Steven Pivnik failed his first two startups, built his third into a $40M revenue business operating across 20 countries, and sold it in 2020 completing due diligence in just 30 days. Now, as an exit advisor and author of Built to Finish, he has helped founders generate over $1.1 billion in exit value across 38 transactions.

In this startup and scaleup masterclass, Steven breaks down exactly what founders must fix before approaching any acquirer and why most exit processes fail before they even begin.The mistakes that cost founders millions at the table are almost always avoidable: founder dependency, customer concentration, weak recurring revenue, and an underprepared finance function.

Steven reveals his three-part exit readiness assessment covering psychological, financial, and enterprise value drivers, and explains why average exit preparation takes three years and why AI is already reshaping how acquirers evaluate differentiation and IP.

Hosted by Mario Rivas

About Startup Scaleup People

Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation.

New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Steven Pivnik and $1.1B in Founder Exit Value

01:30 Failing Twice: What Steven Did Differently on Startup Number Three

02:41 Building to $40M Revenue Across 12 Countries

03:07 Three Valuation Drivers Acquirers Look for Every Time

05:39 How Long a Proper Exit Process Really Takes

08:21 Earning the Trust of Microsoft, IBM and Google as a Startup

10:40 The Valuation Killers Founders Almost Always Overlook

12:37 Negotiation Tactics: When the Seller Has the Leverage

15:33 Exit Readiness Assessment: Three Angles Every Founder Needs

20:40 Why Endurance Sports and Business Success Feed Each Other

24:48 How AI Is Changing Due Diligence and Company Valuation

27:44 Replacing Yourself as Founder: The COO to CEO Move

40% of Executive Transitions Fail, Navid Nazemian on the Leadership Gap.

Navid Nazemian, executive transition coach and author of Mastering Executive Transitions, has coached 350+ senior leaders across 7 industries over 26 years and the data is stark: 4 in 10 executive transitions fail. In this startup and scaleup leadership masterclass, he reveals why technical skills get you promoted into the C-suite and why the lack of soft skills gets you fired, and how leaders can use his Double Diamond Framework to onboard successfully before costly mistakes derail the transition.

With only 1% of leaders reporting confidence in deploying AI and CEOs saying the role has changed more in the past year than in the previous 25, Navid breaks down the leadership paradox at the heart of today's organisations. He also reveals the world's first executive transition intelligence LLM, built on 12 years of coaching transcripts, book citations, and 116 podcast episodes, designed to give every executive access to world-class transition coaching at scale.

Chapters:

00:35 Introduction to Leadership and Coaching

08:48 Executive Transition Challenges

15:04 Qualities of Exceptional Leaders

20:31 Understanding Executive Presence

25:01 The Impact of AI on Leadership34:45 Cultural Differences in Leadership

In this episode of Startup Scaleup People, Mario speaks with Cory Blumenfeld, serial entrepreneur, founder, investor-backed startup builder, and entrepreneur with multiple successful exits.

Cory shares lessons learned from launching businesses in industries where he had no prior experience, raising millions in funding, building startups from scratch, and eventually creating systems that allow founders to delegate, automate, and scale.

The conversation explores founder psychology, leadership, documentation, hiring, virtual assistants, delegation, and why building a business that runs without you is one of the most valuable assets you can create.

Whether you're launching your first startup or leading a growing company, this episode offers practical advice on building systems that free your time while helping your business grow faster.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Background

04:45 Key Lessons from Exiting Businesses

09:05 Recognizing Bottlenecks in Business

18:41 Overview of Blue Mosso and Virtual Assistance

24:16 AI and Virtual Assistants: A Symbiotic Relationship

31:01 Empowering Business Owners: Taking Back Time

Amanda Groom Built the Bridge Between South Korea and Global TV

Amanda Groom, founder of The Bridge, has spent 20 years helping broadcasters, streamers, and production companies expand internationally, turning South Korea into a benchmark for global media scaleup and now unlocking Brazil and India for the world stage. In this episode, she breaks down the structural collapse of the $3 trillion TV market, why fragmented audiences are forcing a co-production revolution, and how cultural intelligence, not capital alone, determines which media businesses win globally.

The TV industry is undergoing its biggest transformation in decades: advertising revenue has fled to digital, commissioning is down across the US and UK, and production budgets have surged 20–40% since 2020.

Amanda reveals the new financing waterfall model, why Brazil and India are the next South Korea, and how The Bridge de-risks international expansion for some of the world's leading broadcasters.

Hosted by Mario Rivas

About Startup Scaleup People:

Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation.

