👉🏼 About the Guests:

Business Insider dubbed Andrew Yeung as The Great Gatsby of startups. Andrew moved to the US as an immigrant in 2020 and after a brief stint at Facebook, Google he founded his events company Fibe, generated millions of dollars in revenue, hosted more than 40K tech folks, became a partner at Next Wave NYC, grew his personal brand - all this happened in the last 4yrs. 

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Andrew discuss networking, succeeding in America as underdogs, why NYC is awesome, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:46: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:14: Intro to Andrew Yeung - the Great Gatsby of startups
• 04:30: Why Andrew chose NYC and events over San Francisco and product-building
• 09:00: How Andrew entered tech
• 10:47: How Andrew built his network in tech
• 13:34: How to network as a founder vs a VC
• 17:31: Building a network in 2025
• 19:37: Cold Outreach 101
• 21:43: Andrew's favorite cold outreach template
• 24:41: Navigating cultural shock as an immigrant
• 29:10: How Andrew found gaps to build his business around
• 31:07: How to build a business for people's needs
• 34:06: Andrew's playbook on how underdogs can succeed in America
• 36:16: Behind the scenes of Fibe - Andrew's event-hosting business
• 41:12: What's next for Fibe
• 43:55: How to host better events
• 46:28: Andrew's favorite event-hosting format
• 47:15: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Where to find Andrew:

• Website: https://www.andrewyeung.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyeung
• Twitter: https://x.com/andruyeung

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guests:

Julian Weisser is a prominent entrepreneur, investor, and musician, best known as the co-founder and CEO of ODF/On Deck, a platform designed to support startup founders in launching and scaling their companies. Under his leadership, On Deck facilitated the launch of over 1,000 startups, significantly impacting the entrepreneurial landscape by providing resources and networking opportunities for aspiring founders.

Julian is currently building Merge for microgrants, Stamp List to help job applicants who require visa sponsorship, and Builders Who Run, a run club based in SF. 

With a background in Music and Management from Berklee College of Music, Julian entered the startup world, co-founding Within Health, a company focused on using behavioral science to improve the lives of individuals with chronic conditions. 

In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Weisser is an active angel investor, having backed over 50 startups across multiple industries, including decentralized finance and health tech. He is passionate about supporting innovative projects that aim to solve significant societal challenges. 

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Julian discuss building for people who make things, building community in 2025, how to work at a hypergrowth startup, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:09: Intro to Julian Weisser - Co-founder and CEO of ODF/On Deck
• 04:51: How Julian fell in love with startups
• 10:43: What founders can learn from musicians
• 15:01: How Julian built his very first startup
• 20:41: How On Deck went from a dinner series to a $20M Series A startup
• 27:07: Lessons from a hypergrowth startup
• 34:49: How can we build community in person in 2025?
• 37:33: Julian's project for people with big ideas: Merge
• 47:11: Julian's project for immigrants: Stamp List
• 51:17: How Julian started a run club in SF
• 55:45: Julian's projects in 2025
• 1:00:44: What should founders focus on?
• 1:06:13: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Where to find Julian:

• Website: https://weisser.io
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/julianweisser
• Twitter: https://x.com/julianweisser
• Newsletter and Podcast: https://textswithfounders.com/
• On Deck: https://www.joinodf.com/
• Merge: https://merge.club/
• Stamp List: https://landing.club/stamplist
• Builders Who Run: https://weisser.io/runners

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guests:

Prakash and Lionello are the co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps. 

Lionello is CTO at Defang, as well as an engineering lead and community organizer with EE and CS background and 20 years of international industry experience doing software and hardware. He has lived in Eindhoven, Bucharest, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and recently moved to Vancouver BC. In 1997, he founded a virtual-reality software company, acquired by a multinational company for their real-time 3D rendering technology. In 2019, Workday acquired Trusted Key, the blockchain digital identity startup he helped found. Lio is active in the local maker communities, having been a staff member in China's first makerspace Xinchejian since its founding. 

Prakash serves as CEO at Defang. He co-founded & served as Chief Technology Officer, President & Board Member at Trusted Key Solutions. He brings experience from previous roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Workday, and Trusted Key. 

