Podcast
The Startup Podcast
Hosted by Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad · EN
Advice for founders and entrepreneurs who want to build disruptive startups like they do in Silicon Valley.
Not another interview podcast: concrete tips and masterclasses on what founders need to know: raising Venture Capital, strategy, product, marketing, growth, and more.
A guide to the unique mindset and approach that drives Silicon Valley style disruption.
Hosts Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein share practical advice based on decades of experience at Google, Uber, and their own startups.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How to identify red flags early in your cofounder relationship w/ Dr. Matthew Jones
Mar 2300:39:58Tap to summarizeYour co-founder relationship is the single most important variable in your startup's success, and one of the most likely things to destroy it.Today, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Dr. Matthew Jones, author of ‘The Cofounder Effect’ and founder of Cofounder Clarity, to dig into the psychology of co-founder relationships: why they break down and what the warning signs look like.Matt brings a rare combination of clinical depth and startup-world pragmatism to the topic - an essential skillset to help you properly understand common co-founder pitfalls, and how to avoid them. In this episode, you will:Learn what 'negative sentiment override' is, why it's the tipping point in a deteriorating co-founder relationship, and how to catch it before it takes hold.Discover how the co-founder relationship is structurally different from a marriage, and why that means you have to deliberately repair and reconnect with your co-founder.Hear why power dynamics in founding teams are almost always present and are often more destructive when left unnamed.Find out why being able to navigate conflict is more important than finding the 'right' co-founder pairing.Understand the risks of identity fusion with your startup, and why professional distance is a feature rather than a weakness.Learn why co-founder agreements need to evolve over time, and what a healthy renegotiation looks like.Explore the unique dynamics of three- and four-person founding teams, including the coalition patterns that tend to emerge and why they're so destructive.Resources mentioned in this episode:Dr. Matthew Jones’ website, Cofounder Clarity (his coaching practice): https://www.cofounderclarity.com‘The Founder's Dilemmas’ by Noam Wasserman: https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Princeton-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304'Knowing This Data Will Make You A Better Fundraiser', the TSP episode with Carta's Head of Insights, Peter Walker: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7aI9NeIVZ7JqkSH2OsizBFThe Gottman Institute - the research behind 'negative sentiment override' discussed in this episode: https://www.gottman.comDr. Matthew Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-matthew-jones-7a832a37/ The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to https://www.vanta.com/tspGet your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Why Claude never stops listening to our meetings (w/ Minikai's Keoki Alexander-Chang)
Mar 1600:41:57Tap to summarizeIn a deeply regulated industry such as healthcare, building an AI-native app poses a host of unique challenges, particularly when it comes to navigating customer privacy and industry red tape. How do you create an industry-leading resource and stay on the cutting edge of tech, while managing these constraints?Keoki Alexander-Chang can help you there. He's the founder and CEO of Minikai, a Melbourne-based startup using AI agents to slash the administrative burden on disability and aged care providers. Before launching Minikai, he led Deloitte's Forensic AI lab, so he's been thinking about applied AI in complex, regulated environments for far longer than most founders.In this episode, Yaniv sits down with Keoki to explore what it really means to build a person-centred AI product in a high-stakes regulated sector — and how Minikai applies that same AI-native mindset to their internal operations, through fine-grained access control, human-in-the-loop design, and AI agents keeping the entire sales pipeline up to date in the background.In this episode, you will:Learn how to design agentic AI products for high-stakes regulated environmentsUnderstand the importance of intentionally including fine-grained access control, provenance and adding friction to the process in order to keep humans in the loopMake sense of the fundamental shift within the build vs. buy equation, and why Minikai is questioning every SaaS tool in their stackFind out why Keoki treats his product like a garden, and why pruning is just as important as growingUnderstand what "person-centred AI" actually means in the disability and aged care contextHear how Minikai's team now uses continuously running AI agents to keep their entire HubSpot pipeline up to dateLearn about the story of the lapel mics: how Minikai is condensing the entire workflow from meeting to working code, skipping Jira entirelyResources mentioned in this episodeMinikai (Keoki's startup: AI agents for disability and aged care providers): https://www.minikai.com/Keoki Alexander-Chang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keokichang/DJI Mic (the lapel mic Keoki's team uses to capture all meeting audio for Claude): https://www.dji.com/micInsiders React: How OpenClaw and Claude Cowork changed Gary Lo's approach to startups (the companion TSP episode referenced by Yaniv): https://www.tsp.show/insiders-react-how-openclaw-and-claude-cowork-changed-gary-los-approach-to-startups-w-gary-lo-op/The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Recruiting the best AI engineers w/ Matt Cook of Scouut
