How high performers navigate the emotional whiplash of “time off”

Episode 28 sits inside the tension founders feel during the holidays: the brain wants motion while the calendar demands stillness. Deb, Karim, and Vassili unpack why rest feels like anxiety, why gratitude can sting when you’re burnt out, and how dopamine and cortisol shape our seasonal mood. They offer a more compassionate frame for year-end reflection—one that doesn’t rely on performance or forced positivity.

This episode helps high performers rest without guilt, pressure, or comparison.

Topics:

• Neuroscience of rest vs. urgency
• Dopamine, cortisol & holiday stress
• Actual rest vs. paused work
• Redefining laziness for high performers
• Gratitude without performance pressure
• Honoring invisible seasons
• Choosing rest that actually fits you

Why overexplaining drains relationships — and how to break the loop

Episode 27 explores a universal emotional tension: when someone insists on explaining something you already know. Deb, Karim, and Vassili dissect the psychology behind condescension, the insecurity underneath dominance, and the emotional cost of being “right.” With real fundraising stories, family moments, and neuroscience insights, they map how resentment forms — and how compassion can neutralize the entire loop.

This episode reframes emotional efficiency as a leadership skill.

Topics:

• Ego, insecurity & overexplaining
• Resentment as admiration + shame
• Emotional efficiency & presence
• Energy cost of dominance
• Responding to insecurity with grounding
• Depth vs. defensiveness in relationships
• Protecting your time, fuel & attention

Why “more capital” rarely solves what founders think it does

Episode 26 connects metabolic energy to startup runway — revealing why jittery capital spikes mimic caffeine crashes. The trio dissects the fantasy of the cookie-cutter Series A, the performance theater around “lead investors,” and why teams raise massive rounds without meaningful proof. They contrast clean vs. dirty capital, dopamine vs. durable momentum, and execution vs. narrative.

This episode is a calibration tool for founders raising (or resisting) their next big round.

Topics:

• Clean vs. dirty capital dynamics
• Series A mythology vs. reality
• Lead-investor theater & copy-paste decks
• Scientific correctness vs. practical truth
• Biomimicry, resilience & design thinking
• Milestones, appetite & M&A signals
• When mega rounds make sense — and when they don’t

How to stay yourself when the room gets weird

Episode 25 dives into a week of misreads, mismatched intentions, and unexpectedly charged meetings. Deb, Karim, and Vassili unpack how character shows up before the pitch, why narratives slip, and why people behave unpredictably when fear, ego, or incentives collide. They explore AI’s emerging role in negotiation psychology — not as a replacement for trust, but as an amplifier of human tells.

This episode serves as a field guide for navigating power dynamics without losing your center.

Topics:

• Your gut compass & recalibration
• Deception, fear states & awareness
• Culture, generation & communication
• AI as an emotional mirror
• Boundaries, energy protection & pacing
• Relaxed presence in high-stakes rooms
• Character as the ultimate due diligence

How to know when money fuels you — and when it quietly starts steering you

Episode 24 unpacks a tension every founder feels: when does capital enable clarity, and when does it distort your mission? What begins as a riff on “money loves speed” evolves into a deeper discussion on alignment, fear, market windows, and cognitive bandwidth. The trio reframes wealth as time and optionality — not accumulation — and offers practical tools for recognizing when urgency, investors, or expectations begin overriding intuition.

This episode is a recalibration tool for builders who want to expand without losing themselves.

Topics:

• Money as fuel vs. distortion
• Timing without hustle or panic
• Neuroscience of fear vs. curiosity
• Time wealth vs. financial wealth
• Energy-based productivity
• Investor alignment & emotional contagion
• Thinking bigger without boxing yourself in

A pragmatic blueprint for founders navigating partnerships, acquisitions & momentum

Episode 23 examines a billion-dollar psychedelic acquisition as a case study in how biotech deals truly unfold. Deb, Karim, and Vassili explore why lean teams outperform bloated ones, how IND/Phase 1 often becomes the real sweet spot, and how stretched timelines quietly kill cap tables. They map how milestones, burn rate, and credible data influence acquirers — and discuss adjacent areas, like lupus and women’s health, where timing and non-dilutive capital may collide.

This episode helps founders think through exits before they’re forced to.

Topics:

• Deal timing & acquisition psychology
• IND/Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 dynamics
• Momentum risk & milestone clarity
• Lean teams vs. inflated burn
• Non-dilutive capital as de-risking
• Psychedelic medicine & pipeline logic
• Protecting founders through early fail/kill decisions

Why some teams ship, and others stall — even with the same capital

Episode 22 of Time, Fuel, & Money pulls apart the quiet dysfunction inside non-dilutive funding, state incentives, and slow-moving VC processes. Deb, Karim, and Vassili break down how grant systems get gamed, why accountability fades over time, and how incentives drift away from actual product progress. With data on NIH neurosurgery funding and insights from real founder experiences, they outline what meaningful progress really looks like — and why most teams report “18 months to trial” forever.

This episode gives founders and funders a sharper lens for evaluating traction, effort, and integrity.

Topics:

• Incentives, accountability & the grant game
• Non-dilutive vs. dilutive capital
• Progress reporting that actually matters
• Geographic arbitrage & signal value
• AI/ML for transparent review systems
• Investor discipline vs. FOMO chasing
• Efficiency, pace & execution reality

How to plan without crushing your imagination

Episode 21 explores the psychology and neuroscience of goal-setting for high performers.

Deb’s rediscovered 10-year vision sheet sparks a deeper conversation about planning vs. presence, manifestation vs. micromanagement, and why clarity often begins with uncertainty. Karim shares how lists preserve bandwidth; Vassili explains why he resists goals to avoid self-limiting beliefs.

This episode becomes a blueprint for setting goals that expand you—not constrict you.

Topics:

• Goal-setting & cognitive bandwidth
• Salience network & attention
• Structure vs. spaciousness
• Energy budgeting
• Planning without pressure

A survival manual for the slow, political, frustrating parts of the system

Episode 20 tackles the invisible drag on founders: slow decisions, broken communication, and emotional bandwidth leaks.

Karim shares the sting of being strung along by VCs; Deb unpacks post-exit politics; Vassili reframes bureaucracy as an energy system that can either channel or drain momentum. This episode provides practical tools for getting clarity, protecting energy, and avoiding the slow death of forced traction.

Topics:

• Clarity vs. false hope in fundraising
• Bureaucracy as an energy system
• Emotional bandwidth & slow decisions
• Tactical follow-up vs. force
• Protecting momentum under chaos

Why who you are matters more than your pitch

Episode 19 asks a simple question with enormous implications: Who are you beyond your pitch?

Deb, Karim, and Vassili break down how character, emotional safety, curiosity, and presence shape investor relationships far more than polish. They explore the traps of transactional outreach, the cost of pitch-mode living, and the real signals investors listen for beneath the words.

This episode reshapes how founders show up—and how trust is actually built.

Topics:

• Emotional safety in fundraising
• Curiosity as a trust signal
• Pitch-mode vs. presence
• Relationship-building for founders
• Character as competitive advantage