The Social Radars

Episode

• John Coogan, Co-Founder & Host at TBPN 21.05.2026 1j 6mnt

  In the latest Social Radars episode, we turn the tables on John Coogan of TBPN. Now he's answering the questions instead of asking him. We especially liked talking to John because he shares a similar philosophy to us: instead of attacking your subjects, which is easy and boring, ask them the question that will yield the most interesting answers.
• Ron Conway, Founder, SV Angel: Silicon Valley Bank Crisis 28.04.2026 1j 22mnt

  In today's Social Radars episode we talk to Ron Conway about one of the most momentous events in recent Silicon Valley history, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, and the frantic behind-the-scenes efforts that prevented it, with just hours to spare, from triggering a Depression-style financial panic.
• Justin Kan, Cofounder, Twitch 15.04.2026 1j 5mnt

  In this episode of The Social Radars, we talk to Justin Kan, who has spent his whole adult life in startups, much of it around YC in some way. We've funded him three times, the first time in the very first batch, and he's been a YC partner too. So Justin has seen it all, and because he's so candid, he tells it all too.
• Paul Graham, Founder, Y Combinator 19.03.2026 1j 2mnt

  Paul Graham is back in the latest episode of The Social Radars. This time we focus on what was going on behind the scenes at Y Combinator back in the early years. If you really want to understand what YC is like and what made it that way, this is the episode for you.
• Peter Reinhardt, CEO & co-founder, Charm Industrial; CEO & co-founder, Segment 03.03.2026 1j 7mnt

  In the latest episode of The Social Radars, we talk to Peter Reinhardt, who has the distinction of having started two iconic companies that are completely different from one another: Segment, which does web analytics, and Charm Industrial, which catches CO2 before it can return to the atmosphere and buries it in the ground.
• Tom Blomfield, Partner, Y Combinator; Co-Founder, Monzo 17.02.2026 1j 9mnt

  In today's episode of The Social Radars, we talk to Tom Blomfield, founder and original CEO of the transformative British fintech startup Monzo, and now a YC partner. The striking thing about this interview is simply how much has happened to him. Tom has spent his entire working life in startups and it has been a remarkably wild ride even by startup standards.
• Spenser Skates, Founder & CEO, Amplitude 03.02.2026 1j 16mnt

  In this episode we talk with Spenser Skates of Amplitude. Amplitude is a spectacular example of a something people talk a lot about in Silicon Valley: the pivot. Their initial idea failed because they depended on technology they didn't have enough control over, but the new one was so successful that they took it all the way to an IPO.
• Christina Cacioppo, Founder & CEO, Vanta 20.01.2026 1j 7mnt

  In this episode of The Social Radars we talk to Christina Cacioppo of Vanta. Christina is a case study in agency. She actually did all the things founders know they ought to do but don't have the discipline to. She taught herself to code. She solved an unsexy but real problem. She focused on talking to customers instead of investors. She even put put off raising a Series A (despite inbound interest) till Vanta had $10M in ARR.
• David Kirtley, Founder & CEO of Helion Energy 07.01.2026 1j 11mnt

  In today's episode we talk to the founder of a startup that will have momentous consequences for the whole world if it works: David Kirtley, Founder & CEO of Helion Energy, who is building an actual fusion power plant. Fusion has always been something that was 20 years in the future. Not anymore. The new Helion model, which they're constructing right now, is going to achieve net electricity production.
• Jared Friedman, Partner, Y Combinator; Co-founder, Scribd 30.12.2025 1j 10mnt

  In the latest episode we talk to one of the great YC insiders, Jared Friedman, who was in the third batch back in summer 2006, as cofounder of Scribd, and who has worked since 2015 as a YC partner. Jared really embodies the spirit of YC. He's incisive, but also a mensch, as you'll notice when you listen to the episode.
• Jessica & Carolynn Announce Season 5! 23.12.2025 2mnt

  Jessica & Carolynn Announce Season 5 of The Social Radars
• Blake Scholl, Founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic 08.12.2025 1j 24mnt

  In today’s episode, we talk to Blake Scholl, Founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic. Building a supersonic airliner sounds hard, and it is: startups often have dramatic ups and downs, but Boom’s are among the most dramatic we’ve heard. His story was a gripping series of last-minute saves.
• Founder Mode: Sajith Wickramasekara, Founder & CEO, Benchling 17.10.2025 13mnt

  In today's Social Radars, we talk to Sajith Wickramasekara of Benchling. For Sajith, founder mode means a pervasive feeling of responsibility for everything at the company. Nothing can be bad at Benchling.
• Founder Mode: Jen Herbach, Founder & CEO, Adventris Pharmaceuticals 07.10.2025 16mnt

  In the latest Social Radars, we talk to Jen Herbach of Adventris, which is working on a cancer vaccine. She was in the audience of Brian Chesky's famous founder mode talk, and immediately went home and started changing things.
• Founder Mode: Andy Lapsa, Founder & CEO, Stoke Space 29.09.2025 15mnt

  In this episode we talk to Andy Lapsa of Stoke Space. This startup is literally doing rocket science, because they're building fully reusable rockets. Anyone who meets Andy is struck by the depth of his expertise, and in this company that's what founder mode means: a deep understanding of all the engineering problems.
• Founder Mode: Emmett Shear, Founder, Softmax & Twitch 23.09.2025 21mnt

  In this Social Radars episode we talk to Emmett Shear, who told us about an interesting founder mode technique he developed when he was running Twitch. He wanted people there to be able to answer the question "What would Emmett do?" and he found the best way to ensure this was via the weekly all-hands, which he'd spend hours preparing for.
• Founder Mode: Christina Cacioppo, Founder & CEO, Vanta 16.09.2025 13mnt

  In today’s episode, Christina Cacioppo gives us her take on founder mode, which is becoming more important now that Vanta has 1000 employees around the world. She told us about a new variant of the idea: founder mode in fundraising. Christina delayed fundraising till after Vanta hit $100m ARR, which caused some investors to dismiss her, but she ended up net ahead.
• Founder Mode: Kashish Gupta, Founder and co-CEO of Hightouch 12.09.2025 19mnt

  In this episode we talked to Kashish Gupta of Hightouch, who made an important point about founder mode: one of the most important things founders can do that employees can't is to take big risks.
• Founder Mode: Paul Gross, Founder & CEO of Remora Carbon 08.09.2025 14mnt

  In this episode we talk to Paul Gross of Remora Carbon, a startup that does carbon capture right out of the exhausts of trucks and trains. Paul has a unique take on founder mode: once a quarter he decides what the three top risks to the company are, and for that quarter, those three things, whatever they are, are the main things he works on.
• Founder Mode: Chris Best, Founder & CEO, Substack 04.09.2025 27mnt

  In this episode, taped in front of a live audience, Chris Best tells us the story of Substack. He reminisces about his adventures with Elon Musk, and explains how he persisted in bringing to market a component of Substack that he knew was critical to their vision, even though any non-founder CEO would have killed it after years without any growth.