models at a college career fair, to building software that powers teams at scale.

In our conversation, we get into:

We only scratched the surface on the Airtable chapter, so don’t be surprised if there’s a part two.

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex —a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

Connect with us:

1. Howie Liu– https://x.com/howietl

2. Henrique Dubugras– https://x.com/hdubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com

00:00 Intro

01:20 Introducing Howie and Airtable

02:10 Early life and family

07:33 Early tech

14:13 Building Websites

32:18 Dreaming big

34:07 Middle-Class Entrepreneur Theory

35:55 High school

44:57 College applications

56:40 Duke University

1:05:10 High-paying jobs

1:07:10 Internships and early career

1:09:23 Neural networks and quant trading

1:16:10 New internship

1:22:02 First startup and lessons learned

1:34:22 The birth of Airtable

1:38:27 Outro

Global payroll is a maze most companies dread navigating.

Deel turned it into their MOAT—streamlining HR across borders, powering remote work, and hitting an $800M run rate with 5,000 employees.

Alex Bouaziz, Deel’s CEO and co-founder, grew up nerding out on Nintendo and hunted perfection from Paris to MIT. His relentless curiosity built a platform that’s rewriting how the world hires.

In this episode, we explore:

• why he wakes up obsessed with your problems, not his product

• how a Disneyland obsession shaped his entrepreneurial spark

• why he’s doubling down on AI and stablecoins

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. Onward and upward, together.

Connect with us:

1. Deel - https://x.com/deel

2. Brex - https://x.com/brexHQ

3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

Everyone ignored this problem—until it became an opportunity. Alexander Rinke, co-founder of Celonis, turned a student project into a $13B+ process mining giant from Germany.

Born and raised in Berlin, he went on to build a software empire that has saved companies like Pfizer $300M.

This episode of HD in HD explores Alex’s path from student founder to CEO—and how he sees AI transforming the way companies run.

Alex and I also unpack:

• how 1,500 handwritten letters helped him land Siemens

• why AI’s next wave hinges on process overhaul

• how a $50K project outgrew his McKinsey dreams

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

Connect with us:

1. Alex - https://x.com/alexanderrinke

2. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

00:00:00 Trailer

00:01:20 Introduction

00:02:40 Process Mining

00:03:59 Real-World Applications

00:06:46 Early Life

00:09:48 Education and Early Career

00:24:32 The Birth of Celonis

00:42:36 Initial Funding Challenges

00:49:45 Scaling and Venture Capital

01:01:15 Mentorship and Role Models

01:05:39 The Future of Celonis and AI

01:13:28 Reflections on Success and Upbringing

01:24:24 Closing Thoughts

Old-school banking leans on control and complacency.

Revolut charted its own course—flourishing by bending conventions, outrunning oversight, and favoring execution over protocol.

Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut’s co-founder and CEO, was forged by a mix of physics-driven upbringing and competitive swimming. This drilled in his mantra: systems can be cracked, and tenacity outshines flair.

That drive transformed Revolut from a currency workaround to a global financial juggernaut, clashing with the establishment.

In this episode, we dig into:

• Why Nik fueled the start with trading earnings despite later raising $2 billion

• How Revolut leapfrogged regulators and legacy players

• Why breakneck expansion needs discipline when costs soar and margins tighten

explore Nikolay's background

other fintech innovators

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. Onward and upward, together. 

Connect with us: 

1. Revolut - https://x.com/RevolutApp

2. Brex - https://x.com/brexHQ

3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

00:00 Trailer

00:49 Introduction

01:52 Nik's Early Life and Education

11:50 Transition to Finance and Trading

14:19 The Collapse of Lehman Brothers

25:15 Starting Revolut

36:28 YC Combinator and Fundraising Challenges

41:24 Product Development and Market Fit

44:23 Company Culture and Hiring Philosophy

47:01 Management Style and Systems

59:52 Expansion and Systematizing Processes

01:06:30 Reflections on Success and Challenges

01:09:00 Closing Thoughts

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

Justin Mateen set out to make dating simple—no lengthy profiles, no uncertainty—just a "yes" or "no" swipe. Today, Tinder’s user base has expanded to 75 million monthly active users.

Justin Mateen has continued building on his success by investing early in promising startups such as Brex, Curative Health, Deel, Home Chef, Kalshi, Speak, Whop, and many others, becoming a billionaire along the way.

In 2020 he launched JAM Fund, one of the largest Solo VC firms in the world, which has raised approximately $500 million, with $330 million dedicated to its second fund.

Business Insider listed Justin Mateen as the number 1 ranked investor in the “Top 100 list of US seed investors” in both 2020 and 2021, with Forbes including Mateen on their list of the decade's top 10 tech entrepreneurs.

In this episode, he and I sat down to discuss Tinder’s highs, struggles, and the lessons learned along the way. We also unpack:

• the evolution of the 'swipe left/right' phenomenon

• whether Facebook played to his subconscious while building Tinder, and why

• putting all your eggs in one basket → asymmetric returns

Justin’s investing firm, Jam Fund, raised about $300 million from investors for its second fund last year.

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. Onward and upward, together.

Connect with us here: 

1. Justin Mateen- https://x.com/Justin_Mateen

2. Brex- https://x.com/brexHQ

3. Henrique Dubugras- https://x.com/hdubugras

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:37) Inquisitive childhood

(00:05:07) Learning on both fronts

(00:10:08) Bullied and trading stocks

(00:12:36) Relationship with money

(00:15:26) USC and the freshman experience

(00:20:47) Lover boy

(00:23:47) Financial stability and freedom

(00:27:41) From riches to rags

(00:31:20) Some things are best lived in your...

(00:35:22) Brex

(00:36:09) Pre-Tinder

(00:40:44) Taylor Swift's website

(00:43:43) Ask Me Out

(00:50:04) Building trust

(00:53:07) The numbers skyrocketed

(00:58:20) Existential risk

(01:01:04) 13 and a half Staple Centers

(01:05:30) Marketing for the first million users

(01:15:30) Becoming profitable

(01:21:04) Interesting stats

(01:23:01) Through a bad breakup

(01:34:12) Post-Tinder, Peter Thiel, investing

(01:40:26) Short-term options

(01:44:48) Never say never

(01:48:44) Outro

Bill McDermott bought his first business when he was in high school, and he never looked back. Now, he sits down with Henrique to talk about his early days as a teenage entrepreneur, coming home from his first job interview with his employee badge in his pocket, and what it takes to be the type of leader people still talk about decades later.

This episode is brought to you by Brex—a brand I'm proud to have co-founded and one thats shaped by the same journey many of you are on. Brex has everything startups and fast growing companies need to make every dollar count, from modern corporate cards, banking, and treasury to accounting automation, travel, and expenses. Over 25,000 companies, including DoorDash, Scale AI, and Anthropic spend smarter on Brex. For more information, please go to: https://www.brex.com/?ref_code=bmk_audio_HDinHD