The Scale Podcast
The art, the science, and the business of startups
The Scale Podcast: the art, the science and the business of startups, is aimed at founders, builders and operators of startups.
Lack of mentorship and advisory is one of the main reasons many high potential founders and startups fail to take flight. We feature national and global experts in building, operating and funding of startups to provide founders and operators access to cutting-edge, relevant and actionable information in startup building, operating, scaling and fundraising. Our guests include global VCs with multi-unicorn portfolios, Canadian, US and global founders with hundreds of millions raised, corporate VCs from Fortune500 companies, super-angels from Silicon Valley, family offices from US, EU, Middle-East, and South-East Asia, plus sovereign funds from around the globe.
New episodes coming soon!
Past Episodes
Episode 1 - Boris Wertz
Vancouver
Version One VC
Content
02:44 Opportunity cost of chasing the wrong idea for too long ⏰⌛️
07:50 Moving fast and breaking things but being mindful of one-way doors 🍷🚪
10:10 Pivot or not to pivot 📌🐢
16:08 How to pick a good team/founder to invest in 🥷👑
18:05 AI game – why incumbents rule 🧶🪢
24:47 What makes a winning founder 🏆🎯
30:54 How many co-founders is too many co-founders 👫🔐
Episode 2 - Jason Smith
Vancouver
Klue
Content
2:10 How to decide what to build ❓🌎
6:08 That fine line between bullish and bullshit 🐃 🐂
8:16 Lightening strikes vs. the great grind ⚡️🐢
10:32 Can I iterate with you? 🎟️🎭
14:18 Founder conviction – the master key 🔑🧵
16:54 Two paths to raising a 100 million dollar round 🥷🚴
18:55 Key ingredient of a successful VC conversation - many dots to make a line 🧶🎯
21:58 Only the paranoid survive 🦠🦕
Episode 3 - Michael Lints
Doha
Golden Gate VC
Content
04:34 Product technology driven vs. business model innovation startups 🪆🔆
11:11 What will change our world more - AI or Ozempic 🤖💊
13:39 Sticking to investment thesis vs. following market trends 📚📈
15:50 Importance of having a investment thesis 🌎🏋️♂️
17:11 Founder X factor – does it matter 👼🪬
18:20 Founder as a magnet 🧲 🧭
22:32 Investability of solo founders vs. teams 💰👫
Episode 4 - Alexander Vaselek
Frankfurt
CIMEDO
Content
02:33 Survival of the fittest - AI Goliaths & Davids 🐘🐣
07:01 How much AI is too much AI? 🤖👩🏭
08:24 Derisking investing in a risky climate 🥅💰
11:58 Best way to get investor feedback 🎯📢
15:21 The smell of trust 👃💡
16:36 Do you punch back? 🥊🕊️
23:22 Power of human connection ✋🍩
Episode 5 - Aaron Chin
Vancouver
Organika
Content
02:23 Power of listening 👂🎯
05:16 Balance between set structures and nimbleness 🪜 🪢
06:26 Of best laid plans 📍🚢
08:53 Global knowledge driven innovation 🌎🚀
15:45 Trends and trendlines🔮📈
21:15 The magic pill is already here?💊🦄
25:10 What you need to know before launching a consumer brand👸🏼🧚♀️