Mar 900:57:19Tap to summarizeHas your hiring process kept up with the industry’s AI leaps, or are you still interviewing like it's 2022?Today’s AI-driven landscape means the skill gap between a good engineer and a great one widens every day, and the great ones can be difficult to find. But how do you choose – and hire – the best in the business? How do you find those elusive engineers who can skilfully handle multi-agent workflows, ship in hours what used to take weeks, and add an AI-focused competitive edge to your startup?In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein are joined by Matt Cook, an expert in hiring the best engineers in the business, and co-founder of Scouut – one of Australia's most respected engineering recruiters for early-stage startups. Matt works with pre-seed through to Series C companies and has a front-row seat to how AI is reshaping what ‘great’ looks like in engineering, and how founders and hiring teams alike can keep pace.They cover what's fundamentally changed in engineering hiring, what hasn't, and how to build a small, elite team that punches well above its weight.In this episode, you will:Understand why AI is widening the gap between great and average engineersDiscover the three questions to ask any Big Tech candidate to determine if they'll thrive in a startupFind out why much more is expected of ‘senior’ engineers, and what that means for foundersHear how the best startups are now testing for AI competency in interviews, not just coding abilityLearn why smaller teams, higher salaries, and generous token budgets are the new arbitrage for attracting elite engineersUnderstand why you should be designing the role for the people you want, and making your AI-forward culture clearly visibleResources mentioned in this episodeScouut (Matt Cook's engineering recruitment firm for early-stage startups): https://scouut.com.au/Matt Cook on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmarkcook/Loki (Australian startup referenced for their public AI-first hiring stance): https://www.itsloki.com/Solid (lightweight vibe-coding tool mentioned by Chris): https://trysolid.com/The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribeSecure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to https://www.vanta.com/tspGet your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Insiders React: OpenClaw and Claude Cowork have changed everything for startups w/ Gary Lo, Open BA
Mar 200:37:26Tap to summarizeThe agentic AI revolution is finally escaping the coding bubble. What does that mean for startup founders?Just 13 days after recording his first conversation with Yaniv, Gary Lo called to re-record. The reason? OpenClaw and Claude Cowork dropped some huge AI agent updates, and it shifted Gary's perspective enough to change the whole conversation.In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Gary Lo – founder of OpenBA, one of Australia's most compelling pre-seed AI startups – to unpack why OpenClaw and Claude Cowork news marks a 'Cursor moment' for the rest of the world: the inflection point where AI stops being a productivity tool for tech teams and starts fundamentally reshaping how every industry works.They break down why tool use will make LLMs genuinely transformative, why non-technical business owners are already buying Mac Minis to run AI agents, and what the shift from 'human-first' to 'LLM-first' product design means for how you build and position your startup today. This episode is essential listening for any founder trying to figure out where to place their bets in an agentic world.In this episode, you'll learn:Why OpenClaw and Claude Cowork signal a 'Cursor moment' beyond software engineeringHow tool use transforms LLM weaknesses into strengthsWhy the long-promised vision of "everything as an API" is finally becoming realHow to think about building for agents vs. humans, and why most current tools aren't optimized for eitherThe "done list" mental model: how agentic coding is collapsing the coordination layers in software workflowsWhy being "a tool worth calling" – like Supabase – is a smarter bet than competing directly with AI modelsHow Gary is applying LLM-first thinking to OpenBA's roadmap right nowResources mentioned in this episode:OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai/Claude Cowork (Anthropic's agentic desktop tool): https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-coworkCursor (AI-native code editor, referenced as the original 'Cursor moment' for coding): https://www.cursor.comSupabase (referenced as an example of a tool that rides the agentic AI wave): https://supabase.comOpenBA (Gary Lo's startup - AI platform for buyer's agents): https://openba.com.auGary Lo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-lo-engineer/The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Making the most of the founder/investor dynamic (w/ Liz Zalman, author of 'Founder vs Investor')
Feb 2300:57:41Tap to summarizeFounders and investors like to tell themselves they're on the same team, and they can be – but it takes work.In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Liz Zalman, a veteran founder with over 20 years of startup experience, for an in-depth chat about the real dynamics of the founder-investor relationship. Liz is also co-author (alongside VC Jerry Neumann) of 'Founder Vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO’, one of Yaniv's favorite books on startups.From re-vesting demands to acquisition offers that investors won't approve, Liz brings hard-won, unfiltered perspective to some of the most uncomfortable moments a founder will face.In this episode, you will:Understand what re-vesting actually is, and the smartest way to respond when investors ask for it.Learn why taking a single dollar of venture capital puts you on a specific, irreversible path.Discover how to negotiate a term sheet from a position of strength, even when you're exhausted and desperate to close.Find out when and how founders can take money off the table – and why most quality investors support founders to have stability in their personal finances.Learn how Liz stress-tests potential investors while negotiating terms.Understand the real difference between valuation and control.Hear why listening is the single most underrated skill in a founder's toolkit.Resources mentioned in this episodeFounder vs. Investor (book) by Elizabeth Zalman & Jerry Neumann, the book discussed throughout this episode: https://www.foundervsinvestor.comVenture Deals by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson, referenced by Yaniv as "the bible of venture capital": https://www.venturedeals.comSandgarden, Liz's current startup: https://www.sandgarden.comLiz Zalman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethzalman The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to https://www.vanta.com/tspThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favourite registrar.Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/#Investors #Startups #TechStartups #Founder #TechBusiness #TheStartupPodcast
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How founders can survive 2026 w/ Jess Mah
Feb 1600:55:56Tap to summarizeIs AI making founders more anxious than ever, even in the heart of Silicon Valley? Behind the optimistic LinkedIn posts and fundraising announcements, some of the most successful people in tech are struggling with burnout and an overwhelming pace of change. So what does it actually take to build a resilient, successful startup in 2026?In this episode, Yaniv is joined by Jess Mah, serial founder, Y Combinator alum, and venture creation powerhouse behind Mahway. Jess has founded more than 10 companies — collectively valued at over $1 billion — and was the youngest woman ever accepted into Y Combinator. Fresh from dinners with Fortune 500 CEOs and unicorn founders in San Francisco, she shares what's really happening behind closed doors in the startup world, and why the founders who refuse to get hands-on with AI tools are now at a serious disadvantage.In this episode, you will: Discover why experienced, repeat founders are at the highest risk of falling behind in the AI eraLearn Jess's go-to interview question that instantly reveals whether a hire will stay relevantUnderstand "role collapse", and what should replace traditional siloed positions when the boundaries between product managers, designers, and engineers break downHear why the best founders in 2026 are building clickable prototypes themselves instead of delegating to product teamsFind out why AI has made distribution and competitive moats harder, not easier, and what to do about itExplore why domain expertise has become the most valuable startup superpower when building is cheapGet an honest look at the anxiety, burnout, and 996 culture affecting even the top AI founders in the Bay AreaLearn the AI educators and resources Jess and Yaniv personally rely on to stay aheadConnect with Jess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessmah/Resources mentioned in this episode:Stratechery by Ben Thompson: https://stratechery.com/Matthew Berman (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@matthew_bermanHow I AI with Claire Vo: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/s/how-i-aiSteve Yegge / Gastown: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyegge/Maven (cohort-based learning): https://maven.com/Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/The Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com.For a clean and memorable name, go to https://get.tech/tspGet your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Recursive Self-Determination: Why your startup needs autonomy at every layer
Feb 900:44:19Tap to summarizeSelf-determination throughout your team: it sounds simple, but implementing it effectively could give your startup a razor-sharp competitive edge.In this episode, Chris and Yaniv unpack the 'Recursive Principle of Self-Determination', a framework for designing autonomous startups that maximize agency at every layer of the business. They explore how high-agency decisions shape product strategy, engineering, go-to-market, fundraising, teams, and culture, and why AI is accelerating the shift toward founder empowerment. In this episode, you will:* Understand the concept of recursive self-determination and why it applies across the entire startup stack* Identify low-agency decisions that slow innovation (agencies, misaligned partners, restrictive funding)* Design products that increase customer empowerment by reducing friction, cost, and dependency* Evaluate tech stack and vendor choices based on incentive alignment and long-term control* Apply high-agency go-to-market strategies by selling directly to customers* Structure teams as cross-functional, autonomous squads that move fast and learn faster* Leverage AI as a force multiplier for founder and team agencyThe Pact Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSubscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/ Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited time offer of US$1,000 off, go to https://www.vanta.com/tsp.This episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean and memorable name, go to https://get.tech/tsp.Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/ Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/ Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurIntro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/
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Edu: Early ideation - Your Idea Is Worthless
Mar 11, 2022Tap to summarizeGot an idea for a startup? Congratulations, so does everybody else. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv dive deep on the idea of ideas, their role, and their limitations in the context of building a startup. Discussion topics include: Do ideas matter? What does a good idea look like? How does progress create opportunities? And vice versa! Validating your idea. Building consensus for your ideas.
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