Podcast
From Startup to Exit
Hosted by TiE Seattle · EN
Welcome to the Startup to Exit podcast where we bring you world-class entrepreneurs and VCs to share their hard-earned success stories and secrets. This podcast has been brought to you by TiE Seattle. TiE is a global non-profit that focuses on fostering entrepreneurship. TiE Seattle offers a range of programs including the GoVertical Startup Creation Weekend, TiE Entrepreneur Institute, and the TiE Seattle Angel Network. We encourage you to become a TiE member so you can gain access to these great programs. To become a member, please visit www.Seattle.tie.org.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Startup Spotlight: Kumar Senthil, Firmly CEO - A Commerce Infrastructure Layer in the Agentic AI Era
May 300:29:58Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWhat does it take to build infrastructure for a world that didn't fully exist yet? In this episode, Kumar Senthil, CEO and Co-Founder of Firmly, shares how he spent five years quietly building the plumbing that lets AI agents discover products and complete purchases on behalf of consumers, all while keeping the merchant in control of their data and customer relationship.Kumar recounts the long, often painful journey of solving a two-sided marketplace cold start problem, being laughed out of VC meetings, operating under NDA for years, and finally breaking through with the just-signed lead for their Series A.In This Episode, You'll Learn:- Why Kumar left Samsung to solve what he saw as an inevitable and global merchant integration problem- How Firmly built a universal API abstraction layer that connects to 11 million merchants with zero code changes required from the merchant- Why keeping the merchant as the merchant of record and preserving first-party data is the core differentiator over Instagram Shop and TikTok Shop- How AI agents infer and auto-generate native API connections to merchants who don't publish public APIs- The brutal two-sided marketplace chicken-and-egg problem and how a breakthrough with a major social platform (under NDA) was the first sign of product-market fit- Why agentic commerce creates a flywheel for merchants, payment gateways, and AI platforms alike- Kumar's raw, honest advice for entrepreneurs, including why you should expect the journey to be harder than you imagined, and why resilience, family support, and financial runway matter as much as the ideaKumar Senthil is the CEO and Co-Founder of Firmly, where he is building agentic commerce infrastructure that enables autonomous AI agents to discover, transact, and complete purchases seamlessly. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at Samsung.com, Groupon, Microsoft, and others, where he launched many products and built successful businesses.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Praveen Seshadri: Building AppSheet - Five Pivots to a Google Acquisition and the AI revolution
Apr 1400:49:12Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIn this episode, we sit down with Praveen Seshadri, former Microsoft executive and co-founder and CEO of Thunk.AI. He previously co-founded AppSheet, which was acquired by Google. Praveen shares his journey from leaving Microsoft at age 40 to navigating five pivots over two years before discovering product-market fit with AppSheet. He discusses how the company pioneered no-code and product-led growth, the importance of customer-led development, and the lessons learned from building and scaling a startup.The conversation also explores his latest venture, Thunk.ai, where he is focused on using generative AI to automate business workflows. He shares insights on the current state of AI, the challenges of reliability, and why AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape how work gets done.In this episode, Praveen talks about:- His transition from Microsoft to entrepreneurship- The journey from multiple failed ideas to building AppSheet- The rise of no-code and product-led growth- Key lessons on fundraising, team building, and customer focus- The opportunities and limitations of AI in business todayWhether you’re an entrepreneur, technologist, or builder, this episode offers a candid look at what it really takes to build, pivot, and succeed in a rapidly changing technology landscape.To ensure you don't miss other episodes like this, subscribe to our podcast!Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →A special tribute to Samir Bodas, co-Founder and CEO of Icertis and Board Member of TiE Seattle
Mar 3000:39:47Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIn this heartfelt episode, Monish Darda remembers Samir Bodas not just as the CEO and co-founder of Icertis, but as a close friend, co-founder, and extraordinary human being. He shares the origin story of Icertis, the trust that defined their partnership, and the values that shaped the company’s culture. Icertis is the market leader in Contract Lifecycle Management.This is a moving conversation about entrepreneurship, friendship, resilience, and the legacy Samir leaves behind.In this episode:- Samir Bodas’s legacy as a founder, leader, and mentor- The origin story of Icertis and an unexpected path to product-market fit- What makes a great co-founder relationship- The meaning behind Icertis’ “FORTE” culture- Navigating leadership through personal and health challenges- Lessons on resilience, purpose, and building a lasting impactMonish Darda is a cloud-technology pioneer and serial entrepreneur with a 30-year track record in the enterprise software space. As CTO and Co-founder of Icertis, Monish has overseen development of the Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform, the leading contract management solution in the cloud. Monish has also led Icertis’ successful deployment of cutting-edge AI and blockchain technologies, which have earned Icertis numerous industry accolades including recognition on Forbes’ prestigious AI 50 List for two years in a row. Monish has a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Startup Spotlight: From Wall Street to the Wilderness - How Preeti Suri Built Adventure Tripper and Reinvented Adventure Travel
