{"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":"What Investors Actually Look For in the First 18 Months","slug":"what-investors-actually-look-for-in-the-first-18-months","published_at":"2026-01-29T00:23:19+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964/what-investors-actually-look-for-in-the-first-18-months","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964","url":"https://fundbuildscale.podbean.com/e/what-investors-actually-look-for-in-the-first-18-months/","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/37ys2z3n3id33x79/What_Investors_Actually_Look_For_in_the_First_18_Monthsbwb9a.mp3","summary":"In this episode, I’m joined by Jon Callaghan, co-founder and managing partner at True Ventures, and Julie Bornstein — CEO and co-founder of Daydream, founder of The Yes, and former COO of Stitch Fix — to break down what investors really evaluate in the first 18 months of a company’s life. Drawing from their shared history as investor and founder, we talk candidly about runway, hiring before certainty exists, conviction versus ego, and how trust between founders and investors gets tested when plans change. Julie explains how she approached budgeting and milestones for The Yes as a non-technical founder, while Jon shares how early-stage investors assess learning, decision-making, and leadership long after the pitch meeting ends. RUNTIME 50:28 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:43) Jon: “Julie and I met in graduate school.” (4:24) Julie chose a different VC firm for her first seed round at The Yes (10:33) How would Jon have assessed The Yes if he didn’t know Julie? (13:14) Julie: “Runway is your best friend and your biggest gift.” (14:59) How non-technical founders can sketch out a financial model (22:37) Jon: “There’s an immense river of goodness that flows underneath Silicon Valley.” (25:30) How did True Ventures size up SAM for The Yes? (29:00) Only work with engineers who understand your problem (31:25) Some of Jon’s post-check expectations for founders (41:44) What are some questions founders should ask VCs in their first meeting? (45:42) One experiment a pre-seed/seed-stage founder can try next week (48:14) The final question LINKS Julie Bornstein Jon Callaghan True Ventures Daydream Top e-commerce veteran Julie Bornstein unveils Daydream—an AI-powered shopping agent that’s 25 years in the making, Forbes, 6/25/2025 Pinterest to Acquire THE YES, an AI Powered Shopping Platform for…","meta_description":"In this episode, I’m joined by Jon Callaghan, co-founder and managing partner at True Ventures, and Julie Bornstein — CEO and co-founder of Daydream, foun…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3028,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fund-build-scale-6723964/episodes/what-investors-actually-look-for-in-the-first-18-months/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/what-investors-actually-look-for-in-the-first-18-months.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}