Founder or Employee: Why I Chose the Harder Path

Two founders. Two paths. One backed by venture capital, the other bootstrapped.

This episode is about the personal motivations that drove Adrian and Adrian away from traditional employment and into entrepreneurship, discuss what life might look like if they hadn’t chosen the founder path, and recount the scrappy early days of their ventures. You'll hear candid stories about working multiple jobs, labeling data by hand, and the emotional rollercoaster of building tech from scratch when no one else believes in you.

What you’ll hear:

• Early struggles: coding from scratch, endless data labeling, juggling side jobs
• The emotional cost of solo vs. co-founding
• First wins - realizing their tech could rival Google
• Fundraising pressures: investors, hype, and the case for staying niche
• The lingering question: “What do I envy about the other path?”

They reflect on pivotal moments - like the first time their product outperformed tech giants - and the unique pressures that come with each funding strategy. And, in a rare moment of honesty, both Adrians admit to a little bit of envy for the other’s path while uncovering some of the myths and conspiracies around startup success and venture capital.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Choosing Entrepreneurial Adventures Over Routine

04:24 - Startup Privilege and Opportunity Barriers

08:45 - Creating Vatis Tech: Solving Podcast Search

12:22 - Podcast Editing & Adobe Frustrations

16:57 - "Founding Vatis Tech with Trusted Allies"

20:24 - Early Data Labeling Challenges

22:42 - Balancing Execution with Limited Resources

25:57 - Competing with Industry Giants

29:14 - Investor Expectations vs. Startup Growth

32:29 - Logo Generation Project Marketing Insights

37:46 - "VC Bias in Business Books"

39:30 - "Zero to Solve" App Journey

42:37 - "Embrace Failure and Patience"

Adrian Spataru - Founder of Cleanvoice AI
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spataru/
https://cleanvoice.ai

Adrian Ispas - Co-Founder & CEO of Vatis Tech
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-ispas
https://vatis.tech

 Would you take that check again?

Two founders. Two paths. One backed by venture capital, the other bootstrapped. This episode breaks down the tradeoffs of startup funding in today’s environment, where open-source tools and cheaper tech stacks have changed the rules.

What you’ll hear:

• How modern stacks cut startup costs
• VC mentorship vs. hard-earned lessons
• Lean customer acquisition that actually works
• Filtering advice to fit your model
• Why experience beats theory in practice

The conversation pulls from real stories of juggling roles, messy early days, and the strange art of “vibe processing.” Conventional wisdom on scaling gets tested, and bootstrap founders will recognize why some popular playbooks simply don’t apply.

Timestamps:

00:00:05 – Bootstrapping vs VC Funding

00:02:41 – Startup Risks vs Investment Strategies

00:08:14 – Challenges of Defining Ideal Customer Profile

00:11:01 – Challenges of VC-Backed Growth

00:14:41 – Building a Team from Recommendations

00:17:07 – Vibe Processing in Marketing Workloads

00:18:20 – Exit Expectations in Business Growth

00:19:08 – Exit Expectations and Humble Goals

00:20:17 – Building a Sustainable Business

00:22:20 – Learning Marketing for Startups

00:24:30 – Relevance of Business Books Today

00:26:29 – The Role of Books in Business Success

00:30:31 – Embracing Failure and Confidence

Adrian Spataru - Founder of Cleanvoice AI
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spataru/
https://cleanvoice.ai

Adrian Ispas - Co-Founder & CEO of Vatis Tech
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-ispas
https://vatis.tech