
UNPAK3D Podcast
A podcast for operators by operators
UNPAK3D Podcast stands for unpacking these journeys by Decrypting, Decoupling, and Decompressing. We Decrypt concepts like "hiring great people", "finding product-market fit"; we Decouple the outcomes of businesses from the ebbs and flows of the journey; we Decompress by learning how these operators take a step back from their business.
Latest episodes

Jun 26, 2025 • 1h 1min
Ep. 16 Security for the Cloud + AI Era: A Conversation with Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope
In this episode, we sit down with Sanjay Beri, founder and CEO of Netskope, to explore how he built one of the most innovative cybersecurity companies of our time—now generating $500M+ in revenue and protecting over one-third of the Fortune 100.We dive deep into:The vision behind Netskope and its role in a multi-hundred billion dollar market shiftWhy balancing strategic foresight with day-to-day customer interaction is core to Sanjay’s leadership styleHow Netskope hires for culture over pedigree, and why empathy and openness are part of formal performance reviewsThe company’s product strategy, GTM evolution, and approach to navigating AI securityLessons from scaling during the pandemic and how to train a team for high-growth executionAnd—how Sanjay personally decompresses after building a global enterprise platformThis conversation is full of practical insights for founders, operators, and anyone building in the enterprise space.Episode Timestamps:00:00 – Intro00:53 – The Journey to Netskope06:06 – “Living in the clouds and in the trenches” — explained07:53 – Hiring philosophy: culture vs credentials14:51 – Ensuring employees align with the company’s vision20:21 – Building Platforms vs Products32:43 – Changing processes to enable scale41:52 – Toughest parts of scale and standing out in tough markets52:07 – The rise of AI and “shadow AI” in the enterprise58:40 – Decompress with Sanjay: Personal strategies for relaxation and focus

May 29, 2025 • 60min
Ep. 15: Decoding AI Trust- A Conversation with Galileo AI's Atin Sanyal
In this episode we had a fantastic time talking to Atin Sanyal the CTO of Galileo. Galileo is a fast-growing GenAI Evaluation platform, which ensures AI apps perform reliably. In this episode we cover a lot of ground from Atin's read on the state of AI in the enterprise to how you deploy it reliably. Please listen, like and subscribe!1:08 - Atin’s journey to Galileo3:49 - What does Galileo do?11:17 - AI as a Judge and How Galileo Works14:45- Generalizing AI Evals24:44 - Defining an ICP in the AI World27:56 - Ideal Customer Profile33:35 - Open Source vs. Closed Source42:05 - Building AI Eng Teams and Leveraging AI Tools to Scale52:00 - State of AI in the Enterprise57:21 - Decompress

Apr 17, 2025 • 1h 4min
Ep 14: Mike Conover, CEO at Brightwave: Building AI for the Enterprise
A power-packed Unpak3d Podcast featuring Mike Conover, CEO of Brightwave, sharing battle-tested strategies for enterprise AI success. Mike breaks down exactly how to build, scale, and dominate in the AI-first era.Since recording this episode, Brightwave has launched Report Builder and Blueprints, two powerful new features that mark the debut of the first deep research platform purpose-built for private market investors. These tools help investment teams go from a 1,000-page data room to a fully sourced, sharable report in minutes—automating workflows like investment memos, expert call summaries, and comp analyses.Key insights you'll discover:🚀 1:31 - From Zero to AI Hero: Mike's journey and critical success factors🤝 6:20 - Building Your AI Dream Team: Culture secrets that attract and retain top talent🔓 14:13 - The Open Source Advantage: Why it matters for enterprise adoption🛠️ 21:35 - Production-Ready AI: Skip the common pitfalls, nail the execution🏄♂️ 27:48 - Surfing the AI Wave: Strategic moves that put you ahead of competition🛡️ 38:30 - Data Moat Strategy: Transform data into unbeatable market advantage✨ 42:19 - The Brightwave Edge: Inside look at next-gen AI implementation🤝 50:57 - Strategic Partnerships: Accelerate growth through smart collaborations🧘 59:42 - Leadership Sustainability: Balance innovation with personal well-being

Mar 13, 2025 • 1h 11min
Ep. 13: Jake Heller, CEO/Founder of Casetext: Riding the AI Wave
We had a fantastic conversation with Jake Heller who founded Casetext and sold the company to Thomson Reuters for $650M. We cover the Casetext journey to AI, how he positioned himself to take advantage of the AI wave and his lessons on creating a buzz for M&A. Listen, like and subscribe!1:00 - The Casetext journey5:00 - Learning to leverage AI21:00 - Moats in Vertical AI29:00 - Thoughts on Building an AI-native startup32:57 - Defining Customer Obsession and finding PMF55:23 - Lessons on hiring and the importance of culture1:04:31 - Decompressing

12 snips
Jan 9, 2025 • 1h 9min
Ep 12: George Mathew, MD at Insight Partners: The Recipe for Building Generational Companies
George Mathew, managing director at Insight Partners and former leader at SAP and Salesforce, shares insights from his impressive career. He discusses the importance of resilience and learning from failures in leadership. George delves into how AI is reshaping business models and offers strategies for startups to thrive in competitive environments. He shares his experience coaching founders to excel, emphasizing the balance between product development and commercialization, and the transformative role of AI in business operations.