Chapters

00:00 — Introduction: Amanda Groom & The Bridge's Global Footprint

04:56 — Inside the $3 Trillion TV Market: How It Actually Works

12:22 — Why Broadcasters Struggle to Profit Despite the Market Size

16:26 — Brazil & India: The Next Global TV Powerhouses

23:52 — How Co-Productions Are Reshaping TV Financing

30:22 — AI in the Creative Industries: Efficiency Without Replacement

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Tomás Bercovich, founder & CEO of Global66, scaled a Latin American fintech startup to $1.4B in Q1 2026 transaction volume, on just $20M raised. In this episode, he breaks down the scaleup strategy, capital-efficient growth model, and AI-first transformation turning Global66 into one of LATAM's most important financial platforms.

Global66 is now processing $550M in a single month across B2C and B2B segments, acquiring 40–50K new transactional users per month while remaining profitable for over two years. Tomás reveals the three pillars behind this growth, product & CX, geographic expansion into 100+ countries, and disciplined customer acquisition, and makes the case for why Latin America is the world's most underserved fintech market.

Hosted by Mario Rivas

About Startup Scaleup People:

Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation.

Chapters

00:00 — Global66 & Tomás Bercovich: Who Is He?

01:24 — Inside the Global Account: Multi-Currency, Stablecoins & MasterCard

04:55 — $20M, 7 Years: The Fundraising & Team-Building Reality

08:00 — Google Sheet to $550M/Month: The MVP Origin Story

11:21 — The 3-Pillar Growth Strategy to $10B in Transactions14:43 — Profitable Without VC: Organic Scaling & Banking Licenses

16:35 — Why LATAM Has 35× Fewer Banks Per Capita Than the US

21:25 — Will Stablecoins Replace SWIFT? A Founder's Honest Take

26:28 — CEO Leadership at Scale: The Inverted Pyramid Model

30:06 — AI as a Cultural Transformation, Not a Tool

34:52 — Founder Lessons: Product-Market Fit, Unit Economics & Hiring

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#startupleadership #businessgrowth #scaleups #enterprise #boardleadership #venturecapital #startup #founderstories #innovation #businesspodcast #careergrowth #operationalexcellence #leadershipdevelopment #startupstrategy #funding #exitstrategies #teambuilding #corporategovernance #techfounders #startupscaleuppeople #startupfunding #vc #podcast #shorts #leadership #fintech #entrepreneurship #investing #governance #peoplestories #experience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #businessleadership #businessstrategy #businessideas #businesssuccessstories #businesssuccess #biotech #saas #failure #fail #entrepreneur #howtoinvest #hiring #digitaltransformation #expansion #businessexpansion #energy #technology #techstartup #techfounders #successmindset #motivation #mindset #perseverance #resilience #Emprendimiento #Empreendedorismo #Entrepreneuriat #Unternehmertum #Imprenditorialità #Ondernemerschap #उद्यमिता #ريادة_الأعمال #Girişimcilik #Kewirausahaan #Pagnenegosyo #创业 #起業家精神 #기업가정신

In this episode of Startup & Scaleup People, Mario sits down with Coen Jonker, Co-Founder of Tyme Group, one of the world's fastest-growing digital banking businesses.Tyme Group operates across South Africa, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, serving more than 22 million customers and reaching a valuation of $1.5 billion. Coen shares the journey of building a digital bank from scratch, the challenges of operating in highly regulated markets, and why financial inclusion remains at the heart of the company's mission.The conversation explores the innovative kiosk model that helped TymeBank scale, lessons on leadership, customer obsession, operational excellence, hiring, culture, and the importance of staying focused as a founder.

Coen also shares his views on AI, how it is already transforming decision-making inside organizations, and why the future belongs to businesses that combine technology with human connection.Don't forget to subscribe!

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Coen Jonker and His Journey

02:32 Understanding the Business Model of a Multi-Country Digital Bank

04:19 Empowering Emerging Markets Through Financial Services

07:01 Innovative Kiosk Model for Banking Services

11:27 Challenges of Banking vs. Fintech

14:25 The Complexity of Building a Bank

21:55 Key Insights for Founders in Fintech

25:42 The Importance of Customer Focus

27:51 Building Customer Relationships in Large Businesses

30:53 Connecting with Customers for Product Improvement

32:12 Empowering Employees for Better Decision Making

35:24 The Role of AI in Business Transformation

#StartupScaleupPeople #CoenJonker #TymeGroup #TymeBank #Fintech #DigitalBanking #FinancialInclusion #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Scaleups #Startups #BusinessGrowth #Innovation #CustomerExperience #EmergingMarkets #FounderJourney #BusinessStrategy #Podcast

