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What really changes after you raise funding, and what doesn’t?

In this episode, Natalie Binns is joined again by Tom Rudnai, co-founder of Demand Genius, one year after his first appearance on Tech Startup Stories.

Tom shares what the last 12 months have actually looked like, from raising a pre-seed round to navigating the pressures that come with it. He opens up about the reality of startup experimentation, why most things don’t work at first, and how his team eventually found a way to stand out in a crowded AI search market.

They also discuss hiring in early-stage startups, the shift from experimentation to execution, and what it means to build a business in a space where everything is constantly changing.

If you’re building a startup or scaling a SaaS product, this episode offers a grounded and honest look at what it really takes.