Podcast
Napkin Math
Hosted by Charlie & Sabba · EN
Join Sabba Keynejad (co-founder of VEED.io) and Charlie Ward (founder of Ramen Club, Ramen Space & Cosy) as they dive deep into the world of startups, AI, and the latest tech trends. These two legends of the London indie scene bring their no-nonsense, real-world insights to help founders, builders, and indie hackers navigate the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Expect candid conversations, actionable takeaways, and the occasional hot take on where the future of business is headed.
Whether you're bootstrapping your way to success or scaling your next big idea, Napkin Math is your go-to podcast for unfiltered discussions on what it really takes to win in the startup game.
31episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Vibe Coding Gold Rush: 3 Ways to Make Your First Million
2d ago00:51:24Tap to summarizeThree concrete ways to build a million-dollar business on the back of the vibe coding boom. Specialized AI coding tools, security, and education with live napkin math, real company examples, and keyword research throughout.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Intro & The Vibe Coding Opportunity00:03:27 - Way #1: Build a "Lovable for X" (Specialized Vibe Coding Tools)00:26:19 - Way #2: Vibe Coding Security00:34:12 - Way #3: Education & Training00:43:38 - Bonus: Discovery Layers & Living in the Future00:51:12 - Wrap-up & Listener Challenge
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How Tally Hit $5M ARR by Staying Small & User-Obsessed
1w ago01:08:54Tap to summarizeMaria Martinez, co-founder of Tally — a bootstrapped form builder that hit over $5M ARR since 2020 — joins Sabba and Charlie to break down how she and her husband Philip built a profitable SaaS business in a fiercely competitive market. From a failed hotel marketplace idea (killed by Covid in Bangkok) to launching a Notion-inspired form builder and growing it entirely through product-led growth, Maria shares the unfiltered story of what it really takes to compete without venture capital, a sales team, or a marketing budget.Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro & Guest Welcome00:00:59 - What is Tally & The Origin Story00:07:48 - Competitive Landscape & Go-To-Market Strategy00:11:16 - Free Tier & Product-Led Growth00:27:00 - AI & LLM Discovery00:34:13 - User Feedback & Metrics00:54:27 - Life as Bootstrapped Co-founders00:58:00 - Challenges & Churn01:02:43 - Roadmap & Advice for Founders
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How to Reduce Churn in Subscription Businesses
2w ago01:07:47Tap to summarizeA practical breakdown of churn: what it is, why it varies by market, how to tell good churn from bad churn, and the product, marketing, pricing, and activation moves that reduce it. The episode focuses on identifying sticky users, improving time to value, and designing free plans and workflows that convert better. Timestamps:00:00 - Intro to Churn00:01:36 - What Churn Actually Means00:04:15 - Good vs Bad Churn00:10:45 - Different Types of Churn00:12:47 - How to Reduce Churn00:16:41 - Talking to Customers00:24:11 - Workflow & ICP00:26:07 - Marketing for Retention00:34:21 - Free Plans & Pricing00:38:32 - Activation & Time to Value00:48:05 - Tactical Churn Fixes00:56:43 - The Power of Negative Churn
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How Yasser Bootstrapped Chatbase to $10M ARR in 3 Years
3w ago01:01:31Tap to summarizeYasir, CEO and solo founder of Chatbase, joins Saba and Charlie on the Napkin Math podcast to break down how he bootstrapped an AI customer support platform from a PDF chatbot side project to $10M ARR in just 3 years — starting before ChatGPT even launched. He shares the real story behind going viral, hitting $1M ARR in 4 months, the chaos of early growth, why he stayed bootstrapped, and how he thinks about building durable AI "harnesses" in a world where models improve every few months.Timestamps:01:38 - Origin story — building before ChatGPT existed14:04 - 0 to $1M ARR in 4 months22:13 - Product evolution — PDF chatbot to B2B AI agent31:05 - Why brand makes every channel easier35:44 - What makes a great AI harness vs a mediocre one43:48 - Moats in the AI era52:43 - Bootstrapped vs raising — Yasir's decision56:15 - Path to AGI through harness improvements59:12 - Advice for new founders: operate like an agency
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How Ben Pasternak took Sabba's App and made millions