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath, Prakash, and Lio discuss building for builders, how frustration helped them create Defang, growth tactics, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:10: Intro to Lio and Prakash - co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps. 
• 05:29: Why Defang's mission is to help builders move faster
• 09:19: How frustration led to building Defang
• 15:01: Why big brands like AWS don't focus on builders
• 17:02: How to go from idea to MVP for a complex product
• 23:09: How Defang launched in the market and iterated using feedback
• 28:40: Defang's growth tactics to reach users
• 32:33: What made Prakash go from being a technical and engineering lead to a CEO?
• 34:55: Defang's Product Hunt launch
• 38:10: How Defang harnesses the power of AI
• 44:22: How to differentiate yourself from the competition
• 48:00: Important lessons from corporate and startups
• 50:56: Where is the app-creating environment going?
• 53:55: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Defang's Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defang

👉🏼 Where to find Defang:

• Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defang
• Website: https://defang.io
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/defanglabs/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefangLabs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DefangLabs
• Discord: https://discord.com/invite/nNjaJcJ25v
• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DefangLabs/
• Github: https://github.com/DefangLabs

👉🏼 Where to find Prakash:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashsundaresan/

👉🏼 Where to find Lio:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionello/
• Twitter: https://x.com/LioLunesu

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Brett Goldstein is the founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications. He is also the co-founder of Launch House, which is a community built to connect and support the world's most ambitious entrepreneurs and creators. Launch House brings together emerging leaders in the startup and entertainment worlds to live in illustrious mansions around the world. Previously, he worked at Clearbit, Google, and Accenture, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Brett discuss building in a crowded market, the origin of Launch House, blending ambition and relationships, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:42: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:09: Intro to Brett Goldstein - founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications.
• 04:33: Where Brett found his passion for startups
• 08:40: What inspires Brett to create?
• 10:10: Brett's first projects before Google
• 12:14: Why Brett chose startups and not music as a career
• 16:22: How Launch House turned from a reality show to a hacker house
• 20:28: How Brett went from a random tweet to building a network of founders at Launch House
• 22:43: How Brett pushes founders towards ambition AND relationship-building
• 25:20: How Brett took advantage of the crypto wave
• 27:59: What do most founders miss really easily?
• 33:02: Why Brett is choosing to reinvent email
• 40:12: How to avoid the downsides of a crowded market
• 43:01: Why Micro is creating an email-CRM blend
• 48:30: The problem-solving frameworks Brett used to build Micro
• 50:15: Brett's criteria for finding cofounders
• 52:43: Brett's cheatsheet to building a network in tech
• 54:30: How will AI impact the rise of startups and creative projects?
• 58:30: What Brett would build if not Micro
• 1:00:03: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Where to find Brett:

• Micro: https://www.micro.so/
• Launch House: https://www.launchhouse.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/thatguybg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bgoldstein3/
• Website: brettgoldstein.com
• Newsletter: https://socialstudies.substack.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Chrys is the co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal. He is a 6-time founder, founding Curio NFT Intelligence, Ikaria (social wellness), and Secret (social media). Prior to Secret, Chrys was a Product Manager at Google where he launched the photo-sharing community Photovine and contributed to Google+ and YouTube. He has built and launched several mobile social products such as Fliggo, TwitVid, Vidly and Treehouse. Chrys was born and raised near Boston and is a Y Combinator alumni.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Chrys discuss building in a saturated market, using AI as a thought partner, designing original apps, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:45: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:11: Intro to Chrys Bader - co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal
• 07:07: The experience of building a consumer app in mental health
• 11:14: How is Rosebud different from other AI companionship apps?
• 15:43: Where Chrys' love for mobile apps comes from
• 21:45: Why Chrys prefers building for consumers
• 25:43: Chrys' design inspiration for Rosebud
• 30:16: Building Rosebud as a designer and as a founder
• 33:10: How Chrys refuels himself after hard times in startup world
• 47:43: Chrys' advice for founders building consumer ideas and consumer apps
• 56:12: Fundraising vs bootstrapping in 2024
• 1:01:49: How Y Combinator changed Chrys as a founder and why he didn't go back
• 1:05:45: How Chrys went from social wellness to photo sharing to mental health apps as a founder
• 1:08:12: Rosebud's AI origin story
• 1:10:35: Where Rosebud is going next
• 1:14:42: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Tyson Rosage: https://teamtreehouse.com/library/how-to-make-design-decisions-tyson-rosage

