Episode notes
Were we wildly wrong, or surprisingly on the money? As 2025 wraps, Chris and Yaniv revisit the bold predictions they made at the start of the year. They reflect on their calls about AI, robotics, VC markets, crypto, and geopolitics. While some were accurate, some were also hilariously off. Together, they unpack what 2025 really looked like for startups, venture capital, and the global tech landscape. In this episode, you will: Learn why both hosts believe their AGI predictions were misses and what “AGI” even means anymore. Understand how Google re-emerged as a serious AI contender, from…
Podcast
The Startup Podcast
Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad · Business · English
Advice for founders and entrepreneurs who want to build disruptive startups like they do in Silicon Valley. Not another interview podcast: concrete tips and masterclasses on what founders need to know: raising Venture Capital, strategy, product, marketing, growth, and more. A guide to the unique…
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S5 · E5 · 9 Mar 2026 · 57 min
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Has your hiring process kept up with the industry’s AI leaps, or are you still interviewing like it's 2022? Today’s AI-driven landscape means the skill gap between a good engineer and a great one widens every day, and the great ones can be difficult to find. But how do you choose – and hire – the best in the business? How do you find those elusive engineers who can skilfully handle multi-agent workflows, ship in hours what used to take weeks, and add an AI-focused competitive edge to your startup? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein are joined by Matt Cook, an expert in hiring…
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S5 · E4 · 2 Mar 2026 · 37 min
Insiders React: OpenClaw and Claude Cowork have changed everything for startups w/ Gary Lo, Open BA
The agentic AI revolution is finally escaping the coding bubble. What does that mean for startup founders? Just 13 days after recording his first conversation with Yaniv, Gary Lo called to re-record. The reason? OpenClaw and Claude Cowork dropped some huge AI agent updates, and it shifted Gary's perspective enough to change the whole conversation. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Gary Lo – founder of OpenBA, one of Australia's most compelling pre-seed AI startups – to unpack why OpenClaw and Claude Cowork news marks a 'Cursor moment' for the rest of the world: the inflection…
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S5 · E3 · 23 Feb 2026 · 58 min
Making the most of the founder/investor dynamic (w/ Liz Zalman, author of 'Founder vs Investor')
Founders and investors like to tell themselves they're on the same team, and they can be – but it takes work. In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Liz Zalman, a veteran founder with over 20 years of startup experience, for an in-depth chat about the real dynamics of the founder-investor relationship. Liz is also co-author (alongside VC Jerry Neumann) of 'Founder Vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO’, one of Yaniv's favorite books on startups. From re-vesting demands to acquisition offers that investors won't approve, Liz brings hard-won,…
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S5 · E2 · 16 Feb 2026 · 56 min
How founders can survive 2026 w/ Jess Mah
Is AI making founders more anxious than ever, even in the heart of Silicon Valley? Behind the optimistic LinkedIn posts and fundraising announcements, some of the most successful people in tech are struggling with burnout and an overwhelming pace of change. So what does it actually take to build a resilient, successful startup in 2026? In this episode, Yaniv is joined by Jess Mah, serial founder, Y Combinator alum, and venture creation powerhouse behind Mahway. Jess has founded more than 10 companies — collectively valued at over $1 billion — and was the youngest woman ever accepted into Y…
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S5 · E1 · 9 Feb 2026 · 44 min
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S4 · E78 · 6 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Is OpenAI Evil? Reacting to Sam Altman's Latest Announcements w/ Jacob Ward
OpenAI may appear to be building the future, but are they leading the tech industry towards collapse? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Jacob Ward (journalist, author of The Loop and NBC Technology Correspondent) to break down OpenAI’s latest livestream and what it signals about the next era of AI. Sam Altman may talk the good talk, but his actions, and the priorities of OpenAI at large, may not align with those claims. Chris, Yaniv, and Jacob unpack these differences between words and actions, the emerging social consequences, and what it all means for the tech industry. In…
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S4 · E77 · 3 Nov 2025 · 45 min
Replay: Engaging Young Employees - How to Attract the Best & Brightest Minds w/ Dan Brockwell from Earlywork
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S4 · E76 · 30 Oct 2025 · 43 min
Insiders React: Google's 'Quantum Advantage' + MIT's 'Telepathic' Interface, China Leads the Sci-Fi Future
Is this the moment quantum computing becomes real? After years of being “five years away,” Google just announced a verifiable quantum advantage, claiming its Willow chip ran a molecule simulation 13,000× faster than the world’s fastest supercomputer. Is this truly the dawn of the quantum era? In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein dive deep into Google’s latest quantum computing breakthrough, exploring what it means for AI, science, and the future of technology. They'll also expand to cover the rise of brain–computer interfaces, China’s ten-year tech roadmap, and the political…
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S4 · E75 · 27 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
Trends in Startup Funding w/ Carta's Head of Insights, Peter Walker
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S4 · E74 · 23 Oct 2025 · 53 min
Insiders React: Is ChatGPT Atlas The Future Of Browsing? + YouTube's AI Likeness Detection, Apple's New Vision Pro M5
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