Off to the Valley

Hello everyone and welcome to a special year-end episode of Off To The Valley! I'm your host, Prateek Panda, and before we wrap up the year, we're hitting pause to look back on a season that broke patterns and reminded us why we started.

We revisit game-changing insights, from Peter Loving's essential advice on design to Yang Cheung's strategy of generating revenue pre-product. Hear again why you should "focus on your personal brand" as a new entrepreneur (Nida Ateeq) and why you should always find a network of the kind of people you're trying to become (Arjita Sethi).

And as we head into 2026, Prateek shares an exclusive look at Season 3 where we will dive deep into the stories behind every founder's first $1 Million in ARR - the chase, the chaos, and the clarity.

Thank you for tuning in. Until then, stay curious, and keep chasing the stories that move you!

Are you struggling to hit the $1M ARR mark because your customer growth is constantly offset by high churn? You have a leaky bucket, and that's a problem we're solving today!

I’m joined by the incredible Anika Zubair, a former immigrant to Europe and a global Customer Success leader, to discuss the critical shift founders need to make. We tackle the common misunderstanding that Customer Success is just support, not a revenue engine.

Listen to this episode and learn:

• Why the second you're too busy to have recurring meetings with customers, you need to hire your first CSM.
• How to segment users beyond the early stage and build different CS motions for Enterprise, Mid-Market, and SMB.
• Anika's two quick tips to get better visibility into your retention problem this week.
• The personal journey of moving from California to Europe and how different cultures shape a founder's perspective. 

When Hila Lauterbach moved from Israel to the U.S. with a six-week-old baby, she didn’t have an office, a network, or a roadmap. For months, her desk was a restroom at a small restaurant, and from that space, she built teams, launched startups, and led go-to-market strategy for some of the most exciting SaaS companies in tech.

Today, Hila is the Co-Founder of 10XGTM, a consultancy that helps high-growth startups find their voice, scale their revenue, and navigate the fast-changing world of AI and SaaS. She’s also a global advocate for women and immigrant founders through her work with Femigrants, driving awareness and opportunity in an industry where less than 2% of funding reaches female-led startups.

In this episode, Hila opens up about the real story behind the highlight reel, the failures, the reinvention, and the lessons she’s learned while helping companies grow from zero to multimillion-dollar ARR. She also breaks down her 5A GTM framework, explains what most founders get wrong about scaling, and shares how she’s helping redefine what success looks like in Silicon Valley.

It’s raw, inspiring, and packed with practical lessons for founders, leaders, and anyone carving their own path.

When Sophie Alcorn was a shy little girl in Southern California, she would follow her father, an immigration lawyer, to his office on Saturdays. If she managed to send a fax correctly to the INS, she’d earn a sugar cube as a reward. That small ritual planted the seeds of what would become her life’s calling.

Years later, after resisting the path of “becoming just like dad,” Sophie returned to immigration law on her own terms. Today, she’s one of the most trusted voices guiding international founders through the complexities of building companies in the United States. She’s written for TechCrunch, hosts her own podcast, and has built a practice that has helped countless entrepreneurs secure visas and bring their ideas to life.

In this conversation, Sophie shares her journey from bookworm to advocate, why U.S. policy still lags in supporting immigrant founders, and how options like the O-1 and H-1B are shaping the future of global entrepreneurship. She also opens up about the emotional toll of navigating “extraordinary ability” visas, the myths that waste founders’ time, and what the U.S. stands to lose without a real startup visa.

It’s part story, part guide, and part call to action, a must-listen for any founder dreaming of scaling their vision on American soil.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Jane Fisher, journalist-turned-founder of imii, an AI-powered platform helping immigrants navigate life in a new country. Jane’s story is one of resilience, identity, and building with purpose.

Born in Japan to parents from the USSR, Jane grew up as a classic third-culture kid, never fully belonging anywhere. That experience, combined with her own struggles moving across countries, sparked the idea for Immi. What started as a B2C concept has now grown into a bold B2B and B2G vision: digitizing the fragmented support systems for immigrants and making integration simpler, faster, and more human.

Jane shares how she built not one, but two MVPs, on just $10,000, with a part-time team working for equity. She opens up about the realities of early-stage entrepreneurship, from consulting on the side to extend runway, to balancing burnout, therapy, and meditation as part of her founder’s toolkit.

We also delve into the bigger picture: why she believes LinkedIn is a founder’s most underrated sales tool, how brutal honesty online has helped her generate leads, and what it really takes to connect the dots when resources are scarce.

