The Talktrack Podcast

People are always like, "be bold." But the problem with bold? It has limits. Guardrails , visible and invisible, that keep you playing smaller than you actually could.

This month's word is audacious. And I think it's the word more of us need right now.

In this solo episode, I reflect on:

1) Why bold is actually suffocating if you're stuck within a container

2) What "feral boldness" actually means and why it sets you free

3) The story of two first-time directors who got IMAX cameras away from Christopher Nolan in 30 days - and won Best International Picture doing it

4) How to write your impossible list and actually go after it one by one

I share reflections from my journey as a first check investor interacting with thousands of founders - some who bent reality to their will, and some who played it too safe.

This isn't advice. It's a weekly reflection I want to remember and share - in the pursuit of building a world where we all give ourselves permission to go after the things that seem

a little too crazy.

Don't be bold. Be audacious.

New episodes every two weeks - sometimes with guests I deeply admire, sometimes just honest thinking in progress.

What does it mean to " shoot your shot"?

We hear this phrase all the time, and I LOVE it. I often say it to myself when I need to lean into something seemingly scary like during fundraising, or sending cold emails to industry titans.

The phrase "shoot your shot" has quietly shaped every major chapter of my career since business school and from venture capital, to founding a healthcare company, to recently selling a biotech company I started 6 years ago for $1.2B+, to most recently publishing my first book (which now one has become a bestseller).

But the issue I have with "shoot your shot" is that for as easy as it is to say to someone, there's a lot more emotion underneath it that needs to be overcome for someone to actually...shoot their shot.

So in this quick episode, I reflect on:

1) The history of "shooting your shot" and where that phrase first came from

2) The learnings from NBA players when they are actually in those "buzzer beater" moments and what they tell themselves as they quite literally..."shoot their shot"

3) Why the ability to shoot your shot is tied to first letting go of any expectations you might have

I share reflections from my founder and VC journey interacting with 4,000+ CEOs and founders - some of whom have brought their companies public, and some of who have to sunset their company.

The solo episodes isn’t advice. It’s an honest, pretty unedited reflection that I want to remember and share in the pursuit of building a world where we all take that bet on ourselves, whatever it may be.

New episodes every two weeks - sometimes with guests I deeply admire, sometimes just honest thinking in progress.

Not every founder needs VC money to build something massive. And in the AI era where initial barriers to technical and product entry are lowering, that is even more true.

Today, I am excited to feature Mae Karzowski, founder and CEO of Obviously - one of the largest influencer and creator economy companies in the industry. She started the company with just $3,000 in her bank account.

And in the past decade, she's turned down $25M+ in venture funding without even trying to fundraise, grew her team to 100 full-time employees, and recently led the company through one of the largest acquisitions by a publicly traded company in advertising.

And she did it entirely on her own terms.

In this episode, Mae opens up about the inner talktrack that carried her through major pivotal moments and the quotes / learnings that kept her motivated: from the leap into starting her own company with barely enough money to cover next month's rent, the hard conversations of scaling a team from 10 to 30 to 50 to 100 people, negotiating complex multi-million dollar deals, and knowing when the timing was right for an acquisition.

This conversation is especially dear to me. Over the years, Mae has become a truly inspirational friend - and I think after watching this, you'll understand why.

Follow @Obviously and @WPP on Instagram to follow the company's journey, and Mae Karwowski on LinkedIn.

🎙️ This is Talktrack with Wendy, your "investo-preneur" friend who's been on both sides: as a VC and as a founder. I'm on a mission to help founders and creators unlock their entrepreneurial and creative potential especially in those first couple years where you may only have your inner talktrack to rely on (because actually good executives coaches are too expensive at that stage).

Why trust me? I've spent the past decade as a venture capitalist helping build $4B in company value from scratch working alongside incredible founders. I've also been a CEO who raised $10M and grew the company through its first 20 employees. This journey started when getting my Stanford MBA where I've been fascinated studying the traits of 4,000+ entrepreneurs through 1:1 conversations - many of whom have gone on to build self-sustaining companies, unicorns, and publicly traded companies. I've also wound down over a dozen companies personally, seeing $50M+ in VC funding result in nothing. But those are the odds we play in the pursuit of building magical companies. Many don't work out for the one that does and might have generational impact.

Managing ego in the founder's journey (or as a leader) is a very delicate balance. It both is what makes us take great leaps, and is also what makes us ultimately give up.