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In this episode of Startup and Scaleup People, Mario sits down with Karen Prado, founder of ChimiLove, the award-winning South American sauce brand now stocked in more than 500 stores across the UK and Canada.Karen shares how a homemade chimichurri recipe became a fast-growing FMCG business, the realities of scaling a food brand, and the lessons learned from building a premium product in a highly competitive retail market.We discuss:• Building ChimiLove from a kitchen startup to 500+ stores• Winning prestigious Great Taste Awards• Raising investment to fuel growth• Social media, e-commerce, and founder-led branding• The biggest mistakes and lessons from five years of entrepreneurshipAnd more!Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Chimichurri and Its Origins

02:18 The Journey of Building a Brand

04:50 Challenges of Scaling a Business

07:22 Navigating the Food Industry and Awards

09:59 Market Expansion and Strategy

12:38 Consumer Preferences and Health Trends

15:04 Product Range and Flavor Innovations

17:43 Cultural Significance of Chimichurri

20:32 Distribution Channels and Partnerships

23:01 FMCG Industry Insights and Challenges

25:26 Marketing Strategies and Social Media

28:13 Lessons Learned and Future Vision#StartupAndScaleupPeople #FMCG #Retail #FoodBusiness #Entrepreneurship #ScalingUp #ChimiLove #ConsumerBrands

What does it really take to build resilience as a startup founder in high-pressure environments? In Episode 32, we explore mental fitness, emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and founder performance with Sasha Cayward — ex-VC, former elite tennis player, founder coach, and Head of Community at Hubble.

Hosted by Mario Rivas, this conversation dives deep into nervous system regulation, startup stress, burnout, founder psychology, performance under pressure, emotional resilience, and the hidden cost of the modern wellness industry. Sasha shares lessons from elite sports, venture capital, and coaching startup founders across London and San Francisco.

Startup Scaleup People:

Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro to Sasha Cayward

03:00 Elite Sports, Coaching & Mental Resilience

07:00 Founder Burnout & Nervous System Overload

11:00 Anxiety, Stress & Startup Performance15:00 Mental Fitness vs Mental Health

20:00 Neuroscience, Emotional Intelligence & Leadership

26:00 The Wellness Industry & Founder Obsession

34:00 Why Great Founders “Always Find a Way”

40:00 Knowing When to Quit as a Founder

In this episode of Startup & Scaleup People, Mario sits down with Tessa Clarke, Founder & CEO of Olio, the climate-tech platform fighting food waste through hyperlocal sharing.

Olio has grown into a global community with nearly 10 million users, redistributed more than 140 million meals, and built a network of over 100,000 volunteers helping businesses and local communities reduce waste.

Tessa shares the full journey behind building Olio, from the original idea sparked during a house move, to scaling a marketplace business across multiple countries, managing complex logistics operations, fundraising over $50M, building remote-first culture, and using AI to dramatically increase operational efficiency.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Olio and Its Mission

02:47 The Role of Food Waste Heroes

06:04 Challenges of Scaling a Volunteer Community

08:55 The Journey of Founding Olio

11:49 Operational Complexity and Logistics

15:10 Leveraging AI for Efficiency

17:58 Fundraising and Growth Strategies

21:04 Building a Strong Company Culture

23:54 The Importance of Community Impact

27:01 Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

What happens after a founder exits a company… and realizes the next big opportunity is even bigger?

In this episode, Mario sits down with James Weiss, former bartender turned entrepreneur, inventor, and startup founder, to unpack the journey from building a 7-figure cocktail business to inventing the world’s first self-cooling can.

From living in his in-laws’ spare bedroom while bootstrapping a startup to pitching Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, and global beverage giants… this conversation dives deep into entrepreneurship, resilience, IP protection, innovation, and the brutal realities of scaling companies.

Sometimes your biggest business failure becomes the foundation for your most important invention.

About James Weiss:

James Weiss is a Welsh entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of Delta Innovations. After building and exiting a successful cocktail delivery business, he shifted into product innovation and created a patented self-cooling beverage can designed to chill drinks in under 90 seconds.His work has attracted attention from some of the world’s biggest beverage brands, including Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, and major global can manufacturers.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Journey

02:12 From Bartender to Entrepreneur

06:52 Scaling the Cocktail Business

11:41 Navigating Investment Challenges

14:34 The Decision to Exit

18:11 Lessons Learned and New Ventures

22:22 Innovating in Beverage Packaging

37:34 Future of the Product and Market Potential