The Founder Initiative

By Adam ODonnell

Helping founders hit PMF, get funded & drive durable growth through podcasting & buyer events

(Formerly TheTop.VC)... more

2121 ratings

FAQs about The Founder Initiative:

How many episodes does The Founder Initiative have?

The podcast currently has 213 episodes available.

The Founder Initiative episodes:

April 09, 2026 ($105M+ raised) Rocketlane Founder, Srikrishnan Ganesan: #1 Startup Insight – How Relentless Prospect Interviews and a Unique Go-to-Market Unlocked PMF
- Rocketlane, founded by Srikrishnan Ganesan, spent its first year deeply researching the professional services automation (PSA) space, interviewing over 170 prospects and building conviction around unmet needs for customer-facing project management.
- The team identified a key pain point: companies struggled with the gap between contracted and live ARR, making effective onboarding and project delivery a board-level priority, especially for mid-market and upmarket tech companies.
- Rocketlane differentiated itself by building an all-in-one PSA platform tailored for services teams, integrating project management, customer collaboration, project accounting, and new AI-powered features like Nitro to automate and execute services work.
- Early traction came from targeting Series B+ tech companies and leveraging community-building, with their first paying customer coming via a VC referral and subsequent growth fueled by a successful Product Hunt launch.
- Rocketlane has raised a total of $105 million from investors including Insight Partners, 8VC, Matrix Partners India, and Nexus Venture Partners, with the latest $60M Series C led by Insight Partners.
...more
43min
April 01, 2026 ($300M raised) Nile Founder, Pankaj Patel: #1 Startup Insight – Simplicity is Innovation: How Disrupting Enterprise Networking Might Mean Unlearning Decades of Complexity
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups Pankaj Patel, Founder of Nile https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankajpspatel/
...more
47min
March 25, 2026 Forum Ventures Managing Partner, Jonah Midanik: #1 Startup Insight – Why Fundraising Is a Game, Valuations Are Made Up, and Seeing Past the Pitch to Find Venture-Scale Outcomes
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups

Jonah Midanik, Managing Partner of Forum Ventures
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonahmidanik/
...more
31min
March 18, 2026 ($150M raised) Sendoso Founder, Kris Rudeegraap: #1 Startup Insight – Don’t Let Early Pricing Give You False Product-Market Fit
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups

Kris Rudeegraap, Founder of Sendoso
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudeegraap
...more
30min
March 12, 2026 ($20M raised) Quanta Founder, Helen Hastings: #1 Startup Insight – Your Scariest Customers Are Actually the Best Ones
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → Founders, check out their upcoming $100k buyer pitch at Fort Mason in San Francisco: https://luma.com/beelieve

Helen Hastings, Founder of Quanta
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenbhastings/
...more
37min
March 05, 2026 ($110M raised) Augment Founder, Harish Abbott: #1 Startup Advice - Are You A Better Seeker of Truth Than Your Competitors?
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups

Harish Abbott, Founder of Augment
https://www.linkedin.com/in/habbott/
...more
37min
March 05, 2026 ($70M raised) Craft Founder, Ilya Levtov: Pivot Decision, Top Funding Insights, and Journey to PMF
Sponsored by Auth0 for Startups → 1-year free https://auth0.com/startups/vip Auth0 is an adaptable authentication and authorization platform that helps you secure your apps and AI agents. It delivers convenience, privacy, and security so you can focus on building a great UX. FOUNDER PROFILE: Ilya Levtov, Founder of Craft https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilya-levtov/
...more
31min
February 18, 2026 (YC S21) Baubap Founder, Roberto Salcedo: Gratitude As A Growth Strategy, Insights Raising $100M+
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups

Roberto Salcedo, Founder of Baubap
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberto-salcedo-nieto/?originalSubdomain=mx
...more
34min
February 13, 2026 ($20M+ Raised) UneeQ Digital Humans Founder, Danny Tomsett: Enjoying The Journey, Two Phases of Fundraising & Making A Massive Pivot
Danny Tomsett, Founder of UneeQ Digital Humans
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-tomsett/"
...more
33min
February 11, 2026 ($2.4B AUM) Amplify Partners Founder, Sunil Dhaliwal: Difference Between Investments & Passing, Startup Investing In 10 Years
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startups
Sunil Dhaliwal, General Partner of Amplify Partners
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunildhaliwal/
...more
39min

FAQs about The Founder Initiative:

How many episodes does The Founder Initiative have?

The podcast currently has 213 episodes available.

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The Founder Initiative

FAQs about The Founder Initiative:

How many episodes does The Founder Initiative have?

The Founder Initiative episodes:

FAQs about The Founder Initiative:

How many episodes does The Founder Initiative have?

More shows like The Founder Initiative

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

Prof G Markets