The Upstarts Podcast

Startup founder Victor Riparbelli has always been drawn to counterculture ideas. "Life's more interesting at the fringes," he says.

When Victor co-founded Synthesia in 2017 to produce AI video, most investors didn't buy it — nearly 100 said no. A pivotal refocus away from Hollywood toward unglamorous business use cases like training videos and internal communications changed everything, helping Synthesia reach $150 million in annual recurring revenue, a $4 billion valuation, and customers across more than 90% of the Fortune 100, from Amazon to IKEA and Merck.

On The Upstarts Podcast, Victor traces his journey from selling World of Warcraft characters as a teenager in Denmark to building one of AI's most surprising startup success stories in London. He shares his Upstart Moment winning over billionaire Mark Cuban and going all in on enterprise; how Synthesia has navigated deep fake fears and AI skepticism; and why he believes honesty is a rare — and underrated — competitive advantage in the AI startup world. Plus: why Synthesia's next act in interactive video could be its boldest bet yet.

Chapters

For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/

Season 1 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by Mercury: https://mercury.com/

Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

$50 billion. That’s how much in tariff refunds Ryan Petersen hopes to retrieve for U.S. citizens using AI agents recently built by his startup, Flexport.

But logistics unicorn Flexport was struggling when co-founder Petersen returned as CEO in 2023. Customers were fleeing; morale had plunged. Ryan talks about his Upstart Moment in engineering a comeback – and why AI agents are increasingly the answer for solving the messiest challenges in global trade.

Chapters:

For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/

Season 1 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by Mercury: https://mercury.com/

Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

Experts have called Valar Atomics CEO Isaiah Taylor “totally nuts.” He says that when you’re trying to build a trillion-dollar company that’s literally splitting the atom, it comes with the territory.

Isaiah discusses his origins founding nuclear energy startup Valar, why competitors have failed, and his Upstart Moment in raising $150 million to build new-look energy campuses called “gigasites.” His life’s work: to solve AI’s energy crisis—and keep America on pace with China and Russia globally.

Chapters:

For more, visit https://www.upstartsmedia.com/

Season 1 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by Mercury: https://mercury.com/

Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

When Loyal founder Celine Halioua told people she was building a dog longevity startup, they laughed in her face. Now she's running what could be the largest-ever clinical trial to extend canine lifespans — pursuing FDA approval for multiple drugs to help senior and large dogs live two years longer or more.

Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins leads the most valuable woman-led startup in the world, a design and publishing tool used by more than 260 million users and valued at $42 billion. But before all that, Melanie was an Upstart: an unappreciated founder from western Australia who had to fly to San Francisco uninvited just to secure startup funding.

Melanie goes into that Upstart Moment in this debut episode of The Upstarts Podcast, covering the mindset and strategies that helped her go from university pitch competition to global phenomenon. Melanie breaks down Canva’s framework for setting goals and values – and makes her case for why all startups should lean into a big vision and focus on impact from day one.

Plus, Melanie turns the tables and gives Alex some founder homework of his own.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro to Melanie

2:15 Canva’s scale and impact mindset

3:42 Melanie’s first startup and Canva origins

7:15 Melanie’s early motivation and facing doubts

10:19 Learning from customers and a long-term vision

16:35 Risking her life and her Upstart Moment

19:58 How to set effective team goals

22:51 Setting values, culture and priorities as you scale

28:01 Canva’s 1% pledge and giving away billions

33:02 Melanie’s homework for founders (like Alex)

Season 1 of the Upstarts Podcast is presented by Mercury.

Produced & edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

On The Upstarts Podcast, you’ll hear from some of the most exciting Upstarts today: emerging technology leaders punching above their weight to achieve real impact.