This balance has been one that I've talked about with thousands of founders in my time in venture capital, to founding a healthcare company, to then shutting down companies, to even now having recently excited a company we started 6 years ago for $1B+.

I've distilled the best analogy I can for what I've come to learn about the role of ego in the founder's journey, or frankly any leader's journey as they pursue an ambitious goal. We will chat through:

1) what ego means?

2) why ego is important and where it can be debilitating

3) how we can tell when toxic ego is surfacing

4) questions that help us manage and fuel ego in a more productive way

I share reflections from my founder and VC journey interacting with 4,000+ CEOs and founders - some of whom have brought their companies public, and some of who have to sunset their company.

The solo episodes isn’t advice. It’s a weekly reflection that I want to remember and share in the pursuit of building a world where we all take that bet on ourselves, whatever it may be.

New episodes every two weeks — sometimes with guests I deeply admire, sometimes just honest thinking in progress.

“There is no such thing as risk-free greatness.”

When Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote this in support of Olympian Lindsey Vonn, it deeply resonated.

As someone who has lived both sides — venture capitalist and founder — I’ve seen firsthand that the people who build anything meaningful all share one thing in common: they are willing to enter the arena.

In this solo episode, I unpack:

• Why greatness is never risk-free

• The psychological warfare of leadership

• What separates spectators from builders

• And the mindset patterns I observed after meeting 4,000+ founders and CEOs

This episode is for first-time founders and first-time leaders leveling up into the next version of themselves.

New episodes every two weeks — sometimes with guests I deeply admire, sometimes just honest thinking in progress.

“If you assumed it was real, what would you do?”This question has quietly shaped every major chapter of my career since business school and from venture capital, to founding a healthcare company, to now writing my first novel.

I first learned it from a founder we invested in - the founder of Zola, the wedding registry company that reaches millions of couples - and it’s a question I keep coming back as I embark on an ambitious goal. In this solo episode, I reflect on:

1) Why “believing in yourself” is vague and why I prefer this question

2) How assuming something is real changes the quality of feedback you get

3) Why conviction is built through action, not affirmation

4) What it means to assume the identity you want next — founder, athlete, writer, creator, whatever

I share reflections from my founder and VC journey interacting with 4,000+ CEOs and founders - some of whom have brought their companies public, and some of who have to sunset their company.

The solo episodes isn’t advice. It’s a weekly reflection that I want to remember and share in the pursuit of building a world where we all take that bet on ourselves, whatever it may be.

New episodes every two weeks — sometimes with guests I deeply admire, sometimes just honest thinking in progress.

Talktrack is a podcast where we have honest conversations with entrepreneurs who turned their most wild and creative dreams — in this case, a disco ball experience — into reality.

In this episode, I sit down with Carson Lee to unpack the real story behind NYC's Light Leaks — an immersive disco ball art installation that became, according to Time Out, “one of the best things to do in New York City in 2021,” selling thousands of tickets. Ultimately, this experience then led to creating disco-ball stages for music festivals like Bonnaroo and DJs like Porter Robinson, Dillon Francis, and Channel Tres.

Carson shares:

• How a single cold email to a Grammy-nominated performer unlocked a broader dream

• Why fear is often a signal, not a stop sign, when leaning into what you really want to do

• How he stayed calm when everything could have broken the night before launch

• What 50 rejections taught him before the “yes” when landing venues for his exhibitions

• Why loving what you build changes how you sell, lead, and persist through months of working until 3am

These are honest, unpolished conversations for builders, operators, and creatives figuring it out in real time — when all you might have is your own talktrack to lean on as you take a creative bet.

Hosted by Wendy Tsu, a former VC turned VC-backed founder who has lived both sides.

Follow along on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the.talktrack

Artist and creator Alex Aliume didn’t set out to build a career - he followed curiosity.

In this episode, Alex shares how borrowing a canvas in 2017 turned into a life-altering commitment to creation. We talk about painting through doubt, financial instability, and global uncertainty - and why choosing what you love often requires surrender, sacrifice, and trust before clarity arrives.

This is a conversation about flow, patience, authenticity, and the inner talktrack that keeps you going when nothing is guaranteed in the pursuit of artistic entrepreneurship.

For creators, founders, and anyone asking: what if I actually listened to what pulls me?