It’s an inspiring and brutally candid conversation about identity, purpose, and building solutions that matter.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Sasha Yablonovsky, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Loanspark and former President at CareerBuilder, to unpack her extraordinary journey from immigrant beginnings to building a fintech that’s reshaping small business lending.

Sasha shares how Loanspark went revenue positive in under 24 months with a lean team of just 20 hires, proving that speed and focus can matter more than raising millions. We talk about:

→ The mindset shift from corporate executive to startup founder

→ Lessons from being a woman in tech in the 90s, and how she turned skepticism into strength

→ Why hiring the right people can make or break an early-stage company

→ How Loanspark’s embedded lending model is changing access to capital for SMBs, from equipment financing to real estate

→ The role of AI in speeding up approvals and underwriting in commercial lending

→ How founders can avoid “yes syndrome” by innovating with purpose and learning to say no

Packed with hard-won insights, candid reflections, and actionable takeaways, this conversation is a must-listen for founders, fintech operators, and anyone navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Evan Burkosky, Co-Founder & CEO of Kimaru.ai, to explore his extraordinary journey, from growing up on Vancouver Island and working summers on his family’s fishing boat, to spending over two decades building businesses in Japan.

I share in Evan’s reflections as he talks about how an early dream of importing Canadian seafood to Japan transformed into a career leading market entries for global SaaS platforms, and now, building a company that’s revolutionizing supply chain decision-making with AI.

In our conversation, Evan opens up about:

→ The realities of being an entrepreneur in Japan—cultural nuances, relationship-driven sales, and the growing startup ecosystem.
 → How Kimaru’s decision intelligence platform augments human judgment instead of replacing it, using AI to speed up and improve supply chain decisions worldwide.
 → Why a “human in the loop” circuit breaker is essential in AI systems.
 → Lessons from expanding from Japan into the U.S. market, including how to adapt to “Silicon Valley speed.”
 → His thoughts on mental health for founders and the importance of asking for help.
 → The emerging field of decision intelligence and why it’s a trend to watch over the next five years.

This episode is packed with hard-earned insights for entrepreneurs, AI enthusiasts, and anyone navigating global business.

Yang Cheung turned her kid’s doodle into a business idea, and it’s now helping children become creators, earn royalties, and build confidence through their art.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, Yang shares the journey behind PixyIt, a platform where children’s artwork is transformed into products like t-shirts, mugs, and more. But it’s more than just a feel-good story. This is a real startup, with traction, tech, and a purpose-driven model.

We dive into:

→ How an innocent lobster sketch sparked the idea

→ The lessons Yang learned from early failures in NFTs and online galleries

→ Why she focused on validation before building a full MVP

→ The blend of AI and human curation behind PixyIt’s product

→ What it’s like building as a parent, an immigrant, and a founder

If you’re building for consumers, purpose, or both, this episode is full of insight for you! 

Joseph Lee started his entrepreneurial journey at 15, flipping electronics on Craigslist to fund his education. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Supademo, a fast-growing platform that’s transforming how teams create interactive product demos.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, Joseph shares how he went from dropping out of university to launching Supademo and landing over 2,000 users in the first five months. We unpack:

• How doing things that don’t scale built momentum early on
• Why “launch” is a mindset, not a moment
• Building a PLG motion that actually works
• Why he chose not to raise funding (yet)
• Lessons from New York vs. Vancouver for ambitious founders
• The underrated power of boring B2B SaaS

We also delve into his decision-making process, hiring practices, and his perspective on the Canadian startup ecosystem.

Whether you’re early in your founder journey or scaling your second startup, this episode offers grounded insights from someone who’s building with heart, clarity, and conviction.

In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Nida Ateeq, founder and CMO of Anagar Media, a marketing agency that helps B2B companies transition from brand confusion to pipeline clarity.

Nida shares her journey of moving from India to Canada, launching a business in a new country, and landing her first clients through trust, community, and personal branding. She unpacks how she built a thriving referral engine, her top AI tools for scaling B2B marketing, and the mindset shifts required to grow without burning out.

You’ll hear practical insights on:

• Starting a business as an immigrant founder
• Building a strong network from scratch
• Why personal branding is a business growth strategy
• Leveraging AI to increase marketing efficiency
• Long-game thinking when it comes to sales and community

Whether you’re a founder, freelancer, or marketer, this episode will leave you with playbooks you can start using today.