This Much I Know - The Seedcamp Podcast

Jeff Stewart, founder of GPO Fund and author of Global IPO, joins Carlos to unpack why the best founders plan their exit before they incorporate, and why the best founders shouldn't wait to go public.

Metaview started in 2018 on a simple bet: hiring decisions are some of the most consequential calls a company makes, yet no one captures the data behind them. Cofounder Shahriar joins Carlos to talk through how Metaview's early bet was supercharged by the arrival of LLMs, their "Public Unless Private" culture borrowed from Palantir and Uber, and Fillmore, Metaview's new autonomous hiring coworker.

Your AI agent just deleted a database. Who gets fired?

There's no good answer yet - and that's a huge problem. Companies are handing AI agents sweeping access to their systems, often more than they'd give a new hire, without knowing who's accountable when something goes wrong.

In our latest podcast episode, Carlos Eduardo Espinal MBE sits down with Johannes Keienburg, Cofounder of Cakewalk, and David Mytton, CEO of Arcjet: two founders building solutions to this exact problem. They explore why AI agents don't need to "go rogue" to cause serious damage, the "zombie identity" problem of agents that outlive the employees who created them, and why the security tools built to stop hackers simply don't work when it comes to agents.

Eric Ries's The Lean Startup method is undeniably one of the most influential writings published on entrepreneurship in the last decade. It gave a whole generation of founders a new way to build - and made 'pivot' a household word.

Now he's tackling an even harder subject: why do so many great companies eventually betray everything they stood for? And what can founders do to stop it?

In his new book Incorruptible, Ries argues that governance is the most powerful and most underappreciated force in business. In this conversation with Carlos, they get into why shareholder primacy destroys brands, why the tools to resist that pressure already exist, and why most founders give away the thing that matters most.

We knew Pari Singh was special when he walked into Seedcamp at 21 and told us that he could design rockets faster than anyone in the world.

Fast forward nine years, and Flow Engineering is now the operating system for the next generation of physical engineering, relied on by the likes of EV giant Rivian.

We sat down with Pari to break down why the industry is at an inflection point, why the biggest threat to legacy manufacturers isn't technology but culture, and why he believes the vast majority of physical engineering work will be automated by AI within the year.

We also get into what separates elite engineering teams from average ones, and the single most important characteristic he hires for.

James Kuht MBE has spent 15 years working on what happens when powerful technology meets the messiness of real organisations.  He's learned that developing the technology is rarely the hard part - the hard part is getting people to use it in a way that makes strategic sense for the organisation.

That experience is what led him to found Pair. Pair are building the AI adoption layer for enterprise. Companies have poured billions into AI infrastructure, but without role-specific training, most employees never move beyond individual tinkering, resulting in expensive licenses, underwhelming results, and disillusioned leadership teams.

We're thrilled to have invested in Pair's latest seed round, alongside Venrex and FJ Labs. As partner Carlos Espinal puts it: "They turn AI from a generic tool into real, role-specific productivity."

Carlos sat down with founder James Kuht MBE, to discuss what it actually takes to get organisations to adopt AI effectively - and why most still get it wrong.

In the latest Seedcamp Deep Dive, our Managing Partner, Carlos Eduardo Espinal, discusses the complexities of investing in deeptech, dual-use and the defence sector. He's joined by two distinguished guests from defence and investment backgrounds: Nicola Sinclair, General Partner at Twin Track Ventures, and Samuel Burrell, Partner at Expeditions Fund.

Nicola begins the conversation by explaining her motivation for founding Twin Track, highlighting the need to connect startups with the defence and security sectors and detailing her approach to evaluating deep tech investments. Sam then discusses his transition from military service to venture capital and emphasizes the importance of understanding end-user needs in defense tech investments.

This insightful conversation covers a wide range of topics, including:

- The challenges of dual-use technologies

- The role of prime contractors

- The evolving geopolitical landscape

- Investment opportunities in space technology

- The future of defence tech investments

Show Notes:

Nicola Sinclair - linkedin.com/in/nicola-sinclair-

Samuel Burrell - linkedin.com/in/samuelrburrell

Carlos Eduardo Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Twin Track Ventures - twintrack.vc

Expeditions Fund - expeditionsfund.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Sam’s weekly newsletter This Week in Dual-Use [www.samuelburrell.com]

“Working with Defence & Security” Survey. The results will be released on 14 November 2025

In the latest episode of This Much I Know, our Managing Partner, Carlos Espinal and Nandan Nayampally, Chief Commercial Officer of Baya Systems (previously at ARM, Amazon and AMD), delve into the geopolitics and innovations within the semiconductor industry.