👉🏼 Where to find Chrys:

• Rosebud: https://help.rosebud.app/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrysb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrysb
• Website: https://chrysbader.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Charlie Clark is a software engineer, creative coder, & bootstrapped founder who has grown his short links product, Liinks, to $25K MRR just 3 years after it officially launched.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Charlie discuss being a bootstrapped founder, building in a saturated market, making your side project a full time job, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:35: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:01: Intro to Charlie Clark - founder of Liinks, a beautiful link-in-bio page to gather your socials, music, videos, and more
• 04:52: Why is Liinks spelled with two ii's?
• 05:28: Why short links are better
• 07:35: Why Charlie set $25K MRR as a target to quit his full-time job
• 11:07: How Charlie designed Liinks to be clean, yet fun
• 15:41: How to convince people to buy your product
• 20:35: Learnings as a second-time founder
• 22:45: Why Liinks: Building in a saturated market
• 27:20: How to know if you want to commit to your project full-time
• 30:51: How to market in a saturated market
• 36:25: How to make creator-led products profitable
• 40:20: How Charlie made Liinks aesthetically pleasing 
• 43:45: How working at Squarespace helped Liinks grow
• 48:45: Frameworks Charlie uses for growth, design, and user retention
• 50:10: How to balance user requests vs your own roadmap?
• 53:51: How will AI impact the future of Liinks?
• 58:08: Why Charlie chose the solo founder route
• 1:00:55: Why Charlie bootstrapped Liinks vs raising venture capital
• 1:02:53: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Where to find Charlie:

• Liinks: https://www.liinks.co/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarkcharlie03
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkcharlie03
• vsual: https://www.vsual.co/closing
• Emoji Book: http://emojibook.club/
• Colors of Motion: https://thecolorsofmotion.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Zach Hamed is a design-focused engineer who enjoys designing, building, and selling software. He is currently co-founder and co-CEO of Clay, a beautiful and private home for your personal and professional relationships. Previously, he helped build the product team at Goldman Sachs, co-founded a startup in the enterprise developer tools space, and writes blog posts.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Zach discuss going from a startup to corporate and back to startups, identifying A players, design thinking, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:30: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 02:56: Intro to Zachary Hamed - co-founder at Clay, a beautiful personal CRM, contact manager, and rolodex for people across industries who want to be more thoughtful with the people they know
• 05:35: Why Zach is building a startup in NYC vs Silicon Valley
• 10:38: Zach's experience going through the Thiel Fellowship
• 13:29: Going from building a startup to working at a large corporate
• 19:51: A process at Goldman Sachs that serves Zachary well today
• 25:15: Growth frameworks for Clay
• 33:53: How to spot and hire talent smarter than you
• 40:40: How to find A players
• 46:30: Why does Clay use .earth for their domain?
• 49:55: Why Zachary pursued a consumer-first approach
• 57:50: How AI is revolutionizing Clay's people-first approach
• 1:03:45: Using AI in Clay to catch up and schedule follow-ups
• 1:09:25: How Zach is building Clay using design thinking
• 1:17:35: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Sparrow: https://sparrow.en.softonic.com/mac
• Mailbox: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdown
• Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/

👉🏼 Where to find Zachary:

• Website: https://zmh.org/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/zmh
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyhamed
• Clay: https://clay.earth/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Brendan Mahony is the founder of Sunset, a company that helps tech companies shut down, saving founders thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. He is also the ex-founder of Toybox (YC S18, acquired) and Contrast (shut down). From this experience, he built Sunset!

