The Undefeated Underdogs

👉🏼 About the Guest:Marie Martens is the co-founder of Tally, the simplest way to create forms. With a background in marketing, she co-founded a travel marketplace, Hotspot, and pivoted to Tally during the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2024, Tally's lean team has bootstrapped Tally to a $1M in ARR!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Marie discuss juggling parenthood and startup life, hockey stick growth, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight1:10: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:34: Introduction to Marie Martens - the co-founder of Tally.so!05:50: How does being a mom keep Marie motivated?09:22: Why Tally refuses to hire or raise funds20:35: Tally's original mission in 202024:03: Secrets of hockey stick growth30:32: Ways to get over burnout38:04: Why Marie founded Tally in an over-crowded market44:10: How Notion influenced Tally47:30: How no-code tools and AI could have changed Tally's growth52:24: Marie's Plan B in case Tally didn't work out55:10: How building Tally differs from Marie's previous startup56:36: Tally's tactics that led to hockey stick growth59:08: What's next for Tally?1:03:25: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Marie:Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieMartensLinkedin: https://be.linkedin.com/in/mariemartensTally: https://blog.tally.so/author/marie/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Peer Richelsen is the co-founder and co-CEO of Cal.com. Peer has also previously served as the head of product at On Deck and as the founder and CEO of Lean Hire, as well as attending Y Combinator as an alumni in the winter of 2019. for Mage App, Inc., where they raised $880K in funding over three years and served over 50k customers across Europe and the USA.Today Peer and the team launched their newest product of Cal.com called Platform and Atoms. Go support the launch here: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/cal-com-platform👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Peer discuss the future of open-source software, intellectual property in an age of AI, sales as a first-time founder, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:54: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:19: Introduction to Peer Richelsen - the founder of Cal.com!06:10: The origins of Cal.com: Going from being an operator to a founder11:06: How to stand out in a crowded market14:40: How to differentiate your product19:15: How to make your product strategy22:43: Why open-source is Cal.com's superpower27:33: The importance of IP in a post-AI world30:00: Where to get product inspiration32:10: Transitioning from being a bootstrapped founder to a VC-backed founder39:45: The ultimate aim of every founder44:31: What would Peer work in, if not scheduling?47:40: How to approach sales as a first-time founder50:52: How to get in front of big clients52:15: Approaching the chicken-egg traction problem in fundraising56:30: How did Y Combinator change Peer as a founder?58:18: Dealing with self-doubt59:50: What drives Peer as a founder?1:06:04: Peer's beef with Supabase1:07:44: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Support Cal.com Platform on Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/cal-com-platformSeven Seven Six: https://sevensevensix.com/Founders Podcast's episode on Jay Z: https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/63997262/senra-jay-z-decodedSupabase: https://supabase.com/👉🏼 Where to find Peer:Twitter: https://twitter.com/peer_richLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peer-richelsen-221233138👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Sonia Baschez was the Head of Marketing at Atmos and currently is a a Marketing and PR Advisor at The Council. She is an expert at building and executing marketing strategies for early-stage startups focused on social media, content creation, and email marketing. She has previously worked on the Hillary for America campaign, where she wrote, designed, and launched email programs for 38 states. She has also worked with startups (Makerpad, Winnie, Holloway), authors (Elisabeth Rosenthal MD, Sam Walker, Alexandra Sacks MD), and influencers (Jeanne Pinder, Marlon Peterson, Luz Claudio, Muhammed Idris) to create their brands/profiles, grow followings, and promote their work.Most recently, she's launching her own fractional CMO company, Bend Growth Co. Check her out at https://www.bendgrowth.co/!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Sonia discuss the future of personalization, where email marketing is headed, when you should make your first marketing hire, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:47: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:14: Introduction to Sonia Baschez - the fractional CMO!04:35: The day-to-day life of a marketer06:02: Life as the mom of a 2-year-old09:43: How Sonia started her story in marketing21:52: Similarities between startups and political campaigns26:29: When should a founder prioritize marketing?30:24: Downside of fractional employees33:35: What is the future of email marketing?43:39: How to do personalization perfectly.51:12: The marketing part of product-market fit59:10: Working with your spouse: how to maintain professional and personal boundaries1:05:10: Bend Growth Co. - the new-age fractional CMO company!👉🏼 Resources:Lenny Rachitsky: https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/Obviously Awesome by April Dunford: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45166937Nathan Baschez: https://undefeatedunderdogs.com/50Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Sonia:Bend Growth Co.: https://www.bendgrowth.co/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoniaBaschez?Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniabaschezInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/soniabaschez/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:James Evans (Princeton alumni, ex-Bain) is the co-founder and CEO of CommandBar, a user assistance platform that makes your software product easier to use. In 3.5yrs, CommandBar is a 7-figure ARR SaaS business, with over 20 million end-users across hundreds of customers like Hashicorp, Freshworks, and Hubspot and has grown to a team of 40 people and raised $24 million.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and James discuss the No-PM Policy, why popups suck, the secrets of a first-time founder, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight01:05: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:34: Introduction to James Evans – Founder of CommandBar and hater of popups!04:58: Why are popups so irritating?08:32: What are ways of grabbing a customer's attention?14:14: How most startups should be capturing customers19:30: CommandBar's newest product...or not26:45: Finding inspiration for your brand29:58: James' No-PM Policy34:04: Making UX better38:49:The hardest parts of building42:48: Applying to Y Combinator46:00: How the best founders design products49:57: Under shared secrets from a first-time founder52:41: What is the secret of sales?55:35: The dangers you'll see in sales57:39: The best type of content strategy for startups1:02:11: Where CommandBar is going next and how AI is revolutionizing the way we work1:07:08: What drives James as a founder?1:10:25: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Big Desk Energy: https://www.bigdeskenergy.com/Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find James:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dazzeloid?Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-evans-7086b3126/CommandBar Website: https://www.commandbar.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Dr. Corey Wilks is a licensed clinical psychologist and executive coach who helps top entrepreneurs in the world clarify what matters, overcome limiting beliefs, and build values-aligned lives and businesses. His work focuses on exploring the psychology of how to succeed in life and business. Podcasters like Chris Williamson and Paul Millerd praised Cory for his ability to steer founders in the right direction by unlocking the next level in business and personal growth.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Corey discuss becoming self-aware, finding greatness, breaking limiting beliefs, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:26: Shoutout to Acquire.com02:52: Introduction to Dr. Corey Wilks – Psychologist & Executive Coach!04:11: Why Corey picked psychology as his field of study09:10: How do you define psychology?14:09: Introverts vs extroverts in psychology18:44: How to think about your personal identity26:35: How to break limiting beliefs as a founder32:48: Mental models for founders39:27: How to find the courage to live your life44:31: How to bring your conviction to 100%52:44: How Corey pushes founders to find greatness56:07: How founders can keep up their focus1:01:32: How to find your own philosophy as a founder1:12:56: Inculcating self-awareness and spending time with your thoughts1:21:11: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Corey:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoreyWilksPsyDWebsite: https://coreywilkspsyd.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Louis Pereira (10K+ followers on X!) lives a dual life. During the day, he works with his family to run a traditional, offline first business in Goa, India. At night, he is a creator on the internet where he builds web apps and publishes the occasional article.He is currently building AudioPen, a voice-based note-taking app. Since launch, it has been voted Product Hunt's #1 Product of the Day and has 35,000+ users from all over the world.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Louis discuss balancing work and hobbies, rolling the dice on your entrepreneurial endeavor, bootstrapping, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:11: Introduction to Louis Pereira – Creator of AudioPen!05:00: The journey of AudioPen07:35: Mindset for handling extreme highs and lows09:52: How composure helps you build products12:59: The various end goals of making a product14:33: Transitioning from building your Product 1 to Product 221:34: Rolling the dice on your entrepreneurial endeavors24:00: How a regular person can build AI products27:10: Step #2 of building a new product28:18: Bootstrapping vs raising money32:00: How building in public makes you a better founder38:54: Going all in for entrepreneurship43:09: Louis' future product ideas45:31: Building something new vs growing current products47:17: Noticing problems and building for yourself49:28: Why writing matters52:43: How Louis is planning on integrating AI into products55:22: Wildest stories from AudioPen users58:55: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Louis:Twitter: https://twitter.com/louispereiraLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louispereira/Website: https://louispereira.xyz/AudioPen: https://audiopen.ai/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Adam Renklint is the co-founder, CEO, and prev CTO of Pitch (allowing teams to create compelling stories in the blink of an eye). Adam was previously the founder of Wunderlist, and before that, a senior software engineer at Microsoft, where they led a cross-platform team that developed the task suggestion algorithm that powered Microsoft To-Do. Prior to that, they were a full stack developer at 6Wunderkinder.