Uncharted Podcast

How do you build partnerships that actually drive revenue—not just relationships? In this episode, Billy Robbins joins to break down the evolution of partnerships, the rise of marketplaces like AWS, and how to create real value through strategic collaboration. Whether you're building your first BD function or scaling with hyperscalers, this one’s packed with hard-earned insight.

In this candid and heartfelt episode, we dive deep into a personal journey of resilience, growth, and authentic connection. Poya shares their experience growing up as an immigrant in America, navigating career transitions from politics to sales, and building a successful consulting practice based on genuine relationships. They reveal how childhood insecurities transformed into a passion for empowering others, the importance of learning through experience, and why they now measure success by happiness rather than income. From overcoming professional setbacks to finding purpose in helping others succeed, this conversation explores how vulnerability and loyalty have shaped their approach to business and life. Discover powerful insights about perseverance, authentic leadership, and why sometimes the best path forward is simply to "step the fricking up" when facing life's challenges.

Amir Orad shares how he scaled three companies to over $150M, navigated crises like 9/11 and the financial crash, and built winning teams through reinvention, resilience, and relentless focus. A masterclass in scaling SaaS through chaos.

Poya and Robby interview Mark Selcow, a General Partner at ⁠Costanoa Ventures⁠, where he is focused on investing in the next generation of great enterprise technology companies. Prior to joining Costanoa, Mark was a serial entrepreneur and operator, who led organizations in the enterprise software and consumer Internet sectors. He co-founded and served as President of two companies. The first, BabyCenter, was a pioneer in the consumer Internet and grew to become a leader in the online parenting market. BabyCenter was sold to Johnson and Johnson in 2001. The second, Merced Systems, became the dominant provider of Performance Management software for large Customer Service functions. It was an innovator in combining operating data, complex derived metrics, and human factors, such as coaching, incentives, and games to achieve improvements in employee performance serving customers. Merced grew profitability from its first year of shipped product and was sold to NICE Systems in 2012.Connect with Mark: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-selcow-841167

In this episode of Uncharted, host Poya shares invaluable insights from his recent keynote at SaaStanak conference in Croatia. Drawing from his personal journey as an immigrant and his experience helping European startups succeed in the US, Poya breaks down the most common pitfalls founders face when expanding internationally. From the importance of founders owning the sales process to building genuine relationships instead of transactional ones, this episode delivers practical advice on how to navigate the American business landscape. Whether you're considering US expansion or simply looking to improve your sales approach, you'll learn why being opinionated matters, how to add value in follow-ups, and why documentation is critical for scaling success. Don't miss these battle-tested strategies from someone who has helped multiple companies achieve their American dream.

Our speaker this week is Jonathan Festejo. He is the CEO and co-founder of Salesbricks, where he is dedicated to making software easier to buy. He leads the company’s vision, strategy, and long-term growth. With firsthand experience in the challenges of selling software in today’s digital world, Jonathan is focused on making software more accessible through simple, click-to-purchase solutions. Before founding Salesbricks, he managed go-to-market operations at several companies backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and oversaw more than $2 billion in software sales contracts.

Arthur Bigeard shares his journey from a passion project to a thriving business, turning a side hustle into a full-time venture. He discusses the long-term mindset behind building scalable software, the lessons learned from working at Morgan Stanley, and the strategic decisions that helped shape g.v, a graph database client. Tune in for insights on entrepreneurship, tech evolution, and making the leap into the unknown!About our speaker: Arthur Bigeard is the founder at gdotv, a universal, plug-and-play graph database client to simplify & accelerate the day-to-day tasks of graph database users. He started this project following a 10 years long cyber security career, specialising in Identity & Access Management and cryptographic solutions.

In this episode of The Uncharted Podcast, host Poya Osgouei sits down with Lucas Lovell, VP of Product at Paddle, to discuss his journey from law school to founding a SaaS company and ultimately transitioning into a leadership role at a fast-growing scale-up. Lucas shares insights on navigating the shift from founder to operator, the value of cross-functional relationships, and the importance of customer empathy in product development. He also offers valuable advice for early-career professionals on prioritizing learning and leveraging strengths to create a lasting impact. Tune in for a deep dive into leadership, adaptability, and growth in the tech world!

Ryan Fox-Tyler, founder of the AI platform Hypermode and former product lead at Astronomer, shares his journey through the tech landscape. He discusses how digital access is reshaping children's learning and the role of AI in fostering curiosity. Ryan also reflects on his diverse career in financial services, highlighting the balance of innovation and growth. He dives into the evolution of Hypermode, focusing on democratizing AI development, and tackles themes of self-doubt and risk-taking, all while emphasizing the importance of maintaining focus in an ever-changing tech world.

In this episode ofUncharted, we explore the power of collaboration in sales and leadership. Our guest shares insights on how a strong partnership mindset—rather than a zero-sum approach—can drive bigger wins, foster trust, and create lasting professional relationships. From splitting deals to scaling success, we discuss the key ingredients that make teamwork thrive and how these lessons apply to leadership, decision-making, and career growth. Tune in for stories of mutual support, business insights, and advice on building relationships that stand the test of time.