{"podcast":{"title":"Fund/Build/Scale","slug":"fund-build-scale-6723964","podcast_index_feed_id":6723964,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/fundbuildscale/feed.xml","website_url":"https://fundbuildscale.substack.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/17670315/new_FBS_1400_x_1400_tile_ggrhbt.jpg","author":"Walter Thompson","episode_count":120,"summary":"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 w…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-07T10:21:25.778921+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964"},"episode":{"title":"How to Prove You’re Building a Venture-Scale Company","slug":"how-to-prove-you-re-building-a-venture-scale-company","published_at":"2025-11-23T01:01:19+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964/how-to-prove-you-re-building-a-venture-scale-company","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964","url":"https://fundbuildscale.podbean.com/e/how-to-prove-you-re-building-a-venture-scale-company/","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/vpp7uqfhre7532aj/How_to_Prove_You_re_Building_a_Venture-Scale_Company9qk9c.mp3","summary":"Most founders think VCs want a pitch deck full of market numbers, a roadmap, and a feel-good story about the future. Hoxton Ventures Partner Payton Dobbs isn’t looking for any of that. He wants to know if you actually understand the game you’re trying to play. In this conversation, Payton breaks down the tactical stuff founders almost always get wrong: why TAM slides don’t matter how to define your real market what early signals prove you have a painkiller and not a vitamin and why most technical founders fail their first go-to-market quiz before the conversation even begins. He also talks about category creation, how to hire in the U.S. if you’re coming from Europe, why pricing is a strategic weapon, and the number-one question he asks every founder — the one that quietly decides whether you’re playing at venture scale or not. If you’re an early-stage builder, this episode will help you level up before you start meeting with VCs. RUNTIME 1:00:46 EPISODE BREAKDOWN 02:12: Payton Dobbs’ background and the value of building presence in key markets 03:25: Not all good ideas are venture scale: how to assess billion-dollar potential 04:01: Why new category creation is crucial for venture scale startups 06:35: What VCs look for in a pitch deck: TAM, SAM, and logic behind the numbers 08:06: Case study: Deliveroo and building new markets from small segments 09:07: Identifying pain points and leveraging founder expertise 10:57: Advice for technical founders: the value of complementary co-founders and commercial skills 12:23: Building frameworks: due diligence on markets, competitors, and learning from others’ mistakes 13:54: Adapting go-to-market strategies for different business models (B2B SaaS, consumer, etc.) 15:00: The importance of having a perspective and being able to de…","meta_description":"Most founders think VCs want a pitch deck full of market numbers, a roadmap, and a feel-good story about the future. Hoxton Ventures Partner Payton Dobbs…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3646,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fund-build-scale-6723964/episodes/how-to-prove-you-re-building-a-venture-scale-company/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964/how-to-prove-you-re-building-a-venture-scale-company.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}