Apr 2800:50:58Tap to summarizeA founder's stolen app, AI image gold rushes, and why London might just be the next Silicon Valley — all on the back of a napkin.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:41 - The stolen app story08:54 - Lessons from the App Store11:36 - Vibe shuffles & business opportunities20:00 - Vibe coding education24:36 - ChatGPT image model28:31 - AI designer niches37:36 - Cursor's $60B acquisition40:57 - London Maxing movement
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$1 Million Wellness Apps Hiding in Plain Sight
Apr 2100:51:38Tap to summarizeSaba and Charlie break down the $6.8 trillion wellness industry — period tracking, peptides, air quality, and sleep tech — then pivot to how the best founders (Dario Amodei, Brian Armstrong, Reed Hastings, Elon Musk) spotted emerging markets before anyone else. They close with a hot take on Anthropic's rumoured vibe coding platform and what it means for Lovable and Replit.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:06 - Wellness sector breakdown — the $6.8T opportunity04:01 - Period tracking, peptides, air quality & sleep apps25:30 - Building on Rising Tides — why bet on fast-growing markets27:20 - Founders who got in early: Dario, Brian Armstrong, Reed Hastings, Elon36:55 - AI agents, humanoid robots & the infrastructure plays44:11 - Anthropic's vibe coding platform & impact on Lovable/Replit49:00 - Anthropic's brand strategy
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Lego's Near-Death & Anthropic's Insane Growth: Lessons in Focus, Culture & Strategy
Apr 1400:54:40Tap to summarizeHow Lego nearly went bankrupt by losing sight of its core product and what it teaches us about culture, focus, and CEO decisions. Plus, a breakdown of Anthropic's jaw-dropping $30B run rate and what's fuelling it.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro02:04 - Lego deep dive - origin, near-bankruptcy & recovery lessons19:15 - The "wrong CEO" trap & staying focused as you scale34:49 - Anthropic culture - Dario's 40–50% time investment37:22 - Anthropic's growth: $3B → $9B → $30B in one year41:17 - Why the "focus on coding" strategy is winning49:36 - OpenAI acquires TBPN - what's the real play?
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Lego vs. S&P 500, The Claude Code Leak & Why Google Acquiring a Company Is the Best Signal to Build
Apr 701:00:02Tap to summarizeSabba and Charlie are back with a packed episode spanning alternative asset classes, the growing wave of security vulnerabilities in vibe-coded software, and a deep dive into what it really means for Anthropic to be "winning enterprise." They also break down the accidental Claude Code source map leak, debate whether angel investing is just an expensive hobby, and uncover a surprisingly massive opportunity hiding in the hay fever market.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:39 - Alternative Investing: Lego, collectibles & vintage tech vs. S&P 50017:10 - Cybersecurity: npm supply chain attacks & vibe coding security risks31:10 - The Claude Code source map leak37:58 - Anthropic vs. OpenAI: What "winning enterprise" really means40:19 - Ideas vs. Execution & the reality of angel investing49:43 - The hay fever market & the Breezometer opportunity
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$1M Boomer App Ideas, Why OpenAI Killed Sora & How to Hire Insanely Talented People
Mar 3100:52:08Tap to summarizeThis week Charlie and Saba dig into $1M app ideas hiding in boomer hobbies, why OpenAI killed Sora and what it says about focus, and how to hire the most talented people. Saba's joining remotely from Sicily 🇮🇹, commitment to the pod is real.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:02 - $1M Boomer App Ideas18:48 - OpenAI Shuts Down Sora24:39 - The Importance of Focus34:25 - How to Hire Talented People45:38 - Open Floor Meetup Recap52:11 - Moats in an AI World
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How to Build AI Products in 2026, The Most Underrated Marketing Channel & The Big Lie About Competition
Mar 2400:46:31Tap to summarizeSabba and Charlie cover how to build AI products in 2026 with Sabba's MAGIC Framework, why Threads might be the most underrated marketing channel, the big lie about competition, and how AI is giving content creators new ways to extend their work.Timestamps:00:52 - First hate mail, we're famous now02:01 - Why Sabba tore up the entire Q2 roadmap06:32 - The MAGIC Framework, building AI products in 202625:47 - Creativity Maxing, the Channel Surfer viral story28:28 - Threads is bigger than X (and massively underrated)32:52 - The Big Lie About Competition40:28 - AI & Content Creators, giving your IP away to grow
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