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Brendan discuss raising money, finding customers at an early stage, weird startup ideas, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:22: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 02:47: Introduction to Brendan Mahony - founder of Sunset, a startup helping you shut down your startup correctly
• 04:33: Why create a startup about shutting down startups
• 10:00: How Brendan raised money as a first-time founder
• 19:05: How to get investors on board for your startup
• 20:50: Finding customers as an early-stage startup
• 25:20: Lessons from the first year of building Sunset
• 27:20: Building a startup at Y Combinator
• 32:34: How to bend the rules when you're in founder mode
• 38:16: How to deal with shutting down your startup - operationally, physically, mentally, emotionally
• 42:12: What would Brendan work on if not Sunset?
• 46:00: Weird startup ideas
• 48:25: Problems startups deal with
• 50:47: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Andrew Gazdecki: https://www.andrewgazdecki.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Brendan:

• Twitter: https://x.com/bmaho2211
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-mahony-72929385
• Sunset: https://www.sunsethq.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Ryan Gilbert is the founder of Workspaces, a newsletter with nearly 14K subscribers, $2K MRR, and 45K subscribers on Twitter, all about the desks of creatives around the world, born during the pandemic. Workspaces was acquired by Loops in 2022, where Ryan was Head of Content, and re-acquired by Ryan for $1 in 2024. He has also worked at Product Hunt and has a new newsletter all about the best headlines across the internet, named H1 Gallery.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Ryan discuss side projects, building a personal brand, curation vs creation, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:38: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:06: Introduction to Ryan Gilbert - founder of Workspaces
• 04:41: Curation vs creation and how they're similar
• 06:35: How to develop taste
• 11:00: How to build a narrative around your taste
• 12:02: Current untapped content trends
• 15:58: The beginning of Workspaces
• 21:02: How side projects can change your life
• 22:25: Tactics for growing a newsletter 0 to 1
• 24:30: Experiments that didn't work for Workspaces
• 26:47: Improvements that Ryan is planning for Workspaces
• 28:38: Why sponsorships are harder now
• 32:08: Running experiments for sponsors
• 36:52: Ryan's content strategy at Loops - the email platform for SaaS
• 39:16: Low-cost content tips
• 40:47: Building a content strategy in 2024
• 43:54: Current trends people should pay attention to
• 44:46: How founders can build a personal brand
• 46:54: Ryan's experience as a new dad
• 49:46: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Where to find Ryan:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjgilbert
• Website: https://www.workspaces.xyz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryang1lbert/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Yana Welinder is CEO and Founder of Kraftful (YC S19) – an AI assistant that helps product teams build better products by listening to users at scale. Before starting Kraftful, she led product teams at multiple tech companies and personally experienced the challenge of trying to involve millions of users in the product development process. At Kraftful, she built a team of Meta, Slack, and IFTTT alumni, backed by Y Combinator, Google, Samsung, and other exceptional investors and entrepreneurs. Yana is also a Stanford fellow and has been invited to give talks at the White House, the UN Internet Governance Forum, Yale, NYU, and many product events and podcasts over the years.

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Yana discuss founder mode, creating sticky products, mental health as a solo founder, and more!
 
👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 01:00: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:26: Introduction to Yana Welinder - YC alum, solo founder at Kraftful – an AI assistant
• 05:01: How Yana discovered a niche for Kraftful
• 09:40: How to carry off a pivot, emotionally and tactically
• 15:52: Signals that indicate a need to pivot
• 18:30: Building a support system as a solo founder
• 19:50: Therapy frameworks that help solo founders
• 22:10: Habits to calm you down as a founder
• 25:51: How Y Combinator changes your startup journey
• 30:55: How Y Combinator has changed over the years
• 34:57: How to drive organic traction as a founder
• 41:45: Wearing many hats as a solo founder: hiring, growth, marketing, product
• 45:40: How to make your product sticky
• 48:22: Founder mode vs Manager mode
• 54:10: Yana's reply to "founder mode is trash" takes
• 56:58: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
• Paul Graham: https://paulgraham.com/
• Founder Mode: https://www.paulgraham.com/foundermode.html

👉🏼 Where to find Yana:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yanatweets
• Website: https://www.kraftful.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ywelinder
• TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/author/yana-welinder/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/
• Founder Gigs: https://foundergigs.com/