Mar 1500:35:54Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWhat happens when a former investment banker turns a life-changing personal experience into a startup? In this episode, Preeti Suri, founder of Adventure Tripper, shares how she built a curated marketplace for multi-day adventure travel—connecting travelers with vetted local guides around the world.Preeti Suri is the Founder and CEO of AdventureTripr, a global adventure and wellness travel marketplace offering curated experiences across 50+ countries. A Chartered Accountant, CPA, and INSEAD MBA, she previously built a career in Big Four firms and investment banking before pivoting to entrepreneurship. Inspired by her own healing journey through the outdoors, she founded AdventureTripr to help people improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being through movement, nature, and community.Preeti discusses the challenges of launching during COVID, the role of AI in travel planning, and why curation and human expertise still matter in an AI-driven world. She also shares the deeply personal story behind her entrepreneurial journey and the mindset required to build a mission-driven company.In This Episode, You’ll Learn- How Preeti Suri transitioned from consulting and investment banking to founding Adventure Tripper- The gap in the travel industry around curated multi-day adventure experiences- Why curation and vetted local guides matter more than endless search results- How the company pivoted during COVID and expanded from 5 destinations to nearly 50 countries- How AI is changing travel planning—and why human expertise still provides an edge- Adventure Tripper’s marketplace model and why fulfillment and post-trip support are key differentiators- Why the company focuses on a B2B-led growth strategy rather than traditional consumer marketing- Lessons from building a startup as a woman founder—and the mindset needed to overcome obstaclesBrought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Startup Spotlight: Aravind Bala, CTO, SeekOut.com - How to successfully pivot your company
Mar 200:44:34Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIn this episode, we feature Aravind Bala, who is the CTO and co-founder of Seekout. SeekOut (https://seekout.io) empowers companies to go beyond LinkedIn in recruiting hard-to-find and diverse talent. Prior to SeekOut, Aravind spent 14 years at Microsoft as a Partner Engineering Manager. In this episode, Aravind shares the following:From Big Tech to startup leap: Aravind Bala shares why he left a 14-year Microsoft career to build a company “for real,” guided by Jeff Bezos’ regret minimization mindset—and the importance of finding the right co-founder (Anoop Gupta).The first idea (and why it didn’t stick): The team’s original startup, Next.io, explored a two-sided marketplace that used “money as signal” to cut through cold outreach—then hit the classic marketplace bootstrapping and consumer-virality challenges.A pivot born from survival + customer pull: With ~6 months of runway, a side project (“Career Compass”) drew strong recruiter interest, leading them to pivot into *SeekOut*, where B2B feedback loops felt more “debuggable” than consumer growth bets.How SeekOut differentiated vs. LinkedIn: Aravind explains the opening they saw: LinkedIn optimizes for member experience, while SeekOut could optimize for recruiter outcomes—especially by using *external signals* (e.g., GitHub/code, papers, patents, public profiles) and *diversity inference at scale*.When the market turned: The tech hiring downturn, recruiter headcount cuts, and shifting DEI priorities forced a rethink—plus a new reality: in a flooded applicant market, passive sourcing tools can feel less urgent.The “agentic” thesis: tools vs. outcomes: A core debate: most AI “agents” boost productivity (you still control everything), but SeekOut is pushing toward outcome-delivering agents—a “white-collar factory” model where humans supervise pipelines and give up more control to get 10x gains.What it takes to make agents reliable (and monetizable): Aravind breaks down why outcome delivery needs a factory-like pipeline with quality control, why some tasks need top-tier models, and why this shifts pricing from SaaS “all-you-can-eat” to per-outcome economics that can compete with recruiter/agency costs.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainBrought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →2026 Investment Outlook and Predictions
Feb 1601:51:05Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailListen to our 2026 Annual Investment Outlook Panel with four top VCs. Get their perspective on the investment climate in 2026 and their plans to invest specifically in AI based startups. See how they did with their 2025 forecast and what their big predictions are for 2026.Tim Porter, Managing Director, Madrona VenturesTim joined Madrona in 2006 and invests in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently interested in intelligent applications and SaaS, cloud-native software infrastructure, the modern data stack, machine learning, DevOps, and cybersecurity. He is also a board member of numerous Madrona portfolio companies.Sudip Chakrabarti, Partner, Pruven CapitalSudip is a partner at Pruven Capital where he works with companies that are transforming the enterprise, cloud and infrastructure markets. Sudip's past investments include Exabeam, Heptio, Serverless.com, Datacoral, Spotnana, Temporal, Tesorio and Polly. He had also been a board observer at Databricks, Digital Ocean, Actifio, Mesosphere and Samsara.Kellan Carter, Founding Partner, FUSE VenturesKellan Carter is a founding partner of FUSE where he focuses on early-stage investments in intelligent software in both horizontal and vertical categories. He currently sits on the Boards of Zuper, Pictory, Avante, Owl, Xemelgo and PDM Automotive.Joaquín Gallardo, Senior Vice President, Tech Banking at Silicon Valley BankJoaquín is a Senior Vice President at SVB, a division of First Citizens Bank, in our Seattle/PNW market focusing on enterprise clients. In his role we helps Series A and beyond clients to scale their finance stack with venture lending alongside global treasury and liquidity solutions. Before joining SVB Seattle, he lived in San Francisco, learned to code at UC Berkeley, and helped to co-found a pre-seed company. Joaquín holds a bachelor's degree in economics from George Mason University. He lives in Ballard, Seattle with his wife and two children. In his spare time, he gets to think about how he wishes he had more spare time.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainBrought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Building Category-Defining AI Startups with Yifan Zhang (AI2 Incubator)