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Adam discuss the AI wave, growing a startup with intention, playing the long game, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:37: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:02: Introduction to Adam Renklint – CEO at Pitch!05:25: Entering 2024 full of intentionality for a startup10:40: What does success look like for Pitch?13:45: How to downsize your goals17:02: Facing fear when finding a path20:00: Shift from CTO in 2018 to CEO in 202425:15: The philosophy of playing the long game in startups28:27: Setting expectations as a CEO & founder32:58: Creating a company with 8 co-founders41:03: How Pitch started45:34: How much of Pitch comes from Adam's experience at Microsoft?51:12: How does Pitch go from idea > feature > product?1:00:02: Where does the inspiration for Pitch come from?1:04:33: Which products are points of inspiration for Pitch?1:09:49: How to choose your own entrepreneurship path1:16:21: What's next for Pitch1:21:25: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Christian Reber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianreber/Linear: https://linear.app/👉🏼 Where to find Adam:Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamrenklintLinkedin: https://de.linkedin.com/in/adam-renklintPitch: https://pitch.com/about👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Mubashar Iqbal (Maker of the Year on Product Hunt) is a serial maker and the creator of 114+ side projects! He was a Lead Engineer at Founderpath and the ex-CTO of MadGlory Interactive. Legend says Mubs shipped more than 200+ projects in the last decade. He is known for being prolific when it comes to taking an idea to MVP at lightning speed. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Mubashar discuss side projects, tech waves, new pricing models on the market, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:11: Introduction to Mubashar Iqbal – maker of 114+ side projects!05:12: How Mubs has shipped 114+ side projects09:33: Navigating the highs and lows of side projects13:24: Handling comparison as an indie maker18:22: Making money with side projects23:10: Decision-making framework for an indie maker26:04: Journey to being a full-time indie maker36:30: Measuring your "startup age"40:30: The planning process for a side project45:57: Should you only work on projects where you have skin in the game?49:31: What are the effects of AI on side projects55:08: Which technology wave is the most interesting so far?58:25: New pricing models on the market1:08:19: Which tech areas are expanding for side projects?1:12:44: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/Campfire: https://once.com/campfire👉🏼 Where to find Mubs:Twitter: https://twitter.com/mubashariqbalLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mubashariqbal/Portfolio: https://iworkedon.com/@mubashariqbal👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Nathan Baschez is the founder of Lex, a modern word processor that enables a radically new way to write. He also cofounded Every, a writer collective focused on business. Previously, he was the first employee at Substack, the Head of Product at Gimlet Media, and co-created the original version of Product Hunt.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community + Brand at Threado, building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Nathan discuss the present and future of AI, the Apple Vision Pro, being employee #2 at startups, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:29: Shoutout to Acquire.com02:56: Introduction to Nathan Baschez – a founder revolutionizing AI writing!04:41: Buying the Apple Vision Pro11:57: The experience of writing the first lines of code for ProductHunt16:19: Lessons learned as an early startup employee23:25: Lessons from each persona: founder, developer, writer28:25: How does Lex help people write better?37:30: Downsides of solving your own problems as a founder43:07: Developing self-awareness as a founder47:58: Craziest idea Nathan has ever had49:43: If not Lex, what would Nathan do?57:02: The current reality check with AI in tech1:01:24: The future of AI and writing tools1:04:15: Differentiating Lex from competitors1:14:00: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Nathan:Twitter: https://twitter.com/nbashawLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nbashawMedium: https://nbaschez.medium.com/Every: https://every.to/@nbaschezYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@nbaschezSubstack: https://nathan.substack.com/Future: https://future.com/author/nathan-baschez/Lex: https://lex.page/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Emuye worked as Head of Engineering at Superhuman, where she focused on scaling the engineering team. She joined Superhuman in 2016 to build the mobile team and also managed the customer delight team, becoming an integral member of company leadership.Previously, she worked at Zite Technologies and is an advisor for many startups. Emuye's first gig was at Apple, where she joined as an iOS developer and worked on Apple TV and made her mark on one of the revolutionary devices we use today. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community + Brand at Threado, building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Emuye discuss hiring, moving into startups, leaving a legacy, and more! 👉🏼 Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:55: Shoutout to Acquire.com03:22: Introduction to Emuye Reynolds – one of the first iOS engineers in the world!04:53: When founders should build an engineering team07:06: Upsides and downsides to joining a startup and what to look for before you join13:09: How should founders decide which shots to take?14:48: Apple's startup-like operations system19:01: The impact of Apple TV and Steve Jobs' involvement23:17: The mindset behind creating products that leave a legacy26:07: Positioning vs product29:34: Joining Superhuman and the appeal of vision33:51: The importance of hiring in startups37:34: Importance of research and process in hiring40:20: Emuye's #1 hiring strategy42:53: What do people miss in interviews?44:42: Advice for transitioning from big corporations to startups46:46: Next steps for Emuye48:09: How to build a product50:17: Decisionmaking in different stages of a startup52:24: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Have your product acquired: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/👉🏼 Where to find Emuye:Twitter: https://twitter.com/emuyereynolds?lang=enLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emuye/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/