Nov 14, 2024 • 60min
Ep 11: Ankit Jain, CEO of Infinitus: Selling AI in Healthcare
In this episode, we have a fantastic conversation with Ankit Jain, CEO of Infinitus. We cover a broad range of topics around selling, delivering value and building with a focus on how Infinitus has been successful in healthcare. We then talk about how AI going to be impact healthcare and how it will get adopted. Please listen and subscribe!
1:27 - Ankit's Journey to Infinitus
14:01 - Taking the entrepreneurial plunge
19:50 - Choosing and building the Services as a Software approach
30:58 - Spotlight on Infinitus
35:11- Pricing Service as a Software
44:35 - Developing the GTM for Healthcare
53:31 - Opportunities for AI in Healthcare
58:15 - Decompress

Sep 12, 2024 • 57min
Ep 10 Shyam Rao (Founder @ Punchh): ROI for Early Customers = Repeatable GTM
In this insightful episode, we sit down with Shyam Rao, the founder and CEO of Punchh, for a deep dive into the world of startups and entrepreneurship. Shyam shares his wealth of experience, from bootstrapping Punchh in its early days to scaling it into a successful venture.
13:33 Finding Your First Customers
17:27 Bootstrapping and Early Growth Reflecting on Punchh's journey
27:07 Product-Led Approach
33:39 Focusing on ROI In the early days
35:11 Aligning with Customer Goals
44:09 Building a Strong Company Culture
50:10 Thoughtful Hiring as You Grow
53:39 Fostering Team Spirit
56:25 Preparing for M&A
01:02:52 Maintaining Work-Life Balance

Jul 18, 2024 • 1h 2min
Ep. 9 Sumit Agarwal (Ario CEO, Founder Shape Security): Building 3D Products- Defensible, Delightful, Differentiated
We talk to Sumit Agarwal the founder of Ario and Shape Security (acq by F5 for $1B). We decrypt the the journey from the military to building a deep cybersecurity product and now a personal AI assistant. Listen in to uncover his 3D framework that guided the journey of Shape and now Ario. We wrap with how to navigate M&A, a theme which we believe is going to be a key topic in several board meetings this and next year.
3:13 - Sumit's Journey from Air Force to Security to AI
10:07 - Identifying Hard, Valuable, Fun Opportunities
19:24 - Building 3D defensible, differentiated, delightful tech in tough markets
28:33 - Identifying the right talent
37:38 - How to be Customer Focused NOT Revenue Focused
46:02 - Unlocking Value to Drive Price
55:07 - Solving the demand bottleneck in M&A
58:26 - Decompressing with family

Jun 12, 2024 • 1h 8min
Ep. 8 Cedric Bru (CEO Taulia): Navigating Crises and Reinventing the Business
In this episode, we talk to Cedric Bru, the CEO of Taulia. Cedric joined the company after spending 7 years as an exec at Visa. In this episode, we dive deeply into how Cedric put his imprint on the business and navigated a crisis with one of their partners going bankrupt.
1:29 - Cedric’s journey into entrepreneurship and going from big company to startup18:39 - Embracing the possibility of failure when running a startup23:40 - Developing a high performance culture35:28 - Putting your imprint on the business as a new leader
46:15 - Navigating the Greensill Crisis
53:10 - Work life balance1:03:34 - Advice to start companies in a challenging macro

May 30, 2024 • 1h 6min
Ep. 7 Varun Badhwar: Taking a Big Swing and Navigating Cybersecurity
In this episode we have a great conversation with Varun Badhwar. Varun sold his first company, Redlock, to Palo Alto for over $200M. He recently embarked on his 2nd journey to build Endor Labs, where he raised a $70M Series A to secure the software supply chain.
In this episode we cover:
1:04 - Varun’s foray into startups8:57 - Hiring and building the best when $s are constrained17:33 - Positioning for success in a noisy market32:02 - Early GTM Success in an expensive environment41:08 - Navigating the Palo Alto Acquisition50:06 - Spotlight on Endor Labs58:50 - Decompress