Jan 2300:42:01Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailWe’re excited to feature Yifan Zhang, Managing Director at AI2 Incubator, one of the most successful AI incubators in the world, born out of the Allen Institute for AI and backed by a newly announced $80M Fund III.Yifan is a 2x founder and CEO, Entrepreneur “50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs” honoree, and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum. Her journey spans building and exiting venture-backed startups, navigating extreme founder adversity, and now helping the next generation of AI founders go from idea to impact.In this episode of From Startup to Exit, Yifan shares:How AI2 Incubator works differently from studios, accelerators, and traditional VCsWhat they look for in founders, and why ideas matter less than resilience and executionWhy vertical, agentic AI applications are winning right nowHow AI startups are shifting from per-seat SaaS pricing to per-task, outcome-based modelsWhat it really takes to survive the founder “trough of adversity” and come out strongerWhy Seattle may be the most underappreciated AI startup hub in the worldThis conversation is a must-listen for AI founders, operators, investors, and anyone building in the agentic AI era.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Best of 2025: From Startup to Exit Podcast
Jan 100:51:19Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailJoin us for a dynamic highlight reel featuring short segments from the 2025 season of From Startup to Exit, TiE Seattle’s flagship podcast showcasing world-class entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry leaders sharing candid insights from their journeys. Each mini-segment brings you the essence of these remarkable conversations — from foundational lessons in product and leadership to reflections on how technology shapes markets and culture. We kick things off with Paul Maritz, discussing his pivotal role in Microsoft’s product strategy during the Windows and server era and how a deep commitment to innovation shaped a career spanning multiple iconic tech companies. Next, Jeff Raikes reflects on building transformative software platforms like Microsoft Office and his later work in global philanthropy focused on equity and systems-level impact. Robbie Bach takes you inside the historic launch of Xbox, offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at driving innovation within a legacy tech giant. Meanwhile Steve Wood shares foundational memories from Microsoft’s early days as the sixth employee, emphasizing the importance of grit and experimentation in startup culture. We also spotlight Brad Chase on the launch of Windows 95 and the strategic decisions that made it a defining moment in personal computing; Laura Jennings on shaping MSN into a major internet portal; and modern voices like Sabrina Wu, who breaks down the future of intelligent applications and the role of AI in venture investing. Yash Wagh delivers insights from his startup journey with Gone.com and building sustainable commerce models. Ece Kamar closes with a forward-looking conversation on responsible AI, sharing how human-centered frameworks will guide the next phase of technological growth. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, technologist, or curious learner, this highlights compilation is packed with actionable wisdom from leaders who’ve navigated the path from startup to exit.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Innovating for Impact: TYE Global Winners 2025 Share their Entrepreneurial Journey
Dec 400:52:29Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailJoin us as Team Kymavi, the TYE Global winner, discusses their groundbreaking solution addressing environmental challenges through biodegradable bags, and Team Key Beauty, creators of an AI-driven makeup matching platform for women of color, shares their journey in redefining inclusivity in beauty.The teams dive into their experiences with market research, customer validation, and developing sustainable business models, highlighting how mentorship and the TYE program helped them refine their ideas, build essential entrepreneurial skills, and prepare for global success.Brought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainBrought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
Transcribe →Building Responsible AI for the New Era: A Conversation with Ece Kamar, Director of AI Frontiers Lab at Microsoft Research
Nov 1700:58:36Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIn this episode, we sit down with Dr. Ece Kamar, Director of the AI Frontiers Lab at Microsoft Research, and one of the leading voices in Responsible AI.With over 15 years at Microsoft, Ece has played a pivotal role in shaping how AI systems are designed to collaborate with humans safely and effectively. She shares her journey from earning a PhD at Harvard University, where she researched how AI agents can become human partners, to leading responsible AI efforts at Microsoft and tackling challenges like fairness, reliability, safety, and hallucinations in large-scale models such as GPT-4.In this insightful conversation, Ece talks about:- How early research in human-AI collaboration laid the foundation for today’s AI agents- The evolution of AI through scalable data, deep learning, and generative models- Her pioneering work on Responsible AI frameworks at Microsoft- The emerging challenges and opportunities in the era of generative AIWhether you’re an entrepreneur, technologist, or researcher, this episode offers an inspiring look into how responsible innovation will define the next generation of AI systems. Tune in to learn how human-centered AI is shaping the future - responsibly.To ensure you don't miss other episodes like this, subscribe to our podcast!Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecekamar/Sponsored by: JPMC Private BankingBrought to you by TiE SeattleHosts: Shirish Nadkarni and Gowri ShankarProducers: Minee Verma and Eesha JainYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fromstartuptoexitpodcast
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