Show overview
Fund/Build/Scale has been publishing since 2023, and across the 3 years since has built a catalogue of 128 episodes, alongside 4 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 90 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence, with the show now in its 2nd season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 37 min and 48 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Technology show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 29 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 53 episodes published. Published by Walter Thompson.
From the publisher
After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned: 1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck. 2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge. 3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it. There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder. Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale: 1. To help founders make fewer mistakes. 2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey. 3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out. This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business. I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it. Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more. Fund/Build/Scale is a production of Truth and Soul Media LLC.
Latest Episodes
View all 128 episodesBefore You Build in Senior Care, Figure Out Who Pays
How to Know If Your Startup Idea Is Worth Pursuing
Why Technical Founders Should Stop Answering Questions
If It’s Not on Paper, It’s Not Real: Canvas Prime's Rebecca Lynn
Why Technical Founders Hire Marketing Too Late
CVC Is Not Your Exit Strategy or GTM Plan
AI Makes Building Easier. Selling Is Still Hard.
The Most Expensive Money You'll Ever Raise
Why Most Startups Shouldn't Raise Money (Even If They Can)
Money Is the Only Customer Validation That Matters
What Hospitals Are Actually Buying in the AI Boom
The 10x Rule: Turning a Research Paper into an AI Company
Your First Marketing Hire Is Probably Not a CMO
How AI-Native Startups Actually Get Built
Why Great Founders Are “Angry at the Problem”
Before There Is Proof: Build a Startup Story That Shows You Can Execute
How to Hire Your First Offshore Team Without Screwing It Up
How Technical Founders Win the First 5 Minutes With Investors
S2 Ep 96Don’t Wait for the IPO: How Tech Employees Actually Get Liquid
Startup employees are encouraged to believe in the mission. But IPO timelines now stretch well past a decade — and many never happen at all. In this episode, Ben Black, co-founder and managing director of Akkadian Ventures, explains how tech workers can think more strategically about the equity they’ve helped create. Drawing on more than 750 secondary transactions, Ben walks through how employees can evaluate a company’s liquidity posture before accepting an offer, exercise options intelligently, understand the real value of their shares, and access secondary buyers — whether through structured programs or more proactive approaches. We also dig into the psychological side of selling: when to take money off the table, how to avoid overestimating future upside, and why “loyalty” shouldn’t mean ignoring your own financial reality. Ben shares real-world examples of employees using secondaries to fund major life events — and even to bootstrap their own companies so they can retain more ownership and control from day one. Founders and VCs get a lot of attention for the risks they take. This episode is about the people who often take just as much risk with far less margin for error. * Information offered is for educational purposes and should not be considered financial advice. RUNTIME 52:37 BREAKDOWN (2:12) How Ben got into the secondary market and founded Akkadian (5:33) “The vast majority of really good companies now have secondary programs.” (8:39) Secondaries generate “a very significant part of the return of the large funds.” (9:57) Why are most companies still on a four-year vesting cliff? (12:55) Things to consider when you’re 25% vested (15:22) Why so many tech workers never exercise their vested options (16:49) A framework for identifying the *right* time to sell (21:26) How to access the secondary market if your company doesn’t offer a structured program (30:09) “I do see a lot of bad behavior among employees… using information that they’re not supposed to use.” (32:06) Startup employees: cultivate a strong relationship with your CFO (34:08) The #1 reason why employees sell secondaries (and a few edge cases) (38:44) “You have to be really skeptical, and you need to take a lot of shots on goal.” (45:11) How many founders are bootstrapping startups using the secondary market? (48:44) How long does it take to get liquid? LINKS Ben Black Akkadian Venture Capital IPO markets look primed to accelerate in 2026, pwc, 12/12/2025 SUBSCRIBE 📥 Get the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter on Beehiiv: https://fundbuildscale.beehiiv.com/ 📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ 📺 Watch Fund/Build/Scale on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFFH4cs2B1BKatPGs8SFRJw Thanks for listening! – Walter.
S2 Ep 95Turning Utility Into Habit: Beyond Basic Gamification
EI interviewed Play Ventures General Partner Phylicia Koh to explore what founders outside of gaming can learn from two decades of game design. Play Ventures began as a gaming-focused VC fund. Today, it also invests in what Phylicia calls “playable apps,” consumer products that combine utility with the engagement mechanics of games. That doesn’t mean slapping on points and badges. It means understanding motivation, social dynamics, retention loops, and in-app economies. We talk about: What actually makes an app “playable” — and why most gamification fails The difference between vanity retention and real engagement Why founders should get comfortable with paid user acquisition What she wants to see at pre-seed (hint: can you ship?) How to design for habit in categories like fintech, wellness, and spirituality If you’re a domain expert building a consumer product and you’ve never seriously considered how game design might increase engagement and lifetime value, this conversation will give you a new lens. RUNTIME 37:20 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:33) “Play identifies as a gaming and also a consumer VC fund.” (7:53) How she determines if gaming skills/practices will add value. (11:19) How to pitch Play Ventures (14:50) "Can you ship? Because shipping is hard." (18:05) Phylicia’s top success metrics for playable apps (21:39) “You're going to need to use paid user acquisition." (28:07) “If somebody has a good idea, I guarantee you somebody else around the world has that idea too.” (32:46) An idea she’d like to back that doesn't exist yet LINKS Phylicia Koh Play Ventures SUBSCRIBE 📥 Get the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter on Beehiiv: https://fundbuildscale.beehiiv.com/ 📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/ 📺 Watch Fund/Build/Scale on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFFH4cs2B1BKatPGs8SFRJw Thanks for listening! – Walter.