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.
35episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
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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How to Get Startup Ideas in 2026, OpenClaw Business Opportunities, Londonmaxxing, and more
Mar 1801:07:09Tap to summarizeSaba and Charlie introduce the BROTH framework for finding validated startup ideas, dive into the Open Claw (AI agents) hype, break down Bending Spoons' private equity playbook, and celebrate the London Maxing movement, plus debate whether Charlie invented vibe coding.Timecodes:00:00 - Intro00:38 - The BROTH Framework, how to find pre-validated startup ideas25:06 - Competitive positioning strategies (more for more, less for less, etc.)32:15 - Story: founder who sold their company and is now looking for a job34:59 - Open Claw meetup, is AI agents a new product category?42:17 - Bending Spoons acquires Eventbrite, breakdown of their PE playbook47:18 - Meetup's dark patterns (and live app investigation)55:50 - Podcast milestone + like & subscribe57:13 - London Maxing movement & the UK AI fund59:14 - Did Charlie invent vibe coding?65:45 - Should they buy lawyers.ai? Live negotiation66:51 - Sign-off
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Cal AI’s Acquisition, Sabba’s 2 SaaS Growth Hacks for 2026, Intercom’s AI Pivot
Mar 1200:49:47Tap to summarizeSaba and Charlie do napkin math on the Cal AI acquisition by MyFitnessPal, share two must-do growth strategies for 2026 (API-first and Social SEO), and break down how Intercom bet the whole company on AI and won.Timecodes:00:00 – Intro00:33 – Cal AI Acquisition Breakdown19:20 – Growth Strategy #1: Go API-First29:33 – Growth Strategy #2: Social SEO36:46 – How Intercom Saved Itself with AI44:27 – The Future of Outcome-Based Pricing49:28 – Wrap up
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He Built a $1M/Month SaaS After an $8M Exit | Tibo Maker
Mar 401:02:27Tap to summarizeFrom an $8M exit to building it all again, Tibo is one of the most unique SaaS builders we’ve met. In this episode, we unpack his regrets after selling, the exact playbook behind his $1M/month portfolio, how he stays viral on X, and what building in the AI era really looks like, all while balancing life as a dad. 00:00 Intro & the $8M exit reality02:07 $1M/month portfolio breakdown06:15 Building in public & authenticity in the AI age16:32 Running 5 companies at once 23:03 Finding product market fit & growth tactics29:39 How Tibo ships so fast (stack & vibe coding)39:13 Hacking the X algorithm45:41 The future of AI video54:22 Does your company have an AI-native product?60:30 What do you do with $1M/month?
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Is OpenClaw the First $1B Solo Company? API-First Products, Brand Rituals & Buying a Top-Level Domain
Feb 2400:47:05Tap to summarizeWe kick things off with B2B SaaS lessons learned from Valentine's Day (yes, really), then spiral into whether the OpenClaw acquisition just produced the world's first one-person billion dollar company and whether Peter Steinberger is the most underrated engineer alive.From there we get into why most SaaS companies are failing at AI, the rise of API-first and agent-first products, and why the stable SEO blog subscription world of SaaS is quietly dying.We also do a full napkin math breakdown on what it would actually cost to buy your own top-level domain like dot napkin and whether that's a business worth building. Oh, and Nike invented jogging. We get into that too.Timestamps00:00 Intro00:35 B2B SaaS lessons from Valentine's Day03:32 How brands invent rituals (Nike, HubSpot, Michelin)10:46 OpenClaw — was this the first $1B solo company?18:05 API-first & agent-first products24:34 Most SaaS companies are failing at AI29:12 How to stay sane in the AI gold rush32:21 Napkin Math breakdown: buying a top-level domain43:34 TLD ideas for the agent era
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$70M AI.com Acquisition, Anthropic's Superbowl Shot at OpenAI, $1M Solo Fitness App & Agent Wrapper Boom
Feb 1700:46:00Tap to summarizeThis week we’re unpacking the $70M AI.com move, Anthropic taking shots at OpenAI, the rise of agent wrappers, and a quiet $1M solo app no one’s talking about.Timestamps:00:00 – The $70M AI.com Sale03:10 – The $15M Super Bowl Bet: Does the Math Work?10:10 – Charlie's Recent Domain Purchase & Do Dot Coms Matter?18:54 – Getting Scammed by Joe Exotic (B2B SaaS Lessons)24:32 – The Rise of Agent Wrappers26:23 – Are AI Agents Killing Jobs?32:14 – Codex vs Claude Code38:55 – Anthropic’s OpenAI Attack Ad 42:10 – The $1M Solo Fitness App (Happy Scale Breakdown)
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Is OpenClaw’s Hype Real? Are AI Agents Replacing Jobs? What’s the Anti-AI Thesis?
Feb 1001:05:49Tap to summarizeThe Napkin Math duo is back with another episode. We spend most of this one trying to make sense of AI agents, OpenClaw - the new kid on the block, and why this wave feels messier but more real than the last few. We talk through hype vs reality, what agents can actually do today, and how work is quietly shifting from roles and seats to tasks and systems. We also discuss AI fluency levels, how people are using Claude Code in real marketing workflows, one-person companies, and end with the Anti-AI portfolio.Timestamps00:00 Intro01:15 OpenClaw & the agent breakout moment06:52 Hype vs. reality: shiny tools, boring winners09:45 The Dropbox lesson: abstraction beats raw tech12:43 AI agents, security & where this breaks19:07 AI vs SaaS, leverage & outcome-based work24:58 Are AI agents actually killing jobs?28:23 Levels of AI fluency (and how people keep jobs)37:26 Using AI to save your job, not lose it45:18 Installing skills: marketing, SEO, CRO, execution47:12 When agents go wrong: prompt hijacking & trust52:03 The anti-AI portfolio (what AI won’t replace)57:18 Why live experiences still win
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