Nandan shares his extensive career journey from AMD to ARM and Amazon, providing valuable insights into the evolution of the semiconductor industry. He also emphasizes the shift towards specialized IP designs and the global distribution of manufacturing.

The conversation explores the impact of geopolitical factors on the chip industry, the rise of localized manufacturing, supply chain resilience and the future implications of AI and edge technology. Tune in!

Show Notes:

Nandan Nayampally - linkedin.com/in/nandannayampally

Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Baya Systems - bayasystems.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

In an in-depth conversation with our Managing Partner, Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Miro’s co-founder and CEO, Andrey Khusid shares his incredible founder journey, from starting Realtime Board, his simple idea of bringing whiteboards into browsers, to Miro, now a global organization valued at nearly $20 billion. He reflects on the company’s explosive growth from 200 to 1800 people in just 18 months during 2020-21, the importance of hiring for mindset over experience, and the transition from a product-led growth model to incorporating sales-led strategies. 

Andrey highlights key moments, cultural shifts, and the impact of leadership on the company’s trajectory. Additionally, he offers insights into maintaining team cohesion, learning from failures, and adapting to the ever-changing business landscape, especially with the advent of AI. 

Tune into this insightful episode providing an in-depth look at scaling a tech startup globally and the lessons learned along the way.

Show Notes:

Andrey Khusid - linkedin.com/in/khusid

Carlos Eduardo Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Miro - miro.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Overview:

00:00 Explosive Growth and Leadership Challenges

00:35 Welcome to the Seed Camp Podcast

01:18 The Origin Story of Realtime Board

03:06 Rebranding to Miro

05:49 Balancing Customer Feedback and Product Vision

12:20 The Power of Product-Led Growth

17:26 Transitioning to a Sales-Led Growth Model

22:29 Navigating Enterprise Expansion Challenges

22:45 Shifting to an Innovation Workspace

23:17 Adapting to Market Changes and Bundling

26:03 Embracing AI and Future Prospects

27:22 Building a Strong Company Culture

30:09 Scaling Challenges and Leadership Insights

32:28 Reflecting on Leadership and Growth

42:15 The Importance of Founder-Led Companies

43:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In the latest episode of “Path to Market,” Natasha and Micah are joined by Fanny Talagrand, Head of EMEA sales for startups and SMBs at Stripe to discuss key sales strategies from startups to enterprises. Drawing from her extensive experience in global tech companies like Google Cloud and Stripe, Fanny emphasizes the importance of understanding user needs and journeys, leveraging user feedback, and the different dynamics between selling to startups versus enterprises. 

She also provides advice for hiring the first sales reps, highlighting the need for candidates to be smart, driven, and coachable. She stresses the significance of onboarding processes and embedding new hires with users early on. Additionally, she explores how to balance product-led growth with enterprise sales and shares metrics to optimize sales performance.

Tune in to learn about:

- how to align sales strategies with the needs and journeys of different types of users;

- how PLG and enterprise motions can coexist with careful planning and differentiation in user journeys;

- why as companies grow, including a sales team becomes vital to extend market reach and support users who require more comprehensive solutions;

- and more practical strategies for founders looking to enhance their sales operations and build successful teams.

Show Notes:

Fanny Talagrand - linkedin.com/in/fanny-talagrand-a51a81b

Natasha Lytton – linkedin.com/in/natasha-lytton

Micah Smurthwaite – linkedin.com/in/micah-smurthwaite-2283b49

Overview:

00:00 Introduction to Path to Market

01:17 Meet Fannie Talegrand, Head of EMEA Sales for Startups and SMBs at Stripe

02:13 Fannie's Career Journey

04:29 Comparing Sales at Google Cloud and Stripe

06:58 The Importance of Product and User Feedback

13:31 Sales Metrics and Funnel Optimization

16:32 Differences in Selling to SMBs vs. Enterprises

24:07 Hiring the Right Sales Leader

34:29 Onboarding New Sales Hires

40:09 Conclusion and Final Thoughts