Episodes
This week on Found, Dom and Becca are diving into the world of data governance with Collibra CEO Felix Van de Maele. They get into how maintaining organized data started as a niche concept and became the bedrock of AI and privacy compliance. They also talk about the early challenges of building a startup in Belgium, the lucky breaks that saved the company, and why Felix believes every employee is a “data citizen.”
Published 11/19/24
In this episode, Dom and Becca dive into the future of trucking with Raquel Urtasun, CEO and co-founder of Waabi, a company pioneering driverless, long-haul trucks powered by generative AI. They talked about Waabi's unique simulation-based training approach, its vision for autonomous technology, and how it could redefine the trucking industry and workforce.
Published 11/12/24
This week we’re taking you backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Becca Szkutak had the chance to talk with Dan Lorenc, the CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity startup Chainguard following their conversation on stage with prominent investors, The Chainsmokers. They discuss how the EDM duo's venture fund MANTIS went from being viewed skeptically by traditional VCs to becoming a highly sought-after investment partner in the B2B space, how Lorenc scaled the company in a difficult time for...
Published 11/05/24
Recorded live from TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Found co-hosts Becca Szkutak and Dominic Davis sit down with Kai Kloepfer, CEO of Biofire, a smart gun company that aims to prevent firearm misuse. Kloepfer gets into the hurdles of building a hardware startup in the firearm industry from fundraising to building a reliable product. Please note this conversation deals with topics around gun violence and suicide.
Published 10/29/24
This week on Found, Dom and Becca talk with Howie Liu, the CEO and co-founder of Airtable to talk about how the Airtable team used smart UX to make app development accessible to even the least technical users. They also discuss how human-computer interaction is at the core of Airtable’s mission and behind each new product they put out. And they get into early missteps, the investor advice that Liu didn’t follow, and the unlikely inspiration behind Airtable’s design.
Published 10/22/24
This week on Found Dom and Becca talk with Josh Reeves, co-founder and CEO of Gusto. He shares how the company is transforming small business operations. We explore the complexities of payroll, benefits, and compliance, and how Gusto is helping entrepreneurs navigate these challenges. They also discuss hoe Gusto has managed to stand out in a competitive industry and the important of being excited by the problem you're solving as an entrepreneur.
Published 10/15/24
In this week's episode of Found, KiwiCo’s Sandra Lin talks about building a STEM-focused toy business. She explains the importance of inspiring creativity in kids, the company’s massive growth to 50 million crates delivered, and how she sought out feedback from parents and kids alike. They also discuss how the company recently expanded from and online-only DTC to selling in brick and mortar stores.
Published 10/08/24
Most used car dealers in the U.K. get their stock from auctions, and one startup is moving the process online to make it easier for both car owners and car dealers. This week, Becca and special co-host Kirsten are talking with Harry Jones, the co-founder of Motorway, a U.K. startup helping professional car dealers to bid in an auction for privately owned cars for sale. Motorway has seen rapid success, with a car sold every three minutes and a GMV of £2.2 billion last year. In this episode,...
Published 10/01/24
This week on Found, Dom and Becca talk with Haitham Eletrabi, the creator of Tennibot. They discuss his journey from civil engineering to inventing a device that he calls the "roomba for tennis". Tennibot not only picks up tennis balls autonomously but also saves players and coaches time, allowing them to focus on improving their game. Join us as we explore how this innovative product is transforming the tennis world, from its humble beginnings to becoming a game-changer in sports tech.
Published 09/24/24
Finding order in chaotic datasets is key for companies to be able to implement AI solutions that actually work. This week’s guest is Prukalpa Sanka, the co-CEO and co-founder of Atlan, a platform designed to help data teams build trust, streamline workflows, and collaborate more effectively. Atlan emerged from the challenges of managing complex data projects and is now empowering organizations to scale their data operations while maintaining transparency and trust. In this episode they...
Published 09/17/24
Research is completely lacking when it comes to information about women’s hormonal health. Today’s guest is working to compile data and help women find the care they need. This week on Found, we’re talking to Sylvia Kang, the CEO and co-founder of Mira, a women’s health company that is providing home hormonal testing. They discuss the challenges on fundraising for women’s health startups, the importance of research to drive change and access in healthcare, and how Mira forged a new path by...
Published 09/10/24
Microplastics are everywhere: In our water, cleaning supplies, and in so many of our everyday household essentials. This week’s guest, Sarah Paiji Yoo, started Blueland to help us cut out microplastics and reduce the amount of single-use plastics we use, once and for all. Blueland creates eco-friendly and plastic free cleaning supplies. This week, Dom is joined by Tim De Chant to talk with Sarah about all the challenges of developing sustainable and safe cleaning supplies from formulation to...
Published 09/03/24
It’s not every week that Becca and Dom get to talk to a founder who has been building companies for the past 22 years. This week on Found, we’re joined by Eric Ly, co-founder of LinkedIn and the current co-founder and CEO of KarmaCheck startup that is making the background check process quicker and more transparent. Ly discusses his vision for streamlining background checks, the challenges of building multiple companies, and how his entrepreneurial mindset has evolved since the early days of...
Published 08/27/24
In this episode of Found, Becca and Dom sit down with Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, an AI chip startup focusing on developing specialized chips. Gavin shares the bold bet his startup is making on transformer models for AI chips, aiming to take on industry giant Nvidia. They discuss how Etched is developing specialized chips that they claim will be an order of magnitude faster than competitors, and Uberti shares his insights on the future of AI hardware as models continue to...
Published 08/20/24
HR software is big, big business. And no one understands that better than this week’s guest, Parker Conrad the CEO and co-founder of Rippling, a global HR company that offers global payroll, onboarding, time tracking, benefits management and more. In this episode he talks about what goes into building a leading HR tech company—from what it’s like building out features companies love, to dealing with fierce competition in this ever growing landscape. Conrad also gets into the power imbalance...
Published 08/13/24
Enterprise AI is booming so it’s no wonder that, as companies figure out how to implement it, the industry of AI infrastructure is emerging. This week Becca and Dom talk to Nick Frosst from Cohere, the AI company building natural language models for enterprise customers. They discuss why Frosst thinks the AI boom isn’t built on a bubble, whether or not AI companies are building toward a “digital god”, and how AI regulation could be a good thing.
Published 08/06/24
There is a whole marketplace for used tech, it isn’t just a good deal for the customer, but it also helps curb waste that can lead to soil contamination, non-pot able water, and dangerous living conditions. On this week’s episode of Found, we’re talking to Thibaud Hug de Larauze from BackMarket, a global marketplace for refurbished devices.
Published 07/30/24
Despite the fact that water covers 71% of the Earth, there is still so much we don’t know about the ocean floor and today’s founder is looking to change that. Joe Wolfel is the co-founder and CEO of Terradepth, the company that is working towards increasing ocean knowledge through autonomous, high resolution, scalable data collection in the deep ocean. On this week’s episode of Found, Becca is joined by guest co-host, Tim De Chant to discuss why mapping geological features at the bottom of...
Published 07/23/24
The higher education system isn’t working. Students pay way too much, professors don’t get paid enough, and many community college students that aspire to go on to get a Bachelor's degree aren't able to. But one startup thinks they have the solution. Today Becca is talking with Tade Oyerinde, the CEO and founder of Campus, a fully accredited online community college. They discuss how Tade found a school that was willing to come on board and align with his mission, the challenges of getting...
Published 07/16/24
What is the right way to regulate AI? There appears to be as many different answers to that as there are regulators. In this week's episode of Found, we're bringing you a live interview from TechCrunch's recent Strictly VC event. Becca Szkutak talked with Helen Toner, the director of strategy and foundational research grants from the Center of Security and Emerging Technology and a former board member of OpenAI. Although she's not a founder herself, this conversation centers around topics...
Published 07/09/24
There are some companies that just have it, even if we can’t quite figure out what it is—and Masterclass is one of those companies, despite facing an onslaught of skepticism from the jump. Today on Found, we’re talking to David Rogier, the CEO and founder of MasterClass, a streaming platform where you can learn from the world’s experts on a variety of topics, from baking to screen writing to developing empathy. Before David launched MasterClass, he worked as a VC. Through his connections...
Published 07/02/24
It probably doesn’t come as too big of a surprise that cowboy boots aren’t typically sold online. So where is the modern cowboy supposed to shop? This week we’re talking to a founder who carved out a DTC market for western wear. Paul Hedrick, the founder of Tecovas joins Dom and Becca to discuss the marketing strategy they came up with to change the perception of shopping for cowboy boots online and how the company has expanded to brick and mortar stores.
Published 06/25/24
This week on Found, we have an interview from TechCrunch's Strictly VC event in DC. Becca sat down with Steve Case, the founder of AOL to discuss policy, innovation, and AI. Case, now the founder of Revolution Ventures, told the live audience that open access not only helped his company back in the 90s but is also why the internet was able to progress in the way that it did. Regulators should aim for the same goal with AI policy despite the potential risks. He argues that opening up access...
Published 06/18/24
Many pots and pans on the market are coated in teflon, a poisonous chemical that can be harmful when it gets too hot. Luckily, there is an answer on the market — Caraway, a home goods brand that touts itself as being non-toxic but still high quality. Jordan Nathan founded the company after his own experience with Teflon poisoning that left him searching for a better — and healthier option. On this week’s episode of Found, Dom and Becca are joined by Nathan to discuss how he built a brand...
Published 06/11/24